Friday, November 30, 2007

Books

In this last week I have gotten back to something that I haven't been able to do in the past little while, reading. I really enjoy my reading, but lately I haven't been able to do much of that. I have been finding myself really stressed so I had to stop most things that I was doing and just make myself sit down and read and relax.

I have been reading a book that Laura had lent me a little while ago that I have really gotten into now. It always was easy to get into, but now that I have made more time to read it I'm enjoying it so much more. It's amazing how it affects you when you can read more than a couple of pages at a time. It's one of those stories that gets you interested in the first couple of pages and keeps you hooked throughout. She had blogged about it here.

Some types of books that I enjoy are law/criminal (Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, Dee Henderson), suspense, thriller (John Saul), love stories and others that I don't know how to catagorize. I love how you can just get lost in a book and forget all of your troubles. So now I'm off to get lost in that world again.

Do you have a favorite book?

Friday, November 23, 2007

My Crappy Post Day

Today has just been a little bit too intense for me to have energy to do a full post today. I was up literally all night with a sick kid, so I've been napping off and on today. Our van was safetied today and just has one quick fix and I'll be getting plates on it tomorrow!! Can't wait!

Tomorrow is also Mya's birthday party, so I need to get my unenergetic butt in gear and do some cleaning!! Hopefully she's feeling better for the party! But I'm off to bed. Try to get some sleep tonight!! Happy Friday!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Officially Underway!!

I think I need a pat on the back!! I think this is one of my only years that I have actually started Christmas shopping BEFORE December!! I'm pretty much done shopping for my sister and close to half done the girls. I bought the older two a couple of really cute shirts amongst a couple of little things.

There are some people on my list that I just don't have a clue as to what to buy them for Christmas. Like my brother. Why are men so difficult to buy for?? Cam's easy. Anything fishing!! lol I guess Justin can be like that too, but I hate buying just fishing stuff every year. He's already getting a $120 fileting knife from my sister (why on earth do you need one that expensive?? Insane I tells ya!!).

I like giving gift certificates for small things, but not as a main gift. I know how much everyone loves them, but I would rather see the look on their face when they open a gift that I actually spent time looking for!! It means alot more to me that way than seeing them stare at a card. One year I got my sister a GC from a clothes store, but actually wrapped it in a gift box so she still had to open the present. It was so much fun!! Maybe I should do that this year with the American money she requested. Hmmm... Anyone have any good ideas to help me torture my sister???

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Dana L.

(Dana's on the left in the pink striped shirt)
You have so much strength that nobody knew you had. In school you were always a quiet girl, but once they got to know you outside of school they realized that they were totally wrong. You are wild and crazy, but know your limits when it comes to fun. Your dad was diagnosed with acute leukemia a month ago. It may have hit you like a brick wall, but you showed how strong you really are. You and your sisters put together a fundraiser in order to help your parents. You shaved your head to help your dad. I'm glad that I met you and am proud to have you as a friend.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Cam meme, or is it really about us?

So I got this idea from Laura, and decided that I really wanted to do this meme! So here it goes!

1. Who is your man? Cameron Ronald
2. How long have you been together? Just over 5 years
3. How long did you date? umm, I think it was just about two years when we got married.
4. How old is your man?He’ll be 29 in December
5. Who eats more? He does hands down.
6. Who said “I love you” first? He did!!
7. Who is taller? He is, but only by an inch.
8. Who sings better? definitely me!! can you say tone deaf husband?? lol
9. Who is smarter? he is.
10. Whose temper is worse? he does. I have more patience, so it takes me longer to lose it.
11. Who does the laundry? i do. The odd time he will when I get lazy.
12. Who takes out the garbage? I take it to the bin, but he takes it to the street when he leaves for work.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? i do, because it's the farthest away from the alarm clock. So I shut it off once or twice!
14. Who pays the bills? it's all me!!
15. Who is better with the computer? me. all the way. I usually have to type or him too. Chicken pecks take too long.
16. Who mows the lawn? Him. I do it maybe 3x/yr
17. Who cooks dinner? I do since I'm always home. I think he cooks 6 meals a year.
18. Who drives when you are together? He does. But sometimes he makes me drive in the city so he doesn't go insane.
19. Who pays when you go out? depends on who has the card ready. Usually me though.
20. Who is most stubborn? I think we're tied here.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? That's a tie. We don't go to bed angry so it gets settled fast.
22. Whose parents do you see the most? His since they live 5 minutes away!
23. Who kissed who first? he kissed me.
24. Who asked who out? He asked me.
25. Who proposed? He proposed to me.
26. Who is more sensitive? Ooh ooh!! Me Me!! lol
27. Who has more friends? Ummm....I really don't know. Me I guess...but maybe not.
28. Who has more siblings? He does. He has 3 brothers and I have a bro and a sis.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Depends on which kid you ask and what they want!! I think I do since I usually make the major decisions about our family. But then he does when it comes to the working stuff.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Mya

