The Naked Truth

Mel needs....

2008-10-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Google Game.
So - this is the Google game. You type your name followed by needs into Google and see what you get.

So here it is....

Mel needs:

~a big wet slopppy kiss. (well maybe not a sloppy one please)
~to lighten up on Flickr.
~less passion for the spirit. (hmmm)
~to repair her iPod. (I don't even own one!!)
~a home.
~to trade her Lexus in on a magic carpet. (hehe)
~sleep
~to focus on herself.

That was fun. The first one that actually came up was another blog site that had dne this, but they chose to ignore most of the Mel ones for some odd reason :)

I found this on Four Leaf Clover's site originally. Check hers out here.

Are You Still "In Love"??

2008-10-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

While I was at work the other day a girl I worked with asked me a question that left me thinking for days after. She was asking whether Cam and I just loved each other or if we were still in love. I knew my answer right away, and yes, I am still in love with my husband. My heart still skips a beat at certain moments and I still get a sparkle in my eye when I think of him. Then we started talking about why she would ask that (she's only 18).

We started talking about how many marriages these days don't last or become just another thing. Or how people just become so used to each other, but there's no spark. It also made me think of many couples I know and how this one "should be simple" question really is something to think about and take seriuosly. It made me stop and think about our relationship and how special it actually is (ahh!!! almost put was!! oopsy lol). I hope that this makes you think of yours and if it helps you at all.

A Dream

2008-08-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

My head is in a very wierd place right now. It's overwhelmed from many things going on in my life right now. I've been at my job for a couple of weeks now and I am absolutely loving it!! It's more like a hobby kinda thing that I get paid for. It never seems like work, which is nice. It's an amazing feeling when you help someone find their actual size in a bra and the look on the faces and the happiness they feel when they finally find a bra that they want to wear for a whole day and not dread putting it on. I had a lady in yesterday that was wearing a bra that was 6" too big in the band and it was amazing the difference in a proper fitting bra. I love how many different styles we have, but I don't love how quickly we go through them and can never seem to keep stock in many sizes. But it's a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

It's also nice not to be on commission, no bitchy girls saying that someone had more people than them. The staff is great and very helpful. For once I'm not the youngest one there!! I'm probably right smack dab in the middle. It's just a fun enviroment to be in and even the customers have a lot of fun when they come in.

On another note, Cam and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on August 7th. It was nice, we went out for supper at The Keg, which I've never been to before. It was really good!! I never get steak because no one ever cooks it well enough for me, but they did an awesome job!! We cheated on the price since we used Airmiles to help pay for it, but it was well worth it. After that we came home and watched a movie and relaxed, for awhile anyways. But we're going to a movie next week to finish celebrating (my sister in law is taking the girls for a couple of nights!! Yahoo!!).

But I must admit that I won't be posting very much. My head just always isn't into it and I find that sometimes when I do it down I feel like I can't say most things that I want or need to. I just am finding it difficult to get things out and therefore am making this a job. I will keep posting on occasion, but I will be checking in on your blogs still! Take care.

A Step Forward...

2008-07-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

I'm nervous but very excited about this next step that I'm going to take in my life. I had recently discovered that a local store that I love was looking for part-time help. It's something that I've always wanted to do, so how could I possibly pass on this opportunity?

It all started a few weks ago when instead of an e-mail telling me about their awesome specials I got one saying that they were looking for part time workers. I got so excited that within five minutes I had sent in my resume. In less than 24 hours I had received feedback to do the second part of the procedure. It was actually pretty cool. It's 120 questions that help determine parts of your personality. Then the waiting came. I waited for a couple of weeks while she went through the tons of resumes she received. Usually after waiting that long I just assume that I didn't get it, but on Tuesday night I received a call asking me to come for an interview the next day (yesterday). So we met yesterday at 5:30pm and went for coffee. Well we pretty much just sat there talking for an hour and neverreally about my resume or anything like that, which was cool. By the time we were done talking I was 90% sure that I had the job, but still was getting mixed signals. She still had one more person to interview that night and that she'd let me know her decision. But then there were times that I knew I had it, she was asking me what days I would need in the fall, that she was hiring me and one more, and wanting to go back and get the schedule.

Well I got the call about half an hour ago saying that I got the job. It's 2-3 days a week, which is great for me. She wanted me to start tomorrow but then remembered that she wouldn't be there, so I officially start at noon on Saturday. So I will be learning how to do bra fittings and all that goes with it and probably in two weeks I'll be working one of many of the trade shows that they're in.

So now I just have to ready myself. I haven't been able to get ahold of my babysitter to make sure that she still has openings, but I do have a couple of backup plans just incase. I'm nervous because I haven't worked for three years and Mya has never really gone to a babysitter. She has a couple of times, but never a couple of times per week. So it'll be interesting to see the changes that will happen in our house in the next few weeks.

If anyone wants to try that personality quiz let me know! It's so much fun!! It's just a mulitple choice type thing. You'll enjoy it!

Reindeer Lake

2008-07-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to our trip up north to go fishing, and every year I never leave dissapointed. No matter how crappy the weather you just can't help but love it there. Every bay you go into feels like a different place and just to see such a different landscape than what we're used to is amazing. So many fish caught, but only a few kept. We went fishing for pike and for lake trout. It was awesome fishing for lake trout (and pike of course, but it was our first time ever trout fishing). They fight so agressively, kinda like a salmon. Because the water is still cold they're only about 5-10 feet deep, but by the end of the month they'll go down to about 40 feet of water. But I tell ya, when they get a couple of feet from the surface that's when the real fight begins. All of a sudden your reel just starts to scream as they're taking your line farther out. These guys just don't give up, they keep fighting until the very end. I usually try to take my own hook out, but these guys are slimy like pike but with smaller heads, and the way that they kept on fighting I could never hold on to the darn things!!

The first night I was shocked by how light it stayed. Te first picture was taken on the dock t 11:00pm!! Our first full day of fishing was absolutely beautiful!! It was such a calm day out that the lake was like glass. I've never seen it so calm (this is a lake that is 162 miles long). But as the days went by it got windier and a little rougher with rain. By the 4th day we were having fun cruisung through 3' waves. At one point we were switching bays and I wasn't informed that it was going to be through the really rough water, so I ended up completely soaked! But that's enough talking, here are some photos for you to enjoy!!

I'm An Auntie!!

2008-07-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

Juast thought I'd let people know that Laura went into early labor.... and now has a baby boy!! Things are looking good. That's all I know for now though!!

3 More Days and some drama...

2008-06-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

I am getting restless waiting for our fishing trip to Reindeer Lake to come!! In three days we leave!! But with it comes a lot of work that HAS to be done. The girls are leaving tomorrow night so I'll be home by myself Thursday to finish getting Cam and I organized. So now I'm trying like crazy to catch up on laundry and find bathing suits, etc... But I really wanted to get this done yesterday, but then there came compilcations....

On the weekend I found a note under the wiper of the van telling me about the work they'd be doing on my street replacing hydrants and stuff. With that said they continued to tell us that our water would be shut off for three hours starting at 8:00am. So I patiently waited for it to come back on so I could wash clothes and do some dishes... but needless to say it was longer than three hours!! It was more like 6-7!! So that totally squashed my plans and we had ball last night so it couldn't be done. Now is a day to play catch up. Blah.

But on the plusside we had our church picnic on Saturday. We had a lot of fun, played some games, and even put Mya in the three legged race with a little boy...So cute.

Also it was our towns sports days that day. We took the girls on pony rides and other fun events for them. I had to walk with Mya when she was riding and she really seemed to enjoy laughing at me walking through the horse poop. I really didn't mind since I was always around horses growing up and kinda got used to it.

But that was a long enough break I guess. Time to get back to laundry!! I'll post again when we get back next Thursday!!

Kevin S (5/365)

2008-06-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

You were always the easiest cousin to talk to growing up. You were always so full of life and love for everyone around. I don't think I ever saw you get mad. When I became an "adult" we seemed to become closer. We had more in common then. I was really looking forward to going fishing with you this summer, something we had in common but never had the chance to do. The last time you were out here fishing I couldn't go with since I was going on my honeymoon. I remember getting your reply for my wedding and I remember crying because it meant so much that you and your family would drive all that way to be there. You were one of my last dances at my wedding and I will treasure that forever. I miss you cuz and I just pray that you are at peace.

Justin D (4/365)

2008-06-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

We were always close growing up. It always seemed to be me and you vs. Kerry. In high school you started hanging out with me and my friends and then you finally seemed to find your groove. I never minded that you were around, it was a lot of fun. I find it funny that you're still friends with all of my friends that I don't talk with anymore.

You've seem to have changed in the last few years. You badly hurt your arm and then you never seemed to recover emotionally. But it's not only that. You've hurt me by one simple action that I can't forgive you for. I cannot understand how you can be friends with the guy that is Madison's dad who didn't want to be a father. I felt so betrayed when I found out that you were still talking and still are.

I Just Wanna Dance!!

