october 1... really

And another retarded flight plan... note how A to C also looks like the smart route but apparently - is not.

Indianapolis was pretty cool - I'd definitely send people here.  There were some great lessons for community revitalization that I'll be taking away from this - woohoo :)

Alright - night my loves - this daily flying thing is draining me like nothing I've ever experienced.
Love to you :)
xxoo

(Paula - I love you - thank you for your voice mail and email - I miss you so much)
(Mel - thank you for putting up with my texting at flight - I love you - you don't know how much I appreciate you putting up with my crazy behaviours)

raging panic

It is nearly 4am here and I'm sleeping - not well - but sleeping and I start having pain in my left side... (left) and it jolts me out of sleep and in two seconds my entire body goes - it is appendicitis and you are in the USA... (insert expletive) - I just sit there and try to calm down... it is ok - where are the positive mantras - why am I having a meltdown... but now I can't sleep I'm wide awake - could this be true - and so I hit google and see... and there - thankfully - it says right... and then I check my hands to make sure that it is left and not right,... but it is too late my body is full of adrenaline and now I can't return to sleep - I haven't watched tv in over two weeks - I think I will try that to get back into... try and get another couple of hours sleep... madness... stupid, freakin' anxiety..  just needed to write... this too will pass - just anxiety... just panic... and now I'm freezing...

*yes - I do actually have out of country insurance for this... but seriously... that is just something I don't want to have to use.

night - ish

tomorrow's flight plan

Sheesh - so today was a bit much - I arrived from Columbus to Atlanta Georgia - way south - and there airport is HUGE - I mean I had to take a train to get from where I landed to where I need to take off.  The Atlanta airport people were nice - one talked to me about God and blessed... in fact - that has happened twice today.   Blondes from Canada in America - watch out :)  It could be a video... but not that kind...

Anyways - then I flew back up to Cleveland and made my way into town to check out the downtown for my thesis - I was pretty disappointed and that only grew as the lights went out.  The downtown is poorly lit and the signage isn't great - they could definitely make improvements.  I understand the city has had tremendous change with the recession (a word that people try to avoid here) but it is a shame when the buildings are beautiful.  I got to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - the building is wild - the items inside... well you can't take photos - so you have to have a really good memory and they kind of missed the music that I really really like - no Metallica section, no Pearl Jam, no Sharon Lois and Bram :)

Anyways - it was a whirl-wind tour and now I can't sleep.  So I'm going to work for a bit and then crash for a few hours and then....

Here is my day tomorrow - and again - see how it would be far smarter and less environmentally damaging for me to fly from A to C but no... they have to add in B and so I'm flying to Detroit tomorrow... - shorter flights though and that is good - looking forward to visiting downtown Indianapolis.

xxoo my loves :) 

good night

on a jet plane (i hope)

So I'm back on the road again and now it is time to work on my thesis - hooray.  60 pages on community revitalization and some wrap up on another paper I'm working on right now. I fly to Cleveland today... here is how I'm getting there...

That's right - not A to C like it should - a one hour a flight - that is what I booked - nope I'm going A to B (Atlanta Georgia) and then back to C - WTF!  So needless to say I'm not happy about that - six hours versus one - ridiculous - but the US - it seems that people are just use to this ridiculousness - that it is ok to have to travel in this fashion.  So that's my day today - more tonight... xxoo love to you :)

male highway

how do you spell done

Alright - I'm tired... I can barely stay awake through sessions and it isn't from a lack of sleep, but I'm just burned out and lonely - (I know - it is a pity party just for me).  And while I'm definitely getting good ideas for my thesis (diploma program) so that is good - I have some great ideas for downtown/community revitalization - so that is all sitting in the positive court.  And yes, I'm in a major American city where you certainly wouldn't know there was a recession in this city.  I've seen a few homeless people - but very few... count them on one hand - went to a mall yesterday - a 1.5 BILLION development and it is all high end - Tiffany, Chico, Apple, etc - and it is swarming with people and they are shopping it up!  I also walked to the Ohio State Buckeye Stadium yesterday where they hosted 105,000 people at the game... not me - I just decided to walk around a bit.  What else... well here are a few photos from some of the evening stuff...

View from the nose bleeds - three rows from the wall of the building... note the Canadian flag...

Here is Little Big Town - VERY GOOD

What's this - I'm closer and on a different side of the building... how did that happen....

10 rows from the floor - this is the opening of Sugarland

There encore included Little Big Town - it was good too

$22 for this concert

Here are the Coors Light girls and boys cleaning the ice... 

And here are a few of the Pittsburg/Bluejackets game... 5-4 Pittsburg...

If you can see the flags going off in the distance of this photo - between the flag guys was the canon.

And more lame intermission activities...

This was another $10 game.. unreal!

So while this stuff is interesting and fun while you are there - it would be better with family - and I wish they were here to see some of the  stuff... to be honest - this place isn't that great and outside of the sporting features the business improvement area is run down and has only a few blocks where the surface is maintained - the mall I went to was too far from downtown and nothing to just browse and look at.  The zoo was something I was kind of interested in, but it is more than an hour away - so I'm not sure how they can call it the Columbus zoo - it is halfway to Cleveland... and now - back to class.

columbus ohio

I arrived in Columbus Ohio - the buckeye state - the buckeye is a nut... for your information.


Last night I got in and took the opportunity to go and see an NHL game - Bluejackets/Capital (I <3 the capitals) - $10 and because the Bluejackets were taking the beating of a lifetime there were good seats open - so here is the view from centre line - 18 rows up...

WICKED

Today I was talking to someone about what to do in Columbus and she said - oh well there is going to the game - and I immediately say - well I went last night - it was great and she just looks at  me... like I'm from another planet.. you see the game - was football... welcome to the USA - where football is king and the playbook is the bible... and so she told me about a game this weekend.

Hockey here is totally different - during the intermission they did this...

