where'd I go...

Hello my dear friends and family! My apologies for the departure from the blog... I am back and have lots to share...

Into the recipes tonight... tonight is orange ginger chicken, broccoli stir fry... I'm actually just cooking because the chicken was out and needed to be cooked - I'm planning to have sushi in a few hours... hooray! I would love to be having one of these though...


Dinner looks like this...



Ok - and then a few more pictures.. this is when I got home from my last road trip and brought a couple of treats... hooray for quatchi! I love him!


And this is me - right now - watching the opening ceremonies for the 2010 games! And I'm sure I'll have plenty of comments after I finish watching...


.... as we watch the games...

"Mom - we live there right... Columbia..."
"Sorry, we live in British Columbia"
"Oh, that's confusing."

Immediately followed by...

"Quesnel - look Mom - Quesnel has a team...."
"Um, sorry - that's actually Cypress..."

And then...

"Mom, if God made everything, who made God...."
"That is an excellent question...." *silence*

And then...

"Mom, how long is this going to take, where is the torch?"

Good times :)

______

Post game notes....
1. Wow - I can't believe that the hydraulics didn't work - a shame....
2. I loved that Wayne Gretsky was sweating as he carried the torch up the stairs and out of BC Place
3. I think the torch resembles the inukshuk and for that reason was a little bit 'meh' about the whole thing... I'm sure it will look great in person though...
4. I loved KD Lang's performance - that was freakin' great!
5. I'm so GLAD-HAPPY-HOORAY that Rick Hansen was part of the final torch bearer stuff... that was the best!

One complaint... well...ok... so what was up with the tourism BC advertising - BOOOOOO - wow - I wonder who the creative genius was behind that... way to take the EXACT same commercial from California and re-use that idea in BC... what it did was confuse me and make me think about California - it was sooo much alike that if I only caught a second or two of it I would have assumed it was California... so boooo for lack of creativity and copycat-itis...

dinner

Tonight was chili night... no recipe.. just cooking...
I don't really like hot chili so this is very mild - wanna mix it - be my guest :)

1 onion
1 stalk of celery
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Heat olive oil in large skillet (frying pan) once heated added chopped/diced celery and onion. Let veggies get transparent.
Add herbs/spices.
Then add thawed hamburger (lean beef or extra lean). Brown meat and mix with veggies.
Then pour in the following:
1 big can of diced tomatoes
1 can of corn
1 can of kidney beans
1 can beans in tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste

Then just let that all get nice and cozy together - let all these ingredients love each other.. let there be a big gigantic love fest in your kitchen... after about 20-30 minutes of the love fest - enjoy - tonight we served it with bread and some cheddar cheese... well.. that's how the guys ate it. Kyle really likes chili right now - so he ate a pile. Michael - not a chance - he picked out the kidney beans and corn... and then still complained.

Love to you my friends, my family - hugs and kisses too!

too early

Well good morning, Monday. Michael decided to get up extra early and on a day that we could have slept in as it is a Pro D day here. Yesterday was a day of baking and the start of our third week with planned meals... which I gotta say is pretty helpful... make all the decisions on Sunday rather than trying to make decisions all week after working all day. On the baking front we made those yummy apple muffins again because they were sooo great, plus we made monster cookies - so there are a million of those again.

The weekend included some snow - so that is great news - finally - got some snow. Of course I won't get to benefit from it as I'll be away this weekend. I'm hoping to get some more skiing in... with any luck we will get piles more of the white stuff. I've stopped looking at the forecast though because it hasn't been right in more than a month.

On the camera front I took, just shy of, 500 photos at the torch relay and took some snowflake pictures this weekend. My new lens should be here today or tomorrow - and then look out... so long as it works... I'm keeping my fingers crossed and trying to not get too excited about it, just in case it doesn't work.

Well on that fine note, I guess I will go and get dressed. I've done everything else I can possibly do to get ready for the day... or I could go back to bed... ha... alright... have a great day, everyone! A big hug and smooch to start your day!

hee hee, ha ha

Me - "I might go to a wine and cheese tonight."

Kyle - "Hawaiian cheese?"

Me - "Yes, hawaiian cheese..." (sarcasm given but not noted)

Kyle - "What's in Hawaiian cheese?"

Me - "Pineapple." (not that I had a clue...)

Kyle "Oh..."

And because I had to find out, there is a recipe for a hawaiian cheese ball - made with cream cheese, seasoned salt, onion, bell pepper, pecans (for coating) and you guessed it - pineapple....

a laugh

Tonight I'm giving Michael a bath and he starts gabbing about his swimming lessons.

"Mom, we played in the little pool and then we went in the cold water pool. It is cold. I had to put my face down in it."
Then he shows me what he did, but he's got a little smerk on his face. So I ask...
"What... did you pee in the pool?" I chuckle.
"Mom, I didn't pee in the cold pool.... but I did pee in the warm one."
And then he busts a gut laughing - and instead of saying - you shouldn't do that I laugh so hard that I snort.

Oh man, he is so funny. And yes, we will review not peeing in the pool - 'cause yes I know that that is nasty... but as if he is the only one...

groceries, blood and rock & roll

Ah, things that can happen in 30 seconds...

Everyone is in the car, buckled up and I go to return the cart after grocery shopping...
I get back to the car and slide in - literally because my hip is killing me... and I hear Kyle melting down. I look at him and he is covered in blood. His hand is to his face and his hand is cupped and full of blood. There is blood all over his face, hands, jacket -it is terrible. Now all I did was take 20 steps to return the cart, turn around, and come back 20 steps. Now my first thought is that he is having another bleeding nose because he had one yesterday at swimming. Sadly the guilt is dripping off Michael.

What happened?

"Mom, Michael took my pokemon book from me and then he punched me in the face."
First thought - no way did Michael punch you in the face - no way - he doesn't have that much power in his wrist to do that kind of damage.

Luckily I happen to have kleenex today - so we start to mop up - he is still bleeding a lot so I give him the tissue and get going home.

15 minutes later...

Kyle is washed up, cleaned, nose bulging.
"What happened?"
"Mom, I told you. Michael took my book away and then he punched me in the face."
"Ok, I'm going to ask Michael what happened and see if he tells me the same thing."

Facial drop noted...

"Okay (drawn out). Michael had the pokemon book and I stoled it from him and then he punch me in the face."

Ah.....

Enter the - why do you need to lie to me speech....

