For Your Laughing Pleasure

3/4 done course

Hello Everyone,

I just finished up part 3 of my course so I just have PowerPoint left. Exam on the 12th. I actually enjoyed my Access section. It has changed a lot since I last took a course and this one wasn't nearly as in depth. A lot more user-friendly. And databases make sense to me.

So, if I stay on track, PowerPoint will be finished on Sunday and I'll have the week to study.

My bridal shower was on Saturday so I drove down to Lethbridge for the day. Small gathering but it was nice to meet a few more of Jerry's relatives. And yes, they made me wear the stupid hat covered in bows.

Packing is coming along. I'm gathering everything and throwing it in a box. Next week, I'll start real packing. Got my final hair cut and it's something that's soft but easy to style.

I was all giddy yesterday since I got to switch my calendar at work. Getting excited!

Weather was nasty cold for about a week (high -20C) but broke yesterday afternoon. Today is high of 3C. Crazy weather jumps.

The guys are kidnapping Jerry for the weekend for his bachelor party. I don't think anything is planned for me but I may get together with friends for a school break.

One More Month of Freedom!

Hello Everyone,

lol

I'll have to tease Jerry tonight.

We had our 3.5 year dating anniversary last night so I got to eat ice-cream in bed. I was tied up finishing my school assignment that I didn't realize we were missing ice-cream until I was already in my pjs.

We had some excitement at our house yesterday. Someone set fire to Keith's old truck in the alleyway. The fire department thinks it was the arsonist who's been setting garages on fire. They figure he couldn't get into the garage so the truck was the next best thing. Keith was planning to donate it anyways so there wasn't much value lost. Just the inside of the cab damaged. All the tools in the back were safe and no damage to anything outside. Luckily a neighbour saw the truck smoldering and the fire truck was only a few blocks away.

I'm a little over half done my school course. Still haven't learned anything amazing yet. I chatted with Jerry last night and he's willing to support me getting my BA in management once I'm done my certificate (which should be completed spring 2013). The extra courses will take 5-6 years. But as long as work is willing to pay for it...

Have a great day!

A good week

Hello Everyone,

So, school is coming along, which has meant some computer-filled, Jerry ignored evenings. But he's very understand and has been very helpful. Last night I had him holepunching some wedding stuff and tying ribbons. It was very cute.

I should be done my Excel tonight, which puts me ahead of schedule and will give me extra time for PowerPoint and Access. I'm glad for this as I rarely use PowerPoint and I haven't used Access in almost 4 years.

I got my mark from my payroll final exam - 74, which is a couple marks higher than I predicted but was still in the range I was expecting. I really do prefer when they set out the marking scheme right on the exam so there are no surprises. I haven't decided on my next class yet but I'm looking toward something not computers. There's a one week (intense) benefits course I want to take in June so I'll need to put my request in shortly for the time off. And in the meanwhile, have another course going on since Athabasca gives you six months to complete one course. Plenty of flexible time.

Had an overdose of girliness on the weekend. Was very glad when Jerry got home tp bring balance back into my life. They were off snowboarding for the weekend and a friend of mine wanted to make sure I wasn't lonely. So, we saw Burlesque on Saturday - enjoyed it, quite fluffy and predictable but was better than my expectations. On Sunday we went to Bridal Fantasy show. Crazy over the top stuff with a castle themed fashion show - complete with story line of dancing peasants and fairies.

I think Jerry'll be home this weekend as snow conditions are unpleasant. We'll do wedding stuff I think.

Have a great day!

i miss coffee

Hello Everyone!

So, I picked up Martha's wedding magazine last week and she had some bride preparations tips (diet, exercise, stress management etc). One of the tips was cutting your coffee intake to 3/week and subsituting it with green tea.

I only drink one regular travel coffee sized cup (about 2.5 cups on the coffee maker) during the week day. And that's throughout the day.

But I decided to take Martha's advice and went one step further. No more coffee until the wedding. Apparently the green tea has some stupid antioxidants and other healthy crap in it.

