you know when you post something and you lose your post? normally something happens with blogger. this morning, it was the firewalls at work all of a sudden wouldn't allow any website to be open. anything. we use the internet to view work files and even those weren't allowed. frustrating.
so i'm posting this again, or i'm trying to remember what i wrote and tell you all the same things. we'll see how it goes.
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all yesterday i thought it was thursday. today is thursday and so yesterday was only wednesday. this week has been painfully slow but it's not because i'm so anxiously waiting to leave for the trip. it's because i'm tired. i've had sports every night this week so far and so much to do at work that the days are going by so slowly. being awake when you're this tired is painful.
but that doesn't stop me. besides, i get to sleep in tomorrow, if i'm not too excited to sleep. last night i played with my good hockey team. we were playing another local team that apparently has some of the girls i grew up playing with so that was fun. we won something like 6 or 7 - 0 and i scored the first goal (= the game-winning goal) and am pretty pleased with myself.
the weather made driving torturous. our new neighbourhood is far from everywhere when you drive between 20 and 40 km/h. but i made it to the game and home again without incident.
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trip info
we're leaving tomorrow afternoon for san jose, costa rica. we'll be coming back friday, march 2 and have nothing booked for those two weeks yet. we have a vague idea of the places we want to visit so we'll put something together soon.
we will be communicating with family mostly by email but you can look for updates here too. we're hoping to take lots of pictures but aren't sure whether we'll be able to get them off the cameras and onto flickr while we're down there. we will try.
Thursday, February 15
Tuesday, February 13
under pressure
maybe this is typical... i wouldn't know - i'm not a seasoned traveller. i'm feeling the pressure of the upcoming trip. the pressure to get everything done before we leave. but i'm also feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done. i think a lot of these feelings stem from the fact that we just moved, i have to keep reminding myself of this, and the house and my life are in disarray. and then to just pick up and leave for two weeks seems somehow irresponsible.
but it's only me. i get to come home to the mess i've made. well, me and j. i think he handles it better than i do though.
so i finally logged into expedia.ca where we booked our tickets and took a minute to look at our itinerary and wrap my head around what we're doing. i think i know everything i have to do before we leave with regards to tickets and itineraries and flights and so on. i wrote it all down. now i'm going to take a look at what we can and can't bring on the plane. you know they have all sorts of crazy restrictions, or at least they did following 9/11.
it's a weird thought that in three weeks i'll be able to call myself a "traveller". i could say it now but i would be flat-out lying. but i really think this trip is out or the ordinary for me and j. we're stretching ourselves and that makes me very excited. anybody can go down south and lie on a beach at a resort for a week. who can tell me they've put everything they'll need on their backs and taken off to a foreign, non-english-speaking country for two weeks with nothing set in stone? three weeks from now my answer will be "me".
but it's only me. i get to come home to the mess i've made. well, me and j. i think he handles it better than i do though.
so i finally logged into expedia.ca where we booked our tickets and took a minute to look at our itinerary and wrap my head around what we're doing. i think i know everything i have to do before we leave with regards to tickets and itineraries and flights and so on. i wrote it all down. now i'm going to take a look at what we can and can't bring on the plane. you know they have all sorts of crazy restrictions, or at least they did following 9/11.
it's a weird thought that in three weeks i'll be able to call myself a "traveller". i could say it now but i would be flat-out lying. but i really think this trip is out or the ordinary for me and j. we're stretching ourselves and that makes me very excited. anybody can go down south and lie on a beach at a resort for a week. who can tell me they've put everything they'll need on their backs and taken off to a foreign, non-english-speaking country for two weeks with nothing set in stone? three weeks from now my answer will be "me".
Sunday, February 11
the way to my guy's heart: technology
i went shopping today all by myself because, well, i don't like shopping for clothes with other people. i have this thing about making people wait for me, even if it's j, i still can't do it. at least not well.
so when j said i could take the car and go shopping alone i ran out of the house. i bought my first pair of sunglasses (i've been wearing a hand-me-down pair of j's) and some new jeans as well as a bunch of house stuff.
when i got home i immediately put on my new jeans, obviously, and then i brought down the things i bought one by one and put them on the desk where j was playing computer games. i waited over an hour and then finally gave him this:
and here he is opening his nintendo ds:
doesn't he look happy? food is NOT the way to this guy's heart, technology is.
so when j said i could take the car and go shopping alone i ran out of the house. i bought my first pair of sunglasses (i've been wearing a hand-me-down pair of j's) and some new jeans as well as a bunch of house stuff.
when i got home i immediately put on my new jeans, obviously, and then i brought down the things i bought one by one and put them on the desk where j was playing computer games. i waited over an hour and then finally gave him this:
and here he is opening his nintendo ds:
doesn't he look happy? food is NOT the way to this guy's heart, technology is.
Thursday, February 8
realization hits me upside the head
i realized something last night. more like i finally worked out in my head what i had known for a long time. something about myself. here it is: i am a generalist.
i was driving home from hockey. it was a game with my city team and i played every position (except goalie). they have me playing wing generally, which is fine since i joined the team more than half-way through the season. but last night, i started on wing, played center the second period, wing again in the third, but defence any time we had a penalty (approximately half the game). i guess i'm what is known as a utility player.
and then i realized that this applies not only to hockey but to most aspects of my life. baseball is the same thing - i can play every position. the downfall though of being a generalist is that you're often not too good at any one position. at least in sports. and i say that because i don't think there's anything wrong with being a generalist, in general.
take knitting. there are people who knit up amazing sweaters and shawls and socks and other fancy things that involve more than just knitting and purling (the two basic knitting stitches) and then there's me. i'm quite content to knit a scarf or a blanket (= a very wide scarf) because i enjoy knitting. i enjoy that it's mindless and something i can do while watching tv. my life hasn't included hardly any tv watching lately, and practically no knitting. what i'm trying to say is that i couldn't be bothered to learn the trickier parts of knitting. i'm quite content to plug along in stockinette and crank out the scarves.
and then there's my complete lack of need to argue/discuss/debate. often in the lunchroom at work there will be lively debates about whatever (insert topic here) and i'll sit there, actively listening, but not wanting to share an opinion, if i even have one that is. and then i realized that it's my nature to please people, to not ruffle feathers and just go with the flow. it could have something to do with my complete lack of the ability to voice my opinions eloquently.
but that doesn't mean that i don't have opinions. i do. and i have a strong set of morals and values and a solid understanding of what's important to me. i just follow my rules my way. and as i get older (and possibly more mature) i realize more and more how important it is to be happy and to have people in your life that you actually like and who acutally like you. it's important to be doing the things you want to do. but most importantly, it's important to like yourself and to like yourself you have to know yourself. even a simple realization like the one i made last night helps me to better understand myself and why i do the things i do.
i'm sure there are many more things i have to say on the topic, but i can't think of them now and i really have to get to work. i just wanted it out there: i am a generalist and i'm happy about it!
ps. coke man is too:
i was driving home from hockey. it was a game with my city team and i played every position (except goalie). they have me playing wing generally, which is fine since i joined the team more than half-way through the season. but last night, i started on wing, played center the second period, wing again in the third, but defence any time we had a penalty (approximately half the game). i guess i'm what is known as a utility player.
and then i realized that this applies not only to hockey but to most aspects of my life. baseball is the same thing - i can play every position. the downfall though of being a generalist is that you're often not too good at any one position. at least in sports. and i say that because i don't think there's anything wrong with being a generalist, in general.
take knitting. there are people who knit up amazing sweaters and shawls and socks and other fancy things that involve more than just knitting and purling (the two basic knitting stitches) and then there's me. i'm quite content to knit a scarf or a blanket (= a very wide scarf) because i enjoy knitting. i enjoy that it's mindless and something i can do while watching tv. my life hasn't included hardly any tv watching lately, and practically no knitting. what i'm trying to say is that i couldn't be bothered to learn the trickier parts of knitting. i'm quite content to plug along in stockinette and crank out the scarves.
and then there's my complete lack of need to argue/discuss/debate. often in the lunchroom at work there will be lively debates about whatever (insert topic here) and i'll sit there, actively listening, but not wanting to share an opinion, if i even have one that is. and then i realized that it's my nature to please people, to not ruffle feathers and just go with the flow. it could have something to do with my complete lack of the ability to voice my opinions eloquently.
but that doesn't mean that i don't have opinions. i do. and i have a strong set of morals and values and a solid understanding of what's important to me. i just follow my rules my way. and as i get older (and possibly more mature) i realize more and more how important it is to be happy and to have people in your life that you actually like and who acutally like you. it's important to be doing the things you want to do. but most importantly, it's important to like yourself and to like yourself you have to know yourself. even a simple realization like the one i made last night helps me to better understand myself and why i do the things i do.
i'm sure there are many more things i have to say on the topic, but i can't think of them now and i really have to get to work. i just wanted it out there: i am a generalist and i'm happy about it!
ps. coke man is too:
Wednesday, February 7
nothing
i want to tell you all sorts of stories and make you laugh but i've got nothing. i'm completely worn out from everything that i'm just barely making my way through the work day, only to come home and barely make it through the night, to get up and do it all again. i'm exhausted.
the house is great. it's really nice to have our own place and to come home to it everyday. it will feel even better when everything has been unpacked and we have things like a dryer. the perma-chaos is a little tiring.
work is crazy. i've never been this busy. my fingers are crossed that me being this busy though will look super good and i'll get a promotion. it could happen, you know.
sports are good. i took last week off to pack so when i got to my volleyball game monday night right at 8:30 (game started at 8:30) i was a little flustered and not mentally prepared to play. i did not play well. but then last night at hockey it was a little better. the intramural league is pretty crappy this season so i can use it as a little ego stroking after the beating i took at volleyball.
tonight i have hockey with my city team. last time i played with them i was sicksicksick but did okay, so i'm hoping i do okay this time too. and then the week will be mostly over and i can look forward to sleeping in on saturday.
wait, i already am.
the house is great. it's really nice to have our own place and to come home to it everyday. it will feel even better when everything has been unpacked and we have things like a dryer. the perma-chaos is a little tiring.
work is crazy. i've never been this busy. my fingers are crossed that me being this busy though will look super good and i'll get a promotion. it could happen, you know.
sports are good. i took last week off to pack so when i got to my volleyball game monday night right at 8:30 (game started at 8:30) i was a little flustered and not mentally prepared to play. i did not play well. but then last night at hockey it was a little better. the intramural league is pretty crappy this season so i can use it as a little ego stroking after the beating i took at volleyball.
tonight i have hockey with my city team. last time i played with them i was sicksicksick but did okay, so i'm hoping i do okay this time too. and then the week will be mostly over and i can look forward to sleeping in on saturday.
wait, i already am.
Monday, February 5
so much to say
i have so much to say, really, too much. so i'll just start. friday night we packed until not-too-late. saturday we woke up early and went and picked up the truck.
we still had lots of packing to do but people started showing up around 9:30. so we packed and packed. it was incredible how many people were helping. we had the truck packed in no time at all.
we convoyed over to the new place. j was in the lead with the truck and i was at the back. this worked out particularly well when the group got split at a set of lights. i just zoomed to the front and led the second half of the pack. perfect.
i managed to hardly lift anything, heavy or light, because i had to direct. honestly, not what i prefer doing but it was the only way. anyways, we got everything in, somewhat organized, ate pizza and enjoyed the new house.
but we still had to get the cats from the old place. after dinner, we went by and grabbed them. they were mucho happy to see us.
we hung out with them while they explored the house for a little bit and then headed out to permanent daylight's cd release party. it was a great show, but man were we ever tired.
and now we've slept in our very own house two nights and are gearing up for the third. we're so happy.
the cats like it too:
and there you have it - the nine-month long new house wait is finally over. we're in and we're happy.
thanks again to these people: jg, ka, ya, tm, dl, lp, sp, ah, sw, jj, jr, mg, jg, and rk. we couldn't have done it without you. well, that's not true. we could have done it but it would have taken us 6 years if we hadn't killed each other or ourselves before then. so thank you for saving us. i hope you liked the pizza.
we still had lots of packing to do but people started showing up around 9:30. so we packed and packed. it was incredible how many people were helping. we had the truck packed in no time at all.
we convoyed over to the new place. j was in the lead with the truck and i was at the back. this worked out particularly well when the group got split at a set of lights. i just zoomed to the front and led the second half of the pack. perfect.
i managed to hardly lift anything, heavy or light, because i had to direct. honestly, not what i prefer doing but it was the only way. anyways, we got everything in, somewhat organized, ate pizza and enjoyed the new house.
but we still had to get the cats from the old place. after dinner, we went by and grabbed them. they were mucho happy to see us.
we hung out with them while they explored the house for a little bit and then headed out to permanent daylight's cd release party. it was a great show, but man were we ever tired.
and now we've slept in our very own house two nights and are gearing up for the third. we're so happy.
the cats like it too:
and there you have it - the nine-month long new house wait is finally over. we're in and we're happy.
thanks again to these people: jg, ka, ya, tm, dl, lp, sp, ah, sw, jj, jr, mg, jg, and rk. we couldn't have done it without you. well, that's not true. we could have done it but it would have taken us 6 years if we hadn't killed each other or ourselves before then. so thank you for saving us. i hope you liked the pizza.
Friday, February 2
the BIG move
the big move is happening in less than 12 hours. are we packed? hell no! are we starting to panic? not so much. odd. we're getting there though. honestly.
but i won't be blogging for a bit (watch me get on here tomorrow) but expect pictures and such later on.
woooowooooo!
but i won't be blogging for a bit (watch me get on here tomorrow) but expect pictures and such later on.
woooowooooo!
isn't this a cute picture of j:
i was playing around with the camera and a paper towel roll. i got a good one of rolo eating but it's much darker and only i can tell it's rolo eating.
the house is starting to look more lived in:
and will only get more and more full of (and cluttered with) our stuff. we packed up a bunch of stuff after work yesterday, packed more glass and breakables in the car and headed out. we picked up our new recycling boxes and a new phone after getting free dinner (thanks gm&gp!) and getting j a hair cut. we dropped everything off at home and stopped by m&j's place to pick up some bins.
so my plans to go to bed earlier were dashed by all this running around and the fact that i get hungry at night. so i decided to stay up and watch grey's anatomy and eat toast. grey's anatomy was one of the best episodes yet so i'm really glad i stayed up.
and now we're in the home stretch. we have a lot of packing to do tonight and then a lot of moving to do tomorrow. and sunday we sleep in. i can't wait.
i was playing around with the camera and a paper towel roll. i got a good one of rolo eating but it's much darker and only i can tell it's rolo eating.
the house is starting to look more lived in:
and will only get more and more full of (and cluttered with) our stuff. we packed up a bunch of stuff after work yesterday, packed more glass and breakables in the car and headed out. we picked up our new recycling boxes and a new phone after getting free dinner (thanks gm&gp!) and getting j a hair cut. we dropped everything off at home and stopped by m&j's place to pick up some bins.
so my plans to go to bed earlier were dashed by all this running around and the fact that i get hungry at night. so i decided to stay up and watch grey's anatomy and eat toast. grey's anatomy was one of the best episodes yet so i'm really glad i stayed up.
and now we're in the home stretch. we have a lot of packing to do tonight and then a lot of moving to do tomorrow. and sunday we sleep in. i can't wait.