This is beach ball rolling with flippers for prizes... yep... and then they have cheerleaders who clean the ice - they cleaned the ice about 5 times in the 3rd period - completely unnecessary - but I guess people like that.. and then they had a canon go off when there was a goal - a real giant loud canon - I guess I'm just too use to hockey being the "game" and nothing else.

Anyways - I'm heading out to take some pictures to share what Columbus looks like - nothing like Quebec - I'm sad to not here french anymore and keep expecting people to bust out in it or for people to look at me in confusion because they don't know what I'm saying.  

What I've learned again on this trip - American's don't smile enough - they should take lessons in smiling and loosening up - let us all live happy lives... 

sick

So I've spent the last two days trying to get better. Turns out that when I don't have kids and husband around I forget to eat properly - and so I skip meals or food for the day and then get sick - awesome.... or I got a flu bug - I don't know - something...
today was the big finale to the first conference - big evening, awards today... (didn't get any) and then they show case the next conference... didn't come off as very appealing - so we will see...

What else? Well not much else - I've been busy with the sessions and trying to bone up on my french - I was in one store today and this girl starts talking to me in french and I answer her in english and she looks at me - shocked - you understood my french - I said yes, and that I just didn't speak it that well... so then she was excited that I could understand - especially being from BC - so that was nice... even at the awards show tonight I could piece my way through the awards and winning categories - it was fun... thinking... who know it could be great! :)

Alright - there is my brief update - I'm heading to Columbus tomorrow - two flights - meh - Air Canada because darned West Jet doesn't fly there... so that sucks... but I'm sure it will be fine - both flights are short...

Love to you!
xxoo ;)

photographique

oh la la la

Alright - so I'm Quebec and today was the first day where we had people talking in both French and English and holy man - I thought my head was going to explode. Someone will be speaking in French and you've got a headset on trying with all your might to concentrate on the words the translator is saying to have it make sense but the guy "calling" the conference stutters and doesn't make sense and you just can't understand what the hell is going - I've never been through anything like it - it was like torture because I just couldn't put it together.

I'm not feeling great today - not a flu, but just sick - probably from the food - it isn't the same and - holy - if you like mayo you should come and live in Quebec - they love it here - it goes on everything! literally - I haven't had one meal yet that didn't have it on something or as a side... unbelievable.. and yet there are lots of hot quebec people so maybe there is something different in their mayo.

I'll have photos later today - I forgot my cord, but am boring one from someone so I can load up.

Love to you!
xxoo

quebec - bonjour

So I've busted out bon soir, merci and the days of the week this trip... plus I can still read french so that is great - I left my hotel room at 5:40 this morning to get my first flight to Toronto - then Toronto to Quebec City and basically got here at dusk - I did go for a walk tonight just to see some of the buildings. I've been told that we will tour a bit while we are here and see old Quebec during the day - but we'll see - not a lot of time for that - between classes and conference sessions - little worried that there will be large sections of the conference in french... but we'll see - you see - I can understand slow french, but if they get going.. I have no chance.

It really is like being in another country though. Tonight we got told about the Canadian tax - not the gst like we call it - the Canadian tax - and they are getting charged 6.5% - I kind of laughed because seriously - we are charging Quebec more - no wonder they are pissed.

So it is now 2am - or 11pm BC time - so I'm struggling with the time change - but what's new about that... I guess I'll lie down and try to find some sleep - long day tomorrow - that much I know for sure :)

xxoo

stress

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for three weeks and I'm a wreck. I have so much to do that I don't know where to start. I haven't packed, I'm still working on files from the office - it is a nightmare... on top Kyle broke down over me leaving tonight. Just starting to cry and be sad - it just sucks.

So I'm kind of meandering between files and packing - that will be my next four hours now that the guys are snoring. I'm also trying to set up a scavenger hunt for the guys - so they have something to do every day - to stay connected to the house even when I'm thousands of miles away.

Alright - reporting from the Fairmont Vancouver tomorrow night - love to you!
xxoo

tea for your tub

Um... ok so I bought some tea bags for the tub... now at the time I was very impressed with the scents and thought that would be great in the tub and I could relax and enjoy... um... here is what I failed to calculate...

When I make a regular cup of tea I use a tea bag that is about 3 times bigger than the tub one. Now when I use a regular tea bag I get between 2-4 cups of tea... now in walks the bath tub tea - three times bigger... why did I think that it would scent my whole tub - that is far more than 12 cups of tea... and I know it shouldn't be colouring or flavouring the water - but I wouldn't have even known there had been a scent in the water if I hadn't unwrapped the tea bag myself...

Maybe I'm doing something wrong here.. any advise?

Ps.. We moved nearly everything in the house - less a few minor items - the guest room is pretty much set up, the living room is set up - upstairs and downstairs, the boys rooms are set up - our room has our clothes nearly put away but the room is a disaster but that is because we are going to redesign it and didn't want to set up when it will all just be moved again - I've been able to start packing and that is great... well great and not great - I'm sad about this trip - longest I've ever been away from home... it is all good and fine.. and if you post your mailing address or email it to me (aakcheng atsymbol gmail periodola com) I'll send you a postcard ;)

more xxoo - lucky you :)

east

Tuesday - that's under two days - I'm leaving for three weeks for training - wrapping up my EC D stuff - so I can graduate before the end of this year. I'm heading to Quebec City first and would love to hear some ideas on what I should definitely see and do while I'm there. I don't really have a lot of spare time - in fact - I think it is under a few daylight hours - but if there is something I should really really go and see then... I'd like to fit that in rather than just sitting in my hotel room.

Today we went four wheeling - Kyle had a blast and Michael - well he was done about an hour in - good time, good time, good time and then he was just finished and complaining - 'who thought this was a good idea, when can we go home' granted we went for two hours - and it was a lot and it poured... but it was fun and we got outside and did something together.