So Jerry's now making me jasmine green tea in the morning. I bring the tea bag with me so I can drink as much as I like at work.

i miss my honey sweetened coffee.

i'm spoiled.

(oh, and the tea is rather lovely. I've also found I'm not as hungry throughout the day too - added bonus. i'm just complaining about something I can't have.)

Have a great day!

Happy Wednesday!

Hello Everyone,

My small piece of lasagna looks rather sad on my plate but it's my own fault - too many sweets at Christmas means small meat/cheese portions and lots of fruits and veggies. It's good lasagna though - first time I made it from scratch. I followed the recipe on the whole wheat lasagna noodles box.

I tried on my dress on the weekend to make sure it still fit. It does (with some crazy acrobats getting the zipper up now) so all I need to do now is tone up my upper back and shoulders. And it turns out I was putting my veil in my hair wrong. I experimented by putting it on the side and having the veil go sideways over my hair and it looks so much better. My test hair appointment is at the end of the month so I'll bring everything in and have them photograph it.

I'm getting rather excited - a month and a day before we fly out.

The last big thing is the marriage contract (new phrase for pre-nup). I've ordered a kit so we can write one up. Although neither of us really has anything and we're heading into this marriage as equals, Jerry's a business owner. He felt so afraid to ask me for one (his lawyer clients advised him to get one) so I shocked him when I told him I was going to ask for one anyways. Mostly for him since it keeps his business stuff out of our marriage. You don't have to go to a lawyer - just have a couple witnesses sign. And I've told him I want a clause that if there are any children, the contract is void and a new one is drawn up. Kids brings in a whole bunch of other stuff. We just need a super basic one. And I picked up a will kit too since your will becomes void when you get married.

Did lots of tidying around the house on the weekend as the boys were down playing in powder. They told me it was the best conditions in several years and had a lot of fun.

I have my Office Applications exam booked for the day before we leave. Definitely put me on a schedule. I'm a quarter done now and I don't anticipate any issues as long as I remain focused. Picked up a couple things in the Word chapter but I don't see a lot of the info being useful for what I use Office for. This would have been a lot more useful 2 years ago when we switched to a Microsoft based payroll system, with most of the data entry done using Excel.

Whiskers was running around the house last night and seemed to have a lot of fun. We had to shut Mike's door so he was a bit confused and then she chased him down the hall. She eventually hopped back up on the couch and I gave her a cuddle before putting her back in her home.

This weekend I think I'm going to see Burlesque at the cheap theatre with a friend, do wedding stuff and homework. I think I'm losing the guys again. It's amazing how much stuff I can get done without them. Cleaning can be a challenge because Jerry tends to get distracted by side jobs he discovers mid-cleaning. But at least he helps with cleaning and is much better at certain tasks than I am.

Have a great day!

Yummy food

Hello Everyone,

From December 31 to January 2, I managed to eat the following tasty animals:

duck
lamb
pig
bison
deer
elk
chicken

We had Chinese for New Years eve and headed out to Banff Saturday morning. A very relaxing weekend. Went to Sunshine on Sunday. Rather sore today. A bit cold in the morning but it was a nice afternoon.

Now we're back and putting away the Christmas decorations. We're reorganizing the livingroom after a major purchase - a flat screen tv we got an amazing deal on. It fits on the fireplace mantle (fireplace doesn't work) so we've eliminated a crazy fat tv and a table. I'll be glad to get the livingroom put together so I can start working on the other rooms again. It seems that just as one room gets to the point that I'm happy with, another room needs to be decluttered, mega cleaned and reorganized.

I'm coming down with a cold so I've mixed my apple cinnamon flavoured Neocitran with hot chocolate. It tastes pretty good with marshmallows. The straight apple cinnamon tastes like ****.

Have a great day!

New Lipstick

Hello Everyone,

So, I was cosmetics shopping with a friend and found the most wonderful shade of lipstick. It's L'Oreal Colour Riche 301 - Real Red.

You know how sometimes red lipstick can be a bit too orange? Or they're a tacky fushia red? Well, this is a rich red, leaning toward a cherry tone.

