I'm back!

Hi Everyone!

Still don't have internet at home yet - my computer disc drive has died and since it's over 5 years old, it's a better value to just buy a new computer. Definitely not in my budget, but Dell has a payment plan. It's been a pain getting my order all straightened out (some of my records still have the old address on them) but everything should be straightened out today.

Heading to Edmonton on Friday to visit with Corey (friend from Base Borden). I'm quite excited.

My stomach's been upset for the past couple weeks - not sick but constantly queasy. I mentioned it to my co-worker and she suggested it came from my cleansing. I was trying a new eating regime (shakes and weekly cleansing). I stopped a couple weeks ago (very expensive products) and have had this feeling ever since. It has been slowly increasing over time. There's a chance that when I cleansed, I also got rid of all the good bacteria so I'm not digesting food properly. It's weird - I can eat whatever I want but the feeling doesn't go away. I'm going to eat some yucky yougurt for the next week to see if if this is the cause. If it ends up being a stomach bug, I'll feel a whole lot worse but at least I can narrow things down...

Shannon left on Monday morning heading back to Ontario. We had a great visit.

Got my acceptance letter yesterday so I've e-mailed it to the bank today. This is so I can re-open my student line of credit. Registration is on October 11 and my first class is October 25. I'm really excited!

Have a great day!

I'm moved!

Hi Everyone!

I'm tired, sore and have a splitting headache. I hate moving! Anyways, my stuff is all over at the new place and there are boxes and stuff everywhere. It's driving me crazy. The furry family is slowly adjusting. Mike's hiding in corners and when he isn't, he's on me. Whiskers has explored the place but I think she's happy that the bed is set up (a favourite spot of hers). Gilbert is squeaky as always.

Lisa (new roommate) is moving in on Friday.

The movers broke a window bringing the piano in so I've looked on-line to see how to replace it myself. It doesn't look difficult - any advice you have would be appreciated.

Cold and rainy - chance of snow.

It 's busy at work so I'll update next week. Phone will now be hooked up on Sunday (after I called to cancel) but internet will be another week or so. Phone number hasn't changed. I'll e-mail everyone my new contact info soon.

Had a wonderful time with Shannon. Will update you on our adventures soon.

Have a great day!

Moving!

Hi Everyone!

I'm tired and sore but most of my stuff is over at the new place. After work on Friday, I borrowed a truck from work and my boss came over with his truck and we each took over a load. To be honest, I didn't expect him to help (I basically asked the techs if anyone had an hour or so after work) but it was really nice to get most of my furniture over there. On Saturday, I had Chris (co-worker), Brian (choir member) and Lorraine (new friend I met when I was visiting Central United last Sunday) to help move boxes. It went really fast! We loaded mine and Chris' truck (and not really tightly packed) and had everything done in about an hour! I gave everyone who helped a tray of brownies.

I spend a bit of Friday night positioning furniture and Saturday & Sunday afternoon starting to unpack. I've still got a lot to do but I can now see this apartment turning into mine. I'm a visual person - I have to have the furniture in the room to understand what it will look like. I'll be back over tomorrow bring the last of my things that the mover won't need to move. I found one that will move my stuff on Sept 13 - the same day that Shannon leaves and yet I still have the day off. The timing works out great and he's quite affordable. Mind you, I have the piano, the futon, my double bed, a dresser, Mike's cat tree and max 10 boxes. If Wednesday goes as smoothly as the weekend, it'll be under an hour (which, incidently, they get paid by the hour!)

Shannon flies out on Friday so I'm excited to play tourist. We're vising Drumheller on Sunday.

I've put a add on a couple roommate websites. I did it last night and already I've had a couple people interested. I hope to meet with a few this week to show the place and have them move in after I move in (on the 13th). I like these websites - they have it set up so you write your profile and all contact between you and the potential roommate is done through the website. This helps to protect your privacy if they turn into wackos.

Have a wonderful long weekend!

PS-it's been hot and sunny all weekend - a nice change from the cold and rainy days we had

Feeling ill

Hi Everyone!

Feeling ill today (and for the past few days). Slept in and didn't get to work until about 9:30. Went home early yesterday and didn't work on Tuesday. My stomache's been doing flip-flops and I'm exhausted and fuzzy-headed.