And then we got home... Michael is going through a box of games and holds on up and then starts screaming - wasp - wasp - he is so shocked that there was a wasp in there in the first place and then for the damn thing to have stung him - well - the wasp must have been barely clinging to life though as it just hit the floor - I can't figure out why it was even in the box... weird... so then he cried hard for about 5 minutes and then worked to get over it... fast forward two hours and he is watching a movie with kyle and enjoying the tale end of the weekend... and look at that - that loops back to the fact that I'm leaving on Tuesday morning and haven't packed anything.

Alright - back to unpacking and then on to packing for the trip.
xxoo + x

today is saturday

I still hate moving...

What else? Well school started - so Kyle is enjoying grade 3... and Michael has one more year until kindergarten - he really could have gone this year, but being the new year's baby means he has to wait.

Tomorrow - if the weather holds - we will be out four-wheeling - there is a big group going and then there is a BBQ afterward.

I leave for Quebec in a couple of days - I'll be gone for three weeks from family and that is a lot - plus I'm bent out of shape about it because I'm swamped at work right now and don't know how to just leave there on Monday afternoon. With any luck I'll have photos to share with you of cities I've never been to over the next three weeks... insane...

Alright - I'm bagged - love to you!
xxoo

u-haul

Alright - so since it is bound to come up and I can't be ashamed about it - I'm just going to come out and say it...

We moved back to town.


I HATE MOVING!

We rented a giant honkin' u-haul and basically moved most of the house back today. It was insane. Lucky for us the kids had a birthday party to go to and we got three hours to move. That meant the living room (all the heavy furniture, the bedrooms - well beds and some of the gear, a little bit of the kitchen and then various other stuff - desks, etc...

I know... you are like - um' hold the phone here ms. thing... what do you mean you moved back to town... what? why?
so here is the list of why...

1. The water burned my skin - even when we got it fixed it still wasn't great and I couldn't drink it
2. There are bears and Michael was afraid every night that a bear was going to come in the house for food (he thought he might be on the list as food)
3. The neighbours had giant dogs that roamed the neighbourhood freely and crapped all over the place
4. The drive (I know - my city dwelling friends - hold on...) 15 minutes (one way) and exceeded what some of us felt was ok (I know we are spoiled - I'm 1.2 km from work and the only reason it takes me 10 minutes is because I have to drop off kids in two different locations... )
5. The house was haunted (ok - it totally wasn't - but that sounded good)

So we are back in the house that is adjacent to the crack shack and trying to settle before school starts - stop rolling your eyes... I see that... I know - I know.. I KNOW!

I also love you! I hope you are having a wonderful evening, my legs burn from the move today - and we still have a bit to go tomorrow.. and then the joy of unpacking stuff... all with the clock ticking on my next departure - I leave for three weeks of training on Sept 14 and feel completely unprepared for it even though I've known it was coming all year.
xxoo

sleep walking

Well - odd as this is - I started sleep walking again last night. I opened my eyes this morning and actually couldn't figure out where I was. I had a blanket, but I couldn't figure it out. I knew I'd slept walked somewhere... and then I got it - I'd transported myself to Michael's room - and Michael couldn't figure out why I was there... said he hadn't called me... so I don't know when or what prompted this... but I thought I'd share... at least I didn't wake up outside... I'm always scared of that.

I'm super tired tonight. Feel like I could sleep for 12 hours... but sadly - it will be more like six... maybe seven - night my friends - more hugs to you! xxoo

nothing

I have nothing important to say or offer tonight - other than please accept this hug from me to you - because we all need more hugs. With love... :) Night night...

back in q-town

We made it home tonight - 7 hours from Langley - which is very good time for us. Stop at a few places along the way for pee breaks and snacks.. long day - I was super tired but just pushed through it all. I'm sore tonight and just looking forward to a hot-smelly shower (lol) and then back to work tomorrow.

We stopped at Horstings Farm (Cache Creek) and had sandwiches - we went last summer and it wasn't great, but tried our luck again and it was WAY better - WAYYYY... so definitely worth the stop if you are travelling north or south on 97 - far better than some fast food... you can get a great sandwich, yummy soup or chili and pie.. I passed on the pie (totally regretted it later), as I started thinking about calories and caved on getting it... blah...

Camera - well I'm just thinking about it - I'm still mad about the whole thing

Ha - just watched a commercial from BP... love the ending... we are going to be here until the oil is gone... HA - HA - that is hilarious - of course they'll be there until the oil that is usable for something else is gone, but this clean up will have negative impacts far past that date... I loved reading in a magazine recently that the reason they aren't seeing millions of gallons washing up on the shore is that there is a microbe eating it all... the ocean is a big place... who exactly is out there looking for it... I watched a special in the states on how terrible the disaster really is and how BP has screwed up numerous times in the past and that anyone watching their track record should have seen it coming... that another disaster would happen and soon... it was a pretty interesting show... I'll have to find out where it was from - as I'd like to watch the whole thing.

alright - well I'm done... must sleep - my Dad is going to be here at 6:15 to give us Max back

11' o clock

So tonight is a good night to go see Mars - it is on the right hand side of the moon - brightest thing next to the moon... would be spectacular in a dark place... I also saw a shooting star tonight.

I went to send out a -hip hip hooray - to Mr Clean's Magic Eraser... I've burned through two of them in my mom-inlaws kitchen and bought four more to finish tomorrow... they have taken off stuff I couldn't scrub off and have made the corner that is finished pretty nice... I'm going to clean the stove top tonight and then call it a day.

We've visited this house for years and every visit we talk about a cabinet in the living room - that it needed to be moved - but no one ever took it upon themselves to do it - so... I'd had enough... let's move the damn thing - it was actually less of an ordeal than I thought it would be - it weighed a tonne but we got it out of the house (down the front stairs only to find out that it was too wide.. then back up the stairs and out the back porch which is rotten in the corner and was worrying...) and then brought it back through the front door and put it in the living room downstairs. Afterwards I took the kids in the living room that was free of this 300 lb chunk of early 1980's crafted tv holder and danced... danced in the spot it used to take up - hooray!

