The Chronicles of Kelsey

House Haul

2011-03-21T08:49:00.002-06:00

House Overhaul, that is.

I recently had 12 days off of work. While my birthday fell right smack in the middle and amongst all the parties, celebrations, radio interviews and news casts, I managed to find the time to remodel(ish) two of our 3 bathrooms. I repainted the master and the main bathrooms. We installed/are installing new towel bars, toilet papers holders, shower curtain rods, and general accessories. I've gotta say- a new coat of paint and some fluffing can do wonders for a slightly dated decor.

Our house is by no means "old," having just been built in 2003, but the owners went with a lot of older finishings because they themselves were a couple of old birds. We have cherrywood cabinets and accents everywhere, but we're working with it rather than trying to refinish everything and potentially ruin very nice wood. The hardware was brass. Brass, brass, brass. Brass everywhere. Door knobs, cabinet pulls and knobs, light fixtures, window trim, fire place frame....you name it. If it's made of metal, it's brass in our house.

When we moved in last April, I don't think we were there two days before I was dragging Scott downtown to buy new hardware. We've replaced all the doorknobs and cabinet pulls, started painting and are also working towards the lighting. FYI- I am not good at picking out lights. I don't know what it is, but I cannot tell what goes together and what doesn't. I have hired Scott to change a number of the current fixtures into pot lights, as well as install pot lights in all the rooms that don't have them. He is beyond thrilled about this. Pot lights are really fun to install and are even more awesome to do if you have vaulted ceilings (we do!) We will be installing pendant lights above the island in the kitchen, and replacing a few of our brass and crystal-like chandeliers.

After we finish painting the entire house (fun!) we will be replacing all the vinyl flooring, doing a glass tile backsplash in the kitchen and possibly the bathrooms, and purchasing new appliances and a few pieces of furniture. A good thing about our kitchen appliances is that they are all in awesome condition and work well so we should be able to sell them on Kijiji for a decent price and use the money towards new stuff.

It is by no means a "major renovation" but it's time consuming and stressful enough for us. I do not envy people who buy fixer-uppers, nor will I ever be one of those people if I am still working full time. I don't know about you, I don't think we're really any exception to the rule, but anytime Scott and I try to do stuff like this- renovate, paint, move furniture, yardwork, cook dinner, do laundry, watch TV, there's bickering. We weren't 15 minutes into painting yesterday when he said "You have been all over me since we started this! Lay off, would ya?" I like to make sure people are doing things my way and when Scott said we didn't need any painter's tape because he "got really good at cutting and edging" more than two years ago when we got the townhouse, I did not believe him.

He proved me wrong yesterday. He is really quite good. I think as a token of my gratitude I will buy him a really nice paintbrush. I haaaaaate precision painting so I love him big time for doing all the cutting in and edging.

I'm the roller girl, and it suits me just fine.

Hot or Not?

2011-02-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Being the only girl on a 45+ person crew, I'm exposed to a pretty ridiculous amount of guy talk. I can't really complain- It's typically hilarious and I feel it gives me one up on Scott should we need to go toe-to-toe on anything. Lately we've been playing a casual game of "Hot or Not?" Someone's name comes up and the boys weigh in. Celebrities, camp workers, Sunshine Girls, the gate girl- there's no limit on the ladies we evaluate. I'm always asked for my opinion as I have no reservations regarding the "hotness" level of my fellow ladies.

Below I will post some pics of our most recent specimens and I'd love to hear your guys' opinions- Hot or Not? Are the guys out here losing their marbles from living in camp? Am I following suit? Reaffirm my sanity, and please remember that we have evaluated the women based on these actual photos (I don't want you to tell me if Lindsay Lohan was/could be hot, I want you to tell me if you think her cracked-out mug shot that I've just posted gets your mojo going).

#1- Bald Britney Spears

#2- Hayley Williams- Paramore

#3- Jessica King- probably a porn star by now

#4- Kat Von D

#5- Ke$ha- in dirty mode only

#6- Pretty Katy Perry

#7- Miranda Lambert

#8- Mug Shot Lindsay Lohan

#9- Zooey Deschanel

#10- Rihanna

#11- Maria Brink- In This Moment

#12- Thandie Newton

#13- Angela Gossow, Arch Enemy

#14- Miley Cyrus

#15- Lady Gaga sans minipenis rumour

#16- Pink

My Motive My Inspiration My Drive

2011-02-08T18:18:00.004-07:00

My motivation is strong when it shows up. Once I set my mind and heart on something, I don't want to let it go. I have pretty damn good will power and I find inspiration in the strangest forms.

