New Mayor!

Hello Everyone,

I'm very excited - we got a new mayor and there was a large voter turn-out. I think we were all just fed up with how city hall was running. Out of the top 3 candidates (in a dead heat the last week of the campaign), 2 were complete outsiders. And the person I was supporting won. I liked Nenshi's campaign. Really used social media, well thought out platform and ideas, positive messages.

Things are ok right now. Busy and tired but that's how it goes. I have a major project and presentation due on Monday for school that I need to focus on. Money is tight so I'm looking at creative ways to stretch my budget. Luckily I don't any anticipated large purchase over the next few months and most of my Christmas shopping is done.

As for my diet, I can only afford one more visit to the naturopath. My benefits cover most of the consulting fee but none of the supplements. And that powdered drink crap works out to $40/week. Since I don't need it and it just means I would lose the weight slower, I'm cutting it out. I'm also a bit suspicious of the supplement doses she's recommended. It's anywhere from twice to four times the amount on the label. And for the vitamin B12, when she didn't have any of the liquid drops and switched to the under the tongue pill, the dosage quadupled without any comments from her. I'm going to switch to the label recommendations and at my appointment next week, ask her about vitamin d supplement requirements for winter. I haven't noticed any change or weight loss over the past 1 1/2 weeks whereas she mentioned 1-2 lbs a week. And those protein portions are huge! It's hard to eat all that food on the list - I'm just too full. So, I'm still going to stick with the very reduced grains, lots of veggies and healthy food. But I have my doubts. At least my energy level has remained and I'm feeling good about myself.

Got my flu shot on Friday and I can still feel where they stuck the needle. Had a plasma donation in the same arm on Wednesday and after a fiasco there, it bruised. At least it stopped hurting Sunday night. My donations generally go smooth but a night like that with what seemed like a very inexperience nurse makes me second guess my donation. I'm a universal donor for plasma so I'm valuable but I felt horrid for 1 1/2 days and had a sore arm for 5.

Mike is funny. We had one of Keith's friends stay with us Friday & Saturday and he slept in Mike's room. Jerry was in and out all weekend as it was Con-Version (sci-fi, fantasy, horror convention). Mike would not go in his room, even after the guy left. I changed the bedding on Sunday. He still wouldn't go in. I ended up having Jerry put some of his dirty shirts on the bed and Mike quite happily curled up on them. I suspect it was because Mike's room didn't "smell" like Jerry - it smelled like another male. I managed to grab one of the shirts and throw it in the laundry and he's quite happy curling up on the other. Even though he has the entire bed (and entire house) to lounge.

Have a great day!

Wednesday

Hello Everyone,

I have a love/hate relationship with Wednesdays. It's hump day so I know my work week only gets shorter come noon. But usually there is so much to do when I get home.

Dr appointment went good. I'm no longer on no wheat - just super limited wheat. She's now given me weird diet to follow until I'm back down to healthy weight. I've got 25-30 lbs to lose. According to dr, this will have me lose on average 3 lbs of fat (not weight, fat) per week, in a healthy fashion. So, for example, if I lose 3 lbs of fat but gain 2 lbs of muscle, I only have a 1 lbs weight loss on the scale. But she measured how much of my body is water, fat, muscle etc and will monitor me that way rather than a scale. And I have good water in my body - my cells are plump like grapes.

So each day I can have:
2 powdered drinks - icky gritty crap stuff but I can get it down quickly
2 "concentrated protein" - meat (3 oz) and some cheeses
1 legume (1/2 cup)
1 dairy/alternative - milk, yogurt, other cheeses
1 nuts (10-18, depending on the type)
As much salad/leafy veggies as I like
1 sugary vegetable - potato, beets, winter squash (1/2 cup)
1-2 fruits
1 grains (1/2 cup)
4 oils (1 tsp)

I can work with this. 1 icky powder for breakfast, when I take my vitamins, 1 icky powder for afternoon snack. My lunch was "normal" sized today. Apple for a snack and then figure out something for dinner.

Yesterday, I rewarded myself for sticking to the gluten-free for 7 weeks. Had a cup cake and 3 small slices of pizza. So far not feeling terrible today, although I was warned. That pizza was super yummy (and I ate it with a huge salad). On this new diet, I could eat 1 slice but I'd be limited what I could eat for the rest of the day. I like though that I can now go out for dinner, or over to someone's house and not be super vigilant about the ingredients of the meal.

This is the strict lose weight diet and once I get to my desired (and healthy) weight, it changes to maintenance portions. It does help to measure the portions out so if anything, it'll teach me about that.

We're off to Lethbridge for Thanksgiving. Will try to make 1 fruit cake tonight, 1 tomorrow night and then Jerry can make one on Monday. Then, in 3 weeks, we sample to see which will work the best for the favours at the reception Jerry's folks are hosting.

Have a great day!

new shoes

Hello Everyone,

I'm testing out my new shoes today. They arrived last night so today'll be my first day using them for my walk to/from work. They're Skechers shape-ups. Those are the ones that "rock" and simulate "walking in soft sand". First impressions: they're pretty. They're black with white accents and have little rhinestones running along the shoe lace holes. Comfort: so-so. I find the ball and toes of my feet were a bit uncomfortable. Walking: much slower pace. I have the lights timed downtown so I know exactly how quickly I have to walk to make them. Didn't even come close today. But I did feel like I worked hard than my normal walk.

We'll see. I needed new running shoes as the soles had holes scooped out from the spikes on my bicycle pedals.

Have a great day!

Sad Tummy

Hello Everyone,

So, I don't think I can drink milk anymore. My supplements need to be taken with a meal and since I don't like breakfast before leaving for work (I have oatmeal around 9am usually), I needed to figure something out. Last week I drank Ensure for breakfast and it worked quite well. Problem - it's expensive. So, brilliant me thought, "Why can't I just drink a cup of milk? It's got lots of vitamins, nutrients and it has vitamin D in it"

So, I started on Monday.

And I have felt terrible all week. My bloating came back and it's worse than before. My tummy is very sad today. I just did an exercise to help. And I'm eating ginger snaps (made with real ginger, gluten free)to help me feel better.

But since yougurt has less lactose, I should be ok eating that. I've eaten it for several years without reacting. But the milk drinking was a notable reaction.

1 1/2 weeks to go and then I'm back to yummy flour products.

Got my marks back - 100% on the course

Super happy although I don't honestly think I deserved it. I think there were a lot of improvements I could have done on my assignments. I think though that they have a criteria and as long as you cover everything in that criteria, you get 100%, even if the overall quality isn't great. But I'm certainly not going to argue with them.

I started my exercising on Wednesday. Goal this week is 10 minutes on trainer each day. Next week is 15 minutes each day. And it'll increase in 5 minute intervals each week until it's 30 minutes every day. Since it's cardio, I don't need a rest day. My plan is to do my riding in the morning, before work. I find I'm too tired by the end of the work day.

First class of payroll course was a joke. A bit pissed off at that. We introduced ourselves, went over the course outline, picked up our text books and were done. Nothing taught.

Have a great day!

Done

Hello Everyone,

All done. My final assignments submitted half an hour ago. Very relieved and content.

Jerry was super wonderful today. He washed dishes. He made dinner. He washed the dinner dishes. He cooked pasta & chicken for my lunches this week. He told me he understood how I needed to focus and that he wanted to do this for me.

So, I'll spoil him next weekend.

Tomorrow night I start my payroll course. I also get my course material. I should know by the end of the night if I can also do another computer course while doing the payroll course. These computer courses have 6 months to complete and if I hadn't procrastinated, it would have been done in 3. So, if I start a new computer course, my goal can be to be done before the wedding.

My education progress - 10 courses required for the University Certificate in Management Applications. 2 courses done. 5 courses required for Certified Payroll Manager program. Start my first course tomorrow night. 2 courses will overlap with the university certificate. Ambitious goal is to have both completed by end of 2012. I figure if I write this goal down and show how to achieve it, I may be able to keep on track.

Anyways, bedtime for me!

Have a great day!

Dreary Weather

Hello Everyone,

Stupid volcano - messed up our weather this year and we have to pull the garden. It's been a week of weather not reaching the double digits and snow called for tomorrow. We pull all the tomatoes (40 plants), transplant the peppers and bring inside the containered tomatoes. Quite disappointing but we've had good potatoes and beets. We'll keep the carrots in for a while, since a bit of cold won't hurt them.