And I picked it up at Murale, which is a branch of Shopper's Drug Mart for only $12.49.

So I had to share.

Because I think it would look pretty on everyone.

Have a great day!

A Good Tuesday

Hello Everyone,

The payroll is looking good so it's not been the stressful week that I imagined. Took it easy on the weekend. Watched Knight and Day - the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz "spy thriller". It was hilarious! So, I now understand why it was trashed so badly. If you were expecting an actual spy thriller, it was terrible. If you saw how much they were making fun of spy thriller movies, it was very well done.

Got my Christmas (now "winter" since they'll be too late for Christmas) letters printed off so they'll be dropped off at the post office tomorrow. They should arrive sometime in January.

I have my Christmas baking left to do. I'm not doing much this year so a good chunk will be done tonight and the rest over the next few days. Everything else is done and this'll be the first Christmas in years that I'm not stressed about presents/travel/work/lack of sleep.

Have a great day!

sigh of contentment

Hello Everyone,

So I just sent off the last bit of information to the resort for the wedding. Bouquet, cake, breakfast etc confirmed. And made the final resort payment yesterday. I giggled when I got off the phone and a big weight lifted from my shoulders. Now, anything extra is just that - extras we want but are not mandatory.

And so I updated my to-do spreadsheet and it's looking very reasonable. No craziness of busy wedding stuff like I see on tv. The spreadsheet has 3 columns - Karen, Jerry and Both. Jerry only has a few things on his - mostly paperwork. I have the most but it's all very manageable and things I enjoy doing.

And for anyone curious, the final decision on my future name. And this was the closest we came to an argument. Professional and in the eyes of the government, I will remain "Halliday". Socially I will be "Hoult". I will change my driver's license to "Halliday Hoult". In Canada, taking a married name is not a legal name change so if I change my mind in the future, I don't have to do any major paperwork. I'll use my Halliday name at one bank and Hoult at the other. That way, if someone writes me a cheque, I can still cash it :-) Jerry was hoping I would take his name but when I explain all the issues (SIN, pension, work logins/e-mail, certificates etc), he understood where I was coming from. I don't think he really understood my initial hang-up of me suddenly losing my identity. So, a different approach was needed. We're both content with the solution.

Oh, and I tried on my dress and it fits just like I wanted now. It's back in the box, hiding in the closet. Jerry's been worried that he'll accidently see it but I've been reassuring him that it's super obvious. After all, it a huge box - about 2'x3' and says "David's Bridal" in big writing across the front. And it's behind my storage unit on my side of the closet. Once I have it packed, I'll bring out the box so we can laugh.

Jerry's off to the mountains this weekend. I'm not sure if it's just for 1 day or all weekend. It'll give me a chance to get things done around the house before Christmas. And have a proper de-stress weekend. I'm very much looking forward to a long soak in a bubble bath.

We had a lovely few days of warm weather (averaging around 0ish) but the cooler weather is back to the minus teens.

So, I'm content. Life is good. Have a great day!

Satisfied with Exam

Hello Everyone,

I did my exam last night and feel confident enough to say I passed. It takes about 6 weeks to get the results. But we knew the marking scheme of each question and I had more than enough solid answers to pass. I'm guessing my mark around 72-75 but if they want to be tough, it could go as low as 67. And since 60 is a pass, that's good enough for me. I'm not one of those people who tries to get the highest mark - I'm not that good at exams and I don't think the stress level is worth it for this type of course (balanced against work).

So now I get to focus on my computer course (Microsoft Office applications) and Spanish (Rosetta Stone). I hope to have the computer course done by the time we leave for Mexico (68 days!)and I'll have a better idea if this is realistic by the end of the month.

And I just found out my final payroll course I need will be offered on line next fall. Which means no more dealing with transit to get to Mount Royal University! That should get me my Certified Payroll Manager designation mid 2012. And yes, I use this blog to help keep me on track with my schooling.

