To My Big Sister On Her 39th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Shellie! Can you believe you are 39? Holy freaking shit - you are getting old! It seems like just yesterday that you were bossing me around, oh wait, that was yesterday...just kidding. Seriously though, it doesn't seem possible that so many years have passed since we were little stubble jumpers growing up in good old Saskatchewan. Brings back memories, that is for sure.

Remember how we learned how to drive the truck in the field - when we were like EIGHT!!! I don't think girlie could even ride her bike when she was eight! And how we had to drive meals out to the field and we thought we were so cool because we were driving. On the grid road. And we were 12 or so? Good times!

Remember how we used to drive that old snowmobile of Dad's around and around the yard. Well, you drove it around and around, me and Darcie were usually dragging behind holding onto ropes. And you would try and hit all of those big, hard snow drifts? Good times!

Remember how we used to take that old tape recorder you had and have singing contests. To the Grease Soundtrack? Even though neither one of us could sing our way out of a wet paper bag. And you always declared yourself the winner? Good times! p.s. I found and old tape of us singing. I think it would be great to show your new in-laws your exceptional talent at your upcoming wedding. Oh yeah, baby - good times!

Remember in high school when you had all those cool clothes that Grandma liked to buy you, but you never let me were them? And one time when you stayed overnight at Grandma's and I came to school the next day wearing your clothes? And you beat me up in the hallway? Oh yeah - Good times!

But through it all - the good memories and the bad, I'm glad to share them all with you. I am lucky to have you for a big sister and I am even luckier to have you for a friend. Happy Birthday Shell! Love ya!

Yahooo!

I got the freakin job! Can you believe it? I can't. I'm in total shock. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am a little bit lacking in the self confidence department! I wasn't even holding out any hope at all. I was resigned to the fact that I definitely did not get it. Who knew? Now I can give an even bigger sigh of relief. Now I just have to make it through the next week to make sure that none of the other applicants appeal the decision.

I tell you - 2007 is going to be MY year! I quit smoking, got a new job, my divorce *will* be finalized (that is a whole other blog entry). Who knows what else, but I can feel good things coming my way!

Interviews Suck the Life out of Me

On Tuesday I had an interview for a new job. Not that I don't like my old job, I do. In fact I love it. Unfortunately it is only seasonal (Apr-Sep) and it is not permanent. They could decide to cut that position at any time and I would be out on my ass.

So back in OCTOBER(!) I applied on a full time permanent position with the provincial government. It is for the Supervisor of Administrative Services with the welfare office. I seriously think I am out of my mind. Anyhoo - I had an interview (ON TUESDSAY!!!). Count 'em - 3 months to be contacted for an interview. That is typical government speed. So the pay would be great and the benefits would be great but the stress level and work load are apparently quite horrendous. I really debated wether or not to even apply for the job, but I decided to go ahead and let fate decide.

I totally stressed myself out over the interview AND studied my ass off. If you knew me at all, you would find this odd, as I am a master procrastinator and always put things off to the last minute. I get to the interview on Tuesday thinking I am well prepared. I dressed up in a smart black suit and even remembered to use the lint brush right before I walked out the door. I though I had it in the bag. My interview was schedule for 9:00. They asked me four questions. Four retarded questions. That was that and I was out the door in 20 minutes! I totally bombed. I mean really! What the hell! Here is one of the inane questions they asked. "Tell us about a time you received information or facts that affected decision you had already made". ???. Okay, maybe some people can think on their feet. I am not one of those poeple. I'm not really sure that they were after with that doozy. I spouted some mumbo jumbo about finding out procedures had changed after I had followed the old ones. Pretty sure I bombed. Anyhow, I still can't think of a good example.

I am soooo glad I can relax and breathe again. My head is no longer a light shade of purple. Stress sucks and interviews suck even more. I don't think I will do another one of those for a while.

If I actually get this job it will be a miracle.

Disneyland Rocks!

