The 8th Wonder

As per Wikipedia, the Seven Wonders of the World are, in no particular order:

Stonehenge
Colosseum
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
Great Wall of China
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
Hagia Sophia
Leaning Tower of Pisa

I think I found the eighth. Really. It's in my own backyard. Say hello to my leaf piles:

Four piles here.

and three here, with the middle one being the granddaddy of them all.

Not actually a pile yet, but just you wait!

Also not yet a pile, but there are WAY more leaves
hiding along that hedge line than you'd think!

Seriously, there are just way too many leaves for anyone's good in my front and back yards. We're trying something new this year, as you can tell: just raking them up continuously into large piles, rather than doing the entire yard at least three times before all the leaves have fallen. So far, it's proven to be quite a good idea. Now we just need to find time to bag them.

So, you should be honoured to say you've seen the Eighth Wonder of the World, at the Nairns. Awesome.

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!

An Awesome Friday

Ten Reasons Why Today Is Awesome

1. It's pay day (who doesn't love that?)
2. It's Friday (weekend!)
3. It's the last day of the month... time to change my date stamp and move on to September!
4. It's the last day without my co-worker (she's back on Tuesday!)
5. All our work is done (the slate is clean for next week)
6. The groceries have been bought (I don't have to think about it again for a week)
7. My house doesn't need to be cleaned (it's clean enough for now!)
8. I get to sleep in for three days straight (Yay for long weekends!)
9. I get to go shopping (almost 100% for personal therapeutic reasons)
10. The only engagement booked is a super fun one tomorrow night (a friend's housewarming party!)

I hope your day is even half as awesome as mine. Have a great Labour Day long weekend! (Go Bombers!)

Weeknights with Casey

Paul went out this evening on a job with his buddy. That's pretty exciting. It's the first one that he's doing as a sub, and getting paid what he's worth -- finally. I'm really happy about the work, especially because he's doing it with someone he gets along great with. I'm not as happy with him being out after dinner, however.

I may have commented about this in a prior blog. My difficulty comes with Casey. I love that dog so, so much, but she can be so very annoying and will test my patience. Paul is great with her during the week; I spend time with her on the weekend. With him not around in the evening, I have to make sure she gets played with and cater to her scratching on the back door, even if it's just because she heard something interesting outside.

I know, kids are way more work, but for now, this is what I've got and the routine has become such that I don't have to worry about Casey Monday to Friday. If Paul's out working, the routine will simply change and we'll get used to something new. He was at least kind enough to take her out twice before leaving, so I'm pretty sure she'll get tired out for a while. That gives me time to blog, have dinner, and enjoy my Thursday night television (aka "do nothing night").

Once things get more regular around here, we'll all forget that it was ever different. Until then, I may be a little tired and frustrated!

Completed Confusion

Only 900+ pages later, I finally finished A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in the George R. R. Martin series "A Song of Ice and Fire". For the first time, I was quite disappointed with the ending. As with the other books, it's supposed to leave you hanging, itching to start the next one, but this one just left me confused.

Thank goodness for Google (I <3 900="900" a="a" about.="about." about="about" after="after" all="all" and="and" apparently="apparently" at="at" beginning="beginning" book.="book." book="book" by="by" chapter="chapter" character="character" circle="circle" clear.="clear." clicked="clicked" come="come" completely="completely" delightful="delightful" dude="dude" each="each" end.="end." everything="everything" forgotten="forgotten" full="full" g="g" have="have" i="i" is="is" it="it" just="just" last="last" later="later" least="least" likes="likes" link="link" ll="ll" make="make" makes="makes" martin="martin" me="me" mr.="mr." need="need" no="no" now="now" of="of" off="off" on="on" p="p" pages="pages" paragraph="paragraph" particular="particular" prologue="prologue" quite="quite" re-read="re-read" reading="reading" regarding="regarding" remind="remind" results.="results." s="s" search="search" second="second" see="see" sense="sense" six="six" start="start" teaser="teaser" that="that" the="the" those="those" to="to" understand="understand" ve="ve" was="was" weeks="weeks" well="well" what="what" will="will" with="with" you="you">
When I'm done figuring out how the book ends, I have to go out and buy book five, A Dance With Dragons. Unfortunately, it's only available in hardcover right now. At least my co-worker, who is going to start reading the series and prefers the hardcover version, said he'll buy it off me. Next March I'll be able to get the paperback and add it to my collection.

 I just hope that book five doesn't leave me completely hanging at the end like this one did. I know there's more coming (the author is this crazy imaginative writer who has so many stories to tell that I see the series going on until he dies) but am concerned I'll not be able to be patient. I guess I'll need to find another fun series to read about if that happens! Or, better idea, I could read some of the books in my already-large collection... ha.