There is a man I see almost daily. This man is old, yet probably much younger than he looks. He's overweight. He's out of shape. He gets winded from walking to his seat and from getting back up. His movements are restricted. Simple tasks are a heavy burden. He's always sick. He never looks awake or energized.

I never want to feel that way. That is why I wanna Crossfit.

That's Smarts

2011-02-02T18:14:00.001-07:00

Today someone called me fat for the very first time in my life. Today someone referred to me as a whale. Today was the first time I'd ever heard words spoken like that with a true intent to hurt.

Who? Irrelevant. Why? I don't even know where I'd begin with this one.

But believe one thing- No one, will ever call me fat again.

The Burpee, The Killer

2011-02-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to do 100 Burpees as fast as I possibly could last week for one of my WOD's.

I still haven't done it.

The burpee is brutal. I can do like 9 of them before I'm gassed and falling over. The key is to do this WOD as fast as possible, but also without sacrificing form, which proves trying when attempting a hundred of these f*cking movements.

I promised myself I'd do it on Monday, but I ended up steamcleaning my house and cooking and didn't get around to it. "I will do it tonight" I said to Lars yesterday when he asked if anyone had any times to post on CrossFit Villa. I didn't do it last night either. I got home from work, helped finish dinner, ate, and then Scott and I had a some paperwork stuff to do. Before I knew it it was 10pm and bedtime.

I WILL do this tonight. Even if it kills me.

I'd like to be alive to see the Packers win the Superbowl, but I must do this tonight.

Rage

2011-01-23T17:45:00.001-07:00

Nothing beats a BBQ lunch, being drawn as a winner for a Heli trip, and then getting to go home early on a Sunday when you've got what shift workers call "a case of the Sundays."

I left my office a couple hours early today, as I typically do on Sundays when the boss man says skedaddle, and was headed home to relax and watch football with my boys.

Spirits were high, music cranked up, cruise control set at safe, and then I neared town. The town of horrible drivers, worse-than-drivers-in-Richmond drivers, make-me-scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs drivers. Singing stops, rage sets in. The drivers in this town are worse than I could ever lead you to believe with simple words. It's one of those things you have to see to believe.

By the time I get close to home, I'm ready to actually ram people off the road. If you aren't competent to stop at a red light, do the speed limit, use a 4-way, merge rather than stop, utilize your signal light, stay in your own lane, or keep going when the light is green... GET OFF THE FRICKING ROAD!

I need a drink.

Sometimes Being Alone Is Better

2011-01-21T08:54:00.003-07:00

Yesterday's WOD was a prime example as to why I am not working out or doing CrossFit at the gym- I looked like a ruh-tard on several occasions.

For starters, the warm-up was to be a handstand (against the wall) and it took me for-friggin-ever to actually get up and hold it there. Don't underestimate how this looked- here's me, hands on the floor, kicking up, falling down, kicking up, grunting, falling down... for several minutes and probably a hundred different attempts at a WALL handstand. I was gassed by the time I actually got up and started timing how long I could hold it. After 17 seconds my arms gave out and I collapsed in a shaking heap, almost breaking my neck. I went upstairs after to tell Scott how awful the handstand went and he told me I shoulda just tried to do one against the wall for my first time. Ohhhhhh..........

Then the actual WOD. 10 Burpees, 20 Air Squats, 30 Sit-ups, 3 rounds of each to be timed. I had rested between the "handstand" and the WOD so the 1st round was good. I felt strong and I felt like I could make good time. Then Burpee #4 on the next round came and I was exhausted. My legs and arms were burning, I could have collapsed on the floor and probably died. However, I kept hearing the words "this is a competition" and "go big, big results" and I pushed on. I am doing this for a reason after-all, and I may as well make my time spent worth it. A little pain, a little gain but with bigger pain comes bigger gains.

My form got sloppy and I imagine my burpees looked like a handy wiggly around on the floor, but I tried my hardest to slow down and concentrate on doing the proper movements, worrying less about my overall time.