Finished Assignment 2 of my computer class. I have 1 more assignment to complete (25% done already) and 1 that's done and ready to hand in. Luckily, at this point, even if my answers are incorrect, I still pass the course. I plan to have this incomplete assignment submitted Sunday night (along with the other already completed one), which will finish the course. Then I start a payroll course on Monday. It's in class, so I'll confirm my bike route on the weekend.

Went to the bridal show on Sunday. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. But very eye-opening as to why some people have crazy wedding costs. Picked up a bird cage veil for a great price.

Tested Sasha out that day. She's fast. And a lot of fun. I'll be riding her to class so I wanted to do a few test rides to get the gearing figured out. I need to change her saddle to Polly's and throw on lights, reflector and bell.

We're getting a maid service. Our house is driving all of us crazy. And I think it'll ease up on tension. I've gotten several quotes and we have one company coming over tonight for an in-person evaluation. I will be quite relieved once this service starts.

Built a side board last night. I'll seal it tonight and be able to start using it tomorrow night. It'll go in our livingroom, in place of the open grey shelving unit. I think it'll make things tidier since boxes can go behind cupboard doors and I'm putting a shelf above it to make it look a bit like a hutch. It was from JYSK so the price was right.

Oh, and we picked up a dining room table & 4 chairs at a garage sale on Saturday. Everything matched! It definitely made a big difference since I was using the old one from the lunchroom at work that was falling apart.

Have a great day!

test results

Hello Everyone,

I went back to the naturopath yesterday and got my results. The good news is that all my organs are working properly. The red flags that went up were deficient vitamin B12 & D. My iron was a bit low but still in the acceptable range (since I'm not trying to get pregnant). And my glucose tolerance showed something I already knew. Everyone once in a while, I'll get a hot flash that hits me, I get dizzy and I need to eat something asap - as in really asap. It's why I have juice or snacks with me when I go anywhere that won't have immediate food access. It's happened enough times for me to know the signs and it's caused by low blood sugar. So, the dr confirmed that I should carry something with me.

So, I continue with no wheat for 4 more weeks and then most likely back to normal. If my energy level doesn't continue to increase and the weight start coming off, then I may need to stay off wheat for longer and have more testing done.

I don't know a lot about vitamin B12 except it's not common to have a deficiency. I now have to take 1 ml in a dropper under my tongue each day. Is there a trick to this? I tried it this morning, could only fill the dropper half way (so, had to do 2 doses), the liquid bounced against the bottom of my mouth and then over my tongue into the cavity of my mouth (instead of sitting under there nicely for absorption).

And vitamin D I'm not too surprised about. Although I rarely wear sunscreen (and don't harp on me for this - my sun exposure is limited and I do it intentionally to get vitamin D), Calgary is quite a bit north from Chesley. And I eat yougurt rather than drink a glass of milk or fortified orange juice. So, it's 4 drops of vitamin D under my tongue - which was much easer than the above.

So, I get to stop taking the super crazy probiotic stuff and use 1 bottle now of a lesser strength. Continue with omega 3 pills. And 1 pill with each meal to help break down the food components. And these vitamin supplements. Overall things will be easier because the instructions don't have a waiting period for prescriptions.

And, as my energy increase, to start exercising again. Dr would like me to eventually sweat 3 times a week by the time I go back to her in 4 weeks. This is ok with me since I knew exercise would be a component.

So, the above all seems a bit complicated to me but I want to give it a full try. She wants me to keep taking a probiotic for as long as I'm on birth control (because it apparently can cause issues) but to stay on the pill for the time being. I'm not getting bloated after meals now. And my energy level has noticeably increased. I think the pill that breaks down food will be stopped at some point and I'm not sure about the omega 3s. The dosage of everything is higher than on all the bottles so I'm hoping that will decrease too.

Oh, and on my next 4 weeks of no wheat, if I do slip up, she told me to slip up good and make it worth my while - like a big loaf of Italian bread :-)lol

Have a great day!

Lovely vacation

Hello Everyone,

Back to work and the vacation was wonderful. I'll post pictures in a day or two. Left Saturday with a friend of mine and her son. She was visiting her brother while we camped so we didn't have to pay for a hotel room that night.

Got camp set up on Sunday. Had a herd of elk go through the campsite and they were quite mellow.

Climbed Roche Miette and summitted. It was a moderate scramble and took 7 hours round trip. This is my first scramble summit. Went to the hotsprings afterwards.

Tuesday was a mellow day in town.

Wednesday afternoon we spent in a two person sea kayak on Maligne Lake. It was relaxing although I got a bit bored.

Thursday we drove home.

Bought Sasha Dolce while up there. Bike prices were better than Calgary and they were having a season end sale. She's a Specialized road bike - entry level but quite cute. So, I now have my full set of bikes - utility single gear, fixie, English lady's bike and road. It'll be much better riding her on the trainer because of her gears. I think we're doing some long rides next summer and she'll be quite perfect for that.

Spent the weekend with Mike & Whiskers as the guys went down to the Huckleberry Festival. Brought back berries so we'll make jam.

Going camping this weekend at Jerry's parent's campsite.

Will be focusing on school for the next 3 weeks. I start a payroll course Sept 20th in class so I want to make sure everything is wrapped up. I took all my payroll courses online thus far so I'm curious about the in-class course. It'll be the first course in my next payroll certification. Although I don't plan to stay in payroll, I'll take the free education. Stick it out at Akita for another couple years to get my next payroll certification and my university certificate. They've treated me well and although I don't hate my job, I don't have a passion for it.

Starting to feel better. Energy level up and able to focus better. Had a hard time on vacation since I was extremely limited what I could eat at a restaurant. Try it out sometime - battered meat, soy sauce, bread etc. Picked up some gluten-free pizza dough and Indian food at the grocery store. And my favourite Thai peanut noodles are gluten-free so I have "fast food" if I'm super hungry. Weight has levelled off - no huge fluxuations or bloating so it looks like working out for me. Oh well, I knew it would be part of solution.

Have a great day!

discoveries

Yummy
corn pasta
plain rice cakes with nutella on top

Bleh
cheese flavoured Rice Crips

puffiness

Hello Everyone,

I'm unhappily "puffy" for the past several months so I'm going for medical tests today. I think it's connected to my pill. I was on Alesse for a couple years when my pharmasist asked if I wanted to try the generic version, Aviane. So, I started taking it in November. Over the winter my weight increased a bit, which is normal for me. But, in the spring, it got a lot higher and I lost my waist. Turning into an apple and feeling bloated. As well, the ring on my finger I've worn for 12 years no longer fit. And my clothes are 2+ sizes too small.

So, I had a couple dr appointments yesterday. One for my female check-up, one to discuss my weight gain and fluxuations. For example, while I took Aviane, I would lose 10 lbs on my "week off". And when I started the cycle again, the 10 lbs would be back that evening. So, I stopped the Aviane and went back to Alesse at the beginning of this month. And instead of 10 lbs, it was 3 lbs. As well, my weight changes by 3 lbs throughout the day. And I jiggle.

So, the second dr ordered some tests and said if they were negative, he was going to treat me for depression.

What! I was not impressed.

So, I went back to the office, popped online and found a naturopath dr a few blocks away. Got in to see her in the afternoon.

Had an hour long consultation, did a crazy medical history and interview with me. And she also thought other dr was crazy. So, she ordered the same tests plus a few and is approaching my puffiness (which I suspect is water)as a digestive issue with possible side affects from my pill (and the other brand).

So, no wheat for 3 weeks.
Super probiotic pills in the morning.
Fish oil in the morning.
And another supplement to take with meals to help break down the foods into simple components.

I was a lot more impressed with her approach. And I follow up with her in 3 weeks.

Thank goodness my benefits cover at least some of the costs. But if it means potentially not being drugged on prosak for a year, I'm willing to give it a try.

And at my first appointment, I told that dr about my weight gain experience. She had heard of other people who experienced that and gave me a drug card to make sure the pharmasist only gave me the name brand. My benefits covered it anyways but a lot of plans only cover generic brands. The second dr dismissed it completely.

Jerry's been super supportive over this whole time. I've known something was wrong since weight isn't something I focus a lot on. It was more because it was around my core, lack of energy and feeling bloated. And he's going to help me with meals for the next 3 weeks (with a slow introduction back at some point in time). The Safeway near our house is really good - wheat-free pasta, cookies, bread, crackers etc. Oh, and no red licorice (the second ingredient is wheat).

So, I'll let you know how things go.