2008-06-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

Since going to the cabaret last weekend I've had the dancing itch!! I danced with a couple of friends there and I didn't realize that they actually KNEW how to dance!! Man could they dance!! We were two stepping and spinning, and I was being dipped left and right!! It's been a long time since I've danced with someone who actually knows how to dance. Incase you didn't clue in already, Cam does not know how to dance. He doesn't even have the desire to learn, which is very sad. I love to dance and am doing good if I can get him to dance with me a couple of times when we go to a dance, and that includes slow songs. I had started teaching him to do oldtime dancing, but now at most weddings they don't play those songs anymore!! That makes me very sad.

I grew up in a family that loved to dance. No matter what you were on the dance floor. Whether you knew how or not, you would learn. At weddings I would love watching my parents waltz or polka. They're such beautiful dances. But now it's just not the same going to weddings or dances. No one seems to know how to dance these days!! Even to just two step is a challenge. It drives me nuts to go to a dance and see all of these guys just sitting around drinking because they don't know how to dance and don't really care to try!! So I find it hard to go to a country dance and not have anyone to dance with. But this last weekend I was making people dance even if they didn't know how. Was I ever shocked.

I don't understand why people don't want to learn. What is it about dancing that makes them want to hide in the sidelines?? It's great excercise and I think it's sexy when a guy can dance. Damn it makes me feel sexy!! I haven't been dipped or twirled for a long time and it felt damn good!! My toes weren't killing me after each dance either!! I have a feeling that for the next dance I go to, I'm going to have higher expectations for people to dance or end up sucking it up and go ask someone I don't know to dance just so I don't end up leaving depressed because I did want to dance that night, but ended up sitting on the sidelines.

Book Meme

2008-06-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

I just read at Teeni's blog a book meme. I then wanted to do it right away! Last week I was busy going through my whole house trying to find things to sell in the garage sale when I came across a bunch of my old VC Andrews books. I just happened to be in between books, so I thought I would start reading one of the series again.

Here are the rules:

Step One – pull out a book on the book shelf.

Step Two – go to page 123.

Step Three – read and write out the 5th sentence

So the book I'm reading is Heaven, by VC Andrews. I'm doing both lines 4 & 5 because line 5 just doesn't cut it. You'll see why in a second.

"But Keith had a good appetite, even if he oes catch cold often, and they both have nightmares, so leave on a little light so the dark won't frighten them..."

"Shut up," hissed Pa again.

This book is about a girl and her family that were extremely poor and at this point they were sending her siblings to live with another family.

I love this book. I always get into them so quickly, no matter what.

Oops! Forgot!

2008-06-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I finally have time to write on here! I feel like my life has been quite the gong show since spring started. With ball well underway, I find that we barely have time for anything. It's at the point where we have something going every day of the week, especially the weekends. Madison had won a voucher to go see the Saskatchewan Roughriders pre-season game, and we had to ask my brother if he would take the girls because that day just didn't work out for us. I just want this next month to go by fast so I don't have any commitments to things.

Here are a few of the things that we've been up to:

~ball (of course)
~cabaret (which was awesome!! much better band this year!)
~fishing, must get in some practice time before we go to Reindeer Lake in 2 1/2 weeks
~garage sale
~field trips
~trying out the Turbo Sonic x7 and have been loving it!! more details later
~doing hair on the side
~talking with my cousin who's best friend just passed away
~being a ref in the girls fights

One thing that has happened is that I have lost weight and inches!! I am so proud of myself! I'm fitting into my jeans that were very tight in winter, the legs of my pants/shorts aren't tight at all anymore and my bras are all being doneup tighter! But the thing that makes this crappy is that I'm the only one who's noticed any difference (I promise I'm not hinting at anything Laura!!). I haven't used my inhaler at all while playing ball and I find that I can play the full two games without feeing like I'm going to pass out. I really believe that the turbo sonic has helped me with this. It just helps you body absorb more things and helps with your oxygen as well.

I have also found more of a love for my flowerbeds. I have put ore work into them this year than I ever have and it's paying off. Last year I got smart and started putting in perenials and added some more this year. I keep waiting to be able to take a picture, but for some odd reason my flowers keep disappearing (wonder who would be doing that?). So my goals for this summer is to find more things are for me that I like to do, be a healthier me, be outside more and to make sure that my legs get tanned!! I find that my pains aren't nearly as bad as what they were before, which is helping out alot. I found it so hard to be able to do anything before because all of a sudden I would be hurting so bad that I would just go back and veg on the couch until Madison got home from school. But now I'm vowing not to do that and to make sure that I make the most of this beautiful weather while it's here.

Picture Post

2008-05-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Unwanted Answers

2008-05-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of months I have had something on my mind that has really been bothering me. I have been having pain in my lower abdomen for many months now (kinda startling back in September already) and just these last two months it has been a daily pain. So I had gone to my doctor to get some answers. She had a feeling that it was due to ovarian cysts, so she set up an ultrasound and sent me for some blood work (I'll explain reasons in a bit). So after waiting a month to get in for an ultrasound the day came. It was beacuse of the ultrasound that I had to make sure I was home from BC so quickly. So there was a little awkwardness with the ultrasound that I don't want to get into, but they got what they needed. This was on April 30th. Last Wednesday I got a call from my doctor confirming that it was little cysts. But she said that they don't do anything about them unless they grow large and to keep taking advil for the pain.

Now a little more info:

There are a couple of reasons that affect me and make me wonder why they don't do anything. 1. The pain. Seriously, how good is it for me to be taking advil everyday?? They don't seem to be going away anytime soon! The pain partially comes form them popping. When I'm lying on my back the girls try sitting on me, but i have to boot them off because it hurts. Some days it just really hurts and people that don't know take it the wrong way as me being in a bad mood, depressed, etc...

2. It affects my reproduction crap. So this means I only get my period every 2-3 months. But it also means that if I were to try and get pregnant that I would have a very hard time doing so (luckily our family is already complete). We also think that I had them before I was pregnant with Mya because I was missing periods (while on the pill) and it had taken quite awhile for a test to come back positive.

3. It can affect your insulin. This is the main thing that has me worried. This is why I had to get blood work. Somehow it affects how your body makes insulin and can cause diabetes. As it is diabetes runs high in my family and now to have something else make it even higher kinda scares me.

So there it is, everything that I know about this. So now I have to do some more research and then make another appointment and talk more with my doctor.

Play Ball!!!

2008-05-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well ball season has officially begun in this household. Everyone but Mya is playing this year! I can already tell that the next 6-8 weeks are going to be a gong show!! lol

So far our schedule is working out alright. Madison has games on Tuesday and practice on Thursday. Chloe has ball on Wednesdays and Cam and I will mainly play on Monday, Friday and Saturday. But our ball nights usually change from week to week, playing a minimum of two nights a week. We didn't consider how busy we would be for some odd reason! lol

Now the funny things:

Madison is playing on a team with four of her cousins (and they tend to fin trouble)

I am COACHING Chloe's t-ball (luckily they don't ever have games!! I'm new to it too!)

Cam & I play in a Christian league, so no drinking!

At Maddy's first game I had to take Chloe home so she could go to the bathroom (and I had asked her before we left home 20 minutes before!!) and missed Maddy's first time at bat!! She did hit the ball, coach pitches, and thought she should run to third instead of first!!

I love ball season and am really looking forward to it! Get all of our butts in gear and get moving more!

Grandma Humor

2008-05-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

So I've been back home for a few days and trying to get my routine (and the families) back to normal. Harder than I thought. These last couple of days have been hard on me. When I was still in BC I was so busy that I didnt' have time to think. NOw that I'm home I have a little more time on my hands and I'm finding that's all I'm doing. But today I wasn't going to be sad. I wanted to think of happy things and be grateful for my trip. I uploaded my photos from the trip on my computer and had fun remembering when they were taken and with who. Then I remember my Grandma's comment on our first day there....

We were driving down the old highway (speed limit 60km/hr) and we saw a sign like this one (only homemade and painted on a really old piece of wood) My Grandma is a very blunt person. Her first comment was "Well that's not very nice! It's not their fault they're slow!" Then she was saying how it should say Go Slow, Children Playing. My brother and I started laughing so hard. It never even crossed our minds to read it that way.

Kevin

2008-04-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

He didn't make it through the night. My uncle got a call at six this morning (an hour ago) telling him this.My brother had answered and they thought he was my uncle. They told him what happened but it didn't sink in until after he passed the phone on. I keep crying in spurts and then I try to think about what I can do to help. Uncle David left for town as soon as he got off the phone. He has the only vehicle. I am feeling trapped right now. I feel like I should be helping with something right now, but I have no clue as to what I can do. I'm frustrated and lost right now.

We had pretty much everyday planned. We had planeed to go be with him all morning and then some. I called Cam and my parents to let them know. I have no idea what's going on (which is to be expected) for tomorrow or today anymore. I just want to know what to do!! I've never been in the situation to be at someone's house after their son or any family dies. Now I find myself just sitting here waiting for the next phone call. I just keep praying for strength but I'm not sure how much I have left. I know there'll be more time for me to cry later, but for now I just need to be strong for them. Today is also the day that they buried Kevin's nephew (my cousin Darren's son). It should be pouring rain right now.

