moving details update

I ache absolutely everywhere. I'm hoping it is just tension and that I'm not getting sick. Tension? Why tension? A million little details of course, and a few major ones.

First, the condo sale fell through yesterday. My realtor told me at 5pm and by 730pm, there were already 3 showings lined up for today. Which meant some frantic cleaning (ok, my place is pretty good, but I'd been shredding documents and had confetti everywhere. Not to mention the ol' litter box.) I think there was 5-6 showings in total and I had 3 offers again tonight. I accepted one of them so hopefully it's taken care of it for good this time.

I still don't have a place to live in BC yet, but my mum filled out a rental application for me today. I think it was a place I found in Vancouver Sun and she viewed it today. First place she's liked out of the ones I've had her go to, so hopefully they pick me! 2 bedroom apartment in New West, takes cats. That last part is all that really matters to me!

In the good news category, I won Cracker Cats tickets at work. My first and last Cracker Cat game will be Thursday. I haven't been to a baseball game since I was a kid. My poppa used to take us. Trying to remember if I liked it...

I think I'm going to be lame and go to bed before 10pm.

The Weekend

Wow - what a weekend. Friday night, Lori and I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I really enjoyed it but I hate when a Part II movie ends on such a note that you forced to see Part III (and spend a year waiting for it!). It was really great hanging out with Lori and I hope we get to hang out a bunch more in the next couple of weeks. Before the movie, she came over and raided my Wee Book Inn and garage sale boxes. I'm being absolutely ruthless with what I take with me. It must serve a purpose.

Saturday night was Erin's stagette, arranged by her friends Jamie and Anne. Great night out. We started out at Erin's house where they gave her a hot dog toaster as a gift! I had no idea they even made those. They then gave her the traditional stagette gifts to wear - tiara, beads, blowup doll etc. First, we went to Pub 1905 for a few beers and burgers. Then off to Cook County! We had a stagette package so the price included quite a few free drinks and a bottle of nasty champagne. I danced to the few non-country songs they played, but Erin two-stepped quite a bit. Lots of fun.

The weekend before we had a kind of bridal shower/girls' day out for Erin. Erin, Kim, Kate and I went for a 3 hr hike in the Elk Island National Park, followed by a picnic. We then wandered around the interpretive area, and joined a bunch of kids in a lakeside program where we caught some water life - minnows, leeches, snails and various bugs. It was strangely fun! We drove back to the city (it's about an hour from my place), had showers at our individual homes to get rid of the layers of sunscreen and bug spray, and then went out for supper on Whyte. Just a casual, lovely day.

Pics are posted as usual :)

The Camping Entry

All pics are posted on my website, check them out if you feel like it.

The following entry is my nightly journal typed up.

Thursday, June 29

Left North Van this morning only a bit after our intended target of 9am. It was funny though - we stopped to get Shivauna and we all got out while S finished getting things. AJ and I got back in the car with dad and he pulled away - without Shivauna. She'd gone back inside for a last minute bathroom break.
It was about a 2.5 hour drive to Lightning Lakes in Manning Park. Nothing eventful. Got spot #30, looks very nice. After setup and lunch, S, Dad, AJ and I went for a bit of a walk around the parking lot to Lone Duck Beach and then to Lightning Lakes Day Use Area and back. Very pretty. Lots of hoary marmots.
After supper, S, Dad, AJ and I drove to the Rein Orchard Trail and went for about a 20 minute walk. Had hot dogs and marshmallows around the campfire and went to bed about 11pm. Rained during the night.

Friday, June 30

Hiked Heather Trail to just before the First Brother/Third Brother junction. About 9.5km in/9.5km out. Drove to the upper parking lot, hiked down to Buckhorn Wilderness Camp and then UPUPUP to the Bonnevier junction. Then from the junction across the meadows to just before the First Brother junction and had lunch. Then back, downdowndown and a little bit more upupup. I spent a lot of time looking at flowers - western anemone, glacier lily, red indian paintbrush, yellow cinquefoil, blue lupine and others I can't identify. Million pics. Took us about 5.5 to 6 hrs. Fell asleep on the drive down.
Just being hanging out at camp since. Going for a walk around camp after dinner.

Saturday, July 1

Hiked around the Lightning Lakes Chain. From Spruce Bay, down the west side to Flash Lake, around Flash, up along Lightning again to Lone Duck. Didn't see too many people until we got close to the Lightning Lake Day Use area. Tons of people there. We also saw deer.
I actually went for a run after dinner! About 1.5km I think, so not very far, but I did go at least.

Sunday, July 2

Today was Strawberry Flats/Three Falls. About 9km. The first section through Strawberry Flats was very flat with lots of flowers. Shadow Falls was okay, then downhill to Nepopekum Falls (which was across the river, so fairly far away), then more downhill to Derek Falls (nice!). Had to cross 2 talus slopes (rock falls). We had lunch at Derek, sitting on the rocks, then back uphill to Shadow and through Strawberry Flats back to the car.
Just spent the afternoon reading and lying in the sun. The squirrels and marmots got very brave and were running up to us.

Monday, July 3

Did Skagit River trail today, starting at the Sumallo Grove to the 6km marker. We took 2 side trips, one to see an old cabin,Ford truck,mine entrance and waterfall. The other was about 10-15 minutes along a very unmarked trail, uphill, to see the rhondrodren grove, but the rhondrodrens we passed were not in bloom and we decided to turn back before reaching the heart of the grove as the trail was becoming very narrow and very uphill. Lots of logs to go over or under. Most of the main trail was quite flat, except between the 5-6 km markers. Had lunch at Delacy camp on the way back. On the way in, we saw a deer at Delacy. Dad got very close. Total bear country too, but we never saw one. We did see old scat and markings though. Found some ripe salmonberries. About 13km in total, 4.5 hours. AJ didn't come on this one as her knee was really bothering her.
I saw a shooting star just before bed. I'm taking it as a omen that this is the right decision.

Tuesday, July 4

Got off very early today, before 9am. A little rain storm just as we were waking up, but it didn't really bother us as we packed. Time to go home!

All Hands, Abandon Ship

Sorry about the lack of entries lately, but I've been on vacation. I spent about 6 beautiful days camping with my family in Manning Park, BC, and I stayed a few more days in Vancouver. I took a million pictures, which I am currently working on and will upload eventually. I've just been way too busy to do it lately as there are so many things going on!

While I was in Vancouver, I went on 3 job interviews. I have since accepted a job in a lab in Surrey, working in their hematology department. It starts in late August which really isn't that far away. There is so much to do! I have been frantically chipping away at my to-do list. So far, I've given notice at my current job, listed my apartment for sale, sold my apartment (in about 6 hours), and started looking for a place to live in BC. And those are just the big things, never mind all the little picky details. Frankly, I've been going nuts! I can't believe how fast all of this is going. It's pretty exciting though!

Nice week

Can't say I did very much this week. I was very lazy. I'm slowly crossing things off my to-do list, but it is a very very slow process. Mostly I just went for walks and took naps. Can't complain though, it's been lovely!

Had a great time last night. I had both a friend's birthday and a friend's stagette to go to. Luckily, they choose bars that were only 9 blocks apart. I went to Steve's birthday for 8, hung out with him for an hour and then walked down to the Iron Horse to meet up with Sarah and her friends. That was a lot of fun for me, mostly because of the ego boost. Several of the people I knew there hadn't seen me since 2003 and even the ones I currently work with hadn't seen me in street clothes in a very long time. I got many many compliments :) I stayed there for about an hour and a half, and then walked back up to Steve's party. By this time, pretty much the entire crowd was there, so we spent the night chatting away. I had my usual difficulties in calling a cab, so just about everyone walked me to Whyte to flag one down and we actually got one very quickly. Posted some pics already.

I went for a walk with Erin today and I met her new baby hamster, Giselle. She's a sweetie. I held her and I even liked it! (I'm not a hamster person, previously the hamsters always made me a bit nervous.) She's very tiny and quite cute.

Thanks for all the fish

Well, it's the morning after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. I'm a bit sad, but mostly I'm just impressed. Really, no matter how diehard a fan you are, who would have predicted we would have made it so far? The Edmonton Oilers were the eighth seed team in the Western Conference. I remember the talk about whether or not they'd even make the playoffs. Then that eighth seed spot meant we were facing the Detroit Red Wings, their 124 points to our 95. But somehow they pulled it together and pulled it off, making the Oilers the only eighth place team to get so far. To all the players, especially Fernando Pisani, Chris Pronger, Ryan Smyth, Dwayne Roloson, and Jussi Markkanen, thank you for giving us a ride to remember.

As for Fernando - I had to work both game 6 and 7. But it turned out to be quite fun as my coworkers keep singing a version of Abba's Fernando but keep using Pisani instead of Fernando. Then yesterday I heard the Bear's (a local radio station) version, which amused me greatly. The lyrics had been changed to reflect hockey and the playoffs. Just tried to find a version online, but couldn't.

Congratulations also go to Cam Ward - the 22 year old rookie goalie from Sherwood Park, Alberta who won the Conn Smythe MVP trophy. He's only the fourth rookie to win it and the second youngest after Patrick Roy.

In other odd news - Jenny Craig's just been bought by Nestle. Maybe they will provide more chocolate treats!

Thank you hockey gods

Had a nice weekend. Watched the hockey game with a friend (go boys go!!) and then we went to see Prairie Home Companion. A cute but odd Robert Altman movie. Some weird, out of left field twists. The Bad Joke song with Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly was very very funny. I only gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, but mostly because it left me wanting more. I just felt there was more story that could have been told, a little bit more detail needed.

I'm really proud of how I did this week, sticking to my diet/exercise routine. I actually worked out every day for the last 6 days! I can't believe how hard running is again, after a 3 week hiatus. It's just brutal. I'm hoping the improvement will come quickly since my body should know what to do. My endurance just lacks this week though. I still got in good workouts though, just not continuous running.