Then it was onto cleaning again - last night I cleaned for an hour but didn't get far and then started again tonight for an hour... I could easily spend another six hours - just in the kitchen... madness... I likely won't though, as we are heading home on Sunday and tomorrow is a day of visiting Uncle Derek and Aunti Wendy.

I'm feeling pretty lowly tonight - tired... plus my throat is bugging me... blah... of course... of course I'm coming down with something... I have a 10 hour drive to look "forward" to and having throat pain is just what the doctor ordered... and speaking of doctors anyone watch the Lions play tonight - one player ran through the crowd and cut his throat on the coroplast signs on the side lines.. he didn't get it very deep - apparently just his adam's apple - but it was quite the thing... poor guy... I know - how knew that I watched or even cared about CFL...
xxoo

blog name change...

So friends - I want everyone to help me in mourning the loss of my canon... it died - it was an ugly death.

I haven't written in a few days because Andy and I have been in the states - Seattle - walking around downtown and checking things out and without photos I didn't really have much to share - sure - there have been some funny stories... but I was at a bit of a loss without my canon... boohoo... I know - suck it up... so I will... and did...


This is from downtown seattle and this guy with giant hair was given-er down the middle of the street - he looked like he was enjoying life...

We went to Pike's ... of course... they have the best piroshky - and beautiful flowers

We went to 'icon restaurant' two nights ago - I could write a blog post just about that experience... let's just say that it was NOT what I expected, my dinner sucked, Andy's didn't - and I met the new generation of dating... these two little love birds sat next to us and played games until dinner arrived - the waiter actually approached the table and said... 'dinner's ready' just like your mom would do... very fun.

Space Needle - $18 to go to the top... meh... it was ok - it didn't bug me at all to go to the top.. again without a camera you kind of hang out and just look around.. all good... all good...

View from hotel room - was able to take this with photobooth.

More about the trip and days ahead when I get back to Canada - xxoo :)

summer... what happened

Ok - so I'm not really that sad that it was cool today, but since we were going to go to the water slide... it would have been nice.. we decided not to go after some thinking-rethinking on the issue. So what did we do then? Ahhh - well we went to the eco-dairy in abbotsford - very good - those guys know how to do agri-tourism in an upscale way! Then we went to try and visit aunti paula but turns out that she was busy in training - so then we went to our back up surprise - the Abbotsford Hatchery - it is a bit run down but it is nice - and the guys loved it... then well we headed out to White Rock and walked the beach and had lunch and then made our way to Richmond.

Tonight was chinese food from T&T Supermarket and then I made a few dishes. We had cake to celebrate Derek and Wendy being pregnant - hooray - they are about 3.5 months along... hooray! More babies...

So I won't be loading photos tonight - I'm tired .. Michael woke up at 4:30am with a nose bleed - big time - first really big one - and of course he keeps trying to blow his nose and then he is half asleep - he bled for quite a while - so then we got back to sleep but it wasn't great sleep... so I'm done for today... need sleep - need a break... night

hello city

Well we made it to good old Chilliwack tonight... and it smells just like the last time I was here... awesome!
Tomorrow we are surprising the guys by going to the waterpark - which I'm less than interested in... but they'll love it - so I'm in.
The trip was super smoky - from Quesnel to 100 Mile it was less than great... and about 20 minutes into our ride...

Lights, and an officer in the middle of the road
Um - you were going 32 over in a construction zone...
Wait... class 4... that makes you a paramedic....

And then you see how the system really works - if you are part of the "team" (super heroes are us) you get forgiven on speeding... I'd love to know what else is forgivable... I gotta say I'm furious about it - do I want a ticket - no - but I would have laughed because he wasn't paying attention to the speed and was going over in a construction zone - the officer did note that those funds could be spent on me.. that's about a $400 ticket - he noted $250, but that was without excessive speeding - so we'll see how that plays out... what was also funny is that the guy comes back to the car and he asks for me by name... so now you know he has called in and someone said - hey I know that guys wife... so you should totally bring that up... and then later on we can laugh about it.

Alright - so photos and fun tomorrow night..

(Paula - I texted you back.. I don't have your new number - I'll call your cell tomorrow)

a little bit of fishing

Kyle's biggest fish to date


Here is Michael, my mom and Kyle fishing it up - Michael actually caught the first fish of the day, but it was a baby and we put it back... then Kyle got the whopper he caught about an hour later... so what else does that mean? It means that I got some wicked sun - I'm burnt, burnt, burnt... but I was wearing a hat - so at least my brains aren't fried tonight. :)
Love to you - hugs and kisses!

patients

Kyle's attention span - well it is a little lacking sometimes...

Michael - Can you stop doing that? (Kyle is pulling on a blanket they are trying to share.)
Kyle - no comment - he is watching a cartoon
Michael - Can you stop doing that? KYLE
Kyle - no comment
Michael - (starts to get pushy and then pulls on the blanket this gets Kyle's attention - he turns towards Michael)
me - Kyle, can you listen to Michael, and stop pulling on the blanket, please
Kyle - Squirrel - look squirrel...

AWESOME!

and what of today...

Tonight we went back to Punchesakut Lake - it is pretty smoky out there - not as bad as it was - but you can just see it thick it is out in the Nazko Valley...


Kyle likes to find snail shells - so he took it upon himself to find as many as possible tonight.. and then he needed a photo of it...

Then we played with this new friend...


Other highlights...

Music - Second Go - Lights -
Michael - "What is she doing, why is she painting her house like that?"

the pool

Tonight I decided to take the guys to the pool - even though I totally hate the pool. The last time I went I got sick... this time I just wanted to peel my skin off. I managed to last for a total of 45 minutes and then my skin was aching so bad that I had to call it... the guys had fun and whined about leaving and then were silent the entire way home. Within in 15 minutes they were changed, showered and into bed.. sleeping... and now I'm getting my camera gear and heading outside... helllooooo meteor shower.