Thursday, February 1
on a break
i'm thinking we'll take a little break from posting pictures. i can't even imagine how long it would take this blog to load with a slow internet connection. i never think about that anymore. though, i just did. i'm a walking contradiction.
i haven't been sleeping enough the past couple of nights. i would like to say that it's because i'm too excited to sleep (like that disneyworld commercial on tv last year) but it's not. i'm just not going to bed early enough. and i really have no excuse. i haven't played sports all week so no games keeping me out late, and consequently up late. just me, sitting around, not going to bed.
and have you noticed how dry it is these days? and i don't think it's only the office environment (complete with recirculated air!) that's dry, i think it's everywhere. i know i've zapped the cats about a kazillion times in the past week. the poor animals must think i'm out to get them.
oh, and speaking of animals, our little sandy has taken to chewing on my toothbrush. like the end i put in my mouth and use to brush my teeth. now that's going to far! i know she likes water, but my toothbrush? really, cat? zap!zap!
okay, in new house news, we brought some more stuff over yesterday and we went around and wrote down everything that needs fixing. we have some water issues, like water-leaking issues, and some cracks here and there but nothing super significant. well, other than the basement windows, but they already know about those.
we got our appliances yesterday so the kitchen is looking more like a kitchen. and the washer and dryer are in the basement, but not hooked up and not on their pedestals. that will be for later. now comes the packing. it finally hit me last night that we're running out of time for packing. this is the kind of pressure i need.
i'll be packing tonight if anyone needs me. zap!
ps. i sent out an email about the big move this saturday. email me if you would like to help but didn't receive my email. or call. you could always call.
i haven't been sleeping enough the past couple of nights. i would like to say that it's because i'm too excited to sleep (like that disneyworld commercial on tv last year) but it's not. i'm just not going to bed early enough. and i really have no excuse. i haven't played sports all week so no games keeping me out late, and consequently up late. just me, sitting around, not going to bed.
and have you noticed how dry it is these days? and i don't think it's only the office environment (complete with recirculated air!) that's dry, i think it's everywhere. i know i've zapped the cats about a kazillion times in the past week. the poor animals must think i'm out to get them.
oh, and speaking of animals, our little sandy has taken to chewing on my toothbrush. like the end i put in my mouth and use to brush my teeth. now that's going to far! i know she likes water, but my toothbrush? really, cat? zap!zap!
okay, in new house news, we brought some more stuff over yesterday and we went around and wrote down everything that needs fixing. we have some water issues, like water-leaking issues, and some cracks here and there but nothing super significant. well, other than the basement windows, but they already know about those.
we got our appliances yesterday so the kitchen is looking more like a kitchen. and the washer and dryer are in the basement, but not hooked up and not on their pedestals. that will be for later. now comes the packing. it finally hit me last night that we're running out of time for packing. this is the kind of pressure i need.
i'll be packing tonight if anyone needs me. zap!
ps. i sent out an email about the big move this saturday. email me if you would like to help but didn't receive my email. or call. you could always call.
Tuesday, January 30
pictures, as requested
i got the call at work about 1:15pm. i rushed home, grabbed j and we headed to the lawyer's office. they gave us the keys and we were on our way. i took about a million pictures (91 to be exact, j took 18) and ran around the whole house. we turned on the gas fireplace and set off the smoke detector three times. we stopped by home but quickly left again for the mall where we picked up a big cheque and j's passport. we dropped some stuff off at the new place, got pho at the new pho place in barrhaven and went to walmart and bought some bathroom fixtures. now j has something to do tomorrow while waiting for the appliances to be delivered.
now we're home and i'm dead tired. enjoy the pictures below and check out my flickr page for more, way more.
now we're home and i'm dead tired. enjoy the pictures below and check out my flickr page for more, way more.
Monday, January 29
good news
good news #1: we signed all the lawyer-y papers and so tomorrow have only to pick up the keys and we're all set for the new house! holy crap!
good news #2: our car works again! turns out the spark plugs were all black (they should be silver in colour) and that's why the car wasn't starting. we thought the turbo was tuned to higher temperatures, and it is, but that wasn't the reason for the car never starting on the first try... or at all last week. so 4 spark plugs and $20 later, we have a fully functional car that even starts on the first pull. this is big! so goodbye little fire engine. you served us well.
good news #3: i used my weekend well. friday night we caught up on all the tv we had missed last week. i went out every night last week so didn't get a chance to watch anything. 24, prison break, others... it was nice. i maybe even rewarded my tv watching with some ice cream.
saturday we bought the spark plugs (see #2 above) and went to bayshore to spend the gift certificate i had. it took a while, about a million stores, lunch with matt and julie who we randomly ran into, and then we finally went into benix and co., a house store and went wild!
we went over to matt and julie's place and played games. again, cranium pop5 was a hit. j and julie kicked our butts.
sunday was like an extra weekend day. we were so pleased to have the car working again that we took it out around town. i got some underwear (too much information?) and some flashlights for our trip. i also found some black shoes for work (thank you, zellers) but didn't manage to find a purse. i'm not a purse girl, but i'm trying to be. any tips?
the cats were being so cute and i couldn't help but take their picture over and over and over.
and to top it all off, i had a baseball meeting. i froze through the whole thing, but it was fun. and now i know what i'm doing this summer.
countdown:
house - tomorrow!
moving - saturday!
costa rica - 18 days!
good news #2: our car works again! turns out the spark plugs were all black (they should be silver in colour) and that's why the car wasn't starting. we thought the turbo was tuned to higher temperatures, and it is, but that wasn't the reason for the car never starting on the first try... or at all last week. so 4 spark plugs and $20 later, we have a fully functional car that even starts on the first pull. this is big! so goodbye little fire engine. you served us well.
good news #3: i used my weekend well. friday night we caught up on all the tv we had missed last week. i went out every night last week so didn't get a chance to watch anything. 24, prison break, others... it was nice. i maybe even rewarded my tv watching with some ice cream.
saturday we bought the spark plugs (see #2 above) and went to bayshore to spend the gift certificate i had. it took a while, about a million stores, lunch with matt and julie who we randomly ran into, and then we finally went into benix and co., a house store and went wild!
we went over to matt and julie's place and played games. again, cranium pop5 was a hit. j and julie kicked our butts.
sunday was like an extra weekend day. we were so pleased to have the car working again that we took it out around town. i got some underwear (too much information?) and some flashlights for our trip. i also found some black shoes for work (thank you, zellers) but didn't manage to find a purse. i'm not a purse girl, but i'm trying to be. any tips?
the cats were being so cute and i couldn't help but take their picture over and over and over.
and to top it all off, i had a baseball meeting. i froze through the whole thing, but it was fun. and now i know what i'm doing this summer.
countdown:
house - tomorrow!
moving - saturday!
costa rica - 18 days!
Friday, January 26
cake!
isn't it beautiful??
sylvia is an awesome cake decorator. and in case you have any doubts, here is the cake she decorated last year:
amazing.
let's back up a little bit. i didn't mention that our car won't start. we woke up yesterday morning and j was sick and stayed in bed. i got all ready like usual and went to start the car and got nothing. nothing. nothing. and finally a burning smell so i stopped. i figured i would give it a couple of hours and try again. so i did and i did and nothing. nothing. nothing. i called into work and told them about my car and sat back down. and then i realized that i had tons of work to do and that i could cab to work. fifteen dollars later i was at work and had no idea how i was getting home.
early afternoon, j went out and found out that the battery was dead from all the times i tried to start the car and that it just won't go when it's this cold (hello minus twenty, the poor car does not like you!) the problem is that with the house closing on tuesday (eeeeeep!) we have lots of stuff to do before then. lots of stuff that needs wheels. yes, there are busses. yes, we could ask people. but really, just the thought of depending on either public transit or friends was overwhelming so i rented a car. i set it all up at work, found myself a ride home (from a lovely coworker), got myself a ride to the rental place, and got myself the brightest-red-ever car. it's a little accent which is much different from the 3 but it starts.
so then i scooted my fire engine red car and myself to a&s's house for dinner and cake and fun. they made pho and it was awesome. we all ate with chopsticks and flung food everywhere. then cake and tea and presents and finally board games. my parents gave me cranium pop 5, which is cranium but pop-culture-themed. it was hilarious! alan and i lost but we had tons of fun. a game of scattergories topped the night off.
i zoomed myself home, grabbed some orange juice for sickie on the way, and fell into bed just after midnight. this morning was rough, i'm still battling the sick, but the car started and i'm at work. today we have to go to the bank and get the certified cheque and then go give said certified cheque to our lawyer. the house is so close i can almost taste it! a funny coworker was saying that you have to lick anything you want to keep (remember when you were little and your younger brother would grab one of your cookies and lick it so you wouldn't want it anymore? i do) so she was joking that i would be running around the house licking all the walls. gross... but i just might have to. eeeee new house!
best. birthday. ever.
sylvia is an awesome cake decorator. and in case you have any doubts, here is the cake she decorated last year:
amazing.
let's back up a little bit. i didn't mention that our car won't start. we woke up yesterday morning and j was sick and stayed in bed. i got all ready like usual and went to start the car and got nothing. nothing. nothing. and finally a burning smell so i stopped. i figured i would give it a couple of hours and try again. so i did and i did and nothing. nothing. nothing. i called into work and told them about my car and sat back down. and then i realized that i had tons of work to do and that i could cab to work. fifteen dollars later i was at work and had no idea how i was getting home.
early afternoon, j went out and found out that the battery was dead from all the times i tried to start the car and that it just won't go when it's this cold (hello minus twenty, the poor car does not like you!) the problem is that with the house closing on tuesday (eeeeeep!) we have lots of stuff to do before then. lots of stuff that needs wheels. yes, there are busses. yes, we could ask people. but really, just the thought of depending on either public transit or friends was overwhelming so i rented a car. i set it all up at work, found myself a ride home (from a lovely coworker), got myself a ride to the rental place, and got myself the brightest-red-ever car. it's a little accent which is much different from the 3 but it starts.
so then i scooted my fire engine red car and myself to a&s's house for dinner and cake and fun. they made pho and it was awesome. we all ate with chopsticks and flung food everywhere. then cake and tea and presents and finally board games. my parents gave me cranium pop 5, which is cranium but pop-culture-themed. it was hilarious! alan and i lost but we had tons of fun. a game of scattergories topped the night off.
i zoomed myself home, grabbed some orange juice for sickie on the way, and fell into bed just after midnight. this morning was rough, i'm still battling the sick, but the car started and i'm at work. today we have to go to the bank and get the certified cheque and then go give said certified cheque to our lawyer. the house is so close i can almost taste it! a funny coworker was saying that you have to lick anything you want to keep (remember when you were little and your younger brother would grab one of your cookies and lick it so you wouldn't want it anymore? i do) so she was joking that i would be running around the house licking all the walls. gross... but i just might have to. eeeee new house!
best. birthday. ever.
Thursday, January 25
best birthday EVER!
yesterday was officially my best birthday ever. for real. i did what i wanted to do i saw the people i wanted to see. first, my wonderful coworkers made my feel special. i amassed about a million cards and felt good. there was a definite theme to my cards:
then we went out for lunch. it was good. i got to leave work on time, which was nice, and then my parents came over to give me my present. we hung out for a while and went to east sides with a bunch of people and again had a good time. it was weird though, you know how they make you stand on a chair and they sing to you? well they did that, but they faced me away from my friends and towards the rest of the restaurant. odd. and i like how you spin the little prize wheel thingy and then they ask you what you want anyways. why have the wheel at all? i won/chose a free dessert.
now i would like to stress that i have not had enough cake this birthday season. i had one piece last sunday night and it was good cake, don't get me wrong, but one piece?! it's my birthday - i need more cake! i'm keeping my fingers crossed for some tonight.
then we went out for lunch. it was good. i got to leave work on time, which was nice, and then my parents came over to give me my present. we hung out for a while and went to east sides with a bunch of people and again had a good time. it was weird though, you know how they make you stand on a chair and they sing to you? well they did that, but they faced me away from my friends and towards the rest of the restaurant. odd. and i like how you spin the little prize wheel thingy and then they ask you what you want anyways. why have the wheel at all? i won/chose a free dessert.
now i would like to stress that i have not had enough cake this birthday season. i had one piece last sunday night and it was good cake, don't get me wrong, but one piece?! it's my birthday - i need more cake! i'm keeping my fingers crossed for some tonight.
Wednesday, January 24
happy birthday to me!
i am officially 26! i don't feel any older, which is nice. i feel happy so this year is starting off well.
j gave me my present last night. i got into bed and it was all warm. sometimes he will lie on my side before i get into bed to warm it up for me. he's nice that way. so when my side was all toasty i thanked him for warming it up. he said happy birthday and i laughed. great present, j, you warmed up my side of the bed. but it stayed warm. he got me an electric blanket! we were toasty and warm until we fell asleep. it was bliss!
and i got into work today and have already received three cards and a balloon. everyone is saying happy birthday... it's much nicer (i will admit) to my stealth birthday at work last year.
so today i have a section meeting and then lunch at local heroes with my current group and my old group (switching definitely has its perks!) my parents are coming over after work and then i'm going out for dinner with friends (let me know if you want to come and i'll give you the details!) but my big present to myself is to go to bed early. especially after such a full day.
happy birthday to me! happy birthday to me!
j gave me my present last night. i got into bed and it was all warm. sometimes he will lie on my side before i get into bed to warm it up for me. he's nice that way. so when my side was all toasty i thanked him for warming it up. he said happy birthday and i laughed. great present, j, you warmed up my side of the bed. but it stayed warm. he got me an electric blanket! we were toasty and warm until we fell asleep. it was bliss!
and i got into work today and have already received three cards and a balloon. everyone is saying happy birthday... it's much nicer (i will admit) to my stealth birthday at work last year.
so today i have a section meeting and then lunch at local heroes with my current group and my old group (switching definitely has its perks!) my parents are coming over after work and then i'm going out for dinner with friends (let me know if you want to come and i'll give you the details!) but my big present to myself is to go to bed early. especially after such a full day.
happy birthday to me! happy birthday to me!
