burnt throat

So last night I was sick - muchos sick. I don't know for certain what set me off. I know that I had a bit of a panic/anxiety thing going on at 1am. I came out to the couch to try and sleep. Then I just started getting sick. Then of course Michael decided to get up and remind me just how bad things can get. So he is crying and I'm trying to hurl,... and could I take today off... nnnooooo - meeting day for me and I couldn't skip out. Jenni - sorry I didn't call - I will try tomorrow - I didn't get home until 9:30 and then I had to get the kids to bed still...

Why am I still up? Not sure - in a state of tiredness and sick feeling... I'm not good at being sick and I hate barfing! Hate it! I told work it was food poisoning but I only ate some homemade salsa (tomatoe, avocado, onion), watermelon and egg - not in that order - the onion was strong but shouldn't have done what it did to me...

Paula - thanks for calling - I'm glad I can open my vent around you - thanks for chatting and listening.

Alright I'm going to try and sleep.

we be jammin', we be jammin

How long does jam last for?

And now some random photos...

speed mowing

I decided that I was going to mow my lawn during my lunch break. It definitely needed to be done and with the kids, I have zero time to mow it in the evenings and weekends. So I get home, run back out to get gas for the mower and then fill it up. I run it to the front yard and... nothing - the damned thing won't start. I check everything. I'm mad - I'm spending my lunch wasting my time now - ARG! So I take it to the back yard and at 12:22 I call my parents - they used it last. I'm all 'so I was hoping someone could call me back and tell me how they got the mower to work - cause I can't seem to get it to start, although by the time you get this message I will be back at work and unable to mow my lawn' ARG and then as I hang up my phone I see what I was looking for... the pump start... "push here three times to get started" - and brrrrrmmm it was off and running. Now crunched for time I speed mow - I was mowing like no one should under the hot beautiful sun... and at 12:36 I was back in my car and driving back to work - I mowed the front and back lawn (not that they are that big) in, what I'm calling, a record of 14 minutes - this includes transporting the mower from the back to the front and then back in the shed. I still had time to get changed and come back to work. AMAZING! So now I shared :-) PHEW! Now I just need to work....

Oh and still looking for tips for getting Michael to sleep through the night... HELP!

cast away

Oh how I love cast away. It is not a good movie. I know that most people don't like it, but I love it. I could watch it over and over again... and tonight I could have if I didn't have kids. Some channel has been playing it all day... in fact I caught some of the start and managed to come back for the end... I hate the ending. So now I'm going to change channels... alright - over to Ramsey. I'm trying to work on one of my contracts - and holy heck I'm struggling with it. I just need some creative juices to flow.

Landed a sitter for this week... lord - what a pain in the ass - family friend - hooray! And she's going to pick the kids up after daycare - hooray! This whole thing makes me sad though - back to the whole why did I have kids - I can't even see them in the evenings. This week I've got 7 hours after my 9-5, plus all the rest of my work load. My mom is going away to 'camp' or Waco as I'm calling it right now. I was told by my sitter that it was about homeopathy... news to me. She hasn't talked to me about it and we were out visiting yesterday.

Wildlife... went to Nazko yesterday and saw a brown bear on the way back... that's 10 points on the nature card... yee haw! We are also working on our chinese right now. I bought cd's for the car on our last trip to Kelowna, because I can't tolerate the dvd running the whole time... Kyle enjoyed the cd and even chimed in - he complains that I should only repeat after the girl and he after the boy. I screw it up all the time and he reminds me every time. We haven't learned too much... but we have picked up a couple of new things. The alzheimer's clock isn't clicking as loud now. :)

Alright I'm off to do more work and finish prep.

another facebook survey

Carmen had this on her facebook page. I thought - hey, it's friday night - why not answer a survey... lord I'm such a lame ass....

TEN YEARS AGO

How old were you? 20
Where did you go to school? UNBC
Where did you work? UNBC
Where did you live? UNBC
Where did you hang out? 209, ruggles, king
What was your hair style? long and up
Did you wear glasses? nope
Who were your best friends? lots - everybody from floor hockey
How many tattoos did you have? none
How many piercings did you have?: none
What car did you drive? Carmen's truck, Paula's car, Erin's truck
What was your worst fear? Never getting laid again
Had you driven yet? Yes
Had you been to a real party yet? um, I think that whole year was pretty much a party
Had your heart broken? Yes
Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single/Taken/Bitter/Single/Taken

FIVE YEARS AGO

How old were you? 25
Where did you go to school ? Workin'
Where did you work? Northwest Community College and then I was on EI
Where did you live? Houston (4 months) - Quesnel 8 months
Where did you hang out? No where... in my house
How was your hair style? Long and up
Did you wear glasses? no
Who were your best friends? Paula, Aunti Jenni
Who was your regular-person crush? I was in love...
How many tattoos did you have? none
How many piercings did you have?: ears
What car did you drive? Ford F150
What was your favorite band/group? Backstreet Boys
What was your worst fear? Eating (I was pregnant and sick most of the year)
Had you been to a real party yet? I hadn't been partying - those years were over
Had your heart broken? No more broken heart...
Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Taken and then married - Five magical years in June

