A lovely evening

Hi everyone!

Last night went really well. After work I stopped at Safeway to pick up some cranberry cocktail so I could make mulled cranberry punch. It was not only on sale, I was also a random winner of 10% off groceries for a month!

I dropped off my library books and once I got home, I started cleaning like mad. I put Gilbert and Whiskers in the bathroom to play and proceeded to give Mike a panic attack by moving things around and vacuuming. I ended up hiding a few dirty dishes but the house "looked" very clean by 7. I got out my big pot and poured the cranberry cocktail in it. I added the mulling spice and pretty well left it on the stove to simmer until everyone arrived at 7:30. The house smelt warm and comforting from it so I ended up blowing out the candle of the diffuser I was using and just let the cinnamon/nutmeg smell float in the air (not that I had much choice!). Everyone liked it and most people asked for seconds. I'm very pleased with the results and I may bring some spice for Christmas.

After everyone left, I ended up doing dishes (we used 7/8 dishes, mugs, forks etc.) and I did a second load to help alleviate my guilt of hiding them in the oven. Tonight should have my pile back down to nil.

Have a splitting headache today and I can't tell if it's the Chinook coming or if it's cold and/or muscle tension. It's a bit better than when I first got up but I may just load up on drugs today! I slept in today and had to run most of the way to work (although I did make it on time). I try to leave at 8:15 but my alarm music was very loud this morning. I turned down the volume, which in turn, also turned down the alarm buzzer that went off 15 minutes later. I looked at my watch this morning and saw that it was 7:52. I thought "O'kay, I can doze for another few minutes." A little later, I woke up again and checked my watch - 7:52! Somehow in my sleep, I changed my watch from clock to stopwatch and 7:52 was the time my stopwatch was set at. The actual time was 8:14! I jumped out of bed and was out the door by 8:27. Luckily it's a downhill journey almost all the way to work. About the only good thing about this whole incident was the great cardio workout I got.

I have a meeting tonight with The Townships Project. It's an organization that sets up micro-lending in Africa. Their website is www.thetownshipsproject.org Some people are wanting to set up a chapter in Calgary and although I'm interested in their work, I'm unsure what I can offer to something that's still in the planning stages. There are chapters in Vancouver Charlottetown and Toronto already set up. Basically, they set up re-payable loans for small businesses in Africa. Most are women entrepreneurs who use the loan (about $100) and they have help setting up a business plan and organizing their business. There is about at 95% repayment rate (extremely high) and all the money is put back into the program to help a new business. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recognized micro-lending as the single most effective mechanism in the front-line struggle against poverty in developing countries.

I also need to bake for my Bethel class tomorrow (I'm to bring snack and a devotional), Inn From the Cold (an organization that provides shelter for homeless people with a focus on families. I bake them cookies usually every week to try and bring some cheer to the kids. Calgary has a lot of money but there's a huge gap between the classes. Rent is very high and minimum wage is low so unfortunately there are an increasing amount of people falling through the cracks. Most shelters have trouble accommodating families and this is one of the few organizations that can handle children. They gather everyone downtown and bus them to different churches where there are beds set up in the basement.) and I may bring something in to work. I've recently gotten some new recipes that I'm wanting to try out. It's going to be a busy evening!

Have a great day!