a little bit bigger

Some fun moon photography... man - I just need a converter to double my range... oh then look out...

photo fun

Half moon, July 29 09

oh what fun

Alright... so here is a job perk.... we managed to get Mantracker in Quesnel for a couple of episodes and this afternoon our office got to meet him - it was AWESOME! We just tried to contain our excitement.

gee willackers...

This month has been full of drama. My grandmother decided to move with her boyfriend and then things at the new place didn't work out - eg the place was a slum... so she decided to move... then after a few days she decided she needed to move back.. you guessed it now she decided to move away... and so tonight she is sleeping in my guest room upstairs. Now I actually didn't come on here tonight to complain about that - I actually think this is an important thing and believe that these are exactly the kinds of situations where families are meant to pull together - regardless of the retardness... (I know my word loving friends that isn't a word, pretend it is) And then tonight she goes to bed early - like right after dinner early... tired, hasn't slept in days/weeks - ok - night - even though it is SO DAMN hot upstairs that I'm actually working in my office... sad - but true... then gets up a couple hours later and then pretty much goes right back to sleep - or at least I think she is - for whatever reason I look down the hall and there on the counter in my guest room are her teeth in a bowl... yuck right... flash to me thinking about how that sucks and I don't want that and... oh it gets better - I see her hands and move out of the way thinking she is coming to the door... nope - she has spied (with her little eye) a pile of papers.. and she is making her way through it - looking at our old bills and crap, that is now part of the re-use pile of paper... - part of me wanted to open the door, but I would have bonked her in the head... I mean - what the flamin' toilet paper is that... thanks for letting me stay at your house and while I'm here I'm going to perform a full audit...

What it made me think - is what did she look through while I was out of the house all day... there are few items/things/papers that would be bad in the wrong hands... even in good hands... :)

What else - tomorrow is garage sale day at our house - I picked the hottest weekend of the summer to have a garage sale - fan-freakin-tastic..., my sister is here tomorrow - woohoo - ok - time to turn the water off - gotta get up at 6am to start setting up the garage sale... or earlier..

cold battle

BLAH - the cold is not improving - AT ALL!

I'm sick and need a place to whine - so here I am...

My throat is no longer sore - so that is a positive note. However, the cold has relocated in my sinus. I'm not really feeling like I have a real cold and have to wonder if I'm having some kind of stupid allergy. I guess I'll see how the rest of the week goes... I may also try a allergy medicine and see if that alleviates the symptoms.

Ok and now for a beautiful flower photo from Lillooet...

photo

This was taken at 7am from the Seton Rest Area in Lillooet. If you look closely you'll see the moon above the mountain top.

I'm working at fighting off the cold I have right now - I'm also trying to get my distance up for the emperor's challenge. I definitely need some great socks and bandaids. I have a pretty bad blister on one of my toes and I'm just hoping it will heal up - I guess I should be taking better care of it - plus my left heel is really cracked - I mean more than a .5 cm wide and at least that deep... all from shoes - any time I wear backless shoes my heel cracks... why... why... why does fashion have to bare such a heavy price ;)

Oh and I got another piece of funny mail. I asked that some coupons be sent to the attention of the "Queen of the Universe". Since they sent it to the house it must be true! Damn straight!

Has anyone else been selected for a Stat Canada Labour Market survey before? They make it out like it is such an honour... they track a household for six months and you have to do it otherwise they hound you like bill collectors... apparently it is part of being a proud Canadian. I think I missed the fine print on that one.

a little camping

So we went and spent the night at McLeese Lake Resort last night... unbeknownst to us a nice storm came through - so we ended up looking at each other for a few hours while the storm passed over. Tent trailer held up well - but it was freakin' cold. I know I'm getting old, but come on. Now I hear it is supposed to really get hot for the next few days - which I'm actually looking forward to... that's right - I just said I was looking forward to warm weather... insane!

The guys had a good time at the lake - despite the weather - found some snail shells - the only shells in northern BC (ok - Prince Rupert and Kitimat have some shells... ok - only shells in the Cariboo - happy...)

We are heading to Edmonton in two weeks. I haven't been there since I was 15 so if anyone knows what we should do there - outside of West Edmonton Mall - cause, yeh, I've heard about it - then please let me know 'cause I don't know what the hell we are going to do for five days there. I'm leaving the family behind on Aug 6 or 7th and heading to Dawson Creek for the Emperor's Challenge - and yes - that actually does make me insane... half marathon through the bush... I'm actually really looking forward to it.

Ok - onward and upwards, happy thoughts onboard :)

i gotta say..

I'm sure that some group of people sat down together and thought this was a brilliant idea... I'm sure they patted themselves on the back and cheered... but seriously... naming your product bumpits... seriously... maybe I'm just watching too much late night television - but really - that's the best they could do... now they say it hyphenated - bump-its... but the website is just bumpits.. so we've got armpits... and... that's right bumpits...

I've also got Roxanne stuck in my head - it has been in there for a few days... the version from Moulin Rouge...

a work trip...

Ok first....