I'm going to take the apartment. It's small - the living room at my current place is larger but it'll work well for me. It has a nice big bathroom. The downfall is that there's only one telephone jack. Does anyone know how much work it is to install a second/third jack? Met a potential roommate on Tuesday (we were introduced at church on Sunday by a mutual friend) although I don't think she'll take it because of the size. If not, I don't anticipate any problems finding a roommate - the news indicated that students are having problems finding rooms.

I'm borrowing a truck from work and moving most of my stuff over the Labour Day weekend. I'll leave the heavy stuff for the movers (who I hope to hire for the third weekend of September). This way I can get a lot of things set up so I can decide where to finalize the position of things. Shannon's coming out for the second weekend so there'll still be a place for her to sleep!

I'll sleep some more tonight and rest for the weekend. There's a couple festivals going on that I want to go to. Sylvia's away all next week so it'll be busy at work.

Hope you're feeling better than me! Have a great day!

I'm going to see the apartment tonight!

Hi Everyone!

My friend Wendy phoned this afternoon and we're going to see the apartment tonight. I'm very excited. It's a basement suite but it has oversized windows, new appliances and new paint.

Sylvia wasn't in today so things were a bit busy but I have everything all caught up.

Have a great day!

An exciting weekend

Hi Everyone!

I have lots to write about. I'll start on Friday when it rained.

By the time I got to work, the bottoms of my jeans were wet (despite my umbrella). I got in the office and Lori sent me right back home. It was such a crappy day and there wasn't going to be anything going on that we closed the office for the day. By the time I got back, my jeans were wet half-way up my calf. Rented Syriana and Just Like Heaven. Didn't like Syriana. I was really looking forward to this movie but there was 5 different story lines, all connected, but it was too confusing trying to figure out who was allied with who and who was double-crossing who. Just Like Heaven was a surprise - a fluffy, popcorn movie that I rather enjoyed. Warning: it's a chick flick.

On Saturday, I went to Smiling Buddha and got a tattoo! I've been wanting to get a scallop shell ever since my pilgrimage in Spain but the timing hasn't been right. I now have a pretty little shell, about an inch in diametre on the top of my foot. Smiling Buddha is one of Canada's best tattoo shops and they're as old as I am. On Saturday mornings, they accept walk-ins. The only problem is, they're so famous that when I arrived at 7:30 (they open at 12), there was already a line-up. I was able to get a spot and I love my new tattoo. It hurt but not as much as I expected. The artist I had was very nice and reassuring (and was probably about Mom's age). I need to put healing lotion on it twice a day but I've been able to wear sandals to work without pain.

Sunday was Marda Gras (the community festival in Marda Loop). It was a lovely day and I had my portrait done.

On Monday, I had my friend Julia (from Bethel class) over for evening tea. It was very nice to have company and we drank Dry Desert Lime. It's chocked full of vitamin C.

On a sad note: my new fish and Rainbow passed away. I now suspect that the psycho fish had an illness that they're immune to but made everyone else sick. I think I'll wait for a while before I get more fish again.

Have a great day!

Stupid Spaghetti!

Hi Everyone!

Burnt my finger last night from the steam while making spaghetti. Still hurts a bit and the spaghetti ended up sticking to the bottom of the pot. My swearing at the meal didn't help.

Had a relaxing weekend. It's Heritage Day in Alberta but it's not a statatory holiday. We had it off and I spent my Monday at the theatre watching Pirates of the Caribbean... I thought the movie was o'kay but I had problems following who was where and scheming with what people.

Rented Tristan & Isolde and Cassanova. I really liked Tristan & Isolde. It was well shot, an interesting story and great costumes. Cassanova was quite funny - I was expecting a romantic comedy but it was more straight comedy.

Trimmed everyone's nails and gave Gilbert a bath. I hit two of Whiskers' quicks but she didn't make any noise - just got blood everywhere (thank goodness for corn starch). I'll be spending my weekends at the various festivals in August. This Sunday is Marda Gras (in Marda Loop - near my place).

Have a great day!

