pikipimp

I subscribed to Poplar Photography for this year and read about this website on the most recent copy. You can "pimp" up your photos and have a little fun. Maybe not as much fun as the M&M creation - but pretty darn close and this was easier and less time consuming.

march 31

so Andy left for Kelowna this morning - it was terrible - we were both pretty upset and I've been a wreck all day - the boys are doing pretty good right now but I don't think they realize what has happened - Kyle has been asking all day about Kelowna and school... we did some shopping this morning nothing overly grand and then played most of the afternoon away - and went for a walk this evening - and, I will admit that I'm feeling nervous about walking around near my house with the recent drive by - yes, Quesnel had a driveby shooting - it wasn't random - they were targeted but it is unnerving and it all happened near my house... it makes me anxious - but I'm not going to be trapped in my house because of the stupid people

Andy should be in Kelowna by now - still haven't had another phone call - I've called his cell twice and get the - out of range crap... must be patient - I'm sure he's just being kind and thinks that I didn't get the kids to bed - meantime they've been down for 15 minutes.... alright - I'm going to go find something to do... I've got a pretty cool blanket on the go that should be quite amazing if I ever complete it.

Congrats to my sister on the move - I look forward to post about your new digs :)

more offers

Another offer for another job.... what to do what to do - this one is better... better money - less to do... less invested time and energy.... also offered another contract work - less money - more to do... funny how contracts are like that

we will see

What else did I want to say - not sure - just wanted to post tonight and say hello! :) I have renewed interest in my scrapbooking - aunti jenni delivered my christmas presents today and gave me some cool ikea jars for knick knacks and assorted thing-uma-doodles - I've been reorganizing the whole scrapbook department as the past system was not working - ARG! She also got the boys some cute clothes. The boys were quite happy to spend some time with Jenni and Derrel - never long enough :)

Andy leaves in two short days and that is not putting me in a good mood. I can't believe he is going to be gone for six months - boooooo! But cheer up right ;)

my desk guardian

as promised

Here are me and the boys at Andy's hockey game.

Here is Andy - black, centre man taking the face off.


Peanut butter +


cheese (cheddar) +


banana =


Kyle Sandwich


Still looking for fruit and veg records - here is my first find for 2007 - a 3 inch wide strawberry - yes I have little hands and I've joined the Loucks club :) - Post your fruit and veg records and receive points

let's all ride vegetables

Andy had a hockey tournament over the weekend, so me and the boys went and watched the second half of one game - the other team was a true team and Andy was on the - everyone else who didn't have a team - team... it was pretty clear the other team had plays and strategy.... in any case Kyle had a grand time (I'll post pictures later this week) - the game was mostly at the other end of the ice and Kyle wanted to be like the other crazy kids and run on the bleachers - when he looks at me and says "mom, where is the zucchini?" this coming from a kid that hates vegetables and says matatoe and momato just to egg us on... I'm like "what?" the zucchini mom, where is it - and then it dawns on me - right - the zucchini comes at the end of the game - darn ice cleaning zucchinis... :)

I can't recall if I've posted this before but Kyle has an odd taste in sandwich combinations right now too - his favorite sandwich is... peanut butter, banana and .... cheese - I'm not kidding - he loves it - and because I think he may be the first of his kind I'm officially declaring it the Kyle sandwich - unless someone else posts and says they love it too - in which case - please expect comments like - EEEWWWWWWWW! and BLAH! and How can you eat that?

News - well since most of Quesnel is blabbing about it now - I'm working on getting a film here. I've been working with the City and Wells (www.wellsbc.com) on assisting a film crew in working in the area for a little while. Things were quick to happen last week and now it has calmed down... with any luck we will have the film crew here in three weeks - of course the rumors were/are madness and I had one business put up a highway sign welcoming the unconfirmed crew... but it's fun and it has been a good couple of days. Jen - is this the life of film crews - busy busy, quick in and out times short schedules, or am I just too new to the whole film scene and should have different expectations...