Going On A Trip

2008-04-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's official!! I'm going to BC!!! What a pain in the butt though. It took me over eight hours to finally get flight and bus booked that worked out. We are now leaving at 6:20am tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, a day earier than planned. Turns out that this is the only flight available through air miles until next week. My brother had to take an extra day off of work, but it'll be nice to be out there a day earlier since we're leaving a day early in order to catch the bus.

We are also hoping to go see Kevin in the hospital, but that'll depend on how he's feeling since he starts chemo tomorrow. I guess he was having a really bad day yesterday. Jamie went to go visit him and I guess he barely said two words. So hopefully he's ready for this and knows that his family is there for him.

Falling Into Place

2008-04-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

So this last week my brother and I have been scrambling to find a way to be able to attend the fundraiser for Kevin this weekend. So far we managed to talk my Dad into letting us use his airmiles for us to fly out for the weekend. Justin's boss also changed his schedule for him to have the time off. Everything was falling into place so quickly for us. Until today.

I had phoned airmiles this morning to book our flights and found out that we can't get a flight back home until late next week at the earliest. Crap. So then we started scrambling to see how else we could get home. We could take the train from Vancouver home for $210, but then we still have to take the ferry and a cab to get to the train staion which is even more money. Then we couldtake the bus. That'll be a day and a half travel and means leaving a day earlier. The price I was told was again $210. So I ended up looking on their web site and found that there was a companion rate. With this when you purchase an adult ticket you can purchase a second one for only $20!! $190 savings!! I'll take it!! But now I just have to wait and talk to my Dad since he wants us to put everything on his card. But he won't be home for another hour, which means I have to wait another hour before we can actually book anything!! I'm finding that I don't have as much patience as I once thought I had.

Next I had to find a car rental place in Duncan, BC where my family is. I was scared to find out how much it would cost to rent a car. So I found a phone number for Budget out there and found out that there is a special for people that rent the car for three days over a weekend which is only $20 a day!! I was shocked. I thought it would be a lot more than that. Also with having airmiles you get a discount on top of that. So now I'm excited!! I just need to talk to my brother and Dad to get everything confirmed and then booked!!

I'm So Happy!!!

2008-04-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. Incase you didn't notice it when you came in, my new masthead is done!!! Yay!! Unfortunately I can't take the credit for it. My wonderful sister in law, Laura, did it for me!! It turned out much better than I could have imagined!! It was well worth the wait.

Now the story behind my picture. When I was first looking for a new pic for my masthead I came across this site. I had really liked his work and had sent him an e-mail asking permission to use it. He was glad to let me and actually made the photo without the copywrite thing on it and cropped it to a better size for Laura. He was very kind about it all and I really appreciate it.

Drained.

2008-04-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to come back and start blogging again on a happy feel good note, but I just can't do that right now. I just heard some news about my cousin that has shocked me so bad that I'm having trouble getting past the shock of it.

My cousin Kevin has recently been diagnosed with cancer. My family has only heard bits and pieces until yesterday, but here's the story. Back in September he was diagnosed with Chrones disease and skin cancer. He had undergone a couple of surgeries (one removing a mole on his face and the other removing two feet of intestine). Since having the mole removed the cancer has spread. It is in the back of his neck, ribs, spine, liver, pelvis, shoulder blade and can now feel it in his legs. As of three days ago he can no longer walk. He's been doing radiation and starts chemo on the 23rd. He's 32 years old.

I have been praying and crying so much lately that I am drained. My Grandma is now in a bit of a remission (her cancer is currently not spreading which we are all very thankful for) and th the news of this. Kevin is on my Mom's side and neither of his parents families have had a history of cancer.

My cousin Jamie's fiance (Kevin's brother) is putting on a big fundraiser at her work to help them out with the financial part. I just feel very blessed that we have a family that's willing to do this type of thing for him. It really makes you appreciate the family you have a lot more.

Insanity!!

2008-03-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am going insane! My computer has been in for repairs for the last three and a half weeks!! Me without a computer is not a good thing. I am always on there (as most of you already know!! lol) and I am having a really hard time without it. I miss being able to go on and check out blogs, chat with family and friends, check my e-mail and most of all....do my banking. I live out in a small town, so it makes it so easy to pay my bills through internet banking. Telephone just takes forever and I don't have the patience for it.

So the company policy about repairs is a maximum of 60 days. It's now looking like I'll have to wait those full 60 days. If they can't fix it in that amount of time then I will be getting a new computer which is fine with me except for one thing. All of my pictures are on that computer!! I wasn't able to print all of them off before it quit working and now I'm scared that they are gone forever!!

I just really want to get back on here and be able to keep up with all of my blogging buddies. I hope to be up and running sometime soon and catch up on the millions of posts that I am missing out on!! Take care until then!!

Good and Bad

2008-02-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

I just found out that my aunt is now engaged!! I'm happy for her, but at the same time I'm a little confused. They've been together for over 15 years and just now they're wanting to get married?? Umm okay. But now they are rushing the wedding so my grandma can be there (she thinks positive doesn't she??) So the wedding is set for April 12th.

As for my Grandma, things aren't going as well as everyone hoped. She went for a bone scan a couple of weeks ago to see if the medication is helping slow down the cancer from spreading. It showed more shadowing, which means that it has spread some more. Not agressively though, so that's a good thing. She had to go for further testing and now we're awaiting those results. She goes this week to talk to the doctor, so hopefully she'll have more answers then.

Redneck Fishing??

2008-02-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went out ice fishing. It was a great day since it was +1C. When we got to the lake at noon, this is what we saw....

Isn't that hilarious?? We really thought it was. We were even happier that there was no one around to see us in there!! We didn't know of anyone that we could borrow an iceshack from, so we made do with our tent. It was runied last summer by mice, so we made it into a hut. It kept us so warm. The wind ended up being really strong, so we definitely needed it.

But lets start at the beginning. When we first got there the guys were going out first on the snowmobile to find a place to set up. My friend, Amber, and I ended up laughing so hard for about 10 minutes because they were struggling. The snow was so deep (past your knees) and the hill fairly steep that it just wasn't working.

And then when they were turning around to try a different angle, they tipped the sled with all of our stuff in it.

When we finally got to our spot and set up, we cut four holes in the bottom of the tent so we could fish inside. It was so warm in there that we didn't have to wear our jackets. Perfect. We ended up catching three fish that day. This was the best one...

But the craziest parts of the day were when we suddenly got freezing rain. They hurt when they hit you in the face!! This is me covered in it...

But the best part was ending with this sunset...

Book Meme

2008-02-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Paige for this one....

The game is to
* Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
* Open the book to page 123.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the next three sentences.
* Tag five people.

My book is "The Negotiator" by Dee Henderson

"Say that again," Dave asked quietly.

"Nathan Young."

Kate closed her eyes. The world had just become a much smaller place. She looked back at Dave and felt as if she had fallen down a spiralling hole. "So much for our Wednesday meeting with him."

No tags. Just have fun with it.

Bet You Didn't Know This!!

2008-02-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

So I was tagged in a meme by the Diva a little while ago, and I am finally doing it now! The goal is for me to tell you 7 things about me that you might not know already. So here it goes...

1. I can't stand wearing socks. Summer is the best time because then I never have to wear them! If I do wear socks they have to be the ankel ones due to them making my legs itchy. The only time you will see me wearing socks is when I have to go out. My kids are the same way. They'll go to the babysitters and the first thing they do is take off their socks.

2. I am ADDICTED to computer games! I just tried Go Go Gourmet and loved it!! But my favorite site would have to be pogo.com They have so many different games and is free to use!!!

3. I get an allergic reaction when I eat things that contain a lot of mayonaise. Something about it makes me break out in hives and I don't know what it is that does it. If I have a tiny amount I'm fine, but in salads and stuff that are really creamy from it makes me ill.

4. I love 5 pin bowling! This was my sport growing up and I miss it. I went to provincials four times with my league. My average was usually around 220, but would probably be alot less these days!! lol

5. I collect velvet paintings. Yes, those old ones that no one wants and I find in garage sales. Cam and I both love them. Mainly the water scene ones. I really want more and if I find more then I will just have to start switching them up throughout the year.

6. My feet have grown a size and a half since high school. The extra weight must be flattening them out!! lol I was a size 7 in high school and now wear about a 8 1/2 or 9. Crazy.

7. I would much rather have something salty for a snack than sweet. i like having chocolate and stuff every once in awhile, but when having a snack I would much rather have chips or popcorn. They are so much more satisfying than that sweetness.

Now since I am late in doing this, I am not tagging anyone. If you haven't done it yet then I would love to read it!!

