A is for Organized!

Look what my man made for me today! It's new shelves in the garage! Can you tell I'm excited about it?!?!

Seriously, this Type A personality was totally impressed with the work he did this weekend. And, to make it even better, all the materials were scraps he brought home for free! Now everything is on one wall, up off the ground which can get wet from the spring thaw.

What you see is all that we have in storage: everything else has been unpacked and moved into the house, or is in the basement (just a few containers of seasonal items). My day went from 0 to 100 once he'd finished that off. I was able to organize it all and am sooooo happy that it's all in one spot. I can even read what's in each box!

Oh yeah, good afternoon, that's for sure.

Full Moon

With our busy lives, I really haven't had a chance to just sit back and look at the night sky in a while. When you're camping, you can't help but look at it, but in the city it's not as easy. We're pretty lucky to live away from the main city lights, but the street lights still block a lot of the view of the stars.

As we were driving home from our date, it was around 7:00 pm and the moon was rising ahead. It was quite beautiful, actually, as you can see from this photo.

Even with the low resolution you can still see how bright it is. The "man in the moon" was clearly visible. Google says that the 30th is a full moon, so it makes sense that it's so bright the night before.

The moon really is quite a sight. Looking at it, or the stars, or anything God-made for that matter, relieves my stress and relaxes my mind. I really enjoyed our little date and this view on the way home was a sweet ending. Well, that and the movie we watched when we got home (MIB:3)...

The Waiting Game

*sigh of relief* The week of crap is over. I honestly don't remember the last time I was this "un-busy" at work and had a bad week as well. It's never nice to be bored, and it gets really hard to find things to do after a while. I can't look bored, however. It would be really great if this whole acquisition thing would just happen already.

Being frustrated is really tiring on a person. I'm frustrated with people, circumstances, and everything else in between. I'm finding it hard at work to just "go with the flow". I feel out of the loop, left behind, and like a nobody. Not all the time, but this week was bad.

I have to remember how much I truly do enjoy doing most of the parts of my job and how I want to continue to succeed. The waiting game is extremely trying though, and it's so hard to keep in touch with the positive aspects. I just have to remember the serenity prayer (which tends to keep me going) and remain as positive as I can. At the end of the day, all I can do is say that I've done my best and have no regrets.

An Ode to Leaves

Leaves, leaves, everywhere
Some are here,
Some are there
The rest are in the trees.

I rake forever, it seems
The falling doesn't stop
Only in my dreams...
I guess fall has arrived.

Crunch go our feet
And Casey's too
At least the smell is sweet
The air is so crisp.

The weather's been fine
It's quite unseasonable
I won't complain this time
Winter is on its way.

Leaves, leaves, everywhere.

Buteyko Breathing

Three words: Shut Your Mouth. I've been trying very hard at doing so for nearly 24 hours now. Why, you ask? Because we had a guest speaker at TOPS and I was extremely intrigued. I can't remember his name now, but he's a Lutheran pastor in Regina and gave quite the story. You can check it out at www.shutyourmouth.ca.

The main idea is regarding the Buteyko Breathing Method, which involves breathing through your nose at all times. Read this information below which is directly from the pastor's website:

What is Buteyko

The essence of my method is in decreasing the depth of breathing. You would ask me how. The best way is through relaxation of the muscles that potentiate the breathing action. What then occurs is a sensation of having sufficient air if the breathing is reduced. These are the instructions -- the whole of the method.” Dr Konstantin Buteyko

The Buteyko Breath Retraining method is a series of breathing exercises that restore normal breathing patterns. Breathing is the most fundamental function of our bodies. When we correct our breathing, the rest of our system is positively impacted.

As we retrain ourselves in healthy breathing, symptoms of chronic conditions are alleviated. Over time, less medication is needed and dependence on C-PAP machines can be eliminated. As more efficient breathing evolves, improved oxygenation of the tissues and a stronger immune system result.