I completed all 3 rounds in less time than I anticipated, so I have to be pleased about that.

And don't think this handstand competition ends here.

It's My Blog So I'll Post What I Want To!

2011-01-20T08:58:00.004-07:00

And today I want to share a recipe that my friend Tiff passed along.

Since I've started on this Paleo way of eating, I've found breakfast to be the only real challenge as I usually eat oatmeal every morning and my options are limited when I'm at work- I can only eat what I bring, there are no other options out in the sticks.

Tiff told me about this recipe, which she found on www.thatsfit.ca, and I am going to try it out tomorrow. It sounds delicious, and if you're into Pumpkin Spice and healthy eating you should try the following:
1/2 can (400mL) organic coconut milk

1 cup almond milk
1/4 organic pumpkin puree
Half a frozen banana
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
If you don't have vanilla flavoured protein powder then add 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Add water to your desired consistency.

Blend and enjoy!

Lunch

2011-01-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Beginner WOD Complete

2011-01-18T22:11:00.002-07:00

I'm not gonna post all my times, reps, etc., from my workouts on here because I do that in CrossFit Villa and no one else would really care, but I'm going to try and post after every WOD and tell you how I'm feeling, what I'm getting better at, and what differences I can see/feel from the workouts.

Tonight I feel tired. It's killing me to type because my arms are so heavy, and my lungs are still burning. Oh, and my lungs? I'm hacking one up tonight fo' sho'.

I also feel good. I feel like I'm onto something. And while I know I'm extremely weak right now, I'm excited about getting stronger.

That's all my limbs and digits can handle for tonight so sweet dreams, ya'll!

Love always,

Future Hulk-ette

Day 1

2011-01-17T09:57:00.001-07:00

Day 1 of CrossFit and my "Whole30"* eating plan and I've failed.

I woke up rather hungry and while I wait for a pkg of deer sausage to thaw I decided to eat the rest of Scott's leftover Edamame from yesterday.

Thinking I was snackin' on a good veggie choice, Edamame, I clearly overlooked the remaining part of the title- Edamame BEAN. Beans are legumes, and are not considered Paleo (the style of eating I'm going to follow for a month) and after more research I've actually discovered that eating soy beans such as Edamame, are not good for you and are on the border of being BAD for you.

Oh well, I say. I'm not going to let my first screw-up blow me off the track and will just have to keep educating myself.

Maybe a quick trip to the grocery store with a clearly marked "approved foods" list.

Tonight, I attempt my first WOD- a series of exercises that are sure to kill me. Starting with a 400m sprint while carrying a medicine ball, and then the most sit-ups I can do in a minute, burpees in a minute, pushups in a minute, dips, etc.. You get the idea.

Wish me luck.

*I'm calling the next month of my life, The Whole30. Where I will train Crossfit and only eat whole foods.

Crossfit? Why not? I've Always Loved To Exercise.......

2011-01-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna be a CrossFitter. If you don't know what that is, you should Google it. CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program- an intense one. Think along the lines of P90X, but a bit different.

CrossFit centres seem to have popped up in every major city, but have yet to reach the metropolis known as Fort McMurray. It's fine by me, I don't want to give this a go in front of several mid-20 to late 40yr old Roid Monkeys. So I'm going to be doing this at home after I buy a few essential pieces of CrossFit gear- Kettlebell, Medicine Ball, Skipping Rope, Pull-up Bar, etc.

I will be lead by my friend Lars, who has been doing CrossFit for nearly two years and it has changed his life entirely. He is in better shape than anyone I have ever seen, and it's become a deeply rooted passion of his. He says my "spunk" is what will make me successful at CrossFit, and I pray he's right. I have enormous respect for this guy- an extremely successful business owner, a proud father, a great husband, and a ridiculously good CrossFitter......I can't imagine ever hating him, but figure I probably will over the course of this adventure. Lars, I should probably thank you in advance cause I'm gonna be cursing you within a few days.

My sister asks last night- "Why CrossFit? You hate to exercise." She's not wrong. I do not enjoy going to the gym and working out at all. I get so bored, and for some reason I'm easily discouraged. Lanette asked me to do P90X before but I have absolutely no interest in even trying. I'm not sure why CrossFit intrigues me the way it does, but I'm grabbing hold and running with it. I am sick of being out of shape, I've finally reached my breaking point, and with someone like Lars pushing and leading, I think I can actually do it.