A Whirl Wind of a Week

2008-02-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

This past week and a half has not been in my favor. Last weekend I went to my parents house for a few days to visit. Well, I went there Thursday night and had a low key evening. Friday everything went down hill. I had borrowed my in laws car to use for the weekend since we had people coming to look at our van. Well the keys to the car had been left on my parents kitchen table and two hours later they were gone. Great. What now? Mya is infamous for stealing keys and playing with them ( just a couple of days before that she helped me realize that the panic button on the van keys did indeed work!!) so now the hunt was on. There were four of us adults searching that house for the next three days with out any luck. There was not a single spot left unturned. We searched every shoe, drawer, vent, fishtank, coat we could think of!! Any bag that was left lying on the floor, all the toys and even the simple spots that could be thought of. We just could not find those keys!!

So this is the ironic thing. The Monday before I was out with some friends and my
mother-in-law and were talking about spare sets of keys. I happened to mention that I didn't have a spare set for my van. Right away I got a comment from my MIL saying that I should have one, blah, blah, blah. I know this, but I'm never in a store that does it! So when I lost the keys to their car I at least had the hope that they had a spare set that could be sent down to me to save my hide. But no. They didn't have a spare set. So I got that lecture when she doesn't have one either!! Grr!!

So on Monday morning we had to phone the local Ford dealership to find out if they could cut a key for us there. I had phoned right at 9am so I could get it done and go home. I gave the guys all the information (make and year) and they told me that it wouldn't be a problem to get a key cut. I just had to have the car towed there in order to do it, which was fine. So by 9:15 the tow truck was there ready to take the car for us. So Dad and I followed it up so we could be there for when it was done and to make sure we knew what was going on. As soon as we got there the car was put in the shop and ready to go. But that's where our luck seemed to end. The guy we were talking with (Cory) was new, VERY new!! Suddenly they can't cut they key because the codes to do it for that model are obsolete because it's over 10 years old!!! Why couldn't you tell me this BEFORE I had the car towed up here!?!?? Isn't that why I told you all of that information on the phone???? These kinds of questions came streaming out of Dad & I's mouths like there was no tomorrow. Seriously, how frustrating!!

So now the next step is to find a locksmith that can do it. If he can't then we have to get the whole ignition switched, which will take up to three weeks to get the part. The whole time we were talking to the locksmith, that Cory guy kept screwing up information. He would say the wrong make of car, forget to say that there were two different keys that needed to be cut, etc. So finally I just asked to talk to the guy and get things figured out. By 11:30 the locksmith came to look at the car and gave us the news that he could do it for us. Relief. But it would cost $140. Crap. But he got it done in an hour, and the first thing we did was get a spare set cut.

One thing that kept running through our minds was "as soon as we do this, they'll show up." But they still haven't.

Beautiful Prize!

2008-02-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

I just recently learned about a contest over at Opal's Vegan Momma. It's very simple! All you have to do is check out her post (linked above), check out this new designer's website and say which dress you like the best. It's a great way to see a new designers items, and let me tell you, there were a few that I really liked!! This is one of them...

Go check her out at www.mikarose.com

Sorrow

2008-02-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

This past week has gone by so fast and was such a blur. My friends dad passed away on January 31st. I had posted about her here. He had gone in to the hospital with pneumonia, but the next day was diagnosed with acute luekemia. He had underwent chemo with no improvement. By December the doctors told him that there was nothing they could do for him, so he went home ot be with his family. He was only 53 years old. So this past week I have been busy talking with Dana, and doing what I can to help support her. The funeral is on Friday, so I'll be going out of town to be there.

But I must say that the family is doing fairly well given the ircumstances. It's a very close family and they have tons of support from everyone they know. But no matter if you expect it or not, it's still a huge shock and I know it'll be hard for them to adjust these next few months. I'm just glad that they were able to be with him and that he's not suffering now.

Would You??

2008-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

This morning it was a freezing -35 C. I was debating on whether or not I should send Madison to school. The truck wouldn't start so I decided that if I could find her a ride then I would send her. So I phoned my neighbour since she drives her kids 75% of the time. Surprisingly she wasn't planning on driving her kids until I phoned (she'll drive them in -10 weather but not -35??), but she said she would drive her.

There were other kids walking to school today as well. We don't live far from the school, it's not quite a 10 minute walk.

Now what I want to know is, would you make/let your child walk to school in these temperatures? Or would you drive them/let them stay home?

Brr!!

2008-01-29T21:49:00.000-08:00

I am at the point where I really want and need January to be over. I am so sick of this ridiculously cold weather!! It was -50 celsius today and the schools were still open!! I still didn't send Madison to school. I wasn't about to make her walk or make the other two girls suffer by going out into that weather. It's not like they'd be doing much today anyways.

On Sunday we went to Cam's parents for supper. How stupid of us to forget that a blizzard was starting and didn't head for home until 10:30pm!! Oops. We weren't even going home in the same vehicle (he had to take his buddy's truck back the next day.)It was snowing and blowing so hard on the way home that visibilty was poor and 8" drifts were already forming on the grid roads. We weren't the only ones on the road either. The roads that we travel on are horrible to meet other cars on, especially when you can't see much. Everytime I saw headlights approaching I would cringe. One car missed the side of my van by a foot at the most. How ironic would it be if Cam got in an accident with that truck after his dad just finished fixing it for his buddy after hitting a deer? lol

I'm at the point that my mind is always running from being stuck indoors for way too long. I start thinking about things that should've been long ago forgotten, stupid things that don't deserve a second thought and things that can easily wait until later to think about. But no. My brain thinks that any thought should continue later when I'm in bed trying to sleep. Midnight and still not tired. It's going to be a long night.

Memories

2008-01-29T21:18:00.000-08:00

My memories of the past
Keep coming back to me.
Some of them I thought were dead,
Why can't they let me be?
Did I treat you like shit?
Or was it all you?
I just can't remember
What all we went through.
I don't feel like I did you wrong.
You probably think the same.
So why do I get the chills
Everytime I hear your name?
Is there a way to get past this point?
Is there a way to be friends?
I just don't know. What do we do?
Where does this insanity end???

Household Meme

2008-01-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

So I've been tagged by Paige to do this meme. Very simple, just post a couple of tips that other people could use. So I couldn't really think of anything much that didn't involve one of my most favorite things in the world....hairspray. So here are a couple tips that hairspray is awesome for (besides your hair!)

~ When wanting to dry out your flowers without killing them instantly, add about a half cup of hairspray (cheap brandstore) to the water. As the flowers take in the water they are also taking in the hairspray which helps keep them as is.

~ Spray hairspray on marker written walls or when you spill something on your clothes. The hairspray keeps the stain from settling. This is something I did fairly often when hairdressing. This is the only thing that kept my clothes stain free when doing colours.

Hope this helps! I know it has helped me so many times, especially with the markers!!

Welcome!!

2008-01-23T05:57:00.000-08:00

I have a new niece!!!!

Kaitlyn Marie was born this morning at 4:45am!! She was 8lbs 15oz.

I'm so excited!! I do so much better with girls than boys. For some reason I'm just so much more comfortable with them. I can't wait to go and see them! Lisa's doing well, which is really good to hear.

Oopsy!

2008-01-23T05:49:00.000-08:00

So can you guess who forgot to take pictures of the appetizers??? Cam!! No, it was me. I got a little busy preparing that I completely forgot!! So that means I will just have to make them again sometime soon!!

My Dad was in an accident on Tuesday. He was T-boned in the back end by a young highschool kid. He was too worried about his exam to realize that he ran a red light. He ended up missing it completely because of the accident anyways. I felt kinda sorry for him though. When Dad was on the phone with Kerry, she could hear his dad yelling at him in the background.

So now Dad has to deal with SGI and figure out what's going to happen to his car. Whether it will be fixed (they're having trouble with parts for the Impala's though) or if it will be written off. The sad thing is, they just bought this car a couple of months ago!! This is their first fairly new vehicle so he's upset about it.

But no one was hurt in the accident. May be some whiplash, but I'm just glad that there was nothing serious. I don't think I could handle my Dad in a hospital anytime soon.

In Shock

2008-01-23T05:42:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite actors has died. I'm still in shock about it. He is one actor that I loved to watch and didn't hurt my eyes either!! My all time favorite movies by him would have to be 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight's Tale and The Brothers Grimm.

The saddest thing that I find is his little girl. I cannot imagine what this two year old will go through. It's sad. I just wish them the best.

A Night Of Fun Ahead...

2008-01-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for tonight!! We're having some people over tonight to celebrate my birthday!! It's been awhile since we've entertained a group of friends (summer we usually just have a fire so it's just not the same!@). So far there are about 16 people coming over which means that I get to make a LOT of appetizers and snacks!!

This is one of my all time favorite things to do! I love making this kind of stuff!! Also, if I make it then I know that I can eat it (I have an allergy to mayonaise. Hives, lots and lots of hives!!). Whenver we're invited out I am always the one asking if I can bring something, especially to the Diva's.