Then.... it is time to talk to Michael

"Michael, what happened?"
"Mom, I was looking at the pokemon book and Kyle grabbed it from me. So I punched him in the nose."
(Followed by him showing me how he punched him.)

I actually can't believe that a punch from Michael caused so much blood to pour out of Kyle. I mean it was ALOT of blood. I'm a bleeder - always have been - so I've seen piles of it from all the nose bleeds I've had in 33 years.... but this - in such a short period of time was shocking.

So good times... what will the afternoon bring... maybe I should just go back to bed...

return

I made it back from beautiful Lillooet. I was in the mood for a run and did a great loop that takes you through their downtown, over an old footbridge, along the highway and then back up Station Hill and to the hotel... I had it in my head that it wasn't that far.. turns out it was 9km... it was good though... here's where I realized I was going on a run that was longer than I'd thought.... I'd already been at it for 40 minutes when I got to this sign...



Friday was hectic, and I took a day off from running and then Saturday my knee kind of gave out... after some advil though I just wanted to get going again... so I did a 4km up to the rec centre to meet the guys after swimming. It was minus seven and I still went - I think there is something wrong with me... I've never really enjoyed running/walking - I mean I enjoyed it but I wasn't like - holy - I need to go... or *gulp* I want to go... pardon? This morning my knee is sore and now my hip is whining... but I still want to go for a run - it is sick... getting to run outside in Lillooet was great - it was so beautiful and quiet.

Anyhow - me and the guys are going to pick our menu for the week and get going with our day. I need to go and get soy so I can have some coffee....

away

So I'm in Lillooet again - regional meeting in the morning/afternoon - and at 2:45 I woke up... I'm freezing, this is because I can't sleep with the heater on because it is sooo loud, but then I couldn't sleep because some work stuff is bugging me... really really bugging me because I couldn't get back to sleep... I've managed to nearly finish what was bugging me, but all the same I'm not sleepy now... arg!

And since I'm up and can't sleep I thought I better write about it on here. Not a very exciting post... I'm surprised by the whole thing because something from work hasn't never bugged me so much to wake me up and then keep me up... alright - well I'm going to try again to make my eyes close for a few more hours... meetings start in just 3.5 hours and it would be nice to get 2 more hours at least...

arg... no luck with the sleeping... now it is nearly 4... blah... blah, blah, blah

more food posting

So here is tonight's dinner... tomorrow night won't be as exciting - likely subway... as I'm back on the road for a few days.


So first the guys helped me pick recipes for the week.. this is Michael helping out :)
We borrowed a Nigella cookbook from the library and tried a couple of recipes.... so for tonight we tried out "Goujons of Sole with Dill Mayonnaise" or fancy fish sticks with yummy sauce... we were going to make potato wedges with chili too but I ran out of time tonight for both... so instead we made something from Kyle's Disney cookbook - simple recipe was some cheese fish crackers, a table spoon of spaghetti sauce and some mozza cheese - toss lightly - then put in microwave for 20-30 seconds and then eat... easy... and they like it :)


Ok - so to make the fish all we did was follow the easy instructions in Nigella's book - that included about 1/2 cup of cornmeal, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs.. so as you can see you have three stations - you take the fish through each station to coat it....


Then coated pieces go into a hot frying pan and cook for about 2 minutes (ish) per side... I ended up going a little longer 'cause I'm a freak about cooked fish for the guys...


And here they are all finished and ready for eating and.... if you can believe it - both of the guys liked it - Kyle even ate the dill mayo - which I gotta say is not very nutritious - but it was flavourful (1/2 cup mayo, chopped fresh dill (2 tbsp ish), salt and pepper and a tsp of lime...)

and because we did other stuff today...

Kyle with a pretty new to the world sheep (lamb).... very cute... (and check out mr.cool with his sunglasses on...)


Michael and 'flower' the sheep... yes, this is a male sheep and I also hope that my sister had a good laugh at this - see other people name their animals 'flower' too...


And here is that cute little lamb, Nathaniel is his 4-H name

We had a great time visiting the farm. The guys got to feed the sheep, pick up eggs and feed horses. It was awesome!

thai food

Tonight was my first attempt at Thai Food. I'm not about super spicy food, but I do enjoy it sometimes. I made lettuce chicken wraps and Coconut Curry Thai Chicken.


The recipe for the Coconut Curry Thai Chicken came from Food Network - here... We made some significant adjustments though.... as I pre-read the recipe and then read the feedback... thankfully :) So what did we do...

First we put on some rice...

1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon Thai curry paste
1 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
(Mix all of this together and then let it sit and wait the next part is ready for use....)

Olive oil (tbsp)
1 shallot, chopped
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, fat removed, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cup thinly sliced red peppers
1 cup scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Cook the shallot first in the olive oil. Medium heat, for about 5-10 minutes so it becomes transparent and yummy.
Then add the red pepper, then go and cut up your chicken and add it in.
Once the chicken is browned and cooked add the peanut butter
Then once the peanut butter has cooked everything add the sauce you made earlier
This simmers and all the yummy flavours join forces.

Now your rice should be ready to go - put some rice on a plate
Then add the yummy Coconut Curry Thai Chicken on top
Then add the scallions and/or cilantro to the top of everything - if you like it..

Now for me this had heat, but wasn't super hot... had we followed the recipe on food network - no one would have eaten it - as it was both of the kids found it too hot - but they aren't use to spicy food...



So then I made the lettuce chicken wraps.
This is pretty simple and is super yummy.

You need a head of lettuce. Run the lettuce under cold water and then let the lettuce soak in cold water while you prepare everything else... this will make the lettuce crisp when you are ready to eat.

For the filling...
1 tbsp oil (vegetable or olive)
1 package of ground chicken breast
1 tbsp of ginger
1 carrot grated
1 cup of shredded cabbage (fine)
1/2 cup of peas
1 cup of baby shrimp
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 cup peanuts

Cook the chicken
Then add everything else to the pan and cook...

Once it is all cooked then - woo hoo - it is time to eat!
So a couple of tablespoons goes in the lettuce - wrap it up and eat.. yum yum yum!

I also made apple muffins and they turned out wicked awesome too!

hello

good morning!
I am so glad to have coffee back in my life!
I bought some coffee I'm not in love with right now but I'm going to finish it before moving onto something better.
Any suggestions for a coffee that is mild/medium and available at a grocery store... or is that one of my mistakes... buying it from the grocery store.

today is also a day to celebrate Paula - it is her special day today! Happy Birthday, lover!