I'm slacking off on my updates. Actually I'm just now over my exhaustion from all of our travelling. We left Kelowna on December 27th enroute to Calgary where we would embark on our trip to Southern California. The roads were good until we hit the Rockies. After that they were pure hell. Cars in the ditch everywhere! However, we made it safe and sound and spent the night at the swanky Travelodge in Calgary South (so far from swanky, I can't begin to tell you! The bathtub would not drain, and I can't even begin to imagine what was plugging it up). We had a three hour flight to LAX and then waited another hour for our shuttle bus to take us to the hotel. By the time we checked in it was midnight. We were all starving and tired. Not a good mix. Not to mention that I had my last cigarettle ouside of the Los Angeles International Aiport. I thought it would be a great time to quit. Is there ever a good time to quit? So I was dying for a smoke as well. We ended up ordering mediocre pizza and chicken strips for J.

The hotel we stayed at was awesome. We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn Maingate. They are 8-plex condos with full kitchens and your own private entrance. They even had a sepatate bedroom with two queen beds. Mike and I ended up on the hide-a-bed in the living room. That way we could watch what we wanted on TV and the kids could watch what they wanted on theirs. The only drawback was that there was only one bathroom, and one bathroom and six people does not always work so well. The hotel has an outdoor heated pool which the kids lived in and two hot tubs. One of which was right out our door. Mommy liked that! The hotel offered a full buffet breakfast every moring as well, so we filled our boots with eggs, bacon hashbrowns and french toast every morning! You would have thinked we would have gained weight on the trip but we walked out asses off every day. The first couple of days, me and the kids were so sore we had to rely on the magical qualities of Advil.

Disneyland was awesome. The kids went on all of the rides and even tricked me into going on Big Thunder Mountain. Big should have been my first clue, Thunder should have clinched it. I was had. It as rollercoaster! I don't do rollercoasters! I get motionsick so easy and as you all know, I have a phobia about vomiting, so needless to say, rollercoasters are not on my list of 100 things! After I got off, I thought my head was going to explode. No doubt from my bloodpressure going through the roof! Needless to say, I heeded all of the warnings about motionsickness from then on! I don't know how they do it, but it smells SO good there. I have a theory that they pipe in yummy odors, but I could be wrong. Needless to say, it really IS the happiest place on earth! My favorite part of the whole place was Pirates of the Carribean. It was so cool! We spend 3 full days there and I could have stayed longer.

We also spend 2 days at California Adventure. Pretty cool place, I must admit. The kids went on all of the rides there, even California Screamin and the Mali Boomer. Insane is what they are! Mike also went on the Mali Boomer and it said it scared the shit right out of him. They strap you into a seat and shoot you straight into the air, and then yo-yo you back down. Fun times!

We spend they other two days of our vacation at Sea World and Universal Sudios. I didn't care too much for Universal Studios. I admit that I did enjoy the backlot tour, but since I don't do rides, there is not much else for me to do there. The Waterworld show is pretty cool, though. Especially since it only involved me sitting in a stadium and watching a stunt show. Sea World on the other hand was very cool! I loved the Shamu show as well as seeing the walruses and dolphins perform. I also loved the polar bears and beluga whales. We had a bus driver on drugs that day though. On our way back to Anaheim he missed the entrance to the freeway TWICE! We were on the bus for about an hour and the kids were like "Where are we, are we almost home?" and I said "We just passed Sea World -AGAIN".

So we had an awesome time. The kids were at the perfect ages to take them (13, 12, 11 and 10). They will remember the trip for the rest of their lives! The crappy thing was how expensive everything in the parks were. A bottle of water - $3, a churro - $3, a pop - $3, a cookie - $3. You get the picture. I was 3 dollered to death. Easy to do with 4 kids all dying of hunger and thirst. Also, had we known, we would have picked a different time of the year to go. Apparently the days right before New Years are the busiest days the parks have ALL YEAR! They even sold out on New Year's Eve. We elected to bring in the New Year in California Adventure since it is typically less busy than Disneyland. I don't think it would have mattered where we went, since we were crushed by a crowd there too. AND the fireworks weren't nearly as good there compared to the once we saw over the trees at Disneyland.

We flew home on the 5th of January. Our flight was VERY turbulent for most of the way, especially as we made our desent into Calgary. Not my idea of fun at all. I hate turbulance. By the time we got our luggage, proceeded through customs and found the truck it was already 5 o'clock. Then we had to drive the boys home (on the other side of the city). We dropped them off at 6 and headed to Wetaskiwin to spend the night at my sister's. We finally got there at 9 pm. They waited supper for us, so we were all pretty hungy. My sister made her world famous lazagne, which was much appreciated as well as supplied me with liquor, which is also much appreciated. We left there in the morning and headed out on horrible roads. 15 hours later we made it home. The drive should only take 12.5! The first couple of days back, all I wanted to do was sleep!