A Happy Tuesday

Hello Everyone!

It was a lovely walk to work and the sun is shining. It's a bit cool but should warm up by the afternoon.

Had a lovely weekend. My experience at the spa was great. The mini facial lasted for over half an hour and was very, very relaxing. I then had my eyebrows waxed and it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. She applied the wax in very small amounts in areas where the hair needed to be removed. She made it look very natural and told me she didn't want to take too much off - it would be too shocking for me. I'm very pleased with the results. It makes my eyes look bigger.

I spent the weekend tidying the apartment. I didn't put any pressure on myself to get everything done so although I have a few things to do tonight, it was overall more relaxing.

My glads are about to bloom! The ones in the west flowerbed have buds that are just starting to open. I think I planted the east flowerbed ones too deep as they don't have their buds yet. They should be very pretty.

Got Mike a new feather toy and some tasty twigs for the naughty ones on Sunday. Whiskers was being very helpful last night. I was sweeping the floor and she hopped beside me (in the dirt). She followed me all over - what a sweetie!

Watched Canadian Idol last night and was quite impressed with Cindi Lauper's advice. Liked some of the performances (very different than a lot in the past). Some pretty wild outfits (and eye makeup).

Have a great day!

Friday!

Hello Everyone!

It's Friday afternoon and I have 1 hour, 11 minutes left to work. It rained early in the morning (right around when the techs were coming to work) so despite it not raining for the rest of the day, they didn't work. It's been a slow day but I won't complain.

Sent off my notice to the landlord this morning. I have to give them 2 months' notice.

Spent last night cuddling with Mike. There wasn't much on tv so I watched part of Some Like It Hot. It still makes me laugh.

I'm going to a spa tomorrow to get my eyebrows waxed (apparently this is done instead of having them plucked). I've been thinking about it for a while (getting them shaped). I let you know how everything goes and how painful it is. I read that you should get it done professionally and then once the hair grows back in, it's easier to see them to pluck. I'm also getting a mini-facial (ahhhhhh).

I'm also winning a couple auction items on ebay. The auction ends tonight around 7pm my time so I'll be on my computer watching the stupid last-minute buyers.

Will spend most of the weekend cleaning the apartment and running errands. Although the washing machine is hooked up again downstairs, I think I'll take my laundry to the laundry mat again. It was nice to be able to do more than one load at a time. The dryers also worked better.

Have a great day!

1 hour, 3 minutes...

The Waiting Game

Hello Everyone!

I mailed off my application for Alberta Bible College today (as well as asked for my transcript to be sent to them). At this point, all I can do is wait...

A bit of a slow day but it's nice to have a few moments to relax. I need to write my letter to the landlord about moving out tonight (have to give 2 months' notice). Other than that, just tidying the apartment and playing with my furry family tonight. Thinking about renting a movie.

It's starting to cool off over night. I've been leaving the bedroom window open at night and I find by morning that I'm curled up in my douvet. Still quite warm in the afternoons. It was bad last weekend when we got up into the 30s but now it mid-high twenties. There's been thunderstorms rolling through so it's been a bit windy. Had a bit of rain on Tuesday but I think I'll need to water the flowers tonight.

Have a great day!

Hump Day!

Hi Everyone!

Ah, Wednesdays - half-way through the work week. It's a warm sunny afternoon and the clouds are like little cotton balls in the sky.

I forgot to mention in my previous postings that I've cut off my hair again. The top is about 1" long and the back/sides are a bit less. It's quite fun. I can lay it flat, spike it, or even style it into a crest.

Anyways, it's too nice outside to type - I just want to stare through the blind slits and as I watch the minute hand get closer to home time.

Have a great day!

TGIF

Hi Everyone!

I'm sweltering away to the music choices of Alice Cooper. He has a very interesting radio show on at night. He plays good music and it seems like he's just relaxing on a couch talking about his friends/adventures.

It got up to 30 today and it won't be going away for the next few days. It's hard to say if I'll need to move into the livingroom again (cooler) or not. It's the Salsa Festival on Sunday (the food & and the dance) in Kensington although I'm not sure if I'll attend - it'll depend on the heat.