Our energy also improves, allowing us to engage in physical activity with greater ease. As we become more active endorphins are released, elevating our state of mind. (It is estimated that 60% of people with debilitating chronic conditions also experience depression.) We are better able to cope with health challenges and stress. We are more inclined to take better care of ourselves, leading to being symptom-free, medication-free and healthier than ever.

So, after listening to our speaker, I went to bed with my mouth taped shut (using paper tape, duh). I found that I did sleep better, but the tape wasn't tight enough around my humongous lips. Tonight I'll make it tighter so I can't eke out any sort of breath from my mouth, and see how I feel in the morning. I figure, why not try something new to attempt to combat my sinus issues and sleep problems. I suggest you look into it more if you're interested!

Flowing With the Changes

When I actually have time to sit down and drink in the changes that are occurring around our house lately, I realize just how much we've been up to. It's one thing to be busy with extra-curriculars, it's another to be making drastic amendments to our lives.

Yesterday Paul gave his official two week notice to his current employer. He could have just quit at the end of the week and not given the notice, but in respect and to avoid burning bridges, he'll work until October 5th. Then he'll be making the plunge, officially, to being a one-man show. The only reason he's jumping right into it is because he was asked to. I guess the company that is hiring him has tons of work to be done, and they trust that Paul will do it right. Nice! I'll take it, especially the (nearly double what he gets now) wage.

Then as you would know if you read this blog regularly, we just traded in our beloved crossover utility vehicle for a midsize sedan and a basic pickup truck. We like them both a lot, especially the "new car smell". Mmmmm. I will miss my heated seats, DVD entertainment system, backup camera, touch screen monitor, and command start (until we get it installed in the new ones). I won't miss having too big of a car for just two people and their dog, and having to rely on Paul or the bus to get a ride to or from work every day.

I'm also becoming more involved with TOPS and the KOPS society, making friends and being social, and participating more actively at the church with the worship team. I even plan to try my hand at re-learning the bass guitar this winter.

Being busy is a very new thing for me -- and for Paul -- but I think we're getting used to it. I have to think less about the time I don't have and focus in the moment and just enjoying myself and getting things done. I can over think things at times, so have to just trust the process and go with the flow. Since September has been such a changing month for us, I wonder what the rest of the year will bring?

Who's In Charge?!

Have you ever discovered that you were in charge of something but didn't full realize it? Like you said you would "head something up" but thought for some reason that things would just magically happen. Well, that happened to me today.

I asked another person about a few things and got the response that they thought I "was leading" and they were just "helping out". Oh. My. Goodness. Me. Guess I have a few extra things to do this week, and I don't even know if I'll get reimbursed for the costs. I'm pretty sure I will, but there's never a guarantee.

I guess next time I need to ensure that I request assistance ahead of time so that items aren't left undone. That and, I hate to say that something will be available to someone at the event when in the end, it won't be.

Oh well. Lesson learned. Let's just hope that this Saturday goes off without a hitch. It is, after all, just a walk around the lake...

Crazy Cleaning Lady

It really bothers me when I can't get into my normal weekend routine to clean the house. It's way past dirty, and I simply am not interested unless I can get up in the morning and do it. Obviously yesterday was out with picking up the cars and such, and last weekend was... something else... of course now I can't even remember. Next Saturday is the TOPS Annual Fall Walk. So, I guess I'll either have to let it be dirty for longer OR simply get my act together and do it at a different time. Let's hope for next Saturday after the walk.

I got into a little bit of a cleaning rampage for about half an hour around 5:00 tonight, but really only because I got frustrated with having to do laundry all afternoon and the sink sitting full of dirty dishes... ahem, Mr. Paul... yeah. The "kids" were hungry, I was cranky, and it just wasn't good. Then I went outside and swept all the leaves off the deck. At least I worked up a sweat and the dog got some more fresh air. As if she doesn't get enough of it. Oy, I need a vacation.