Oh, and for my last meal, I only had a bit of wheat last night. Chocolate birthday cake from a friend's party and some batter on the chicken nuggets. We had golden beets from the garden that were super yummy.

Have a great day!

china pattern

Hello Everyone,

So, we've picked out a china pattern. It took us about an hour of looking at dishes, pretending to set the table, etc to choose it. It's made by Wedgwood and the pattern is called India.

Jerry's been saying, "We have a china pattern" randomly since Saturday afternoon.

While we were there, we also picked out casual dishes - Lenox Aspen Ridge. I liked it because you can put it in the oven or the freezer and it's a very nice white.

We need to go in and pick our glassware but other than that, we're done.

I just made my last accommodation booking for Mexico. Now, it's just activities and making payments. This one was for staying at Sian Ka An nature preserve (before we go to Cancun). They also offer fishing, birdwatching, kayaking and other nature tours. It looks very relaxing.

And we're staying at a fun, casual hotel while in Isla Mujeres. They threw in a free bike rental for 1 day and they're 4 blocks to the beach. Right on the main pedestrian street so lots of atmosphere and excitement.

The nice thing about having a shorter resort stay (5 nights), we are saving a lot of money by going to lower star accommodations for the other parts of the trip. Both of us are use to hosteling and both places offer great atmosphere and quite reasonable facilities. Nicer than a lot of the motels I've stayed at in Canada. And a more casual feel. I think I'm going to be a bit overwhelmed by the resort since I've never stayed in anything that nice before.

We're off to Jasper on Saturday and will come back on Thursday. Camping, relaxing etc. There's a scramble I want to try and we'll also try kayaking on Maligne Lake. And on Friday we plan to go the gopher musuem (yes, I'm serious - they stuff dead ground squirrels and dress them in costumes) before returning the car.

Have a great day!

Coulee outside of Lethbridge

Susan

Hurry up and wait

Hello Everyone,

It's payroll processing day and I'm in "hurry up and wait" mode. You hurry to get all the input in and then you wait for it to load. You hurry to get everything finalized and then you wait for it to calculate the stat deductions. You hurry to get through the steps to make sure the GL accounts balance and you wait for the report to let you know if you screwed up. You wait for all the reports to print off and hurry to make sure everything is correct.

And so I have time to say, "Hello!"

It'll be a quiet weekend. We have a wedding to attend tomorrow but that's it. So, I'm planning on school work and getting rid of some stuff. I had a phone call from a charity looking for clothing and household items and they said they'll be by on Tuesday to pick stuff up. Yay! Getting rid of stuff without having to garage sale. Maybe I'll slowly get rid of stuff throughout the year this way.

I think I'm suffering from some type of allergies. Nose constantly running with fuzzy head. Sore throat from post nasal drip. All yucky but it doesn't seem like a cold. I'm all drugged up and it seems to be helping.

Have a great day!

A Relaxing Weekend

Hello Everyone,

Jerry was off to play with the boys for a bachelor party so I had the house to myself from Saturday afternoon until Monday. Rearranged some furniture in the livingroom and did homey things.

Our rings arrived as well. They are very pretty but I won't show them to you until after the wedding. I will say they're both rose gold and mine is a rose cut diamond. Jerry isn't sure about his. I think it's more that he hasn't worn a ring in years and maybe seeing a ring is starting to make the idea of the wedding sink in further. It was a bit funny but I'm trying to be as supportive as I can. It took a while for the idea of me being engaged to sink in and this is the first physical wedding item he's dealt with.

We got registered at The Bay (before Jerry left) but we'll need to go back to finish the appointment. We'll pick out the china pattern together, the glassware and Jerry's in charge of cooking stuff. I rather enjoyed scanning things that would co-ordinate our household. I took a good look around at the house this weekend and realized what was off. None of our furniture in the livingroom matches, none of the colours in the bathroom go together, none of our bedroom linen works together. So, we'll slowly rectify this over the next couple years. Since we've registered at The Bay, they give us a 10% discount card for anything on the registry we want to buy. And the card is good up until a year after the wedding.

I wasn't planning to register anywhere. We don't need anything but a lot of our stuff is second-hand and/or poor quality. But Jerry's family wants to host a shower on Boxing Day. So, I put lots of things under the $25 & $50 range. It's seems very weird - coming up with a list of stuff for people to buy us. Especially when we're not overly materialistic people. We would much prefer "experiences" (for those who want to give us something). Like movie tickets, dinner for two, symphony and/or theatre tickets, swimming with the dolphins in Mexico, dancing lessons etc. Maybe I'm being ungrateful (if so, just send me a virtual smack on the back of the head). Our ideal would be instead of gifts, a get-together to catch up with friends & family would be lovely. I think it's rather sweet Jerry's family is so excited about doing all this wedding stuff - it's just not my style or what I would prefer. But we'll smile, try to enjoy ourselves, knowing this is their way of welcoming me to the family.

Other than that, the garden is doing well and school is dragging along. I need to finish my second assignment this week and get going on my final chapter. I have until the end of September but I'm hoping to register for a payroll course that starts near the end of September and I want to make sure this stupid course is done.

We've got a baby pumpkin, lots of little green tomatoes, yummy peas and carrots. A few baby potatoes. A few blueberries that were quite tasty - if blueberries in the store tasted like that, I would eat blueberries.

Have a great day!

Stampede!

Hello Everyone,

Ah, Stampede - I love you! 10 days of dressing up like a cowboy and eating way too much fried stuff on a stick. We went down to the grounds last night and had a lot of fun. Went on 2 rides - the swing tower and crazy mouse (small roller coaster with a 4 seat car that pivots. Said "Hello!" to the ducks, goats and sheep. Explored the Marketplace (As Seen On TV Heaven) and ate lots of unhealthy food. This year, it was my staple (deep fried mac & cheese)and I tried deep fried Oreos and deep fried Snickers.

Saw the fireworks and called it a night.

We'll check out the fireworks for the rest of the nights but I don't plan to go back down to the grounds. Even if you plan to be there only an hour or two and it ends up being a whole day and I have a screen door to build. It's a home & garden weekend for us.

Have a great day!

Catch up time

Hello Everyone,

What a crazy few weeks it's been. Close to finishing up training at work so I don't plan to be working late this week. We had a computer upgrade on Friday so I had an extra long weekend. I'm very proud of the fact I slept in until noon on Friday.

We installed ceiling fans in three rooms on the weekend. We can only open about a third of the windows on the main floor since someone sealed and then painted over jams. "Repair" work like this drives me crazy. So we have some fans that have already made a big difference and this week I'm building a screen door with the leftover wood in the garage. Handywoman Karen!

Wedding planning coming along. We have officially made some decisions. We're getting married Sunday, February 20th in Cancun. We're going to have a reception in Lethbridge about a month or so later (afternoon gathering) as well as something in Chesley later in the summer so you'll have lots of opportunities to tease Jerry about married life. I've been in contact with our wedding planner and she's set up a webpage so we can communicate with each other. She seems quite nice.

Garden is growning like crazy. Been eating lots of salad - radish & beet tops, spinach, swiss chard. Potatoes are just getting ready to flower so I may harvest them and do a second planting. We've got a few tomatoes about the size of a loonie now and lots of blossoms.

Jerry built me a new firepit using reclaimed brick. We're still working on the design but it did make great s'mores.

Just got back my first assignment for school and I'm very proud of my mark. Will need to really focus over the next two months and I'll have that course completed. It doesn't help that I don't care a lot about the subject (IT Help Desk Support), the computer knowledge is a bit higher than what I currently had (the course outline I had when I signed up was out of date) and it's summer. I have learned a lot (how to design a web page, some extra Excel formulas etc) but in hindsight, I wish I had known to upgrade my computer skills first. After all, I needed a computer course anyways so I wouldn't have been taking an extra course for nothing.

Stampede starts on Friday. Will go to the grounds on Sunday since if you get there before 9am, it's free admission.

Have a great day!

Susan

Hello Everyone,

I'm still have troubles uploading photos to blogger. I keep getting a bunch of code - any suggestions?

So, I have a link to Susan. Scroll down to my website links and choose "If I won the lottery...". Choose "Our Cycles" then "Classic Bicycles" then "Princess Sovereign".

Susan is my lovely lady from England, in hunter green.

The story behind the effort it took Jerry to get her.

We've sized each other before when I was looking at road frames so he already knew what size I needed.