Alright we have a jam-packed day ahead... so I'm sure I'll be back on here tonight to share about our day... it might even include some lambs....

saturday

Today Michael went skating for the first time. It was a skating birthday party. We didn't stay the whole time, but the guys both got to skate and have cake. Busy day with skating, swimming, library time, shopping and some cleaning...

Alright, so am I the only person that liked Wall-E... I mean it isn't the best Disney movie, but I think it is a pretty good story and idea - or is this like how I like Fantasia and most of the rest of the planet thinks it is - meh...

700

Does it make me a total dork that I like the new A&W commercial where they talk in the helium voices... that stuff just cracks me up :)

What else? Well not much - I'm swamped at work and just trying to catch up. The paddles are out and I'm just givin'er...

I hope everyone had a great week - I'm sure each of you are looking just as forward to some days off as I am :)
hugs, smooches and buckets of love - happy friday! AMEN!

fantastic

I got a birthday present today - hooray - my fabulous sister (THANK YOU!) in Calgary sent me a package that included a word wall stencil, which will go up tomorrow and a new wallet from espe. If you haven't already you should definitely check them out... www.espe.ca They have retailers all over the place - there is one outlet in Quesnel (Richbar Cottage Baskets & Gifts) and then I've seen them at Granville Island in the Lower Mainland...


This is a photo of one of their products. I've had a wallet for about 3 months and love it... and now I have another larger wallet - hooray!

My sister has also challenged me to take apart a crochet pattern and make it easy for others to use... so with that in mind I'll be showing how to make a pair of slippers over the next few days. I managed to finish 3/4 of one slipper in about an hour and half tonight - so I'll begin the photography of the project with the second slipper. And... I will try to ensure that it makes sense for all those weird right handed people :)

I love you!
I love you!
I love you!
Say it three times tomorrow - minimum... there is no maximum...

book mooch

I don't know if any of you have heard of this before, but there is a great place online to swap books. You set up an account with bookmooch.com and then you get points to get books. It is an interesting little system. It is free in the sense that you pay nothing for the books - but you have to be willing to share your books and pay for shipping to whoever it is that wants your books (so there is the "hidden" cost). So you only get books when you send books... sounds complicated but they've explained it really well on their site.

From their site...
In order to mooch books from others, you need to earn points which you use up as you get free books from other people.
You earn points when you:

Type books in: enter books you own and want to give away. Each book typed in gets you 1/10th of a point.
Give books away: respond to a mooch request, and send your book to them. 1 point awarded, 3 points if sent to another country.
Acknowledge Receipt: after you receive a book, leave feedback for the sender and earn 1/10th of a point.
You use up points when:
Mooching Books: each book you receive costs you 1 point, 2 points if it was postal mailed from another country.
Charities: you can give your points to worthwhile charities we work with.

Some additional facts:
2:1 ratio: you have to send out at least 1 book for every 2 you receive. If you don't keep this ratio up, you won't be able to mooch any books, even if you have the points, until you improve your ratio. Sending internationally counts as 3 books.
Feedback score: if your feedback score is bad, people may refuse your mooch requests. Efficient response and well-packaged books in good condition earn good feedback points.
Lost in the mail: if a book is "lost in the mail" the sender gets their point anyway, and the receiver doesn't lose a point. You're allowed a limited number of "books lost in the mail" in order for us to limit possible fraud.

the bruise

Here is my beautiful bruise - four days old...

If you need a good magazine to read - I really enjoyed Chatelaine this month (well I guess it is for February)- they have an article with the author of Eat Pray Love on her new book - Committed and then there is a really good excerpt from "The Heart Does Break" by Jill Frayne. The excerpt made me cry and was very well written. Beautifully crafted. They also have a page on scoring free stuff...

how to prepare cucumber for sushi

First, you need a cucumber - shockingly. Peel the cucumber skin off.


Then you pretend like the cucumber has layers and you peel it - slowly widdling your way down to the seed part.


So then you end up with "peeled" pieces - I've ended up with both long strips and short ones (short ones are where I was impatience is didn't take enough time to "peel" the cucumber.


Then you slice the peeled cucumber pieces into little strips. Little strips are inserted into your sushi.

Now, wait a sec there April.... yes...
What do you do with the seed part - that middle core...

That my friends, you eat... while you hum yourself a little Henry the Eighth I am

Now if you say "ew" - eat the seed part - ggggrrroooosssss....
First I have to ask - why are you making cucumber strips for your sushi if you don't like cucumber
and second... you caaaannn just throw it out to.... but I insist on the humming... while you throw it away

ms piggy

I love that Miss Piggy is apart of Disney's commercial. She is so amazing! I love her!!!


I can't say that I remember her looking like this though... maybe this was her big-girl night out... oddly enough if you google miss piggy you'll find that this is not the only off photo of miss piggy... plus there is are lots of other stuff on the muppets that I'm just going to say... it simply can't be true...

The end of our day turned into cooking time. We baked lots of monster cookies, plus a yummy roast that took three hours (an hour longer than I'd expected) but I had a back up plan and made some dry-ish garlic pork bites and then a bunch of other stuff.... and now I'm going to crochet and hang out... hugs and kisses and great thoughts for the week ahead...

more skiing

Super yummy pancakes!


Kyle trying out x country skiing for the first time. We were told to go without poles - so we tried that for a while and then gave the poles a whirl for a little while, just because Kyle really wanted to try them.



The guys hammin' it up for the camera.


The Cariboo Ski Touring Club had a pancake breakfast this morning. They also had free lesson and free skis to borrow and try your hand at skiing. I wanted both of the guys to try but they didn't have small enough ones for Michael. We had a good time, just the same. Very slick conditions out there today so we stayed for about an hour and then headed home.

today - wow....

I will start with the absolute fact that I had a great morning.


I went skiing for the first time this season and probably didn't pick the best first day out. The weather warmed up considerably today and it was slick... plus I haven't skied on a groomed course in years and I pretty much (I did) forget how to go down hill. I actually did the sideways shuffle down a few hills because I was terrified of falling. I fell a tonne of times, but about half way through I bit it and landed on the edge of my ski and did this...



And here is how it looks tonight...


I knew it was bad because as soon as I stood up it was stinging... but I carried on... trying to continue to feel great because I really was enjoying my time. I had to concentrate on being out there skiing and nothing could plague me. I couldn't think about work or anything else and that was a great feeling.