Did I mention I'm taking the week of Christmas off? Well, I am. I'm just going to stay at home, in my pjs and not do my hair and not care. I politely informed my co-workers that, after the month of August and us not booking a vacation for ourselves for a year, I would be taking those three days off. It's not like I'll be leaving town so, in an emergency, they can call or email me about whatever. I'm not mean, just tired.

I'm going to go wash my hair now. It soothes my nerves. Then I'll have something to eat and settle down for some good 'ol "Breaking Amish" on TLC.

And the Winner Is...

The Nairns! Well, it sure feels that way. Our luck has definitely changed -- in many areas anyway -- and we finally feel that things are moving in the right direction. As promised, here are the pictures of our new rides!

Paul got his wish: a new truck that fits him like a glove. Literally. It's the first vehicle I've seen him sit in that had more room than he needed. And the price was right. Double awesomeness.

2012 Dodge Ram 1500

I also feel pretty spoiled with my new car. That was never the intent, but when you're offered a great deal and it just feels right, you go with it.

2012 Chrysler 200 LX

Neither of these vehicles is fancy. They are both base models with little more than air and cruise (and Paul says his truck doesn't even have cruise control). No more heated seats, and if we want command start, we have to pay to have it put in (we probably will within the next few months). When we asked for help, we didn't say "they need more options!" when the answer was provided. The minimum is more than we initially requested, so we feel extremely blessed.

We're both really excited to be in two vehicles. It's been about 18 months since we had a second one to use, and although I truly didn't mind working with our situation the way it was, it has simply come to the time when separate cars is no longer just a want. With Paul making some career changes, getting the truck was the first major step in him moving forward.

Don't we look happy? That's because we are :)

Growing Old

After a four month hiatus for summer, the Son's of Scotland Regina chapter (aka Camp Balmoral) reconvened tonight. The specific occasion was "Past Chiefs' Night" which consisted of a potluck and the past chiefs in attendance taking over the formal part of the meeting. The food was hearty (there had to be at least six different stews) and filling, and the meeting long. Very long. I understand that there have been a few months of goings on to talk about, but 90 minutes? I was so tired after a busy week and just wanted to go home to bed.

The hardest part for us in this group is that we're the youngest members. Not by a few years, by many years. I could easily be the great-granddaughter of a gentleman sitting at our table, who turned 90 recently. With all due respect to the members, who are very kind, generous people, there simply needs to be some more young blood infused into the mix. What will they do in twenty years when there's no one left to run the meetings?

Two members passed away this spring/summer, with a few more on their way, I'm sure. We'd like to continue on with the group, but the way its going, it's just so bloody boring! We have absolutely nothing in common with these people, other than Scottish heritage. The current members' children don't even come!

I hope in the years to come they're able to continue with membership. I can't guarantee we'll be part of it though.

I Asked, He Answered

After what seems like a long time, we made up our minds and took the plunge. You're reading the blog of a two-vehicle owner! Well, co-owner technically, but it's all the same. This is the first time in our nine years of marriage that Paul and I will have our own vehicles to get around in.

It's been exciting, stressful, emotional, expensive (well, not really, but if it's not free...) and overall satisfying. Accepting a deal we couldn't say no to, we returned to our original salesman and bought from him again. I'm going to keep the specifics a secret for now, but once we pick them up on Saturday and I can post photos, you'll see what we ended up with.

Paul's more excited than me, even though I'm really happy to have a car again. I'm mostly happy just for him to have a truck. That was the main concern for us in the beginning, otherwise we wouldn't have bothered to trade the Journey in. He'll finally be able to perform his new "job" properly, getting him and his tools around town anytime he wants or needs to. And I'll not have to count on him or the bus for a ride every day.

All in all, this change for us is positive and it's just proof that God answers prayers and shows us the way. I was patient and believed that what was meant to be would happen in its own time. I guess now is the time. We feel very good about the decisions we made, so I'm hopeful our happiness will continue.

Look for my Saturday blog for more on our new rides!

A Valued Volunteer

Wow, talk about a lot of chapter members now. Not counting the ones that only weigh in and don't come to meetings, and the ones that are MIA, there are now 52 people on my list. That's a lot of people.