Anyway, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could have just one more day in the Magic Kingdom! Maybe that yummy smell is just a method of brainwashing people!

Christmas in Kelowna

We've been at my parent's since the 20th of December. I'm pretty sure they will heave a huge sigh of relief when we back out of their driveway on the 27th. 7 days is a long time to stay at anyone's house, never mind the 4 extra littler bodies we brought along as well. Thank God they have a big house, that is all I can say.

We are not planning to much for Christmas Eve. We are just going to make a bunch of appetizers and play some games. The kids should have fun though.

Girlie is having trouble with nosebleeds last night and today. She ended up getting some on the new comforter on the bed she is sleeping in. So we are washing it, but you know how they always end up bunching up in the wrong places once they have been washed.

Mike's son J has been proving to be another royal pain. He is allergic to everything. Dairy, Eggs, Sugar. The list goes on, but those are the main ones and the ones that make it so damn hard to cook for him. More added stress for Mom. Like I said, they will be waving with glee on the 27th!

The kids are pumped for Christmas morning and have actually been doing everything we ask them to do. Bloody Amazing! I wish Christmas was all year round. Beds would get made, dishes would be put in the dishwasher and there would be no squabbles. Dream on, I know.

We are heading to Disneyland on the 28th of December until the 5th of January. None of us have ever been, so we are all pretty pumped up. We are also planning on doing Sea World and Universal Studios. We will be the bumpkins wondering around with our mouths hanging open at all the wonderous sights we have been promised in the brochures. Mike's son J is bound and determined that he is also going surfing. He does not understand that it will not be 80 degrees there in December. Maybe he will have to learn the hard way. Unfortunately the little bugger packed along a wet suit. My problem is deciding what to pack when we go. I know it's not going to be hot down there, but it will be considerably warmer than here. We are used to about 20 degrees Farenheit and I undersand it will be about 40 degrees warmer there. I guess we will wing it. I'm bringing our summer coats and no shorts, so hopefully I am leaning in the right direction.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas and a smashing New Year's. I will post about our trip when I get home!

I'm Weird

Some of you already know, and some of you probably don't know that I have a few weird traits that make me who I am.

I have a deadly phobia about vomit. Weird, I know. I told you! It's not that whole "I'll get sick if you puke infront of me" thing that alot of people have. I literally have the heart palpitation, breaking out in a cold sweat and trying to run as fast and as far as I can from anything that resembles vomit thing going on. It is a debilitating phobia to be sure. I am afraid to fly - I mean, come on, EVERY seat has a barf bag. The odds are not good people! I am afraid to take a cruise or even go on a ferry (I've heard the horror stories of rough seas). I can't be in closed off places incase someone gets sick and I have to run somewhere far away. Middle of the movie row - forget that! It is not even just being around someone who is sick, the thought of myself vomiting almost throws me into fits! Needless to say, I don't do it. Mind over matter, it can be done! I can only remember vomiting 4 times in my entire life (I'm 36) so it is a very rare occurance. The last time was 10 years ago when I got sun stroke. I ALWAYS wear a hat and stick to the shade now! I really need to do some research on this because I would dearly love to get this monkey off my back!

Another weird thing about me is I can roll my stomach. It is a skill I have had since I was a child. It is not a pretty site. I am 10 pounds, okay 15 pounds, overweight and the sight of my big belly rolling up and down is quite disturbing. The kids used to think it was pretty cool, not so much anymore.

I can burp really, really loudly. Skill or weird - you decide. It brings me and the kids endless hours of enjoyment though.

I have a laugh that is very distictive. Some have called it a popcorn laugh, some have called it a cackle. Call it what you will - I laugh alot! I throw my head back and let loose. People pick me out of a crowd just by listening to my laugh.

One last thing - I'm scared of the dark. I can't STAND it when it is completely pitch black. So I need a night light - at 36! Definitely weird. My kids haven't needed one since they were 5!