So on the menu tonight are:

taco dip
melted cheesy pizza-y type dip
chicken croustades
pizza wonton thingy's
chocolate fundue w/ fruit and angel food cake

I think that's it. We'll have to see how adventurous I get once I start making this stuff!! I will try and take some pics to post on here of my food!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

What Are They Thinking??

2008-01-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

After reading Kaylee's post here... it brought up another issue that has been bothering me. I really don't understand social services around here. A friend of mine currently has three young girls with her that are in foster care. She has had them for about nine months by now, and could have them for a full year, which is a good thing.

Reently SS were looking into placing these girls back into the parents care. They were having overnight visits and suddenly started coming back with nightmares for the next couple of nights. My friend talked to SS about it and they claimed it was due to night terrors that kids tend to get at that age. If it were night terrors, why would it suddenly happen and always happen after their overnight visits? A little odd don't you think?

This mother is also bipolar. She refuses to take her meds. She beleives that there is nothing wrong with her. The oldest girl is 8 and is scared of going home. Shouldn't that be sounding an alarm??? The mother had to meet with a psychologist for one hour. One hour!! Anyone can lie to someone for one hour!! Since complaints have come up, they've been limited to supervised visits only.

The main thing is if they go back to the parents and the kids get taken away again, they will never be able to have their kids again. They will become permanently placed in foster care until they are 18. This also means that they have a very good chance at being seperated, which is very sad. But I don't beleive these people deserve their kids back. They were taken away in the first place because the mother tried to kill them. She was charged with three counts of attempted murder and was let off all three charges. I beleive that if you tried to kill your kids then you don't deserve them.

The Answer

2008-01-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

So I was persistant about finding an answer to how I suddenly became a business without me knowing. I did some more searching and ended up just going to our towns website and looked under businesses. Low and behold, that's where it's listed. So apparently I'm a business now!! I have no idea how my name was added and I phoned the town office and they had no idea. They also always check with people to make sure that they want to be added, so she was shocked that I didn't know. At least I have my answer now.

I'm Confused!!

2008-01-10T11:46:00.001-08:00

Earlier today I got a phone call from another town resident asking about how much a ladies haircut is. I know it sounds stupid for me to write about this, but just wait. The only time I get a call about doing hair is when someone I know refers me, and I usually know this is the case when the person says "I got your number from so and so and heard that you do hair." But this was not one of these calls. I never know what to say since I don't have an actual salon. Do I promote myself? Do I refer them? So I ended the call just telling her that I'm not a salon.

But this is not the first call I've had like this. I've already had close to ten. How do these people find my number? It's a small town number, so it can't be just by chance. Finally my curiousity got the better of me and I got out the phonebook. After five minutes of looking and not finding a thing, I phoned her back to find out how she came across my number (thank you call display!!). So it turns out that she found my number on the internet under "Family Hair Care" in our town. Now how can I be listed as a business on the internet when I'm not a business and never did anything of that sort??? I tried to find where she found it, but have had no luck at all. I looked under our phone company phone book search and I also Googled about a dozen different terms to try and find it. I found some other local salons, but nothing close to my number.

I just don't know how to explain this. I'm totally at a loss of how to find this information. I didn't want to really freak her out by bugging her more since she couldn't remember exactly how it came up. Bah. I'll be thinking about this all day now!

A Busy Night

2008-01-09T23:05:00.000-08:00

So today has been a busy day. My sister and two of my cousins are down. They all needed their hair done as well as some waxing done before leaving on their trip to Mexico. One thing about living close to the city is I end up being the one asked to drive them to the airport and a place to stay until then. I don't mind, but after a long evening of doing hair and having to take them their at 3:00am makes for a busy day.

I'm looking forward to this. Two of them have never even left this country and have only been on a plane once (if ever). So it'll be fun to see their excitement as they're ready to go.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

I always find the New Year hard. I find that when it comes I'm not usually ready to get back into the swing of things. Slowly my routine has started to come back and I'm finding myself on the computer more once again. I really enjoyed Christmas this year. My family came here for Christmas which meant no travelling for us this year. Cam was off from the 21st to the 2nd which I really enjoyed. Of course he had some of his own work to do, but we got a lot of family time in. We took the girls to the little sledding hill at the school and took turns on our crazy carpets. Mya had a lot of fun and even walked up the hill by herself everytime.

But one thing that is making it hard to get back into routine is the dreaded flu. It attacked me on Saturday, Madison on Sunday and Chloe today. Fun, fun, fun. I'm just hoping that it stops here.

I really want to post some more pictures, but until I clear some of the ones already on the computer, I can't load anymore on it.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year! I'm not one for resolutions, but maybe this year I might make a couple of small ones. Not sure yet.

Four Things

2007-12-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

Once again I have been tagged in a meme by Diva. So here it goes!!

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. hairdresser
2. waitress
3. delivery driver
4. babysitter

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Notebook.
2. Butterfly Effect
3. Treasure Planet
4. Chronicles of Narnia

Four places I have lived:
1. Prince Albert, SK
2. Saskatoon, SK
3. Osler
4. ummm, yeah. That's it.

Four TV Shows that I watch(ed):

1. House
2. Survivor
3. Prison Break
4. CSI.

Four places I have been:

1. Victoria
2. Thunderbay
3. Edmonton
4. Calgary

People who e-mail me (regularly):

1. Renee
2. Cam
3. Kerry
4. Facebook

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Pizza!!
2. Lasagna
3. Chicken Cordon Blue
4. Perogies and Farmer Sausage

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. In bed
2. shopping
3. anywhere hot
4. in the tub

Four friends I think will respond (tag, you're it!):

1. you
2. you
3. you
4. and.. let me see... You!!

again, i'm leaving the tagging up to you...there are so many memes right now a girl could get hurt!

Four Things I am looking forward to this year:

1. finishing my house (kitchen at least!!)
2. my birthday (and party of course!!)
3. Our big fishing trip!!
4. fishing, boating.

Now I Remember!!

2007-12-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight really made me remember how much I really hate cutting little boys hair!! There are some rare exceptions to the case where a boy will love having his hair cut and will sit very still in order to get a treat after. But this was not the case for me tonight when I cut my nephews hair. It wouldn't be so bad if I could just use the scissors the whole time. But no. They wanted him to have a ceasar cut, which means using the clippers on the back and sides. Well, I think we had to try this about five times before I could even come close!! Then to do little touch ups without him moving was next to impossible!! Ahh! Now I'm dreading seeing him on Sunday to see where I may have screwed up. Maybe this is one of the reasons I don't completely miss doing hair in a shop! lol

A Loss

2007-12-18T20:05:00.001-08:00

I'm am feeling a little down right now. I have just realized that I have lost the bracelet Cam gave me for Christmas three years ago. I have looked everywhere I can, and fear for the worst. I think it may be gone forever.

Today was a very busy day of shopping, so if it was lost at either of the malls that we were at, I'm sure it will never be on my wrist again. I feel bad that I lost it. But after so many years of wearing it, it became a part of me and I didn't notice that it was gone until I took off my sweater and went to see if it was sitting properly. So either I keep looking or find something to take my mind off of it. sigh.

Did You Know?

2007-12-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

For those people using this new comment format, I just found a way to view your old comments!! When posting, go to edit posts and it shows all of your previous comments!

Silent Night

2007-12-14T15:36:00.001-08:00

And now the story!!

The reason I posted this commercial ad is a couple of reasons. I love the babies and think that it is the cutest thing. But the main reason is that at any time during the day, this commercial comes on. All of a sudden you hear these little feet pounding on the floor, running as fast as they can to get into the living room to watch this commercial. Mya is so inlove with it that she needs to run into the room and watch it every time! Then she gets so excited yelling "Baby!! Baby!! hehe" Once it's over she runs back to wherever it was she was before and carries on like nothing happened. It is just so adorable. When I found it on youtube she was right beside me. I think I played it at least 5x just for her before I could get her to leave.

So that's my little story, a little delayed but it got here!

just in case...

2007-12-14T12:22:00.000-08:00

there's supposed to be a video loading on my blog that I haven't seen quite yet. But don't worry! I'll tell you the story behind it when I come back on and it's showed up!!

Suspicous Meme

2007-12-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

I was tagged quite awhile ago to do this meme, and I honestly forgot about it! Not completely, but just which meme it was that I was tagged in. So I started a search and finally found it, then I suddenly remembered! Now to think of what my suspicions might be!

~Cars parked in front of my house. I live across from a field and the only people who would park in front of my house would be visitors. So when someone parks there and doesn't come to the door, I sit peeking out my window, until I figure it out.

~My girls. What are they doing now? What are they hiding behind their backs?

~When a room goes quiet. Who did what to make it like that? Was it me? What are they thinking?

~An unknown number on my phone that I think I should know. I'll look it up usually to put my mind at rest.

~When something goes missing. Trying to pinpoint who might've taken it. where it would go.

~Cam's dreams. Every once in awhile he'll talk in his sleep. It's so funny when he does this!! But he never remembers his dreams! I've maybe heard about 15 of his dreams since we've been together because he doesn't remember them. How can it be possible not to remember??