You are my crazy little baby. You make everyday interesting for me and I usually enjoy every minute of it. From attacking my fish, asking me if I want to fight to the many hugs and kisses you give me. You have these crazy faces that you make, and I laugh every time. Now that you're starting to talk your sisters want to play with you more and more. Chloe enjoys you being home during the day with her now. Many people call you Little Cam. Somedays I think you're like your Daddy a little bit too much. You have the temperment that he used to have and his looks. Kind of scary to think that you're what he would look like if he was a girl!! lol

I hope that we can always be as close as we are now, just with you not being so much of a Mommie's girl. Happy 2nd Birthday Mya, and may you have many more to come.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Christmas Trees

This year I find myself a little bit torn about what to do for a Christmas tree. I think only once in my life I have had an artificial tree. I love the smell of real trees and it was always a tradition for us to go out a week or so before Christmas and find a tree together as a family. But since having kids of my own that tradition has faded, but the having a real tree hasn't.

But this year I'm thinking that maybe it's time to give up my stubborness and give in to an artificial tree. There would be many reasons why I would like it. To be able to put the tree up earlier would be nice, not to have to clean up the fallen needles, save another tree in our world. The list goes on, but these are my main reasons.

Now what I would like to know from you is what you prefer and why. Please help me make up my mind!!!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Peanut Blossoms Recipe


Well now the craft and bake sale is over and I'm very glad that it is. It was such a long day, I was there to set up at 7:30am and after a latenight drive home from my parents house I was pretty tired. So I was kind of lacking an idea for a post today and just happened to read Paige's comment asking for my Peanut Blossoms recipe. So I think I will use that as my post today!

Ingredients:

1 3/4c flour 1/2c butter or margerine
1/2c white sugar 1/2c smooth peanut butter
1/2c brown sugar 2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda 1 egg

In a small bowl (cereal bowl):

1/2 c white sugar

72 chocolate rosebuds or kisses (for after baking)

Directions:

Measure all 10 ingredients into a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until a dough forms. Shape into small 1" balls, then roll in bowl of sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheet, but do NOT press down!! Bake at 375 degree F (190C) for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and top with a kiss immediately. Press down on kiss until cookie cracks around the edges. Cool and enjoy!

Yield about 4-5 dozen.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Picturesque Entry

So a week ago now I posted about my hair dilema and ended up forgetting to post the pistures of how my hair turned out. So without further delay, here they are!




Also these past couple of days I have been very busy preparing for a bakesale. Four batches each of chocolate chip cookies and peanut blossoms. I made sure that I kept some for my family to enjoy as well. These are the peanut blossoms...

I am looking forward for this week to be over. I'm excited for this weekend, but I'm a little bit more excited for things to slow back down.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Moving On Up

Finally all of the drama happening at Cam's work came to a head. For the last while it has been worse than a soap opera!! For it being a shop of men, I was shocked at all of the drama going on. But it only takes one person to start the ripple, and it spread fast.

On Tuesday the foreman was fired. Honestly it was about time. Laura refers to him as Bellic off of Prison Break, which is the absolute best way to describe him. Due to this guy being fired, the owners had approached Cam about whether or not he would be interested in taking over this posotion. For him to even think about it is huge. This is not something he ever wanted to do. He would always say that he would never take that job because he enjoys doing the actual work. But after some consideration he decided that he should at least try it. He said "How can I get anywhere in life if I'm not even willing to try." I'm very proud of him for at least giving it a shot. Whether he likes it or not will be determined I guess.

But with only officially accepting the job today he has his worries already. He is so scared of becoming the type of person that this other guy was. He's scared of people being pissed off at him getting the job and not them. But most of all he's scared of losing his friends over it. I can't see this happening, since I could never imagine him becoming "that guy". I'm really hoping that it will be a smooth transition into this position and that his worries will soon be settled.