Okay, okay - one more. I am completely anal about how my towels are folded. They need to be in half (long ways) in half again (same direction as before) and then in threes. Nobody but me is allowed to fold the towels. I know, in the big scheme of things what does it really matter, but I get a little snaky if I know they are in the cupboard and not folded right. Sigh.


I am weird!

Large Marge Lives In My Backyard

A cow moose has taken a liking to my backyard. I affectionately named her Large Marge the Moose because she is sooo big. Bigger, at least, than the usual cow moose that have visited us over the years. She has taken a real liking to the willows surrounding our yard. I wish it would end there. She also likes my ornamental cherry tree. Alot. There is no fazing her either. There she is muching on my cherry tree, while I am yelling at her to go (as I hide in my carport), and all she does is give me this bored look like she is saying, "Pullease! I am Large Marge - I will eat cherry trees all day, now begone!" We also have a deer hanging around. I haven't actually seen the deer but there are alot of tracks. The deer also likes my cherry tree. If anyone knows of an effective way to keep deer and moose away from ornamental trees, please leave a note in the comments!

I went with a friend today to scope out a puppy that she was thinking of buying. She was so cute! Half poodle, half shitzu - I like to call it a shitty poo. My sister bred her cockerspaniel with a shitzu last year so she had a litter of cockashits. I crack me up. Anyway, I digress. My friend fell in love with the puppy and paid for her on the spot. She was the runt of the litter and soooo cute. Now she just has to explain the $350 to her husband. Let's see how creative she can get. She gave the breeder $100 cash and a $250 cheque so I am pretty sure she will be telling him the puppy only cost $250.

My sister used to play a little game like that with her ex-husband. If she spend $50 on something she would only tell him it cost $20, and if she spend $100 she would say it only cost $50. Considering he is her EX-husband, I don't think that gig worked out too well for her.

Wow, moose, deer, shitty poos and mind games - I'm on a roll tonight!

I Am A Bad Mom

I thought I had it all planned perfectly. The kids are at their Dad's this week. Girlie's Christmas concert is tonight. Only two tickets per student to give out. No problem! I was going to go to the dress rehearsal this afternoon and then her Dad and the Boy could go to the concert tonight. It would have been perfect. If I could, in fact, read. That's right, the dress rehearsal was yesterday.

I thought it was a bit odd when I got the the school at 1:10 and there were not alot of vehicles around. I went in anyway and browsed the Lost and Found table. Then I looked at all of the artwork around Girlie's classroom. Very creative I must say! I was afraid to ask at the office in case they recognized me for the loser that I am. I gave up at 1:30 and headed over to the A&W to use the phone. I told Mike to come pick me up there. I was pretty sure at that point that I had indeed gotten the wrong day.

Mike picked me up, we headed home and I once again read the notice that is hanging on my fridge. Yep. Dress Rehearsal was for Tuesday at 1:15. I am such a loser! I can't believe that happened. I usually have it all together! I. Always. Know. What. Is. Going. On.

Apparently, not so much. I phoned Girlie up after she got home from school and she was like, "So, how did you enjoy the dress rehearsal" Little punk! It wasn't as if I deliberately made a decision not to go. I told her I missed it and thought it was supposed to be for today. She said "Yeah I figured that!" Little punk! Then she had the nerve to say, in her punky little way "Well at least Dad will come to the concert tonight - at least one of my parent's will see my Christmas Concert". Okay, so she didn't have to make me feel like dirt, did she? Sassy little punk!

I feel so bad - I think I need to find the poppycock that my Grandma Ida made me (at least she still loves me) and wallow in my self pity.

Nothin' Says Fun Like a Fundue!