Tomorrow there is a free ski and pancake breakfast at Hallis Lake, so I'm thinking of taking the guys out to it. They can try out some skis and see what it is like. That assumes that I'm able to walk tomorrow... ha.

what the heck.... a few more photos

Well I've had a nice apple martini and I'm enjoying some popcorn - so what the heck... here are few more photos... just for kicks :)

Star Wars Battle...

some pictures for friday night

This is a chunky squirrel that has taken up residence at my parents house in Nazko. This squirrel is a bird hater. He has picked a fight with all the neighbourhood birds by figuring out how to block access to the feeder. Now the birds are forced to go to a different feeder and he gets everything at his feeder. SMART!

eat pray love

I finished Eat Pray Love last night and I highly recommend people read it. It was definitely worth the read. I think it was the perfect thing to read for me right now. There was a section in the book that dragged for me and I stopped reading it for a while but then I knew I wanted to know how it ended and it was definitely worth it. (Link to Chapters is noted - click on the book title - they've got it for $10 - definitely worth it - I'm sharing it around the office right now.)

Michael is back to normal (pretty much) and the guys get to go on a date tomorrow night with their aunty. Bowling and birthday present picking... what fun... so what will I do? Excellent question... excellent... I don't really know... it may include coolers and a drum kit...

On the stupid front... well my beautiful Aunti Jenni will get a laugh out of this. When we completed the half marathon this summer I'd told her that I run kind of funny and when I say kind of I actually mean I do run funny. Not like Febe, but I tend to run to my left and then my right - so I weave while I run. Tonight I was singing along to Nickelback and was just slowing down from my run when I started going left. Now I managed to recover and didn't actually hit my head, but I definitely tweaked my back and calf... stupid... stupid... I've run and biked in a weave my whole life. I remember when I was a kid my parents trying (desperately) to correct my biking weave, but there was no helping it... nothing made me go straight. I've straightened out over the years, but running I totally weave... so there you go - another story for the stupid pages in April's life :)

All my love to you - hugs and kisses - and please send some muscle relaxants and love in my direction :) Sweet dreams!

the throw up train

Man do I hate throw up! HATE IT!

Michael is WAY better tonight. 100 times better. He was full of great things to say tonight... he didn't eat all day - pretty much - and then asked for a special dinner at a specific restaurant (Bliss in Quesnel)... not McDonald's or A&W he wants a local restaurant - and he doesn't really want the food (well he wanted their fries and gravy) - he wants to know if we can go and sit on the patio... sadly no... minus 24 - not tonight my love :)

Then he asks for a bath - sure... and he is playing in the tub and says "Mom, don't wash my hair tonight, if you do it will make me sick." So I oblige for tonight - what the heck...

What was also funny today was at dinner time Kyle suddenly noticed that Michael is still wearing pajamas and he just gets bent out of shape over it. "He was wearing those this morning and is wearing them tonight too." And then makes a face. Gotta love them!

Happy Wednesday everyone... thank goodness the week is half done! Now off to rock it out...

yuk

After being unable to workout - or rather - get motivated to workout I got to jammin' on guitar hero world tour - definitely harder than what I've been playing - but it is fun and challenging stuff... so I got through about five songs (one gig and the start of the next) and then let the flood gates open... Michael starts to cry about a nightmare... ok... so he gets back to sleep and then about two minutes later we are into full on throw up mode. Now what I don't understand is how I can somehow manage to witness intense throwing up and tolerate the smells and be all - hey man - I love you... and then clean up throw up that didn't make it where it was supposed to go... and now we are sitting here watching cartoons and trying to recuperate from the throw up madness.. he is on round three four too many to count... for throwing up and I don't get the sense that we've seen the last of this tonight... fun... good times...

World Juniors

Tonight was spent watching the world juniors - sadly our team didn't take home the gold... but we've got so much gold to look forward to in February that I'm not that sad... the boys did a great job!

What I really enjoyed was watching the game with twitter on and reading all the back and forth and cheering - it added to the game - made me feel like I was part of it... lame... maybe... but as previously noted - I will happily accept being lame.

And now... time for biggest loser and another run...

...... and later that same night.....

First we re-arranged all of the gym equipment and the cable hasn't been set up in that room - so I start running anyway and then my nano dies... frakin' heck... so I come upstairs and I hear this....

MOM

(remember in home alone when Macauley Kalkin shouts MOM... just like that)

So I go his room and he is lit up like a christmas tree - I can see his teeth in the light - and he is smiling! Smiling hard...

Mom - I saw electricity in my bed....


LOL

four

Today our little man turned four... this is a big step since he was actually never three. Michael decided to never actually say that he was three... he was just two for two years... he was fine with announcing that he was four today and had a good time at daycare sharing cupcakes with his friends and then having dinner and presents with us tonight. Now the guys are organizing the new lego Star Wars set that he got and working on building it.

I'll load some photos tonight - once I get free of the kitchen cleaning...

And here he is... four years old and blowing out a candle... I have this same scene for each of his birthdays.. I can't believe how big he is getting...



Now the big deal tonight was going to be picking out a movie to watch and then it turned into an all important lego building night... and so we did this...

snuggie sex

Need a laugh...

Visit Snuggie Sex

What did today hold? Well it had sleep - extra sleep for me and now I wonder how I'm going to go to work tomorrow. I actually took time off and now I don't want to go back... this year I definitely want to spend more time taking photographs and really move towards doing that as a part time gig and move away from the nine to five...

We played rock band tonight too and it was great! Michael on guitar, Kyle on drums and me on the mike... I was bit uncomfortable singing, but they both know that I love to sing so we jammed it out. It was loads of fun!

And now to do some wii fit.. :) smooches to you and best wishes for a great day tomorrow!

today

Today is palindrome day....

01022010

(you can read it forwards and backwards and it is the same)

We went to Nazko - survived the drive - they got six inches of snow last night - so the roads weren't great... but it was good. The guys got some fresh air time, and time to play with the dogs. Other than that - just a lazy day - we hung out and now I'm going to continue this theme and likely head to bed after a nice bath.

Good night my loves! Hugs all around!

what would this place be without photos...

So back a few years ago (about eight) I taught a sushi course. I haven't made piles of sushi and I totally am not an expert but I can make sushi and I like to because you can make so many different kinds - and it is way more affordable. In an effort to get Kyle interested in sushi I invited him to pick what went into all of the rolls. Then I also had him help out with making tempura squid... so he totally helped pick up the squid - it was wicked!