I have so much pride and faith in this man and I know that he can do this job. He doesn't talk down to the guys and actually takes time to talk to them. I feel that it's something that he was meant to do. Now I just have to be there to support him through this, which I will do very willingly.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Over Half Way There!!

So today Cam and his Dad took our "new" van for its structural safety today. It passed and now we just have to take it in for the other safetying. I am kind of dreading this one. This is the one we had trouble with last time. We had an ABS light that wouldn't go off even after changing everything we needed to. Luckily the ABS light isn't on in this van, and are hoping that there isn't much, if anything to do on this one. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll have a vehicle of my own once again!!

Another thing that I'm getting excited about is that some of our renovations might start once again. Right now every room in our house is unfinished. Our entry way and half of our kitchen is plywood floors at the moment. Cam's going to be prepping the ceiling and walls to get it ready for mud & taping, then paint and flooring!! It was a goal of ours to have this done for Christmas, but it was put aside once again due to our van problems. So to hear that this is probably going to be started this weekend makes me very happy!! I can't wait to see some progress on this!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Today

The past 24 hours have been pretty crazy. We've been experiencing winds up to 100km/hr and they are still supposed to be about 50km overnight. I hate strong winds. It makes the house a little chilly and cold for Madison's walk to school, let alone how hard it is on gas. It just leaves me with a dreary feeling.

Also I have been experiencing some crazy headaches an dizziness. And no, I don't mean ditziness either!! The dizziness is kinda like how you feel when you've drank way too much and the room just keeps on spinning. The only time I've gotten dizzy was when I was pregnant (and there's no chance of that happening! We fixed that problem 11 months ago!! lol). The thing that really makes me wonder is when it happens when I'm just laying in bed.

I am really hoping that this will pass very soon. I don't like when I'm not feeling well. With these busy kids I can't afford to be sick. Could you imagine what kind of trouble they would be getting into if I couldn't get out of bed for a day?? I really don't want to think about that right now. Just focus on getting better and hope it is a cold that wants to visit me for half a day. Wouldn't that be great? A 6-12 hour cold and then it's done. Wishful thinking.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Remembering My Fish

I seem to have a problem with Mya and my fish tank. She never bothers any other tank in the house (we have five in all) but the one in my room with my three Angelfish. She tends to put stuff in there that just doesn't belong. One day when Cam was supposed to be watching her I came home to find that she had put an umbrella in there. Another day we found a cookie or something along those lines in there. SInce the girls sometimes watch movies in our room, we don't always notice what she's doing it unless Chloe comes and tells on her.

Friday was one of those days. Suddenly Chloe comes running into the living room saying that Mya was feeding my fish. Well that's a bad sign to begin with, so I was on my feet in an instant to see what she was up to. Well it turns out that she was actually feeding them fish food. The problem was that she put in the whole container!! It was brand new, completely full. I don't know off hand exactly the size of it, but it measures about the size of your hand in height and about 3" in diameter.

Next came a time of panic for me as I was trying to clean out tank to give my fish a chance at survival. It took me over an hour to clean that tank. Then I had to hurry up and get ready for our date. By the time we got home I went to go look at how they were doing. Two were floating and the other was struggling on the bottom. We tried to save him by putting him in with the guppies, but he just didn't make it. I had two of my Angels for just over two years and the other one just over three. They are dearly missed, but I would love to get some more Angels soon. I just love these kind of fish, they are truly beautiful.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Remembering....

Today is a day of rememberance. Today is a day that I look forward to, to be to remember not only our Veterans, but other lives as well.

Today is a day that I remember my Grandfathers who had both fought in the war and have since past. My Grandpa D served in Canada and was denied the chance to go over seas due to his trigger finger. I never really knew this Grandpa very well since he passed away when I was only eight. What I do remember about him is going to visit him in the home and when he came home to Grandma's for a day visit. He had a stroke when I was a baby and it left him paralyzed and unable to speak. I remember him teasing my brother and I in his talk. "Doh doh doh? Doh Doh!!" He would take our treat bags that we had walked uptown for and pretend that they were meant for him. This is one of the only happy memories I have with him, and I cherish it very much.