Tuesday, January 23
conclusions
on this, my last day as a twenty-five year-old, i wanted to reflect on my year. it was a strange year in so many ways. i didn't play hockey like usual, i was knitting and scrapbooking once a week with friends, we bought a house, i got to finally quit a job (not just have my contract end) and start a really good job, i got to play in hope, i got to get on a really good volleyball team, and i got to book a huge vacation.
it's incredible that i just tried to sum up a whole year of my life in one short little paragraph. i did tons of stuff and am generally happy with everything i've done and accomplished and have planned to do. sure there are things i didn't do (like go to australia) but i'm happy. i'm happy!
it could be because i'm finally feeling a little better. i'm conquering the sick and i have so many things happening this week it makes my head spin.
oh, and did i mention that it's only one week until we get our house? holy crap!
and in conclusion i give you rockduck:
rockduck was a present from j's parents. it was a christmas present but for the new house.
it's incredible that i just tried to sum up a whole year of my life in one short little paragraph. i did tons of stuff and am generally happy with everything i've done and accomplished and have planned to do. sure there are things i didn't do (like go to australia) but i'm happy. i'm happy!
it could be because i'm finally feeling a little better. i'm conquering the sick and i have so many things happening this week it makes my head spin.
oh, and did i mention that it's only one week until we get our house? holy crap!
and in conclusion i give you rockduck:
rockduck was a present from j's parents. it was a christmas present but for the new house.
Monday, January 22
updates in my world
okay, i'm going to give you a robust post. a post with some meat to it. enough of this being sick business and more of this enjoying the birthday season that is upon us. and no, i'm not feeling much better, but really, it's been a week now. enough is enough!
friday night we went to dinner with a bunch of guys for vik and chris' birthdays. they had to wear the silly moose hats:
i bowed out of the celebrations even though chris and i share the same birthday. it just wasn't my night. after montana's we went to vik's place though didn't stay late because j had to go into work at midnight. the little trooper spent over three hours at work.
saturday day was mostly a write off, but you kinda expect that when you sleep in until mid-afternoon. we did go and buy a light fixture for the dining room though. it's nice, but it's on order. hopefully it won't be too long.. i don't know how long i can live with the ugmo one the house comes with.
we met some of j's work friends at the outback for dinner. man is that place ever expensive! we spent twice what we paid the night before. crazy stuff. after dinner we went over to l&s's little house, but again didn't stay long because j got called into work. this time he was there for almost twelve hours. that's right, he got home around the same time we usually are about to leave for work and collapsed into bed.
all would have been fine with a long sleep in and a lazy sunday until we heard rolo puking. this isn't out of the ordinary but still doesn't happen every day. we were both almost back to sleep when a waft of poo smell hits us. rolo, the poor guy, has some tummy trouble and always seems to bring it to our bed. that said, j got up and cleaned the puke while i took rolo and had a shower. then i hunkered down on the couch with my book, read until i fell back to sleep, and slept for hours and hours with the cats.
we went over to j's grandparent's place for his grandmother's birthday, but i was completely surprised when i was given presents too. surprise birthday attack! i got a book and some gift certificates. oh, i finally took a picture of my pack. it's a 50L asolo:
i really like it and am looking forward to the trip. i made the list that i was talking about of what we need to bring and haven't had a nightmare since.
now that you're all caught up on the goings on in my life, i will leave you with these two pictures:
friday night we went to dinner with a bunch of guys for vik and chris' birthdays. they had to wear the silly moose hats:
i bowed out of the celebrations even though chris and i share the same birthday. it just wasn't my night. after montana's we went to vik's place though didn't stay late because j had to go into work at midnight. the little trooper spent over three hours at work.
saturday day was mostly a write off, but you kinda expect that when you sleep in until mid-afternoon. we did go and buy a light fixture for the dining room though. it's nice, but it's on order. hopefully it won't be too long.. i don't know how long i can live with the ugmo one the house comes with.
we met some of j's work friends at the outback for dinner. man is that place ever expensive! we spent twice what we paid the night before. crazy stuff. after dinner we went over to l&s's little house, but again didn't stay long because j got called into work. this time he was there for almost twelve hours. that's right, he got home around the same time we usually are about to leave for work and collapsed into bed.
all would have been fine with a long sleep in and a lazy sunday until we heard rolo puking. this isn't out of the ordinary but still doesn't happen every day. we were both almost back to sleep when a waft of poo smell hits us. rolo, the poor guy, has some tummy trouble and always seems to bring it to our bed. that said, j got up and cleaned the puke while i took rolo and had a shower. then i hunkered down on the couch with my book, read until i fell back to sleep, and slept for hours and hours with the cats.
we went over to j's grandparent's place for his grandmother's birthday, but i was completely surprised when i was given presents too. surprise birthday attack! i got a book and some gift certificates. oh, i finally took a picture of my pack. it's a 50L asolo:
i really like it and am looking forward to the trip. i made the list that i was talking about of what we need to bring and haven't had a nightmare since.
now that you're all caught up on the goings on in my life, i will leave you with these two pictures:
Friday, January 19
birthday season starts with the sick
i'm still dealing with the sick. it's not fun. except that i hardly had to work at all this week. this is my first job with paid leave so i would have normally gone in feeling the way i did, but i said screw it and stayed home. all that to say that i'm am NOT interesting or fun these days.
and i haven't yet taken a picture of my pack to show you but i did have two dreams related to my new pack. the first was that we got to the airport but had forgotten our packs at home. i can't remember the second. either way, i'm listening to my brain and making a list of things to pack for costa rica. i'm going to do what my friend, m, did and lay everything out on the floor and cut down on the things i won't need.
and that's about it. maybe i'll go out tonight and maybe i'll be more exciting tomorrow.
and i haven't yet taken a picture of my pack to show you but i did have two dreams related to my new pack. the first was that we got to the airport but had forgotten our packs at home. i can't remember the second. either way, i'm listening to my brain and making a list of things to pack for costa rica. i'm going to do what my friend, m, did and lay everything out on the floor and cut down on the things i won't need.
and that's about it. maybe i'll go out tonight and maybe i'll be more exciting tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 17
happy birthday baby
isn't this a great picture?
maybe if i ever did ski (i avoided using the past tense because i don't know how to write it) i would know what "fartage" means, but i don't and so i think it's ridiculously funny, even if that makes me immature. fartage!
man, i feel like i haven't posted anything in forever, but really, i'm being too hard on myself. some people hardly post ever... i miss a day and feel strange. hmph.
i promised you pictures so this post will be full of them. this is my life:
1) it finally snowed and is now super cold and frosty outside. here is j shoveling (i was inside making dinner.. divide and conquer):
2) winning that tournament this past weekend got us this, a giant trophy:
winning the intramural league got us a cheque for one hundred dollars. i did not feel the need to take a picture of the cheque, though i will be heading out after my game next tuesday for eats and possibly drinks to partake in my share of the money.
3) we booked our flights to costa rica. here is a picture of us both clicking to confirm the purchase:
4) i am out of pictures. my other stories are that we won our volleyball game monday night quite easily and i am proud to say that i'm hitting much better than the start of the season and even ended the game on a nice hit from the back row while being yelled at by our biggest and possibly best player. she's a little scary.. in a good way (when you're on her team).
4.5) after the game we went out to broadways which was fun and nice and cheap (splitting nachos 4 ways has it's advantages) but when i was showered and ready for bed, the sick hit me. everyone is sick and at this point, i think we should maybe give some credit to whatever bug is out there making us all miserable and call it "the sick". so anyways, the sick got me and i had to down some advil in order to fall asleep. i woke up yesterday thinking my throat had closed and whimpering enough so that j let me stay home. i was in bed most of the day and only got dressed to go to hockey. i'm classy.
5) we had our pre-delivery inspection this morning. it was two hours of going around the house, pointing out everything that needs to be fixed. the guy was very nice and helpful. we are pleasantly... pleased with our decision to buy urbandale, with our design choices and scaredly scared that we close in two weeks and will no longer have any money.
5.5) j gets a raise, two actually, very soon so that kinda counteracts the lack of money due to house buying.
6) we will have a house. house = money. house = spend more money on house-y stuff. toss-up.
7) after the inspection we got sweet sweet mcdonalds. egg, ham and cheese are such a great combination. did i mention the greese they put on there too? that's also good.
8) i'm at work. i'm holding up but dreaming of being at home.
9) because all good lists should go to ten, i will end at nine (i ran out of things to tell you). here is an updated countdown:
one week left till my birthday
two weeks left till house
one month left till costa rica
ps. my birthday season is officially here! i stole this idea from my friend, a, who reasons that with all the things you get and places you go and parties you have, a birthday is really a birthday season that lasts a couple weeks before and a couple weeks after your actual birthday. since i got my first birthday present this past sunday (a super nice pack for costa rica - thanks j&m!) birthday season has begun!
maybe if i ever did ski (i avoided using the past tense because i don't know how to write it) i would know what "fartage" means, but i don't and so i think it's ridiculously funny, even if that makes me immature. fartage!
man, i feel like i haven't posted anything in forever, but really, i'm being too hard on myself. some people hardly post ever... i miss a day and feel strange. hmph.
i promised you pictures so this post will be full of them. this is my life:
1) it finally snowed and is now super cold and frosty outside. here is j shoveling (i was inside making dinner.. divide and conquer):
2) winning that tournament this past weekend got us this, a giant trophy:
winning the intramural league got us a cheque for one hundred dollars. i did not feel the need to take a picture of the cheque, though i will be heading out after my game next tuesday for eats and possibly drinks to partake in my share of the money.
3) we booked our flights to costa rica. here is a picture of us both clicking to confirm the purchase:
4) i am out of pictures. my other stories are that we won our volleyball game monday night quite easily and i am proud to say that i'm hitting much better than the start of the season and even ended the game on a nice hit from the back row while being yelled at by our biggest and possibly best player. she's a little scary.. in a good way (when you're on her team).
4.5) after the game we went out to broadways which was fun and nice and cheap (splitting nachos 4 ways has it's advantages) but when i was showered and ready for bed, the sick hit me. everyone is sick and at this point, i think we should maybe give some credit to whatever bug is out there making us all miserable and call it "the sick". so anyways, the sick got me and i had to down some advil in order to fall asleep. i woke up yesterday thinking my throat had closed and whimpering enough so that j let me stay home. i was in bed most of the day and only got dressed to go to hockey. i'm classy.
5) we had our pre-delivery inspection this morning. it was two hours of going around the house, pointing out everything that needs to be fixed. the guy was very nice and helpful. we are pleasantly... pleased with our decision to buy urbandale, with our design choices and scaredly scared that we close in two weeks and will no longer have any money.
5.5) j gets a raise, two actually, very soon so that kinda counteracts the lack of money due to house buying.
6) we will have a house. house = money. house = spend more money on house-y stuff. toss-up.
7) after the inspection we got sweet sweet mcdonalds. egg, ham and cheese are such a great combination. did i mention the greese they put on there too? that's also good.
8) i'm at work. i'm holding up but dreaming of being at home.
9) because all good lists should go to ten, i will end at nine (i ran out of things to tell you). here is an updated countdown:
one week left till my birthday
two weeks left till house
one month left till costa rica
ps. my birthday season is officially here! i stole this idea from my friend, a, who reasons that with all the things you get and places you go and parties you have, a birthday is really a birthday season that lasts a couple weeks before and a couple weeks after your actual birthday. since i got my first birthday present this past sunday (a super nice pack for costa rica - thanks j&m!) birthday season has begun!
Monday, January 15
amazing
i'm still here. it was a long weekend and now i'm at work but wishing i was still in bed. the hockey tournament i had wore me out completely. we played friday night, saturday morning and afternoon and sunday afternoon. i thought i would be okay but i didn't factor in that i would want to do things besides hockey.
we did some pretty major things this weekend. we paid for our appliances after work friday, we bought our plane tickets to costa rica saturday afternoon, we saw the movie children of men saturday night, we went shopping for packs sunday afternoon and then we had family dinner sunday night. oh, and of course we watched two hours of 24, which is finally on again.
now it's snowing and winter is finally looking canadian. i would love to be curled up in my bed, with a cat or two and a good book. apparently my hermetic tendencies are showing themselves. i will have lots of pictures to show you soon.
we did some pretty major things this weekend. we paid for our appliances after work friday, we bought our plane tickets to costa rica saturday afternoon, we saw the movie children of men saturday night, we went shopping for packs sunday afternoon and then we had family dinner sunday night. oh, and of course we watched two hours of 24, which is finally on again.
now it's snowing and winter is finally looking canadian. i would love to be curled up in my bed, with a cat or two and a good book. apparently my hermetic tendencies are showing themselves. i will have lots of pictures to show you soon.
Friday, January 12
tgif
i'm so glad it's friday even though it feels like a tuesday. mid-week training really threw me off, but wow, what a long week. hockey tournament this weekend with my new team. it's in town so it's really just a game tonight and two tomorrow. i can handle that.
Thursday, January 11
i championed my way through
i made it through my two days of training. it was tough at times and okay at others. i met some nice people and am really glad that my table was fun. and can you believe that i had my first tour of parliament? how does somebody grow up in the public school system and not see parliament? impressive.
i'm also impressed with myself for taking this picture:
last night i treated myself to a night in. in other words, i had nothing planned. i put on my comfy clothes, ate old pizza and watched tv. i was in bed before midnight and was pleasantly surprised when i woke up during the night and it was only 12:37. normally i'll wake up and it'll be after 6 and the alarm has already been going off for a while and it's time to get up. i had more than five hours of sleep left and i was happy.
other things that make me happy: countdowns.
13 days left till my birthday
19 days left till house
36 days left till trip
but now it's work time.
i'm also impressed with myself for taking this picture:
last night i treated myself to a night in. in other words, i had nothing planned. i put on my comfy clothes, ate old pizza and watched tv. i was in bed before midnight and was pleasantly surprised when i woke up during the night and it was only 12:37. normally i'll wake up and it'll be after 6 and the alarm has already been going off for a while and it's time to get up. i had more than five hours of sleep left and i was happy.
other things that make me happy: countdowns.
13 days left till my birthday
19 days left till house
36 days left till trip
but now it's work time.