I am trying not to be overwhelmed by it, but it really is a lot of work organizing everyone's weight charts and tallying awards. I've said it before, and I don't want to "beat a dead horse", but I just hope that my will to continue in this volunteer position is greater than the stress is causes. Don't get me wrong, I care very much about the members, but sometimes I don't entirely feel valued. This isn't their fault, it's mine, I realize that.

In other areas of my life I feel undervalued as well, and I know it's due to my personality type. A major fear of mine is being worthless; my basic desire is to feel valuable and worthwhile. These are things I'm working on and will probably blog about in the future.

Regardless of how many chapter members we have, I just hope that they understand what it takes to keep the charts organized and the monthly awards accurate. I'm doing the job for them (and, let's face it, to add to my resume) and I want to do the best job possible. If I'm having a stressful day, I want to work through it and be present for them. My attitude hinders my own success as well.

Working through my "defects", one day at a time, I'll have happiness and achieve something great -- for me and for my chapter.

19 Kids & Tater Tots

I really enjoy watching "19 Kids and Counting" because I simply cannot imagine growing up with such a large family. It's astounding how they make it work and all the kids seem genuinely happy (most of the time).

One of the most interesting things about the Duggars is their food storage room. It's actually a garage that has had shelving installed inside to look like a small grocery store. They organize all sorts of canned goods in there. They also know how to cook for large numbers of people. Tonight they made Tater Tot Casserole. It looked yummy! They didn't actually share the entire recipe, but I Google offered it up very willingly. I'm definitely going to make it.

Although I can't imagine living with that many people in one house, it would be a really interesting experience to spend a day or two with them. I'm sure I could learn a lot about patience, understanding, and teamwork... not to say I'm bad at any of those, but I bet they're better.

Prayer and Faith

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

(Mark 11:24 NIV) 

Taken from a prayer website:

"Prayer is absolutely dependent upon faith. It has no existence apart from it, and accomplishes nothing unless it is its inseparable companion. Faith makes prayer effectual, and in a certain important sense, must precede it. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Before prayer ever starts toward God; before its requests are made known—faith must have gone on ahead; must have asserted its belief in the existence of God; must have given its assent to the gracious truth that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek His face. In this regard, while faith does not bring the blessing, yet it puts prayer in a position to ask for it, and leads to another step toward realization, by aiding the petitioner to believe that God is able and willing to bless."

Amen.

Decisions, Decisions

You know those semi-sleepless nights that occur when a major decision needs to be made? When you have too many options and your mind just won't stop racing through them all? When you're afraid to make the wrong decision and therefore struggle with it for a very long time or even forever?

Who knew that buying new vehicles would be so hard?! After yesterday, we just have to look at some more options before we can make our decision. It would be so much easier if money wasn't an issue, but of course it is. Maybe ten years ago I would have jumped into something a lot quicker (like marriage?! no kidding... haha) but now that I'm more mature and have more bills to pay, I'm a lot more cautious. Sure there's always going to be those spontaneous purchases, but when we're talking thousands of dollars, probably not so much anymore.

Tomorrow is a new day, as long as I can sleep through the night. I have a few phone calls to make and some more wheeling and dealing to do. We'll get through it, I know, but until the process is over, I'll be very anxious! Does anyone happen to have a money tree I could come pick off of? I'll definitely be saying more small prayers to help us through this one. I know that everything happens for a reason and I just need to trust that God will help us make the right choice. I'm just impatient for it to happen... now!

A Quick Car Note

So, our vehicle buying escapades continue. There really isn't too much to tell, but we did test drive a few more today after talking over some more ideas with our salesgirl. I think we've found the truck for Paul, but the car is still the factor we haven't fully decided on. We do have some options, but have to make the right choices, not only for us in our current situation, but for the future.

It would be easy to just buy whatever we could find, but that option really changed when we found Taryn. The benefits to dealing with her at that particular dealership are much greater than without, and we still feel good about our decision to do so. If there weren't so many different vehicles out there, the rest would be easy.