We Belong Meme

2007-12-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

So I think I was tagged by Paige on this meme. I finally have enough time to sit down and do this. But since I don't own an Ipod it'll be done with our stereo.

The Rules:
1. Put your iTunes/ music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT(this is in capital letters, so it is very serious. No hiding your showtunes, folks!)

After you’ve answered all of the questions, tag 5 other people and then let them know they’ve been tagged to do the meme themselves!

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Eternal Flame-Atomic Kitten (I think)

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Runaway- The Corrs alright then

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Walk Like An Egyptian- The Bangles

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
So Good- Bratz (lol I have kids songs on my CD's too! Wide variety here!)

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Amanda- Boston what?? if you say so.

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Stronger- Brittney Spears nice

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Without You- Dixie Chicks

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Outragious- Brittney Spears

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Don't Cha- the Pussycat Dolls

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
Spooky Song- Lazy Town

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Stupid Girl- Garbage. But don't tell her please!

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Mr. Roboto- Styx lol

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Hot Child In The City- Pat Benetar

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You- Heart

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I'll Stand By You- The Pretenders

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Machine Head- Bush

17. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
So Happy Together- That 70's Show Cast

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Let Me Blow Your Mind- Eve w/ Gwen Stefani

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Cold As Ice- Foreigner

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Rocket Man- Elton John

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
When I See You Smile- Bad English

22. WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
We Belong- Pat Benetar

I can't believe how true some of these are! Especially some of the ones other people have posted! What a great meme. But I'm not tagging anyone. Most people have done this already, and others are probably sick of meme's.

Photo Post

2007-12-10T11:42:00.000-08:00

10 Good Things Meme

2007-12-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

So I was tagged by Teeni, so I am willingly doing it now. There's always room for a positive post!

All you have to do is list 10 things about the day that are good, then tag as many or as few people as you want. So ten good things for me today are:

1. The day started with a great start, a kiss AND a hug from my hubby.
2. I ate a good breakfast, Shreddies.
3. I got Madison out the door in time for school so she wouldn't be late. Some mornings she can make this a challange.
4. I can do some stuff on the computer since Chloe and Mya are playing really well.
5. Chloe found an old picture of Cam, Laura & I that I haven't seen in years.
6. I'm going to do some Christmas shopping.
7. I'm healthy. No headaches and nothing else to complain about.
8. My Mom & Sister phoned saying that they're in for making cookies tomorrow.
9. It's NOT snowing!! And it's a cloudless, beautiful blue sky day!
10. Seeing invites to parties. It may be a busy month, but at least I have people around me to do things with. Starting tomorrow!! Can't wait! Planning my appetizer already!!

Now here are the people I’d like to tag for this meme:

Kaylee
Paige
Laura

I think that you three will be able to find many positive things. No pressure on posting right away! Whenever you get the chance or are in need of a positive mood.

Anyone else interested in participating, feel free! But please leave me a comment so I can come check it out!

Kerry D.

2007-12-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Well, now what can I say about you? You have been on my mind alot lately. You are my only sister and I think we can both say that we never got along growing up. It always seemed like you were out to ruin my fun, telling me I wasn't allowed to have a party even though Mom & Dad had said it was okay. You never seemed like you wanted to be your own person, happy to follow the lead of others around you. But now you're finally showing who the real YOU is. You have lightened up alot and are actually making friends and having a social life of your own. I wish that you would find someone who truly makes you happy, but at the same time I feel like you need to grow up a bit more and do things on your own. Moving out on your own, away from Mom & Dad's would do you a world of good. I think it's something that you need to do in order to find yourself and some independence.

I want nieces and nephews, but not sure if that is in the cards for you. I see the way you are with my girls and it makes me sad to think about this. You are so happy when you are around kids, you just light up. I just hope that wherever your life takes you, that you'll be happy and have no regrets.

The Booze Test

2007-12-03T10:25:00.001-08:00

I am such a sucker for these things!! I had to try it after finding it here on Paige's blog. I am just not as informed on some of these drinks I guess. But it does give me a true rating...

63%SOCIAL DRINKER

Boston Dating

And So It Begins

2007-12-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the beginning of our Christmas festivities. It was my Christmas party with our Ladies Aide group from church. We got together at one of their houses for an hor d'ourves supper. Many people (husbands mainly) were worried about whether or not they would be able to get full off of that, but the women definitely brought enough to make sure that was possible. There was so much food there like ham and cheese puffs, salads, spring rolls, nachos and tortilla rolls. I completely forgot to take a picture of our spread though. But there were a lot of left overs and a lot of full people.

Altogether there were 25 of us there. Makes for a busy house. After supper we did a Chinese gift exchange, but with recycled gifts from home. I didn't do so well with drawing #2. I ended up with a puzzle that I can't use due to my girls. Cam also ended up with a puzzle but he gave it to his grandma. We ended the night with some games, everyone breaking off to find their favorites. I started out with Taboo, I have never played that game before!! My team won and we were so proud! Then came the ever popular Skip-bo. I am honestly getting sick of that game, but who am I to just sit around watching other people play? I like playing games, but it seems everytime that we're with Cam's family we play it. So I think I am in definite need of a break from it.

So from now until early January we are busy. So many things to do during this time of year. I just need to remember to take a break and sit down and relax. I tend to got so wound up during this time that I forget to do that.

Books

2007-11-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

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?

My Crappy Post Day

2007-11-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

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!

Officially Underway!!

2007-11-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

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???

Dana L.

2007-11-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

(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.

Cam meme, or is it really about us?

2007-11-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Mya

2007-11-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Christmas Trees

2007-11-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

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!!!

Peanut Blossoms Recipe

2007-11-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

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.

Picturesque Entry

2007-11-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

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.

Moving On Up

2007-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

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.

Over Half Way There!!

2007-11-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

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!

Today

2007-11-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

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.

Remembering My Fish

2007-11-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

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.

Remembering....

2007-11-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

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!!

Movie Review

2007-11-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

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!

Holy Crap!!! Ahhhh!!!!

2007-11-09T14:08:00.001-08:00

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!

2007-11-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

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...

My Grandma

2007-11-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Is It Too Late?

2007-11-07T06:40:00.000-08:00

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

Ok Go Treadmill Video

2007-11-06T10:20:00.001-08:00

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

True Beauty

2007-11-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

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.

Let It Snow!

2007-11-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

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

Who Are You??

2007-11-03T23:20:00.001-07:00

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

Steel Magnolias

2007-11-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Vehicles....Uhhh

2007-11-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

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!

My Night...

2007-11-01T21:05:00.001-07:00

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.

Taking a few days off

2007-10-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to flu and cold season!! My official welcome came a couple of days ago. With me trying to fight the illness for the last couple of days, waking up really stuffed up and with a sore throat, I woke up extremely early to three kids in my bedroom. Turns out that the Mya has been attacked by the flu bug. There we are, 4:30 in the morning dealing with a sick girl. Blah. It's now 11am and she's finally slowed down enough to sleep. Ahh, relief.

What I don't get is why you get the flu shot, but end up getting sick with the flu anways! She's the only one in our house that had the flu shot this year. So wy is she the only one in this house that got the flu? Kinda pointless don't ya think?

How Chloe Got Her Name...

2007-10-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

So when I was pregnant with Chloe, Cam & I were trying to pick out names. Our way of doing this was going through a book of names and writing down the ones we liked. Well as he was going through my list he had said "Well I like Isabelle better than Shlo". I just kinda sat there for a minute thinking Shlo?? Where did he get that name from? So I asked him, and he pointed to Chloe. How he got Shlo out of Chloe I have no idea since Ch never makes a shh sound!! Everyone found it hilarious, but Laura was the one who made it stick as a nickname.

Then in the past six months she started going by other names as well. One day her name was Jade (a Bratz name, but also her middle name), and the next day her name was Jasmine. Then as we started talking to Laura more on the computer Chloe decided that she didn't like being called Shlo. Of course Laura said that was too bad. By the time her birthday came around Chloe came to a conclusion that she should be called Shlo Jasmine. So that is now her name (besides Chloe of course!) that she wants to be called. She laughs when Laura calls her Shlo because then she thinks that her Auntie forgot her name!

For her birthday this year I decided to make her cake. I ended up making two so there would be enough for both families, and also one was chocolate and the other was white. I had decorated one and Laura did the other one for me. One was for Chloe and the other was for Shlo Jasmine.

So there is the story of Chloe's many names.

What Is It With Some People???

2007-10-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Seriously!! I just went for a walk to take my daughters to the babysitters (I'm supposed to be cleaning this afternoon. But in my defense I'm eating my lunch right now and venting!!). On my way home there were some people out walking their dog which was fine, of course that's not where I had the problem. The problem was when they stopped and let their dog crap on the road in front of someone's house!! I'm sorry but there's a field right across the street!! And to make matters worse, they just walked away without cleaning it up!! Couldn't even put it off to the side where people wouldn't step in it! Grrrr....