Tuesday, January 9
please excuse me, mister
i have a two-day training course downtown. it's the mandatory-for-all-new-government-employees welcome-to-the-public-service orientation. wow. let's just say that it was a mega long day today and i'm really looking forward to my bed.
here's a picture though of the building where the training is taking place:
it's a really nice building downtown. i made it there on time this morning (i'm usually late so this was a little strange for me) after going into work for a bit. and then sat through a lot of (pretty boring) government talk. at least they fed us well and had a never-ending supply of caffeine. i don't normally drink tea but i had two cups.
the food is remarkably good and the people at my table are proving to be a little rebellious which is fun. we were learning about the 30-second elevator speech, basically, the sum up of you that you can throw at a person, in an elevator say, that will make them want more. we were joking that it was our pick up line instead. "hi, my name is batman. i like long walks on the beach..."
other than that, my big excitement is that we won our volleyball game last night. we started at 7pm and i was home before 8pm. it was quick and i played pretty well. i might just concede to the fact that i hit more often with my right hand and go with it. but maybe i would be sad for my left hand. and then tonight, my hockey team won 6-0, finishing the season in first place. eventhough the other team was terrible and we dominated them so badly, it was a fun game. we only had eight skaters so i'm thinking that was the reason.
turns out i have a tournament this weekend with my other hockey team so i have a game friday night and a couple saturday. i might need to upgrade some of my equipment though. about a month ago, one of my skate laces started fraying. me, being the girl i am, taped it up and it's been okay. i know it's going to break any time now, likely in the middle of a game. no problem, i found more laces in my hockey bag, oddly enough. but then there's the piece of equipment that holds up my socks (a garter, but i don't like the word), one of the little clip thingys broke. i tapped it and it too held up for the game. i'm hoping that this bandaid fix will be good enough but i have no back up, other than more tape, if it isn't. i've had the thing since i started playing back in 93. i was twelve. it has seen better days.
and that is everything you ever wanted to know about my hockey equipment, unless of course, you are that random guy from the bar last friday night (remember "which way do you shoot. cool." and so on.) my bed is calling.
here's a picture though of the building where the training is taking place:
it's a really nice building downtown. i made it there on time this morning (i'm usually late so this was a little strange for me) after going into work for a bit. and then sat through a lot of (pretty boring) government talk. at least they fed us well and had a never-ending supply of caffeine. i don't normally drink tea but i had two cups.
the food is remarkably good and the people at my table are proving to be a little rebellious which is fun. we were learning about the 30-second elevator speech, basically, the sum up of you that you can throw at a person, in an elevator say, that will make them want more. we were joking that it was our pick up line instead. "hi, my name is batman. i like long walks on the beach..."
other than that, my big excitement is that we won our volleyball game last night. we started at 7pm and i was home before 8pm. it was quick and i played pretty well. i might just concede to the fact that i hit more often with my right hand and go with it. but maybe i would be sad for my left hand. and then tonight, my hockey team won 6-0, finishing the season in first place. eventhough the other team was terrible and we dominated them so badly, it was a fun game. we only had eight skaters so i'm thinking that was the reason.
turns out i have a tournament this weekend with my other hockey team so i have a game friday night and a couple saturday. i might need to upgrade some of my equipment though. about a month ago, one of my skate laces started fraying. me, being the girl i am, taped it up and it's been okay. i know it's going to break any time now, likely in the middle of a game. no problem, i found more laces in my hockey bag, oddly enough. but then there's the piece of equipment that holds up my socks (a garter, but i don't like the word), one of the little clip thingys broke. i tapped it and it too held up for the game. i'm hoping that this bandaid fix will be good enough but i have no back up, other than more tape, if it isn't. i've had the thing since i started playing back in 93. i was twelve. it has seen better days.
and that is everything you ever wanted to know about my hockey equipment, unless of course, you are that random guy from the bar last friday night (remember "which way do you shoot. cool." and so on.) my bed is calling.
Monday, January 8
what's best
both saturday night and sunday during the day you would have found us packing. rolo was helping:
we packed until we ran out of boxes saturday night and then went out and bought rubbermaid storage bins. sunday we had a quick but nice visit from my parents and were given about ten more boxes. and then we had to have a photocopy of j's id signed for his passport application so we went over to p&a's and were given another bunch of boxes. i haven't been doing the majority of the packing (i'm more the planning and organizing type who will pack when the move is tomorrow) but i'm guessing we won't need too many more.
sunday we also had a visit from j's dad. i was "given" my birthday present: he's going to take me to get a pack! i'm so excited! i've read all about them and know i need to have it fitted properly. i have a general idea of what to look for but have never looked at anything other than school bags before. and i think that having the pack will help me visualize how much stuff i can (and can't) bring on our trip.
trip!trip!trip! weeeeeee!
newhouse!newhouse!newhouse! weeeeeeeee!
birthday!birthday!birthday! weeeeeeeeeee!
is it so hard to believe that i can't concentrate at work?
and on that note i bring you this, a birthday wishlist of sorts. i've decided to make shopping for me for my birthday much easier on you and just list the things that i want. i'll make a link on the side bar for easy access. you can just take a peak right before you head out. easy peasy. i'll even put the items in categories for you. i'm so nice.
food
i really like chocolate
i drink hot chocolate and tea
i like pho
fun
i will have a brand new house
i am going to costa rica
i would love to go hot air ballooning
my slippers are getting worn out
boring gift certificates are always welcome
general ideas to help you think up something on your own
i like to read books and magazines
i like to watch movies at home and in theatre (imax too!)
i knit
i scrapbook
i make stuff using freezer paper stencils
i like to take pictures
i like cats
i play baseball, hockey and volleyball
i drive a mazda3
i like music
i guess it's not so much a list of things but rather a list of categories. that's good enough though. talk to j, he can help you.
and in conclusion, just laugh at me because you know i'm kidding. but when i ask all of you to come out for my birthday, come. please come. i want 26 to be a good one!
*this really is just a joke. i don't expect things from anyone. i like things and would welcome things but i don't expect them. unless you live with me. then i expect something. anything really. just get me something. and make me a cake. did i mention that i like cake? you don't even have to make it if you don't want. i like those deep and delicious cakes too.
we packed until we ran out of boxes saturday night and then went out and bought rubbermaid storage bins. sunday we had a quick but nice visit from my parents and were given about ten more boxes. and then we had to have a photocopy of j's id signed for his passport application so we went over to p&a's and were given another bunch of boxes. i haven't been doing the majority of the packing (i'm more the planning and organizing type who will pack when the move is tomorrow) but i'm guessing we won't need too many more.
sunday we also had a visit from j's dad. i was "given" my birthday present: he's going to take me to get a pack! i'm so excited! i've read all about them and know i need to have it fitted properly. i have a general idea of what to look for but have never looked at anything other than school bags before. and i think that having the pack will help me visualize how much stuff i can (and can't) bring on our trip.
trip!trip!trip! weeeeeee!
newhouse!newhouse!newhouse! weeeeeeeee!
birthday!birthday!birthday! weeeeeeeeeee!
is it so hard to believe that i can't concentrate at work?
and on that note i bring you this, a birthday wishlist of sorts. i've decided to make shopping for me for my birthday much easier on you and just list the things that i want. i'll make a link on the side bar for easy access. you can just take a peak right before you head out. easy peasy. i'll even put the items in categories for you. i'm so nice.
food
i really like chocolate
i drink hot chocolate and tea
i like pho
fun
i will have a brand new house
i am going to costa rica
i would love to go hot air ballooning
my slippers are getting worn out
boring gift certificates are always welcome
general ideas to help you think up something on your own
i like to read books and magazines
i like to watch movies at home and in theatre (imax too!)
i knit
i scrapbook
i make stuff using freezer paper stencils
i like to take pictures
i like cats
i play baseball, hockey and volleyball
i drive a mazda3
i like music
i guess it's not so much a list of things but rather a list of categories. that's good enough though. talk to j, he can help you.
and in conclusion, just laugh at me because you know i'm kidding. but when i ask all of you to come out for my birthday, come. please come. i want 26 to be a good one!
*this really is just a joke. i don't expect things from anyone. i like things and would welcome things but i don't expect them. unless you live with me. then i expect something. anything really. just get me something. and make me a cake. did i mention that i like cake? you don't even have to make it if you don't want. i like those deep and delicious cakes too.
Saturday, January 6
driving through the haze
i had a hockey game last night with my new team. this is a city team that is somewhat competitive and definitely much better than my tuesday night team. after a nap and quick dinner, i drove myself out to russell. it was kinda foggy which was neat.
the game went well. i had three assists and generally played well. then there was the drive home. the fog was craaazy.. i've never driven in anything like it. it took us over an hour to get back into town (almost twice as long as it took to get out there). we went to a little bar in the east end and i was able to meet some of the girls. there was also this super annoying guy that one of the girls (when i say girls i really mean women) knows. he sat beside me and kept asking me hockey-related questions (in a dumb voice: so which way do you shoot? oh cool. what kind of helmet do you have? i have a reebok one. my skates are $900. ... and so on - brutal!) finally, my goalie switched spots with him and rescued me from his annoyingness.
anyways, i finally got home and wanted to take a picture of the fog. this is one of the good shots:
i'm pleased that my little point-and-shoot was able to take a decent shot in the dark in the fog.
my last post i talked about sleeping in and believe me, that's exactly what i did today. i was out of bed a little before 1pm. it was so gray out that i didn't feel like i was missing out on my day. i finally dragged myself up, went to two wedding shows downtown with jess while j shopped for pants and shoes, and came back home. tonight is a packing/organizing night. not very exciting for a saturday night, but sometimes it's what's best.
the game went well. i had three assists and generally played well. then there was the drive home. the fog was craaazy.. i've never driven in anything like it. it took us over an hour to get back into town (almost twice as long as it took to get out there). we went to a little bar in the east end and i was able to meet some of the girls. there was also this super annoying guy that one of the girls (when i say girls i really mean women) knows. he sat beside me and kept asking me hockey-related questions (in a dumb voice: so which way do you shoot? oh cool. what kind of helmet do you have? i have a reebok one. my skates are $900. ... and so on - brutal!) finally, my goalie switched spots with him and rescued me from his annoyingness.
anyways, i finally got home and wanted to take a picture of the fog. this is one of the good shots:
i'm pleased that my little point-and-shoot was able to take a decent shot in the dark in the fog.
my last post i talked about sleeping in and believe me, that's exactly what i did today. i was out of bed a little before 1pm. it was so gray out that i didn't feel like i was missing out on my day. i finally dragged myself up, went to two wedding shows downtown with jess while j shopped for pants and shoes, and came back home. tonight is a packing/organizing night. not very exciting for a saturday night, but sometimes it's what's best.
Friday, January 5
a little freak out
first, i want to apologize for the title of my last post. i didn't realize that you might think i tripped and fell and possibly hurt myself. i really don't spend time thinking of my titles, and their possible meanings, so i'm sorry if i alarmed anyone. the trip was referring to costa rica and the falls, well, there was no reference there. the doctor's office was for the hepA shot.
so we're picking our way slowly through all the details that go along with buying a house. who knew that there were so many things that needed to be done, paid for, squared away, dealt with, booked, organized, whatever. it's incredible, but what's more incredible are the people who do all this in weeks. it's been 8 months since we signed for the house and will be nine by the time we move in. but between now and move in there is so much to do.
and that possibly caused a little freak out last night. so much so that i went ahead and booked a truck for february 3rd - moving day - and made a list of all of our stuff. i emailed around for boxes (if you have boxes we will love you forever!) and thought of the things we need to get (packing tape, rubbermaid containers, possibly clear garbage bags for clothes....) i'm also going to figure out our line of credit and how to access it. it's not with the bank we use daily so it isn't tied into our debit cards. ah details details.
we're drowning in details.
and there are still other things i'm thinking about. i'm playing hockey tonight with my new team. i'm really not sure how it will go. i'm just hoping i'm not too rusty after having 2 weeks off. so there's that and i have to go to two wedding shows tomorrow afternoon. thankfully i found someone to come along so it shouldn't be terrible. (this is work, people! on the weekend!) i guess that's it. i'm feeling the need to make something. i haven't knit or scrapbooked in a long time and miss them both. at least i've been running.
have you heard of google maps pedometer? i've been waiting for this tool for a long time. you can map out your route and it will calculate how far you went. so i've been doing this and taking screenshots and saving them in a folder... kind of like a virtual log of my running. it's very neat and helpful.
so that's my story for today. this weekend i'm looking forward to catching up on some sleep. tgif!
so we're picking our way slowly through all the details that go along with buying a house. who knew that there were so many things that needed to be done, paid for, squared away, dealt with, booked, organized, whatever. it's incredible, but what's more incredible are the people who do all this in weeks. it's been 8 months since we signed for the house and will be nine by the time we move in. but between now and move in there is so much to do.
and that possibly caused a little freak out last night. so much so that i went ahead and booked a truck for february 3rd - moving day - and made a list of all of our stuff. i emailed around for boxes (if you have boxes we will love you forever!) and thought of the things we need to get (packing tape, rubbermaid containers, possibly clear garbage bags for clothes....) i'm also going to figure out our line of credit and how to access it. it's not with the bank we use daily so it isn't tied into our debit cards. ah details details.
we're drowning in details.
and there are still other things i'm thinking about. i'm playing hockey tonight with my new team. i'm really not sure how it will go. i'm just hoping i'm not too rusty after having 2 weeks off. so there's that and i have to go to two wedding shows tomorrow afternoon. thankfully i found someone to come along so it shouldn't be terrible. (this is work, people! on the weekend!) i guess that's it. i'm feeling the need to make something. i haven't knit or scrapbooked in a long time and miss them both. at least i've been running.
have you heard of google maps pedometer? i've been waiting for this tool for a long time. you can map out your route and it will calculate how far you went. so i've been doing this and taking screenshots and saving them in a folder... kind of like a virtual log of my running. it's very neat and helpful.
so that's my story for today. this weekend i'm looking forward to catching up on some sleep. tgif!
Thursday, January 4
trips and falls
yesterday i booked off a block of time for our trip to costa rica. and then i got nervous. it's weird, but booking the time off makes it seem so much more real. that, and the pain in my arm from my hepA shot, is a good reminder that we are actually going somewhere. i've read lots and lots about the country and know the things i want to see and do. we have a very general plan but we have to iron it out. we're going the backpacking route so there will be much moving around and not so much lying around the same place. it's totally not us, not what we do, but that makes it so much more exciting.
so half my mind is thinking about costa rica and about getting away and the other half is thinking about getting in the new house and settling down. kinda conflicting thoughts. we went after work yesterday to the bank to pull out our money from j's rrsp. it's one third of our downpayment so we have to have it in time. and then there's the packing. j is a machine and works on something packing-related every day. me - not so much.
and back to traveling: we got our passports in the mail yesterday. well, that's a half truth. i got my passport in my new name (they really just stamped one of the pages saying i changed my name which seems laughably non-official). j got his application back saying he needs a guarantor to sign more papers. whoops! now it's a rush deal i'm sure. apparently they have people on call 24 hours a day for rush situations and one woman was called in christmas eve for someone stuck at the airport. it's interesting when you know someone who works at passport canada and can ask all sorts of crazy questions, like how much calling someone in on christmas eve costs (apparently money can buy you lots of things).
and back to the house: we need more boxes! thankfully we have friends who just moved and saved their boxes for us (hi matt and julie! we want your boxes!)
and last thing, there's a tiny part of my brain dedicated to thoughts of my birthday. i'm going to turn 26 and i'm determined to do it in style.