Andy leaves on Saturday and then the real madness will begin in my life - kids start full time daycare next week - short week though - we are heading down to see him before the long weekend starts and meeting Paula in Penticton over the weekend. HOORAY! small vacation! hooray! hooray! good night my lovies :)

oh and sarah - happy belated birthday - i completely forgot until I checked your blog tonight and realized that I was way past the ides of march - hope you had a good one!

pictures

Here are me and the kids in Kelowna. This is also me with my shorter hair cut. I liked it two weeks ago and now it's at a funny length so I keep putting it up in the afternoon - ok - really it is more than I get sick of batting it out of my way and by 3pm it is so DAMN staticky that I'm go bonkers!


I'm contributing this photo for Kyle. He took this picture and I love it. It says so much about Michael and his personality. 14 months - CRAZY!


And finally a photo from the 'what's this file'? Any guesses?

music trivia

Alright so I was looking at BNL's website tonight (hey Connie thanks for introducing me to them in the first place... thank god you got me off of the jo-ho tapes and other general crap I was listening to) and Steve wrote... "like a death row pardon two minutes to late..." oh - ok - so it took me writing it down to remember who that is... points for guessing the right artist(s)????

pay it forward

From a previous post by Jen
"Something you once did, if I remember correctly, and don't know if you still do, so I thought I'd ask.

There was the "pay it forward" craze a few years back. People would do nice deeds in the hopes of making the world a better place, etc. I'm not a "big gesture" person, but figured I was doing my part by doing the little things constantly. You know, letting people go first, holding a door, that sort of thing. (The rare times I don't, I feel sooooo guilty for not.)

So, I hold the door going into Starbucks one morning a little while ago for a woman coming from the bank. She's in line before me, but I'm not in a rush. She buys my beverage for me, and then says that it was her day to do something nice for someone, and because I was nice and held the door open for her, it was me. Now all I had to do was do something nice for someone else.

Am I confused about this methodology because it didn't make sense, or am I just a confuzzled person?

Just thought you might be the one to ask. It's been bugging me for months now. :) "

I do believe in pay it forward, and I'm a door opener for sure. In fact, I've been known to hold it open too long. I was also confused by the situation you noted - I would say that you had paid it forward because you initiated the good deed. I don't think that good deeds have to mean you must pay for something or use cash to do something good.

This whole pay it forward thing makes me think of Stephen Covey and the 8th habit. The whole idea of the book is to live your best life and encourage others to do the same. He suggests that each day you think about these four things - (my edited version)
1) Live like you had a heart attack (this one I'm not sure about - I think we should live like we want our children to live... something like that might be better)
2) Believe that your profession will end in two years - prepare for it - which I think means he wants you to work better - not work like you want to screw over everyone you work with.. as much as some of us might like to....
3) (my favorite and hardest one to practice) assume that everything you say about someone else is being over heard by them - speak accordingly
4) Believe that you meet with your creator every four months - live accordingly - this one is hard for me because I'm not overly into God and holy stuff. I'm reading one of the dali lama's books right now - but everytime I read it - well I get worked up about something - he is all about kindness should be given to everyone - even your foes and I start thinking about my foes and then I have to put the book down.... so I'm working on it.

(Hi Gary & Yoshie - in case you are reading here... thanks for the chat tonight)

Do others pay it forward? Are you kind without question?

On another note I'm also reading Allison Dubois - the medium - anyone else read this? What do you think.... and now I will share this - this happened before I started reading this book - I was sitting with Michael - getting him dressed for the day - he was saying hi, hi, hi and then he looked over my shoulder - he smiled and (for the first time that I saw) put his hand to his mouth and proceeded to blow a kiss. He was definitely NOT looking at me or blowing it to me and when I asked him to blow me a kiss he looked at me like I was chopped liver. I immediately thought Andy was behind me but when I checked we were alone. Now I know this is going to sound stupid but I used to blow kisses to my grandma from the car all the time. Our routine when I was a kid was to say goodbye a million times and then 'see you later alligator, in a while crocodile' and then blow kisses from the car... now it could all just be coincidence and just off that he decided to blow his first kiss to the wall/door frame but when it happened it made me think of her and made me kind of hope that what I'm reading now might be true. Her book also creeps me out because... well who is watching you during those intimate moments - or those not so pleasant moments in life... do they watch then? is this all crap and we all just go into the ground and that is all there... I can't believe it - I need there to be more.... alright - I've ranted - I'm off to bed - thank you jen and sorry for my delayed response.

home

So we broke the return trip home up - took the Kelowna, Vernon, Falkland, Westwold, Monte Lake, Monte Creek way to Kamloops and spent a night. That is a terrible road! It is about 60km less than the Merritt to Kelowna way but it took the same amount of time! WHAT THE HELL! So I'm not going that way again. I was actually a little disappointed with all the cities - Vernon has some beautiful murals, but that was about it. Kelowna is like Langley stretch about 10km and Kamloops... well we were quite unimpressed. It seemed to have the most visible homeless and is super unorganized - it was like the planners couldn't decide whether the valley or the mountain top was better so they decided to build everywhere.