He called the one bike shop in Calgary who sells Pashleys.
They didn't have any in green and weren't expecting any to be available until next year (most of them are black so green is hard to find).

Jerry explained why it was so important.

BikeBike made a few phone calls

Nobody had any.

BikeBike explained the situation.

A few more phone calls went out.

Someone managed to find the last green Pashley in my size in North America.

And now it's in our livingroom.

She's a dream to ride. So comfortable. Extremely manoeuverable (quick turns, good brakes etc). My arms feel so natural. And a crazy loud bell that sounds like a door chime (2 tones). I'll try to get pictures on my Facebook later this week.

So yes, I'm incredible spoiled and I know how very lucky I am to be with Jerry.

Have a great day!

Scroll down to my profile photo

Hello Everyone!

It's been a whirlwind lovely week.

Jerry proposed last Sunday afternoon. We had some friends over for lunch and then Jerry told me he had something to show me in the backyard.

I had thought maybe something new in the garden came up.

When I came out, there was a bicycle.

So I went jumping and bouncing over to it.

And then Jerry came over and handed me a ring and said, "and there's a ring to go with it."

Awwwwww!!!

Yes, so I jumped up and down, did lots of giggling.

Oh, and yes, after he gave me the ring our friends made him get down on one knee in the wet grass to do it properly.
So, the ring is a proxy ring until we find the right one. He had been looking for one "for a while" but didn't find anything that was just right. And then he found it outside his office on Friday. It is a very pretty ring and I love the story behind it.

So, nothing decided yet. Initial plans are a destination wedding in February. And then a reception in Lethbridge and in Chesley. I get really stressed when planning events and organizing things so I like the idea of not having anything to stress over. We can combine the wedding and honeymoon for about the same price as a nice wedding in Calgary. I also think it is very suiting to start our marriage in a new place, unknown to both of us, so we have opportunities to explore and build our life together.

So, that's enough mushy stuff for now. I made Mom wait a week before telling anyone since I wanted that time for everything to sink in. And it was nice to have that time for Jerry and I to talk about what we want.

Have a great day!

My birthday

Hello Everyone,

Spent the weekend in Banff. We climbed Mt Rundle on my birthday, although we couldn't summit. Photos still acting up so check out Facebook for my photos.

Garden planted tonight, based on the moon phase. I trust it more than the star phases. But there's a chance of snow tomorrow and/or Friday so they may need to be covered.

Anyways, rather tired.

Have a good night!

This is why I haven't been posting...

Hello Everyone,

So, still having issues with uploading photos. So, they're uploaded on my Facebook page.

Winter's back :-(

Hello Everyone,

After a gorgeous April, we have snow in May. A bit accumulated on the ground overnight. Roads slushy. Crazy wind for the past couple days. Although we desperately needed the moisture, my front step plants are all in our diningroom. For some reason, I'm not able to post my photos - I'll try later today.

We got the frames for our boxes built on the weekend. We have 3 more to do (they'll sit on the current frame to make our deep boxes). They're protected with a mixture of bees wax and baby oil. So far, water is beading on them.

Have a cough that's been hanging around for a week or two. A good chunk of the office has had it.

Our KitchenAid arrived yesterday! It was a Christmas present (and it took us a while to decide what we wanted). Shiny black with I think a 475 watt motor. I just know it looks pretty and it made great pizza dough last night with little mess. Jerry was giddy. I love the Shopping Channel.

Have a great day!

Um, yeah...

Hello Everyone,

We had some free time last night and decided to watch a movie. Our fabulous PVR (and 1 free month of extra perks cable) let us watch Twilight. For those of you who are fans of the movie and/or book, please stop reading this post now.





That was one of the most horrible movies I've ever seen! And I've seen some doozies - friends of ours have a crazy B movie collection and this ranked up there in bad movies.

Dialogue - It sounded like it was written for text messaging. 1 line sentence. Long pause while they stare at each other. 1 line sentence. Another long stare. 1 line sentence. A pissed off expression. 1 line sentence...

Cinematography - So, there are a couple times it looks like the director was trying to make a dramatic scenery shot. S/he failed miserably. And that's pretty hard because the location itself was quite pretty.

Special Effects - Jerry and I burst into laughter each time Edward ran through the trees. And what the **** was up with the body glitter in the sun? Yes, I've read the books and body glitter just didn't cut it for me.

Hair - ok, the ongoing additions Jerry and I had (to make the dialogue more interesting). Take every sentence that Edward says and add "...with my eyebrows". It was driving me nuts! The colour tones didn't work. And the big hair was just plain funny. While flying through the trees, I asked Jerry how much pine gum got in his eyebrows. His answer was none, because it was all in his hair.

So yeah, Jerry is a saint for being in the livingroom while I watched this movie. And he only slept through about half of it because I kept waking him up for funny parts. About the only good thing I can say about it is at least it didn't cost us a movie rental.

Proud Kitty Mom

Hello Everyone,

I'm so proud of Mike - he did great at the vet yesterday. The new vet is 5 blocks away so I put him in his harness and we walked for a bit. But he's not good at the leash thing so I then put him in my canvas bag. There were 2 noisy roads that scared him a bit.

When we got there, the room was filled with cute dogs. I had no idea how Mike would react. I went over to the far side where there were no dogs and set him down. After about 5 minutes, he seemed ok so I picked him up and we sat in the corner - between a cat and a dog. The cat wasn't feeling well so I don't think Mike saw him as dangerous. And the 2 lap dogs were very well behaved. After about another 5 minutes, he settled down on my lap.

He acted very well mannered. He only hissed twice - both at dogs who came over to say, "Hello!" And the rest of the time he just laid on my lap, getting petted.

And the vet said he was in good health. We got a sample of food to help clean his teeth and he didn't say anything about teeth cleaning. The last vet really pushed it but it's super expensive and I have concerns about it. He got his outdoor shots too.

Yep, a very proud mom.

On the weekend, he had his first opportunity to roam in and out of the house. It was quite warm so we kept the back door open throughout the day (we were doing yard work on the weekend). The back yard has a high fence that he doesn't realize he can jump on top of yet. He really enjoyed himself. He even chased a squirrel - went bounding across the yard like a golden retriever. And he pounced on bugs (but I don't think he actually caught anything).

Have a great day!

Looking forward to the weekend

Hello Everyone,

Ah Fridays - and I'm having my counterpart run the payroll today. I've got a number of things to do so it means I won't be extra rushed.

Slow going with my assignments. I have 4 parts to do and I've only finished the first one. But it involved creating a website and I'm quite excited about how it turned out. It's super simple in design but I figured I did pretty good for my first try. I have a power point presentation to finish tonight and then the other two assignments on the weekend.

I have the last of the indoor jiffy pot planting to do. Very excited about that! I think we're building boxes this weekend since our roommate is home to help us with transportation. There are a couple things that can go in now (Swiss chard - yum!) but I don't know if we're also getting soil yet.

We didn't get hit with that crazy winter storm. Jerry's family was affected though and got snowed in. It was just really windy here. The forecast shows a lovely weekend.

Made a super delicious roasted butternut squash soup from Barefoot Contessa's cookbook. I picked up some Afghani naan from the Persian store nearby and it made a very filling meal. There are condiments that go with it but I was too impatient. Jerry added a bit of lemon juice for complexity and once we blended it, he also strained it into the pot to get an even texture.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

4-6 servings

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded
2 yellow onions
2 McIntosh apples, peeled and cored
3 tablespoons good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 teaspoon good curry powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the butternut squash, onions, and apples into 1-inch cubes. Place them on a sheet pan and toss them with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Divide the squash mixture between 2 sheet pans and spread in a single layer. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until very tender.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock to a simmer. When the vegetables are done, put them through a food mill fitted with the medium blade. (Alternatively, you can place the roasted vegetables in batches in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add some of the chicken stock and coarsely puree.) When all of the vegetables are processed, place them in a large pot and add enough chicken stock to make a thick soup. Add the curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Taste for seasonings to be sure there's enough salt and pepper to bring out the curry flavor. Reheat and serve hot.

Have a great weekend!

A Mellow Weekend

Hello Everyone,

I was in a stay-at-home mood this weekend. We did a bunch of gardening stuff and planning. We have our garden area staked out in the yard and will build our boxes in the coming weeks. There will be 11 4'x4.5' boxes. At least, that's the bottom floor area and once you consider the thickness of the walls, it'll be about 4x4.