Parental Pick-Me-Up

My mother is so sweet. I had a pretty frustrating day and just wanted to come home, lay on the couch, and stuff my face with tasty delights. She perked me up though, when I found a lovely piece of mail in the box from her. Actually, it was quite a large piece of mail, not just a letter. Here's what it looked like:

Front

Back

Cute, right? I sure thought so. I love the animal stickers, and the random pieces of scrapbook paper. I also immediately noticed the Montreal Canadiens stamp! Did you see the sweet little poem on the back too? And the flower stamps! It was quite special to receive, that's for sure.

I got a few little goodies, like notepaper and a food magazine. Paul even got a few mind puzzles (perfect!). Mom even wrote me a note on bright pink paper. Love it! To say thank you, I'm sharing a recipe from the magazine that totally made me think of her: Watermelon Soda Float. Maybe she'll even make it for me sometime! :)

Thanks for the pick-me-up, momma :)

Life's Newest Chapter

Well my spouse is now a business owner. That's funny. He never thought he'd be one, but I thought I would. Huh. How do ya like them apples?

We still have a few things to take care of to ensure he's covered by WCB and can professionally manage the business if he gets any jobs, but the first hurdles are over. The hardest part was convincing him that it's a great idea to have a name registered to legally do his own sub-contracting on the side. He finally picked a name as well -- Gemini Contracting -- so I'm happy we can move on.

He hasn't talked to anyone about getting jobs yet, but his construction buddy just happened to call him up this afternoon regarding some potential opportunities, both for new employment and for sub work on the side. I really don't care what he's doing, as long as he's happy, it's legal, and it makes us some money so we can do the things we want without having the debt.

I guess since Paul's the owner, I'll just be his "Administrative Coordinator". That's about the fanciest name I can think of for a secretary, but I'll likely be much more than that. Consider me part owner/manager/controller. I'm the one with the business diploma and experience! Can you tell I'm a tad jealous? Hmm.

Either way, I'm super happy he's decided to take this next step in his life and start out a new chapter. If you don't make the decision, life will just keep on going as-is forever, and that's simply too boring and meaningless. I'm looking forward to what's next for us both!

Chef du Jour

Food sure can get boring after a while if you only eat the same old stuff all the time. I do try to make a nice meal that's different than normal at least once per week. It usually occurs on Saturday or Sunday evening.

I came across an interesting recipe for Chef Boyardee Ravioli Casserole. It not only looked tasty, but figured Paul would enjoy it. That and it had been a while since I made something Itailian-ish that I would eat with Paul. What better way to enjoy a loaf of garlic bread anyway?! I didn't take a picture but it turned out quite, let's say, interesting. I personally thought it tasted really good, but it sure didn't look it. It turned out quite soupy, and with the Ricotta cheese, looked a tad unappetizing (something like barf, maybe). I still think it was good and have some leftovers for later in the week.

When I was out at the grocery store today, I thought it might be a good idea to redeem myself with Paul and make him a good old fashioned steak and potato dinner. For me, I bought a nice, fresh Atlantic salmon fillet. Well, Paul said he quite enjoyed his meal, which is good, but look at how mine turned out:

Not bad, eh? The salmon was marinated in a red pepper glaze and barbecued. Underneath is quinoa with chives and more of the red pepper glaze to keep it moist. The beets were just boiled, sans seasoning, and tasted perfect. The salad is coleslaw with bean sprouts, chives, and fresh mushrooms. The dressing is just olive oil, vinegar, honey mustard, and a dash each of salt, pepper, and white sugar.

The first thing I said after taking this picture was that "I could totally make this for mom and dad and they'd like it!". That's funny. I guess they're the only ones I ever make gourmet meals for!

Although I really enjoy making these special meals, I couldn't do it all the time. It's fun, but a lot of work, and I like to have it for a treat. I can be creative when coming up with new ideas, but usually can't share them with my spouse due to his pickiness. There was not only item on my plate tonight that he would have eaten. Enough said.

I guess if you want to enjoy these tasty items with me, you'll just have to come for a visit and ask me to cook "something new" :)

Cat Scratch Connundrum

My cats like to scratch things that aren't for scratching. They know how to use the post (a carpeted cylinder with holes they can physically fit inside) but choose not to use it most of the time. Granted, they do use it when prompted, but only because I basically force them to. It looks sorta like this, but less fancy:

We've tried an emery cat scratcher. All they ever did was sit on it. Now it sits in the basement collecting dust. (Note to self: give it to Value Village the next time I'm by...)

We've also tried a sisal scratcher that hangs from a doorknob. They either don't like sisal or don't like scratching on that part of the door.