Whiskers has learned a new trick. If she hops up on the futon, she gets a Tasty Twig. I've actually been able to pet her for a couple minutes rather than her 10 second-hop-away pets. I'll need to pick up more treats tomorrow. Gilbert gets upset though - he loves the treats too so whenever he hears the bag rattle, he thinks he'll get a treat. Don't worry - both get treats.

Have lots to do this weekend. I'm finally going to finish painting the trim in the hallway, clean the apartment, laundry, cook, grocery shop, garden, and clean out the fish tank. It's hard to say if I'm actually going to do all this - I always have such high hopes on Friday night.

Have a great weekend!

Hi Everyone!

Hello Everyone!

I hadn't realized it's been almost a month since I've written. A lot of things have been going on so this'll be a long posting. Once I've got you caught up, I'll be more regular in my posting (and avoid sitting at my computer so long remmembering everything that's happened).

Stampede

Stampede wrapped up on Sunday. Each night they set off fireworks to end the show but I noticed this year it seemed later - I'd be in bed and the noise would wake me up! I went out on Friday to watch them and I'll admit they're pretty impressive. Went down to the grounds on the first Saturday. I was planning to watch the cow herding competition but when I entered the grounds, I had a strange urge to go on the midway. I haven't been on a midway in years and I've got to admit, it was a lot of fun. I only went on 4 rides - they're quite expensive (about $5/ride) After that, I spent 3 hourse in the Stampede Market watching infomercials demos and learning about all sorts of interesting products. It's a weakness of mine - I especially love the food prep demos because although I know I won't eat the vegetables, it seems like such a wonderful idea. I ended up getting a popcorn maker pot. Basically, you heat the oil in the pot and then add the corn. There's a crank that turns a metal blade (which moves the kernals so they don't burn). It's quicker and yummier than microwave popcorn.

I've found that I have a different Stampede experience each year. My first year was rodeo - I went 3 times and learned all about it. My second year was competition - working horse, cow herding, stock dogs. My third year was amusement - a lot of fluff but a much needed day of relaxation and fun.

I also experienced my first Stampede Breakfast. Basically, throughout Stampede, businesses, community group and neighbourhoods put on free breakfasts (pancakes, sausage) for everyone willing to stand in line. I went to the one in Marda Loop and although I felt ill after eating 1/2 a pancake (such a lovely food but my stomache hates them), it was wonderful to sit with other people on straw bales and enjoy a free breakfast. The church also hosted one so I had a day of firsts - first time cooking breakfast sausage, first time preparing a pineapple, first time buying cantelope. It went really well and I think I may buy cantelope again.

Why have I been so busy?

This story goes back several months so some of you may know it. Back in January, Phil pulled me into his office to talk about my future. Basically, he wanted me to consider taking over the sales supervisor position in a couple of year. I told him I would need to think about it. This got me thinking seriously about where I see my life going. I didn't see it going in Phil's direction. (I turned him down last month) I considered all my previous jobs and what I enjoyed about them. The common link was speaking/relating with people, sharing my knowledge, and helping others. I found that I was being drawn toward ministry. I didn't want to make any rash decisions so I spent the spring thinking about this and getting more information. Although I don't feel prepared to go through the disernment process (a year long assessment with the congregation to see if I am suited and, if so, in what type of position). I decided that I should get more schooling. I have decided to attend Alberta Bible College (ABC - I'm not kidding!) in January. They offer a special two year program in Counselling & Ministry. It is an accelerated program designed for adults and offers class once a week and runs throughout the year. It is a BA program and this is achieved by using prior education to meet BA standards. I gave them a copy of my transcript to get an initial idea if I needed more courses and, from their initial assessment, I should only need to take one extra course (in psychology, which can be done through Athabasca Uni). Also, because of its courseload, I would be considered a full time student (which means my tax return should pay for most of the tuition for my 3rd semester. Semesters are 6 months long). I don't want to take on any more debt so I will use a portion of my RRSPs. A government incentive states that you can use your RRSP to pay for education, without penalty, so long as you replace the money within 10 year. I'm setting up an appointment with my financial advisor to figure all this out. I'm really excited and a bit nervous about everything. Rev. Clint is very supportive and he told me he'd be happy to help with any topics that come up in class. I'll give you more details as I know them - if you're interested, their website is www.abc-ca.org