I hope one day I can post a similar series of pictures but in the meantime just wish me good luck, cause I'm gonna need it.

Lotsa Love,

Scared & Outta Shape.

~ Happy Holidays 2010 ~

2010-12-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Christmas Is Coming & Our Butts Are Getting Fat

2010-12-12T10:52:00.005-07:00

I make a Christmas Wish List every single year. It's typically in e-mail form, complete with links to the exact item, prices, and where to find it. I like to take the guess work out of the actual purchasing part of gift giving (to eliminate error) but I also like to make the list long and diverse enough so I won't know exactly what I'm getting every year (I love surprises!).

There's been a few problems with my method in previous years- A) My mom demands a list yet I typically never get anything that's actually on it. B) I put things like vehicles and Macbooks and large sums of money among the realistic items. C) My Dad isn't exactly Internet savvy. D) The "links" don't really help when Mom just prints off the e-mail.

I'm taking a new approach this year so please allow me to introduce to you, My Christmas Wish List, in 20 pictures or less, in no particular order!

***POST EDIT***Online shopping will do that to a girl, that's why an electronic version of your Christmas Wishlist is tops.

Earth Tibetan Socks- because I LOVE them.

The cutest headphones I think I've ever seen. Kelsey likey.

Every girl in the world should have one of these. Contains 25 must-haves: Folding Hair Brush with Mirror, Hair Spray, Clear Elastics, Earring Backs, Hand Lotion, Nail Clipper, Emery Board, Clear Nail Polish, Nail Polish Remover, Mending Kit, Safety Pin, Double-Sided Tape, Lint Remover, Shoe Shine Towelettes, Stain Remover, Static Remover, Breath Freshener, Lip Balm, Dental Floss, Pain Reliever, Deodorant Towelettes, Tampon, Adhesive Bandages, Facial Tissues, and Blotting Tissues.

Penguin Slippers from snookislippers.com Why? Because they're slippers and they're penguins.

Women's Nixon Watch- ain't she a beauty?

Let's face it, everyone is friggin engaged and I've got some travelling to do in the next two/three years. Every girl should have a snazzy Passport cover, and I figured it may as well match my handbags.

I would like these in electronic form, you'll see why further down the list.

Self explanatory.....it'll be a tick off the 'ol Bucket List (Yes, seeing Alan Jackson is on my Bucket List).

Either of these will do the job but even I'm having a hard time deciding which I'd like more.

Ahhhh, the Kindle. How I've been lusting over you for months now.......please show up under my tree on December 25th pre-loaded with the above mentioned books.

Nintendo DS Metallic Rose- Scott's PS3 cost me $400. I think I'm cutting him some slack on this one.

I just need one, and this is too cute!

The Snowblossom Scarf- she'll look lovely paired up with Canada Goose.

The Tiffany bracelet- a modern twist on your typical Tennis bracelet, more for the every day.

Please and thank you. I have been such a good girl this year and I can make a mean batch of cookies!

It's Fate

2010-12-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

OK, so I rrrrrreally wanna see Alan Jackson in concert. Like really bad. I wanna see Alan Jackson in concert more than pregnant ladies wanna give birth at 42 weeks along. I wanna see Alan Jackson in concert more than Kanye wanted Obama to be president. I wanna see Alan Jackson in concert more than I want Barkley to stop shedding.

I WANNA GO! Somebody please take me. It's almost Christmas, Valentines Day is in February, my birthday is March 9th, and the concert is on March 30th! If that doesn't say "BEST PRESENT EVER," I don't know what does.

If anyone out there is planning to buy me a present, or might know someone who is, could you pass along the message that Alan Jackson is playing in EDMONTON on March 30th and presale tickets are available at 10am sharp on December 10th. Thanks!

Love,

Obsessed with AJ in all his moustache glory.

A Thesaurus of Happy

2010-11-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

That's me- a Thesaurus of happy.

1) Happy.
Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: in high spirits; satisfied

2) Happy.