I know, I know - Quesnel is stretched out all over the place, but there is just something different here... (I know - it's the air.. ha ha ha ha)

So we found Andy a basement suite fully furnished all inclusive - other than food and internet. He will have an amazing view of Okanagan Lake and after just two days in Kelowna we sounded like locals - 'yep, we are in the village - oh yeah Rutland - not great - it's like surrey' There were Quesnel people there and Prince George people - it was like we didn't really leave... which was odd... we saw a guy I've seen working at costco in prince george since I went there for university.

Kids - well Kyle is nearly himself again and Michael is definitely better. Michael slept the whole way home today which was great. I stopped in Cache Creek to gas up and get some slurpage - and then we carried on and got home in time for dinner. My grandma gave us a gift certificate to Savalas for Christmas and we used that tonight - and it was actually good. Why actually? Well I just didn't know what to expect - the management changed a while ago and - you never know - and well before the management change it wasn't great. So we did some grocery shopping tonight and now we are all adjusting to the time change - again - WHAT THE HELL! Can't us Canadians do anything on our own - are we really going to save energy - that's it I'm going to leave all my lights on while I sleep tonight just to protest... ok I won't - I want to save the planet too... damn Al Gore :)

sick kids

Michael was sick on Sunday and then has carried whatever flu it is around all week. Kyle was fine.. was... on Wednesday morning he woke up at 5:30 and said he was hot and not feeling good. He was still feeling up to watching a cartoon though so I told him I was going to go and lay in my bed, but he could come and get me if he felt sick. Sure enough I put my head on my pillow and I heard him get up. Then I witnessed him make a run to the garbage can to throw up - I told him to come to the bathroom and there I found out I have an iron stomach as he threw up everywhere.

After he was cleaned up and sitting down I assessed the damage - now remember I just did my carpets. He started throwing up in the living room and then continued to throw up to the garbage - about 20 feet between two places - he then turned back for the bathroom and throw up all over the toilet. It was like Ruggles all over again... ok it wasn't that bad...definitely missing 1997 (ok it was far worse than ruggles - but not as bad as that night in res when carmen thought it might be time to take me to the hospital for alcohol poisoning - lord) anyhow... I did the trademark April toilet paper stuff up my nose and got cleaning. I used so much bleach on the toilet that my rag changed colors. He continued this throw up routine all day. Not all over my house - after he understood the toilet was the place to go he completely got it - this is the first time he's had the flu.. I feel terrible for him - I slept on the floor beside him last night - the stuff they don't tell you about being a mom. Of course I wouldn't have it any other way :) You know you love someone when.

Right now he has been throw up free for 14 hours... I'm hoping it lasts. He is only doing fluids at this point... and did I mention we need to drive to Kelowna today.

Oh and here is a question - why are there soo many different ways to get to Kelowna - and why does no one seem to know how long it takes - I've been told that it will take us between 5 and 8 hours.... hello - I'm thinking of going through faukland, vernon and into kelowna. I haven't been in 15 years... no.. longer - but I never drove then and probably slept some of the way. I know I've driven to Kamloops in abou 4 1/2 hours. So I think I will stop at the visitor centre there and see what they suggest for routes.

I need to finish packing - I'll let you know how the drive goes and I will hopefully have some pictures.