My Grandpa S was stationed over seas in a couple of different countries. His first born child was born when he was fighting for our freedom. Grandma still has a bunch of his things from the war. She has his payroll slips, pieces of his uniform, but most importantly, his journals. I have only read a little bit of this, but cried from reading it. It tells about things that he was going through, how happy he was when Grandma mailed a letter to him and when she sent him cigarettes. It talks about when he found out that my uncle was born and what he was feeling. It's a nice thing to have to know more about his life then. But the one thing I will always remember is that he was one of the wounded soldiers. He had been shot during the war, just above his heart. The bullet had gone right through him, the bullet exiting just under the top of his shoulder. Luckily it wasn't fatal in any way. He didn't even get dicharged because of it. I used to think it was incredible when he would show us his scars. It became reality then.

I am very thankful for what these men and women did for us, and I will never forget it. Happy rememberance day to all!!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Movie Review

After all that research and getting pumped up for We Own The Night, I must say that I am pretty disappointed with it. The trailor for it looks awesome and full of action. I found the movie wasn't what I was expecting. The characters did well in their roles, but I've seen Mark Wahlberg in better roles than this. It never seemed to have a really high climax moment. I kept waiting for it to get really intense, but it never really did.

Another thing that bothered me about it was how it never really had an ending. One of those that leaves you wondering if that was seriously how they were leaving it. I really don't think it's because there will be a sequel either. It just ended and I think that's how it'll stay, unfinished. For it being a two hour long movie I expected a really good ending. Oh well. I think I'd give it a 3 or 3.5/5. Not the best movie I've seen, but it wasn't horrible either.

Sorry if that disappoints anyone, but hey, it's the truth. Now my sister is just going to rent it when it comes out instead of seeing it in the theater.

I love the new Galaxy theaters though!! Beautifully done!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Holy Crap!!! Ahhhh!!!!

This would be one of those days when I hate the career I had chosen for myself. I was so excited to go out that I forgot to think that I would actually be going out in public!! It seems these days that the only time I go out is to go shopping or to church. Seriously, how much effort do these people really put into their appearance?? But going out on a Friday night is totally different for me. It means that I have to look even better than I usually do so I don't feel like crap when I go out.

So about half an hour ago I started doing my hair. But now I have to take a break because I'm frustrated!! If I was anybody else I would've been happy with my hair about 20 minutes ago, but no. I had to be a haridresser and over critique myself. Crap. Now I'm finding a bump here, a limp spot there. Or great. Now it's over curly! Now I look like I'm in a wedding. Crap. Now what? Maybe I should quit spraying so much so it can still move around!! Stupid. Grrr. Well what if I pin it here? Nope, that won't work. Hmm. Well what if... Nope. Not that either. Sigh. Okay, that works! Now what should I do with my bangs?? Maybe I should cut them. No. Hmm.

I really think it was time to take a bit of a sit down break. So here I am, rethinking everything I've done to my hair. I really do take too much pride in my hair sometimes. I wish I could just throw it up and be happy with it ALL of the time! There are many days that I can do that, but today just doesn't seem to be one of those days. Now I'm down to an hour to finish getting myself ready, feed the girls, get them dressed and out the door to the grandparents house they go!! Sheesh. Well wish me luck! I'll post a picture of how my hair turned out later!!

Happy Friday everyone!!

How Exciting!

I am super excited today!! Last night I finally got an answer from my mother in law about them watching the girls tonight. She's going to watch them for us so we can actually go out on a date!! I think it's been close to six months since we've gone out on a date. So now we're going to a movie!

Since I'm used to not going to the movies I tend to ignore and forget what movies are out and what they're about. So as in a way to prepare we went on YouTube to watch some trailers about what's playing. I narrowed it down to "We Own The Night" with Joaquin Pheonix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes and Robert Duvall. All great actors and actress.

Wonder if I could talk him into going out for an appetizer afterwards...hmmm. Oh the possibilities...

Thursday, November 8, 2007

My Grandma

So I just found out that my Grandma had another doctors appointment today. She has been receiving high doses of calcium to help contain the cancer to help prevent it from spreading. So today she had a bone scan to see if the calcium was helping her any. She doesn't get results for another week or two, but the wait is going to be tough.