Stay tuned for more this month!

Little Patience = Lousy Park Date

My dog is a bully! Argh. My great idea to take Casey to the park for a little while totally did not go well.

We dropped Paul off at the job site that he and J are working at framing a basement (as subcontractors). Then we headed back to the park for a little run. There weren't too many dogs present, but definitely some lively ones. Within minutes, Casey was already chasing a new "friend" and wouldn't listen to me. We tried to walk around a bit but I didn't want her near the water. She kept finding dogs that she didn't like so much (who knows why) and when I tried to pet them, she would get really territorial over me, as if they were going to hurt me.

Then she found a few Shih Tzus that were playing with a Chuck-It ball. Their owner was throwing it with one of those long-armed throwing devices (we also have one). Casey promptly stole the ball (of course) and wouldn't give it back. Once she finally let it go and they regained control, she just started barking at the lady because she wouldn't throw it. Casey's brain is hard wired to run after balls due to the many hours Paul has spent doing so with her. It was so frustrating. Then she got in a fight with one of the dogs.

I was so over it. We tried to enjoy ourselves but literally lasted less than twenty minutes total. I needed food and sleep and my dog was simply misbehaving. Note to self: do not take the dog to the park unless you are fed, watered, and alert. My brain simply wasn't in the game and didn't have any patience for her. Argh.

Doctoral Dollar Signs

Does anyone know how much a family doctor gets paid for seeing me in their office? I'm extremely curious and this is why:

I arrived five minutes late for my appointment today because I got on the "wrong" bus (it took longer to get there than the express bus). As it was only a few minutes before 5 o'clock, I just hoped the doctor would still see me. She actually came to get me from the lobby herself because I was the last patient of the day. She checked my blood pressure and refilled the four prescriptions I requested. Then I was on my way. I was in the room for about three minutes. I decided to grab a pizza next door for dinner and, as I was waiting for Paul to pick me up, she left the office and got into her very expensive-looking Mercedes Benz.

Now, don't get me wrong, I actually like my new doctor very much. She has a great smile and attitude, I can understand what she says even though she's from another continent, and she truly seems to care about my health. I just don't understand why they have to herd you in and out in under ten minutes. I actually had a few other things I would have liked to chat about, but there simply wasn't enough time. There's never enough time.

So, how much money do they earn to see me, and for each prescription they fill? I imagine enough (and more) to fund their fancy car-buying habits.

Busy Bee

So my mom says to me, "it's a good thing you have a blog so I know what you're up to!" Very true. I think that most of the time my blog is just for me to get out my feelings and for my mom to read them! Then she says, and this is paraphrasing, "you sure have a lot on the go". Hmmm. Do I? I guess I do. My reply was something to the extent of, "yeah, I guess, but I live day to day so don't even make me talk about it or I'll get overwhelmed with the realization of how busy I am!" That was Monday. Today I feel a little overwhelmed. No, make that a lot.

All of a sudden I have a bunch of things going on. I don't know how that happened! This is what I've been up to:

1. helping Paul out getting his business started, which often just means taking over doggy-duty in the evening
2. looking for new vehicles to replace our one-and-only
3. making new friends and having a social life for once in a long time
4. keeping up with three shows a week of Big Brother (luckily there's only a few episodes to go this year)
5. being a super-de-duper-awesome weight recorder at TOPS, which takes a lot of work at month-end for awards
6. attending KOPS society meetings and offering to organize the Fall Walk which is now planned for the 29th
7. helping organize and run a fall contest at TOPS
8. making something to take to a Son's of Scotland potluck/meeting
9. WORKING 7.5 hours per day
10. and so on and so forth...

I'm sure that other people go through a lot more in their lives, but you have to understand that for me, this is a lot a lot a lot!

I'm sure I'll either get used to it or it will slow down. Well, I hope one of those things occurs. I'm awfully tired from all my busyness!

That Fall-y Time of Year

It's that time of year again: my leaves are "making like leaves and dropping"... hahahaha.... yeah. Exciting, I know.