This was one of the lightning strikes I managed to catch during the great storm that rolled through Quesnel on July 12.

So yesterday I drove to Lillooet for a meeting. I'm not sure what I was expecting - but I definitely got more than I what I expected. Lillooet is in this amazing location between Cache Creek and Whistler. I really couldn't believe how breath taking the scenery was and how friendly the people were (are). Definitely a place to go back and visit... they've got an apricot festival next weekend... should anyone be interest in making their way there... and now for some pictures of this beautiful place...

so much for a sunny afternoon

THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS THIS AFTERNOON. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE IMMEDIATE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AS AFTERNOON SUNSHINE HEATS AN UNSTABLE AND MOIST AIRMASS. A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF HAIL UP TO 15 MM..LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS..AND STRONG WINDS GUSTING TO 70 KM/H.

I also like how the weather network writes in caps... we might not take their warnings seriously if it weren't for the shouting caps...

So that storm has finally arrived - they've called off the warning - but the storm came anyway. Lots of rain- nothing hitting here yet, but you can see it rolling over here. I tried to take some lightning photos but it isn't striking... or at least - isn't yet - so I'm waiting to see if the storm picks up, or if it just stays flashing... better go get my tripod out of the car

Did you know you aren't supposed to put the following in microwaves - (these can cause a fire or explosion) grapes - grapes cut but not completely sliced through and you can get a fire, a raw egg should not go in - it will explode (less than 20 seconds)
Good old Food Network - how I love with you :)

Cariboo Safari

Well I couldn't resist - I had to share photos of April's Cariboo Safari.


Here is a nice bull moose that Stephanie spotted about 20 km from my parents house. This was on our way home.


Here is the bear we "chased" down... he stuck his head out as we were driving out - so I did a four point turn on the highway and went up a little forest road to see if we could see him. Then we waited while the bear decided which direction he was going to go in. He started to head back towards us and then cut in front of us.


And here is me taking Paula on her first ever ATV ride... woo hoo!

a break

So I've been on holidays for a few days... I took off Thursday/Friday while Paula and then later, my aunt visited. Everyone packed up and left today... which was sad and the older I get the harder it is for me to not cry... my aunt picked up her two puppies last night on our trip to Nazko. We had a nice drive out and we got to see some bears, deer and even a moose... April's Cariboo Safari was in full motion - it was great... we even chased down a bear (a bit) so we could get a photo.

I managed to stop clenching my jaw over the last few days and now I sit here tonight wishing that I had another week off. I am going back to work as the acting executive director - that's the big news that I haven't been able to talk about. What does that mean? Well really it doesn't mean much - it is a title. It is exciting though - I've got a great staff right now and I'm excited about the direction the ship will go in for the next six months - as that is how long I will be "acting" in this position... and then we will see what happens.

After my best friend and favorite relative left today we went on our saturday garage sale and picked up a rock polisher, a new to us spider man car (Michael is sleeping with it), some pokemon books and a batman lego set... which sadly didn't have batman in it but it had the joker and some other cool stuff - so we spent a good part of the afternoon playing lego and building different batman airships and boats... I also spent some time reading the polishing manual and found out that it takes 11 (that's 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11...) DAYS to polish rocks... you leave this little rotating cup rotating for 11 days and at the end of the three different cycles you get pretty rocks - I gotta say I was a little bit more than shocked when I read the instructions - I mean - no wonder it isn't a popular item... I thought I was getting this great deal... I'll be giving it a try... I need to pick up a few supplies in order for it to work.

Well that is about it. I'm a wee-bit low tonight and I know I just need a good nights sleep... we'll see how that goes. I've been getting less than six hours a night and that never does anything good for me.

a long day

Well work was busy today... I actually asked some of the staff to stay late to help me out - bought pizza - kept them a bit longer and then let them go... then I kept chugging along for another 90 minutes - finished all my immediate/pressing work and then came home and cleaned up my office... which was great - I can actually see my desk and might even been inspired to get some work done this weekend now...

Now I'm watching the matrix.. because that's the kind of fun I'm having on a friday night... next friday night though... hmm.... me thinks I might be having a lot more fun... a lot more ;)

How could I not post about it

By now you've read all the headlines that Michael Jackson has died. I shouted at a Staples employee (in a good way..) to "shut up" that Michael Jackson was dead. I refused to believe her - I went out to my car and called my office and asked if anyone had heard this madness - this lunacy.

There are a lot of things bothering me about his death. I'm not one of those hard core fans, but I was/am a fan. He did have some great songs and he was an amazing performer. I can sing loads of his songs, can't moonwalk - but wished I could, can't break dance - but tried, have grabbed myself (even though I lack the essential physical attributes) to MJ songs. I'm bothered by what I was reminded of - that I should get use to it - this is going to keep happening. That the people we loved as kids and young adults and even as adults are going to die. That is bugging me a lot! I mean, I know it is true... but that sucks.