We have recently found out that she has level four cancer. To hear that was quite difficult. She has always been a fighter. She IS a breast cancer survivor. She has battled many different things in her life, but I believe that this one is truly the most trying for her and our family.

There is no cure for her. There are so many days that aren't good for her. I had taken the girls to go and see her on Saturday and I was glad to see that she was having a good day. But you can tell this is wearing on her and she doesn't want to talk about it. In a sense I don't blame her, but some information would be nice.

It's really hard on my aunt though. She has lived and taken care of my Grandma for as long as I can remember. I can't even imagine what she would be going through with this. We were never really close but now we are able to actually sit down and talk and enjoy spending time with each other. I really hope she knows that she can turn to the family for help or even just to talk when she needs to.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Is It Too Late?

I know that Halloween is already over for a week now, but I finally downloaded my pics onto my computer from my camera, so I'm posting about it now.

This year was a little more exciting this year since Mya could actually trick or treat with her sisters. She was so excited everytime they went up to a door. She would stand there even after they gave her her candy waiting for more. And when I said it was time to go she hurried and got into her stroller, ready to head to the next house. At our friends house she decided that she should fill her own bag with candy, and my friend told me to let her so she didn't have so much leftover candy. Needless to say before she quit she had half of her little pumpkin bag full! Here she is...my little Unicorn.


Then there's Chloe who wanted to be a princess once again. She makes me laugh. So this year I reused to buy them brand new costumes ($30 each is getting a little rediculous for a kids costume) so we went to Value Village (a huge second hand clothing store) to look for something for Madison. Well of course Chloe finds a dress that she absolutely needs to buy for Halloween and won't put it back. So I gave in and said that she could only wear it for Halloween. But now she's saying that it was her costume, but now it's her dress. I'm so embarressed! lol

And then there's Madison. She has always been a princess or a witch, so I offered the idea of her being Pippi Longstocking.
So she had willingly agreed to it, but then to find an outfit for it. I think I did a pretty good job! My mother-in-law had to add a patch (only the yellow one on the pocket) and shorten it a bit, and Madison then had to wear Mya's little diaper panties that came with her dress so her butt wouldn't be hanging out. But we pulled it together.
Then it came time for her hair. Her hair was supposed to be vivid red, but of course I forgot that they're expecting it to be put on a little darker hair than my white-blonde headed daughter. So it came out vibrant orange. Her hair was easier to put up in braids than to find a red hairspray! But honestly her braids were the easiest thing to do. What I did is in each strand of the braid I used red pipe cleaners. Both went up in the first try.

I had a lot of fun this Halloween and am definitely looking forward to next year!! Here's a couple more pics for you to enjoy!

Madison's gr 1 class

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Ok Go Treadmill Video

Okay this is crazy!! I have enough fun just walking or jogging on a treadmill!! This video will keep you entertained!!

Monday, November 5, 2007

True Beauty

As I was watching "Prison Break" tonight a commercial came on that I hadn't thought about in awhile. It was the Dove commercials Campaign for Real Beauty I believe they are called. The thing that really draws my attention is how they are showing beauty in women of all ages.

In one of their commercials they have a 60 year old women posing nude, but very tastefully. To be that cofortable in your body at that age is such a blessing. How many people feel that comfortable in their body at the age of 20?? I know that if I was asked to do that I would definitely pass.

There is also the commercial of women in their 20's to 30's (guesstimation) that have shawls of bubbles around them. How beautiful they are in their own skin!!

You can check out some of these ads here.

I love where they are going with these ads, even if it is to sell their product. The thing I love the most is that these are models that were hired for this. They are real women. How many companies put a woman in that has many curves? Not many. So I am setting a goal for myself to feel just about as good about myself as these ladies show us.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Let It Snow!

So tonight it has decided that it wants to snow!! For once I am actually looking forward to it!! Now that Halloween is over and was snow free I want to see a little white on the ground. If it's going to be cold let's see a small white blanket on there as well.

So tomorrow a few guys from Cam's work are taking the day off to go fishing. I think they're nuts. It's snowing tonight and is only supposed to reach -2 celsius (about 28F for those who don't know our format) and windy. They're going to freeze their butts off! And I'm going to be sitting here all nice and warm! Guess they must be pretty hard core to still be willing to go out. I do hope they have a good time though. Hopefully Brad can catch more fish than Cam this time, or at least be close in the running!! lol

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Who Are You??