It's all very exciting. Our kitchen table has little seedling (mostly tomato), which makes me happy. We're hoping to have enough harvest to provide our tomato needs for the year (we use a lot of canned tomatoes), and a good supply of beans, carrots, potatoes, squash and parsnips. We have other varieties too but this will be our main focus. We've had good luck in the past and since we're growing from seed, it's fairly economical. We're still having expense from the initial seed purchase, soil and wood supplies but we should have enough harvest to offset the costs.

Jerry was in a cleaning mood this weekend so I curtainly wasn't going to stop him. He did a major bathroom cleaning (including the walls) and he treated the floor in the livingroom. A mixture of oil, vinegar and I think something else but since Jerry was doing the mixture, I didn't ask.

I have school work to do this week. Done my reading for part 1 so now I have my practical assignments to do. It should be a bit of a challenge so my evenings will be full. I'll be glad to get this first assignment done though so I can see how the marking works and what they're looking for.

Have a great day!

Crazy church service

Hello Everyone,

I don't know how I do it, but I seem to be very good at finding crazy church services around Easter. I have a deal with Jerry that he only has to attend church twice a year with me - Christmas & Easter. He's pretty good natured about it (grew up in the Lutheran church).

So, the negotiation this year was Good Friday vs Easter. Since we were hoping to snowboard on Sunday, Good Friday it was. We wanted to find a church midway between Calgary & Lethbridge so we'd make it to Easter lupper (who serves turkey dinner at 2pm?).

Lots of small towns and although they had churches, most didn't have website and none of the websites mentioned a Good Friday service. So, I came across a local newspaper with an invitation:

"Experience a re-enactment of Christ's Tomb on Friday, April 2 at 11 a.m. at the Fort Macleod Alliance Church."

Sounds exciting! Neither of us had any clue how you re-enact a tomb or who the Alliance church was but we had an address and a time.

So, we show up at the church.

When you opened the front door, there were two legionnaires (complete with skirts and spears) who "guarded" a door made up to look like two rocks. Already it looked more interesting than most services I've been to.

They opened the "rocks" so we could "pay our respects" at the tomb. The next room had no lights but tea lights marked the path with a mummy (Jesus) on a raised section of the "cave". A bit creepy but it did answer how someone re-enacts a tomb.

Then we headed into a perfectly normal sanctuary. Rather pretty with candles along the sides. Then we saw a hooded figure near the front who looked like the grim reaper without his sycthe.

But still, things were going pretty normal. They had an overhead projecter with a counter so you knew when church was going to start "The church service will begin in 2:09 minutes" etc. I was curious what would happen when it reached 0:00 but no exploding graphics or anything like that.

It was a modern service, lots of youth participation and songs.

Then there was the sermon.

Ummm, yeah.

All of the Good Friday services I've ever been to had a sermon that talked about the cruxifiction. This one was about how the world was filled bad things, like Hitler, because mankind didn't place all of their faith in God. And the pastor tried to show this using a cut up piece of paper but he didn't have enough sticky tack so the bulletin board looked funny and he needed help holding up the paper. And that all the people who didn't place all their faith in God were going to hell. And yes, he spelled "hell" using the pieces of paper. Both Jerry and I were rather confused what he was talking about since he rambled off on these odd tangents and nothing really made sense.

Things went back to normal with a hymn.

Then communion came along.

I suspect this sect of Christianity places a strong emphasis on communion and the affirmation of "accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal saviour" (the phrase was repeated numerous times in both the sermon and communion". So a couple weird things came next.

The communion came from a fountain (yep - I thought that was cool). But, it was one of those glowing fountains you see at weddings. So, when they turned it on, it glowed blue and purple before the grape juice started flowing out.

And then the oddest invitation for communion I have ever heard.

1. Everyone who had accepted Jesus into their heart was welcome to take communion
2. Everyone who hadn't shouldn't take communion because they'll be taking all the sins of the world and putting it on themselves.
3. So, if you weren't ready, nobody would judge them (as the minister scans the congregation)
4. And then the first 2 steps were repeated a couple more times
5. And then a moment of prayer, for those people who hadn't accepted him yet. That way they could do it in prayer and then take communion.

So Jerry and I look at each other and try to figure out if we were allowed to take communion. Since both of us had been confirmed in churches, we figured it would be ok.

And then the service had a perfectly normal ending.

And they didn't charge us for the grape juice or bread.

And we escaped as quickly as possible.

Mmmmm

Hello Everyone,

I went to Purdy's today to pick up chocolates for Easter. I found one named "Whiskers", which I thought would be very appropriate for Jerry. While there, I decided to try Pink Hawaiian salt caramels.

Wow

Imagine a yummy square of thick caramel, covered in a rich milk chocolate. Then sprinkle little bits of pink salt on top. It's an amazing combination.

Just wanted to make you hungry

Have a hoppy Easter!

I Can Ride a Motorcycle!

Hello Everyone,

I just wrote my motorcycle knowledge test and passed. Yippee!!!

What this means is I'm a beginner so I can ride a motorcycle as long as I'm with someone with a full motorcycle license. The next step is for Jerry to get his so we can both register for a motorcycle class. When you take classes here, you get to use their motorcycle for the exam. And don't worry, no riding for me until I take the safety course.

Our seedlings are doing well. There are 2 tomatoes ready for transplanting into pots and several more that will be ready next weekend.

We have Telus tv getting hooked up on Sunday. It'll be interesting to see how well tv works through phone lines but we'll give it a couple months. They had some good promotions on and it'll mean 1 bill for phone, internet and cable.

Have a great day!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Hello Everyone,

Today is my 6th Calgary anniversary. Lots of things happened since then so here's a comparison

Hair - short, and short although today it's in a faux hawk
Pets - none, cat & rabbit
Relationship - none, Jerry
Living arrangements - none (but will be apartment hunting), in a lovely rental house
Job - nope (but will be looking), yes and in an established career now
$ - 2 weeks to survive on, still in debt but there's light at the end of the tunnel

I do love Calgary. It's given me a lot and there's an interesting feel to it. I like the big blue skies and that the mountains are nearby.

Have a great day!

New Haircut

Hello Everyone,

I got my hair cut on Tuesday and I love it. It's really short and my inspiration was Carey Mulligan (a British actress). It's rather versatile. Yesterday I had it worn close to my head whereas today it's in a faux-hawk.

Jerry has no idea so it'll be a surprise when he gets home. I had told him I was dying my hair this week but it's still brown. May dye it red next month.

Have a great day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello Everyone,

I have my green scarf on and wore my green jacket to work today.

Jerry's up in Edmonton again this week. Starting to get use to the new routine, although I don't like it. I hope this is his last long stint up there. He'll still need to go up a few times a month but I think it's only for a day or two.

The party went well. Food was delicious. My favourites were the chicken pastry and the lamb tagine. Oh, and the rocky road candy but it's one of my favourite desserts. It looked like everyone had a good time and Jerry enjoyed himself.

I tried out my new bike trainer on Sunday. It's rather difficult to use. They're rollers so you really have to concentrate. On my first try, I couldn't let go of the wall because I was too wobbly. I tried it again last night and could do a few minutes at a time with both hands on the handlebars. It will be a really great workout once I get the hang of it.

Jerry had to get a new bike on the weekend since he cracked the steel frame of his old one. While at the bike shop, I got to test ride a Pashley. This is one of my dream bikes. They're made in England, very old-school and feminine. What a difference it was compared to riding Calli! I didn't have to stretch to be comfortable with the handlebars, I was a lot more upright, easy to shift. So maybe next year I'll have enough $ saved up.

Hope you have a great day!

A tiring week

Hello Everyone,

With Jerry in Edmonton all week, I've been doing all the prep work and shopping for the party (with 15-20 guests). I'm rather tired but satisfied with my progress. I have one dish to make tonight, cleaning tomorrow morning and the rest of the food to be made in the afternoon. Here's the menu:

Snacks
pistachios
bissara (fava bean dip) with pita and fresh veggies
sour almonds
dates

Salad (served at room temperature. I think they use this word to mean sidedishes)
hezzu m'chermel (caramelized carrots with sweet paprika)
matisha mhassela (spiced tomato and honey coulis) - it's a palate cleanser
zahlouk (eggplant and tomato salad)
mselalla (orange and olive salad)

Main Dish
b'stila b'djej (chicken pastry)
tagine bil berkok (lamb with prunes tagine)
Moroccan couscous with chickpeas and peppers
harissa (North African hot sauce)

Drinks
pomegranate and orange punch
byob

Dessert
birthday cake (chocolate with a whole bunch of candles)
butter tarts
rocky road candy

Since you don't use silverware with Moroccan food, there will be lots of pita bread. The Persian store nearby was great for picking up some things and I got a great deal on lamb at the Halal butcher on the other block. I was able to find all my ingredients within the stores nearby.

