challenge - know you better

My dear friend Paula emailed me this little quiz and I thought I would share my answers here. I would like to challenge all my readers to try this out so I can learn more about you.

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE ANYWHERE, WERE WOULD IT BE?
Hawaii

2. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?
mittens

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT? (and/or last itunes song)
Dixie Chicks - CD, itunes - London Bridge - Fergie and Christina Agulera Ain't No Other Man

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
Whatever time it is when Michael decides it is time to get up - anytime between 4am and 6:45am

5. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
Oven - I don't have one right now - I'm operating with a toaster oven and anyone that knows will understand that I do a far bit of cooking and I've come to realize that this is my favorite.

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Too many to chose from - definitely guitar and I wouldn't mind learning violin and piano

7. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV?
car - four door

8 DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTER LIFE?
right now I don't

9. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
Hmmmm... this is a hard one - we go through soo many - I think it would be The Paper Bag princess, Munsch

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
spring

11. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Would it be a super power to make money grow on trees...? If not, then I would pick wolverine's power - to heal

12. IF YOU COULD HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHERE WOULD YOU PUT IT?
As Paula said, been there, done that - but I will add - that I would get another - I would like to get my son's chinese character names inside or beside my maple leaf

13. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
balls - no, work and life - yes

14. THE ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
my grandpa

15. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
Saturday

16. WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR?
a stroller, a blanket, a box of paper for work, dirt

17. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
helllooo - SUSHI all the way baby!

18. FROM THE PEOPLE YOU EMAIL THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
from my bloggers - well I think Mel might - if she has time

19. WHO'S LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
The rest of you are busy - so I'm sure if any of you will find the time for this.

20. WHO DID YOU RECEIVE THIS FROM?
Paula

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
Lily of the valley

22. FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Black forest

23. BUTTER, PLAIN, OR SALTED POPCORN?
how about caramel popcorn

24. FAVORITE COLOR?
blue

25. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE?
Honda CRV

26. FAVORITE SANDWICH?
Tuna and avocado or BLT

27. ON VACATION WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
Hawaii or Vancouver

28. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Quesnel

29. FAVORITE SPORT?
Hockey

31. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?
I'm a little bit of both - I have to be a morning person and I wish I was a night owl again

32. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE SINGER?
Tough tough - Kevin Hearn - Hidden Sun - BNL

33. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
Does IKEA count? - In Quesnel my fav is Bistro Duo - on the coast I would have to go with many of the vendors at the Granville Island food court

34. DO YOU ATTEND CHURCH? IF SO, WHAT IS THE NAME?
no

35. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FAST FOOD?
None

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?
ER

37. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PASTIME?
Spending time with family and friends - maybe that isn't a pastime - I like scrapbooking, photography, astronomy and masochism :)

38 HOW MANY CLOSE FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE?
Hmmm, define close :) - Four

39. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK?
Cranberry and seven

40. WHAT IS YOUR WORST FEAR?
Don't get me started - under this category I could go on and on - I will say spiders even though I don't really fear them - but let's just leave it at that

41. WHAT IS YOUR BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY?
Very tough - that one that came to mind was my grandpa making me remove thorns and prickle bushes from the front lawn - he would give me a nickel for the small ones and a dime for the big ones - then we'd walk to Frank's and get an ice cream sandwich -

42. IF YOU HAD TO DO ONE THING OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I would have completed my projects in metal work and wood work rather than getting my bud to finish them for me.

43. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?
Um, can you say lotto! I dream of living comfortable and having loads of time for my kids and husband, friends and family.

44. ARE YOU ATTACHED/MARRIED?
Yes

45. WHAT DO YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE IN A PERSON?
kidneys? - oh - not literally - spontaneity

46. WHAT THING(S) TURN YOU OFF THE MOST IN A PERSON?
Poor fashion sense - ha -

47. ARE YOU A DOG OR A CAT PERSON?
Dog

48.WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE IN YOUR PAST LIFE?
A lamp - if the question was supposed to be who - I would say Johnny Appleseed

49. WHAT ARE YOUR PET PEEVES?
people who can't say excuse me after they fart - you know who you are :)

50. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON THAT SENT THIS TO YOU.
You are a kind hearted person who is able to forgive a friend who sleep walks and rants. You also smell good.

Thank you to Carmen for completing the questions.

summer fire pictures

I finally scanned my mom's photos of the Nazko fire. She has quite a few more - I thought I would show you some of my favorites.