Here is Kyle holding up a squid...


Here is all the sushi we made. We made bbq salmon with shrimp, bbq salmon with cream cheese and shrimp, avocado and shrimp and crab and lobster, and then a bunch of the other combinations of those ingredients. What is funny is that he made me make the rolls without seaweed which aren't that easy to make and then he didn't want them - actually liked the seaweed... ha...

Happy 2010

Welcome 2010!

When I was a kid I remember reading about how we'd be on the moon this year.. like living there... too funny.

My new year's eve was filled with.. you guessed it... more rock band. I'm now playing hard/expert for drums (which I freakin' love) and medium for guitar... I, seriously, can't get enough of it. I played for hours again last night.

Today we spent a good part of the day reorganizing the basement - time to move stuff out and more stuff around and clean... so that was good. It was largely a quiet day though. Tomorrow we are driving to Nazko to visit grandma and grandpa and put in time sledding and snowmobiling... so that should be fun...

I'm hoping to post photos later - need to download a bunch of photos to share :)

Resolution front - skipping that this year - I have some personal goals for health and wellness and for life in general and more wine :) - but I've opted to not have resolutions - they never last.

rock band

Well I can't believe it - but I love rock band and guitar hero. I'm struggling with the guitar but I'm way better than when I started and I love playing the drums! LOVE IT! I got bored of the beginner songs in the beatles early on and am now working on the challenging songs - what a great, amazing, fantastic invention! Problems... well between this and the wii fit I don't think I'll be doing anything else with my evenings... oh well.... :)

Yes - it is a video game and I can't believe I'm on here gabbing about it. I'm such a nerd!

Have others been doing this for ages - am at the end of a trend? If you are amazing at it - share your tips... :)

Ok - I need to calm down...

And a final point - yes, swinging your hips and tapping your feet does help... it does... seriously!

oh - what did I do today...

Well we got a GPS for Christmas - that's right a GPS for our big town... so I got up the courage ('cause I knew it cost so much) to ask for an exchange. Today I went back with my mom to the store and picked out something awesome - we got rock band, and the beatles disc and hold for it... the aerosmith one too!!!!!! HOOOOOORRRRRRAAAAAYYYYY!

So now I'm going to get some wine and get singing - yippee!

Happy first day of being 33... yiipppeeeee!
WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!

birthday

First, thank you, Jen, for the birthday wishes. Thank you also to Paula for sending me the fabulous calendar! I love you guys!

Tonight I've gotten good and partially drunk! Hooray. And... I watched dirty dancing - so things couldn't be better.
Why am I extra pleased? I'm extra pleased because my 32nd year has come to an end. It was one of my toughest yet, and there were points throughout the year that challenged me in ways that I never imagined... but I survived... and here I am at the start of my 33rd year. Here's is to a fantastic year ahead, full of excellent things - love, laughter, happiness, and good wine!

Cheers my friends! Cheers all around!

MY LOVE TO YOU!

because I knew you'd appreciate this...

The cold that I have is working on leaving... hooray - but my brain must still be dealing with the side effects of being ill... the cold has dried my upper lip and lips so I've been applying lots of gloss/chap stick. In a moment of brainless I was about one inch from applying deodorant to my face - awesome.... I thought everyone might get a good laugh about that this morning :) Even I laughed... mostly I laughed because I didn't actually apply it - phew - disaster averted... now off to have some coffee...

Best wishes for a great day...

what will help a cold...

That's right - it is time for cooking with ape...


Here is your fearless (ha) cook. This is a moment after me testing the soup and realizing that I'd actually done an okay job.. hooray!

So what did I do tonight... well this came about as a result of a heap of turkey being left over from dinner.

First warmed olive oil in big pot. Then added chopped up onion (1), celery (4 stalks chopped up - not minced - bigger pieces), a cup of mini carrots chopped up (bite size pieces or a bit smaller), a heaping table spoon of garlic (minced) and then all that went into the olive oil on low/med heat.

Then after the onions went transparent I added about 2 cups of chopped up cabbage. I didn't mix the cabbage in - I just let it sit on top. After about 5 minutes I stirred it together. I also added two packages of chicken bouillon (those pouches in the yellow box). Then I chopped up the left over turkey (2 cups-ish). Then I started adding boiled water (I had my little tea kettle going on the side for this). Over the next 10 minutes I added 18 cups of water that was pre-boiled. I also added another four pouches of the chicken bouillon. Once this was all together and I added two potatoes (cut into bite size pieces). Once the potatoes were in I've let it sit to get all flavourful - letting all the yummy flavours dance together. I'm letting them dance for about 45 minutes before I serve it. The potato will be cooked and everything will be yummy.

And here is something you shouldn't do...

The wooden spoon does not add any flavour to the soup... so it should be removed promptly.. :)

So that soup totally tastes better after it has sat for a while - here I am hours later and it is WAY better... so the tip here is patience. Patience in life, patience in soup making

hanging out...

i must be sick

Today I spoke my mind. It was wild.

First stop... I took the guys with me to Wal-Mart to return some duplicate gifts. We waited patiently and went in at the right time, had we been 2 minutes later we would have waited a long long time. As it was, stuff wouldn't scan but they took care of it for us. The problem was that the longer I waited, the more I felt blah... over heating, tired, worn out... but I had one more mission to under take. I had a question I wanted answered about my cell phone.

So someone is helping me, but is new and doesn't know the answer. She gets another person who immediately beaks off. I was advised that even though I'm listed on the account, I'm not the primary person for the account and can't do anything. Now if she'd said this with a smile I would have probably just said fine. Sadly, she was a total bitch about it. I actually couldn't believe it. I mean I wasn't robbing them, and I wasn't being rude. If I was being a jerk then fair enough - be a jerk right back... but I wasn't - I'm standing there sick and tired. So after she beaks off at me I just simply say - well you don't have to be snotty about it - and I turn and leave, actually saying the first thing that came into my head... usually I think of something after and then twist all day about it - thinking - gees I totally should have said X... I walked out of the store thinking she was going to chase me down and shout at me and/or curse at me but that was it... she didn't...