Wednesday, January 3
expanding
i'm finding that project365 is changing me. i'm taking more pictures but i'm also taking the time to think about the picture before i take it. i think it helps that i'm taking pictures of things, of objects, more now and things don't generally move as much as people do. it's weird though, i thought i would have a hard time remembering to take a picture every day. my problem is deciding which picture to put in the album to represent my day. that's not easy, even for those boring days where the bulk of my time is spent in front of my computer screen at work.
i went for a run last night. it felt great and so the picture i took of my glowing running shoes was the picture i chose for the project. but while i was outside i saw that it was a full moon and was set on getting a great shot of the moon for my set. i did get some nice shots of the moon, my favourite being through the branches of the lilac bush,but i didn't chose it:
so i've set up an album in flickr of pictures that didn't make the cut for the project365 album but that don't really go with the other pictures in my account. pictures of things are interesting in a different way than pictures of people. pictures of people remind me of a good night out or of family get togethers. pictures of things are often pretty to look at, but i find myself wanting the story behind the image. i want to know why someone decided to take a picture of a bowl of soup or a sunset.
if you're considering doing a project365 or something similar, i would urge you to check out flickr. i use flickr because i like the interface and the usability of it. but also, flickr has groups for everything, including multiple groups for this project. it's really interesting to follow other people along the way and see what they chose to showcase for their project. have i convinced you?
all this without caffeine.
some updates on my life: we went to the walk-in clinic yesterday after work and were able to get j his first shot for hepA. we'll go back this afternoon and get mine. you only need one shot to protect you for 6-12 months, which will cover us for costa rica so we're feeling good about that. now we start seriously looking into when is best for us to go and talk to the bosses about getting time off. i get to use up my vacation days i've been saving (this is the first job i've had with paid time off so i'm pretty excited).
and we've both booked off january 30th for house stuff. that's closing day and that's really soon! 4 weeks yesterday. we have some serious packing to do.
i went for a run last night. it felt great and so the picture i took of my glowing running shoes was the picture i chose for the project. but while i was outside i saw that it was a full moon and was set on getting a great shot of the moon for my set. i did get some nice shots of the moon, my favourite being through the branches of the lilac bush,but i didn't chose it:
so i've set up an album in flickr of pictures that didn't make the cut for the project365 album but that don't really go with the other pictures in my account. pictures of things are interesting in a different way than pictures of people. pictures of people remind me of a good night out or of family get togethers. pictures of things are often pretty to look at, but i find myself wanting the story behind the image. i want to know why someone decided to take a picture of a bowl of soup or a sunset.
if you're considering doing a project365 or something similar, i would urge you to check out flickr. i use flickr because i like the interface and the usability of it. but also, flickr has groups for everything, including multiple groups for this project. it's really interesting to follow other people along the way and see what they chose to showcase for their project. have i convinced you?
all this without caffeine.
some updates on my life: we went to the walk-in clinic yesterday after work and were able to get j his first shot for hepA. we'll go back this afternoon and get mine. you only need one shot to protect you for 6-12 months, which will cover us for costa rica so we're feeling good about that. now we start seriously looking into when is best for us to go and talk to the bosses about getting time off. i get to use up my vacation days i've been saving (this is the first job i've had with paid time off so i'm pretty excited).
and we've both booked off january 30th for house stuff. that's closing day and that's really soon! 4 weeks yesterday. we have some serious packing to do.
Tuesday, January 2
time to start packing
it's time to start packing away all those christmas decorations, storing or recycling those cards and generally moving on with our lives. christmas time is such a chaotic time full of bright and colourful lights, cheery music, cramped stores and general stress about finding the right gift and seeing everyone you have to see. well that's all done now and we can get our lives back to normal.
unless you have a gym membership. thanks to the need, with the coming of the new year, that people have to resolve to be better and healthier and funner and smarter, the gyms will be packed. thankfully i hopped off that train a couple of months ago. i'm not saying that i don't miss the gym. i'm saying that i don't miss the gym in january when people, full of resolve, pack themselves into brand new lululemon gear, all matching of course, and stumble around not really knowing what they're doing, but getting in your way and taking lots of time on every machine that they don't know how to work. harsh? perhaps. reality? yes. it generally takes all of january for those people to forget their resolve and eventually forget to come to the gym, but this month is generally not fun.
but then there's me. i dropped my gym membership after weeks of going back and forth in my head. i rationalized that i play hockey and volleyball and am paying for both sports so could afford not to go to the the gym. and honestly, i haven't noticed that big a difference in my body. i'm a little softer around the edges (and maybe in the midsection as well) but overall my weight hasn't fluctuated and i feel only slightly less strong. and the guilt is gone. i no longer feel like a turd when i haven't worked out in a couple of days. i no longer feel like i'm wasting my money on something i hardly use. and that's a nice feeling.
so instead of resolutions i make goals for myself for the new year. last night i found the book where i had written down these goals a year ago and laughed at the fact that i accomplished only one of my goals for 2006. but that didn't stop my from making new goals. i cheated a little and made the goals for things i knew were going to happen like, "move into new house". but i read somewhere that making a list and crossing things off gives you a sense of accomplishment and is good for your mental health. so here's my list for today:
- get out of bed (check!)
- go to work (check!)
- eat lunch (check!)
- go home
- get at least one thing done tonight
- go to sleep
wow, i'm already half done. look at me go! i was reading some of the posts in my new flickr group, project365!, about how if people were being completely honest about their lives (ie. posting pictures that truly represented what they did every day) all the pictures would be of them at work or eating or doing dishes and that made me think. yes, our lives can be very repetitive and boring but the joy, and this project is only one way of bringing out that joy, is to look for the things that aren't so repetitive or looking at the different angles of things. and besides, for someone who doesn't live my life, boring and repetitive may be interesting and fresh to them. it's all about perspective and i hope that i can keep a good one!
unless you have a gym membership. thanks to the need, with the coming of the new year, that people have to resolve to be better and healthier and funner and smarter, the gyms will be packed. thankfully i hopped off that train a couple of months ago. i'm not saying that i don't miss the gym. i'm saying that i don't miss the gym in january when people, full of resolve, pack themselves into brand new lululemon gear, all matching of course, and stumble around not really knowing what they're doing, but getting in your way and taking lots of time on every machine that they don't know how to work. harsh? perhaps. reality? yes. it generally takes all of january for those people to forget their resolve and eventually forget to come to the gym, but this month is generally not fun.
but then there's me. i dropped my gym membership after weeks of going back and forth in my head. i rationalized that i play hockey and volleyball and am paying for both sports so could afford not to go to the the gym. and honestly, i haven't noticed that big a difference in my body. i'm a little softer around the edges (and maybe in the midsection as well) but overall my weight hasn't fluctuated and i feel only slightly less strong. and the guilt is gone. i no longer feel like a turd when i haven't worked out in a couple of days. i no longer feel like i'm wasting my money on something i hardly use. and that's a nice feeling.
so instead of resolutions i make goals for myself for the new year. last night i found the book where i had written down these goals a year ago and laughed at the fact that i accomplished only one of my goals for 2006. but that didn't stop my from making new goals. i cheated a little and made the goals for things i knew were going to happen like, "move into new house". but i read somewhere that making a list and crossing things off gives you a sense of accomplishment and is good for your mental health. so here's my list for today:
- get out of bed (check!)
- go to work (check!)
- eat lunch (check!)
- go home
- get at least one thing done tonight
- go to sleep
wow, i'm already half done. look at me go! i was reading some of the posts in my new flickr group, project365!, about how if people were being completely honest about their lives (ie. posting pictures that truly represented what they did every day) all the pictures would be of them at work or eating or doing dishes and that made me think. yes, our lives can be very repetitive and boring but the joy, and this project is only one way of bringing out that joy, is to look for the things that aren't so repetitive or looking at the different angles of things. and besides, for someone who doesn't live my life, boring and repetitive may be interesting and fresh to them. it's all about perspective and i hope that i can keep a good one!
Monday, January 1
first post of 2007
happy new year!
i was very intrigued by innerdorothy's year in review so i've decided to do one of my own. so here is the first line of the first post of every month of 2006:
january
we went to a house party for new year's.
february
when i was younger i was a huge fan of horoscopes and read mine every day.
march
j's sister is in town so we've been very busy.
april
i like this picture of me.
may
i took my last bus ride this morning.
june
again with the baseball last night.
july
i had to bus downtown after work last night to pick something up. (i obviously lied in may.)
august
like the title says, i can post from work.
september
this week has been a long one.
october
j and i worked 9-5 friday and i spent all day miserable from pho nam and right near the end of the day, after everyone had left, i found some pretty huge problems with two submissions of mine. (longest sentence ever!)
november
i actually remember when i was younger learning about how to make words mean their opposites using little words stuck on the beginning.
december
welcome back, my valued readers.
turns out i'm not very exciting and even contradicted myself once. wow. remind me next year this probably isn't the best way of showcasing myself.
anyways, last night we opted for two of the three parties and had fun at landon and sheri's and then at vik's.
the pictures are up on my flickr site.
i was very intrigued by innerdorothy's year in review so i've decided to do one of my own. so here is the first line of the first post of every month of 2006:
january
we went to a house party for new year's.
february
when i was younger i was a huge fan of horoscopes and read mine every day.
march
j's sister is in town so we've been very busy.
april
i like this picture of me.
may
i took my last bus ride this morning.
june
again with the baseball last night.
july
i had to bus downtown after work last night to pick something up. (i obviously lied in may.)
august
like the title says, i can post from work.
september
this week has been a long one.
october
j and i worked 9-5 friday and i spent all day miserable from pho nam and right near the end of the day, after everyone had left, i found some pretty huge problems with two submissions of mine. (longest sentence ever!)
november
i actually remember when i was younger learning about how to make words mean their opposites using little words stuck on the beginning.
december
welcome back, my valued readers.
turns out i'm not very exciting and even contradicted myself once. wow. remind me next year this probably isn't the best way of showcasing myself.
anyways, last night we opted for two of the three parties and had fun at landon and sheri's and then at vik's.
the pictures are up on my flickr site.
Sunday, December 31
official last post of 2006
friday night we went and saw the good shepherd. it was good but super long so i'm glad we both had a chance to nap that afternoon. thankfully we were sent home early and had lots of time to do stuff. but with the napping and all there wasn't any time left for shopping (i'm feeling the urge what with avoiding the boxing day madness and everything) so we ate and saw the movie instead. we got stopped by the ride program getting on the queensway. the cop took his time looking us both over because pointing a flashlight at somebody is so very intimidating. but then i realized that there's a big bar in the same mall and so there are probably people who drink there and do drive. after a bit we were on our way.
going out on friday nights always make the weekend seem longer. we have monday off so it is a long weekend, but it will feel like a super long weekend this way.
we did a bunch of stuff yesterday. we both got haircuts, we ordered a new fridge (we're doing a fridge-swap with j's parents to make our moving easier), we got some wine for tonight and we stopped by the new house. it was just after the sales center closed to we couldn't go inside but we peaked and saw that we now have hardwood and carpeting. it was dark so i have no idea what it all looks like but it's exciting. we're a month away now. that's not long at all.
then we partied. we went to vik's parent's house and ate pizza and played with his new wii. i have to admit it was pretty fun.
tonight we're party hopping. we have three parties in town that we'd like to attend so we're going to make it happen. i even bought a new shirt so i'll look pretty... new haircut, new shirt and some hotpants. what could be better?
some people never get tired of saying "see you next year!" this time of year, but i am. maybe i won't see you again until the next calendar year, but i'll see you soon. hopefully tonight will be a good time whatever you're doing and wherever you are.
going out on friday nights always make the weekend seem longer. we have monday off so it is a long weekend, but it will feel like a super long weekend this way.
we did a bunch of stuff yesterday. we both got haircuts, we ordered a new fridge (we're doing a fridge-swap with j's parents to make our moving easier), we got some wine for tonight and we stopped by the new house. it was just after the sales center closed to we couldn't go inside but we peaked and saw that we now have hardwood and carpeting. it was dark so i have no idea what it all looks like but it's exciting. we're a month away now. that's not long at all.
then we partied. we went to vik's parent's house and ate pizza and played with his new wii. i have to admit it was pretty fun.
tonight we're party hopping. we have three parties in town that we'd like to attend so we're going to make it happen. i even bought a new shirt so i'll look pretty... new haircut, new shirt and some hotpants. what could be better?
some people never get tired of saying "see you next year!" this time of year, but i am. maybe i won't see you again until the next calendar year, but i'll see you soon. hopefully tonight will be a good time whatever you're doing and wherever you are.
Friday, December 29
a year in review
you know how this time of year, the end of the calendar year, people get all reminiscent of the past twelve months and begin looking back as well as looking forward. we look back to scrutinize ourselves and our lives, to see if we did all that we could have done and to see if the things we did were worth doing. we look forward to resolve to do more things, bigger things, better things. i'm not one for new year's resolutions. i like how i live and know that there are things i want to work on, but i don't need the coming of a new year to finally resolve to change those things.
instead, i give you this: a year in review. i've put together some pictures in an album on flickr that i think really put my 2006 in perspective. when i watch it as a slideshow (tip: change the speed so it doesn't take five hours) i smile. i don't think that i've captured everything i did over the past twelve months and i don't think some of the pictures are going to make sense to everybody who looks at them. you won't be able to tell that for four months we had an extra person and an extra cat living in our house. you won't be able to tell that i played baseball three days a week or that in july i got my first job in my field. but you can tell that i did stuff and that it was a happy year.
so i propose that you read the following highlights of my year and then go take a look at the album. i think the perspective from the words will help you smile more during the picture show. but if you're impatient, just scroll to the bottom for the link.
- the day before new year's eve last year, i went and got my hair cut real short. why i did that in the winter, i do not know. so we went to a party with our friends, me wearing a new sweater and a new hair cut. j wearing his drunken grin.
- it's so typical of our cats to want to lie with us on the couch
- j took his first road trip. he went to detroit with some car guys and was a changed person after that.