We thought we would do something a little different for our Christmas Party this year, so on Friday we had two couples over for a fondue. They all brought their kids too, but since hot oil and children don't mix all that well, they were banished to the basement with pizza, pop and movies. Our last foray into the fondue world was 5 years ago when we were camping. Hot oil, a bunch of drunk people and a forest within burning distance. Seemed like such a good idea at the time! This time we were a tad more civilized and probably a lot more sober. Don't get me wrong - the beer and wine was definitely flowing, but we didn't start at noon like we do when we are camping! We ate like royalty and had a hoot. No one got burned or ended up in the hospital with food poisoning later that night. Phew, such a relief! That is one of my great fears - invite people over for dinner and end up poisoning them. We had 3 pots on the go which would have worked out perfectly had we liked the cheese one. No one did. It was the prepacked kind from safeway - kind of gross. It was a traditional swiss cheese fondue - I guess we are just not swiss enough. I don't know how they stand it - gag! So we were down to two pots - one with oil and one with vegetable broth. I liked the veggie broth the best, especially for cooking the prawns. We has way too much food, as usual. I would have hated to come up short! So on Sunday we had shish kebabs with the leftovers. It worked great! I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to come up with another meal idea! I hate serving the same things over and over.

My Christmas baking packaged arrived from my Grandma Ida today on the bus. Bliss I tell you! Lefsa, sweet lefsa, poppycock (which tasted just like her popcorn balls - sooo good), cinnamon twists and a Terry's Chocolate Orange for Girlie and the Boy. At the rate I have been chowing down latetly I should be ready for Penningtons (the fat girls store) by the time I get to Kelowna! Not really, so far so good on the weight gain - but knock on wood because I still have 2 weeks left of my feeding frenzy. I made buttertarts last week and thought that if I stuck them in the freezer, it would be out of sight, out of mind. Sadly, I like them frozen better than anything so the little buggers kept calling my name, and I kept answering.

For the love of God, why can't I crave vegetables?!

St. Nick Has Bit My Ass

I wasn't going to put a tree up this year. We are leaving on the 20th so I didn't see any point. That was before the Christmas Spirit grabbed ahold of me. Funny how that works. Some years I just don't feel it at all. This year it is not even December and it has settled on my heart. Aaah, isn't that sweet?

The Boy made cookies this afternoon and while he was whipping it up in the kitchen, I got the urge to put up the Christmas Tree and listen to Christams carols. So that is exactly what I did. We have those mini lights, you know the kind. One burns out and half the strand is pooched. So I sent Mike to Canadian Tire and he rescued the day. Unfortunately now I have the top half of the tree with normal white mini lights and the bottom with blue-white LED lights. No matter, at least he tried. The kids got into the spirit too and before you could say Jingles Bells the tree was up and decorated.

We made chili for supper so we'll have a rootin tootin good time later tonight! Of course chili has onions so Girlie was not having any of that. She made mushroom soup instead. Onions are the bane of Girlie's life, and mine, since she make it miserable when I attempt to cook with the dastardly things. The kids go to their Dad's for a week tomorrow. I'll miss them that is for sure, but hopefully I can get alot done without them here. For sure we will be having dinner that includes alot of onions. They haven't seen their Dad since I went to Saskatchewan so it is good for them to spend some time with him.

I have been spending most of the last week making Christmas ornaments. They are time consuming as part of the ornament is cross-stiched, but they look so nice when they are done. I plan on giving them to friends and Mike's sister and step-sister for Christmas - along with some tins of baking. I found these incredible tin sets at the dollar store. Solid metallic gold, red and green. The biggest one is quite large and inside are three smaller ones. I plan on filling the biggest with poppycock, and the smaller ones with fudge, almond roca and chocolate truffles. That should make good gifts and I will stack them up and tie a ribbon around them and include the Christmas ornament at the top.

Christ, what in the hell is happening to me. I'm turning into Martha Freaking Stewart. Hell. Next thing you know, I will be making matching nightshirts for all of us to wear on Christmas Eve. Not bloody likely!

Oh, oh it's started - Quick, pull my finger!

Who Knew?

I have been off of work since October 27th. I couldn't wait until I had some time off and I could stay at home. While I was working I thought about all of the stuff I was going to accomplish with my 2 1/2 months off. Organizing closets, fall cleaning, visiting friends. What I didn't count on was the endless hours that are in a day.

So far I haven't accomplished a whole lot. I've done some house cleaning and some baking...enough to gain about 5 pounds. Yikes. So where is the bliss I thought would be waiting for me at home? My day consists of waking Girlie up at 6:30 for her shower, making coffee, having a smoke (I haven't gotten around to quitting yet - that was another thing on my "to-do" list), making Girlie and Boy breakfast, making lunches, yelling at Girlie to hurry up (1/2 hour in the shower and another 15 minutes deciding what to wear), signing notices, shooing the kids out the door to catch the school bus. This brings me to 7:40. Sigh.