MAY 2007

How old are you?: 30 - lord
Where do you work? Economic Development Quesnel
Where do you live? Quesnel
Where do you hang out? work, house, Wal-mart - for the air conditioning
How is your hair style? layered, shorter, down
Do you wear glasses? no
Who are your best friends? Paula, Aunti Jenni
Do you talk to your old friends? facebook has made this much easier - I did send Christmas cards to most...
How many piercings do you have? ears only
How many tattoos? yep - I've had it for a year
What kind of car do you have? Honda CRV and Ford F-150
What is your favorite band/group? JT, Timbaland
What is your biggest fear? I've got a few
Have you been arrested, if so how many times total? Sorry - I didn't join this club
Has your heart been broken?: no
Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: married

yummers

My grandma used to make the best macaroni and cheese. I could have eaten buckets of it when I was a kid. Between this and her spaghetti sauce (and of course her buns)... ok she was a great cook... I've wondered how she came up with that fantastic flavor and I never asked. I remembered her having velvetta in the house, but I tried that and it wasn't the same.

Tonight I made mac and cheese (and peas and weiners) for the boys lunch tomorrow and I didn't have the box stuff and needed to make sauce. Feeling lazy I decided to just put some cheez whiz into the noodles and hope it tasted ok... and with that decision I found her secret. She definitely used Cheez Whiz... I will admit that tonight it is not tasting as fabulous - more because I'm having terrible heart burn - but it is definitely the stuff I craved.



What else... the kids playing tonight. Michael had his first hair cut tonight and didn't bat an eye to it. The weather has been beautiful and we take full advantage of our evenings on the deck.


And just so you know... they have started growing on trees, in case you need a pair.

bite me - bite you

So here it is. I don't know how clear that is going to be, but I definitely have a bite mark there. I'm not some looney. And this isn't because I wear bare feet all the time... thank you very much - you could just as easily get bit wearing shoes - think about a spider or snake climbing into your shoe and lurking - waiting for your little toes to enter and then it would be on... isn't that how most people get bit by black widows... just thought I would clear that up :) This isn't going to change my shoe (less) wearing habits.

I'm totally slackin' today... lord. I need a coffee.

home again home again slithery slop

After an eight hour ride home - 5 hours filled of Michael's whines and cries.. lord!

We had a fairly uneventful evening, other than Michael not wanting to sleep - ARG again! My foot was bugging me though - it had been bugging me all day. When we finally got to Quesnel it was a constant bothering - like a little mosquito buzzing around your head - bzz bzzz... I didn't pay much attention to it... then after I had a shower I noticed that I had two clear bite marks on my tattoo. I was a little (alot) surprised by the finding. It was bugging me enough this morning that I decided to take my foot to the dr... better safe than sorry - I like my feet and wouldn't want to have to replace them :) I tell my doctor I've been in Kelowna and I said I think I've been biten by something. He looks at my foot and starts talking about snakes in Africa. "I've seen lots of snake bites. Most times the effect is immediate. If it was poisonous you would be sick, or having brain problems. Looks like a snake bite... didn't you know you were...." So then I'm kind of like... um - I guess I slept on the floor for a couple of nights. You'd think I would notice getting bit by a snake though. He just kind of scratches his head and looks at me like... look lady you should know you were bit- why don't you know... almost looking at me like I'm lying - like I need to lie about getting bit by a snake... so the jury is out on this one... note to Andy - don't sleep on the floor in your place...

After that I went to Safeway and see one of my grandma's old work friends outside the building. I haven't seen her in ages and say hello. She immediately asks how Grandma is. I just about had a mental breakdown over it. It really threw a big rusty smelly wrench into my day. I apologized and told her she'd passed in November. Each word tasted bad. Each word worst than the next, curdling as I said them. I explained what happened and how things went. She told me she'd seen her at Dunrovin last year and she'd said hello and she had thought she'd recognized her. It all sounded like lies - it feels longer - enough though I know it isn't. Then she said - it must be hurting the family - my eyes filled up - like they are now writing this - (I didn't cry, but was very much on the brink) and I simply said yes. She told me she'd moved to Vernon and was just up visiting. That she was glad to have run into me and at least found out. I said goodbye and wanted to throw up, wanted to run, wanted to talk with someone about her and reminise some more. So that is my day right now - I still have some work to do - so I better get to it. I guess this is all part of grief - it sucks.

gyro park

I decided to take the kids to the beach for lunch today. A nice outing, more time to unwind and the weather - while not as fabulous as yesterday, works for me because I'm not into the weather once it passes 30 degrees.