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: lucky

I cannot think of two people who are more perfect for each other. Rossy lands himself a gorgeous blonde 10+ years his junior, and Krystle, much like myself, manages to find an amazing guy with all the patience in the world for our crazy antics.

After 3.75 looooong, loving, years, Krystle got that perfect ring, placed on her perfect finger, at the perfect time, in the perfect place- A custom-made rock, presented to her mischievously a top the Empire State Building in NYC on September 19th, 2010.

Scott and I feel blessed and lucky to have these two special people in our lives, and nothing makes me/us happier than to see them finally get hitched. Rossy's clock was ticking louder with every passing day, and Krystle's mouth was getting bigger as the minutes rolled on. It was time, and it couldn't have made anyone happier.

I wish you guys the love of a million happy couples, and the marriage that lasts a lifetime.

April 24th 2012. A day that will never be forgotten and that I am so extremely honoured to be a part of.

I love you both, and thank you for all the great times you've brought into my life.

Cheers, to everything the future holds for you.

Prediction? Great. Conclusion? Poor.

2010-11-11T14:22:00.001-07:00

The Internet. In all it's entertaining glory has managed to put me in a downright pissy mood.

My recommendation is to stay off the god damn Internet if you're bored, or you'll run the risk of this happening:

Step 1) Scan through every possible website you can for "updates." Facebook, Twitter, People.com, TMZ, the blogs, etc..

Step 2) Check them all again in case someone has been on in the last 46 seconds and updated something, ANYTHING.

Step 3) Check your BBM, e-mails, and text messages. Oh, and since you're on your Blackberry you may as well check Facebook and Twitter again.

Step 4) Something on your Blackberry jogged your memory so you're now on Google researching the best way to ..........squeeze a pimple?........teach your dog to get you a beer?..........lasso a stripper?........anything, but whatever it is that prompted you there has been forgotten.

Step 5) Check your Blackberry again.

Step 6) Visit App World in search of the latest mind-numbing puzzle or game.

Step 7) App World reminded you that you just HAVE to download the latest radio hit for your ringtone. In the meantime, you've heard it played on the radio 6 times before the download completes. You just wasted your time.

Step 8) E-mails again. Still nothing new in the inbox. May as well go through your Sent folder and weed out all the garbage. Oh riiiiiight, your reply to that extremely nasty email is STILL sitting in there, just waiting to haunt your thoughts and heavy your heart.

Step 9) F*cking e-mails. Back to Facebook- maybe someone has posted a picture of something other than their newborn or toddler. Nope.

Step 10) Facebook Inbox- a few new ones, mostly forwards and some spam/virus type messages, nothing overly thrilling so you scroll around. Stumble upon a fight/argument thread, get pissed off all over again, almost update status to announce your resurrected rage.

Step 11) Get off Facebook (OK, not quite "off" FB but you open a new browsing tab so you can Google and see if someone happens to send you a chat message at the same time).

Step 12) Spend money- Gojane.com, 21shopping.com, Amazon, Ebay, Lululemon, Sephora, Aldo,.......this could take up a significant amount of time except you're still so pissed off from your e-mails and Facebook messages that everything is ugly and will probably make you look fat. er.

Step 13) You figure that you're already in a shitty mood so you may as well go do some banking and pay all your bills before your money is shopped away in a fit of retail therapy.

Step 14) Bop! A Facebook chat message has been received! Yay, someone to talk to. Ugh........not you again!.............

Step 15) While on Facebook you see several new status updates but all are of the "pet peeve" variety.

Step 16) Oh, and so&so is engaged! Yaaaaayyyyy........................

Step 17) Go back to work. Shut off your damn Internet, the air card connection and everything, do something productive.

Step 18) F*ck the Internet today.

What A Weekend! (Prediction)

2010-11-03T09:12:00.000-06:00

This upcoming weekend is exciting for several reasons.

1) Friday marks my highly anticipated, probably planned way too far in advance, date with Krystle (add Ashley!) Over a month ago Krys and I scheduled a lunch/drinking date for November 5th. We picked this date because it was supposed to be Krystle's first 3-day weekend after an extremely long shutdown at Syncrude which had her working almost every single day for 12 hours a day. I missed her, if you can believe it.