Apartment

As much as I love my apartment, I'm giving it up. Between the leaking, flooding, and construction going on in the neighbourhood (we're likely next to be torn down for infills), it's just not worth having the worry that I'll be evicted with 2 month's notice because it's being bulldozed. I mentioned this to my friend Wendy (from chuch - she's been very supportive of me since I moved out here) and a few weeks ago, she told me about an apartment her friend has. It's a two bedroom basement suite that's right by Walmart/Safeway (I often go to shop in this neighbourhood). It will mean getting a roommate but I'll save over $100/month and pets are ok. The vacancy rate in Calgary is about 1.5% and the prices are getting steep so I was really amazed to hear about this opportunity. Wendy spoke to me on Sunday and told me her friend will hold the apartment for me (my lease runs out at the end of September but I'm willing to take the new apartment early and pay the extra rent - it's worth it in the long run and perhaps I can persuade the management company to refund part of the rent if someone else moves in). They're going to clean it over the next couple weeks and then I'll get a chance to see it. I trust Wendy's judgement - she wouldn't recommend a crappy place. Transit connections are amazing. The upstairs apartment belongs to her friend's mother (an older Greek lady) and they were wanting to find a reliable tenant. I also don't have any problems help out, such as snow shoveling, gardening etc. This savings in rent will really help cover costs for school. I've been praying hard to figure out my finances so maybe this was an answer.

I'm going to miss this place - I put a lot of time and effort (and money) making it look like a home. My flowerbeds are looking beautiful.

Work

With the changes that are going to be happening in the next few months, I don't know if I want to stay for another season. This is my 3rd season working there. In the Spring, it's such a stressful time (and long hours) that I think this will make things difficult with my schooling. As well, there are job openings that I'm qualified for that pay about the same without the extra hours. I won't make my decision until sometime in November. If I do decide to leave, I'll give my two weeks notice at the beginning of December, fly back to Ontario for holidays and start a new job in the new year. I'm not concerned about finding a new job - the job market is booming. I've been having the feeling of change over these past months and I think change would be good. I'll be thinking quite hard about this and will let you know my situation when winter comes.

Other

I'm very excited about Shannon's upcoming visit in September. I booked off time at work so we can do all sorts of things. I love playing tourist!

I also got an e-mail from Corey (my friend I met a Bordon) and she's coming home soon (she's over in Afghanistan). I'm going up for a visit at the end of September.

Lori, Sylvia and I are also going up to Edmonton for the weekend in August. We've booked a suite (the theme is Western) at the Fantasyland Hotel (in West Edmonton Mall), and Sue (who works at the Edmonton office) will join us for a girls' weekend of fun.

Whiskers has been acting nice! I bought some Tasty Twigs (a favourite of Gilberft) and she's willing to hop over to eat them. I've also been able to pet her! Mike's been very demanding. We have a new toy - the laser pointer. He loves it! Gilbert has been loving the watermelon I've been buying lately but he's not a cantelope fan. I need to clean the fish tank more often (Buddy the snail is getting big but he can't keep up with it all).

Anyways, it's bedtime for me!

Karen

It's Thursday!

Hi Everyone!

One more day until the weekend! We've been having a system head through the area and my head's aching a bit. Sylvia left at lunch because of her migraine.

Finally, a sunny (but cloud filled) day. Mike will be happy. I'm going to weed the flowerbed when I get home so he'll have a chance to play outside.

Treating myself to apple butter marinated pork roast tonight. It was on sale at M&Ms and the sample was yummy. Haven't decided on a side dish yet. I think I'll also make some pudding - the milk expires in 2 day!

Calming down at work. I have one lackey left but he finishes at the end of next week. I'm not looking forward to answering phones again but at least it pays the bills :-) We have a lot of the work caught up so it won't be as stressfull.

Have a great day!

Still leaking

Hi Everyone!

It's still raining off and on for the past week or so. June is the rainy season here. I heard from my landlord on Friday afternoon. She said that since the roof is flat and there's so much water up there, this is likely the cause of the leak. They have to wait for everything to dry out to see about repairs. She did finally admit (after 2 years) that there is a "serious issue" with the basement.