So I'm walking past them now, not saying anything, and the woman just looks and me and keeps on walking. It was a grown woman and a boy that looked like he should've been in school!! When they were just a little bit behind me I heard her say "I guess we should get a bag." Uhh, yeah!! Don't tell me that thought JUST crossed your mind! That did it for me and I just started walking faster and hurried home to vent on here. I just hope they actually go back and clean it up, but wouldn't be surprised if they didn't.

Simplicity

2007-10-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

So today Chloe got me back to thinking about the simple things and thoughts that we may be missing in our lives. Sometimes I feel that we are all too busy and always wanting the big things in life. How often do we want something simple? What sparked this train of thought was when Chloe was watching one of her tv shows. Suddenly she said "Mom I wish I could be in a bubble". The characters on tv were blowing bubbles and one of them ended up getting stuck inside one of them. Well she thought that was just the coolest thing ever! Screw the toys she had seen on tv, now she just wants to be inside a bubble!!

For me I always find myself wanting more. I need a new pair of pants, I need a spa day, a night out, etc... SO now I sit here and think about the simple things that I often want as well. A nice hot bath with candles lit, a quiet night with my husband watching a movie or playing a game, a day when my hubby is in one of his goofy/ticklish moods and will actually let down his guard and just laugh, to be able to go out fishing and just enjoy the beauty around me. I would be so happy to be able to do these things more often rather than get caught up with the busyness of life. Instead I find myself sitting at home and wanting a night out, go out for supper AND a movie, do some travelling, etc... I just want to try to add a couple simple things to my weekly routine. If I could do that then it would be nice.

I Hope You Know...

2007-10-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

Sitting here thinking of you,
And everything that we've been through.
Being blessed with our love,
Like a gift from above.
We have our problem slike all people do,
But it always comes down to me and you.
You give me confidence that I can do anything,
You have no idea the joy that you bring.
You give meaning to my life,
I was so proud to become your wife.
You took my daughter in as your own,
As if she were a seed that you yourself had sewn.
You love her like she were "ours"
You'll spend time with her for hours.
You have no idea how much it really means to me,
For her to be as happy as can be.
These are the things that make me love you so,
And I hope one day you will truely know....

My Darling Daughter

2007-10-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Due to the preschool being full in our town, I have been trying to teach my four year old daughter, Chloe, some basics that she'll need for preschool. She has started to learn how to write her name (which is going much better than I thought!), holding a pencil properly, coloring, crafts and cutting properly with scissors. So on Friday I bought her a brand new pair of scissors just for her.

She was so proud of new brand new scissors and was willing to cut anything I asked. But then we decided to take a break until after supper. It was as I was getting ready to go get it (we splurged on lasagna) that I noticed something was a little bit different about her. This is where my hairdressing instincts kicked in. Right away I noticed her hair, and how she had cut it on both sides!! I was so mad!! This isn't the first time she cut her hair (the first time her hair was dirty, and we just about had it grown out!!), so this made it a little worse. Needless to say that after only having her scissors for half a day, they were quickly taken away.

After I had calmed down a bit more, I talked to Cam about it and we decided that she had to get her hair cut short. She had given herself a mullet that I just couldn't stand to look at. Here are some visuals for you!

So then came the time to tell her what would happen. She was furious!! She was freaking out so hard that I couldn't even get close to her hair!! She had both hands gripped to her hair in the back that if I pulled on her arms she would've ripped out some hair! Finally I took her aside and talked to her about it. She was scared that I was going to cut her hair as short as Mya's...

So I explained that it wouldn't be that short and showed her how much would be taken off,etc... She was actually excited once she understood. So this is the end result...

I have no idea how she can pull off any style (except mullets!!) but she does! It makes me jealous! But she loves her hair now. She's very happy about it and so am I. I'm also happy to see that some of her curl is coming back. This is definitely a time that I am glad to be a hairdresser!!

Bring On The Snow!!

2007-10-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

So today is a very blah day for me. Fall is really making itself at home. Today I went to go do my MIL's hair and while there it really started to rain. But Ever so slowly little flakes of snow started making their way to the ground. Eventually it was a nice mix of the stuff, along with sleet. I love winter, but I don't like how wet it makes everything when this weather first comes around. I love nice light snow falls and light rain showers, just not together.

Today was also the start of an afterschool program in our town. It's such a good thing. Kids from ages 6-12 can go there from 3:30pm-6:00pm Tuesdays and Thursdays and get help with their homework, make crafts, play some games or sports, etc... They provide a healthy snack for all who go to help them get through until supper time. And the best thing about this is that it's FREE!!! There are so many kids in this town that go home to an empty house that aren't even of age to do that. I just really hope that these parents take advantage of this program. But of course there had to be a problem right? So I had promised that I would take Madison and her friend Madison (it gets very confusing!! They're both Madison H's as well!!) to this thing. Well I didn't know that it would be raining/snowing today!!! I also didn't know that I wouldn't have a vehicle available so I could drive them either!! So here I am, walking the two blocks to the youth center, with four little girls with broken umbrellas, jumping over puddles in the rain!! It must've looked pretty funny. We had a good walk and I am very thankful that we don't live too far from there!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weather and the cold season!! I'm tryign to avoid the colds, but have a feeling that it'll catch up to me. Ugh.

And did I mention that my glasses broke again today?? Yeah, the arm came right off!! Great! Good thing I got a fresh supply of contacts five days ago!! lol

Is it really just us???

2007-10-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

So this is a much needed vent post. I bet Laura is already laughing because she knows what it's about!!

So we were at the in-laws for our Thanksgiving meal today. I had got there about three hours before everyone else so the kids could play and so I could help out a bit with supper like I usually do. Now don't get me wrong here. I like doing this. By the time supper came around, people were late (which was fine), people are busy doing their own thing, kids are cranky (or getting hurt which I'll post about tomorrow) and I am starting to get tired. Finally supper gets underway. By this time I am getting pretty hungry. Just hurry up and let me eat already!!! But the meal was worth waiting for. Turkey and the works!! Yum. But it's what happened after supper that's got me all worked up. This happens every time!! Everyone is so happy to come over for a meal, but no one ever is willing to help out!! Why is this?? Seriously!! Is it that hard to help clear the table an dput a few things away???? There are 10 adults!! But it always seems to be the same people helping out. There's Mom-in-law, myself and Laura mainly that get off our butts to help out so we can enjoy some dessert. Cam will help out and so will Brad, but no one else seems to think that they should even lift a finger to help out. By this time I'm getting a little grouchy because it happens all of the time. So we finally get most of the things cleared and of course it's up to us to get the desserts ready. But heaven forbid that they actually have to get off their butts and serve themselves!! I noticed that not as many seconds happened because of this. Then of course I'm sitting down and enjoying it and my tea when our niece comes in and says that Mya is gettin a little smelly, so I tell Cam to go change her. Well this became a little fight (hehe) and he ended up going to change her. Well, I couldn't believe the reactions!! My M-I-L said "Well why don't you go help him?" I said no, he could do it himself (seriously, how often do I get help changing her??? not often at all!! And this was my time to sit down for a bit!) Then his eldest brother had to pipe in over other comments. Now, I have enough trouble with this guy and his snide remarks most of the time, but today he just pissed me off at the wrong time. I can't remember EXACTLY what he said, but it was something along these lines "Well there isn't a reason why you can't go help him" (said in that voice that just ticks me off). That was the last straw. Here I am already pissed off because there's more stuff to be done and no one was moving and I wasn't about to be the first to jump at it. THen he makes this comment and until then I was trying to bite my tongue. Suddenly my mouth flew open and I couldn't stop the words that were coming out of my mouth. I think it was something along the lines of "Well there isn't a reason why you can just sit here and not help with anything!!" I couldn't believe that actually came out of my mouth. I was in shock!! I was glad that it finally came out (it's been brewing in there for YEARS!!!) and wasn't quite sure whether or not I would get a bunvh of nasty glares or not. But I was even more shocked by the response!! All of a sudden I hear a "Thank You!!" and look over to see Laura trying not to laugh and giving me a wink. I really didn't care if I would have gotten everyone pissed off of me or not, it just needed to be said. Damn I felt good after that!! It ws amazing that after I got up and started cleaning up again that there were a couple new hands helping out in the kitchen!! All I know is that's one of the first times that I've ever been able to shut him up and get a little help in return.

But I'm not going to get too excited for when our next function comes around. I would like to say that I'm just going to sit on my butt and let someone else do the work, but that would be a lie. Nothing would ever get done that way, unless M-I-L did it all herself. Sigh.

So tell me, does this seriously only happen to us?? Is there any hope for the future?? Whatever may come, I feel very proud of myself and feel much better after venting.

More About Me....#2

2007-10-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

So I just took this little 41 (quick) question quiz that tells me some things about myself. It was actually pretty acurate! If you'd like to see my results or try it for yourself it's just on the right side of my blog under the same heading. Enjoy!!

My Halloween Costume??