Since Paul installed new doors upstairs, Buster has taken to scratching the new frame in one particular spot. I actually found some feline fingernails lodged in the scratch marks. Missy prefers carpet. Since the only "carpet" on the main floor consists of an area rug in my office, she scratches it. The both used to go at the rug in the living room, however I found that Casey was peeing on it when we weren't looking... Both cats have also scratched the arms of our new vinyl sectional sofa in the basement, as well as the backs of our other furniture. So frustrating.

Something that we discovered though is that Buster enjoys scratching at the foam mats that Casey's crate sits on. Luckily for him, I don't actually mind as they are cheap and very replaceable.

So, after I had this epiphany (that I could get him to stop scratching my door frame), I placed one in my office in the same area that Missy scratches the rug. They both went at it within a half hour so I would say it's a success. Much better than all those other places that I hate them messing with!

TGIF: Happy Hour (s)

The week may have gone by fairly quickly, but any Monday to Friday employee is quite happy to leave work at 4:30 for the weekend. I was no exception to this. My newest co-worker, whom I referred to in a prior post, and I planned to go out for Happy Hour and were looking forward to catching up.

Beer Bros. was busy as it usually is, but we found a comfortable spot and were able to enjoy some great food and drinks. I even tried cider for the first time and decided it is quite good! It was nice to talk openly about work and the people we work with and all sorts of other things. I sure don't get out much, so I have to do that more often.

The funnest (?) part of the night was when we parted ways to go home. Since I was literally steps away from the bus stop, and the ride was only 15-20 minutes home, I'd told Paul not to worry about picking me up. As it happens, the bus was ready and waiting for me. What I didn't know, however, is that the evening ride takes on stops from another route as well. My 20 minute ride became 45 after a scenic tour of Uplands. Please, laugh about this, because I have to to avoid begin angry about it. I mean, I could have been home in so much less time if I'd just gotten off at a particular stop that was a ten minute walk home. I thought to myself, "no, what if I get jumped or something, let's just wait to see where this bus goes". Well, it did end up going down the street I'd hoped, just in a very roundabout way. This is reminding me of my last bus adventure in the south end...

All-in-all though, I had a really great Friday evening. Cider, appetizers, good conversation, and fresh air, followed by a heartfelt "welcome home" by Miss Casey J. Dog Nairn :) I look forward to the next time!

A Fast Two Years

I completely forgot that today marks my two year anniversary with Viterra. That has got to be the fastest two years of my life yet. Although it was quick, when I think about it, I definitely have learned two years of information: my brain seems to be bursting some days!

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I've had my struggles. Overall, however, the experience has been much more positive than negative. I'm still so very happy that they gave me the opportunity to show them what I had to offer. Sure, I still want more and hope to get it, but I appreciate the chance I've been given.

Some days I just want to bang my head on the wall, or throw my computer at the wall, or push people against at the wall... but from all those moments, I just learn something new. Every day offers a chance to start new, and to learn from mistakes made the day before.

I'm sure you'll be hearing more about my job soon, as long as the big deal gets finalized before the end of the year. Then I hope you'll hear some good news for me personally! Who knows?

More Weight Loss Success

My "Regina momma" reached her goal weight at TOPS tonight. It was such a relief, mostly for her of course, but also for the rest of her chapter-mates who have been rooting her on since she began her journey nearly five years ago in the fall of 2007.

I imagine it helps having a spouse that's also in our group, and a daughter that is a trainer. I know that TOPS itself helped her the most, as it helped (and continues to help) me. She lost almost double the weight I lost, and she looks fantastic. I honestly can't even believe that it's really her in the old pictures I see. She's not a big lady to start with, so add about 80 extra pounds and she really becomes a different person.

I'm so very proud of "S" for finally reaching her goal. I know it was a tough journey, and will continue to be. It's always so great to welcome a new member into our KOPS "circle". Congratulations, and keep up the great work! You are an inspiration to all!

Grass Fire

While eating our dinner just a little while ago, suddenly all the power went out. It freaked me out, that's for sure, because we don't have central air and therefore rely heavily on the power being on to turn the fans that move around our air. I promptly called the outage line and was told about a nearby grass fire. Apparently they had to cut a few lines and didn't have an estimated time that we'd have power again. The only thing we could do was open up the screen door and pray our lights would turn back on again soon.

Not two minutes later, they did. Thank you God for that! Here's a picture of what we can see from our house:

A lady I know that lives a few blocks closer said she could see actual flames. Our next door neighbour said they were higher than the gas station next to the area with the fire. Freaky! Now I can see why all the sirens were a-ringing as fire trucks and police cars headed in that direction as I was cooking dinner. Hopefully they can get it under control. I'd hate for some disaster to happen, like the gas station to blow up or something crazy like that. It's a Co-Op, I like it there!