FOUR

Taken from me sista's site

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. A & W Line Cook
2. Project Manager
3. Advisor
4. Office pee-on

Four Movies I like:
1. Last Holiday
2. Muppet Treasure Island (yes, they made a treasure island movie...)
3. White Chicks
4. Love actually

Four places that I've lived:
1. Houston
2. Prince Rupert
3. Quesnel
4. Prince George

Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. Hell's Kitchen
2. The Amazing Race
3. Global News... (I'm boring - I've accepted it)
4. Ace of Cakes

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Victoria
2. Penticton
3. Queen Charlotte Island
4. Bermuda

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Strawberries
2. Dried apricots
3. Macaroni and cheese from Granville's
4. Andy's moms beefy noodly goodness... not sure of name - just in case that wasn't obvious enough

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. 1998
2. Fall of 1997
3. At Paula's house - sitting on the deck enjoying some nice tea or alcohol...
4. A beach with the family

spunky cats

Alright - I will warn you now that this post is a little repulsive and deals with animal sex...

A few posts ago I noted that we were having cat pee issues and bought a carpet cleaner to solve the problem and be prepared for future incidents. It was a good investment, my living room carpets are proof of that.

Last night at 3am I was sleeping. I kept hearing a cat and I thought it was mine because they were sitting in the room. I told them to buzz off, but then the crying got louder. I tried with all my strength to just lay in bed and ignore it, but I finally caved and went to see what the heck was going on.

Well a lot was going. It was get busy time outside my window. Two cats were screaming their love for the world to here and they chose my window to be the spot where they would make the most of their noise.

My windows are still plastic-ed in to keep out the cold, but Michael's window wasn't. So I went in his room and started making hissing noises - LOUDLY! very very loudly! My hiss wasn't loud enough as they continued on their merry humping way. So I pulled out a big hiss and that apparently freed their hips and they pranced off, fully puffed and continuing to share the sounds of their love with the neighbourhood. It was at this second that I could smell their love and realized that these damned cats love session was the smell that we'd thought was cat pee in our bedroom. FREAKIN' FABULOUS!

So here is what I'm looking for now - how do we keep cats away from our house - short of killing them. Any suggestions? I'm open to all ideas.

I hope everyone has a great afternoon. I'm off to make some chili.

away

So the boys are in Kitimat visiting family and friends and I'm home... cleaning. I couldn't get the time off work, as I'm trying to save days for going to Kelowna throughout the summer (Andy is going there is a few short weeks...) and thought it would be best to stay now and take time next weekend.

What does this mean? Well I have the house to myself and I'm cleaning. I steam cleaned the living room over two nights because the furniture had to stay in the room, and I've cleaned nearly everything in kitchen. I still need to do the fridge and couple of dishes, but other than that it is looking... F-I-N-E! The boys bedrooms are nearly clean and our room is clean. The basement still needs some assistance but I've got tonight and all day tomorrow. I spent the morning cleaning and then headed out to help a friend with some moving of boxes. At the time I was all "this is no problem - it's a great cardio work out!" and now I'm like... holy crow my arms are sore and my legs are wobbly... I also recycled today - HOORAY! (Yes, I have officially joined the totally lame club.)

On the 'me' front, I had a pedicure this afternoon with a deaf staff member. It was kind of odd... the other thing was she was new to the whole practice. My heels were brutal - one has cracked REALLY BAD - and I went in to cancel, but the girl at the front said "you'll be fine, I would get it done because of the crack" - sure - so the new girl didn't really know she could press harder and really get that dead stuff off so the other girl had to help... outside of that she did a great job - (Paula - better than vancouver with you and Wendy... WAY BETTER!) she doesn't speak and I know a little sign... so I apologized for my terrible heels - I guess when I go for that I expect to have a chat with a stranger about all my shit and I didn't get that... it was a double bench so I was sitting with - as it turned out - a past summer student, so it wasn't bad, as I could talk with her and her esthetician...(is that right...???) I felt like the third wheel though. So I sat there and just enjoyed the minty air and enya :)

I've been to the library twice in two days and got all the books I never get to even look at when I take the boys - that has probably been the best part of the weekend. I went over my lunch break yesterday and browsed - and then today I went to pick up a couple more. Anyone know how to quilt? I'm left handed and retarded (for a lack of a better word) and really get lost in patterns and instructions - I will admit my faults. I'm looking for where to go for quilting help and how to get started. The library had nothing for beginners and I'm starting to think that quilting is an exclusive club and I haven't been invited yet. (Like I need more to do... I've just always wanted to learn and I have scrap fabric from pants and other projects.) Please don't put my comments -april just google quilting for beginners - I want something specific that has worked for someone else... :)

Well I'm going to go and read. I hope you are having an equally enjoyable weekend!