2007-10-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

So, I got this from Paige's site. So I thought I'd give it a try. But I think at this point in my life this costume would only make an appearance in the bedroom!!

Your Halloween Costume Should Be

A Sexy Bunny

What Should You Be For Halloween?

Fear

2007-10-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was already so afraid
That this silly thing should come
It has entered my home
No warning or opinion about it.
I fear that I will lose my husband to it.
It's already taking control
What is there for me to do??
I could handle it occasionally,
But seriously!! This is rediculous!!!!
This is supposed to be our time!!
Damn free fishing network!!!
I will never forgive you for taking over my husband!!

Thankfulness

2007-10-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Thankful meme...thank you Laura!!

it's very simple: The purpose is to list 6-8 things that you are thankful for then tag 5 others to list what they’re thankful for.

So here it goes in no certain order!

1. Family. I have to be thankful for my family. I was blessed with a very loving husband, wonderful kids (90% of the time!) and a caring family (both mine and in-laws). I love being around family, there is no greater feeling. Without them I would be comepletely lost.

2. Games. Whether it's bord games, card games or some kind of system I love them all for the entertainment they bring me and my family!! They're such a wonderful way to get together, to get to know ech other better or just quality time together.

3. Freedom. For this I am truly thankful. The freedom to write, sing, laugh. The freedom of being at home with my girls and not having to worry about working. The freedom to be me.

4. My hair. I love, love, love my hair!! I love how I can change it to how I'm feeling. How just changing your hair cna make you look like a totally different person. I love how you can change your color, cut or style and not worry about if you're stuck with that look forever. I love how forgiving hair is! Screw it up, hey wear a hat!! It'll grow back!!

5. Partylite. I am grateful for them to give me the opportunity to work for them. I love that I work on my schedule. That I can offer people wonderful products for next to nothing!! I love that I can get awesome smelling candles for cheap! I am thankful to be able to stay home with my girls and still earn an income working only a couple of hours a week or however often I choose to work.

6. Books. I am thankful for all books. They help you bond with your children, learn new things, visit different worlds, etc.. It's amazing how reading a good book can ease my stress and just relax me. I am very thankful to all that write!!

7. Phones. I would be lost without my phone. It allows me to be able to talk to my family and friends without having to be with them all of the time. To be able to get a phone call to know how people are doing, if Cam's going to be late, whatever the reason. Just to have that line of communication is a life saver.

The "Amazing Race" weekend

2007-10-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

So this past Saturday Cam & I participated in a fundraiser in our town for minor ball. It was the "Amazing Race" followed by supper and a dance. The race ended up being a lot of fun and I'm very glad that we decided to do it!! There were a series of events that we had to do. We ended up driving all around our great rural areas and did some things we would never do otherwise. We were in teams of four and it depended on the activity if only one or more people were involved. Here are some of our events..

Our first event was peddling these Dino Cars around a 400m track. The boys were dead tired by the time they finished, but we ended up passing the team in front of us because of them!!

Another event involved Cam throwing this stick to knock off a pumpkin sitting on a fence. It took a couple tries, with two of us retrieving his sticks (one guy got hit in the eye on a bounce!! He looked rough come the dance!!) and trying to throw the
back to him without nailing on-lookers!!

We also had to choose one person to participate in this event. They then had to choose between a creamy delight or crammed in a can. Karen had to do this one due to everyone having to equally participate. Turns out the can one was eating TWO cans of sardines!! She couldn't do creamy delight due to a chocolate allergy (you had to eat a whole chocolate pie!!).

Then you had to pick two people who had to decide between up,up up or dig for something small. They chose up up up, otherwise they'd have to dig in a gravel pile for some colored rocks. This was their challenge....

Then a puzzle that ended up spelling eye of the needle...

Then came other events like sewing a pillow together, filling a wheel barrow fromt he river with two cups then filling a barrel to a certain point. I think it was harder running back up the hill from the river than doing the actual task!! lol Then there was one about road signs.

The very last task was hitting baseballs from a batting machine. Cam gladly took on this task and made his 3 hits in only 4 pitches!!! So much pride in my hubby!!

We had so much fun doing the race that it made up for the supper and dance. In the end we placed 7th out of 16 teams. Every team was so close that placings came down to seconds. We were only 4 minutes off of first place!! Gives us more determination for next year!! You can count on us doing it again!!

SCATTEGORIES...

2007-09-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name:
Melanie

Famous Artist/Band/Musician:
My Chemical Romance

4 letter word:
Miss

Vehicle:
Monte Carlo

TV Show:
Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids (lol couldn't think of a better one!!)

City:
Montreal

Boy Name:
Mason

Girl Name:
Madison or Mya would work well!!

Alcoholic drink:
Muff Diver

Occupation:
Mechanic

Flower:
Marigold

Something you wear:
Makeup

Something you do:
Make Love

Something that you like:
Music

Celebrity:
Melanie Griffith

Food:
Maccaroni

something found in a kitchen:
microwave

Reason for Being Late:
Missed the bus.

Cartoon Character:
Mickey Mouse

Now you can choose whether or not you want to join in this meme, but let me know if you do!!

Routine

2007-09-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

So I'm in a crappy mood today. Actually the last few days have been like this. I know that I'm in a slump, but just not exactly sure what I can do to get out of it. I'm getting to the point where it's always the same routine and it is getting extremel boring. Who really wants to do the same thing all day every day?? It'd be nice if preschool would start for Chloe, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen for a couple more weeks yet.

Partylite should start picking up more with the holiday season just around the corner. That's good because I need a night off. But what can I do during the day? What is there that can possibly add a little spice to my routine? I'd love to go visiting, but everyone I would want to visit would be at work. So there has to be something that will help with the fall season closing in...

Hair

2007-09-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Since there were some comments about my hair, I figured I'd post about it. Hair is a huge deal to me, well it should be since it's my career choice!! So this is what my hair was like....

But this is what we did in just one morning....

For over nine years I've had some type of blonde in my hair, whether it was totally blonde, or just hi-lites. So it was definitely time for a change! I'm very glad that I did it. But never once did I think that there would be black in my hair, let alone purple!! But I'm loving it, for now anyways...

My Top 5 Celebs...

2007-09-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know this is sad, but I really had to think about this list!! It started with Kristin, but Laura turned it into a meme. So how can I not contribute???

Top 5 Fuckable Celebs....

1. Matthew Mcconaughey. He just has the most beautiful features and I love him in movies, especially How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch.

2. Heath Ledger. Something about the way he talks...mmmmm. And the eyes

3. Ryan Gosling. It all started with Breaker High, then it took over in the Notebook. And being Canadian doesn't hurt either!

4. Owen Wilson. Hilarious in just about every movie he's in. Laughter is a huge thing for me. Could be an adventurous night!! lol

5. Vince Vaughn. This is kinda a tag team effect with #4. Them together is HOT! Imagine a nice tall man, strong hands.....nice.

Fade...

2007-09-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Sitting here thinking of you,
Reminiscing what we went through.
Wondering if you'd ever forget,
Where and when we first met.
You were like my other half,
Never hesitating to make me laugh.
It's amazing how our friendship would grow,
Meeting people that I didn't know.
Whatever happened, you were always kind.
I always wonder "do I ever cross you mind?"
I always think that people won't remember me,
Like I was just some old memory.
Now I'm standing back, trying to hide in the shade
Please don't let the memory of me fade...

Just One Of Those Days

2007-09-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have a day when you want to do something but don't know what to do? I feel like I've had too many of these lately. My life is starting to feel a little too routine, and I think a minor change may be needed. I have a couple of plans in the works, but I have some work to do in order to get there.

First things first. I want to get in shape. I was talking with Audrey (the secretary at Cam's work) last week and she wanted to join our local gym. There's a special on right now that if you join with a friend for a year it's $25/month. There is no sign up fee and I love going to this gym. So I told her to give me a call if she decided to join. (I was a member for just over a month when my vehicle decided it wanted to go to the graveyard...so that ended that. With no vehicle of my own until a month ago limited my life) We talked about this gym when I originally joined, but she never did join. So I was very doubtful that she would call. But lo and behold I got a call from her today!!! Shocked?? Um yeah. I thought it was Cam calling, but it wasn't. So Audrey and I are going to the gym tonight to sign our lives away!! lol I am very excited. I love going to this gym and with the rate, why not? I am motivated to do this and don't need someone to hold my hand to do it.Yay!!

The other thing is my side job. As you know, my main job is my family. They come first. But on the side I sell Partylite. This is something I love. I LOVE candles!! I am obsessed!! So what I really want to do is start booking more shows and get more active in it. I also want to move up in the business by becoming a leader. That is my new goal. I want to offer this opportunity to other people who want free stuff. I want to be able to get more free stuff myself and earn a higher income by getting other people to sign up. How great would that be? It gives me a chance to get out of the house and be able to socialize with people about something that I love to do.

So these are a couple of my goals for the next couple months. I am so excited about both of them, and am determined to get at least a good start on them.