Then I tidy up, surf the web, check some emails and drink more coffee. I generally get a load of laundry in as well. So there is my morning. Fulfilling don't you think? This afternoon, I shook things up and made some unbaked chocolate cookies. Now I am back on the computer and it is only 1:15. Good Lord.

So what is on the agenda for the rest of the day, you ask? I plan on making a casserole for supper, possibly lasagne, cleaning the kitchen after the mess I made from making the cookies, watching Oprah and Dr. Phil. This should take me to 4:00 when Girle will get home on the bus. Boy needed his haircut in a serious way so he is walking to the barber shop after school. I gave hime $15 so I hope that is enough. Mike is going to pick him up at 3:30 so they should be home around 4:30. Girlie watches Little House on the Prairie everyday after school so she won't be alot of company until after that is over. Girlie has a sudden fascination with all things Little House. She is reading the series, watching the reruns, pretending her playmobile people are the Ingalls and enacts out various pioneer hardships with all of her playmobile sets. I'm sure she would change her name to Laura if she could. Not that I am complaining. Much more imaginative than Boy, who would spend all his time on the computer or in front of his X-Box if I would let him. He is getting a bit pudgy too. Not that I'm one to talk of course, but I am worried that his inactivity is getting out of hand. How does one go about getting their kids off their behinds and doing something that involves excercise?

I know alot of it falls on my shoulders, so here is what I hope will be a plan for our family's fitness. After the kids are done the dishes am hoping that I can get everyone to go for a walk in the evenings. Even if it is freezing cold and blowing snow. Which it is right now, by the way. Tonight I hope all of us can get off our tushes and take a walk to the library (it will only take about 40 minutes to walk there and back, but it is a start anyway). Let me know if you have any other great ideas for getting my family in shape.

Saskatchewan Part Deux

On my last night in Tisdale I got to see my old friends Sherrie and Brad. Sherrie had been in Calgary for the weekend and had just gotten back that day. She came and picked me up at my Grandma's condo and she took me back to her place. She has two boys and a little girl who is two. The kids were so cute and so well behaved. The oldest boy looks just like his dad and their middle son looks just like Sherrie. It was so nice seeing them again. These are another two people that I had gone to school with right from kindergarten to grade twelve. In fact Sherrie and I knew each other since we were in diapers. We were both curling rink rats groing up together and our dad's curled together quite often. I had a couple of beers at their house and a really great visit. I just wish it was longer. It is hard to catch up with someone in only 2 hours.

The next day, Sherrie's dad drove Mom, Dad and I into Saskatoon to catch our flight. We ate lunch at the airport and then headed into security. We were 5 minutes from boarding our airplane when they came over the intercom saying there had been a security breach and everyone had to go back through security. Aaargh! Mom and Dad only had 1/2 hour as it was in Calgary to catch their flight to Kelowna. Thankfully they pushed everyone through pretty quickly and we were only a few minutes late taking off. They held Mom & Dad's airplane for them in Calgary so they were able to make their flight after all. I rushed to the security section and found Mike's son and his mom waiting for me there. We had barely enough time to get to our gate before our plane took off. We had and hour layover in Vancouver before heading to Prince George. Mike met us there and we headed out on our 4 hour drive home to Smithers. Mike's son and I slept most of the way, so we weren't much help looking for moose and deer, which there were tons of. Oh well, the drive went pretty fast for us and Mike never did end up hitting anything, so all's well that ends well.

Mike took his son out hunting everyday this past week but the only thing that they ended up getting was a grouse. His son enjoyed it though. Spending time with his dad and getting out of the city did him good, I'm sure.

Mike left today to drive him home. They are only going as far as McBride but the last 2 hours are in the dark so I worry as usual. Mike hit a deer on that stretch this summer, so I'm sure he is quite cautious. They will drive the rest of the way to Calgary tomorrow. My daughter is staying at Mike's dad's tonight so it is just my son and me holding down the fort tonight. It feels weird with just the two of us here. I miss Girlie when she's not here, even though when she is at home she talks non-stop and I always wish for a bit of peace and quiet.