The cars pulled over by the cops are two 'tards who decided to disregard the fire barrier and drive through. They found out the hard way that the signs really really meant they shouldn't proceed. Both vehicles paint had bubbled and peeled.

what's new?

Today my mom took Kyle for most of the day, freeing us up to make a donation to the special olympics (local team) and also letting us enjoy some time with Michael. We donated all of our left over garage sale stuff - including my wedding dress and a large variety of other things. The back of our pick up was full (double stacked in some spots) and then a few more things in the car.

It felt great to give the stuff and I would suggest to everyone that this is a great way to help recycle and also clean your house. Most of the stuff we've been packing for more than four years without any use. It was surprising the number of textbooks that we had. I kept some of andy's textbooks because they are relevant to my current work.

Since we had some Kyle free time we took Michael to weigh in - he is now 29 inches tall and 21 lbs 5 oz. I definitely feel the 21 lbs. I'm surprised that I'm able to carry him for the length of time that I do.

Kyle had a great time with Grandma. They spent the day with the puppies, playing and having a lot of fun. They met us for dinner (half way point Sylvia's Cafe - best home style cookin') and then we came home.

Trying to get stuff done now because Andy's departure date keeps getting closer. He will be taking a course in Vancouver starting in mid October and we have quite a few tasks that need to be completed before then.

Babies cryin' and I need to finish some paper work. Nighty night... pictures soon.

pluto

SAT scores are getting lower and lower in the US. The educational issues facing them is a major challenge to the future of America. Wrongly educated or uneducated students can not ruin the planet and create wars.

In an effort to assist the ever growing ranks of youth who are not fulfilling their educational requirements the government has managed to sweet talk the astronomy gurus of our planet into dropping pluto from our planetary solar system.

Why drop pluto? Well it is one less thing for a student to remember and it means that scientists can not add the additional smaller (dwarf) planets to the list and making the poor students have to remember more than nine.

teeth

The cries began at 4am. A break, then more, a break, then more. This little moaning and crying concert went on for two and half hours. I figured his body was trying to push another tooth out but my brain didn't flick the light on until I had endured two and half hours. I bought some natural teething tablets at a health food store months ago and at 6:30 my brain went... hey why don't you give him some.

I did - the crying stopped and he went to sleep until 7:45. Michael is now the proud owner of two lovely teeth. One is about half way exposed and the other has just broken through the skin. Kyle must have a huge pain tolerance - he didn't make a peep when he was teething - ok - maybe there was some crying but nothing like this. At 8 months Kyle was sleeping through the night and I was pretty well rested. Michael is still getting up in the night and I have no idea why.

So I took the rest of the year off. I won't be returning to full time work until the new year. So cheers to that!

Kyle went back to preschool yesterday. He is having a great time. There are lots of kids (full session). He is enrolled in soccer for October and I'm really looking forward to that.

Well there is a bit of an update. I need to print some pictures and scrapbook. I keep saying I'm going to do it and then I don't... I will try and get something acomplished this afternoon on the scrapbook front.

CBS

Katie Couric = intelligent?

I wasn't a die hard viewer of the Today show, but I did watch. I remember Katie dressing up as Sponge Bob Square pants and I was kind of hooked after that. She is so many things to very wide cross section of people.

Tonight she began her new career as the host of CBS Evening News. I made sure I tuned in for a while to see how she was doing. Wonderful, as anticipated - that is until she was signing off... or didn't. As some ploy to get more people looking at the CBS website and probably pitch to a younger crowd she asked the viewers to create her sign off. The Katie I've watched does not need the assistance of the viewing public with this.

All that said, I encourage you to go to the CBS website and make up your own sign off - 'good night america and remember to get your colon checked' or remind them that Katie can just as easily come up with a great way to sign off. She doesn't really need to say anything at all - we, the apparently stupid', viewing public get that the show ends at 7pm and that things wind down on there own.

Ahhhh, I ranted. I have another... I will see if I can get it out tonight.

steve

I will admit it, I loved the crocodile hunter. I watched his smiling face on the discovery channel pretty often over the past few years. His sometimes crazy antics made me crave more of his "Jack Ass" meets Lorne Greene style. If you loved the "crikey" man as much as I did I hope you will feel compelled to leave your favorite moment that you saw on his show.

Some of my favorite moments were when he was trying to hold onto a snake and the comments he would make after a massive snake would try and nip him.