2) Ashley is coming for a visit this weekend! This wasn't planned too far in advance but I am effing excited about it. She will be seeing our house for the first time and meeting our new puppy, Rambo! (who we may re-name 'Slingshot' if he keeps up with his crazy antics. He will go from sitting completely still to bolting into the next room or up and down the hallway for no apparent reason, many times ending by smashing into Rocky).

3) It's Scott's 26th birthday on Saturday. I already bought his birthday present (tonneau cover for the truck) and it arrived much too early so he got to see it and it's already been installed. My bank account has since recovered as well, so I'm hoping to get him a little something else tomorrow.

4) Celebrations of all kinds- Ashley's arrival, Scott's birthday, Thursday-Friday....you name it, we're cheersing to it!

I hope everyone has as much fun as we're going to have this weekend!

A few quotes from the 'ol BlackBerry:

"I didn't know they only had 4 fingers. So that's gonna be new."- Ashley, referring to the gloves she was wearing with her M&M costume.

"There's a million dollar idea out there to get those things back on the market. I don't know a damn thing about kids but I do know that moms want those things real bad."- Scott, talking about previously-banned Baby Walkers.

"Well if she's trying to convince someone she needs to go to Parkview, that should do it."- Lanette. For the record, Parkview is a Senior's facility, for the old and seemingly senile.

"Don't you have any of those PDF days or whatever?"- Scott, asking Lanette if she had an upcoming PTO (Personal Time Off day)

Lanette: I didn't get to work until 9am.
Me: Oh, did you get stuck in that traffic this morning?
Lanette: No. Well, sort of- at Starbucks.

"That shits like eating out your cousin- tastes the same but it just ain't right."- Tyler, talking about drinking O'Doul's on pub night in camp.

"I sure hope she's not on the drug squad.....I am no expert on this stuff but I am pretty sure he was higher than Cheech AND Chong last night."- Can't remember.

"I didn't know all the words but the words I did know I sang with passion."- Kristen, trying to sing We Didn't Start The Fire.

Fuck Cancer

2010-10-29T11:40:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks have been eye opening.

I find myself sitting here with so many thoughts and emotions and yet don't know what to say.

Fuck Cancer. That's what I've got to say.

You've taken too many loved ones away. You've battered and bruised the hearts of so many amazing people. The lump that sits almost comfortably in my throat is free to leave at any time- please take it and scram. My heavy heart can be lifted whenever you feel the timing is right. How about now?

Fuck Cancer. Fuck right off.

Show your support by checking out Fuck Cancer on Facebook, and today is Fuck Cancer day on Twitter- so get on it.

My love to all those suffering, battling, grieving. And to all those surviving- you give us strength and hope.

Catchin' Up With Tha Funnies

2010-09-16T10:05:00.000-06:00

Cleaning out the archives.

"It never fucking stops raining. What are we? Ducks?"- Clint, on the way to work the other morning

"Ohmigod, Kelsey! I loooove that I can see your little dogs butt like Rafuuki." Ashley, confusing Rafiki from the Lion King with some other baboon.

"I got so much adrenaline I wanna pour it into a cup and drink it!"- Krystle, after winning our league championship!

"She's the devil in a princess dress."- Cerra, in regards to her well behaved little girl.

"I'm gonna go somewhere and get rosy cheeks."- Callum, departing from breakfast and on a mission to get day-drunk.

"You can get a mini sized Blizzard? That's like feeding a horse one oat!"- Lanette

Callum: Was I snoring?
Benny: Snoring? It sounded like you were renovating.

"It's hot weather in this tent. I gotta get to the outside weather."- Krystle, ham sandwiched.

Callum: This sounds gay, but I love nuts.
Lanette: This sounds gay, but I hate nuts.

"Daycare is just like TMZ for toddlers. That's where they learn all the stuff."- Scott's Uncle Grant, talking about bad habits and words that Grai has picked up.

"Everytime I breathe I get drunk all over again. It's coming from within me."- Ash, after Rachel's bday.

"Don't try and be funny. Just come with the fun."- Krystle, to Rossy. She was telling us how she's fun 24/7 and Rossy should just go with it.

MJ comes on at Bob and Alyshia's wedding...
Dad: You gotta do the crotch-grab to this song.
Mel (preggo): I can't find my crotch.
Dad: Well someone did.