I keep getting someone from Gull Lake visiting me!! Who are you?? Let me know!!

Steel Magnolias

Last night my sister and I took in a play that was put on by the Canadian Diabetes Association. That's one organization that we like to support due to my Dad being a type 1 diabetic. Over the last couple of years he has had to take a needle a couple of times a day to help with this. So if there is something for us to do to support this cause we do.

So the play that they put on was Steel Magnolias, due to it having a character who is a diabetic. I can honestly say that the play was not as good as the movie, but it was still good. It consisted of only 6 characters (the main 6 of course!) which was nice since it didn't make the play too busy. I just wish the one playing Truvy (the hairdresser played by Dolly Parton in the movie) would've actually had her hair done nicely!! Pet peeve, sorry!!

All of the actresses did a good job (all but one who sounded a little too scripted for my liking!) and with the added humor in the play, it was a very entertaining three hours. Come the end there were many people weeping, and no I was not one of them!!

But my favorite part of the evening was actually being able to have a night out with my sister. We don't get to do this very often and actually haven't really done anything like this ever before! We were never close growing up, so it's nice to do something like this with her. The play ended at about 11:00pm so we decided to go to the casino for a bit. Needless to say I didn't win it big!! We ended up staying there for just over an hour and walked out with the same amount of money we walked in with. So of course we had to go somewhere else and spend it!! lol So we decided to go for a little bite to eat and visit a little bit more. I can proudly say that we made it through the whole night without a fight!! I was actually quite shocked!! I know it's bad to say, but it isn't often that she doesn't get mad about something, so to see her actually relaxed for a whole night was quite a treat. I really hope that we have many more nights like this. This is how I want our relationship to be.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Vehicles....Uhhh

I am so sick and tired of vehicles!! They always tend to break down on me!! Two weeks ago I had to go out of town for splurge. So I was on my way out of time to pick up my Mom and cousin when my vehicle starts over heating. Crap. I haven't driven the van in two weeks and when I hapen to drive it it acts up. So I manage to get inside the city limits when it really over heats and stalls. Double crap. I had already left late and barely had enough time to get to my family and get out to y cousins house (I made a splurge group with strictly family members for a way to get us together more).

So in the end we had to borrow a vehicle to get there and a couple of days later we had to get Cam's Dad's trailer to go drive an hour to my parents house to pick up the van. So then they went to SGI (a place to buy wrecks for those who don't know) looking for a new engine. Instead they found a newer van for cheap and thought it'd be a better idea to buy that one and fix that one than to just fix the one we already have. Crap. Here we go again. The last one took about 5 months befor ewe had it up and running. So how long is this one going to take?? They say a couple of weeks. For some odd reason I'm doubting it. I'm getting really sick of borrowing vehicles. I just want one that won't break down!! Let me be able to have a vehicle I can rely on!! Grr!! So once this van gets up and running then they'll get the other one fixed up and sell it. As long as they stick with this plan I think I'll be fine. But I swear if I'm going to lose it if those plans change again!! I can only take so much of this!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

My Night...

In our church we have a "Prayer Sister's" group that I am a part of. What we do is in January we get together and draw names for someone that we will pray for for the next year. We have a guest speaker and some refreshments to follow. Usually we do the "reveal" that night as well, but this year we decided to try something different. We decided that we would reveal who we had a couple of months earlier so we have the chance to get together for coffee if we so choose.

Just over a week ago I got a shocking e-mail from a friend of mine saying that she was my prayer sister! I was completely shocked!! Chances of one of my friends drawing my name is very unlikely. So tonight we went out for some coffee and dessert (even though I don't drink coffee). We had a really good time with it being just the two of us. It gave us a chance to talk, which is something we rarely get to do.

What else I find interesting is that over the last couple of years I've been drawing her families names. First I had her Mom and then her Grandma and this year I drew her Aunt. But I recently learned that her Aunt is going through a really trying time with her faith and I find myself asking questions that shouldn't even be crossing my mind. I feel bad that I'm more worried about what to do when January comes and trying to figure things out about this than actually worrying about her. I am going completely against what this group is about.

I feel bad but in the same sense is it totally wrong of me? There is only so much that I can do. I just feel bad for all parties involved and hope that something good can come out of this situation. Whether you have faith or not, you always tend to hope for the best out of any situation.