Reading this and it is still Thursday night... what are you doing... go outside - see something amazing... something that will make you want more... enjoy it - love it - it is part of living in the universe, on a giant planet... let the meteor counting begin! Woohoo!

And later that very night...


Cassiopeia - beautiful!

I hate barking dogs and being lonely.

And... 10:52pm...

Really, really hate barking dogs... can't help but think something is out there when they can't stop barking and barking and barking... managed to see two really good ones and then busted out the equipment and waited - and then... of course - my battery died - just as I was thinking - I wonder how much more juice I have in this thing.. so now I wait for it to charge... it is ok - this show goes on until 4am... until the sun rises... woohoo... need coffee.... hmmmm... maybe that will be the next thing since the wine and toast wasn't working that well for me. And before I forget - Kyle begged me to wake him up to see the show - after I saw the two good ones I went in there and tried - and tried and tried and got a loud long snore... - I just wanted to record it somewhere that I did try.

bath

I miss my tub

and another creepy crawly

I actually took this more because the web was really cool. This spider is easily 1/3 of the size of the one from last week. I've been calling these potato spiders, but now that I've seen other spider websites, I'm not as sure... what do you think?

five days

Anyone who has been reading this for a few years might remember that a special time of year is coming.. it is time to hope for clear skies and a nice glass of wine and for me... my trusty camera... Aug 12 - that is the night this year for the Perseid's Meteor Shower. The moon sets at 10pm so it should be really good this year - if you have a clear view of the sky.

Sky is nice here tonight... the smoke cleared a lot today...

stupid oven smell

The oven continues to stink and so I decide it is time to read the operating manual from start to finish. Finally at the back - at the end of the troubleshooting section I find the following:

Problem:
"Burning" or "oily" odor emitting from the oven vent
(They missed the smoking part)

Possible Causes:
This is normal in a new oven and will disappear in time
(I assume that this means the headaches will also disappear)

What to do:
To speed the process, set a self clean cycle for a minimum (MINIMUM) of the three hours. See the using the self cleaning oven section.

Awesome...

So I'm hoping the banana bread that I chucked in there kills the disgusting smell and then doesn't taste like the disgusting smell...


In case you were wondering - here are some other interesting things about my new oven:
1) Never wear loose-fitting or hanging garments while using the appliance. Be careful when reaching for items stored over the range. Flammable material could be ignited if brought in contact with hot surface units or heating elements and may cause severe burns.

So I guess I need to move my hair spray and gasoline from the kitchen.

2) For your safety, never use your appliance for warming or heating the room.

(We use to do this when we were kids....)

3) Ovens can cause burns.

Usually it is me who causes burns the oven is just an innocent by standard - but I like the idea of blaming the stove.

good

It is raining.

That is all :)

sleep

Michael - Mom... mom....

Yes

Michael - I can't sleep, my tummy hurts

Ok - well come and sit with me for a few minutes

Michael - what ya watchin'

Well there is a shark show on

Michael - holy look at that (as a shark jumps out of the water)

(And then we just hang for a few minutes...)

Then this amazing shark jumps out of the ocean - look at that

Michael - snoring...

Ahhhh - back to work

boooooo

Tonight I try out the new oven and in 15 minutes I'm realizing this was a bad decision. It starts to smell funny - like plastic-y, and metally and totally gross - but I think - it is the first time I've had it on and maybe that is why... and then it starts smoking... like smoke is pouring out of the stove - through the elements through the handles and it smells worse - so I turn the damned thing off and now the house stinks - so we evacuate the house and go into town - had to anyway - needed to feed the dogs.

Frustrating for sure... so I'm wondering if this is supposed to be the case when you use an oven for the first time.

And yes, I had removed all of the plastic and cardboard before turning it on...

freakin' ew!

Michael - "Mom, come and see this spider I found."

I take my time as there are plenty of spiders out here in nature and rural BC...

Michael - "Look, look"

And then all I can do is run and get my camera because I've never seen anything like this...



This spider was the biggest, most disgusting one I've ever seen in Northern BC - with its legs extended it would be about 2 inches across - its body was like a loonie - if something like that landed on you - you'd feel it and you'd be running wondering if a monkey had jumped on you... a hairy, poky, disgusting monkey... GROSS!

Anyone know what this might be... ok outside of it being a spider...

long weekend

Alright - so three days off... hooray! Not sleeping great because my back is terrible in one spot.
I thought I'd post on my parents because I'm sure that some people may be wondering...
So there is a fire at Pelican Lake - well there is more than one - a bunch of big ones. So the fire started tracking north and then cut right back towards Nazko... it looks like the fire is about five-eight miles (last night) to their house. This is significantly closer than the fire from four years ago. Houses five miles from my parents have been evacuated so they decided to bring in the valuables and the dogs and head to the Island (Haidi Gwaii) to take my brother home and take in some fishing. A friend of theirs is watering the garden until he can't stay any longer - his place had a fire at it two days ago and this puts a fire within one mile of their home. So I'll post things as they occur - right now I'm waiting for my update on how the trip went today and if they heard anything about the house.

I'm going to go and read... I miss having a house that I can have a bath in - I bought some special bath "teas"... guess I'll save them for a road trip... night all - love, hugs and smooches!

rural life...