Now we are safely home, had some lunch and just hanging... Michael wanted to watch a movie, so we will tackle that next...

day three

This morning I woke up and thought the cold must be in retreat... departing for a better location. My nose wasn't dripping all over the place and I took that as a sign that things were on the mend. I walked to the bathroom and then quickly realize this cold is nowhere near leaving. I blow my nose and I start bleeding all over the place - great - now I'm a bleeder on the best of days so this doesn't surprise me, but it sucks. Then after it stops I blow my nose again and now I've got air going out my eye... like a stream of air is going out as I blow - what the hell is that... my body is re-routing air ways... not happy.

So it turns out that now rather than my sinus being choked full of all the snot in the free world it has gone back into my throat. Not only does it hurt to swallow it hurts to just breathe air because the passing of air by my tonsil-ish area is torture.

Through all of this I'm happy though - I'm the only one suffering. The guys are just stuck with me not wanting to do much - but really as long as we can play some games or play on the wii or watch some movies they are content. It is still minus a billion here so outside isn't an option anyway.

... later that day....

So we ended up (in true April style) making an agenda for the day..... I know... WTH... but we did... and this appealed to Kyle because this is what his day at school usually looks like. So we made a big list of to do's for the agenda and now we are getting through the list. I thought I was really getting sick about an hour ago but it turns out the heat was just set super high. I went and turned it down because I was going out on the deck to cool off (note that it is minus a billion outside so this is CRAZY) - thinking that I was getting fevers - I actually peeled off most of my clothes and then figured out what was up - I'm still half clothed but whatever.

And what else... well I've enjoyed coffee at the house for a couple of days in a row. Hooray for coffee - and so far I'm not having issues with coffee - no heart burn, no extra pain, no other side effects... you know what is giving me heart burn lately is some wine... there are certain kinds of wine that totally bring on heart burn... what is that... wine is supposed to be a friend :) Anyways - back to the agenda...

a cold

For those who have called the house today, you will know that I'm sick. I sound like there is an extra large sized frog sitting in my throat... plus I'm sneezing A LOT and have the runniest nose I've had in ages... one box of tissue paper was smoked through today... crazy!

All that said whatever this is it is pretty much in my sinus only. I've got some ear pain, but nothing major and my throat doesn't hurt anymore... so I'm hoping this cold moves on.. I've got some time before I return to work and it would sure be nice to have a few days off where I wasn't feelin' crappy... plus I want to get back on the wii fit and don't have the wind to do anything right now.

I finished 'five people you meet in heaven" and I got say it was only okay. 2.7 out of 5. This is another great example of a book that starts well and finishes light. The chapters were big at the beginning of the book and tiny at the end. There were a couple of really good chapters, but I kind of feel like the book could have been another 50 pages longer. I've read far worse, and this book is a good example of breaking a reading rule. I recently heard that if a book is going to be good you'll know by page 22 - which means you'll also know if it isn't going to be good by then too... in this case I'd say if the book had carried on as good as it was at page 22 I'd be telling you that you must read this book... I'm finding this to be the same for eat, pray, love - you see I got through the first two sections of the book and really really liked the book - then I started the love part of the book and I've been less than interested in finishing it... I'm trying to though, want to move on to the next one...

2 hours later... and now my face is burning... gees - my lip feels like it is on fire... arg! Stupid runny nose... stupid, stupid, stupid.

LOL

Today is boxing day.

"Mom, what is boxing day?"

"Well today we get to go shopping and if people get in our way we are allowed to punch them."

See... I am a good parent.

what?

Today was good, today was fun, tomorrow will be a better one.

So what does that say.. well to be honest, it was a very laid back kind of day. There was no rush to open gifts - it was very casual. My parents made it for lunch - we had lunch... my brother made it for dinner - we had dinner... opened some gifts and enjoyed each others company. I remembered that giving hugs was better than wearing my grinch costume... it was good.

What was bad... well there had to be some nuggets to share from today... and there were - there nearly wasn't... but one showed up at dinner. First, I'll point out that my mom started swearing. Now I know she's a big girl and likely swears more than I do - well maybe not that much - but she curses... and I've seen that grow over the years... but today, my dad actually made a face once when she cursed. She said both ass and shit in front of the guys and frickin' - which I don't mind as much - but I really don't want them to say it so I don't say it very often... (ok I really try not to... ) Then at dinner Michael was being fussy. It wasn't chicken and fries... turkey - WHAT? Plus I don't think he is feeling that well... but we managed to talk him into eating a few peas. My sister in law and my mom started to tell him to eat a carrot. My sister in law says something smart about carrots and rabbits eye sight and then my brilliant mom says - yes, you want to eat your carrots cause then you'll be able to see at night. So when the monsters come into your room you'll be able to turn on your eyes and scare them away.... WHAT! My mouth dropped open and I couldn't blink - did that just come out of your mouth and my (nearly) four year old just heard that... WHAT! At this point I changed the topic by saying he didn't have to eat carrots, just the peas... and please stop talking - just put some food in your mouth and stop talking.

And now... well everyone is gone. I've got the fireplace going, the guys are watching a movie and then we'll be heading to bed - or they will in about 20 minutes and then I'll be enjoying a glass of wine by the fireplace... what is important for me today is that I actually felt like I had the day off. Yes I checked my blackberry - twice... but I didn't check it incessantly... and I didn't feel like I needed to be thinking about work - I just thought about being with family and had a good day. amazing ;) I hope others had a great day and if you are lucky enough to have a few more days off I hope you'll enjoy them with your family and friends. Our love to you - my friends and family... hugs and kisses and cheers to a pleasantly finished day. xxoo

dec 25

Well after two visits on Christmas eve and some serious clean up we appear to be ready for christmas day. The guys were pretty excited. I said I saw Santa when we were driving tonight - it was a blow up christmas light one - and Michael nearly jumped out of his seat... WHERE, WHERE, WHERE....

Kyle is questioning all of the Santa stuff, seems to believe in Santa, but not... I don't know. The song that comes to my head is the Age of not believing.. I believe that's from bedknobs and broomsticks... I've always struggled with the santa stuff...

What else? Not much tonight. I had a big to do list today, and didn't really get anything accomplished. Oh well. We had fun today - I took the guys to the alvin and chipmunk movie - the second one - the guys really enjoyed it... I mean really really... it was ok - I didn't really pay close attention. This was my first trip to the theatre in ages and I've never taken the guys alone.