The kids all went to see Happy Feet last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mike and I went out for dinner with 2 other couples who are our best friends here in Smithers. We ate at he Ironhorse and it was fantastic. The kids walked there after the show was done and we drove them to Jen and Jeremy's to hang out with all of the other kids while the adults headed on over to the Hudson Bay Lodge. We left there at 11:00 and all went back to Jen and Jeremy's and played a rousing game of spoons. We had so much fun. It has been awhile since we were all able to get together. Hopefully we can see more of them in the coming month.

I'm baaack!

I made it back from saskabush in one piece. Getting there was a bit of a challenge but I eventually made it there. A day late and a dollar or two short. It was a fantastic trip though. My friend Deanna picked me up at the airport in Saskatoon in the middle of a snowstorm. What a friend she is! She took me back to her house which is about 30 minutes from the city. I got to see her new house, well new to me. They have been in it for about 4 years now. I had such a good time there. We went down to the local watering hole in the evening and ate some awesome wings and had a few beers. Her kids are all so sweet and quite hilarious. I was sorry to have to leave so soon as my sister and her fiance picked me up on their way through to Tisdale. The roads were very bad for most of their trip so they were all a little edgy.

We got into Tisdale at 10:00 at night and drove directly to the hotel that Grandma Ida had booked for us. You know how every small town in the prairies has a bar with a hotel rooms above it and you really didn't think anyone ever stayed there. You now know someone who has. It wasn't pretty my friend. We were led up this narrow stairway with carpet that was about 30 years old. As I'm thinking what in the hell have we gotten ourselves into? Anyway we were shown the room. Picture if you will, brown shag carpeting everywhere - even in the bathroom. The bathroom people! That is way beyond wrong! It had old radiator heating that clanked and banged all night. Joy. Anyway we survived the Tisdale Hotel, and how many people can truly say that?

The next day we went and decorated the hall for the 40th anniversary party. Which is what brought all of us here in the first place. The party went very well and alot of people showed up. Mom and Dad and David and Lynn all had fun and appreciated it alot (they had a double wedding with each other so we thought it would be great to do their anniversary together as well).

My friend Deanna came up for the anniversay so it was great to see her again. We ducked out for a half an hour or so and went to Kendall and Layla's and got to see some more people. Layla was having a girl's night out so we had a drink with them, I got to see Kendall and Layla's kids, who are huge by the way. Very tall little lads. We then went back to the hall and finished off the evening.

The next day Deanna phoned and said that they were coming back to town again! Got to love her. I phoned Troy and Laura and Kendall and Layla and told them that we would all meet them at the Star City bar. Layla couldn't come but Kendall and Troy and Laura and Deanna and Denis and I had fun anyway. I stayed at Deanna's parent's house. Her brother is building a huge beautiful house out at their farm, so Deanna and I sat in the construction zone and drank some more and talked and talked and talked. Until 5:00 in the morning! My Dad came and picked me up at 8:30 - I was very tired and probably still a little drunk! We went back to Grandma Ida's and had bacon and eggs. Shellie and Chris and her kids left after breakfast. I was sad to see them go. By this time my cold had gotten really bad. I had a bit of an asthma attack, so off to the emergency room we went. I left with a puffer, antibiotics and steriods! Very worthwhile. It was so good to be back in Saskatchewan. I miss it so much sometimes. I left in 1989 when I was only 19 years old. I haved lived in Northern BC since then but I still call Star City home.

Signs and Omens

My trip to Saskatchewan is not going at all like I planned. First of all, there was no bus service to Prince George in the afternoon. The powers that be at Greyhound figured it wasn't profitable and cut it out. I had planned to take the afternoon bus and overnight in PG and fly out this morning. What do they say about the best laid plans....Anyway, I digress. The only other option was for me to get on the greyhound at 1:45 AM. That's right AM!!! If all went according to plan, I would have arrived in PG at 6:30 with tons of time to spare before I had to catch my flight at 10:30. Unfortunately, the bus gods were not smiling on me last night. I took a taxi into town at 11:00 pm and hung out at Boston Pizza where my friend was bartending. I drank a few beers and ate some appies. When her shift was over we headed to Tim Horton's for a coffee. Then she dropped me off at the bus station, well really, she dropped me off at the 7-11 because the bus station is even open at that ungodly hour. After she dropped me off I found out the bus was running late because the highway from Terrace was closed because of a major accident. The highway ended up being closed for more than 12 hours! After waiting until 3:45, we were finally told that the bus hadn't even left Terrace yet. I just wanted to lay my head down and cry, because at that point I knew that there was no way in hell I was going to make my flight, never mind that I was so tired that my eye balls felt like they were going to fall out of my head! So I quickly phoned the airline and rescheduled my flight. I called the taxi and he took me back home. Where I slept. Like a log.