I finished an interesting book this week. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. It talks about the effect fast food chains have had on America's culture, economy, diet, and landscape. The sections on meatpacking were very detailed and disturbing, although I mostly knew that already. I very rarely eat fast food, and I won't eat it any less than I currently do, but I admit that I was very grateful that I was already planning to eat vegetarian that day. It was a really great read and I recommend it.

06/06/06

I listen to a late night talk show called Coast to Coast AM. The show's themes are conspiracy theories, alien abductions, paranormal subjects, etc. I love it. Sometimes I take it seriously, sometimes I find it very funny. So after several years of listening to this show, I was eagerly awaiting today's date - just in case. June 6, 2006. 6/6/6. Well, the whole world didn't end, but my little world took a major beating. I woke up this morning to discover that Dwayne Roloson, the Edmonton Oilers' star goalie, is out of the rest of the Stanley Cup Final series with a sprained knee. That sound you heard was an entire town screaming. Losing Roli is our worst nightmare! Our backup goalies haven't played since March. I still have faith, but it's shaken. There's going to be some serious on the edge of my seat watching over the next little while.

Phew!

Wow - talk about a couple of crazy busy weeks!

First, my sister came for a visit and we had a blast. I attempted to budget for the weekend, but completely blew it as we moved into the malls. We went to West Ed on Friday, Southgate on Saturday and City Centre on Sunday. We also saw two movies (Over the Hedge and Kinky Boots). Saturday night, we had a little pub crawl down Whyte. It was an odd night on Whyte as there was a game the night before and the night after and it seemed like people were home resting up. Add in some rain and Whyte was just dead. Nice for us though - we ended up going to 6 bars as there were no lines! BP's, Thirsty Turtle, Funky Buddha, Hudson's, Wooly Bully's and Pub 1905. We had a lot of fun and got along great - not having to share a bathroom probably helped a lot :)

Shortly after my sister left, my dad showed up for some serious work around the place. It's too bad the work required me to pack up my computer because I had some great blog thoughts while I was working. I learned some valuable lessons like when someone asks if you need a shower, never answer "later". When "later" arrives, one bathtub will be full of packing boxes and the other will be blocked by large furniture items. Also, five minutes after both toilets are removed, you will need to use them! We (and by that, I mean mostly my dad) accomplished a lot. New carpets, new vinyl, new doors, new casings, new baseboards, painted ceilings, painted walls, plus a million fix it jobs. I think my place looks amazing!

Everything is back where it belongs finally, although I still have a few touch-ups to do. I intend to do them today, I really do. If you are interested, I posted pics of the place and of my sister's visit on my home page.

Summer already?

It seems so strange that it is still light out and it's after 9pm. Even weirder that it's 24C. How did it get to be summer so early this year?

So first off - Congratulations go out to Heather, my old roomie. She submitted an abstract to a conference in Spain in hopes of doing a poster session and got picked for a full presentation! In case I haven't told you lately, damn girl, you are smart! I'm so proud of how you are doing! Heather was visiting for a couple of weeks and I had a great time. We went shopping, watched playoff hockey, played board games, played frisbee, went for a walk on Whyte and eventually ended up at Julio's. Yummy nachos. There are a couple of pics of her visit on the main page.

Next, congratulations go to mememememememe! I ran my first 5k race on Sunday. My goals were to run the whole way, which I did, and to do it in less than 35 mins, which I did. 34:50 to be precise. I placed 108 out of 285, and 22 out of 50 in my age/gender group. It was a lot of fun and I'm currently trying to decide if I want to sign up for another 5k at the end of the summer and concentrate on my speed or if I want to do a 10k and work on endurance. Hopefully, there will be pics from my race as well. Heather and Erin were at the finish line and Heather took some. There was also a pro photographer taking pics that haven't been posted yet.

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted so I'm trying to remember if there was anything else exciting. I attended a cool conference on May 6, but the topics were things like patient safety and cardiac markers. I had fun anyway. I sewed a present for my mum for Mother's Day/birthday but she hasn't seen it yet as she's been away on a trip. I'm reading a really fascinating history book about smallpox in the 1700s called The Speckled Monster. It's a great read, more like a novel than non-fiction.

Can't wait until this weekend as my sister is coming for a visit! I might actually blog again next week since I'll have something to write about :)

The world continues turning...

I am currently feeling a giant sense of accomplishment right now. I finally made my running goal at the gym today - 30 minutes of running. Non-stop. So with my warmup/cool down walking, I did 40 mins and 3.4 miles. Pretty darn proud I am. Now I just have to keep it up for 12 more days as my run is on Mother's Day.

My goal for May is to be active - gym or outdoor run/rollerblade everyday. I've completely flatlined in my weight loss again and I need to do something about it. My sister is coming out for the May long weekend and we'll be going bathing suit shopping! EEEK. I've done well so far, but it's only May 3. Must. Keep. It. Up.

This past week was quite nice. Fancy stayed with me for about 5 days before she left for BC and it was really good. Saturday night, I went out for Jay's birthday to Devlin's. I then met up with Fancy and Holly for a night of wild drinking. We went to three bars - Thirsty Turtle, Funky Buddha and The One on Whyte. Lots of fun. We played pool at the Turtle and did a little dancing at the Buddha. We then moved onto The One where we did a lot of dancing. Nice music - both retro and more recent. Good place to ...errr.... met people. Lots of great pics from that night up on my main site.

Fancy left Monday morning and I seem to be coping well. Or it's still denial, not sure. It probably won't hit me until it's longer than the average vacation. Or the first time I get bored and I have no one to play with. Good thing May is looking super busy.

The dating thing continues. I've gone out with four guys now. I have another second date coming up this weekend. Looking forward to it.

I suck at the hockey pool. I picked a lot of players from Dallas and Detroit. I'm in dead last. Still have players from Ottawa and Carolina though so maybe it will pick up. My wishful thinking pool is doing much better. If Calgary can pull it out (currently losing 0-2), it will still have potential. A Calgary vs Edmonton series will be extremely interesting, but I can't even imagine how bad the Red Mile and Whyte would get. Fans from here going there and vice versa. Eep. Would be nice though - a real Battle of Alberta.

Heather is visiting this weekend so I feel a need to clean my apartment. I must maintain my neat freak reputation.

April update

Ok, so it's been forever since I posted. Lack of postage is partly due to a case of the blahs and partly due to evil shifts at work. May and June are looking sweet though. I am available to be social - call me!

Speaking of socialness, I'm back in the dating world. EEP. I've had two dates in the last month. One that was horrid and awkward, mostly awkward, and I ended it quite abruptly because I couldn't take it anymore. The second one was quite nice. It was actually too bad I scheduled it with a valid excuse for leaving because I would have liked to stay longer. So we shall see.....

Trying to think of other events that have happened in the past month. My parents came for a visit and we (and by we, I mean mostly my dad) replaced the doors and window casings. Mostly I pulled off trim, including the baseboards, to prepare for new flooring which we will be getting in May. I love the new doors. They are white four paneled doors and I think they make the place look bigger and brighter. It was great having my parents here for a visit. We went shopping, out for supper, and my mom and I went to the gym three times together. I worked almost everyday they were here though, so I didn't spend as much time with them as I would have liked. My dad's coming back in May though.

We had Rodney and Fancy's going away slash Rodney's 30th birthday party way back at the end of March. It was a great party. Tonight, a few of us are going out for one final supper to the Olive Garden. I really only have one thing left to say on this particular issue - BASTARDS! Don't LEAVE!

The running thing is going really well. This week my goal is to do 10 mins run/2 mins walk/repeat. My run is on May 14 and is for the Stollery Children's Hospital here in Edmonton. On the off chance you have extra cash floating around, you can pledge me!! Email me or call me and I'll give you the info. Odds are, if you reading this, you are probably going to get a PLEDGE ME!!!! email in the new few days anyway. :)

So far, good news in the play off world. Oilers and Wings tied 1-1. I entered my work hockey pool twice. One my "realistic" pool where I have Detroit, Carolina, Ottawa, and Dallas as my four picks and my "wishful thinking" pool where I have the four Canadian teams (heavy on the Edmonton/Montreal guys). We'll see which one does better. I did half decent last time, because I actually picked Tampa and Calgary. I had to listen to one game at work, and watch one game at home. I'm really hoping to get together with people for some of the other games this week as I love watching them with people. I like sports bars too for playoff games. I love hockey, but other people are funnier.

Well, it's my day off and productive-ness would be a good thing. So I'm off to do something that doesn't involve my computer. I do have new pictures to post from Todd's weekend visit (very fun, nice to see him and everyone) and I'll try to post them tonight.

I would post in more detail because things happened. I have political comments, social life happenings and more! But right now, all I'm going to say is my hard drive crashed. My last backup is dated January 16, 2005. Stupid me. I'm currently installing programs I need/want and getting it back to normal.

Many, many, many thanks go to Rodney for trying to save my old hard drive, taking me to purchase a new one and installing it. And then coming back over when I told him it still "looked funny".

Just one thing.

Single again. Six months and over.

and yeah, i'm okay.

Oops, missed a week

Ack! I forgot to blog last week. Looks like you survived without it though. :)

Mostly I've been working so there isn't too much to say. We saw Walk the Line last weeekend and I highly recommend it. Really good movie and a very untraditional love story. Of course, if you don't like Johnny Cash's music, you might want to skip it. A lot of great songs are played during it and I had several of them trapped in my head for days.

This weekend, Rod, Marc and I had a little mini-pubcrawl down Whyte Ave. The Attic, Monkey Island, the Armoury and BPs. It was a really fun night with too much money spent as usual. The only down note was the attempt to get home. Trying to find a cab after the bars have closed, on St. Paddy's day, in a blizzard - really really hard! We walked from 109 St to 103 St before we found one.