- i went out with some ball girls for a drunken night on the town near my birthday
- the turbo arrives in the mail and j drools while waiting for warmer weather to install it
- rolo and sandy get their pictures taken in the bright winter light
- a close up of my eye shows off the strange colour (more blue in the picture that normal) and my crazy short hair
- j flew to thunder bay to drive back with his sister, sj, who came to live with us for four months
- we went out for a fun night for alan's birthday
- easter always brings the gold chocolate bunnies so they gathered around our telus phones just like in the commercials
- j is super happy while installing the turbo (and again once the car works properly again)
- we bought a house
- the three cats finally start getting along and are seen on the perch together
- my cousin gets married down south and has a reception here in town
- a beautiful night shot of a baseball game in orleans
- i get a nast bruise when hit by a pitch
- rolo flops over your shoulder when you're in the bathroom
- we go out and have a crazy night downtown (including lots of puking and fighting and cops) and finally conquer p who passes out in our bathroom with cats walking on him
- the cats love warm, clean laundry
- the sunsets are beautiful at the cottage
- a quick trip through the bonnechere caves and total darkness
- our fridge decided it's had enough on the thursday before the canada day long weekend, try getting a fridge then
- canada day was a crazy night downtown and then an even crazier bike ride home in the hardest rain ever, and then a long and slow drive to the cottage
- a brand new shiny fridge
- finally got to play in the hope beach volleyball tournament with some mazda people. it was busy and hot and burn-y
- a mazda meet at vincent massey park with ground hotdogs and posing on the cars
- our second anniversary
- dinner and bowling for p's birthday
- our first tent
- multiple nights out at gracies with the baseball team
- a huge storm knocks trees over at the cottage with minimal damage
- j buys a windsurfer
- the mega mazda meet in the city with tons and tons of mazda 3s cruising through the gatineaus and downtown and finally ending the night at the race track
- one crazy night it stays well over thirty degrees late into the night
- the sharks get silver at the provincials in st. catharines
- fun little trip to niagara falls
- the family gathered in town for mom's birthday
- progress on the building of the house
- carly and kerry get married
- j's birthday season: out with the guys, cake at home, dinner at lonestar with the big goofy hat, cake at the grandparents' place
- my attempt at my first knitted sock
- another new hair cut
- my arm bruises big time from my first time playing volleyball in years
- our second annual potluck dinner for thanksgiving where we cook the turkey and everyone brings everything else
- the arboretum is a great place for pictures
- vik proposes to karen and there's a huge party
- j and i go see deep sea at imax
- sandy models a little pink toque that i made
- richard and j iron on freezer paper stencils
- j breaks down and gets an xbox
- it snows in october
- we get a pvr and are super happy
- until rolo spills the milk
- a fun picture of the cats in the bathroom
- rolo models a pink scarf i made and then donated to the snowsuit fund
- we join j's coworker adam as he falls off the vegetarian wagon and eats a huge plate of ribs
- we meet new friends at alan and sylvia's house warming party
- the pile of scarves that my knitting group made and then donated to the snowsuit fund
- sandy watches tv for the first time
- my second annual christmas cookie exchange
- i play hockey once a week in a league out of carleton university. rolo likes my hockey bag
- rolo gets in the christmas spirit with a candy cane
- the house is almost done and all the neighbours have moved in
- some christmas decorations get in some nasty poses
- we party with j's coworkers
- and party some more: k's work christmas luncheon, work potluck, baseball party, family party
- we catch our first mouse
- a homecoming of sorts when friends get together at richard's family christmas party for some rum... er, fun
- a crazy pink and red sunset on christmas eve
- the christmas tree and finally all the family get togethers over the christmas break
so as you can tell, we did a lot of stuff this past year. and if you've gotten this far you deserve to finally see the pictures so here you go. enjoy!
instead, i give you this: a year in review. i've put together some pictures in an album on flickr that i think really put my 2006 in perspective. when i watch it as a slideshow (tip: change the speed so it doesn't take five hours) i smile. i don't think that i've captured everything i did over the past twelve months and i don't think some of the pictures are going to make sense to everybody who looks at them. you won't be able to tell that for four months we had an extra person and an extra cat living in our house. you won't be able to tell that i played baseball three days a week or that in july i got my first job in my field. but you can tell that i did stuff and that it was a happy year.
so i propose that you read the following highlights of my year and then go take a look at the album. i think the perspective from the words will help you smile more during the picture show. but if you're impatient, just scroll to the bottom for the link.
- the day before new year's eve last year, i went and got my hair cut real short. why i did that in the winter, i do not know. so we went to a party with our friends, me wearing a new sweater and a new hair cut. j wearing his drunken grin.
- it's so typical of our cats to want to lie with us on the couch
- j took his first road trip. he went to detroit with some car guys and was a changed person after that.
- i went out with some ball girls for a drunken night on the town near my birthday
- the turbo arrives in the mail and j drools while waiting for warmer weather to install it
- rolo and sandy get their pictures taken in the bright winter light
- a close up of my eye shows off the strange colour (more blue in the picture that normal) and my crazy short hair
- j flew to thunder bay to drive back with his sister, sj, who came to live with us for four months
- we went out for a fun night for alan's birthday
- easter always brings the gold chocolate bunnies so they gathered around our telus phones just like in the commercials
- j is super happy while installing the turbo (and again once the car works properly again)
- we bought a house
- the three cats finally start getting along and are seen on the perch together
- my cousin gets married down south and has a reception here in town
- a beautiful night shot of a baseball game in orleans
- i get a nast bruise when hit by a pitch
- rolo flops over your shoulder when you're in the bathroom
- we go out and have a crazy night downtown (including lots of puking and fighting and cops) and finally conquer p who passes out in our bathroom with cats walking on him
- the cats love warm, clean laundry
- the sunsets are beautiful at the cottage
- a quick trip through the bonnechere caves and total darkness
- our fridge decided it's had enough on the thursday before the canada day long weekend, try getting a fridge then
- canada day was a crazy night downtown and then an even crazier bike ride home in the hardest rain ever, and then a long and slow drive to the cottage
- a brand new shiny fridge
- finally got to play in the hope beach volleyball tournament with some mazda people. it was busy and hot and burn-y
- a mazda meet at vincent massey park with ground hotdogs and posing on the cars
- our second anniversary
- dinner and bowling for p's birthday
- our first tent
- multiple nights out at gracies with the baseball team
- a huge storm knocks trees over at the cottage with minimal damage
- j buys a windsurfer
- the mega mazda meet in the city with tons and tons of mazda 3s cruising through the gatineaus and downtown and finally ending the night at the race track
- one crazy night it stays well over thirty degrees late into the night
- the sharks get silver at the provincials in st. catharines
- fun little trip to niagara falls
- the family gathered in town for mom's birthday
- progress on the building of the house
- carly and kerry get married
- j's birthday season: out with the guys, cake at home, dinner at lonestar with the big goofy hat, cake at the grandparents' place
- my attempt at my first knitted sock
- another new hair cut
- my arm bruises big time from my first time playing volleyball in years
- our second annual potluck dinner for thanksgiving where we cook the turkey and everyone brings everything else
- the arboretum is a great place for pictures
- vik proposes to karen and there's a huge party
- j and i go see deep sea at imax
- sandy models a little pink toque that i made
- richard and j iron on freezer paper stencils
- j breaks down and gets an xbox
- it snows in october
- we get a pvr and are super happy
- until rolo spills the milk
- a fun picture of the cats in the bathroom
- rolo models a pink scarf i made and then donated to the snowsuit fund
- we join j's coworker adam as he falls off the vegetarian wagon and eats a huge plate of ribs
- we meet new friends at alan and sylvia's house warming party
- the pile of scarves that my knitting group made and then donated to the snowsuit fund
- sandy watches tv for the first time
- my second annual christmas cookie exchange
- i play hockey once a week in a league out of carleton university. rolo likes my hockey bag
- rolo gets in the christmas spirit with a candy cane
- the house is almost done and all the neighbours have moved in
- some christmas decorations get in some nasty poses
- we party with j's coworkers
- and party some more: k's work christmas luncheon, work potluck, baseball party, family party
- we catch our first mouse
- a homecoming of sorts when friends get together at richard's family christmas party for some rum... er, fun
- a crazy pink and red sunset on christmas eve
- the christmas tree and finally all the family get togethers over the christmas break
so as you can tell, we did a lot of stuff this past year. and if you've gotten this far you deserve to finally see the pictures so here you go. enjoy!
Thursday, December 28
project 365, the beginning
i warned you so you can't say you didn't know. i am fully on board for project 365 where i take a picture every day for the next three hundred and sixty-five days and post them all in an album on my flickr page. i'm excited and nervous all at the same time. will i be able to take a picture every single day? will my pictures be interesting or at the end of the year will you just see three hundred and sixty-five pictures of my cats? time will tell my friends. only time will tell. i'm hoping i'll be interesting enough or at least find interesting perspective on every day things. here's hoping.
and here's some information on the project in case maybe you want to hop on board. everybody's doing it.
some background on project 365
my flickr album dedicated to project 365
dates: december 28, 2006 - december 27, 2007
so check back early and check back often and feel free to give me little pokes and prods if you see me slacking. wheeeeeeeee!
and here's some information on the project in case maybe you want to hop on board. everybody's doing it.
some background on project 365
my flickr album dedicated to project 365
dates: december 28, 2006 - december 27, 2007
so check back early and check back often and feel free to give me little pokes and prods if you see me slacking. wheeeeeeeee!
Wednesday, December 27
oh the places you will go
i don't even know where to begin. five days have passed but it feels like 50.. because i know exactly what fifty days passing feels like. you know i do. maybe a c-day wrap-up is in order. i'll do my best.
decemeber 22
we got to leave work early last friday in the spirit of the season. and we did. i don't know what else we did. let's assume it was fun.
december 23 - saturday
ah, sleep-in day number 1. we slept in. then we did stuff i'm sure. the big part of the day was the c-day party at the kellands place. it was an alcohol-full festive mess of debauchery (not on my part of j's part, but for some). i was not in the mood to answer the "and how do you know the kellands?" questions all night which i assumed would be plentiful. it was not like that at all. it was a kind of homecoming with friends arriving from out of town and getting together for the first time in months. it was fun.
december 24 - sunday, c-day eve
sleep-in day number 2. as far as i can remember, this was a family day. there was swiss chalet for dinner (j's family tradition) and some frantic present wrapping that hadn't been done yet.
december 25 - monday, c-day
after a choppy sleep it was present time. i threw on my pink reindeer pyjamas (yes, i own pink reindeer pyjamas) and we all gathered in the living room (where all = me, j, j's parents and sister, and the cats obviously) and opened presents. i got a new battery for my ipod and a bathrobe (pink!) and disney dvds. good haul. j seemed happy with his sweatshirt (really nice under armour sweatshirt) and snowpants and snowboarding gift certificates. then it was go time. off to j's grandparent's place for more c-day fun. and to make long stories short, we went to my parent's place afterwards and then back for c-day dinner. we had some time alone at night with the cats. that was nice.
december 26 - tuesday, boxing day
there was no shopping on boxing day. there was another sleep-in (surprised?) and then more family stuff and then another c-day dinner with my family in kanata. i was supposed to play hockey but when i got there the arena was closed (would have been nice to know!) so i went home and spent some quality time alone. there was not enough of that this break. we sorted out our gifts and put some things in their places before going to bed.
december 27 - wednesday, NOW
now i'm at work. it's 9am and i've been here for two hours. i'm happy i have a good battery in kevin (my ipod) because there are about 5 people here and it's quiet and boring and dull. did i mention that i'm kind of tired? since most people are still off work, things are happening every night this week. thankfully getting off at 3pm allows much time for napping.
anyways, for pictures chronicling the holiday season go to my christmas 2006 album on flickr. i will be updating tonight with all the pictures.
my new task is to put together a birthday wishlist, you know, now that i know what i did and didn't get for christmas this year. there are benefits to being a january baby.
decemeber 22
we got to leave work early last friday in the spirit of the season. and we did. i don't know what else we did. let's assume it was fun.
december 23 - saturday
ah, sleep-in day number 1. we slept in. then we did stuff i'm sure. the big part of the day was the c-day party at the kellands place. it was an alcohol-full festive mess of debauchery (not on my part of j's part, but for some). i was not in the mood to answer the "and how do you know the kellands?" questions all night which i assumed would be plentiful. it was not like that at all. it was a kind of homecoming with friends arriving from out of town and getting together for the first time in months. it was fun.
december 24 - sunday, c-day eve
sleep-in day number 2. as far as i can remember, this was a family day. there was swiss chalet for dinner (j's family tradition) and some frantic present wrapping that hadn't been done yet.
december 25 - monday, c-day
after a choppy sleep it was present time. i threw on my pink reindeer pyjamas (yes, i own pink reindeer pyjamas) and we all gathered in the living room (where all = me, j, j's parents and sister, and the cats obviously) and opened presents. i got a new battery for my ipod and a bathrobe (pink!) and disney dvds. good haul. j seemed happy with his sweatshirt (really nice under armour sweatshirt) and snowpants and snowboarding gift certificates. then it was go time. off to j's grandparent's place for more c-day fun. and to make long stories short, we went to my parent's place afterwards and then back for c-day dinner. we had some time alone at night with the cats. that was nice.
december 26 - tuesday, boxing day
there was no shopping on boxing day. there was another sleep-in (surprised?) and then more family stuff and then another c-day dinner with my family in kanata. i was supposed to play hockey but when i got there the arena was closed (would have been nice to know!) so i went home and spent some quality time alone. there was not enough of that this break. we sorted out our gifts and put some things in their places before going to bed.
december 27 - wednesday, NOW
now i'm at work. it's 9am and i've been here for two hours. i'm happy i have a good battery in kevin (my ipod) because there are about 5 people here and it's quiet and boring and dull. did i mention that i'm kind of tired? since most people are still off work, things are happening every night this week. thankfully getting off at 3pm allows much time for napping.
anyways, for pictures chronicling the holiday season go to my christmas 2006 album on flickr. i will be updating tonight with all the pictures.
my new task is to put together a birthday wishlist, you know, now that i know what i did and didn't get for christmas this year. there are benefits to being a january baby.