The wind was really strong today and I expected all my neighbour's leaves to be in my yard. They aren't completely, but I'm hoping that's only because of the wind direction. Otherwise, they would be. That particular breed of tree goes yellow before the others in the area, and they usually end up on our side of the fence. Lucky us. Not only do we have four of our own trees in the back, but we have two in the front as well as a long, tall hedge.

In all honesty though, the raking isn't really that terrible. Sure, my arms and shoulders get kinda sore and tired, but the exercise is quite outstanding. The temperature dropping and the crunchy sound of leaves underfoot totally puts me in the mood for donning a puffy vest and a brewing up big mug of hot chocolate.

The last few years we had something like 15-20 bags of leaves by the end of the season. We usually have to rake two or three times before all the leaves have fallen. Sometimes, as you know, it snows before we get them up. That just bites the big one. Last year we did pretty good, but didn't quite get them all before the white stuff came. The only difficulty we'll have this year is with the garbage pickup. Now that we have a roll-out bin, only a certain number will fit inside until it's overflowing. We'll probably have a large pile of bags for a few weeks until we can get them all hauled away.

If you're up for a good fall-weather workout, come on over to our place! There's always something to rake here!

Staying on Track with Micro-Directions

It's a good thing microwaveable food items provide directions on the box. If they weren't, I would have eaten way too much just because it tasted so good!

We used to buy micro-dinners all the time, for Paul's lunch or just whatever. I don't typically eat them for my lunch, but I decided to try something new for once. I found some Weight Watcher's Smart Ones Quesadillas. Mmmmm, quesadillas. After grabbing a box to cook up tonight for dinner, I read the instructions for how long to cook them for. Well, the first thing it said was to take "one quesadilla out of the package and put the other back in the freezer". What the... you mean I don't get to eat both? Son of a...

No worries, I was a good girl! 220 calories and 20% sodium was plenty for me, and it still looked like it could be quite delicious. While my one quesadilla was micro-cooking, I tossed up a Dana-style Caesar salad (equal parts lemon juice and dressing). Well let me tell you, although I definitely could have polished off the second one easily, I really enjoyed the one I had, with my zesty salad. Add a cup of skim milk (I'm adding more of it into my diet to try something "new"), and a big glass of water, and I'm totally fine now.

I do have to thank mom for calling me on the phone and keeping me occupied for nearly 45 minutes. In fact, it took me past the point where I'm "allowed" to have anything else to eat before bed.

Without those detailed directions, I could have easily thrown off my good eating habits and botched a stay-the-same or even a possible loss this week. Healthy eating is possible, as long as you don't overdo it and... read the directions -- even if you don't want to!

Hot Tub Happenings

I woke up this morning wondering if somehow I'd ruined another friendship by saying the wrong thing...

We went over to my cousin's house last night, after an afternoon of paintballing, for a hot tub birthday party. He turns 40 next week so they had invited a bunch of friends over. I asked if it was okay if a friend of mine came over, so she did.

Like my last blog, it's a long story so I'll get to the point. For whatever reason, my friend was talking to another party-goer and brought up eating disorders. I found this strange, but she continued in her personal story to this person saying she was bulimic. Say what?! I was stunned, and was like "what do you mean you're bulimic? Can I help you with this? Do you want to talk about it?" She totally got all weird at that moment and decided she wanted to leave the party. Okay... I just let her go but sent a message saying I cared and if she wanted to talk about it I was game, otherwise I'd leave the issue alone. I was actually pretty upset that she would just leave all of a sudden like that. So I went to bad last night just completely unsure about the entire situation.

It wasn't until mid-afternoon that I got a message back from her. She said she was so sorry about last night and that she was a "hot mess". Here I thought she was made at me, not the other way around. Obviously I was happy to hear she was just out of sorts and didn't mean to just leave like that. I still hope she will open up a bit once we get to know each other better and trust me as a friend that cares.

Quite the odd happenings... and quite the change from my normal ho-hum life!