Paul actually just came up to tell me it was on the news, so I checked it out. I also found a picture online (left). The flames ARE quite big and they're hoping it doesn't spread to the Co-Op lumber yard. I also hope the power continues working tonight. I appreciate SaskPower for re-routing us very quickly. We've only had an outage one other time, at the beginning of last summer, and it was brutal.

...and Back to Work

It's hard to go back to work after any weekend. This one was no different. Sure, we had an extra day off, but it would have been great to just relax a little longer before getting back into the grind.

My co-worker had returned to work this past Friday. Obviously I missed that because I was camping, but I saw her today. She seemed to be in pretty good spirits, and was admittedly absent-minded at times due to her head "still not entirely being there". That was no surprise, and she actually  did a better job than I had expected. I definitely am glad to have her back for a few days. Then she goes on some planned holidays until after the September long weekend. Lucky ducky.

I didn't actually have that bad a day; it would still be nicer to enjoy another day off though! As per usual, we're in a "holding pattern" until Legal Day One is announced. No one knows for sure, just the head haunchos, and they're not letting any details out. I do believe we're still waiting to hear from China, however, so let's hope they just say "okay" soon.

I'll be pretty busy again in a few days, then it will be non-stop until the middle of next week. I'm okay with that, as long as I keep my stress levels in check, and watch my attitude. Patience is also key, and I'll have to remember to be kind and listen well. I'm still happy with my job, so at least the stress ebbs away and I still want to go back the next day.

If only I could get that permanent promotion...

Back Home From Camping

This morning we rose with the sound of crows (as per usual around there, I guess), had some breakfast, and packed up our site. It didn't actually take very long, so we left by 10:00 am. The ride home was uneventful, but it did take a little longer than planned due to backed up traffic and an inability to pass.

Casey was very happy to see us, and very dirty. I've bathed her since we got home and she not only smells better, her fur isn't gross anymore. I don't know why she always gets so dirty at that kennel! At least she enjoyed herself.

The cats are also happy we're home, being their typical annoying selves, especially when I try to type out my blog... thanks, Buster.

Here's the link to my Facebook album so you can check out our weekend happenings. The site was pretty nice, and the weather was almost perfect (a tad warmer would have made it great). We definitely learned some things, like items we need next time, and others we don't. It was nice for us to just get away and not fight and not have animals to take care of and to not have to worry about what to do. Being bored was the best part of the weekend and we fully enjoyed it.

Picture link: We Went Camping: August 2012 Edition

Camping Day Two

My day started off with having to wait for the cleaning crew to finish up their job in the "good bathrooms". When I finally got in, the shower sucked, but at least I could rinse off. I wasn't worried about my hair as we were just camping after all.

We ate a nice breakfast of farmer's sausage, eggs and fruit, and just hung around the site for a while. I wanted to go for a hike, so we sought out the trail. It turns out high water levels have basically demolished the trail, so we didn't get very far until having to turn back. We found another trail, but it had the same problems. And there was some crazy freaky stinging nettle patch that I was worried about! At least we got out for a bit of walking. Otherwise we just drove around the camp in the morning, checking out the other sites. We discussed getting a small camper for ourselves in the future, nothing big, and coming out there again.

After lunch we decided to try out a canoe ride. It was cheap, and there wasn't much breeze to speak of, so we hopped in a canoe and set out. I thought we were gone for at least 45 minutes when we got back, but it turned out to be only half an hour. I was pooped by then! Oh well, it was half as cheap after all :)

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing and playing with the fire pit. Paul also had a nap and I was able to get in some quality reading time. It was a pretty good day, even with our noisy neighbours.

Camping Day One

It sure is nice to take an extra day off work to get an unscheduled long weekend. We rose bright and early to get the rest of our stuff packed up for our camping weekend. Casey was dropped off at the kennel, we filled up the car with gas, and went on our way. It was a really nice drive up to Duck Mountain, even the part where Australian GPS lady figured we should take the "scenic route". I'm really not sure why, because it looked longer on the map, and was on poorer roads. Either way, I enjoyed that part of the drive.

The afternoon sun wasn't very hot, as it's been cold around these parts lately. At least it was sunny! Paul got the tent all set up, and I did the rest. We only had one set of neighbours to speak of that afternoon, which was nice. We definitely enjoyed the peace and quiet and serenity of nature.