Me: Why are your hands so dirty?
Kyle: I was fist-fucking a Mud Monster

Amanda: I'm like the Dog Whisperer
Kyle: You're like the Dog Yeller

"It's like eating a baby."- Gibb, eating a very large sandwich

"She's like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but without the funk."- Callum

"The first time we met, I thought she was a little bit deaf."- Callum

Scott: My laptop is pretty much toast. You've used and abused it.
Me: I have not abused it, but I've definitely used it. You buy things to USE them.
Scott: Ya, you buy a car to drive it, not take it 4x4'ing every day.

This box that you live in, does it have a window?"- Krystle, to Lanette

If You Don't Know, Just Ask

2010-09-15T19:05:00.001-06:00

We're planning a trip to Vegas. We're going with a few friends and the majority of our group has never even been to Vegas.

After several conversations and debates about who to book with, where to stay, when to leave, where to fly from, blah blah blah, I decided to ask the one man that I know KNOWS. Nick Greeni.

This "young" lad has been to Vegas more times that I've got toes, and he'll give ya the low-down. All ya have to do is ask. And after doing so, several time, I decided to generalize my query and say "What tips would you give to someone planning to go to Vegas?" Later that very afternoon, I received this to my Inbox.......

As promised, here's a list of Vegas tips:
1. It's quicker to take a cab from the airport to your hotel, rather than getting a shuttle. I've always had a shuttle but not for any real reason. It's only about a $15-20 cab ride to the middle of the strip, and it's way quicker than waiting for a shuttle to a) pick you up and leave and b) drop off 12 people at 6 different hotels.

2. The Strip is an awfully long stretch of road, so if you want to go from one end to the other, use The Deuce – the double-decker shuttle bus that goes up and down the strip, from the very south end (Mandalay Bay) all the way to Fremont Street (Old Vegas, which is beyond the strip). I think it's like $7 a day or something, or $3 for a one-way. If your hotel is right smack in the heart of the strip though (Flamingo, Caesars, Bellagio, Planet Hollywood.. .even TI or Mirage) you might not need to use the bus that much because things are walkable, but if you're at one end (Monte Carlo, MGM, Mandalay, Luxor, Excalibur at one end, or Riviera, Circus Circus, Wynn, Stratosphere at the other) you'll probably wanna use it.

3. Have exact payment for The Deuce, cuz they don't give change.

4. While on The Deuce (which is actually a really nice bus, but gets busy at night), try to make as little eye contact with people as possible. This is because a) talking to random tourists sucks and b) sometimes, people are fucking crazy. Once I witnessed some mentally-deranged white guy tell an old black woman to "get her own bus" and another time, a homeless black guy told my mom she was "a white bitch" who he was going to kill because she didn't have any spare change. It's not like driving through east Vancouver or anything, but still.... people are nuts.

5. Never pass up a free drink. While gambling, and the cocktail waitresses come around, ALWAYS get a drink if they're asking people if anyone wants anything. There aren't as many waitresses in each casino as there used to be, so sometimes you could go awhile without seeing one, so don't pass it up. Even if it's 8:30 in the morning. Or you already have 4 sitting there. Just do it.

6. Eat cheap. I know that you're both Mr. and Mrs. Moneybags now, with your big house and two dogs and fancy truck, but if you wanna save some dough – at least on lunch anyway – lots of hotels have food courts, because eating at actual restaurants 3 times a day is waaay too expensive. There's a McDonalds right in the middle of the strip, on top of Casino Royale, and to the best of my recollection, the following places have food courts: MGM, Monte Carlo, Planet Hollywood (PH also has a mall attached, with more food courty places), and Excalibur. I'm sure there are plenty others that I just can't recall.

7. Never argue with the large black lady who works the till at the Excalibur McDonalds. I know this from experience. She's nuts.

8. If you are smart, try to limit yourself to one buffet, or two max. Anymore than that, you will die. Also, the last time we were there, we saw a deal with all the Harrah's-owned hotels (which are Harrah's, Planet Hollywood, Paris... and a bunch of others) where for a flat rate, say 30-40 bucks, you get an ALL DAY BUFFET pass that's good for any of the buffets. So you basically eat all day for 30 bucks, or whatever it is. It seemed like a good idea, but we never actually tested it out.