Oh, and we've changed the first part of our Mexican adventure. We were originally heading to Tulum when we arrived to stay at the nature park there. I worked out the logistics and it would be a bit messy. We're now going to Merida, the capital of the area. Jerry had mentioned a couple times about the place, I checked it out, and both of us think it would be a better introduction to the Yucatan. I'm hoping to take a cooking class while we're there. And our hostel is right on a plaza in the old quarter. And very good bus connections between there and Cancun.

That's about it for now. Christmas will be my next focus and I'm still aiming to get our Christmas letters out before the day. Now, that's not saying they'll be at your homes by then...

Have a great day!

Rice Cooker Pot Roast

Hello Everyone,

Yes, you can make pot roast in a rice cooker
...and it tastes pretty good.

I found though after hour 2 you may want to flip your meat. It got a bit caramelly on the bottom but not burnt.

On another note, I finished my cue cards questions to prepare for my exam on Monday. Tonight I'll start on my exam sheet - a one page cram sheet that I'll need to re-produce by memory so I can remember everything. It seems to work for me. Then, once I get my exam, before I open it and panic, I write my cram sheet on the spare paper, take a breath, and then look at what I need to do.

Today is our work lunch Christmas party and Jerry's work Christmas party is on Saturday. We're having some of his co-workers from Edmonton staying with us for the weekend and I warned him I cannot play host. I'll be in our room studying, only coming out for caffeine and cuddles with the furry family.

But soon it will be over and my goal is the required 60%. I'm not one of those people aiming for perfect. I'm looking for a reasonable result, since most of this material should be referenced rather than memorized.

Have a great day!

A clear winner

Hello Everyone,

So we ate some fruit cake on the weekend and Jerry's favourite was 2. Just like everyone elses. Grandma Armstrong wins! It actually tastes good and was the easiest to make.

I ordered the little boxes for it to go in this week. They're called a double truffle box and I got them online. Most of the boxes I've seen were square, which wouldn't work since the cake is just over 2" tall. These boxes will fit a 1" piece quite nicely.

We also ordered a horribly tacky cake knife and serving set. I think there will be a cake cutting at the reception but I couldn't justify spending a lot of money on these items. Most of them were impractible (bows to get stuck in icing, heart shaped servers that won't slide a piece of cake very well). So, on the same website where I got the boxes, I was able to order From Fashioncraft’s exclusive Finishing Touches Collection, the 13” long knife and 10 ½” server both have stainless steel tops (blade and server) and white poly resin handles with dipped beaded design tops, elegant carved seashells and starfish, a faux pearl accent, a sea foam blue wave design at the tip and blue rhinestones sprinkled throughout. Truly one for the ages, each beach themed wedding cake knife and server set comes delightfully packaged in a white with ivory seashell design gift box with a clear acetate window front for beautiful display and storage. I giggled when I saw it and Jerry agreed that everything we saw looked pretty bad and he enjoyed my giggling.

I also went to a seamstress last night concerning my dress. Although my dress fit from the waist down, there had been something bothering me about the top. I had bought my undergarments earlier in the week and was ready to see what was wrong. She pinned a few things and I lost 15 pounds caused by fabric drape. Once she was done, I got back up on the round stand and almost burst into tears because the dress looked so pretty. I pick it up in two weeks. I'm not concerned about having it done so early because a) I needed the reassurance that the dress would look right and b) even though I'm working out to get toned up, the areas that's she's bringing in won't be affected, or at least not enough to make a noticeable difference when it comes to the fit c) if something happens to the dress - slip in crazy road crap filled puddle and soaks the dress - I still have enough time to order a new one.

The design for the wishing tree is coming along so now it's just a matter of pulling the branches out of the pile in the alley and getting the tags ready. I'll probably do that this month so it's one less thing on my to-do list.

Overall, wedding plans are coming along nicely. No major deadlines or stressful things to worry about. More just fun things to deal with.

80 days left according to the registry!

A break in the weather

Hello Everyone,

The weather changed overnight, which meant almost a 15C temperature change between yesterday and today. I'm happy though, as that frigid weather was very draining.