Yesterday, I went to Baby M's first birthday party. I can't believe he's a year old already! There were several other little kids there and lots of family members. It was your standard birthday party - presents and cake, with about a million pictures taken. Good fun and excellent cake.

My big accomplishment this week was I finally cleaned my sewing room. It had become the room of doom, the place where I threw everything I didn't know what to do with. Took me ages to get it all sorted again and I have one giant bag and one box of stuff that either needs to be donated or taken to the eco-station. Anyone need an old bubble jet printer (i have 2 extra ones...) or a laptop without an operating system? Yeah, I didn't think so.

i say....sleepy.

Well, it was Oscar night last night and I didn't care. Normally I get into it, but not this year. I think part of it was my work schedule. I'm on nights again and I'm super tired. My motivation for most things has completely disappeared. I also haven't seen any of the movies nominated this year, although there are a few I've wanted to see, but just never did (Brokeback Mountain, Walk the Line, Crash...). I'm not even into the dresses this year, and that's just strange! The few I have seen on the news I'm not incredibly impressed with. So far the only one I've gone wow over was Salma Hayek - what a gorgeous colour.

In other movie news, we saw Ultraviolet this weekend. It sucked! I wasn't expecting a decent plot or acting, but even the effects didn't impress. I think I like my cgi so believable that I end up wondering if it was digital effect or stunt work. As for the plot, it kind of had one, but it was so fragmented. The highlights for me were the opening credits and her purple hair. When we left, I said I couldn't decide if it was a 1 or 2 star movie. Ian said it was a crap star movie *g*, so it didn't even get the guy vote.

I finished the history book I was reading - Hitler's Scientists: Science, War and the Devil's Pact. It was excellent. Depressing in parts obviously, but extremely interesting. One funny thing from it: The technology chief of the Luftwaffe apparently objected to research on radar because if it worked, it would mean flying wouldn't be fun any more. Oh, I also read about the WWII Tokyo Bat Bombs. I certainly had never heard of those before, so an internet research was required. Turns out that the Americans were discussing the possibility of attaching small incendiaries to the wings and feet of bats and then dropping them from airplanes over Tokyo. The idea was they would fly into chimneys and the like and Tokyo would go up in flames. An amusing version of this can be found at Useless Information. See what you can learn from reading non-fiction books? Fun fun facts!

It's called streamofthought for a reason

Wow, what an amazing Olympics for us Canadians. The COC predicted a total medal haul of 25 before the games started and a top three finish. I was personally hoping for a top five finish. What do we get? 24 medals, including 7 golds, and the number three spot in the standings, behind Germany and the USA. We also had 13 athletes place fourth in their events. Just outstanding! We did absolutely amazing. Leading the pack was Cindy Klassen, who won 5 medals in speed skating. That brings her total Olympic medal count to 6, a Canadian record. The 24 medals were a new record, beating our previous high of 17 in the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. The COC is planning for 35 medals in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and we might actually be able to do it.

On a side note - anyone else think the Torino medals were ugly? They look like discarded CDs.

In the interesting factoid section, the world's population hit 6.5 billion at 7:16pm EST on Saturday night, using estimations/projections. An average of 4.4 people are born every second. When reading about population growth, I always see mention of improved health, economic development, urbanization etc. For the first time, I read an interesting comment about fertilizer in my current book - Hitler's Scientists by John Cornwell (more on this book later). Apparently if Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch (or someone else) hadn't discovered a way to fix nitrogen from air, resulting in a vast supply of artificial nitrogen fertilizer, the world's population would have only been around 3.9 billion in 2000, instead of reaching 6 billion.

This book I'm reading - Hitler's Scientists: Science, War and the Devil's Pact by John Cornwell - is a discussion of the ethics and morality of science during war, specifically German scientists in the first half of the 20th century. I bought it for about $9 in the bargain section at Chapters and so far, it's an excellent buy. I'm not even 100 pages into yet, but it has me captivated. Haber, the guy I mentioned earlier with regards to nitrogen fertilizer, was also a key figure in the first use of poison gas in April 1915, breaking the Hague Conventions. I'm starting to get into the chapters on racial hygiene and eugenics and it's just bizarre reading the social interpretations rising from both valid science and crackpot "science".

One of the reasons I'm so far into that book already is that I'm sleeping horribly. Last week's nights have really screwed me up. I'm tired all the time, but I seem to be able to only sleep for 4 hour stretches. I somehow managed to be social though, although I wasn't feeling my best. Friday, I had a couple people over for dinner and games - Battle of the Sexes and my new game Artifact. For dinner, I made stuffed mushrooms (good, but more cheese next time), roasted veggies and baby potatos (yummy), chicken provencal (blah), and peaches with berry sauce and vanilla ice cream (died and went to heaven). On Saturday, I went to another friend's house for more games, playing Conjecture (a game based on the sculptorades section of Cranium) and Clue, a game I haven't played since the 90s.

Since I have been awake so much, I've been wasting time on the internet. I did a two question Ennegram test, which doesn't exactly imply accuracy, but some of it seemed to match what I understand of me. I'm apparently an Adventurer - "happy and open to new things". One statement I really agreed with - "Appreciate my grand visions and listen to my stories." Listen to them over and over again too, while you are at it!! Oh, and thanks to those of you who filled out my Johari window. The validation was lovely. :)

One last thing: Sunday's For Better or For Worse comic really had me laughing. Just picture a grey kitty instead of a bunny and string instead of an extension cord and you've got my sweet yet psycho Fuzzy.

It's really Monday

Darn computer just errored and rebooted, eating my post. I thought about just going to bed, but it's technically Tuesday already which means it's a day late in my attempt to post every Monday. In my world though, it's still Monday. I just survived a week of both evening and night shifts and it's not Tuesday until I wake up later. Turns out the autosave feature restored my first two paragraphs anyway. Better than nothing!

This week was a bit of a write off with the return of my old shifts. My sleep schedule was pretty screwed up and I didn't do much. Managed to get some great workouts in though and met the goals I set for Jan/Feb. Need to plan out my next 8 weeks as I'm trying to keep it fresh and challenging. I did get a bit of socialness in as well, although I was definitely not my usual perky self - my apologies to those of you who got caught in the whiny crossfire. I went out for coffee on Friday, a friend's birthday on Saturday, saw Ian for a bit on Sunday and I went out for dinner last night. Hey, I was more social than I thought. Since it was all pre-work stuff though, it just didn't feel like much.

One nice thing about working nights is that I get to listen to my favourite talk radio show - Coast to Coast AM. When I'm not working, I occasionally download it on my computer, but I rarely listen to the whole thing. I don't often work at my computer long enough to listen to a 4 hour show. This week has been nice, catching up on the latest in the world of global warming, space exploration, ghosts and time travelers.

As I said earlier, I was suffering from a horrific case of the emotional blecks this week. I know why (hormones are an evil evil thing) but there was nothing I could do to get rid of that black cloud. I tried working out nearly every day, which often works for me, but not this time. Apparently all I needed was a 10 minute hug. I'm not kidding about that length of time. It went on for so long, I needed to move and re-hug. A hug can really make you feel better, especially the kind of hug where you just know the only thing the other person is thinking about is this moment, this hug. The only other person I know who gives that kind of hug is Todd. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I highly recommend getting one from him next time he's in town.

One final thing - Go Canadian Women! Congrats on the gold! Hopefully, it will help motivate the men...

Random News

YAY!! We won a gold at Torino! In women's moguls. Very very exciting because Jennifer Heil is an Alberta girl. Cindy Klassen also received a bronze in the 3000m speed skating. I'm pretty into the Olympics this year. Not in the glued to the tv set way, but I do keep checking the CBC Olympic website. I think part of it is that the next winter Olympics will be held in my hometown.

It turns out I was right when I said that Steven Harper's cabinet picks would be a hot topic. The Fortier appointment seems to have died down (at least out West it sure has), but the Emerson defection is all over the news! There was a rally held on Saturday in his riding calling for a by-election where he would run as a Conservative. 700 people showed up. On Sunday, there was another protest in front of his Vancouver office. I really understand their anger. He won as a Liberal with 43% and only 18% of the people voted for the Conservative candidate. People are saying that they feel like their vote didn't count. There is no formal federal recall legislation but someone has started an online petition. The comments are just crazy on it. Some are aimed at Emerson, some are aimed at voters, and some are downright vicious. I couldn't figure out how many people actually signed the petition at that site, but 15,032 had signed the petition at petitiononline when I checked this morning. I should also point out that the rally was organized by the NDP, the party that placed second in that riding with 34%. A by-election would probably be quite favourable to them, depending on who ends up running in the now empty Liberal spot.

In more amusing news (well, at least for me), Dick Cheney, US Vice President, accidentally shot a fellow hunter with birdshot while hunting quail. Thankfully, the guy is fine, so I'm allowed to laugh. Apparently, he didn't see the other hunter (who was wearing a bright orange vest) when he swung around to shoot at the birds.

I also did a Johari window for fun - if you don't know what it is, you get to pick 5 or 6 words to describe me and then they get mapped against words I picked and others picked. If you are interested - go here.

And just because my cat is so darn cute (also psycho - yesterday he bit Ian several times and decided it would be fun to step on my eye with his full weight) - a picture of the month:

New Prime Minister

I'm sitting here watching Steven Harper and his 26 cabinet members (27 total) get sworn in as the official government. Prime Minister Steven Harper *tiny shudder*. It's a minority Conservative government, everything will be ok... Breathe! He's restating all his promises right now. Small cabinet, which I like. 9 from Ontario, 3 from Alberta (including an Albertan as environment minister - oh, the irony). Only 6 women. Peter MacKay (who I like and was deputy leader of the party) got minister of foreign affairs but Stockwell Day (who I don't like) got minister of public safety which is apparently quite important and deals with the US a lot. Jim Flaherty, Mike Harris' former provincial finance minister, is now the federal finance minister. That one scares me, I think. Gordon O'Connor, a former general, is now minister of defence. That certainly implies increased military spending. Oddly, Harper didn't appoint a deputy Prime Minister.