Turkey will be celebrated at my house tomorrow night, along with some yams, potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce... mmmmm cranberry sauce - LOVE IT! I hope everyone has a great day - free of stress - full of love - and I hope that love fills you up and it stays with you every day...

wrapping, tomatoes, blahs

I let the boys help wrap presents tonight - I was thinking I wouldn't because then the cat will be out of the bag when it comes to opening the gifts - Michael likes to share what is inside before it is opened.. but what the heck - Christmas isn't supposed to be about gifts - it is supposed to be about loving our family and friends.... so they helped and it was fun... they had a great time.

I accidentally left a container of grape tomatoes in the car over night - well it is minus a billion here and they froze - well tonight I found them and then promptly dropped them all over the place. Now why is this anything to be interested in - well my musical side got a little excited about this because they made the nicest sound when they fell - so when I went back out to pick them up - I tossed them a little bit just to hear the sound again. Alright - so I'm queen of the lame... that shouldn't be news to any of my readers.

Blah... well that's just how it is... I'm taking vitamin D again to help things out because that has helped me in the past - and since the sun sets at about 3:30 and it is just getting up when I roll into work at 9 - the days are just TOO short... and I'm hoping vitamin D will do the trick. What would I like to do tonight - I would like to have a pineapple blizzard and some chocolate - can I have either - hell no - why... cause I'm still pretty much dairy free.... but I would totally love to binge (might be part of the short day stuff too.... ) but even that isn't possible because eating too much makes my side hurt.. ARG! So here I am - bitchin' and whining... yes, I'm sure that is just what you wanted pre-Christmas... alright - before I get worse I'll go
I love you - my friends, my family - I hope your day is better than mine and that tomorrow will be filled with smiles for us all.

Singin' Loud and Proud for Quesnel

Here is a youtube video of a community competition Quesnel is competing in right now... you can help us win $100,000 for a sports facility by voting for us.... www.gamestown2010.ca
Video....


Ok and one more video - if you feel like you need something to do.... A very cool video about the universe - this takes a few minutes but is worth the watch - or at least I liked it....

cookies

14 dozen cookies
woohoo

the tooth fairy

I've been bugging Kyle about his newest wiggly tooth - it was definitely dead and gross and since he pulled the first one out I've been asking him to get on with the second one. Last night at dinner I bugged him because he was having pain when he ate and then (shockingly) he pulled it out.

He wanted to trap the toothfairy and asked me to put some special food for fairies in the bag with the tooth. Then he could show his own personal fairy to everyone in the morning, the following happened:

"Mom, you won't believe it."
I'm thinking... You got another couple of bucks for a tooth - awesome
I say "What, babe..."
"Mom,...." disgruntled voice...
"Mom, she ate the whole bag."

This stops me in my tracks.
"What do you mean she ate the bag?"
"Mom, the bag isn't there, so she must have eaten the whole thing."
That's right friends - Kyle's toothfairy doesn't keep teeth somewhere... she eats them.

So I try not to laugh.

"Why don't you take a second look?"
"Mom, it isn't there. She ate it. I checked."

Fast forward to tonight....
"Mom, the bag is here - I guess she didn't eat it after all. Can you put the money in my piggy bank?"

Ah, small joys.

life without cell

So I turned my cell phone off on Friday night and didn't turn it back on again until late Saturday night - it then received about 70 emails and a bunch of other stuff... I did the same today - I'm tired and need a vacation. I have a couple of days this week and then - done... vacation time.... my body is in desperate need of a break - plus my mind is tending to wonder right now and worry... worry about all the stuff that happened this time last year and I have to keep re-assuring myself that I'm fine. I think with the addition of wine - I should be significantly better this year. I went to reiki this week and I know I'm off because my mind wouldn't settle... just keep going from idea to idea... she noted that I was like a dark cloud when I came in and left with a turquoise glow... sounds good to me - it did help!

Today was my annual diva lunch - and it was a fantastic treat again. I spend a few hours with some great friends I've met through work - this is our fourth year doing it. I got this beautiful picture frame that bends and rotates - it is pretty cool - I also got some yummy shortbread (my favorite kind), and then a raft of other stuff... spoiled - as usual :) It was a beautiful day though. We spent the afternoon shopping - but then at about 2:30 a headache that appeared yesterday rolled back in and has pretty much stayed at my side since. It isn't a regular headache - it is more on the surface of my head... like it hurts to touch my scalp in one spot, and then just aches.. oh and on top of that (listen to me whining..) my earring hole is infected - freakin' hurts - I took my earrings out while we were shopping today and it started bleeding - gross - it was terrible.. so ear infection plus all this stupid head pain - I'm pretty sure that is all connected to my jaw and that it is just making a statement right now... so I'm bulked up on tylenol - which is really keeping it away tonight and plan to go to bed early.

Reading: I've started reading the five people you'll meet in heaven - I'm enjoying it so far... easy language and enjoyable so far. This is from the author that wrote tuesdays with morrie - which I know nothing about... so this is all new for me... I think I'll probably read his other books though now.

tonight

Need something to do?
Visit Starbucks
http://starbucksloveproject.com/#/main/ - they did this great "All you need is love" video thing - with people singing from all over the world - it is great!

Need something else to do?
Well I made butter tarts tonight - now I kind of made too much filler - just didn't have enough shells... but that's ok
Usually I follow my mom's recipe - every year - every year... and for some reason (and after a glass of wine) I decided it was time to look at another recipe....

So here is the recipe I followed tonight... just in case you have a glass of wine and nothing to do....
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
18 unbaked tart shells

Preheat oven to 450ºF. (that's right friends... 450 degrees - freakin' hot and yes I totally thought I was going to burn the damn lot of them... and because I totally overfilled them it smelt burned-esk....)

In heavy saucepan, combine the raisins, butter, sugar, syrup and salt. Heat on a warm stove at low heat until butter is melted and the mixture is warm. Remove from heat and add vanilla and eggs. Spoon fill tart tins 2/3 full. (First note the whole blending the eggs into the warm mixture - that means you actually have to do it properly and not like me - kind of rushing and not realizing the mixture had overheated a bit... darn it... and it also says - fill 2/3 - which I also didn't listen to - I filled them right up and I actually think that wasn't such a bad idea cause then the tarts are full of raisin-y goodness...)

Do not fill the tart shells to the top with the filling or they will spill over while baking. 2/3 full should be fine. (Yes, yes - see the recipe even reminded me to take it easy and did I listen - NO - because I'm a nut... and while I'm noting nuts - I would have totally put nuts into this recipe - more filler and maybe even currants - cause I like them too...)