I've been kind of sick today. Just not feeling good. So what could make me feel better. How about a little fishing?
5 minutes and we are loaded with rods and in the car driving... and driving and then of course... gas light comes on - now I know I'm past the point of return on trying to get back to town for fuel - no way was I going to make it - I'm within about 10 minutes of Sylvia's - so we chug on... no cell service, and what's that... no wallet - AWESOME... yes - that's what happens when you just decide it is time to go fishing and get your rods and gear and not your wallet... so lucky me - I happened to have a twenty on me and so I got 20 bucks in the tank... phew and then we went back to the lake - and we fished it up for an hour. Now what does that mean? Well the boys have been practicing how to cast off the deck with weights and so they are both getting pretty good at it. So they did all the work and I stood around and took pictures, while Max decided to swim and then dig a hole to china and get completely disgustified... wet, disgusting dog... what happens in this situation.. ah well that is when he gets to go on another swim.. but not by his choice....

sleep soon

Alright - I'm going to bed, but wanted to share a few photos...


My brother bought Michael a skateboard... yes - a four year old a skateboard.... but hey - he loves it - tonight he took it on our walk to the mail box (that's right... rural life means we live 1 km from the mailbox - it is not delivered to the door)


Here is Kyle last night helping me clean up the brush in the front yard. It was during this clean up session when I lifted up some discarded carpet and find a nice big wasp nest... wicked!


And here is what happens when there are fires going and lots of smoke in the air and the sun is setting... ahhhhh - there is a cluster fire 23 km from Nazko - 11 different fires at a lake we use to fish at...

what ya doing

So you have five minutes and you want to learn something... something that may change you - go to www.thestoryofstuff.com and watch the video on bottled water. There are other videos too - I watched the bottled water one a while ago and the video actually got me to stop buying bottled water. Not that I was this massive consumer of it, but the short video just makes you think twice about buying a bottle of water.

What else? Well did you know that right now there is an assumption that every square kilometre of the ocean has 13,000 pieces of plastic in it (bottles, containers, etc) and while this assumption seems a bit (a lot) obscure and highly unknown since no one is actually tracking every square inch/km of the ocean we do have a major problem in the Pacific - there is something called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - this is an invisible mass of plastics waste that is somewhere between the size of Texas and continental US (yes, 48 states worth of plastic waste) It carries high concentrations of pelagic (means open sea) plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris. 80% is waste from the shore - from our coast line and Asia's and 20% is from ships (cruise and commodity). You can't see the 'patch' from space because it represents large pieces of plastic and plastics that are breaking down into polymers.

Did you learn something new?

vent

CNN had a comparison on their website tonight. And what could be so important that it is showcased on the front page of CNN, something about the oil spill - well that was there... how about something on bettering ourselves and our communities - I know - try and hold back your laughter... nope - they had a story about pets that look like Hitler. Yes, I'm serious.

STUPID

happy wood

and today

Adventures

Kyle has been asking to find a salamander (Mom, what does one look like? and since he hasn't seen one I feel like a bad parent for not introducing him better to nature). And I keep telling him that we will find one. Tonight I said let's go try at Bouchie Creek... and was I in for a giant surprise. We get down there and we find about a million little fresh water shrimps - and leeches... GROSS! I hate leeches - I'm all about nature and showing the kids stuff, but freakin' leeches.. ewwww! Of course, I totally let them poke around though and check things out. Max was starting to get crazy though so we decided to go into town and go to Baker Creek to see the fish.

We arrive at the house and give Max, the dumbest dog in the west, a bath. Then we went to the creek, and then we gave Max another bath. You see it was his first time in the creek and he kind of liked it. We splashed around a bit and cooled off, caught a couple of fish and released them... it was a grand ole time... then we get back to the car and I'm chasing Max and I finally catch him and am about to put him the car and as I'm opening the car door I under estimate my space because I'm holding this wet, slow dog and smoke myself as hard as I ever have right in the forehead. Black. Still standing. I must have let out some kind of weird yelp out 'cause the guys think that I've gotten stung by a bee... nope, just smoked myself in the head.

I ask Kyle to check my face, see how it looks, I'm checking for blood. No blood, just pain. So I drive us home. On the way Michael starts gabbing about the incident, telling me how he thought for sure that I was stung by a bee and then he says "mom, you are sure gonna have a chicken bump" - a chicken bump, a what? And then I put the lines together - a goose egg... lmao - holy I pulled over and had a laugh - that kid is sooo funny. So friends, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a chicken bump in the middle of my forehead tomorrow and laughs to last a life time.

fire

Well tonight the guys are all sleeping in the tent trailer (that is for sale - FYI) - we built a fire tonight and they had hot dogs and s'mores - I ate blueberries and marshmallows - mmmm toasted marshmallows... mmm - so my favorite thing. We tried to go fishing at the lake (3 minutes or less from here) to find it is disgusting and you totally definitely for sure need a boat to make use of it.

So what am I doing? Well I'm in the house, getting ready to sleep and just wanted to send out a quick hello and also send out a fire warning. I'm sitting there tonight, roasting weiners (LOL) and I can smell something. I'm sitting there thinking about, what is that smell, man, that is familiar and it doesn't smell like weiner at all. I know, says my brain, that smells like the last time you washed your jeans in cold water in the sink... then my brain comments - that's funny - why would you be smelling that right now - it is at this point that I realize my pants are on fire. That's right friends - another first in the life of April, burning pants... the fire popped and it threw a chunk of a log onto my pants, small enough that I didn't feel it land, large enough to start my pants on fire... so I only blew on it once and then remembered that fire plus oxygen equals more fire and then put it out.

Lucky for me I had a fire man sitting across from me
Kyle - 'mom, your pants are on fire'
Yes, thanks, I can both smell and feel my leg burning
Kyle - 'mom, stop, drop and roll'
Wicked - glad everything they teach them at school has a practical use

Ah, yet another priceless moment.

jasper

I can't believe how much a single hour of time change has done to me on this trip. I head home soon enough though.
Tonight I got to see baby elk dancing around and chasing each other - it was crazy. They are huge. Tonight I was also reminded of how lethal dairy is to me. I had this amazing vegetarian meal - I mean - AMAZING! - and I said no cheese - great... no problem - then she says we put a little milk in the mashed potatoes and I go - oh that will be fine - can't be that harmful - HA - I barely make it back to the hotel - I mean barely - my stomach was done and ready to kill me - it was all ugly and terrible and I'm still sick from it - four hours later.