I made the harissa Wednesday night and the b'stila b'djej last night and this morning. It's in the freezer until the party. You just need to add an extra 10 minutes to the baking time. My first time playing with phyllo. The cake and rocky road were made last night. The cake's in the freezer and I'll ice it early Saturday afternoon.

The rest can be done throughout the day on Saturday. Dinner isn't until 6 or 7 so I've got lots of time. Jerry's home tonight so I may ask for prep help since he's better at evenly chopping things. And he'll know what else we can make early and then just reheat. For a proper "feast", you do several courses so I can separate things out a bit. Generally it's snacks, salad, b'djej (it's like a free-form meat pie), tagine (similar to a stew, often made in a tagine, which is a wide pot with a cone-shaped lid), an extra main meal course like roasted lamb but I don't think we have enough people to warrant the extra course, couscous and then dessert. I made enough of the chicken pastry so the non-lamb eaters (silly people) won't starve and the couscous and salads are all vegetarian. Everything will be labelled and translated. I'll put the matisha mhassela on Chinese spoons (flat bottom) with an almond on top on a tray. It's the only dish one eats with a spoon and this way it's already in serving mode.

The food is very interesting. Lots of unusual spice combinations but all ingredients we had in our cupboard.

So I'm rather tired and the furry family is out of sorts. My routine is out of wack with Jerry gone and the party prep didn't help. I think he has one more week up there and then back to Calgary. I will be very happy next week when I can put the house back together and get back to my schoolwork. I need some quality cuddle time with Whiskers, which I do while reading my textbook. Mike is eating some wet food finally. I give it to him at night when he's "super hungry - Mom, why aren't you giving me treats". He gets dried in the morning. I have to watch him though because he's like a dog - will gobble his food so fast that he makes himself sick.

We have 2 tomato sprouts so far. I'm hoping the rest will show up in the next few days.

I'll let you know how everything goes. Have a great day!

Free Cereal

Hello Everyone,

Go to www.kashi.ca and ask for a free sample of cereal. I'm eating mine today. There are no strings attached and you also get a $2 coupon for one of their regular sized boxes.

I did this last year when they had a promotion for their granola bars. They sent me a coupon to get an entire box to try out for free.

I like this company.

Have a great day!

What a weekend

Hello Everyone,

Felt much better by mid week so was up for a busy weekend. Jerry got home Friday night and we met at an acquantaince's work going away party. Saturday we had a toddler for the day. Friends of ours has an adorable toddler and they haven't had proper couple time in months. The toddler sleeps with Mom and Dad is stuck downstairs. Needless to say, after a while friction and lack of communication starts to wear on a delicate situation.

So, Jerry and I told them we were kidnapping their child for the night.

He was very well behaved and we basically took him on our errands. He likes running around our house (since it's one big continuous circle), wanted to play with Whiskers, Mike hid, Blackie the fish is fascinating and shredded paper is super cool to dump all over the place. He wasn't tired around bedtime (9ish) so we had quiet time until 11. At that point, we put him in the stroller and he was out in 2 blocks. Into the spare room he went until 3:30 when he woke up with sore teeth. After 1/2 hour of crying (pain rather than parents), he calmed down and I was able to get some medication into him. Main problem is Mom breastfeeds and that just wasn't an option. Finally at 6am we put him back in the stroller and he was asleep after a walk around the block. When we returned him shortly after noon, the house was a mess and we were exhausted. But he had fun and he is an interesting little person. Definitely made us think though whether we want to have kids or not. It was a lot of work and responsibility.

We met up with his parents at a flea market and I picked up a fabulous antique folding rocking chair. It's small - Karen sized, no arms and has a wicker seat and back. $40 - which I thought was a great find.

The house has been somewhat put back together. Jerry's back in Edmonton this week. It's his birthday on Wednesday and we're going to celebrate on the weekend. A party with Morrocan food. I've got a good cook book and there's a persian grocery store nearby that I can pick up some extra items. I'm rather excited. Morrocan food is ideal for sharing and is well suited for a party.

As we were tidying, I discovered Whiskers ate the telephone electrical cord. So we need a new phone. I'm going to call Telus tonight to see if I can cancel my phone but add TV. For the few times I use my phone, I think I'll go to a voip pay-as-you-go. I'll price out the options.

A busy week ahead of me - meal planning, cleaning the house and studying. Have a great day!

Feeling ill today

Hello Everyone,

Woke up feeling ill (nausea, chills,bloating, headache etc) so I took a sick day. Slept for a couple more hours and started eating some food. So far I've had cereal, yougurt (felt only so-so after that), crackers and now I've got some ginger ale. There's a bug going around work so I thought I should stay at home in case I had it too. Now I think it may have been something I ate since although I still feel a bit nauseous, all the other symptoms are gone.

Jerry had to go to Edmonton for the week for work stuff. He's one of the minority shareholders up there and they're having some issues. He's up there to help straighten stuff out.

We did a double date on Saturday. We biked over to Chuck-E Cheese to play and have pizza, then went to a movie. We saw "When In Rome" which actually was rather cute. As long as you go in knowing it's a romantic comedy, you'll find it sweet and funny. Pricewise, it cost the same amount to do each activity - mostly because we got the kid's popcorn deal. It's one of the best deals if you only want a little snack - kid's sized drink (which is actually kid's sized), a small bit of popcorn and a kinder egg, all served in a little cardboard tray so you don't spill it all over the place.

Have a great day!

Hello Everyone,

Here are some photos from the past couple weeks:

Valentine's Weekend in Banff - Johnston Canyon hike

Valentine's meal in our hotel room (since we're cheap) - lol

And here's Mike on the couch this week:

Have a great day!

Hello Everyone,

Mom reminded me tonight that I forgot to upload photos of the house before we had the party. Here's the latest (with the fabulous curtains):

Here's the dining room with stuff in the china cabinet. We're getting a free table from work but it'll be a couple weeks before we can get it.

And here's the livingroom with the curtains I love so much. The clear chair is back up in the livingroom (the guys had "borrowed" it for the cave). The white unit in the corner is where we keep all the games and puzzles. Behind the lamp is Jerry's photo screen but since I hate cleaning glass and we didn't have photos for it, some wrapping paper worked great to cover the squares.

A Nice Day

Hello Everyone,

The pressure from last week is now off so today is going well. It was down to the wire though on Monday to make sure everyone got paid on time. Not a situation I like to be. Got my other payroll done yesterday so I have no official deadline until next week.

Over did it at yoga on Monday and my shoulders are angry with me. We don't have class next week (Family Day) so I'll be able to take a bit more time to recover.

Went to Kensington neighbourhood on Saturday with Jerry. Tried out some bike trainers and strolled around. Lots of fun. I have one more trainer to try out (probably tomorrow night) and then I'll make my decision on the weekend.

Jerry's planning to buy a motorcycle with a side car, namebrand "Ural" in the next few months so we need to start studying for our beginner's license. Although you can be a beginner using your regular driver's licence, we will be taking classes, which require the official beginner's license. I can write the test across the street and will probably do so next month. I think Jerry was quite surprised I'm willing to go along with his idea. The thing is, we don't need a car yet, a motorcycle with side car will fit both of us with our camping gear and this motorcycle is designed for all-season travel. It's made in Russia, originally for the military so Jerry would be able to do all the mechanical stuff. I'll keep you updated with how things go.

Work approved my back to school request. Not sure if I told you about this. Athabasca University has a Certificate in Management Applications that I'm enrolling in. Classes are online or by correspondence so I'd be a part-time student. Since 3 of the 10 courses are required by the CPA (Canadian Payroll Association), it made sense to get an additional certification. It offers a wide over-view of several business-related topics that I think will be quite interesting. My first course will be Computer and Management Information Systems Supporting End-User Computing. I think this and the other computer course that I'm required to take will be the most uninteresting but likely the most important courses I take. Who knows - maybe they'll find a way to make computer stuff interesting.

Getting excited for the weekend. I have a car rented and we're off to Banff for snowshoeing. I have both Friday and Tuesday booked off so it'll be a nice break.

Have a great day!