He brought nature to everyone and made millions of people more aware of the creepy, crawly, bump-in-the-night beasts that we fear. I've been trying to find a way to make a contribution to some of Steve's work. The best thing I can think of right now is to donate to the Australian Zoo that employed Steve and continue to support the Discovery Channel. There website is pretty hard to get into right now because half world is trying to look at it but you can visit www.crocodilehunter.com if you get a chance.

where did I go?

So you might have wondered if I jumped off the planet for a few weeks there and well I did. We went away. Off to the coast to run away from it all. I did some work on the island and feel like I learned a few things. Spent some time with family in Vancouver but really just lounged and tried to regain my spirit to spend another winter in the north. The winters are much milder than they were when I was a kid but... being on the coast made me really think about the possibility of moving down. I could take this opportunity to rant about drivers, limited family activities, family activities that don't cost me a days work, rude people, mean people, racist people... but I won't (tonight). I will leave you with some photos from our vacation and will write again soon. Happy belated birthday to my beautiful 27 year old aunti jenni and my daddy... I love you both very much!



Aquatic life at the aquarium... of all places... shocking :)



The men in my life enjoying the view



My little family enjoying a sunset



Another family pic

quiz for the beginning of september

Welcome to September folks! That's right we are one step closer to the end of the year. I actually saw a sign a few weeks ago reminding me that christmas was getting closer - to which I say - blow it out your you-know-what... lord - like we don't have enough to worry about... like gift giving is what life is all about! Better buy that sweater or else someone won't like me anymore - well if your friends and family are like that it is probably best to tell them where to go now before spending that $40 on something that person won't likely care about anyway... and now with my rant out of the way - here is your new quiz

another set of three

Michael and a bear, Exploration Place


Kyle posing for me at Heritage Garden, he is such a good sport


Kyle and my mom with the golden retriever puppies - my mom is getting two puppies next week


Kyle in the mouth of a t-rex, Exploration Place... very cool

more pics

Fuzzy purple flower from Heritage Garden in West Fraser Timber Park


Derrel, Jenni, Rolo, Kyle and Michael at the Heritage Park a couple weekends ago



Kyle and the bears at Exploration Place, PG

quiz

What is this?

more pics

Ok - I have a tonne more photos but blogger isn't letting me load tonight - ARG! I will try and load more photos tomorrow. Watch for a new photo quiz... I think I have a stumper!

If you can't wait to see the photos that I was going to load - click on the flickr photos that are always changing and you can see them there. At least flickr is working tonight. :)

pics

A beautiful bloom from the heritage garden in West Fraser Timber Park


Michael and Kyle on their first bike ride together (Michael's first ride ever)


just a creepy train photo... taken at exploration place

compliments

I know blogs are more about complaining than compliments but I have to pay one. We went on our monthly adventure to Prince George and I talked Andy into going to Exploration Place to try something new with Kyle. It is like a mini-Science world for the northerns. It was a hoot. They have a small dinosaur display, a kids play area and then an older kids discovery area. We spent two hours there and ended up buying a membership. Then we found out that by purchasing the membership we gained membership access to Science World, HR McMillian Science Centre and loads of other cool places across BC and Alberta! HOORAY! So for you northerns or visitors to the north, don't miss the great opportunity to give yourself and kids a place to go and have a little bit of fun. It is all attached to Ft George Park, which is home to a water park and lots of other fun outdoor kid stuff. So there.. I've tooted my horn for something good in Prince George. Not that there aren't other things to do in Prince George but this was a stand out thing for us.

Michael had a big week - his wounded soldier crawl is improving by the day - the last few days we see him crawling with both legs more often, he said his first word - dad... the first time we thought it was just a fluke but we had said it a couple of times since and does it while looking or trying to blab with Andy, his first tooth is just poking through and he is waving. Andy waved at him the other day and he waved back - of course, we thought it was a fluke but now he is waving at Andy and Kyle any chance he gets. He is communicating... I know this is a highly parental thing but it just makes me so happy to see him trying these things. It seems a little early for waving but Kyle was late on all the communication stuff so I just don't know.

I've decided to start tracking our enormous veggies and fruit - if you post your record you will be able to find it in the margin (left) on the main page.

perseid

Aug 12 - 13 is the peak of the perseid meteor shower. If you have some time and clear place to view the sky, take time tomorrow night to view the heavens. The moon is still kind of full so that might take away from the number of meteors you will see, but I read that they are forecasting 15-30 an hour, which is still pretty good in my books.