No Banff this weekend after all. Jerry's folks don't have their winter tires on yet and his Mom fell yesterday on the ice outside their house and broke her arm. They're staying with Jerry's brother and sister (yes - this is correct. They're Jerry's half siblings so neither are blood related to each other) recovering.

So, the weekend will be busy with Christmas preparations. Final big tidy before we decorate and this'll be the last weekend I have Jerry as the mountains are calling.

Have a great day!

Brrrrrr

Hello Everyone,

So an Arctic front moved in last Monday night and it's been -20 ever since. It should break on Thursday night but it's made for some challenging times. Jerry got his winter bike built up on Wednesday. I wore snowpants today (last week it was other layers)and we need to get the plastic up on the windows. Our home is very leaky. Even the walls radiate cold. As a plus though, Jerry was out snowboarding on Saturday and he enjoyed himself.

Things are quiet with me. Big school assignment due next week. Course done in a month and I will be very glad for it. Most of my Christmas shopping done and I'll start planning my Christmas baking.

This weekend I'm taking my future mil to Banff with my friend Lara. Jerry'll spend the weekend with his Dad. We're heading up after lunch on Saturday and back around the same time on Sunday. Jerry's in charge of American Thanksgiving to be served Sunday night. The Christmas lights get to be turned on on Sunday. Yippee!!!

Have a great day!

Willie

Hello Everyone,

We have a new addition to the household - Willie. Willie is our xbox Kinect. Jerry adopted him on Saturday.

I've actually had a lot of fun with Willie. I'm not a video game person so I think xbox designed Kinect for someone like me. In my non-technical jargon, it's like a video camera that scans you, figures out how far away you are and then puts your image on the tv screen. Last night I was doing the work-out game. The scan was rather unflattering but realistic to what my body shape actually is. When you wave to Willie, your image waves too. I had a lot of fun with the work outs and the games they had. I was playing the adventure game on Saturday where if you flap your arms, you can fly and pop bubbles.

Jerry told me he bought the Kinect for me. His "reasoning" - so I could work out without going to the gym. lol - he's been eyeing up both this and the wii for a year or so. And with the xbox, he can still play his shoot the aliens and decapitate the orcs with a sword games.

Have a great day!

brunette

Hello Everyone,

I'm back to a brunette. I had some red in my hair for the summer but it's grown out and I re-dyed it last night. The red dye was a semi-permanent (1 month)but the colour stuck around like a permanent so I had to go permanent this time. The brown's a bit darker than my natural colour but it's rather pretty.

Made some apple liqueur last night. 1 batch with Macs, 1/2 batch with a Mac/Gala mix, 1/2 batch Gala. We're testing to see the impact of the sweetness of the apple. Last year we did it with crabapples but we got busy when the apples fell and they rotted on us. We'll know in a little over a month if it turned out.

I have tomorrow off work so I'll watch the Remembrance Day observances on tv. Jerry'll be on stand-by as some of the offices downtown will stay open and they move the day off to Friday. I get very upset when they do this (some did it last year too) because they treat it like a long weekend rather than a day to remember the sacrifices our armed forces have made over the years.

Have a great day!

Mike Halliday - Hunter Kitty

Hello Everyone,

It was quite the excitement in our household last night after class. I was tidying up when I heard a yowl from Mike. It was the yowl he does when he needs to you come right away.

And there, right in the front hallway was Mike and his prize.

A cute baby mouse.

Quite dead.

And he was very proud of his new toy.

So I petted him and told him what a wonderful hunter kitty he was and then grabbed the phone to call Jerry to find out what I should do.

Jerry told me to leave the mouse and he'd take care of it when he got home. My brave fiance - taking care of icky stuff.

Mike carried that poor mouse all over the upstairs - dropping it in the hallway, livingroom, dining room, back to the hallway. After about 15 minutes, he got tired of playing with it and went back downstairs. When I went to bed, it was on the diningroom floor and Mike was eating his dinner.