A Long Week

Hello Everyone,

So I'm mostly over my cold. Back to full work on Thursday and have only a little sniffle since then.

Work week is crazy. The other person in payroll is in the hospital for the week and we're in the second week of payroll. Basically, over a 2 week cycle, we gather all the time from the previous week and the first week of our cycle for processing on the last Friday of the cycle. The problem is that this person handles the electronic hours and I handle the manual hours. We were unable to decipher the corrections he did so we had to start from scratch, doing 2 weeks of work into one. On top of that, my supervisor, who is helping me, is still getting trained up (by me) on the system and this is her first live payroll from start to end. And, we're experimenting with a new reconciliation system.

What this in a nutshell means is some very long days of unpaid OT. I'm salary so the few OT days I have are balanced out over the year and no extra $. Mon was 8-5:30, Tues was 8-5:30 + 1 1/2 hours at home, today will be 8-5:30 + 3 hrs at home and I suspect tomorrow will be similar.

But in the end, everyone will get paid, the reconciliation changes we wanted to implement will be done, auditors will be happier and Karen can have a drink.

Have a great day!

Stupid cold

Hello Everyone,

So, I started coming down with a cold on Saturday and it hit me on Monday. Did 3/4 days of work on Monday and Tuesday. It finally moved out of my head/happy land to a proper cold so at least now I can treat it.

It's a sinus cold and although I picked up some medication recommended by the pharmicist, it didn't do much. He warned me that it was daytime medication so I would have troubles sleeping. Troubles sleeping my ***! After I got home from work, I took a couple and promptly had a 2 hour nap with Whiskers. I also took some before I went to bed. After 2 hours of icky dripping, I got fed up, took some allergy medication and went to sleep out on the couch. I didn't want to keep Jerry up and the extra pillows made it easier to breath.

Feeling a bit better today. I'm processing a payroll so I have to be on the ball for at least the morning. I'll see how the afternoon goes.

Jerry's been super nice. Last night he drew me a milk bath with tea tree oil and epson salts. Such a luxury and I felt much better.

Whiskers has been super cuddly and patient with my naps. I tuck her in beside me and she keeps me warm under the snuggies (yes, it took 2 of them to almost keep me warm). Mike on the other hand was his usual self and refuses to have anything to do with a person who disturbs his sleep.

Have a great day!

A Lazy Sorta Weekend

Hello Everyone,

After a long week at work, it was nice to have a relaxing weekend. We did pub night on Friday (basically ate appetizers for dinner) and lazed on the couch watching tv.

Saturday was a sleep-in day. We went over to friends' place last night and watched a double feature - Hercules and The Adventures of Hercules, starring Lou Ferrigno (the actor who played The Incredible Hulk on tv). The movies were horribly funny. I would recommend seeing the first one, if only for the crazy costumes and robots. Yes, robots. Between the four of us, I don't think we managed to watch the sequel but every time I woke up, all I could think was, "Huh, What the %$#@?"

Today is an at-home day. Doing little chores. We need to a draught stopper on the bottom of the front door, shrink-wrap the windows, wrap the hot water heater, make a meal plan for the week, tidy the house etc. It sounds rather boring but it's necessary and pleasurable in its own way.

Have a great day!

Sad Day

Hello Everyone,

Wednesday was a sad day in the household - Gilbert the guinea pig passed away at the ripe old age of 6. I found him stiff in his cage when I checked on him after work so he had passed on sometime during the day.

I'm sad but I know he had a long and happy life. He was really showing (and feeling his) age at the last. Not eating his hay, you could feel his bones under his fur, harder time getting up on his hind legs to reach treats.

I wrapped him in tissue paper and he's in a plastic lettuce box in the freezer until springtime. Then, we'll bury him out in the backyard. He was a very good friend and was my first connection to family in Calgary.

A Quiet New Years

Hello Everyone,

It was a quiet weekend with some much needed down time. Watched a couple movies and had cheese fondue for New Years eve. Had coffee with home-made Baileys brought to me in bed the next day. Ate lots of chocolate. Went to Zoolights with friends on Friday night. Zoolights is basically a huge Christmas lights display that's held at the zoo. Saw a couple animals but most of the indoor exhibits were closed and quite a few of the other areas were closed off.

Tidied, filed, organized and ate pizza on Sunday.

So, a fabulous weekend overall.

Tonight we go to our first yoga class. I've done beginner's yoga a few times and Jerry has attended a class or two but there's a studio down the street. I think it should be a lot of fun. On Saturday we are holding a January party. It's a combination housewarming/everyone is broke after Christmas dinner and should be a lot of fun.

Have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

Hello Everyone,

I hope your Christmas was well. I'm back to work for the next couple days and then off again for the long weekend. No holidays for payroll at Christmas :-(

Anyways, had a nice break. Office closed at noon and we got all our stuff done without having to work OT. Went to church service in Calgary and then opened our presents at 12:04am Christmas morning. Drove down to Lethbridge in the morning and had dinner at Jerry's sister's place. Turkey wasn't as dry as past meals and it was a nice time. Saw Avatar on Boxing Day. It was visually beautiful but I got bored with the story line. Picked up a pair of used skates.

Came back on Sunday, went to a friend's place for more turkey.

Went to Ikea on Monday and made myself broke. Lots of organizational stuff that will really help with tidying the place and got some curtains. Amazing find for livingroom curtains - $24 for a set of gorgeous lined floral print curtains (orange & pink tones) that look fabulous in the livingroom. Got some fabric to make curtains for the bedroom. That will be my project this weekend. Once everything is done, will take pictures.

Have a great day!

Alice

Hello Everyone,

Last weekend I watched "Alice" on Showcase. It was a two-part movie sequel to "Alice in Wonderland". It's an adult (or teenager) show that I thought was fantastic. Great visually and some very interesting ideas. It's on the next couple weeks so if you have some time on the weekend, I definitely recommend it.

Have a great day!

List

Hello Everyone,

I got some inspiriation from cousin Amy's blog and have developed a "List of 10 Things that Happened to Karen in 2009". It is in no particular order.

1. Moved in with Jerry in NE Calgary
2. Visited Ontario
3. Completed Payroll Compliance Practitioner certification
4. Got my Can-Bike 1 Instructor certification
5. Moved to NW Calgary in the spring
6. Sold my piano (bittersweet)
7. Snowboarded down my first black (advanced) run
8. Tried indoor wall climbing
9. Square foot gardening, and learning how to can/preserve the fruits of our labour
10.Went to Spock Days

Boys are dumb

Hello Everyone,

The title is a quote from Happy Bunny and I think she goes on to mention something about smelling bad too.

So, Jerry was over at a friend's place to watch hockey with the guys. They came up with a contest.

Premise: Who has the best hang-over cure?
Procedures: Drink your face off. Create your hang-over cure the next day
Criteria to win: Whoever can not only function but thrive the next day at work

When he came home and described this to me, I burst out laughing. He then explained how his hang-over cure would work so much better and talked about his "scientific" theory. I laughed some more. I went to bed laughing.

But I was very good this morning. I didn't comment on him looking a bit rough. I accepted the rather strong coffee without comment. I kissed him good-bye. I didn't laugh.

Boys

Christmas decorations!

Hello Everyone!

So, here are some photos of the decorations:

Jerry putting up lights for me.

Our first big snow fall a week ago.

The Christmas balls that need to be hung from the curtain rod since the tree is too small.

...and our little tree. I think it's so cute.

A picture of our lights.

Brrrr...

Hello Everyone,

It's warmed up to -23C and I finished my coffee by the time I got in to work. I wore my snowboard pants and overall was quite comfy. What a storm we had!

Friday - office shut down at 3. Shovelled sidewalk when I got home. Shovelled again late that night (with Jerry)

Saturday - Jerry & I shovelled once. Keith was off to BC so we had a vehicle to drive. Glad it was a truck and we went to Home Depot. None of the residential roads were plowed (and none will be in Calgary - it's "not in the snow clearing budget") and a couple feet of snow on the road. Drifts were higher. Temperature dropped into the minus teens.

Sunday - Jerry did a quick shovel. Back to Home Depot for more things. Temperature now down in the minus twenties.

