Stupid cold

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day!

A Lazy Sorta Weekend

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

Have a great day!

Sad Day

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

A Quiet New Years

Hello Everyone,

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

Tidied, filed, organized and ate pizza on Sunday.

So, a fabulous weekend overall.

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

Have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

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

Have a great day!

Alice

Hello Everyone,

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

Have a great day!

List

Hello Everyone,

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

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

Boys are dumb

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

Boys

Christmas decorations!

Hello Everyone!

So, here are some photos of the decorations:

Jerry putting up lights for me.

Our first big snow fall a week ago.

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

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

A picture of our lights.

Brrrr...

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day!

Winter Storm Coming

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

And more Christmas decorating!

Have a great day!

A quiet sort of week

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

Have a great day!

Social Insurance Numbers - Important

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

S'mores

Hello Everyone,

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

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

Have a great day!

A good weekend

Hello Everyone,

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

Saturday was raking leaves

Sunday was raking leaves

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day!

Book Recommendation

Hello Everyone,

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

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

Have a great day!

Hallowe'en Photos

Hello Everyone,

So, here are a couple pictures.

House photos

Hello Everyone,

So, here's my new place. Still very disorganized but it's coming along.

Front of house.

Backyard photos.

So, here's the lay-out. go through front door. On your left is an archway to the livingroom. Straight ahead is the kitchen. The hallway then also branches right to 2 rooms and the bathroom.

One in the livingroom, there's another arch that leads to the diningroom. The diningroom is linked to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, you can go downstairs to 2 more rooms, the laundry room, a second bathroom and the storage room.

kitchen

livingroom

View of the livingroom from the dining room

The diningroom (viewed from the livingroom)

Have a great day!

$40

for a china cabinet

Hello Everyone!

So, I found a china cabinet on Kijiji and it's now in our dining room. Definite 80s look but it's huge and will provide the storage we need. Both Jerry and I have china and were looking to get a cabinet sometime in the future. When I do get a proper one, it will be a nice antique one, which is not in my budget over the next few years (maybe matching the other furniture in the dining room too). So in the meanwhile, we have a 6 1/2' high cabinet, 4' wide, 1 1/2' deep cabinet. The base comes just below my waist and the whole upper part is a glassed in area. 3 glass shelves and a light. The base has 1 shelf in it. It's pretend wood and there's a gold strip around the curved front edge (yep - 80s) but I'm quite happy with my find.

I've used Kijiji a few times - apartment hunting, sold my piano, gave away some stuff and now bought something. Search engine could be improved but you can find some great deals.

Have a great day!

Things coming along

Hello Everyone,

The livingroom and dining room are starting to come along. It's hard since Jerry doesn't have all of his things here and I'm trying to create a balance of not too much "Karen" stuff in these common areas. They have their own "cave" downstairs (which I call a "den" since it sounds cozier) for playing video games, beer fridge, guy stuff so they're quite happy.

The kitchen is crazy disorganized and will be until this weekend. I think that's when they'll finish up their main move. Jerry's in charge of the kitchen and the problem we have is duplicity in both kitchen items and in food. But Jerry also mention "yard sale next year" so I have no trouble putting some stuff in storage downstairs until spring. And we have lots of plates and utensils. Great for entertaining but we want to keep it limited upstairs since it forces dish washing.

I think tonight will be continuing in the main rooms and then also start on the spare room. Basically, everything's been dumped in there and there needs to be some space for things being moved this weekend. The other big thing will be starting to clear some space and assembling shelving downstairs.

Still walking to work - find it very relaxing. I grab my coffee in the morning and have a leisurely walk down the hill. No stress. No having to be super alert for dumb drivers. Walking home is a bit different. In my ideal world, I'd walk to work and ride home. But since that's not possible, I'll likely end up biking a couple days a week to keep my urban skills up and walking the rest of the time. Until there's snow on the road - and then I'll just walk. Centre Street hill/bridge is not the most pleasant in bad weather.

Hoping to get more sleep in the evening but I find I get caught up in something and the next thing I know it's 11pm. I did take a short nap with Whiskers last night though that was rather nice. The furry family seems to be adjusting well. And Jerry only starts getting stuffed up when I'm moving boxes around (dust) rather than when he's petting Mike. I think the shampoo may be helping.

Went grocery shopping Monday night for produce and got a pumpkin. It was a heavy sucker and I had to stop several times on the way home to rest my arms. The grocery store isn't far though and I think he'll be a great jack o'lantern. Will carve it next week. Also need to get candy or treats for the kids. In past years I gave out Mr. Freezies but I don't know if I can still get them in the store. Any suggestions other than the expensive mini chocolate bars? I can always fall back on candy and lollipops if need be. There's a courier race (an "alleycat", which is a race throughout downtown with a waypoint list - similar to what couriers do when they pick up and drop off items) on Hallowe'en so I have to give out candy by myself but will meet up with Jerry later at the party.

Overall quite happy with the new house. The bathtub is high to climb in and it's small but it's still a bathtub. Still trying to figure out how to program the thermostat. The double sink is small but I could fit my dish rack inside last night. Ceilings are quite high so looking for ways to create vertical interest.

Have a great day!