Strangely, I remember reading Harper wanted to go to an elected Senate (currently Senators are appointed), but he appointed an unelected person - Michel Fortier - to the cabinet. This implies he will be appointed to the Senate and wait for an MP by-election or the next federal election. Fortier didn't even run in the election! Ok, he just got called on this. He said he considers this a "temporary" appointment until the next election and considers it worth it because it's important to have a cabinet member from Montreal. He also appointed a Vancouver Liberal - David Emerson - as minister of international trade, which confuses the heck out of me. How do you switch parties within 2 week of an election? Vancouverites voted Liberal! Looks like both of these appointments will be hot topics for a while.

Can't say too much has happened this week. I finally crossed two things off my to-do list - I cleaned out my file cabinet and shredded that giant stack of paper. Still need to clean the sewing room of doom. Probably not today though! I started reading the Prehistoric America series by Michael and Kathleen Gear. So far I've read People of the Wolf and am working on People of the Fire. While not a fantasy series, they do contain certain elements - an unknown society (prehistoric Native Americans and as the authors are both archaeologists, this part is done well) who use the spirit world and "magic". So far, so good! Had a nice weekend as well. Friday was quiet with just a trip to West Ed Mall. Saturday, I went to a pub with friends.

As for the weight loss campaign - it goes well! I lost 4.3 pounds this week which is freakin' amazing. Partly because I weighed in the morning instead of the evening, but the rest is me. I had a really good week working out and sticking to my diet...err....lifestyle change, I mean. :) I had my measurements taken at the gym earlier this week and I'm really proud of how I'm doing. Since I started this whole working out, eating healthy thing, I have lost: 24cm (9.4") off my gluteus, 7cm (2.7") off my right thigh, 12cm (4.7") off my waist, and 15cm (5.9") off my upper abdomen/ribcage. This gives me a waist to hip ratio of 0.8, which means low risk for lifestyle related diseases, assuming this particular indicator means anything. But assuming it does, this is important to me! My motivation for losing weight was completely health related as I come from a high risk family history. The body image stuff is just an added bonus! My BMI is still high, but my total goal will put me in the normal range. Other fun facts (well, for me anyway) - I've lost 39.36 lbs of fat and increased by lean body mass percentage by 8.9%. *happy dance of joy*

Before/Current Pictures

yay me, goal

Sleepy. I should have posted earlier, but my new printer/scanner distracted me. New toys are so much fun. I was very busy scanning in polaroid pics of me and playing with the quality. I reached my latest weight loss mini-goal so I needed new pics to play compare and contrast. I might post them later, but I'm having problems with yahoo right now.

I had a pretty cool week. I got to cover in my old department - urinalysis - which was fun. Back on my regular duties this week though. Had another nice weekend as well. On Friday, I went out with Rod and two of his coworkers to a blues bar. Great band, but I was so sleepy that I had to leave early. In bed by midnight! Saturday, I did the usual housework/trip to the gym and then met up with Ian for his birthday. He's not a fan of birthdays and just wanted a quiet night. We made supper together - Hawaiian Venison (ie venison stew meat with veggies and pineapple over rice) in the slow cooker and then watched King Arthur on DVD. I also gave him his gifts, which I think he liked. He spent a large part of Sunday working on the puzzle while I read and kept checking out the Tiger Woods game. Sunday night, we went to his parents for his birthday supper.

Wow, really I have nothing to say, do I? I need a rant. Too sleepy for one though. Maybe I'll get irritated later in the week.

Election Night

I'm currently watching the election results come in, even though I really thought I didn't care very much. That same weird urge that makes you stare at a car accident makes me watch it though. So it looks like it will be a Conservative minority government with a strong Liberal opposition. Pretty much how I thought it would turn out. NDP (the really left party) got about 29 seats, which I'm happy about. I think this is really the best case scenario. Guess we'll have to wait and see how it all turns out. Kind of strange though - this is the first Con government since I was old enough to vote.

But there is way more to life than politics, thank god, and in case you really wanted to know, I had a pretty nice week.

I saw The Matador with Pierce Bronson and Greg Kinnear on Monday. I enjoyed it, but it is a very odd movie. I guess it qualifies as a dark comedy, and not a thriller. I love the tagline for it: A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar... I'm trying to decide if it's worth full price (13.95). Not quite I think, but that's because I'm cheap. It would be an excellent choice for half price Tuesday (if you still have that) or a matinee. I'm glad we had free passes, it was most certainly worth that! We also saw Underworld Evolution yesterday. I gave it 3.5 out of 5, although Ian probably gave it 5 out of 5. He enjoyed it a lot. The effects and the action sequences were really good.

I interrupt my typing to announce that Paul Martin is resigning his leadership of the Liberal party. I'm not surprised there will be a new leader - but I'm surprised he's announcing it tonight....

I tried a couple of new recipes this week. Last night, I made Dilly Beloved Chicken from the cookbook I got for Christmas - maple syrup, lemon and dill marinade. I liked it a lot, Ian didn't think it was anything special. I'm going to try it again though, and leave it in the marinade a lot longer. Like all day, instead of barely an hour. I also made venison ribs with hickory bbq sauce, beef broth and some veggies in the slow cooker. After 11 hours of cooking, the meat just slid off the bones and tasted amazing. Hmmmmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about them. I wouldn't add the veggies if I did it again, just the onion and garlic for flavour. BBQ sauce flavoured veggies are not tasty, although it would have been okay if I had served the veggies and sauce over rice I think.

I finished a really really great book this week and I highly recommend it to anyone, particularly if you are into medicine, biology or World War I history. By John M. Barry, it's called The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History. I really liked the angle he took as he didn't just write about the 1918/19 pandemic itself (although he covers that in detail). He really got into the people involved in medicine and science at the time and you get to know the men who were desperately seeking a solution, any solution, to the crisis. He looked into the links between public health and politics. Although it was 99.9% a book about the United States, it was still really fascinating, especially all the parts about the WWI war machine, how it just consumed all resources, how the censorship affected health reporting and so much more. I now want to read a book about Tammany Hall and books about World War I. I also want to read John M. Barry's other book: The Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 which is not something I think I would be usually interested in, but I really enjoyed his writing style. The Great Influenza was a non-fiction book that read like a novel in the sense that I always wanted to get back to it to know what happened next.

I have a few more non-fiction books in my stack to read (The Pagan Christ and Hitler's Scientists are up next I think). I also have a new box of books from Wee Book Inn which is a very happy thing for me. Mmmmmm, books...

titles imply purpose

Woohoo - another weekly update! Too bad there's nothing exciting to report.

Mostly I seemed to go to work, go the gym, read and watch tv. It's a thrill ride a minute I tell you! My hips were still bothering me for most of the week, so I didn't feel like doing much. Still got my workouts in though, and I finally did weights today. Up to 58 minutes of cardio now. As for reading, I finished Kage Baker's Graveyard Game and The Life of The World to Come. I really like the Company novels and I need to find the one I haven't read yet. I should also look for Anvil of the World, her non-Company book.

This weekend was mostly relaxing. Friday night, Rod came over and watched a movie - Big Trouble - with Ian and I. Saturday, Ian and I went out to his friend's acreage and I did something I've never done before - moved hay bales! We loaded 153 bales into two pickup trucks (which means the hay was at least twice as high as the truck) and took them back to the farm where we unloaded and moved them into the barn. I somewhat helped load the trucks and helped unload and place them on the conveyor belt. I know I didn't work nearly as hard as Ian and his friend and his friend's girlfriend, but dammit I was still tired at the end. Those things got heavy around 125..... Afterwards, we had lunch and just hung out for a while.

I'm trying to think if there is anything else to add.... nope. Hmmm, I remember when I started this blog and how I needed it to rant about the world. You would think with the election only one week away that I would be full of rants. Instead, I'm apathetic and disillusioned and resigned. On the positive side, it's so much more efficient to watch taped tv instead of "live" tv. I think I might just keep doing this.

Weekly Update! Only 1 Day Late!

This past week was not a favourite, I tell you. First off, Fuzzy (my 5 year old cat) decided that kitchen twine was really tasty and ate about 18 inches of it. I didn't know about this until he had a lot of difficulty getting rid of it about 2 days after he ate it. I'll spare you the details, but it did involve a trip to the vet's and the blowing of my budget. He is my baby though (yes, I'm one of those people) and I didn't even think about the cost at the time. I also seemed to have screwed up my legs somehow and my hip muscles are killing me (hip flexors? I don't know, it starts in one thigh, wraps up through the hip, across my lower back and down into the other thigh - whatever, it sucks). The weird thing is if I'm walking, it's totally fine. I've been able to work out on the elliptical and the stairmaster (and it doesn't hurt while I'm doing that), but I don't want to bend over at all. Bah, I'm old.

Other than that - it really wasn't too bad. I got trained on a new bench at work which was cool. Went out with the campus crowd for Todd's going away gathering on Thursday. Had an absolutely boring night at home on Friday after my workout and it was great! Sometimes you really need those kind of nights. Saturday was quiet as well, although Ian came over with the perch he had caught and we had a really great supper.

Oh - no more live tv for the next two weeks. I'm only watching things I can fast forward. Election related commercials make me insane, and it doesn't matter what party. I get the urge to throw things at my television . Is it wrong that I want to scream "I hate you all" at them??? Weird thing is.... I'm a decided voter. Ugh, I'd hate to be a undecided voter. How do you pick between Vile 1, 2, 3 and Independent Guy? Hmmm, there's a Marxist-Leninist candidate.... I wonder if she's a viable alternative?