So we stayed at home and got a whole bunch of stuff done. Home Depot had pantry storage units (3 shelves, 5' tall) for really cheap so we picked up one on Saturday for our board games/puzzles and another one on Sunday for our canned goods and extra food storage. We also picked up some extra shelving and odds and ends. Lots of organizing and the house feels a lot more put together

We also got a Christmas tree! Jerry was going to give me a fresh-cut tree but we decided to get a real tree (in a pot). It's a Norfolk pine and permanently lives indoors. Including the pot, it's about 4' high and it's quite pretty. Not strong enough for full ornaments (and it needs daily misting) so we're going to put on tinsel and a couple light ornaments. My sparkly larger ornaments are hung by thread from the livingroom curtain rod. It looks rather pretty and festive. We'll decorate the tree next weekend but I have the rest of the decorations up around the house. I hope to create decorating traditions based on the Advent Sundays. And Jerry has given me free rein with decorating.

1st - outdoor lights get turned on
2nd - indoor decorations
3rd - tree decorated
4th - not sure yet, probably involving baking or a get-together with friends.

I'm very excited about the tree since it is pretty and can stay in the house year round (sans decorations). It will grow bigger but probably only a foot each year. We have our presents around the tree and so far Mike has ignored the tree. He generally leaves Christmas trees/ornaments alone. We wrapped up a bird feeder for him that attaches to the window. It likely won't get warm enough until after Christmas anyways to get it put up.

So, I think there's a chance of no neighbourhood party. Next weekend is opening weekend at Castle and Jerry may be heading down there. I likely wouldn't so he can have a guy's weekend out. As fun as it would be, the idea of sharing a trailer with a bunch of smelly, beer drinking carnivore men is just not my cup of tea. Especially since it would be a great weekend for a bunch of baking.

Jerry's getting the hang of shovelling snow. I usually do it when I get home but he was feeling energetic on the weekend. Since he spent his winters in Arizona and his landlord has always been responsible in the past for snow clearing, he didn't have much experience. I found it rather amusing since he technique is a bit off but he is getting the hang of it.

Have a great day!

Winter Storm Coming

Hello Everyone,

The area has been under a winter storm warning watch since yesterday afternoon and it's starting to hit Calgary now. 10-20 cm of snow, flurries for the next couple days and then a temperature drop to a high of -19 on Monday. So, I wore my fur coat for the first time.

For those who don't know the story, when I was back in Ontario this summer, Jerry & I went to Kensington market (in Toronto) to look around. While there, I found a lovely, full-length rabbit fur coat for $35. Needless to say, I haulled it from the store, packed it in my luggage and now it's here. I normally wouldn't buy fur but here are my thoughts:

a) I wear leather - it would be hypocritical of me to object to fur
b) It was $35 for a winter coat
c) It's a full length coat that fits me and has a huge hood
d) It's very warm
e) It's not new
f) It's soft and pretty
g) Whiskers didn't attack me when I put it on
h) When I wear it, I think of the rabbits and appreciate their gift

I was toasty warm walking in to work and the hood is really deep (and fur-lined) so my face was well protected.

Have lots of things to do this weekend. We want to meet our neighbours so I'll be baking cookies to drop off to households in the area with an invitation to a "meet our neighbours" party. We'll see how it goes but I think people would be receptive.

And more Christmas decorating!

Have a great day!

A quiet sort of week

Hello Everyone,

Not much interesting going on. We bought Christmas lights on Sunday and we're going to put them up along the front of the house on Saturday. Starting to get into the Christmas spirit - wrapped present on Monday and started making my baking list. Will work on Christmas cards this weekend.

Had to work late last night and Jerry surprised me by making dinner. We take turns with meals but I didn't have to help with anything - I just showed up at the table. It was really nice after a long day. He has a pasta maker so we have fresh pasta at least once a week. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare and tastes so much better than the dried kind.

Things going well at work. It's going to get really busy over the next month with Christmas deadlines for processing payroll and year end stuff. We're not having a formal corporate Christmas dinner. Instead, we're having a lunch, which I prefer.

Have a great day!

Social Insurance Numbers - Important

Hello Everyone,

I found out something very interesting and alarming from my year-end course that involves S.I.N.s. This will mostly apply to women so please pass this information on to everyone you know.

If you have had a name change, make sure your S.I.N. card matches your new name. All employers are required by law to see your SIN at time of hire. There are fines that can be levied if an employer does not attempt to view it.

Anyways, if the name of the card does not match the name on the employment application form, your employer is suppose to refuse to accept it. They are then to instruct the employee to go to the Service Canada office and obtain a new card. In theory, if the employer never does get the proper number, they should put 000 000 000 on the T4 and the CRA will deal with you.

Practially speaking, employers do not necessarily check the name and this can cause huge problems for married women or women who have had a name change since their SIN was originally issued.

If you get laid off and make a claim for EI, if the name on your SIN does not match your ROE, your claim will be delayed until you get a new (updated) card. As well, previous employment records under the other name are not automatically linked so you could be missing hours that could go toward your claim.

You could also miss out on CPP entitlements that fell under different names.

Another problem can happen for beneficiaries. You will need to fight for your entitlement if your name does not match the SIN. So, if there is a female in your family that has passed away, check for any records under all names (maiden, married, etc) in case they did not update their card.

Your SIN does not automatically update (despite what people were told years ago) when you get married and submit your papers to the government. Go to the Service Canada website, find out what paperwork you need and get it changed asap. The website for this info is:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sin/apply/how.shtml

S'mores

Hello Everyone,

So, Jerry was talking about his work Christmas party last night and wasn't sure if he wanted to attend. I joked and said we could come up with an excuse and then hide in the house all night and eat s'mores.

that lead to a craving of s'mores
so I went to the grocery store for ingredients
and we pulled out my fabulous microwave s'mores maker
it has little hands that come down so the top cracker doesn't slide off the marshmallow in a gooey heap
it holds 2 s'mores.
we ate the whole row of graham squares making them
it was a good (and sticky) night
hooray for stain remover that can remove chocolate off a light pink dress shirt

Have a great day!

A good weekend

Hello Everyone,

It was a nice weekend for me. Friday night I made fondue for Jerry and we had a nice romantic evening. I could only find my fondue set so the meal ended up taking 5 hours. First & second course had salad served with it (with a pear guave dressing). First course was swiss cheese and bread. Second course was beef cooked in a butter/oil mixture, served with a worchestershire based sauce. Third course was chocolate served with fruit. Dairy Milk finally reintroduced their family sized chocolate bars that have bits of toffee in them. It worked great for the fondue - all we did was add a bit of half & half from the fridge. For wine we had a rose merlot. This was my first rose made with merlot and it was very delicious. Fruity but light.

Saturday was raking leaves

Sunday was raking leaves

We ended up with 21 bags of leaves and this was the first time Jerry had ever done this autumn activity. Growing up, he was in Arizona during the fall and then when he came up to Canada, his landlord(s) took care of the yardwork. His bagging technique was a bit clumbsy and he was surprised how much work it was. But the lawn looks great and he now understands why this activity is done every year.

As well, on Sunday, we started to organize the spare room/office. It's definitely coming together - rather old fashioned but cute. We need to get curtain rods and then that'll be all until after Christmas when we do an Ikea run to pick up the rest of the shelving we need.

We're going to put a fountain in the fireplace. I don't want to risk anything warm (even with the gas capped off) and Calgary is so dry. We were thinking of one anyways and I think it would be a good spot. And a couple big plants on either side will really frame the mantle nicely. We'll built a platform over the gas line (it stands about 6" above the ground) so a nice table sized fountain should work good. And Mike may enjoy it too.

Mike's slowly turning into a proper cat. I think he likes having more people around to play with and he's chasing more shadows, getting into mischief, etc.

I attended the Mennonite church on Sunday. Not like the Mennonites back home - no buggies and funky clothes. Interesting service - they are doing a series of lectures on other religions and the speaker yesterday was Jewish. Next week the speaker is Sufi. It sounds interesting so I'll try to attend. The service was very simple (in a good way) and no rote prayers and procedures. Lots of hymns. No offering collection - you can put some in the back offering box if you want. It was nice that there wasn't a lot of things going on so the entire hour was spent focusing on worshiping and prayer. They seem very nice.

Have a great day!

Book Recommendation

Hello Everyone,

I just finished "Why Women Should Rule the World" by Dee Dee Myers. I thought it was a very interesting book for both women and men. It gave me a bit more background as to how men and women in general behave differently in business and politics and where these differences come from. I like that the book thought that both sexes were important in these fields as each approach problems differently.

It has an American slant (the author was ex-press secretary to Clinton) but I think the lessons can be applied here too.

Have a great day!

Hallowe'en Photos

Hello Everyone,

So, here are a couple pictures.