That only lasted until dusk, when a big truck pulling a camper and a boat pulled up next to our site. Booooooo! They had kids, and were very noisy. Carol (the wife) had quite the annoying voice, and the whole evening she wouldn't shut up. We went to bed, but the noise continued and I had a rough night. It didn't help that I was very cold, even with the layers of clothing and blankets. The day just wasn't warm enough at its peak to heat up the tent for the night.

Either way, we sure were glad to roast some hot dogs on the fire, to nosh on some waffle cones for a treat, and to just spend some time together in the quiet, sans pets. We definitely could do more of that.

Anniversary Campers

Guess who's going camping tomorrow? Me and Paul, that's who! I've done it before, I can do it again. In fact, this time will probably be much easier than the last. Since it's our anniversary weekend and we haven't been able to get away yet this summer, it will be nice to just leave the city behind and head out to the middle of nowhere.

Last year we went camping with a group. The site had no power and no utilities, just a stinky outhouse. I didn't shower for two days, nor did I get to wash my hands normally (thank goodness for hand sanitizer). We also took Casey with us and couldn't just let her off-leash. It was sorta fun (thanks to the company), but otherwise quite gross. I much prefer a Hilton Suite with down-filled pillows and a king-sized bed :)

Either way, we're going to go camping and we're going to have fun. The temperature has cooled off a bit in the last week, so I'm taking lots of blankets and some warm clothing. I'm also taking my human hot water bottle (Paul!) so we'll be just fine. The only disappointment is that the Madge Lake Golf Resort has a tournament starting tomorrow so Paul won't be able to golf. I'm sure we'll find things to do instead, like hiking, spending time at the beach, etc etc.

The packing has mostly been done and we're looking forward to the weekend ahead. Don't try to call because we won't answer, and we'll reply to all emails and messages when we get home on Sunday!

9 Years of Bliss, and Stuff

Our nine year anniversary is tomorrow. Wow, eh? Time sure flies. That is the fastest 3288 days I can remember. Here's a recap of what I was up to during those days:

Summer 2002 - met Paul online
Fall 2002 - got engaged
February 2003 - met in person to solidify what we already felt for each other, and introduced Paul to my family... well, broke the news to them... that was a fun day!
May 29, 2003 - Paul arrived in Canada for good
August 16, 2003 - our wedding day. Hot, hot, hot.
September 2003 - cancelled the idea of going to school and got a job at Northern Getaway instead. We needed money!
June 2004 - got a full time job at Convergys call centre
July 2004 - bought our first car together, a Chevy Optra
August 2004 - started attending A.C.C. for Hospitality Administration
Spring 2005 - decided to switch into the Business Administration program
May 2005 - moved to a new apartment on "Bannock Bay" (we shouldn't have, oh well)
May 2006 - bought our first house, a mobile home in Highland Park
August 2006 - adopted our kitties, Buster and Missy; also lost my job at Convergys due to too many absences (due to too much stress and a repetitive strain injury)
June 2007 - graduated with Honours with a Diploma in Business Administration specializing in Human Resources; got a full time job in CFB Shilo as a Humas Resources Assistant, after working only a few weeks at another retail store in the local mall
April 2008 - traveled to Scotland for the first time
October 2008 - Paul became a Canadian citizen!
June 2010 - adopted our puppup Casey from Red Trail Jack Russell Terriers in Redvers
July 2010 - quit our jobs, sold our house and moved to Regina
August  2010 - got a job with Viterra as a Payroll & Benefits Administrator
October 2010 - had our car randomly vandalized, resulting in a write-off and the purchase of a new vehicle, a 2010 Dodge Journey
December 2010 - bought our first Regina home and got to move out our "hood house"
January 2011 - traveled to Mexico for our first destination vacation together
December 2011 - promoted temporarily to a Payroll Analyst position
February 2012 - traveled back to Mexico
August 16, 2012 - our 9 year anniversary!

Not a bad nine years, that's for sure, and I'm sure there's lots more fun to come :)

Aren't we cute?

Owies

Thankfully, the funeral I attended today was most uneventful. The place was packed full, with seating set up right through to the front door, outside the main sanctuary (can I use that word for it being in a funeral home?). We could see the service well enough, and could hear it perfectly fine due to a good speaker system. The theme was mostly lighthearted, and I didn't shed even one tear. Sure, there were a few moments when I thought I was close, but I just keep thinking of kitties and puppies and played the chopsticks tune in my head.

The only crappy part of my afternoon was getting a blister on one toe on the way to the car to go to the funeral. Doh! It hurt pretty bad. Since the day wasn't over when we got back to work, the dress code went out the window and flipflops it was. Meh, whatever.