Warm & Fuzzy

After deciding that our car trade-in experience just didn't give us those warm fuzzies, we chose to step away from our "preferred" dealer and try somewhere new.

We ended up at a Ford dealership that specializes in used vehicles. We were greeted right away by a manager, who got our names and had us wait for a salesperson. It only got better from there. Not only were we presented with a female employee (aka our new "car girl"), but she wasn't exactly a typical looking sales type. She wasn't dressed up all fancy with a coordinating dealership golf shirt, and she had leftover multi-coloured nail polish from a week prior. So far so good.

Long story, so I'll make it short, at the end of our visit to this particular car lot, we'd made friends with another of the managers who made us feel extremely important. We know they will have a truck for us, it's just about finding a reliable car for me. We trust that the rest of the experience will continue to be warm and fuzzy and provide us with exactly what we need for our current situation. It was definitely fate that brought us there and we are more than happy to continue this journey (pardon the pun... that's our current vehicle) with them.

One more step in our trade in experience! I'm sure there will be more to say later.

Still

Work is getting me down, once again. I need to get my head back in the game and think positive thoughts. If the frustration with different aspects of work wasn't go great,  I could deal with the rest better.

We're still waiting on China. I'm still doing what I've been doing for the last nine months. I still have issues with particular co-workers. I'm still uber anal about my work and workspace. Still this, and still that. I'd like to say for once that something was NEW. Many people don't care for change, but I do. I want it, badly.

On a positive note, it was Soft Taco Day in the cafeteria and, albeit not as big as it usually is, my taco was absolutely delicious. It definitely picked me up for a bit.

Test Drive

I may have mentioned that, with Paul starting out doing some sub-contracting work, it's about time that we looked into trading our vehicle in for a truck and car. I hate the fact that we'll be spending more money on gas and insurance, but it's obviously a necessary evil with another vehicle.

We spoke with our dealer last weekend, and have been keeping our eyes open for "new" used vehicles that come in. I noticed a particular truck on the website yesterday, so we arranged for a test drive of it and a 4-door car this evening. The car was nice, even with the high kilometres and being only four years old, and the truck was okay, but there are a few issues. One, the front bumper needs to be replaced. Two, the latch on the truck bed needs to be fixed or replaced. Three, there are some issues with enough room for Paul's legs. All in all, we don't think the truck is worth what they're asking for it. We'll need to think on it, and they'll need to think about coming down on the price and/or fixing the things that are wrong.

The experience itself is fun and exciting in that we've never traded in a vehicle before. It's definitely something to learn from and I'm happy to go through it, stress and all.

Look for future blog entries regarding our car-and-truck-buying adventure!

An Ode to TOPS

When you succeed
It makes me feel happy
To share in your achievements
I almost get sappy

With a little hard work
And some motivation
You'll get where you want to
And look great on vacation

Thank you for being there
For me and the rest
I'll pay it forward
To see you to your best

My job may be hard
My job may be trying
But thanks to you all
I'm keeping on smiling

Gooooooooooo TOPS!!!

I Think I Can

I think it's time again to revisit my pi difficulties. I really, really, really wish I had kept it up a bit longer. I would love to make it to 100 digits by the end of the year, and know it's possible, but I have to commit. Not later, now. I became distracted by more pressing matters a few months ago and have simply not picked it back up again. Excuses, excuses, I know, but it just got to the point where I couldn't remember what I'd learned and nothing new was sticking in my brain.

I left off at 3.14 159 265 358 979 323 846 264 338 327 950 288 419 716 939 937 510 582 097 494 459 230 781 640 628 which is 74 digits not including the first # 3. If I can pull off the additional 26 digits over the next three months, that's only about a digit every 4 days. Not so bad when you look at it that way.

I'm gonna need some meditation. Ohm......ohm......ohm..... peace, patience, understanding......ohm..... it's sorta working... ohm............ *BARK* whoops. Thanks, Casey. (That really happened, no joke.)