First of the Year

Ok, it's day two of 2006 and it's still looking good. As long as I avoid all news sources, all commercials, and all references to the elections, I'm sure January can be an excellent month.

Managed to keep my resolutions so far (woohoo! Two whole days!) - I'm actually down one pound from before the holidays which is fairly amazing. I worked out both today and yesterday. You are reading my weekly blog entry right now and I think I listened well to a friend today while we shopped. Of course, the shopping didn't help me meet my debt-free goal, but I only used cash, no credit! And the nightie was only $12, I swear!

The real point of this post is to show off the new super cool pic of me. It was taken New Year's Eve and I lovelovelove it. We had a semi-quiet New Year's Eve, as only 7 of us gathered at a friend's house for a typical night of board games. There was more drinking than our usual game night, but not by much. I liked it though, as I wasn't feeling incredibly social and my other invite had been for a gathering of 15-20. As much as I would have loved to see those people, I just wasn't in that kind of mood.

And now for the amazing, fantastic pic - - -



eek...giant head... :)

End of the Year

Ok, if you don't know me (and seriously, if you don't, why the heck are you reading this? You can't possibly be bored enough to read these rambles.), I love to read. I mean, I read like most people breathe. I always, always have a book on the go, and most often have a book with me. So, on the assumption I'm not going to read any new books today, I present to you my book stats for 2005. I didn't count rereads of old favourites and I didn't count any of the trashy romances I read.

Grand Total: 131 (compared to the grand total in 2004 of 130 - I think that's kind of weird that it's so consistent!)

Mystery/Thriller - 65 (49.6%) (2004 - 45)
Fantasy/Scifi - 52 (39.7%) (2004 - 67)
Fiction - 5 (3.8%) (2004 - 17)
Non-Fiction - 9 (6.9%) (2004 - 1)

I rarely hand out 5 amulets/stars - this year's winners go to Jessica Snyder Sachs for her non-fiction book Corpse, Greg Iles for his WWII mystery Black Cross, Tamara Siler Jones for Ghosts in the Snow, JK Rowling for the latest Harry Potter, and George Martin for the long awaited A Feast of Crows. If you haven't read Ghosts in the Snow, it is the one I recommend the most. A murder mystery set in a medieval fantasy world.

I gave 2 amulets/stars to 5 books, all mysteries/thrillers by authors I've never heard of. My next lowest was a 2.5 to Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, a non-fiction book. While I loved the ideas in this book and the thoughts it generated, I hate this man's writing style. I really really want to read his new one, Collapse of Societies (I think), but I just can't subject myself to his grade 9 essay format.

Most read authors included Suzanne Brockmann (4), Sara Douglass (6), Katharine Kerr (5), Jane Lindskold (4), and Tamora Pierce (4).

As for that other End of the Year Stuff - New Year's Resolutions. To my shock, I have discovered I have actually kept last year's resolutions!!! They were:

1) To Be Healthier
2) To Be More Sociable

In the To Be Healthier category, I joined a gym, worked out almost regularly :), and with the added benefit of diet, I managed to lose almost 60 pounds!

In the To Be More Sociable category, I think I did very well. I got a day job, joined the world of sunlight, and went out more. And then I did the unthinkable and tried Speed Dating. As you know, it worked out quite well for me. No more details are necessary at this time :)

2005 was a very very good year for me.

So - 2006's Resolutions:

1) Reach and maintain Target Weight.

Ok, that's the only one I'm really truly serious about, but it would also be nice to:

2) Blog weekly!
3) Become a better listener. (errr, how do I go about that?)
4) Be debt-free for at least 4 seconds.


Best wishes to you all in 2006!

Christmas Post

I had a great time over the holidays and I hope everyone else did too.

As per usual, I went back to BC for Christmas. Another very short trip this time, only 4 days. I arrived late on the 23rd, just in time to frantically wrap presents and decorate the Christmas tree with my family.

Christmas Eve day was spent at the gym with my mom and sister, followed by the usual madhouse referred to as Christmas Eve at my grandmother's (my mom's mom). She lives in a tiny bungalow now, instead of the big house, so trying to cram all my relatives in there doesn't work all that well. Good thing that out of the 46-ish possible relatives (not including extra boy/girlfriends that the really brave and/or insane occasionally bring), only 31 showed up. Mostly the island people didn't come and they are the largest branch anyway. It was nice though, roaming around, visiting with various people.

Christmas morning was spent opening presents with my immediate family. As usual, I was greatly spoiled. My haul included new blue sheets, cooking dishes, a china serving platter (woohoo!!!), china bowls, new towels, many books and a subscription to a sewing magazine. My favourite moments that morning were when my sister and mom opened my gifts. I gave my sister a bright red and white nightgown and matching robe. My mom got pyjamas and a nightgown made out of jogging fleece (I think she's insane, but that's what she said she wanted, although she might have been joking...) and a satin robe.

After presents, my dad's mom came over for brunch and the rest of the day was spent getting ready for dinner and visiting with various relatives who dropped in. Christmas dinner was the smallest in years and it was wonderful - only 9 people! After dinner, I went to visit one of my best friends from high school and it was really great to see her.

Boxing day was sheer insanity as it was spent shopping with my sister. Great prices though and I found lots of things. Jeans, a bra, 5 blouses, 2 sweaters, a golf shirt and a skirt for about $250. All very very much needed as due to the shrinking me, I had NO clothes. Ok, some, but not much! My sister bought tons of stuff. She says she loves shopping with me as I go through all the racks and just toss things I like at her. She hates looking for clothes, doesn't mind trying them on. After shopping, my family went out for fish and chips out in Horseshoe Bay. I then met up with my high school girlfriends for drinks. I loved seeing them and catching up!

It was a good holiday as I got to see all the people that mattered to me. My friends, my relatives, and I even had time to visit with each of my grandmothers and have a cup of tea. I had to leave a few of my presents at my parents since they didn't fit in my suitcase, but they are planning to come for a visit in the spring so I'll get them then.

I have a million pictures which I haven't got around to posting yet. Eventually, I swear.

December

Ok, perhaps one of my New Year's resolutions will be to update this thing more frequently - but I doubt it.

I had a great time this weekend as I threw my annual (ok, two years in a row!) tree decorating party on Saturday. 17 people again, so it was definitely a full house. I made all the food I consider part of Christmas, as it's the same type of food that was served at my grandmother's Christmas gatherings. Swedish meatballs, cabbage rolls, potatos au gratin and ham, plus the usual veggies, salad, and dinner rolls. The only real difference between my menu and what my family ate at my aunt's this year was the bread. My cousins baked all the traditional breads - hardtack, cardamon buns, cinnamon rings - that I don't know how to do. Besides, there was tons of food already! For dessert, I served various kinds of Christmas baking - marshmallow squares, peanut butter bonbons, butterscotch haystacks, date squares. By the end of the night, my tree had ornaments, the gingerbread house had been decorated, and I had We Wish You A Merry Christmas as sung by three stuffed mice trapped in my head. I had a blast.

I've also been going to the movies a lot recently. I highly recommend King Kong, although I do think the first hour could have been cut a bit more. I only give Chronicles of Narnia 3 stars out of 5 as it dragged in places and I thought the soundtrack was really pompous and distracting. Hmm, I know I've seen more. Oh, Just Friends. Very funny, particularly if you like physical comedy. I also saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - it is one of my favourites. I'm currently on a Christmas video kick and I've watched the Muppet Christmas Carol twice in the last week. I love that movie!

As for other activities - I've been sewing a lot. Some items are top secret until Christmas, but as Lori already opened her gift, I can tell you I made my second quilted item. It is a snowman table runner and I think it looks quite nice. With the exception of one gift left to sew, all my shopping/sewing is done and I can relax until Christmas! Hmmm, I should really go work on that last gift....

If you want to see the new pics, head to http://www.geocities.com/jette_16/pics/thumbs.html

Birthday Week

It's been a nice two weeks since my last update. I sewed like crazy to make my hallowe'en costume - not entirely sure what possessed me to want a leather and velvet corset. Too many Buffy reruns? It was based on Vampire Willow's outfit from season three, not that anyone knew that. It was just kind of goth, I guess, but I knew! *g* It was really hard to make and I didn't even use real leather or velvet. Just some kind of pleather and this stretch fake crushed velvet. The sewing wasn't that hard - even though it was thick! Pleather, interfacing, lining, velvet... Broke 2 needles and I was using special leather ones. It was the eyelets that nearly killed me. 38 of the little devils I think. And to get them to go through so much fabric I was using a full sized hammer and swinging hard! Hit my thumb more than a few times.... I think the end product looked good though and I wore it to The Thirsty Turtle for a night of Hallowe'en bar-ness. My compliments go out to Scott, Erik and Kate for their very good Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach costumes!

This past Wednesday was my 28th birthday. Being in the middle of week, I didn't do much. Booked a table at a restaurant called Flavours that I've been wanting to go to for ages. I wanted to go there specifically for a dish called Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Stuffed Chicken. I ordered it and it was good, but not nearly enough tomatos. In fact, if there was one piece of tomato, I couldn't taste it. The service lacked though. One waiter, who spent a lot of time hanging out at the bar. Good thing we weren't in any hurry! The coolest part of the night was when we ordered dessert. 6 of us, 6 options on the menu. When the waiter came, we said "one of everything". Who hasn't wanted to say that?? Most of us tried all the dishes - mocha java mousse (Yum!), flourless chocolate cake (too bitter), apple-berry crumple (tasty), triple chocolate bread pudding (a meal in itself, whoa), creme brulee (never tried that before) and vanilla cheesecake (also Yum!). My friends paid for my dinner, which was very nice of them. They also gave me Knife of Dreams (finally, I have it!!!) and a Spike calendar *g*. After supper, we went back to my house and opened the gifts my family had sent. More books (I'm reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes right now, very very good), and a memory card for my digital camera.