Speaking of owies, you should see the nasty bruise I have on my right forearm. It's turning all the shades of the rainbow and is tender. I'm sure I'll be fine though. It got bruised when I was trying to pull out a baby tree from under the deck on Sunday afternoon. I had stuck both arms through the plastic lattice, and when I pulled really hard one last time, it jerked my arms and they rammed upwards. The left arm is only slightly purple. My main worry was that I'd broken my arm right around that spot 22 years ago, and I'm still somewhat sensitive about it. It's just a bruise though, so I shouldn't worry so much.

I also strained my leg muscles from all my Sunday weeding that day, from bending over from the waist and pulling up the uglies for about an hour. I couldn't kneel because it was in a rocky area and I didn't know where Paul's kneepads were (he was out helping a buddy build a deck). The soreness is actually worse today than yesterday.

I feel pretty banged up, to be honest, in different areas of my body. I guess sometimes when it rains, it pours. I'm sure that by the weekend when we go camping, I'll be back to normal, whatever my normal is.

Nairn Family Contracting... I Wish!

Paul has been urged to think about becoming a sub-contractor so that he can get some more meaningful work that pays him better that what he's currently doing. I agree, so I was very glad when he got that advice. It's a new endeavour, however, so Paul has been mulling it over. I think we're about set to go ahead with everything, but there are a few steps involved.

I have an education in business and experience in HR and remittances, so I'm not scared at all about this new opportunity. I've wanted Paul to do business for himself for many years, so the fact that the person I consider to be his mentor said he should, that just solidified my thoughts. It's hard for a man to believe his wife sometimes, but just ask another man to tell him the same thing and, badabing badaboom, done.

The first major step is to decide on a business name. He could just operate under a business number or his own name, but he doesn't want to. I can understand that. If this venture works out, the small cost at the start to get the name may prove quite beneficial. Unfortunately it won't be Nairn Family anything though... *sad face*

I'm just happy for Paul to be open to trying something new. He doesn't have to "jump naked into the pool", but he can get his feet wet, get a few jobs under his belt, and make a name for himself. He does know what he's doing and wants more in life than what he's got. I would greatly appreciate the added income as well.

We'll see how it goes, but maybe soon I'll be able to say I'm married to a businessman!

Climatized

After spending the last few months fighting off the heat, my body has officially gotten climatized to summer. Actually, it was first obvious to me last weekend when I spent most of the time being cold.

Since it heated up across our fair country, our indoor temperature has settled in around 25 degrees Celsius. It would drop down to 22 or 23 occasionally, but for the most part, it's been a hot summer. Now that my body is so used to it being 25 all the time, especially during the night, I get cold when it dips a few degrees. For example, today was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day. The high got to something like 25, but next to no humidity. I went outside with Casey at one point, wearing a tank top, and got a chill. Sure, the sun was shining, but in the share, I was simply cold.

I just hope that once the temperature starts dropping this fall, I will get accustomed once again to the change. I am still a fan of winter, so I better not spend the entire time feeling like an icicle!

A Bourne Date Night

Paul and I happen to be fans of the "Bourne" series of films. We both haven't read the books, but we've really enjoyed watching the trilogy unfold over the years with Matt Damon at the helm playing the lead character. The Bourne Legacy just opened in theatres this past Friday, and we had some gift certificates to use, so that means date night! The movie was pretty good, but it definitely was different to watch a Bourne movie without the main star.

To give you some background information, the book series ends after the third, but with the success of the movies, I guess film producers decided to get another one written. Keeping in line with the story told in the third movie, "Legacy" moves forward but stars a new character, played by Jeremy Renner of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol et al. He was totally believable in his role, and did a great job. There were some excellent fight scenes, and a few explosions, and the movie ended with lots of room to continue with a fifth installment.

If you're a Bourne fan, definitely go see this one. Because it was written as a true sequel, the story just keeps on going and will make you want to see even more.

We enjoyed ourselves on this date night! I look forward to the next one.

Google!

I'm a self-professed professional Googler. A Googler is is a person who finds it easy to search Google, uses the google commands very efficiently, and uses the "I'm feeling lucky" button. A Googler is a huge fan of a Google and is sometimes referred to as an "Expert Online Searcher".

When I saw the advertisement on the back of my current Entertainment Weekly magazine was for a new Google tablet, I got very excited. Look how purrrrrty it is, and for only $209 CDN! That's really cheap for a tablet/e-reader/electronic Googler. Just think how Googlerific I would be with this sweet device.

This beauty weighs only 340 grams, is 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm (that's super thin!), and has more tech specs that I can list.

I'm totally going to get one. It's on my Christmas list now. That and... a case. That's all. I'll be more than happy with just that, as it has everything I need and more. It takes care of the desire for an e-reader, and allows me to YouTube, Google +, watch movies, take pictures, etc etc etc. Oh and I totally forgot, Blogger is also a Google site so I can blog on the go! Eeeeeeeeee I'm so excited!