I've viewed it for a number of years and some years it is exceptional! You will see a few that you just catch the tail end of, but there are some that you see and hear, as it burns the sky. If you are an astronomy nut like me, this is the best time of year. This is definitely the best of meteor showers for the year and it happens every year at roughly the same time. (day)

Face the opposite direction of the moon, to lessen the light and gaze awhile. Count 'em up and share your experience. If you want to get a little technical - look for cassiopeia (the big 'w' in the sky) and the perseus constellation will be found south - the meteors are suppose to come from this direction - but to be honest, these meteors come from all over the sky. I say get a hot beverage, a blanket, a nice place to sit, someone to talk to between flashes and enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

too easy is it...

what am I?

This might be too easy to. I will work on getting something more difficult - although I question where the fun is in stumping you... my treasured guests :)

So how did my weekend go? Well I managed to get everything except two things done. One of the things I am completing tonight before I go to bed. The other - well, it will simply have to wait. This was the task of cleaning the scrapbook room. I've nearly got it all put away. I've organized nearly all my paper by color or theme but I've got a bit of a stack going that needs some tending.

I need to scrapbook. I need at least an hour a day for the rest of the year to try and catch up - not to mention the books I need to work on for family (three).

growth update

I forgot that it was immunization week around here. Michael took them very well this time. It was weird when he got the shots because... well Kyle just sat there and took it - they gave him a shot and he just kind of looked around, or cried a little but didn't put together that if the nice lady was cleaning his leg it meant another was on the way... well Michael got the first shot and then he immediately figured out the course of action ahead. He tensed all his little muscles up and that meant that he bled... great. He was a trooper though - got through it better than I would have. I hate getting immunization shots.

So my little beefcake is seven months today and he weighed 20 lbs and 1 oz, and was 27 and 1/2 inches tall. He has been crawling forward since July 14 and now has it pretty much in check. He is dragging one leg behind him but we are hoping it is just him still trying to figure it all out. He may not though because no sooner had he figured out forward he started to lift himself up. We had to lower the crib because he was climbing up and could have easily fallen out. He now stands up beside any toy that will let him. It is madness. Kyle just lounged around... Michael is the child that never stops. I'm excited about him learning all these new things but I also miss that cuddly stage that Kyle gave me... something Michael skipped. Kyle is doing really well - he is into puzzles big time right now. He can do 24 and 48 piece ones without much thought, he is working on a 100 piece one but it is pretty hard. He tries to work at for a little while every other day - it is coming together though. He is learning new songs and starting to read along with books, which is nice but.. I'll be honest - annoying. He usually gives up after while because he can't hear the story. This whole situation reminds me of my poor parents and the movie nights they went through with us. My brother, sister and I use to memorize Disney movies and then take roles. Then we would be that character through the entire film, singing, talking... you name it, we did it... I've always wondered if we were the only crazies doing this kind of thing and well I haven't met anyone yet that said... april, I did that too. So if you did - share, and if you don't want to admit it... I completely understand.

Michael is rumbling... I better get going. Update complete. I'm signing off.

long weekend

Aunti Jenni came and stayed with us last night and we had a great little visit! It is always nice to have visitors staying with us. It usually gets us out of the house and doing something other than stealing air conditioning from Wally World...

So right now I'm holding down the fort on a friends business while she is away, while also trying to work on one contract plus my regular work. I'm tired and not getting enough accomplished... plus I see all this other stuff that I want to work on just sitting around me... waiting... hoping... so I can't be as earth friendly and budget friendly as Sarah (Wyatt in the Dell - go read about her challenge) I am willing to make a commitment to get my stuff in order. It is the long weekend and I'm going to clean up and pull it together. I can't live like this any longer. I won't bore you with a list but I will say that I will share my success with you at the end of the weekend.

Alright - fun and games... april... how is it that I can get points tonight? Well here you go - what is this?



I'm hoping to make a purchase in the next few weeks that will enable me to offer much better photos... we will see if the stars align.

riddle me this

two tonight - the first one is - guess what I am? the second is a puzzle - add all the photo parts together come up with a word or phrase....


what am I? (1 point)








An extra point will be given to whoever guesses who is in the last picture in this set. So for this set of photos, you will add the photos together to create a title. That's a pretty big clue...

So tonight there are three points up for grabs. Good luck!