Bake for 10 minutes (that's right - back for 10 minutes at 450). Reduce heat to 350ºF and bake for 5 minutes or longer until pastry is golden. Do not let the pastry filling bubble. (I'd love to know how you are supposed to stop this from happening - mine bubbled they still tasted yummy... cause I totally tried one) Let butter tarts cool completely before removing from the tart tin. (This is an important note too....)

What next... well I'm finishing a glass and watching Braveheart - because I was in the mood for some scottish-ness...

and some photos...

Sushi - yum!


I judged a naughty gingerbread man competition :) - this was the winning entry. Big "O" Wedding Night (Yes... that's another gingerbread under the dress and in this scene it happens to be a female friend under the dress...)


A simple Christmas wish that did the trick for me. Smiles are extra important.



I'm one of those weird people that like the accordion - I mean I probably won't listen to hours of it - but I enjoy it... this is a shot from my last trip to Vancouver - these two olders guys seemed to be really into what they were doing. I wanted to go up and kiss them... watch out old men with accordions...


You should be able to make out a sun circle in the right hand side of this photo.


Today was a busy day. More tests, a site visit, coffee (mmmmmmmm - hooray), Christmas board party... I'm tired, but not tired... I didn't really get a great sleep last night. Tomorrow night is another event - a meet & greet event - same on Thursday night... Friday is a staff lunch... crazy week.

Favorite new product: Twisted peppermint - this product smells great! I love it! It is a 3-1 body wash, bubble bath and shampoo - now ordinarily I would have been worried about something that can be used as bubble bath and as shampoo - I thought it might be too bubbly... but it was great... and it made my head feel tingly... best product! BEST! Where is it - Bath and Body Works - right now it is $10 per bottle - and it is buy two get one free! WICKED!


Great IKEA ad... for those celebrating christmas IKEA is selling christmas trees for $20, if you do not celebrate christmas IKEA has great 5ft tree scented air fresheners for only $20... - love it! I want a 5 foot air freshener....

stupid side pain

So things aren't any better on the pain front. My ultrasound was clear - or largely clear - doctor couldn't see anything. Then he makes a face and says so that means we need to look at other stuff... so bring on the crappy stuff... now I'm getting booked for not only a ct scan, but also a surgerical consult... so that sucks.

So what's my problem? Well initially I thought I'd just pulled a muscle because when I stretched I'd feel something that just didn't feel right in my side. I kind of wrote it off, (three months of writing off) and then it started happening more often and then it turned into when I ate that area hurt. Now it hurts all the time. It is a dull ache most of the time, kind of feels like the stitch you get in your side when you run to hard to fast - with the exception that it isn't happening when I'm running.... when I eat it gets worse...

Am I ok? Yes... the doctor seemed more upset about it then me. Of course he knows that I have anxiety and I think maybe wondering if I was going to have a fit, but I haven't... and I guess I'm just thinking this is going to go away.... just as quietly as it showed up... I'm stressed out and maybe that is a big piece of it because high stress also makes it hurt... so there is the lame update... blah...

Despite all that - I send you my hugs and kisses and for some (you know who) some extra lovin' - :)

and today...

Not really a magically Monday... I took the afternoon off to see the doctor and he moved my ultrasound up to Wednesday instead of January - so that was nice... and in the very positive news I took my brother to the doctor after my appointment and turns out they had his test results - and hooray - he doesn't have MS - so that is great news. They found nothing else significant with his brain - so that is great! He still has surgery ahead of him and some questions to be answered, but they ruled up something - so that is good news.

Anyhow - I'll share some photos later - I'm going to go work out and blow off some steam.

Kisses xxoo

loblaws holiday giveaway

You can go to http://danigirl.ca/blog/ and scroll down to the Loblaws contest to win a basket of treats...
Just a little something for the holidays.

Since I'm here and sick we put the tree up. Still not into it...
So I had some rockets tonight - I guess I'm reverting to Halloween.

Night my lovelies! Here is to better insides tomorrow.

guts

I'm on hold.
I'm starting to loathe westjet.

What now?

Well I started feeling sick at about 2am - now I'm really sick. How can I type.... I don't know - how can I sit on hold for 28 minutes waiting to make a change to my flights. There is only one other option for flights right now and I need to see if that can work between throwing up. My guts just ache and I hate throwing up. I want to blame food poisoning, but I gotta say that Kyle was also throwing up tonight and I was going to write about that horrifyingly disgusting experience (maybe you don't want to know - you'll be scarred to) and now I'm sitting here trying to adjust flights with a bucket in my lap praying for a break in the throw up.

What's that... 29 minutes and I'm getting service.

Now it is the battle of not throwing up while getting stuff dealt with... fudge.

So not only am I not getting a flight, I wouldn't have gone anywhere. They told me the weather is so bad that they aren't flying to where I'm going.

And back on hold... flamin' crap - people I need to throw up! 41 minutes - I got a five minute break from the crappy music - and WestJet - PLEASE just put the radio on - if I have to stay on hold for the length of time I have to stay on hold you should at least AT LEAST have good music. This could be my cranky, throw up side talking - but WTF! FFS!

Pain... maybe this is the last hurrah of my gallbladder cause now that hurts - stupid freakin' westjet - please just let me get off the phone... going on 50 minutes.... please

58 minutes....

62 minutes....

66 minutes....

71 minutes... and finished - now to continue throwing up

cool

So these little pez dispensers are actually jump drives and pez dispensers - you'll find them with piles of other cool things over at etsy... find these great things by click here

productivity

Well I leave tomorrow - not looking forward to the 4am departure from Q-town - blah! - so I'm trying to get some stuff done... we had a christmas party to go to this morning - so the guys got to see Santa and have some treats and a present. I gotta say I'm just not into christmas this year. I have no interest in decorating the house and we are usually decorated by now. I guess we'll put up decorations the week before Christmas now... since I'm not back home until Dec 14.

This afternoon holds a few to do items... minor kitchen clean up, guys hair cuts, finish packing (I'm actually ahead on this for once...), and I need to stop by my office and turn off my computer because it is messing up my home account - arg!

I think I'm just shocked that I'm going away on this training. I can't believe I'm going to be gone for so long and that I've got three flights tomorrow to "enjoy" - two hour layover in Van - which is fine because they have good wi-fi, then about 40 minutes in Calgary and then off to Saskatoon. I just wish starbucks was open early tomorrow morning so I could load up before I go...