You jealous yet? Well, buy one too! :)

E for Exhausted!

Whew, this blogger is Exhausted with a capital E! It may be a short week, but it's been chock full of steady, hard work. I may not have a physical job, but a sure have a mental job and my brain is completely done for the day.

That said, I remembered I'd bought some thin crust pizzas on sale at the grocery store this past weekend, so that brightened my day. I'll be enjoying some of that and some good ol' television this evening. Nothing that works my brain, that's for sure!

So, enough of that, I'm hungry and tired. Talk to ya'll later!

Sudden Death

My co-worker's eldest brother passed away yesterday. He was not even 40 years old, and just recently-married. It was a sudden, unexpected illness that claimed his life. I didn't know him personally, but when a tragedy affects someone you work with forty hours per week, you do feel deeply sorry for them.

Although I'll be stressed out this (short!) week now that I'm without my "buddy", and have other extra tasks to complete, I have to remember that this is no fault of hers. I completely respect that she will need time to grieve, and need to accept that I will need to ask my other co-workers for some help. So far they've been really good; I just need to ASK.

"N", I'm so sorry for your loss and am thinking of you and your family during this difficult time. May "R" rest in peace.

I'll be saying my Serenity Prayer a lot in these next few days, that's for sure...

I Love My Cats and They Love Me

Have I mentioned how much I love my cats? Well, it's about time I reminded you, either way.

I had a very, very busy and full day today. Not only was my co-worker out of the office for a family emergency, but I had been away on Friday last week so work was piling up. To add to the delightful pile of wonderfulness, it was J's first day on the job. Pretty much the only positive thing that came out of the (other than the work I did get done), was that my testing for the Glencore project was put on hold due to issues in another area. Thanks!

After the arduous day, the last thing I wanted to do was come home and make dinner and clean up my house. All it took to turn my attitude around, however, was seeing my two precious furry babies sitting next to their empty food bowl, staring at me with those needy eyes. I know they love me, and I love them back. It made me very happy to just go over and pet them both and get a little cuddle time before dinner.

Buster and Missy

Just look at their precious faces. Sure, they're six years older now, but they're still as lovable. I'll forget about the fact that they are both noisy and annoying at times when I look at pictures like this. Other than their physical size, the only real difference now is that they don't cuddle with me anymore when I'm hanging out on the sofa. That's only because Casey won't let them though. We do still have our little bedtime rituals and cuddle time.

Someday when they're no longer with us, I will always remember the first Nairn cats! They will be hard to replace, that's for sure.

Long Weekend Food Woes

I really hate long weekends. Not for the extra day though, that's for sure. In Shilo, I used to work only 30 hours per week as that was all they had available for me. I really got used to having every Friday off. I'm used to working 37.5 hours per week now, so it's not the hours of work I despise.

I simply eat too much on long weekends. It doesn't help that 80-90% of the long weekends in the year are spent away from Regina, travelling back home to visit with family. Eating away pretty much guarantees that I won't eat enough fruits and vegetables, but will take in more starches (aka carbs) than I should. It also means that I don't eat my "normal" Monday foods on the holiday Monday, but instead find myself indulging in more "weekend" foods because it is, after all, still the weekend.

Like I tell all my fellow TOPS members, you just have to make the right choices. I did make a good decision by packing two baggies full of veggies and grapes, and not packing any chocolate or salty or greasy snacks. It's just so easy to overeat and then sit around not doing anything. For me, boredom equals stuffing my face. It will be the bane of my existence forevermore, I think.

It will be a total fluke of nature if I don't  gain weight this week. I guess there's always next week, and making those good choices I know so well.

Old Friends, New Visits

15 years ago, on our last family vacation to British Columbia, we stopped in at the home of some old friends of ours from Campbell's Trailer Court. I personally hadn't seen them since then but got to yesterday. They were in the area for a family wedding so were able to pop in for a visit at the cabin. "E" simply has not aged at all. In fact, I think she even looks younger now than 15 years ago! It's amazing that she's a grandmother to four, with the oldest being ten. She looks younger than me! It was nice to see them though.

The temperature was nice, but the wind was much too strong to enjoy a boat ride this weekend. Regardless, I enjoyed my visit with mom and dad and some other old friends. The drive home was uneventful, to say the least, but comfortable. The cup of coffee I drank in Virden even held me over until bedtime.

I do want to say "thanks" again to those members of my family that fed me and let me stay overnight. It was nice to get away from home for a few days and do something out of the ordinary.

Now back to the real world...