It poured today and snowed - snowed like you wouldn't believe.

Anyway - I'm beat - and I got electrocuted tonight so my hand hurts and I need to just sleep.

(How did you electrocute yourself... ah - well I decided to force an electrical cord into an outlet upside down and didn't realize I was messing it up completely until I was getting shocked - awesome... gotta be a first for everything)

aaaaaaaaaaa

Queen of the Universe Land of Stupid

So I'm eating lunch, eating lunch, enjoying a yummy bowl of soup and it is in the first couple of bits that I remember... what is in borscht... beets, carrots, potatoes... cream... aahhhhhh - and I had a conference call in 30 minutes. Luckily I didn't consume piles of it - it was a 1/2 a cup - but a tbsp of sour cream had nearly done me in a few weeks ago so I was nervous. I definitely had problems with my stomach for the rest of that afternoon.. I just need to pay better attention to stuff. blah....

tuesday

Alright - so I've left a few details out lately... and I haven't had evening internet in a while... that's because we are moving. We are still living in Quesnel - we bought a house in Bouchie Lake (10 minutes ish out of town). The guys love it. We've seen deer every night on the way home and last night we saw a crane. We are sleeping at the new place (sans fridge/stove/microwave) and then eating at the old house at least for a week - we have new kitchen stuff coming later this week and with any luck we'll have most of the furniture moved by the end of the week and then I'm on the road again - off to Jasper for a conference.

What else.. well as my sister texted me... 'um, did you get a dog - send pictures' - well in fact, we did get a dog. I don't love him, I'm actually in full on dislike of him. He has destroyed multiple pairs of fancy shoes of mine and is on a rampage to destroy more. We agreed a long time ago that when we got a new house, we'd get a dog and so we did and so I'm learning to adapt to life with a dog. His name is (hold onto your creative seats) Max - Michael named him and has definitely fallen in love with him, he is a maltese/pomoron. Kyle wanted a lizard - I should have agreed. I'll post photos - just as soon as I take one of him - that's right - me, the photo taking fool, hasn't taken a photo of him - not one... it is that kind of hate/hate relationship. Anyway - I'll post a photo of him eventually - maybe...

Ok - so that was a brief update - I'll load photos as soon as I take a few and once I have evening internet at the new place.
Love to all of you. :)

more sleepy

I need a good nights sleep - I think I will get it tomorrow night... I'm turning on sleep cycle tonight to see how good/bad my sleep is. I have lots of photos to share, but I'm lazy tonight and not plugging in my camera... so you will have to check back tomorrow night for adventure photos. :)

On top of that I'm running out of hard drive space - 22,000 photos will do that... even to my perfect mac... but my new mac is three times bigger for space. I'm waiting for my brothers arrival to open it and get it going... I've had it a month and I haven't even taken the tape off of it... see I can be patient... occasionally

Alright my lovelies I'm done like dinner... love to you!

ps. Do not roll both your ankles - it sucks - I have bruising on both feet and one of them is actually quite sore. I know - boo hoo for me - I'm an idiot - I shouldn't have been wearing stupid flippy floppy crappy shoes in the first place... this would have largely solved my problems...

sso tired

I'm going to be quick tonight - I'm tired and still have work to do.

1. My arms are no longer itchy. hip hip hooray
2. I saw four dead deer today and a dead horse. (tragic)
3. Kyle accidentally slammed Michael's head in the car door last night... later that night Michael accidentally slammed Kyle's head in the closet door... bitter irony
4. And that is it for tonight... I'm beat...

Love to you! xxoo

tonight

So how's that itch.. not better... ok that's a lie - it is not as itchy tonight as it was this morning. I got some soop-ed up medicated itch stuff and my doctor suggested claritin - I said I'd taken it and she was like... oooohhh and that didn't help... hummmm, ok well try this goop and see if that works... I've scratched through a few spots though so the goop freakin' hurts... but it is worth getting rid of the itch.

And now... well tonight I'm doing some writing and trying to make cookies. Of course I can't just make a dozen cookies - I need to make a million cookies - I'm on batch 10 - maybe more... so there will be cookies a plenty for a while - not that anyone eats them around here but I like making them and a few friends like eating them...

And a show... well the crack shack was busted two nights ago and the cops came again tonight and busted a few more - they could sit at the end of the driveway and just wait for a month and they'd never catch them all - they just keep coming. Tonight two of the crack-tards are screamin' and yelling at each other - they probably cussed it out for 30 minutes... and now it is raining and I'm hoping that will shut them up... probably not... but it is worth hoping for... the upside... it is raining, which means there will be more puddles tomorrow! hooray!

On the scary front... I was baking the cookies and one of the area resident native guys came right up onto our deck tonight and asked if he could buy chips off of us... a number of things ran through my head when I heard his voice - where were my knives, what was he really after - I simply said no - which is the truth - no chips in the house - and he turned heel and left... now we actually talk to this guy on a regular basis because he is in the neighbourhood and he likes to talk but this is beyond weird and disturbing. I even had a heavy piece of MDF blocking the way onto the deck tonight which he moved out of the way to get on the deck... so I'm locking up good and tight tonight. I may even pull a performance of my dad off tonight (my dad has/had OCD about our house - he would check and re-check the locks in the house over and over again every night - I don't blame him and it is no wonder both my brother and I developed the same problem - we had an attempted B&E plus he was a fire starter when we were kids and that pretty much started us down the path of OCD)

And there is a night in the ghetto... hooray :) Good night my loves - hugs, kisses and all my love to you.

update... 5 minutes later... and now they are screaming again and... there is thunder... WICKED!

just another magic tuesday

1) Apparently the hedge in my front yard is something I'm allergic tonight. Last night we trimmed it and then packed all the left over limbs into the truck - this morning I wake up to an itch that will not stop. I've been scratching at it all day and even sitting here tonight it aches and I just want to rub my arms with sand paper... soooooo not fun! (I laughed a lot writing that because the perv side of me just finds it amusing that I'm complaining about itching because of my front hedge... at least I didn't call it a bush... oh there come the giggles again...)