Friday, December 22
cheese, the good kind
and you thought i might be kidding about the mice... fraid not:
that little mouse came from under the stove. we trapped him in a victor live trap baited with cheese. and we caught and released another one last night... if they aren't, in fact, the same animal, we're clearing out the mouse population. fingers crossed this little guy wasn't industrious enough to find his way back inside in less than 24 hours and back into the trap. we do not have an endless supply of cheese here people!
so i'm feeling good today. we had bank things to do yesterday after work and while i wasn't stressing about it, it feels nice to have it done early (on time according to them, early according to what my brain tells me). and i learned about all bank drafts and what "in trust" means. why didn't i learn about any of this? i really think they should teach financial stuff in schools. even just the basics about not spending more money than you have. i'm sure that would help a lot of people. thankfully i already know that one, but it was definitely painful, as a 25-year-old, being told about "in trust" by someone who's thinking to himself "man, this girl is dumb!" let's clear something up here: i'm not dumb, i just didn't have a rich great-grandmother who left me a trust fund, paving the way for me to learn about these things early on in life. and to continue being fair, neither did he, i just missed something.
after that we napped on the couch. i was SO good this week and didn't nap even though i was painfully tired monday, tuesday and wednesday. i powered through it and was only slightly bitchy at at least one point each of those days. the first day that i've had enough sleep and don't think i'm tired, i nap. makes perfect sense. but it meant that dinner wasn't ready until 9pm and so we were up late. no problem because it's friday! and it's the friday before a long weekend. and not just any long weekend, c-day long weekend. sad that it's more exciting to me that it's a long weekend that that it's c-day. that christmas spirit i was oozing apparently dried out, crusted over and fell off. and if that doesn't gross you out, i don't know what would! here's to the long weekend and c-day!
i also managed to see that i was thinking about costa rica all wrong. i'm worried about the food over there, me not being so much a fan of diarrhea, and was thinking that our two lodging options were resorts (expensive!) or hostels (cheap but scary*!) and then i remembered that there are also hotels and that hotels do not normally have minimum stays that most resorts have. and that if we wanted to stay at a resort, we would just go down south, like everyone and his dog has done, for cheap. we want to go to costa rica for a bunch of reasons:
- not everyone has been to costa rica
- the wildlife and windsurfing are plentiful and amazing, and
- we don't travel much so we're going big
we picked up two travel books yesterday from a travel agency and read all about the tours these companies offered and the resorts. it all sounds wonderful but it all sounds super expensive. we just bought a house, we can't necessarily afford $6000 for two weeks of structured time down there. and so, as we were falling asleep (j was falling asleep and i was reading) i realized that we need to book our flights and book our first night in a hotel close to the airport and just go. we have a lonely planet guide book, we'll have access to the internet, and we have an idea of the places we want to see and the things we want to do. the rest, we'll sort out when we're down there. and that is the plan. off to check flight prices.
* hostels are scary because we've never stayed in one before and every time we've travelled, we've stayed with family. we are very not worldly when it comes to travelling so be nice.
ps. this means that, for my birthday, i would really appreciate gift certificates to mec so i can buy a pack. in my mind, a pack suits this kind of travelling much better than suitcases.
that little mouse came from under the stove. we trapped him in a victor live trap baited with cheese. and we caught and released another one last night... if they aren't, in fact, the same animal, we're clearing out the mouse population. fingers crossed this little guy wasn't industrious enough to find his way back inside in less than 24 hours and back into the trap. we do not have an endless supply of cheese here people!
so i'm feeling good today. we had bank things to do yesterday after work and while i wasn't stressing about it, it feels nice to have it done early (on time according to them, early according to what my brain tells me). and i learned about all bank drafts and what "in trust" means. why didn't i learn about any of this? i really think they should teach financial stuff in schools. even just the basics about not spending more money than you have. i'm sure that would help a lot of people. thankfully i already know that one, but it was definitely painful, as a 25-year-old, being told about "in trust" by someone who's thinking to himself "man, this girl is dumb!" let's clear something up here: i'm not dumb, i just didn't have a rich great-grandmother who left me a trust fund, paving the way for me to learn about these things early on in life. and to continue being fair, neither did he, i just missed something.
after that we napped on the couch. i was SO good this week and didn't nap even though i was painfully tired monday, tuesday and wednesday. i powered through it and was only slightly bitchy at at least one point each of those days. the first day that i've had enough sleep and don't think i'm tired, i nap. makes perfect sense. but it meant that dinner wasn't ready until 9pm and so we were up late. no problem because it's friday! and it's the friday before a long weekend. and not just any long weekend, c-day long weekend. sad that it's more exciting to me that it's a long weekend that that it's c-day. that christmas spirit i was oozing apparently dried out, crusted over and fell off. and if that doesn't gross you out, i don't know what would! here's to the long weekend and c-day!
i also managed to see that i was thinking about costa rica all wrong. i'm worried about the food over there, me not being so much a fan of diarrhea, and was thinking that our two lodging options were resorts (expensive!) or hostels (cheap but scary*!) and then i remembered that there are also hotels and that hotels do not normally have minimum stays that most resorts have. and that if we wanted to stay at a resort, we would just go down south, like everyone and his dog has done, for cheap. we want to go to costa rica for a bunch of reasons:
- not everyone has been to costa rica
- the wildlife and windsurfing are plentiful and amazing, and
- we don't travel much so we're going big
we picked up two travel books yesterday from a travel agency and read all about the tours these companies offered and the resorts. it all sounds wonderful but it all sounds super expensive. we just bought a house, we can't necessarily afford $6000 for two weeks of structured time down there. and so, as we were falling asleep (j was falling asleep and i was reading) i realized that we need to book our flights and book our first night in a hotel close to the airport and just go. we have a lonely planet guide book, we'll have access to the internet, and we have an idea of the places we want to see and the things we want to do. the rest, we'll sort out when we're down there. and that is the plan. off to check flight prices.
* hostels are scary because we've never stayed in one before and every time we've travelled, we've stayed with family. we are very not worldly when it comes to travelling so be nice.
ps. this means that, for my birthday, i would really appreciate gift certificates to mec so i can buy a pack. in my mind, a pack suits this kind of travelling much better than suitcases.
Thursday, December 21
project 365
i'm toying with the idea of doing project 365. i think it would be (very) challenging but with amazing returns. imagine being able to flip through a year of your life. it's almost like being a celebrity.. you ever think about how many pictures celebrities have taken of them daily? they'd never have to look far for a decent shot of themselves. i digress, project 365 sounds neat so i'm going to think about it some more.
i have exciting news, but it's about wildlife. well, the wildest of the "life" that lives in our house currently. that's right, i'm talking about mice. about 4 am the cats and i were woken up by a loud bang. they bolted out of bed, i rolled over and fell back to sleep. the bang was the sound of the live trap closing and trapping a mouse inside.
we took the trap with the little guy outside, camera ready, and let him go. he needed lots of convincing to leave the trap, but finally jumped out. he was so weee! j was amazed the mouse ate all the cheese. i wasn't one bit surpised.
i'm thrilled that we caught our first mouse. i'm assuming there's more than one, but hopefully we can clear them all out. maybe we should start seriously looking at how they're getting in so they don't turn around and come back in. thursday night's plan? super.
other than mouse hunting we have to go to the bank tonight and sign mortgage papers. as you can see on the top right of this blog, we have 40 days left until the house. a couple more than that until the big move, but 40 until we sign up for the biggest debt of our lives and finally get the keys in our grubby little hands*. exciting!
* i don't think our hands are grubby or little
i tried to make rice crispie squares last night. who knew you could screw those up. i've seen the commercial where the mom tricks her family into believing she slaved over a hot stove for hours when it really only takes a couple of minutes in the microwave and some mad stirring. but i screwed it up. i put the rice crispies in the melted margarine instead of adding the marshmallows. they snapped, crackled and popped. i scraped them out and started over. my squares are a little dry but eatable. and they're c-day-coloured.
after that fiasco, i watched an episode of gilmore girls and then went to bed. i was asleep by 8pm and loved every second of my marathon sleep. i have some work to do (at work - who woulda thought?!) and then it's off to lunch with my old group. should be fun!
i have exciting news, but it's about wildlife. well, the wildest of the "life" that lives in our house currently. that's right, i'm talking about mice. about 4 am the cats and i were woken up by a loud bang. they bolted out of bed, i rolled over and fell back to sleep. the bang was the sound of the live trap closing and trapping a mouse inside.
we took the trap with the little guy outside, camera ready, and let him go. he needed lots of convincing to leave the trap, but finally jumped out. he was so weee! j was amazed the mouse ate all the cheese. i wasn't one bit surpised.
i'm thrilled that we caught our first mouse. i'm assuming there's more than one, but hopefully we can clear them all out. maybe we should start seriously looking at how they're getting in so they don't turn around and come back in. thursday night's plan? super.
other than mouse hunting we have to go to the bank tonight and sign mortgage papers. as you can see on the top right of this blog, we have 40 days left until the house. a couple more than that until the big move, but 40 until we sign up for the biggest debt of our lives and finally get the keys in our grubby little hands*. exciting!
* i don't think our hands are grubby or little
i tried to make rice crispie squares last night. who knew you could screw those up. i've seen the commercial where the mom tricks her family into believing she slaved over a hot stove for hours when it really only takes a couple of minutes in the microwave and some mad stirring. but i screwed it up. i put the rice crispies in the melted margarine instead of adding the marshmallows. they snapped, crackled and popped. i scraped them out and started over. my squares are a little dry but eatable. and they're c-day-coloured.
after that fiasco, i watched an episode of gilmore girls and then went to bed. i was asleep by 8pm and loved every second of my marathon sleep. i have some work to do (at work - who woulda thought?!) and then it's off to lunch with my old group. should be fun!
Wednesday, December 20
i'm a machine!
i say i'm a machine because, well, i am. i was tired yesterday, but i managed to get lots of stuff done between work and hockey, i played really well (i got to play forward) last night, and then i came home and relaxed. i got to bed just before midnight and slept well. until the puking this morning, but that can be forgived.
i got up by myself and got into work earlier than usual. it felt nice to zoom myself into work, taking the route i wanted to take. tomorrow and friday are both half days and then it's c-day time. does anyone else just want to get on with it?
* it was rolo puking, not me
i got up by myself and got into work earlier than usual. it felt nice to zoom myself into work, taking the route i wanted to take. tomorrow and friday are both half days and then it's c-day time. does anyone else just want to get on with it?
* it was rolo puking, not me
Tuesday, December 19
plans
this time of year, the time leading up to c-day (i like it!), is full full full and you really have to schedule time off. time at home. time not doing anything. so when someone calls/emails you asking if you want to do X you can say no, sorry, i have plans. when really your plans are to wear the biggest comfyest joggers you own while eating a tub of ice cream lying on the couch watching whatever's on tv. at least that's what i would do.
even though i have lots to do. you know, i haven't been keeping up with my knitting or scrapbooking and i'm kinda feeling bad about it and maybe a little overwhelmed. okay, a lot overwhelmed. i feel like there just isn't enough time in the day to get all the things done that i want to have done. but then i shake my head because this stress is completely self-imposed and silly. at least i know it.
i've finally decided what to do about hockey. (maybe i mentioned this already...) i got put on a city hockey team after i thought it was too late but i haven't paid anything and will have to pay $45 for insurance and then $15 a game if/when i play. i've seen this team play and they are about the level i last played at for city. i would need some time to catch up, but afterwards i feel like i would fit in well. so right now i haven't paid anything for that team and am not committed hardly at all. but it's there. i can always decide to play. i think it's a pretty good deal, and $15 isn't that much for a game.
and then there's intramurals. i've decided to sign up for the january - may session. i know i've complained about the intramurals lots but the pros outweigh the cons so i'm going to go for it. so i'll have volleyball monday nights and hockey tuesday nights with possibly some extra hockey thrown in every now and again.
i do, and will still, miss the gym, but it just isn't part of the plan right now. and if this weather keeps up i could be running outside all winter. and i have some yoga shows recorded and find that i'm enjoying them. so there you have it. i finally made a decision and am feeling relieved about it. now to remember my cheque tonight for hockey.
what else do you want to know? i'm tired, exhausted really, i'm a little hungry but no longer stressed. i would still like to get more knitting and more scrapbooking done, but at least i've figured out hockey and now christmas. all that's left is to deal with the mouse situation.
even though i have lots to do. you know, i haven't been keeping up with my knitting or scrapbooking and i'm kinda feeling bad about it and maybe a little overwhelmed. okay, a lot overwhelmed. i feel like there just isn't enough time in the day to get all the things done that i want to have done. but then i shake my head because this stress is completely self-imposed and silly. at least i know it.
i've finally decided what to do about hockey. (maybe i mentioned this already...) i got put on a city hockey team after i thought it was too late but i haven't paid anything and will have to pay $45 for insurance and then $15 a game if/when i play. i've seen this team play and they are about the level i last played at for city. i would need some time to catch up, but afterwards i feel like i would fit in well. so right now i haven't paid anything for that team and am not committed hardly at all. but it's there. i can always decide to play. i think it's a pretty good deal, and $15 isn't that much for a game.
and then there's intramurals. i've decided to sign up for the january - may session. i know i've complained about the intramurals lots but the pros outweigh the cons so i'm going to go for it. so i'll have volleyball monday nights and hockey tuesday nights with possibly some extra hockey thrown in every now and again.
i do, and will still, miss the gym, but it just isn't part of the plan right now. and if this weather keeps up i could be running outside all winter. and i have some yoga shows recorded and find that i'm enjoying them. so there you have it. i finally made a decision and am feeling relieved about it. now to remember my cheque tonight for hockey.
what else do you want to know? i'm tired, exhausted really, i'm a little hungry but no longer stressed. i would still like to get more knitting and more scrapbooking done, but at least i've figured out hockey and now christmas. all that's left is to deal with the mouse situation.
Monday, December 18
finally!
this is the first monday in a long time that i feel rested and recreated* and satiated from the weekend. i feel like i had a weekend and i did all sorts of things but i also slept enough. it was the perfect balance of stuff and sleep and fun. ahhhh...
* recreated may or may not be an actual word
except for friday night. friday, if you'll remember, was a potluck lunch at work. something i ate didn't like me at all and i was gross all friday night. i thought maybe it would pass and i tried to go to my baseball christmas party. i lasted about an hour and a half and it was painful. but i did remember to take pictures. here's one of me with k2 and emily.
we had food and drinks and a gift exchange. i scored some nice smelling body wash and hand lotion. it's orange. but then i was whisked away, taken home, and made to eat crackers and drink juice. i was yucky.
oh, before the party, we had a bunch of food delivered so we have boxes everywhere. having all sorts of boxes around leads to packing. j packed up 8 boxes saturday while i made cake. then we went to dinner at s&l's swanky apartment. they made crazy good tapas for dinner which was very new and exciting. we got to try all sorts of things we'd never had and the conversation flowed for the whole time we were there. we got home happy and full.
sunday was a weird day. we got up late, got some groceries, then had a nap because all that was so taxing, and then we had to head out for my family christmas.
it was fun as always. we scored a nice picture frame, a can of beer and a can of vanilla wafer cookies. but sunday's fun didn't stop there.
fast forward through some tv watching, internet surfing, and some sleeping, until about 5 am when we're both woken up by a loud sound. like a cat screeching, trying to run on the hardwood. j went to investigate. rolo would have, if not for the horrible lack of purchase on the hardwood, caught a mouse. apparently we have mice. and apparently rolo was super happy with his hunter-self and was head-bonking up a storm. j cleaned up everything and found out where the mouses are coming in, and for this i am grateful. i stayed in bed and when he finally came back to bed for the last 10 minutes or so, i remember saying that i'm so glad we're moving into a new house.
and i am. and now, so are j's parents. that was enough to convince them to buy a condo. i don't blame them.