Homecoming Parade

I spent this past Saturday in Baldur at the 130th Anniversary Homecoming. Although I didn't know most people, I still enjoyed tagging along with my parents while they reminisced with their old friends and acquaintances. It was also nice to see some members of my extended family again.

As I write this, I'm two days behind and lacking energy, just to be honest. I really don't have anything spectacularly interesting to share. I will at least share a link with you for pictures of the parade that took place on Saturday afternoon. It was supposed to happen a few hours earlier, but the rain delayed it an other events that day. Regardless, for a short, small town parade, it was fun.

Baldur Homecoming Parade

Hearing Aids

You know what is one of the cutest, most funny things to watch? Two male senior citizens with hearing problems having a conversation. You almost need to insert earplugs to cut down the noise level.

That was the scene this evening before supper with my Grampa Pa and his younger brother. Between the two of them, they easily drowned out the women. Good thing the three of us can hear just fine! After we ate they moved into the room I'm in now, which is smaller and the sound doesn't bounce around. I popped in for a visit and we had a conversation about just that. And here I thought they were going in the other room to talk about girls! HAHA

I actually have one ear that hears better than the other. I first noticed it when I started working in a call centre in 2003. My right ear was favoured over the left. If I switched my headset to the other side, I was way more distracted by the things I could still hear out of my "good" ear. To this day, I prefer to listen to phone calls through my right ear.

As far as the mature young men go, I'm just glad that hearing aids have come a LONG way from this. Now they are hidden discreetly and can pick up even the tiniest sound. Just think, without those aids, they would literally be yelling at each other.

Jean Genes

A little known fact about me is that I have a very difficult time packing light. You never know what the weather will turn out like, or what you'll end up doing during your time away, so it's smart to pack a little of everything, right? I'm pretty sure I get this trait from my father. Call it indeciveness, or whatever you want. I just call it being prepared.

In my defence on this particular weekend away, I picked the smallest suitcase I own. It's small enough to be carried onto a flight, so that's a positive point. I don't really care that I'll only be away for two days and two nights! I wore my Lulu's, a t-shirt, and a long-sleeve topper for the drive out and this is (basically) what I packed:

• 1 pair of jeans
• 2 pairs of shorts (black and tan)
• 1 pair of capris
• 2 long-sleeve zip-ups (purple and black)
• 3-4 t-shirts of varying colours/styles
• 3-4 tank tops of varying colours/styles
• 1 elbow-length t-shirt
• plenty of socks and underwear (because you never know what may happen)
• 2 bras (different colours, plus the one I wore)
• a nightshirt
• a light robe for the morning so I don't have to walk to the shower with in but butt-revealing nightshirt...
• 1 swim suit
• 1 cover-up

This might sound like a lot, but it all fit into that little suitacase with lots of room to spare. Even at home I find it difficult to pick out clothes to wear, so I usually do so the night before. That takes the stress out of my already-time-crunched morning. I just can't say I know what I'll want to wear the next day when I'm out of town, however, so I need to pack to be prepared. I can guarantee you that half of the clothes won't be worn. I can also guarantee that if I didn't bring extras along I will have wished I had.

I'll just blame this one on my genes. Or my jeans. Whatever :p

Single Weekend Ahead!

Happy August! This marks a first for my blog, that's for sure. I'm very happy I'm still at it!

Did I mention I was headed out this weekend sans spouse and pets? Well I am, and I'm quite looking forward to it. It was touch-and-go for a few weeks with our new company transition pending, but now it looks like I'll have no issue taking Friday off. It will be nice to get away for a few days and see people that I rarely get to visit with.

My plan is to be in Shilo by 12:30 for lunch with my previous manager. Too bad there's still a time difference between here and Manitoba. I'll get away around 7:30, but will still lose an hour once I hit the border. Considering it's a Friday before a long weekend on a military base, I don't expect to see many others that I used to work with. I'll check around, however, and maybe get a hello in to some that I missed on my visit last year.

The rest of the weekend will be split between Baldur and Pelican Lake. It's Baldur's 130th anniversary so they're having a Homecoming. That's why Paul is staying at home: he will literally know only a couple people. I'm not from there either, but at least I've been around a lot longer and most of my parents' friends know who I am. Mom and Dad will be around town on Saturday too, so we can all hang out.

I hope the weather is nice on Sunday, and maybe I'll get a boat ride in. I also plan to have coffee or supper with an old friend/co-worker that I've not seen since we moved. Things have changed for her a lot since we last spoke, so I'm looking forward to our re-connection.

Although I'll be leaving my loved ones at home, and will miss them somewhat, I will also enjoy the time away. I'm most looking forward to some good, quality, alone time!