I guess there isn't much one can say about all that. The issue of death is a lurking part of my anxiety and it drummed it up a bit today. (Think Jumanji and when you get close to the game the drum gets louder and louder and louder, but then when you open up the game and the drumming stops, you realize that your problems have only just begun.) Always pleased to hear others thoughts on this... I'm reading Tony Robbins right now to continue to work on my anxiety issues - I've been following him on Twitter for weeks and finally borrowed one of his books.

more new puppy photos

Another round of puppy photos are up at nazkopuppies.blogspot.com

Didn't sleep much last night - too much activity too close to bed... lesson learned... something else also chewed the crap out of my leg... so now I have these terrible burning bug bites - ARG!... and there is a short whining session

night all :)

I did it

Well I was aiming for 20km... and I surpassed that tonight - it must have been around km 20 that I started to get all - what the hell am I doing... I road up to Pinnacles - now in my head I was like - hey - no problem - it is steep, but it isn't that bad.. HA - I'm an idiot! I also thought that the ride down (back over Pinnacles through to Bouchie Lake) was flat... HA - stupid - there were hills and I started to think - man... I had lots of moments where I was just super pleased though... then there was this moment - I got off to walk for a few minutes to get my heart rate down about 2 km from the top of Pinnacles hill and out comes a bear.. GREAT - I was about 100 yards away - a good telephone pole to telephone pole distance apart - I stood there for a second thinking - ok - I can turn around and go back or see what happens - so I wait and see - the bear stops to see what I am - I'm wearing white - so he turns and looks and then I figure - ok - better protect myself a little and I put my bike in front of me - the bear then turns and walks off into the bush. So I wait - thinking - now what... I don't want to ride back down because the Pinnacles ride down is steep and I just didn't want to - so I watch the bear roam off - climb back on my bike and a second bear comes out... so I pull over and wait... and wait - he isn't interested in me and just follows the other off in the bush... there is a clearing so I just watched them head off... and so I climbed back on my bike and went on.... had to get to Pinnacles... which I totally thought was closer than I really was at this point. (Yes, Paula, I know - I'm retarded... )

The other moment that got a good scream out of me was a scene from "Aristocats". Remember those dogs that got the butler... so I'm riding and this little barker semi-startles me - lets out a couple of barks. I see another larger dog ahead and try to pick up speed. He waits on the side of the road and as soon as I pass he is out for the chase - then I give'r - I'm going hard - thank god it wasn't a hill - and so I think I'm clear (see ' I think') and then it was like my sixth sense kicks in... and I turn to my right shoulder and there is he is getting ride to pounce on me and I let out this scream and my legs found some new speed and off I went... blah.... I'm sure those a-hole dogs had a good laugh after - see that retard go - I wonder if she'll come back - that was fun... I was so close... so close - I could taste those gray yoga pants she was wearing... no, really, I swear....

So tonight's ride was 23.8 km (according to google maps) it took me about 110 minutes (or just shy of two hours..) - and now I'm going to go and shower and continue to unwind... woohoo... if I can get my cell phone to download photos I'll share my photo of me at pinnacles.

knee

Everything appears to be better - I think it was the foot wear I'd been wearing that day and it just tweaked something. How do I know it is better - well I launched into a good long ride tonight. Well again I thought I was going to be right at the 20 km mark - I went up to Marsh Rd which is where I grew up - so that was a challenge - pretty steep and long to get to the top - its about 2.6 miles from my house to the worst part of the hill - so that took me the longest. Then I took a logging road back down to West Fraser and looped back. It was a good ride... once I got past the thundering heart part :) Turns out it was about 16km... that is, however, my farthest cycle to date - so I'm pretty pleased with that - I'm also pleased with the time it took me - I was back in less than 90 minutes and when I first started biking I did a 3.5 km cycle that would be easy now that took me 30 minuntes... so I'm improving and feeling good about it. Now if my ipod shuffle would cooperate on these treks...

a new found love

So I've been biking over the last few weeks and initially I was thinking - why - and then I got into it and now I'm actually planning for farther and farther routes... well until tonight - I think I've strained something in my knee - nothing terrible - it causes pain when I do some moves - I took the guys on a quick ride tonight - about 1.5km - so for Kyle that's a big deal. My knee wasn't too bad... but it was an easy ride - nearly all flat and I still had hiccups in pain. Then we get back to the house and I tell Kyle to slowly go down the driveway and he just goes full on and rather than braking, drives right into the house - hard... He was totally fine. I wouldn't have been :)

I'm definitely busy at work - and I'll have a better update on the work front soon - lots of top secret stuff... on the not so top secret front Mantracker will be coming to film two episodes in the Quesnel area - which is awesome! I can't wait for them to be in Quesnel - they'll be here next month - Very exciting! Our first filming opportunity!

Hope everyone is fabulous! The rain has been with us for a few days, but we needed it - and as my faithful readers know - I love the rain!

something smart

Got a minute... have a look at this... thank god some people are really thinking about changes that can make our world a better place...

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/06/12/dnt.wa.paper.water.bottle.king

Friday night

New puppy photos have been posted over at nazkopuppies.blogspot.com...