* recreated may or may not be an actual word
except for friday night. friday, if you'll remember, was a potluck lunch at work. something i ate didn't like me at all and i was gross all friday night. i thought maybe it would pass and i tried to go to my baseball christmas party. i lasted about an hour and a half and it was painful. but i did remember to take pictures. here's one of me with k2 and emily.
we had food and drinks and a gift exchange. i scored some nice smelling body wash and hand lotion. it's orange. but then i was whisked away, taken home, and made to eat crackers and drink juice. i was yucky.
oh, before the party, we had a bunch of food delivered so we have boxes everywhere. having all sorts of boxes around leads to packing. j packed up 8 boxes saturday while i made cake. then we went to dinner at s&l's swanky apartment. they made crazy good tapas for dinner which was very new and exciting. we got to try all sorts of things we'd never had and the conversation flowed for the whole time we were there. we got home happy and full.
sunday was a weird day. we got up late, got some groceries, then had a nap because all that was so taxing, and then we had to head out for my family christmas.
it was fun as always. we scored a nice picture frame, a can of beer and a can of vanilla wafer cookies. but sunday's fun didn't stop there.
fast forward through some tv watching, internet surfing, and some sleeping, until about 5 am when we're both woken up by a loud sound. like a cat screeching, trying to run on the hardwood. j went to investigate. rolo would have, if not for the horrible lack of purchase on the hardwood, caught a mouse. apparently we have mice. and apparently rolo was super happy with his hunter-self and was head-bonking up a storm. j cleaned up everything and found out where the mouses are coming in, and for this i am grateful. i stayed in bed and when he finally came back to bed for the last 10 minutes or so, i remember saying that i'm so glad we're moving into a new house.
and i am. and now, so are j's parents. that was enough to convince them to buy a condo. i don't blame them.
Friday, December 15
the spirit and where to find it
i think i found some of that elusive christmas spirit i was talking about yesterday. let me tell you where it was hiding: in my world of not-getting-enough-sleep. last night i was asleep by 10pm. i had been needing a night like that all week and i finally got it and this morning, lo and behold, i woke up as little miss sunshine. no joke. i found my christmas spirit.
so i put on christmas socks, the only pair i own, and some christmas-y underwear (use your imagination because that's all i'm giving you!) and grabbed the pasta salad i made last night and went off to work. this isn't just any pasta salad, it's christmas pasta salad. i put red and green peppers in it and put the whole thing in a green ziploc container and toted it in a red plastic bag. i'm OOZING christmas spirit today.
the pasta salad is for a potluck we have this afternoon. and then there's a potluck dinner/party tonight with my ball team. i have a feeling that tonight's going to be very centered on two people and possibly not the most fun in the world, but at least i'm mentally prepared for that. i still have to wrap the present for the gift exchange and figure out what to bring for the potluck. oh, and figure out how i'm getting there, where "there" is, and other logistics like that.
you know, this time of year is kind of overwhelming with all the potlucks and parties and gift exchanges and people you should see and santas everywhere. at least it's 8 degrees out and not blizzard-y. that would make it much harder but MUCH MORE CHRISTMAS-Y!! get my point, winter? you're supposed to be here and well, i miss you. i never thought i would say it but the snow is what makes christmas christmas and as much as i hate trudging through 7 feet of gucky brown snow and sludge to get anywhere for 4 months of the year, the new, fluffy, sparkling white, pretty snow really signifies christmas and WHERE THE H*LL ARE YOU, SNOW??
i admit, i spent one christmas in florida when i was younger. that was the year i learned the truth about santa clause: he can't give you as many gifts when you're away from home (read: your parents spent all that money getting your sorry ass to florida so they can only afford a couple presents for each of you). to be fair, i think my parents took us to florida then because we had free accomodations and they didn't want us to miss school. i think that was the trip my brother stood on a red ant pile thingy and got little red bites all over his body and cried for days whill being slathered with calamine lotion. good times.
all that said, and there was a lot said, i want some snow because i can only ooze this spirit for so long without it.
so i put on christmas socks, the only pair i own, and some christmas-y underwear (use your imagination because that's all i'm giving you!) and grabbed the pasta salad i made last night and went off to work. this isn't just any pasta salad, it's christmas pasta salad. i put red and green peppers in it and put the whole thing in a green ziploc container and toted it in a red plastic bag. i'm OOZING christmas spirit today.
the pasta salad is for a potluck we have this afternoon. and then there's a potluck dinner/party tonight with my ball team. i have a feeling that tonight's going to be very centered on two people and possibly not the most fun in the world, but at least i'm mentally prepared for that. i still have to wrap the present for the gift exchange and figure out what to bring for the potluck. oh, and figure out how i'm getting there, where "there" is, and other logistics like that.
you know, this time of year is kind of overwhelming with all the potlucks and parties and gift exchanges and people you should see and santas everywhere. at least it's 8 degrees out and not blizzard-y. that would make it much harder but MUCH MORE CHRISTMAS-Y!! get my point, winter? you're supposed to be here and well, i miss you. i never thought i would say it but the snow is what makes christmas christmas and as much as i hate trudging through 7 feet of gucky brown snow and sludge to get anywhere for 4 months of the year, the new, fluffy, sparkling white, pretty snow really signifies christmas and WHERE THE H*LL ARE YOU, SNOW??
i admit, i spent one christmas in florida when i was younger. that was the year i learned the truth about santa clause: he can't give you as many gifts when you're away from home (read: your parents spent all that money getting your sorry ass to florida so they can only afford a couple presents for each of you). to be fair, i think my parents took us to florida then because we had free accomodations and they didn't want us to miss school. i think that was the trip my brother stood on a red ant pile thingy and got little red bites all over his body and cried for days whill being slathered with calamine lotion. good times.
all that said, and there was a lot said, i want some snow because i can only ooze this spirit for so long without it.
Thursday, December 14
no comment
finally this week is winding down. last night was supposed to be my crash-super-early-in-bed-by-7pm night, but it was not to be. if i had eaten dinner earlier, i would have for sure been in bed early, but i didn't and so i wasn't. i went out just after 7 to get us dinner, ate, watched tv, watched more tv and then applied for a job. i wasn't in bed until almost midnight.
but this morning i felt better than i have all week. it's definitely about the quality of sleep instead of the number of hours. i hardly woke up at all, i didn't have nightmares and i woke up happy. this isn't to say that i won't crash later on, but today's a half-day at work so i should be okay.
today's a half-day because we have the big agency luncheon. it's at a banquet hall down the road (i make it sound like we live in a very small rural village) part of me wanted to show up at 9am because everyone gets off at the same time but i start earlier than most people. is that fair? when i worked at alcatel i used to come in late on fridays when i knew we were getting off early. i was much more picky about work hours in those days though. when you hate your job, you count every minute you're there. i'm not that way now.
the job i applied for last night is two levels up from what i have now and i'm so not qualified. but there's another posting going up within the next two months for a position one level above where i am and i feel completely comfortable applying for that one, not that that stopped me this time. ah well. i did have a heart to heart with my boss about me and my job and she said that i have absolutely nothing to worry about and that i ask good questions.
does she know i blog from work?
this morning, i was thinking about christmas, because really, it's coming up soon. but i feel like we already had christmas. my christmassy-mindset peaked about a week and a half ago with the cookie party and i haven't thought much about it since. this year, alice the christmas-camel has two humps, because i'm sure it will peak again on actual christmas. here's hoping.
anyone have plans for new year's? new year's is always less than you think it's gonna be. it never lives up to the hype, not for me anyways, so i've stopped building it up in my head. it's really just another night. every day is just another day if you don't care. but it's weird to think about how new year's means more to some people, like a friend of mine got together with her boyfriend new years a couple of years ago. the night likely means more to her. but at the same time, every day is somebody's birthday and means it's a special day to them when to you it's just a tuesday. days are really only what we make of them. when the weeks and months fly by it's probably because every day is just another tuesday.
i don't want every day to be just another tuesday.
but this morning i felt better than i have all week. it's definitely about the quality of sleep instead of the number of hours. i hardly woke up at all, i didn't have nightmares and i woke up happy. this isn't to say that i won't crash later on, but today's a half-day at work so i should be okay.
today's a half-day because we have the big agency luncheon. it's at a banquet hall down the road (i make it sound like we live in a very small rural village) part of me wanted to show up at 9am because everyone gets off at the same time but i start earlier than most people. is that fair? when i worked at alcatel i used to come in late on fridays when i knew we were getting off early. i was much more picky about work hours in those days though. when you hate your job, you count every minute you're there. i'm not that way now.
the job i applied for last night is two levels up from what i have now and i'm so not qualified. but there's another posting going up within the next two months for a position one level above where i am and i feel completely comfortable applying for that one, not that that stopped me this time. ah well. i did have a heart to heart with my boss about me and my job and she said that i have absolutely nothing to worry about and that i ask good questions.
does she know i blog from work?
this morning, i was thinking about christmas, because really, it's coming up soon. but i feel like we already had christmas. my christmassy-mindset peaked about a week and a half ago with the cookie party and i haven't thought much about it since. this year, alice the christmas-camel has two humps, because i'm sure it will peak again on actual christmas. here's hoping.
anyone have plans for new year's? new year's is always less than you think it's gonna be. it never lives up to the hype, not for me anyways, so i've stopped building it up in my head. it's really just another night. every day is just another day if you don't care. but it's weird to think about how new year's means more to some people, like a friend of mine got together with her boyfriend new years a couple of years ago. the night likely means more to her. but at the same time, every day is somebody's birthday and means it's a special day to them when to you it's just a tuesday. days are really only what we make of them. when the weeks and months fly by it's probably because every day is just another tuesday.
i don't want every day to be just another tuesday.
Wednesday, December 13
keep the date
it's weird, and sometimes neat, how dates remind us of events. okay, thinking about it more, it's not weird at all. what i'm trying to say is that december 13 once meant something to me. something about a boy. i was "asked out" by my first real boyfriend at a school dance on december 13th. it was the start of an interesting relationship. the relationship ended in a nasty way, with his mom and her religion coming between us, but looking back, that was a good thing.
i learned about religion and how it can sometimes ruin a good thing. and about how mothers can sometimes ruin a good thing. but to be fair, the good thing didn't have a chance to go bad. we were young. it was new and exciting. but man, were we ever wrong for each other.
and so over the years, i stumbled my way in and out of other relationships, using the things i had learned in that first relationship from that first boy, but always making some sort of mistake along the way. and finally it clicked: i can do better. obvious? maybe to some. it took 4 years of my blind stumbling until i came to this realization. this epiphany.
and now that i've found the guy i'm more comfortable in my own skin. i have newfound confidence and am growing, from those first awkward kisses to the person i am now. there's nothing like the first days and weeks of a new relationship where everything tingles with excitement, but there's something to be said for the love and support you get from knowing someone so well.
"every time i hold you i begin to understand
that everything about you tells me you're my best friend"
i learned about religion and how it can sometimes ruin a good thing. and about how mothers can sometimes ruin a good thing. but to be fair, the good thing didn't have a chance to go bad. we were young. it was new and exciting. but man, were we ever wrong for each other.
and so over the years, i stumbled my way in and out of other relationships, using the things i had learned in that first relationship from that first boy, but always making some sort of mistake along the way. and finally it clicked: i can do better. obvious? maybe to some. it took 4 years of my blind stumbling until i came to this realization. this epiphany.
and now that i've found the guy i'm more comfortable in my own skin. i have newfound confidence and am growing, from those first awkward kisses to the person i am now. there's nothing like the first days and weeks of a new relationship where everything tingles with excitement, but there's something to be said for the love and support you get from knowing someone so well.
"every time i hold you i begin to understand
that everything about you tells me you're my best friend"
Monday, December 11
christmas spirit
seems like the christmas spirit is just oozing out of people these days. here, a photojournalistic approach to the holiday season:
1) the tree is up:
2) the decorations are up:
3) even the cats are festive:
and that concludes my version of christmas. and now for my weekend update. friday j and i napped, him until some reasonable hour that wasn't too late, me until 8pm. oops. and then we started "packing". packing in our case involves going through all of our accumulated crap and making piles. one pile of garbage, one of goodwill, one for stuff to keep, one..... and so on. we basically end up with a mountain of piles and our crap out in plain sight. maybe not the most effective use of our time. though we do throw stuff out every time.
saturday we went to the house again. all the pictures are up on flickr but i've made them private. you don't get to see them. i will tell you that the counters, cupboards and ceramic floors are in. the tubs, toilets and sinks are in. we were very relieved when we saw all the colour combinations because, really, we are not interior designers. we were most worried about the kitchen. it turned out pretty damn good.
okay, saturday night we went to a christmas party with some of j's coworkers. it was fun and nice to see some of those people again but there was buddy. buddy was the annoying spouse of someone and he was, well, annoying. i don't know who from j's work will read this so that's all i'll say except i hope i don't see buddy again. really.
i don't even know what we did yesterday. stuff. good stuff i'm sure. and then there's today. this morning i had an exam for a job at cfia (canadian food inspection agency) and i bombed it. bombed in a bad way. yuck yuck yuck. i did see my old roommate from university there though and that was nice. don't think i'll be seeing her at that job though. erg.
and now i get to move my little cubicle. i'm all packed up just waiting for the guys to come. apparently they came by when i was out, a la while you were out, except they didn't move any of my stuff. time to be proactive? yes.
1) the tree is up:
2) the decorations are up:
3) even the cats are festive:
and that concludes my version of christmas. and now for my weekend update. friday j and i napped, him until some reasonable hour that wasn't too late, me until 8pm. oops. and then we started "packing". packing in our case involves going through all of our accumulated crap and making piles. one pile of garbage, one of goodwill, one for stuff to keep, one..... and so on. we basically end up with a mountain of piles and our crap out in plain sight. maybe not the most effective use of our time. though we do throw stuff out every time.
saturday we went to the house again. all the pictures are up on flickr but i've made them private. you don't get to see them. i will tell you that the counters, cupboards and ceramic floors are in. the tubs, toilets and sinks are in. we were very relieved when we saw all the colour combinations because, really, we are not interior designers. we were most worried about the kitchen. it turned out pretty damn good.
okay, saturday night we went to a christmas party with some of j's coworkers. it was fun and nice to see some of those people again but there was buddy. buddy was the annoying spouse of someone and he was, well, annoying. i don't know who from j's work will read this so that's all i'll say except i hope i don't see buddy again. really.
i don't even know what we did yesterday. stuff. good stuff i'm sure. and then there's today. this morning i had an exam for a job at cfia (canadian food inspection agency) and i bombed it. bombed in a bad way. yuck yuck yuck. i did see my old roommate from university there though and that was nice. don't think i'll be seeing her at that job though. erg.
and now i get to move my little cubicle. i'm all packed up just waiting for the guys to come. apparently they came by when i was out, a la while you were out, except they didn't move any of my stuff. time to be proactive? yes.
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