My garage sale went really well. There was a sunny break for the morning and part of the afternoon and lots of people came by. I had lots of complements on my pricing scheme. Rather than price everything, I designated a coloured star for each price. The Dollar Store stickers worked really well. Mike spent a lot of the day outside and acted like a little cutie. It started to rain again just as I was about to finish.

The Sunday School picnic was on Sunday so I got to eat burnt hamburgers and poplar fluff. Also watched The Chronicles of Narnia. I read the books when I was really young so about all that I could remember was the names of the characters. I thought it was a really great movie. I think I'm going to have to borrow the series from the library to reread.

Whiskers has been acting like a little cutie (makes me feel suspicious). I've been reorganizing the apartment and moving things around and she's been hopping behind me. Whenever I turn around to pet her, she hops away but when I ignore her, she follows me around.

Have been thinking about taking some night courses at one of the bible colleges in the city. I'm going to an information session at one of them later next week to see what kind of courses they offer. They have a two year program that is geared toward adults (25+) that runs once a week. The more I think about the type of work I enjoy doing, I keep coming back to my love to share knowledge and have discussions, and helping others. Perhaps these courses may lead me in a new direction...

Anyways, have a great day! The sun is shining briefly so I may have a dry walk home.

Flooding

Hi Everyone!

In a grumpy mood today - haven't slept well for the past couple days. Two nights ago (to be precise, morning), I woke up to thunder again and then the sound of "drip". My bedroom has a leak. It was about 1:30am so I stumbled around to find something to catch the water. Not too successful but was so tired I just moved into the livingroom and slept on the futon.

Called into work yesterday and explained the situation. Went back to sleep. Left a message for my landlord (and again this morning) but haven't heard anything back from her yet.

In the afternoon, I took a closer look at the leak. It's located above my window (not the seal - about a couple inches above). I removed the blinds and saw water leaking from the holes where the screws held up the brackets. Because it is located right where my sliding windows meet, you can't fit a bucket there. I now have an egg carton rigged out on an angle with a weight on the inner window ledge. It catches the water but I don't know how long it'll last. I'm at work today but I'm still tired and *&^% off about the leaking.

On a happy note, there was lots of noise down in the basement from about mid-morning until 10pm last night. I went down to look after choir and I saw the mud gone from the floor. Maybe they're actually doing something about it.

Put up my signs for the yard sale. Used clear plastic bags to cover the paper. Stopped by the vet to get Mike more food and I also got him a laser pointer. He loves it!

Have a better day than me!

Big thunderstorm last night

Hi Everyone!

Quite tired today - a huge thunderstorm woke me up around 1 am. I think my mind is finally allowing my body to rest - all I want to do is sleep!

Have nothing going on tonight so I'm going to take it easy and bake some cookies. I went to the dollar store last night and bought some coloured star stickers. I'm going to use them for price tags (for the yard sale). For example, blue will mean $0.25 (couldn't find the "cent" key), silver will mean $1.00. I think I'll put stickers on items (which are already sorted) and reprint the flyers. It'll be nice to have a night to relax and do some little things around the apartment.

Not sure of my plans to fill my evenings during the summer. I think I'll do a bunch of reading.

Have a great day!

The first time my computer's been on in a month

Hi Everyone!

I know I haven't been writing lately but when you're staring at a monitor for 10 hours, the last thing you want to do when you finally get home is stare at another one.

It's been an overcast/rainy week and I'm watching 8 Mile and eating watermelon. I finally got around to painting my closets today so I just have a bit of trim left to do and then I'm done my major make-over. I was planning to hold a yard sale yesterday but the weather just didn't co-operate. I've now got boxes covering my livingroom floor filled with stuff. It's driving me (and the furry family) crazy. At least everything is sorted by price so all I have to do is put stickers on everything.

Have another new addition to the household. Buddy (the black snail) joined the fish tank (or should it be called a "creature tank") last weekend. He's doing a great job of eating the algae so I don't have to clean it. The psycho fish haven't bothered him either. I had bought a couple algae eaters a few weeks ago but they were dead within hours.