2) The 5-0 were at the crack shack tonight - it was awesome! They finally nailed someone that comes and goes from there all the time. We pulled into our alley and saw the undercover crew waiting and what's funny is the car we followed in is a regular to the crack palace - so we didn't hang out for the whole thing - but Andy did watch as they approached with guns out... so thank you rcmp - can you come every night and then just take a match to the house and burn the sucker down - it would add value to our neighbourhood and make our community better.

3) Oh the itch won't stop - arrggggg!

4) Work stuff is insane right now - just when I thought it was going to get better... stress, stress, stress - but it is ok - I've been through WAY worse and I know the light is on at the end of the tunnel and it isn't an oncoming train... this time

5) I'm sleepy - so I'm going to go play with my new toy - the ipod touch and get some shut eye.. night all
Hugs, smooches and special little something something to make your day magical :)

alive

Sorry friends and family... I suck - I took a brief hiatus from the blog... I totally miss writing here but have just been swamped lately... so yes, I'm alive, and just to prove I've been doing stuff for the past 18 days of non-writing I'm sharing some photos..

This is at the entrance to Spirit Ridge in Osoyoos - it is a spectacular resort! Great for families and couples... I was surprised by how much I liked Osoyoos - plus there are wineries everywhere... you could spend a month just trying out the wineries between Summerland and Osoyoos


Bridal Falls - this is just outside of Chilliwack - if you've never stopped here on your travels along highway 1 you definitely should - it is worth the 10 minute hike to the falls and beautiful all the way up...

More bridal falls - yep - it is beautiful here....

Dominion Observatory is just outside of Okanagan Falls - it is a windy road off the highway. They give a great free tour and they have some pretty cool gear - like this (photo) - around the site... you have to walk into the site from the road - so wear runners - and turn off your cell phone... you'll mess up their fancy gear with it on...

Other highlights... that have no photos...
- Kyle is getting ready for the end of grade 2 - hooray - looking forward to summer
- Michael is having fun at daycare and is really loving the water park - the weather has been good the last few days so they've been going
- Kyle and Michael took swimming lessons and Kyle is doing another two weeks of lessons in class right now...
- Summer plans... well nothing confirmed right now... planning to do one trip to Van in August - but still confirming dates and timing - what is everyone else doing?
- My sister is pregnant and due in November... and apparently getting married - this I didn't know... so Mel - are you getting married...
- My brother is coming to spend the summer with us - he'll be here in a week-ish
- I bought an ipod touch and LOVE IT! I have learned that apparently I don't sleep - my eyes are shut, but I'm in awake mode... all according to that fancy little sleep cycle program.. it is wild... love to hear other apps that people think are great and I should have...
- Work... meh

Ok - so there is the quick and dirty version - more photos, fun and stories soon :) Sorry for the delay in writing.

ps. No I haven't had any really great coffee lately... in case you were wondering... Starbucks is ok... but it will never match Piai

pps. My nails still haven't grown completely out - rrrrr - darn gel nails...

Stupid gel nails

I hate gel nails and will NEVER get them again! NEVER!

And what else is new.... well tonight I've got a heap of work to complete - so I'm doing that while listening to Fantasia (yes, the Disney movie) because it isn't distracting and I love the music. I was going to watch Cast Away again this week but that is just for the music. Alright Fantasia is distracting - just watching one piece and it totally looks like penis castles... so then of course I have to check it out online and then.. see - distracted...

Alright - best be working... hugs and smooches to everyone!

freakin' bob flay

A few nights ago I watched Bob Flay in a "throwdown" for sloppy joes. Since then I've been craving them - they made them look soo good. Now I've been off the red meat train for a long time now but tonight I threw all caution to the wind and had a big honkin' sloppy joe! Woohoo...

I don't think Kyle has ever had one, but he took to sloppy joe like a duck to water. He asked for it for tomorrow night too! Michael even ate it - and there are red vegetables in it - so that is amazing!

Now - we'll see how I feel in a few hours... but what the heck.. only living once :)

On the mad parent front: I got a "note" home today. It was an "informal" report. In the report Kyle is asked to judge himself and then the teacher judges him on a bunch of categories like: independently finds materials and begins work (initiative), works well with all students in the class, mathematics, socials/science.... you get the picture... the judging is based on the following: nearly always, sometimes and rarely.... nice scale (insert sarcastic face) Kyle further evaluates himself and sets goals for the next few weeks - ha - the write off weeks as far as I can tell - why even have school in June if it just going to be crap (Jen - I know not all teachers are like this - I pray for one that will actually use every day for learning and not take off half of September, all of December, the last week of May and all of June - ok - I exaggerate - alright everyone subtract a few days... that is, if you were taught how to do that... )

Anyway - he notes what he wants to work on and then I get a note from the teacher. I'm critical, I know that, but shouldn't teachers be spelling wizards! I want to have faith that my guys are going to learn to spell and not rely on spell check, I want them to use the brains they were given, I want them to think freely and make good choices - when I get a note home that has spelling mistakes from the teacher I want to put a red circle around the error and send it back to school. I know this is the a-hole side of me coming out in true form, but come on... please... please spell properly - the next Australia Zoo biologist needs to know how to spell - he needs that!

And while I'm in full vent mode... stop sending me notes home on freakin' bake sales - just ask me for an extra $100 a year and I'll give - that is a good cause - me buying crap that we don't eat, don't use, don't like - is a waste - you lose by making us buy crap. If I give you $100 you get $100, when I buy crap like chocolates I give $100 and you get $25 because the chocolate making people are screwing you and everyone else. Seriously a $3.00 box of chocolate almonds, seriously!