Last night, it was a birthday double-hitter. First, I went out for supper with Joey, Rod and Fancy as it was Joe's birthday. After supper, I went over to Pub 1905 to celebrate Todd's and my birthday. It was really great seeing everyone last night as there were a few people there I don't see too often. I spent the night just chatting with everyone - my favourite thing to do! *g* It was a really great night and a nice cap to my week.

Visit!

For the first time since I moved out here ten years ago, my grandma came out to visit me this weekend. My mum also came with her. It was a great weekend as I don't think I have ever spent so much time with my grandma before. It was nice having a girls weekend, just the three of us.

They came in Thursday around lunch. I was very mean and made them take the airport shuttle downtown where I met them at a local hotel. That afternoon we went to West Edmonton Mall for the start of some serious shopping. We managed to complete about 40% of the mall before we got sick of it and went home. I can't even remember what we bought that day! I remember buying wool as mum had forgotten hers at home and can't live without something to crochet. That night we had supper at a nearby fish and chips shoppe. Every time my mum comes out we eat there, which I find funny. She comes out from the coast to eat fish on the prairies *g*.

Friday morning, we went to the Muttart Conservatory, which is basically a giant greenhouse built in the formation of four glass pyramids. Each pyramid is designed around a different landscape - Arid/Desert, Temperate, Tropical and "Show". The show pyramid had a dreamcatcher theme this time and was pretty cool. I really liked this topiary (I think that's the right word) shaped like a giant fish. After the conservatory, we went back to the evil mall for more shopping. This time we covered Phase III and bought quite a bit. My grandma found a really pretty blue coat and certain birthday gifts were purchased for me. We also saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the cheap theatre. We had supper at Tony Roma's, which officially had the slowest service I had ever experienced in my life. Not pleased at all.

Saturday, we walked down Whyte Avenue and went to the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market. I should really go more often, everything looked so great! That afternoon we went to Southgate mall so I could buy jeans (WEM was out of stock) and my mum also bought a sweatshirt. By this point, we were all very sick of shopping!! That night, I made supper for a change - salmon with lemon, baked potatoes and veggies. Basic, but tasty.

Sunday, we just puttered around and walked over to the little shopping plaza by my house. And then it was time for them to go back to the airport. Just a short visit! I had lots of fun though. It was really nice to have them both out here.


Pictures can be found here.

Just Because?

Man, you know you haven't posted in a while when you get complaints!

My apologies to my loyal fan base. *snicker*

I have no rants lately. It is strange. Apparently I'm satisfied with the world. Unless I think too hard, and then I just get depressed. I think the end times are upon us. If you are religious, pray for your soul. If you don't believe in an afterlife, I recommend high levels of partying.

So in the what's new with me department - you may or may not know that I'm really working on losing weight. It's going quite well. I set 5 mini-goals to make it more manageable and at each goal, I give myself a reward and a challenge. The challenges are somewhat like punishments really, but they are meant to get me out of my rut in life. I'm all for trying new things this year. When I hit my first goal, I got a massage and asked out a friend (it was a no). Second goal - great new clothes and my high school reunion (punishment!). Third goal - more clothes (otherwise I was going to have a nakedness issue) and a really new thing - Speed Dating aka six minute dates or whatever version you have heard of.

I officially recommend speed dating to anyone who is looking. How else do you meet so many people at once? I chose one that was for people aged 23-32 and aimed at "young professionals", whatever that means. It was held at a pub near my house, so I just walked over. I also called Rod for a last minute pep talk. His advice? Don't forget to let them talk too! I had a lot of fun that night. There were 13 guys and 10 girls. We started with a little ice breaker session while we waited for everyone to arrive. It was just one of those little sheets that say "Find someone who has a pet", "Find someone who likes hockey", etc etc. Then time for the dates. The girls were assigned tables and the guys rotated through when the bell rang. I only had one date where I was struggling to find something to talk about. Out of the guys I met, I think I circled interested for 7. I was trying very hard to not be picky. One guy I circled solely because as he was leaving he said he liked my red hair (wash out colour btw, normal now).

Later that week I got an email with my matches. I matched with five guys! (I circled them, they circled me....). I decided to be brave and call them and I set up dates with all 5! Crazy me, but it was fun. One was fun, Two bailed on our coffee date but called me several times, Three turned out to be significant, Four was nice but older, Five was young and hot. Although I had fun with the four guys I went out with (and One I went out with twice), Three (who shall now be known as Ian) was by far the most interesting. And turns out he likes me back. We are currently dating and he's even met some of my friends. It's happy fun.

And in other news - my mum and grandma are coming for a visit this weekend. I am so excited! My grandma has never visited me in the ten years I've lived here so this is cool. Hopefully, I'll have pics to put up soon.

Happy Birthday, Alberta

On September 1, 1905, both Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces of Canada, making today our 100th birthday. For the occasion, I present you with fun and useless facts about Alberta!

The Official Bird is the Great Horned Owl.

The Official Flower is the Wild Rose.

The Official Tree is the Lodgepole Pine.

The Official Stone is Petrified Wood. (I find this hilarious!!)

The Official Mammal is the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.

Our Motto is Fortis et Liber (Strong and Free).

At 61,185 square km or 255,303 squares miles, Alberta is the fourth largest province.

Our population is approximately 3.2 million.

Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta of Britain, daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of a Canadian Governor-General.

Alberta is the second largest producer of wheat in Canada.

Alberta is Canada's largest producer of petroleum and natural gas.

We usually have more hours of sunshine than any other province.

We have the world's largest shopping and entertainment complex - West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton (the capital city).

We have the world's largest Ukrainian Easter Egg (Pysanka) in Vegreville.

Goodbyes

Well, I am officially sad. Heather is leaving today. Although she plans to come back for Christmas, I always go home at that time so I have no idea when I will see her again.

We spent a lot of time together this week which was very very nice. Thursday, we had lunch together, went downtown for a walk, stopped for coffee, went for another walk, that kind of thing. Tonight, another friend, her and I went for tea on Whyte Ave (the place to people watch) and then walked around. There is a festival going on down there so lots of people, lots of buskers and vendors. After Kim went home, Heather and I had appetizers at one of our favourite hangouts and just chatted.

This is just soooo weird!!! *sniffles*

An old picture of the two of us, I'm guessing 1998 or 1999.

Heather's Going Away

My old roommate Heather is moving to Ontario to do her PhD at the University of Waterloo. Good for her, as I'm sure she'll be amazing. She's explained it to me a couple of times and it's all very impressive, but the part that stands out most for me is where she will be doing research for the Canadian Space Agency and NASA!

This weekend we gave her one heck of a send off. Friday night, we went to Julio's Barrio on Whyte, one of her favourite restaurants, for supper and margaritas. We gave her a scrapbook I made, containing pics from the last 10 years that we all have been friends. That's when both Heather and I moved here as first year university students.

Here's a pic of the scrapbook. Making the scrapbook was fun and I'm glad I did it. Making the pic of the scrapbook was done because I couldn't sleep. *g*



After Julio's, we moved onto a bar called the Thirsty Turtle, which I quite like. It has pool tables, a small dance floor and $1.50 highballs until 10pm. There was much drinking to be had and the occasional dance as well. Around 11pm, we moved to The Attic, which has an even smaller dance floor that is always packed. There was more drinking. Yes. That's all.

The next day, we had plans to go to the Waterpark (indoor wave pool and waterslides at West Edmonton Mall) at 130. I had never been before and enjoyed it. I actually went on waterslides! Ok, a whole THREE waterslides, including one that even I admit is a baby slide. Mostly, Kim, Heather and I hung out in the waves while the boys went on every waterslide twice.

After the waterpark, we ran home, showered, changed and went to another going away party for Heather at another friend's house. Thankfully, it was a quiet party, just board games, video games and just the occasional beer for the brave ones. I came in second at Risk, which is rare for me. Somehow I held Asia for at least a full turn!

I will miss Heather very much, but I think her send off was fine tribute to the girl I met in Lister. I know she will do great out there.

Butterflies!

I had to run errands this week near the U of A campus and, luckily, I had stuck my small camera in my purse. I was so glad I had it! There were butterflies everywhere. Possibly monarchs, but I'm only saying that because they were orange and black. I know nothing about butterflies. I got some nice pics though!



A Butterfly on a Rock.



A Butterfly on a Flower.



And my favourite - A Butterfly on More Flowers.

*L*

Toronto!

If you have ever wondered if I was insane, the answer is yes. Somehow it made perfect sense to go to Toronto for 2.5 days, which when you subtract airport time was really more like 40 hours... But several of my friends had planned a little mini reunion out there and I desperately wanted to see them! Since Carrie's pregnant, I don't know when my next chance to see them will be.

I left for the airport straight from work and arrived safely in Toronto just before midnight on Friday. I had barely turned my cell phone on when Carl called to say they were at the airport. Good news, right? Well, not quite. We couldn't find each other! We were in different terminals in an airport that doesn't seem to have good signage and is currently under construction. It took some time for them to get to my terminal but eventually they pulled into the pick up line and I was very relieved to see Mike getting out of the car. Julie and Carl were with him as well, but Carrie had already gone to bed. We headed back up to the hotel, stopped in to say hi to Jeff, but by now it was quite late and pretty much time to go to sleep.