Saw a rainbow earlier this evening.

Things still busy at work. All of my lackeys have left me (medical issues, family issues & custody issues) so it's back to answering the phones for me. We've got a couple days left of weed control to do (that we couldn't at all last week-rain/wind) so things should start to calm down soon. I think it'll still be a couple more weeks of 10 hour days but things should be good after that.

Basement flooded (yet again). The stairwell is quite humid and stuffy so I'm keeping my window open and wearing a sweater to keep the apartment liveable.

Bethel class has ended. We had a wrap-up barbeque on Wednesday. I'm going to miss the classes - I learned a lot and I enjoyed meeting everyone. There's also only two choir practises left so my schedule will open up dramatically for the summer. It'll be nice to have some evenings for myself but I sometimes get lost without a steady schedule.

Have a great day!

Hebbo ebryun!

Hi Everyone!

I have problems typing how I sound. I think I've developed a pollen (of some type) allergy. I woke up Monday morning with fuzzy head, a runny nose, and sneezing. I felt fine on Sunday and I don't have my regular symptoms for a head cold. I took some Benedryl until last night which was when I visited the pharmacy. They were very nice and explained about allergies, symptoms and recommendations. I took a little 24h pill last night but I was warned that if my allergies are in full swing, it may take a day or two for it to take its full effect. I've never had an environmental allergy before so I've either developed one, or this is the first time I've been exposed to the particular pollen. I don't care one way or the other - I just want the medication to kick in!

Otherwise, work is still very busy. I'm not as stress as I've been for the past couple weeks (am taking a couple minutes to type this at work). Still long days but most people have their fertilizer and we've started weed control this week.

Had a great weekend.

On Saturday, I took a personal safety course. It was the same as the one I took a couple months ago but this time I got to work with a padded attacker. The senario was me walking home and a stranger rushed out of a bush and tackled me. I did everything without my glasses (so I know that if I loose them I can still get away), and I successfully got away (with several kicks in the head/neck/shoulder to the poor padded guy). It was very empowering.

That night I went to the orchestra. It was their final Light Classics performance for the year. I was very happy that I had a chance to wear my lovely black skirt that I bought in the winter. I was in an outlet store and there was one skirt in the entire store that looked great and was extremely cheap. I tried it on but it was a bit tight. I decided to get it anyways and hoped I could loose a bit of weight around my waist (it's always larger in the winter anyways). I tried it on Friday night and it fit! It fits snug down to the knees and then flares out into ruffles (like a flower turned upside down). There are panals that alternate between polyester and a satin-like material. I was very happy to play dress up. The first half of the performance was wonderful. There was a piano concerto and the pianist was amazing. The second half dragged on a bit but for $12, I think I got my money's worth.

I slept in on Sunday and missed church. Phoned Mom to wish her a happy Mother's day. Planted my seeds in the flowerbeds. If they show up, great! If not, oh well.

Have a great day!

Welcome Maddy!

Hello Everyone!

Madeleine Elizabeth (spelling unknown) decided to explore the world at 1:11 pm (local time) today. She (and Mom) are doing well. She weighed 7lb 2oz and has lots of dark hair. I was told she has fine features and lokes adorable (from an unbias opinion of Gramma!)

Stacey ended up having a c-section because Maddy was facing up and both are expected to stay in the hospital until Sunday (as a precaution).

As I'm still bouncing up and down, I'm also scratching. I took an allergic reaction to the amoxicillian today. When I woke up, the skin above my left eye was poofy to the point it was drooping over my eyelid. I was also super-itchy (and still am). When I got to work, Lori went and got me a Benedril. My eye went relatively back to normal in a couple hours but both rims around my eyes are very red and I'm still itchy. No rash/redness though. After speaking with a nurse on the phone, I called my dentist. He's going to fit me in tomorrow for my root canal. This way, the infection won't come back.

Fired flaky guy today. He took it well and I was a lot less stressed today. Actually had all my work done by 4:30! Bethel class was short (hockey game) and the game just finished. There's some very disappointed people in the city tonight. I caught part of the last period and I don't think they played well.

Have a wonderful, amazing, happy day!