An exciting week

Hi Everyone!

Had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Didn't do the relaxing weekend/restaurant I originally planned but went for an adventure instead.

J took me to Banff on Sunday (after I got home from church and he got back from visitin his family) and we spent the afternoon strolling around the main strip, went to the hotsprings and then had a romantic meal at the Grizzly House. It's a fabulous Swiss fondue place where we spent 2 1/2 hours eating our meals. The first course was salad greens, followed by cheese/kirsch fondu, meat course and then Toberlone chocolate fondue/fresh fruit. For meat we had both hot oil and a hot stone for cooking it. Selections included beef, venison, elk, bison and wild boar. Very delicious - I've been there a few times and it's a place where if I know I'm going to Banff, I'll save my money so I can eat there.

On Monday, we stopped in Canmore for a leisurely breakfast before returning to the city. I really needed that trip - I hadn't been in the mountains for a year! It was also very unexpected. When J originally mentioned having a car and maybe heading to the mountains, I was figuring on a day of hiking or something adventure-like. I was not expecting a romantic, incredibly relaxing, fun escape from the city.

On Tuesday, HR approached me about a position in payroll. They want to move me to this department to help with the field pay. I'd get my own office (and a good size too), with windows along the back wall. It involves a raise (but they haven't given me the numbers yet so my acceptance isn't official yet), a bit more flexible hours and as many courses as I want to take. Since a lot of it is on-the-job training, my inexperience is o'kay. There are courses I'm interested in taking (which they'll pay for) but I was advised to be in payroll for a couple months before taking any courses. I haven't been given a start date but I'm accepting the position based on a change in work, the challenge and new experience. As well, the other girls in payroll are very nice.

If I get a big enough raise, I can afford to keep the apartment to myself and turn the second bedroom into an office. At least - I can do this until the end of June when the youth leader position finishs. It'll be nice though because it'll give me time to come up with other money options. I've been really wanting a separate room for an office to help keep my schooling and youth leader stuff organized. As well, I'd have somewhere to store my bike during the winter. J plans to build me a single-speed bike for winter - lighter than Cali and easier maintenance for snow. Keep your fingers crossed for me on the raise and I'll keep you up to date.

Have a great day!