When Jerry got home about 5 minutes later, the mouse was no longer where I saw it at bedtime. We did a bit of a search and found it in another place in the diningroom - missing its head. Jerry warned me so I didn't see the poor little mouse. And Mike looking very proud.

Jerry got rid of the mouse.

So, we have no idea where the mouse came from. Mike could have caught it outside earlier that evening and snuck it in. It may have come from downstairs. Mike has been spending an unusual amount of time down there so maybe he found something. But there are no signs of mice - no droppings, grease marks, holes etc.

I'm just shocked that Mike finally knew what to do with a mouse.

So he's our brave Hunter Kitty.

Have a great day!

107 days

Hello Everyone,

The Bay really knows how to freak engaged couples. When you go to the website, there's a countdown to the wedding. I'll admit the first time I saw it, I pannicked a bit. Now I giggle. So, any time I print it off, I black out the countdown for Jerry. lol

I haven't done a wedding update in a while so here goes...

Dress - fits lovely
Veil - check
Shoes - check (and comfy)
Jewelry - check

Jerry's clothes - no idea. I told him he's on his own and I don't want to know what he's wearing until I see him with the JP. Athough I had a couple requests: no shorts (but capris were fine), no crazy ruffle shirt with tuxedo, and I would still marry him in a speedo (but would have a hard time keeping a straight face saying my vows).

Rings - check. I was initially going to use my green engagement ring as a proxy ring until we chose something together. But I love my karma ring. Once I'm married, I'll tuck it away and wear my wedding ring. I was going to get a ring & band but didn't quite like the look of it. I love my ring and Jerry's band has the same finish as mine.

Hair - growing. It's coming into the bob I wanted and I'll get about another inch. Pretty sure on the style and will do a dry run with my hairdresser to get photos. Will have my hair done at the salon down there

Make-up - will do myself. I like a natural look and I find make-up stylists use too much mascara. When you're getting married at 1pm, you don't want crazy caked make-up. And I'll do my own nails.

Bouquet - check
Cake - flavours narrowed down but no decision yet
Boutineer - Jerry hasn't picked one yet

Paperwork - Got my passport (looks like I'm going to murder someone) but Jerry still needs to get his. All paperwork set up in Mexico. My vaccines are up to date and Jerry's looking into his.

Vacation - hotels/resorts booked

Language - lol We picked up Rosetta Stone and are slowly coming along. Most of the people we'll be dealing with speak English and the JP will be bilingual.

Vows - have asked for a copy from the wedding planner to look over

Budget - On track

Name - Had a few arguments on this one but we compromised. I'll keep Halliday professionally. And in public I'll be Karen Halliday Hoult. No hyphen. But I'll change my driver's license. Jerry wanted me to completely change my name but I explained some of the complications (SIN, pension & government issues, business accounts/passwords etc) on top of my own preference. Rather than give up my indentity as a Halliday, I wanted to embrace both families.

So, when we get back, Jerry's family wants to host a reception for us. They also want to have a bridal shower for me. Their initial plans were to have the shower on Boxing Day and the reception on Easter weekend. And yes, you can laugh. There was reasoning behind this. We wouldn't have the extra cost of renting a car and most family members are in the Lethbridge area anyways.

We got the shower changed to the end of January and the reception to the end of March. I was hoping for an informal afternoon get-together (like a tea social) but no luck - they were super excited for a full blown reception. It's been almost 20 years since the last wedding in their family and Jerry's the youngest. So, it can be a bit to reign in their enthusiasm (although it's very sweet). As it stands, Jerry's mom asked us for wording of the reception invitations and we found something we like that calls it a party rather than reception. Less formal and more fun sounding. A couple hours socializing, dinner and then dancing.

We'll do a wish tree rather than a guest book. It's a dutch tradition and basically you create a "tree" and people hang notes on it with wishes for the couple. We have some great branches from my lilac butchering this year and some stones from Ontario to put in a vase for a base. I've seen some online and it looks rather pretty.