In all seriousness, this is totally possible. I can do it, yes I can. Since I need some work on the last 9 digits or so, I'll start there by reciting them over and over for a few days then add another couple. I need you to have faith in me, okay? And I promise to be like Thomas the Tank Engine when he said, "I think I can, I think I can"!

I'm Boring Today

I'm sorry, I just don't have anything of interest to say today. I got out of bed by 8 am, had a hearty breakfast, and left the house just after Paul -- who was going to do another sub job on the other side of town -- to take Casey for a walk around the lake. The weather was beautiful, with a sunny, clear blue sky, and a nice strong breeze. There were lots of people walking, running, and riding. And there were lots of dogs. Casey sure wanted to play with them all.

We also gassed up the car, and bought some kitty litter, sandwich meat, bananas, and a few cheap DVDs. I compiled all the data for August awards at TOPS, had a nice lunch, ran a few loads of laundry, and was able to relax for the rest of the afternoon watching "The Backup Plan" starring Jennifer Lopez. The writing wasn't so great, and I didn't really find it too funny or sappy, so it was only okay. 1 out of 3 stars.

Paul returned home around 3:30 and I cooked a nice dinner a few hours later. Then I washed my hair and am sitting here now. See, nothing very interesting to say. I wasn't really inspired at all today. The only news worthy item I read about today was that Michael Clarke Duncan passed away following a July heart attack. http://www.washingtonpost.com/michael-clarke-duncan-dies-at-54/2012/09/03/b74b6df0-f61f-11e1-a93b-7185e3f88849_video.html. I was sorry to hear that. A nice guy and a good actor that will surely be missed.

So, maybe you have something funny or interesting to tell me. Maybe it's time again for a Reader's Choice blog entry. Feel free to post a comment below with an idea for me! Otherwise, it might just be a boring week...

A Delightful Day Off

You wanna know what I did today? Pretty much absolutely nothing. At all. In fact, I'm still in my pajamas and it's nearing 7:30 pm. Awesome.

It's about time that I was able to just take the day off. No schedule to abide by, no specific plans made, no people to see, things to do, or places to go. It's been really great, actually. I even slept in until 10 am. The only things I did decide to do were run and unload the dishwasher, cook a simple dinner, and wash one load of laundry (not like I have to do anything with that, however).

Part of me feels guilty for not getting at least a few things accomplished, but then if I had kept myself busier, I would feel guilty for not just taking the day off. I'll have to be okay with being lazy. At least there's one more day left in this delightful long weekend to perform some much-needed tasks. Paul is probably going out to sub on a job too, so it should be pretty quiet around here with just me and the furries.

I'm going to go now to enjoy the rest of my day off. Tomorrow I'll get back to a normal routine, starting off with a shower (no, I didn't even have one of those today :p).

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Casey likes a wide variety of "human" food. Don't chastise me for feeding it to her; if it's okay for me to eat, then it is for her as well (with only a few exceptions). I'd rather her be open to many different types of food than be picky.

The things I know she likes are:

• milk products - cream cheese, sour cream, hard cheese, yogourt
• eggs
• all kinds of meat and fish
• all bread products
• green peppers
• strawberries
• tortilla chips

Some of her wet food also contains things like peas and bananas, but she won't seem eat them otherwise.

What I find most interesting about Casey is, she has learned to eat all of these things because she watches us eat them. In fact, I know that regardless of what we're eating, she thinks she wants it. This is how I have proven it:

Last night I cut up some fresh strawberries for dessert. As usual, she was curious about the food preparation. I took a small berry and cut it in half for her, handing her a piece. She took it in her mouth, but promptly dropped it on the floor. She then just stared up at me like I was crazy for giving it to her. Well, all I had to do was pop the other half in my mouth as she watched, then hand her back her piece to have her gobble it down in a second. Monkey see, monkey do, no?

She's a smart cookie, that's for sure. I do wonder, however, if I put something completely god-awful in my mouth if she'd eat it too, just because I did. Hmmm. Now that's food for thought!