The next morning, after a free hotel breakfast which I got up in time for, we all met up in the lobby. We then decided to go the Taste of Danforth. It's a Toronto festival vaguely like the Taste of Edmonton, where they close off three blocks of Danforth (which is Greek Town) to traffic and all the stores and restaurants put out little street vendor booths. We had lunch at a Greek restaurant called Mr. Greek, where we had a very strange waiter. He actually told us Mike (Carrie's husband and who is from Sweden) had no accent! Others have said they didn't really enjoy the meal, but I liked it! I rarely have Greek food and I'm a big fan of feta. After lunch, Jeff managed to find a roasted corn vendor and I bought some books at a clearance sale.

That evening, we choose to attend the Summerworks play festival, a bit like Edmonton's Fringe Festival. We picked Do The Clam, partly based on the convenient time and partly on the description: God and his brother get fired from their jobs or something like that. I spent the first half of the play wondering where God was coming into it and the second half realizing that the play was on crack. It was bad. Badbadbad. Best line - (the construction worker is insulting his girlfriend) - "I don't need you anymore, I pierced the dog's tongue." I laughed there. I think that was it.



Me, Carl, Jeff, Julie, Carrie and Mike right before The Play.

Before the play, we had supper at The Wheat Sheaf, based on the recommendation of one of the festival's producers. It was a great recommendation, far better than the play! I think we all had hamburgers, although I know Jeff had soup. Crazy man. The pub was built in 1849 and it rumoured to have a secret passageway to Fort York. Can you tell the menu had a history section that I read??



Carl, Jeff, Mike and Carrie at the Wheat Sheaf.

That night we met up with Alf and Ryan, who currently live in Toronto, and they took us to a local bar called Scotland Yard. It was really great seeing them again! After they left, we headed back to the hotel and Mike and Carrie joined us in our room for some more drinking and chatting. Yes, it's true, Carl and I had a bathtub full of liquor and ice, but I'd like to point out that it was Jeff and Julie who brought the twist off top bottle of wine!



Julie and Jeff drinking in our room.



We had cranked the AC before we went out and our room was freezing so Carrie is wrapped in a housecoat. I also like how she looks slightly afraid of us drunk freaks *g*.



Err... drunk freaks?



Julie and Me and Carl's foot.

The next morning, I managed to make the free breakfast again. Eventually we all got moving and we went to the Casa Loma, a castle in the middle of Toronto! It was built in 1911 and I highly recommend checking it out if you are in Toronto. It has an audio tour that you can take at your own pace and it has great architecture, beautiful furniture and a Canadian military museum. It also apparently has great gardens but the time we got there, I was really happy to take a break in the shade.



Jeff and Julie in the Conservatory listening to the audio tour things.



Carrie and Mike overlooking the great hall. I love the chandeliers.



Julie, Carl, Carrie and Mike in the gardens.

After the castle, we went shopping for a bit and then it was time for me to go to the airport again! My whirlwind tour was totally worth it and I had a lot of fun. It ended on a nasty note though, on my trip back, I sat next to a kid with some seriously bad motion sickness. It was a very very long four hours.

Do You Recognize This Bird?

Because I want to kill it! He is driving me insane. He sits in the tree right below my window all morning, chirp chirp chirping away. I have to close my window as soon as the sun comes up to get some sleep. He's also driving my cat nuts too! Whenever my cat is on the balcony, he sits on the railing, chattering away at him. You can almost see my cat thinking: Ok, it looks tasty, it sure is loud, maybe I can shut it up and eat it at the same time, but if i jump up there, it's a long long way down on the other side.... I'm worried he's finally going to go after it and right over the edge.

I hate this bird.

Picture of the ....err.... Month?

Double Rainbow!

Alice Lake Camping Trip

Typed out from my nightly journal entries.

Day 1 – Saturday, June 25

Woke up way too early this morning when Dad got up – 630 am. Especially since I had been out past 12 with Carli at the Black Bear. Took us forever to leave this morning – way too much stuff, not enough room. Once we decided to take Sandi's jeep as well, all was ok. So there was our little group, finally on the road – me, Shivauna, Angie, Sandi and Dad plus Mark's two dogs, Cooper and Topper. We drove up to Alice Lake, just past Squamish. It's a provincial campground so there were lots of people and lots of kids. With the dogs, we decided to set up 3 tents, one for us girls, one for dad and one for Sandi and the dogs. It was a big site, so there was lots of room for them. I helped dad sent up tarps as well. We had pita sandwiches for lunch and then walked around Alice Lake, about a 30 minute walk. Later we went for a walk on the Swamp Interpretive Trail just off Alice Lake – no interpretive signs though! We had hamburgers for supper – yum! We played cards, Hoopla, and crib and had another short walk around the campgrounds. We'll probably go do the Alice Lake/Four Lakes Trail tomorrow, should be around 4 hours.

Day 2 – Sunday, June 26

Woke up early again, just before 630 am. Dad and Sandi were already up, so it was okay. I started a fire while Dad started breakfast. We had a great breakfast – oatmeal, blueberry pancakes, sausages, bacon, and eggs. We made lunches for our hike, the usual pita sandwiches, oranges and trail mix. We choose to do Alice Lake/Four Lakes Trails but we skipped Debeck's Hill. It was rated an easy hike – 11km, but without the hill, it was probably 8-9 km. We went straight up at first on the Four Lakes Trial starting in the Alice Lake parking lot, eventually winding our way to Edith Lake. We had a bit of a stop there by the water and then continued on to Fawn Lake, with another stop there and 2 mental doggies running in the water. We did the Stump Lake loop and stopped for lunch there before going back to camp. Took about 3 hours. Afterward, Dad and us girls drove into Squamish while Sandi and the dogs had a nap. Dad used the internet at the public library while we walked down Cleveland Ave. After the car ride back, I needed a nap! Supper was great – shrimp and scallops apps and a chicken/veggie stir fry with rice. I've been reading the guidebook for tomorrow's hike and I'm thinking maybe Cougar Mountain with a trip into Whistler Village. Tonight, Angie and I are thinking of flying a kite and going for a walk to kill time before we can roast hot dogs and s'mores!


Picture taken at Fawn Lake (I think)

Day 3 – Monday, June 27

It rained last night, just as we went to bed. Kept going all night so I managed to convince myself I wanted to sleep in until just before 7. Another fabulous breakfast. After we cleaned up, Dad and us girls drove into Whistler and went to the community pool for a swim. Great sports center – looked like it had a racquetball court, ice rink, full gym. The pool had both a regular pool and a kids' water park, with a hot tub and sauna as well. Did some laps, a little time in the hot tub, and then some more laps. Had a very very long shower. Afterward, we walked around Whistler Village in the drizzle. I bought thank you gifts for Rod and Fancy. We had a great lunch at La Bocca in the village before heading back to camp to gather up Sandi and the dogs for a late hike up the Cheakamus Canyon trail. Supposedly easy, but it was very much uphill over rock falls which made it quite tricky. It also went over a lava flow/creek bed, which was pretty cool. We hiked up as far as Starvation Lake and had a snack before we turned around. Downhill was so much easier although we really had to watch our footing! Got back to camp around 7pm and Dad made steaks over the fire. We went for another walk with Sandi and the dogs before playing cars. Some s'mores before bed will probably be in order! Plans for tomorrow – Levette Lake Loop and Dad's Birthday!


My Dad on the Cheakamus Canyon Trail

Day 4 – Tuesday, June 28

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Woke up way too early this morning to a woman yelling across the campground. Turns out it was an RCMP officer yelling through a megaphone – not sure what happened but it involved at least 3 cop cars, a parks officer truck, an ambulance and a boat. Since I was up, I made the fire (badly, it took forever this morning!) and the pancake batter, but Dad made his own birthday breakfast. We put lunches together – PB&J for me today – and headed out to the Levette Lake Loop trailhead near the North Vancouver Outdoor School. It was rated easy to moderate, 5 hours; the hardest of the trails I picked. It started at Copperbush Trail, near the Evans Lake Forestry Camp. It was a great hike, challenging in parts for me, but really great. The terrain was really varied, overgrowth covering the paths in a lot of parts which meant I really had to keep an eye on the markers. It went through old growth forests and rocky bluffs which involved much climbing up and climbing down. Finally, after 2 hours or so, we hit the gravel logging road that led up up up to Levette Lake. We ate lunch on the shores of the lake while the dogs chased each other through the water. We headed back up the hill and down the logging road to where the other half of the loop split off to the right. More up and down through overgrown gullies and rocky bluffs. Angie slipped on a big rock and was lucky she didn't lose several layers of skin. We had to cross a single log bridge with steps carved into it that was pretty freaky. Eventually we reached the last landmark in my guidebook – the granite monolith. Sounds pretty positive right, except that we could see the car way over on the other side of a valley and didn't seem at all close! It was only about 45 minutes away after all, so not too bad, mostly downhill. It was usually either Shivauna or me leading the pack and when I led us through the final massive overgrowth, I was pretty darn proud! *g* 5 hours, 10 minutes from trailhead to trail end. I've picked all the hikes on this trip and today was my favourite. Alice Lake/Four Lakes was pretty normal and too close to the campground. Cheakamus Canyon was straight up that darn rock fall and it was so annoying to have all those rocks underfoot. Today's varied hike was great! When we got back, Shivauna and I took a nap in the sunny meadow and we decorated Dad's tent with balloons and a Happy Birthday banner. We had chicken fajitas for supper, followed by a little birthday party. Sandi brought goody bags with hats, napkins, plates and bubbles. We also brought a Duncan-Hines chocolate cake with candles that were just about impossible to light in the wind. Dad opened cards from us kids and Mom and Sandi gave him a t-shirt.


Shivauna at Levette Lake

Parks guy just stopped by to tell us what happened this morning. Dumb crook syndrome apparently. Guy tried to steal the ATM from Brackendale this morning and then tried to escape via the park. He ended up jumping in the lake and getting caught.