Fruit cake tasting (hopefully) this weekend. 3 cakes to try and we'll decide on which will work best for the favours. We'll have a real cake at the party for dessert. Dinner we're looking at beef on a bun (to avoid cold lumpy potatoes, overcooked dry meat and tasteless soggy vegetables).

I think on the table we'll have trivia cards with photos of us. I won't know many people and Jerry hasn't seen some of them in several years. That way people can get to know us in a fun way. For example, if you look at our initials, Jerry's are JLH and mine are KLH. I find it funny I won't need to change my monogram. As well, there may be some clay flowerpots with flower seed packets in them. Nothing decided yet. I don't like a cluttered table personally. And I think we're looking at 60-80 people.

We're still planning to have a Mexican fiesta at our place when we get back but I think it'll be pretty laid back. Just friends of ours that we can show photos and socialize. We've got a small home and the weather will be unpredictable. And in all honesty, I wouldn't want a big crowd. Maybe a come-and-go afternoon with snacks and drinks.

So I think that's it for now. Our registry is done except for an item they're having problems adding. We found a beautiful leather sofa and we don't expect someone to buy it for us. If you put it on your registery and buy it within 1 year of your wedding date, you automatically get 10% off. And if you get a Bay card at the same time, another 10% off. And for newlyweds they offer a couple payment options over a two year span. Which when you encompass the discounts, is the reason why we're adding it to the registry.

I don't need to make any more major decisions until the beginning of January, which is when we confirm the flowers, cake, extras with the resort. So, it's a matter of relaxing and making payments.

Have a great day!

The Circus

Hello Everyone,

Jerry & I went to Cirque du Soleil on Friday night (date night!) to see Kooza. First time seeing them live. It was amazing! They had it in a big tent (just like circuses - circi ?) should be. We got 40% off tickets since they're closing in a couple days and I was a bit worried about our seats. Second last row, along the side. But, with the small venue we could see everything, really well. Very exciting, great costumes & music and overall a fabulous time. If you have an opportunity to see them in their travelling show, go for it. It's worth the money.

A cool weekend. Chance of snow. Spent the afternoon yesterday with a friend hanging out on 17th Ave. Interesting shops and a relaxing day. Today I finish my school presentation and report - Legistlative changes to ROEs. It may sound like dry material but within my company, I was the major implementor when major changes were brought in last year.

And we're having turkey for dinner tonight. I really like the Butterball stuffed turkey breasts. Nice portion size - enough for us and a meal of leftovers and very delicious.

Have a great day!

Satisfying

Hello everyone,

My afternoon. Most of the time phone calls I get from employees are "How much was my pay cheque?" (check your bank account - I wish I was allowed to say that), "My pay cheque is wrong." (supervisor entered wrong hours/rate of pay) etc. And it can get frustrating.

And then there are afternoons like this.

Phone call 1 was from an employee that wanted to go over a few things. Then he wanted to talk. We recently had an employee die in a car accident and he wanted to know if there were children. If so, he wanted to start up a fund for them. Couldn't release this info (privacy act) but I recommended he ask around unofficially. This was coming from a guy who's had a pretty rough go at life. Long time employee, in jail for a few year. Within a couple days of returning to work for us, he was on the phone with me letting me know he pays family maintenance. One of the few responsible guys who use the system to make sure his kids are taken care of properly. The call restored my faith in the goodness of our often rough & gruff employees.

Phone call 2 flabergasted me. Someone actually wanted a step-by-step breakdown of his pay and how pay cheques were calculated. What were statutory deductions (complete with each of their purpose and the %), regular & OT calculations, group insurance (health benefits) etc. And then he wanted to know about my education. So, told him about my certifications and my current progress. So then he wanted to know about my experience with Athabasca because he was considering them. Just a super friendly, curious employee who is using his time at the rig to make some money and get out quickly. It's extremely rare for anyone to ask me to go into their pay cheque in this much detail. I think it's only happened one other time in my entire payroll career. I was giddy by the time I got off the phone because I love sharing knowledge with other.

I've still got a smile on my face.

And I wanted to share.

Have a fabulous day!

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!