So now I get to try and do it all over again today. I get on the bus at 3:45 pm and get to Prince George at 9:00 pm, where hopefully, I will sleep like a log once again. I have to be up at 4:00 or so in the morning to get to the airport 2 hours before my flight. Why in god's green earth they make you check in 2 hours before at the PG airport is beyond me. Ah well, the joys of air travel. Perhaps I should be taking this as some kind of sign that I really should not be leaving my cosy little house and trekking halfway across the country. The things we do for family.

Thank goodness my friend that is picking me up in Saskatoon is so understanding. I haven't seen her in 4 years but we have known each other since kindergarten. We both stood up at each others weddings. Old friends are definitely the best kind. I am also a bit nervous to see all my old friends as it has been so long since I was last home. Hopefully they missed me too and will take the time to see me. I will post when I get home in a week and update how my trip went.

Snow

I am beginning to hate winter and it is only the beginning of November. I have a long 4 months ahead of me. Can you blame me, this is what it looks like at my house.

I did get some of the items check off my to-do list, so that makes me feel better. We had a little girl sleep over last night because her Mom had to work at 5:00 this morning. Glad it wasn't me. I can't imagine waking up at 4:30 and having to be awake enough to work at 5:00. Yikes! She was so cute though. It was fun having a little one around here for a change. My son is 13 and my daughter is 11 so they sure helped with the babysitting.

We watched "The Break-up" last night. It was good, but I hated the ending. I so wanted them to get back together. Tonight we are watching "United 93". I hope it is good. Time well wasted in any case.

I still haven't packed, but I finished the laundry so it won't take me long to fill the suitcase up in the morning. I have to be up at 6:00 anyway to get the kids ready for school and off to the school bus. I am hoping to be able to go shopping in the morning for a new pair of pants and possibly a new winter coat. I may just wait on the coat until I get to Saskatoon because the shopping will be a hell of a lot better there. We really have no shopping here. The Sears Catalogue is you best bet for getting anything at a decent price that doesn't fall apart after the first washing (like Saan or Zellers clothes do). Well, the dryer just buzzed so I am off to make up some beds. I never did shovel snow and it snowed again last night with more promised for tonight. Ugh.

Welcome to my Strand of the Web

Okay, so this is my first attempt at joining the blogging world. I really have no idea what I am doing but it looks like fun, so what the heck. Plus, I am a major procrastinator and I needed an excuse not to shovel snow. Or do laundry. Or vaccumn. Okay, so maybe I am a tad lazy too. Ah well, Saturday morning and I have the whole day in front of me with nothing really to do. Don't you love free days like that? Endless possibilities and a to-do list a mile long that doesn't need to get done before Monday?

I have to leave on Monday to bus/fly halfway across the country to attend my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. It looks like it may to into a bit of a gong show, and I can see large quantities of liquor to get through it. My Grandma originally wanted all nine of us to stay with her and her boyfriend in their 2 bedroom condo...What the hell!!! I don't think so. So my sister, her boyfriend and I all sharing a hotel room. A bit better....except my sister snores. Joy.

So I leave on the greyhound at 4:00 in the afternoon and then overnight in PG. The next morning I have to fly from PG to Vancouver to Calgary to Saskatoon. My fiance can't come with me nor can my kids because I am too cheap to get all of us there. Actually Mike (my finance) is out guiding for mountain goats at the moment so he is not even around and my kids will be staying at their Dad's for a week. On the way back through Calgary I am picking up Mike's son and he will fly the rest of the way back with me. He will be staying for a week to go deer hunting with his Dad. See, I really do live in the sticks.