Day 5 – Wednesday, June 29

Last Day. Took the tents down after breakfast and tidied up so there wouldn't be much work after dinner. Made lunches and drove up to Cougar Mountain, about 9 kms past Whistler. We drove up a very rocky road until we couldn't go any further and started walking up a logging road. The road eventually connected with a trail that lead through marshy words, past a rock cairn village and to an ancient cedar grove. Trees 600 to 1000 years old. On the way back, we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking Showh Lake to have lunch. After lunch, we reached a fork in the trail, and Dad said go left – 1.6 km back to Lower Parking. We went down down down to lower parking and NO CAR. Turns out we wanted Upper Parking so we had to haul up up up 1 km straight up that rocky road to the car. I fell asleep on the way home, quite dead. Just making supper and tidying now – probably leave around 530 pm I think.


Angie and Shivauna at the Showh Lake viewpoint

518 pm! Just took the last picture in front of the Alice Lake Park sign. Everything all packed, this time Sandi only had to take the water cooler instead of all our personal bags. Great trip, I had a lot of fun!

Want to see the rest of the pictures? Check out http://www.geocities.com/jette_16/pics/thumbs.html.

Look! An Update!

Ok, so I haven't written in ages, I know, I know! I've even had complaints (*waves* Hi Chris!). I don't know why I haven't written - I've even had things to say. In the beginning, all I wanted to talk about was the projects I was working on and I couldn't do that. I was making birthday presents for people who might actually check this thing. I made an olive green zippered purse for my sister's birthday out of an old pair of cargo pants that ripped out the week before. Don't worry, I didn't cheap out - inside I put a gift certificate for one of her favourite stores. I really liked the purse although I'm not sure it's her style at all. It was a nice size, small but still big enough for your wallet and crap. Perfect for summer. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of it for my craft pages. I didn't take a picture of my other project either - a bag for my mom for her yoga mat. I had made one before for her but she wanted changes and waterproofing. So this time, I made it out of nylon ripstop which is water repellent and I made it tubular (like a bag for your sleeping bag) instead of a shoulder bag like before.

My other major project has been scrapbooking (and by scrapbooking, I don't mean creative and fancy, I mean organized photos and pamphlets and other odd memorabilia with captions) - I can't believe the box of crap (aka MEMORIES) I had collected. Even after sorting it all out and tossing anything that no longer had relevance or sentimental value, I still had so much. I bought one of those scrapbooks that you can add pages to and bought 3 extra packets of pages. I then went nuts. About 2 weeks ago, I finished up to August 1995 and closed the book on "the early years". I swear, half of the scrapbook is my Grade 12 year alone. The rest are photos my parents may or may not have noticed are missing from their albums *g*. I'm working on my third year university right now, although in a way it's harder. I have photo albums for each year since I moved out here, which means I have to find a way to squish my memory crap into existing albums.

Ok, so where was I before all that? Oh right, why I don't post. I think the biggest reason is I think of rants while at work or while walking home. I rant in my head and then when I get home, I don't feel like typing it all out when I could do something more interesting, like read someone else's posts, or watch tv, or sleep. Sleep often wins. All the stuff at the beginning of this post (right up until this paragraph) was written while I walked home. I had a notebook and a pen so I just started writing. Looks like chicken scratch though. Maybe I should take my old tape recorder (the one i just HAD to have for university so I could record my lectures - I think I recorded one) with me on my walks. I can rant out loud (Look, it's the crazy lady!) and then type it out when I get home. Even better - I can get voice recognition software and it can type for me! *L* Does that stuff work yet?

So what would I have ranted about had I ranted here? Belinda Stronach (go girl go! Defect! Defect!), confidence votes (I got up early to watch it live, holding my breath while Chuck Cadman and the speaker voted, I'm not kidding. I really don't want to have to vote again. Elections. *shudder*), the Alberta nuts who write into the Edmonton Sun (a right-wing paper) about wanting to separate (one more time, NUTS. Where the hell are these people? I don't know any. Stupid idijits anyway, sure sure we have money now, what happens when oil prices tank again or the damn oil runs out hmmm???), Ontario being the first province to make the reporting of gunshot wounds mandatory (who knew it wasn't mandatory? I assumed it was here just like in the United States - too much Law and Order for me again), the canceling of Joan of Arcadia. Ohhhh, I would have ranted about that!! I even wrote CBS to complain. And today, as part of the http://www.savejoanofarcadia.com campaign I emailed a bunch of other networks trying to get them to pick it up. I have little hope, but other shows have been saved before. Buffy got bought by a different network! Of course, I always failed to mention I'm Canadian and that I don't count in their viewing statistics anyway.

And in other news - I had a fabulous long weekend that involved much going out and spending of money. Discovered a new pub that I liked very much, had a taste of Thai, saw Star Wars (two thumbs up), and just had a really great time. Then it was back to work for a 9 night stretch. Some things suck.

My sister came to visit me and other news.

In exciting baby news - Lori had her baby on Tuesday, March 15. His name is Mason, born weighing in at 9 lbs! When I saw him the first time at 2 days old, I forgot to take my camera. Rob took a great picture of me holding him but as I don't have a scanner, you can't see it. I actually remembered to take my camera when I saw Mason again this weekend. Here is a pic of me holding him at 2 weeks old -



And in other exciting news, my sister came out to Edmonton to visit me for the Easter long weekend. Rod and I went out for fish n chips Thursday night and then drove out to the airport to pick her up. By the time we got home, it was nearly 10pm. She worked on a bit of homework (she takes business at a local Vancouver college) and I watched ER. Very exciting first night.

We both woke up quite early Friday and headed off to the giant mall for some intense shopping. That night, Rod, my old roommate Heather, my friend Steve, my sister and I had a little mini pub crawl down Whyte Ave. A little BP's for pool, a little of the Thirsty Turtle (which I really like and think we should have just stayed there) and a little Blues on Whyte (normally I love this place, but I just wasn't in the right mood). My sister, who never ever drinks, discovered she likes Pineapple Malibus and Alabama Slammers - two of my favourite drinks. We also discovered a great shot, but now I can't remember the name of it! That's what happens when you have 5 drinks at the first bar and you only go drinking once a year.

Saturday, we were both in surprisingly good shape and we headed off to our appointments at a local spa, mine for a haircut and hers for a back massage. We then got free facials and makeup done at the place where I buy my makeup. The free part suckers you into trying the new product line - I bought a new shimmer lipstick and a new shimmer eye shadow. They are shimmery! We continued the shopping mission.... Saturday night, we were both just beat. She had to work on homework again (this week all her final projects are due) and I vegged on the couch.

Sunday, we decided on a matinee and went to see Robots. Good, but not great. Excellent considering it was free - I had movie passes. We then shopped at the only store that was open in the downtown mall, the Bay. I was quite surprised by their selection of plus sized clothes and will have to return. After, we went back to Whyte Ave for a walk in the almost spring weather and had supper at one of my favourite sushi restaurants. That night I enjoyed editing a business report on the benefits and marketing of stevia.

Monday, we went to visit Lori for the traditional opening presents and blowing out candles as it was her birthday on Sunday. I baked her a cake Monday morning which if you know me, is some serious effort. I don't bake. Thanks to the miracle of Duncan Hines, I usually get something resembling a cake out of it when I actually do attempt it. We probably only stayed an hour when Mason got hungry, so we took off for the airport. We dropped my sister off and picked up Fancy''s sister in exchange :)

I had a lot of fun with my sister. It was only her third time out here in 10 years and she needs to come more often, although I can't afford it when she does. I bought: a new pair of dress shoes suitable for work (closed heel, closed toe), a red blouse, a white blouse, a mauve (it's not pink damnit!) blouse, a green tshirt, a white tshirt, a green and white jacket, a white sweater (only $8.09 at the Bay!), lipstick, eye shadow, and a haircut. Plus too much booze and eating out. My sister also bought a ton of clothes but I can't remember what, other than new shoes and at least 2 pairs of pants. I also gave her some clothes. We are currently the same size and so I cleaned out my wardrobe and gave her some of the things I don't wear anymore. She took at least one pair of jeans from me.

A couple of pics





My old roommate, my sister and Rod on our little mini pubcrawl



In every pic, my eyes are closed. I may have been drunk - me, my sis, my old roomie.

Willow

I just talked to my sister. She told me my "back home" kitty died. Her name was Willow and she would have been 15 this year. Apparently, animal control people were going door to door looking for the owners of a white cat and my dad went to identify her. A coyote got her.

My parents promised my sister she could have a cat as soon as we moved back to Canada as a bribe to keep her happy when we lived in New Zealand. She didn't adjust well to the changes and the promise of a kitten kept her going. We moved back near the end of the summer and I don't even think it had been a week before she demanded her kitty. Luckily, my uncle's cat had a litter of kittens ready to go. She picked out a pure white one and had me name her on the drive home. My favourite movie at the time was Willow.

My mom had no desire to have a cat again and made AJ promise to do all the work. At first, Willow slept in my sister's room, but slowly grew to love my mom the best. She always had to be where my mom was if she was available. Even after she developed arthritis in her back legs, she would still climb up and down the stairs to go sit with my mom. Willow slept right between my parents in the center of the bed and would wake up my dad every morning so she could go outside. When my mom got up, she would be waiting at the patio door by the kitchen to be fed. And then when the next person got up, she would desperately try to convince you that no one had fed her. She would put on this whole starving kitty act, begging you to save her from imminent death. We eventually had to leave the empty can of cat food on the counter so you would know that someone had already fed her. Didn't work well though - she was very very fat.

Whenever I went home for a visit, I would lean down to pet her, knowing I'd get one bite for my troubles. Only one. It was like she was tasting me - Yep, you're family, it's ok.

And now a pic:



I believe this was taken Christmas 2003. The blue stocking is hers - I made it in grade 8 sewing with some leftover fabric. I laugh whenever I see it because the sewing is so bad and instead of saying Willow, it only has WIL left on it.