We enter the park (same place we went last night) and found people hot boxing their van in the parking lot. No big deal right - just lock up your car... sure, so I do that and make our way to a picnic table. First table we find has a crack addict sitting at the table - I try to avoid eye contact so she doesn't feel the need to follow us. We make our way to another table and find a couple eating lunch - ok - better... I unload and no sooner have we started eating that a cyclist comes through the park (kyle - mom he's riding on the grass...) the table once filled with a couple is now empty and he takes up residence. I make no judgement. He appears to just be a cyclist - no worries. We eat lunch and enjoy the breeze coming off the lake. And the first beer is opened across from us along with a cigarette. Great. So we start packing up and make our way down to the beach. Now I'm biased and watch him more carefully just in case he decides to cross my path. He is eyeing up everyone that passes by. ARG - crappy beach... so we go down to the water but now I'm nervous - I know he is watching and there are few people on the beach. I managed to control my urge to flee and we stayed for 30 minutes. Michael was starting to get ready for a nap and I decided we should get going. Of course, we walked back from the beach without shoes and we get within about 50 feet of the car and find some tard has disposed of his beer bottle on the sidewalk. ARG again!

So nothing great to report from the land of Kelowna. I guess the reason Quesnel has one of the highest crime rates is because our citizens report disturbances and don't want to tolerate the types of things I crossed path with today.

What else? Well since I'm complaining about Kelowna - does the sky ever clear here? It has been socked in with smog since we arrived - there have been clear points up here but nothing in the valley. Alright enough whining... off to spend time with Kyle while Michael is enjoying his siesta.

birds

My sister is doing the walk for MS and they are trying to fundraise... (why is MS so close to the cancer walk for life - POOR PLANNING) If you have a little or a lot she would appreciate you donating to the research at her team site

Still in Kelowna and this afternoon it actually felt like I was on vacation. Andy bought a great deck swing for $10 at a garage sale down here and me and the boys curled up in it. There was a light breeze and it was beautiful out... it was awesome. We went to the beach tonight and that was great. I did have some work stuff today but this afternoon helped me unwind... everyone now... deep sigh - AAAAHHHHHHH!

We went to farmers market and grocery shopping this morning. On the way there I get this.... 'mom, mom... there's a bird, do you see it, do you see it, do you see it,' yes kyle i see it...(still looking... where is that darn bird... - oh there...) yes, kyle i see it - 'mom do you see it, do you see it - mom it's a nose picker' I start laughing, I mean really laughing and then I catch my breathe enough to say, um do you mean wood pecker... he laughs - 'oh yeah, that's what i meant' I'm still laughing about it - and now i have something to bug him about - tonight i asked him if he saw the nose picker bird and he just goes 'oh mom' - i love him :)

Alright - back to the vacation - hooray!

vancouver

After a lengthy seven hours from Kelowna to Van (should have taken 5 max) then dropping the kids off, getting lost (kind of) and then attending my board meeting late I finally have a couple of minutes to say hello. My meetings have been good and I'm not one who is easily impressed by conferences. Today was better than most days at conferences and I managed to meet a few professionals I've never met before and sit on one great discussion and one good discussion - I also got to have sushi for lunch and dinner - HOORAY!

Now I have a nostril that will not stop running and I'm convinced it is the elevation change and that I'm just trying to adjust.

It is Mom's day on Sunday - so call your mommies and tell them how much you love them.

I'm back at the conference tomorrow - hoping for another interesting day - then a new conference on Saturday in downtown Vancouver... that one should be interesting,... not as grand but still good for new info...

Good night my hens and chicks - sleep well.

kelowna

So we made it here and are enjoying the sun and fine weather. It has been raining since we left Quesnel a couple of days ago. From Andy's computer desk I can see Okanagan Lake, a bunch of vineyards and orchards and the mountains. It is pretty awesome.

Spent the weekend with family and enjoyed aunti wendy playing ultimate (think of playing frisbee, but instead of just playing with a friend you have a team and the frisbee is more like a football in terms of getting points... very cool) and see Connie and Jen. It was nice to chat and remember the past - It was also nice to just talk with Connie, our reunion didn't really give me the time to chat - or rather I was so disappointed with most of it that I just wanted to go home and didn't really feel like chatting with people - so this was great because I really missed that with Connie.

The boys are enjoying the change of activities since we have hit a park nearly every day we've been here.

Negatives - I busted my wedding ring. I was going to bed a week ago and realized I couldn't turn my ring. My ring must have saved my finger from something pretty heavy. In any case it was pretty flat looking... when we got here Wendy looked at it and said - hey it's cracked and I'm all yeah I know and then I was like - WHAT? I didn't even notice that it was broken. So I need to go and fix my band while I'm in van...

I need to prep for a board meeting tomorrow - I hope the sun is shining or the weather is doing what you'd like it to wherever you are.