9. Buffet lines are long, so get there early or be prepared to wait.

10. Be sure to take a dump in one of the bathrooms at the Wynn Hotel. This one is a tip from Christene's dad, and it's a good one – the bathrooms there are pretty fancy, all marble and gold. It's like shitting into God's mouth.

11. As far as where to stay, here's some of the older places I probably would avoid: Bill's Gambling Hall, Riviera, Circus Circus, Sahara, Imperial Palace, Tropicana (which is old, and at far end of strip) Harrah's and Bally's. (The Flamingo is old and sorta cruddy, too, but when we stayed there we got an upgraded "Go Room" which was really nice).

12. Even though you should stay at the old cruddy hotels, the gambling's usually cheaper there. Also, be sure to go to Bill's Gambling Hall... it's a tiny little place I wouldn't stay there, but it's still pretty rad. At the back of the casino, they have dollar margaritas that are in tiny cups, but strong as hell (about 50/50 booze/slushee ratio).

13. Even though they cost anywhere from $13-$20, you should definitely buy at least one Yard-of-Margarita from one of the various margarita stands (they're everywhere, and they're strong. Me and my dad drank them for breakfast once.... good decision)

14. Go to Fremont Street, especially at night. Fremont is definitely a Deuce/cab trip because it's a few miles off the strip, but it's awesome. They have a big light show every hour or so at night (on a giant LED screen canopy over the whole street) and since all the casinos are super close together, it's one big drunken party. That's where I bought my football margarita, which turned into a football vodka-soda which turned into puking in my sleep. Another fine decision.

15. Make sure Scotty plays beer pong at O'Shea's. It's a tiny casino with a bunch of pong tables in the back. If you buy a pitcher of beer for $16 or whatever it is, they'll give you beer pong cups.

16. If you plan on getting drunk, you can't rely only on the free drinks from the cocktail waitresses while you're gambling. There's booze sold in most of the hotel gift shops (like any American corner store), but there's also a few liquor stores on the strip, too. (There's lots of Walgreen's that you would assume sell booze, but they don't for some reason).

17. Ignore/don't make eye contact with the guys in suits trying to talk to you in hotel/casino lobbies. There are so many people there trying to sell time shares, or promote clubs, or grand canyon day trips, and you just have to ignore 'em or else they'll never leave you alone.

18. If you want to see a lot of burned out douchey people at once, get up early and wander down to the casino at about 7 a.m. and watch all the club-going retards stumble back home after their night of douching it up in some club. You'll see more walks of shame in one morning than you'll ever see in the rest of your life combined. It's amusing. It was to Christene and me, at least.

19. The Salsa Cantina is a good source of cheap, good mexican food. There's one in the Miracle Mile mall (attached to Planet Hollywood and also one near the M&M and Coke Stores... across street from Monte Carlo and New York/New York). They a $3.95 breakfast too, which isn't the biggest thing in the world, but if you're hungover, it's pretty perfect.

20. There are lions at MGM Grand, and sometimes lion cubs in the little room next door. You should go see 'em.

21. Don't count cards. It's frowned upon – like masturbating on an airplane.
22. Sleep is for the weak.
23. By reading the above 22 rules and suggestions, you have legally agreed to return to Vegas in mid-April for my birthday. Sorry, but this is now a binding contract.

If I had questions about Vegas, I certainly don't now.

Thanks again Nick!

Puppy Day- Sunday July 18th 2010

2010-07-12T17:17:00.002-06:00

Everyone, meet ~~Pedro~~ Rambo

Put A Lock On It

2010-06-11T06:55:00.002-06:00

Today begins my 4 day weekend. It's god damn early and I should still be sleeping.

My sister typically goes into my room every morning long after I've gone to work and uses my stuff- makeup, hair spray, accessories. Today she came into my room and woke Rocky up, which in turn wakes me up. I dunno what she was doing this time but she turned the fan off in the en suite and left.

The fan was on for a reason, just like it is every single night. I like it. I like the noise when I'm sleeping. It drowns out the other noises and helps me sleep soundly. I asked her to turn it back on as she was leaving but I guess she didn't hear me. There are a lot of singing birds out this morning.

Then she came into my room again. This time was to use my make-up I think because I could hear her opening and closing all the little make-up pots and leaving things in places where they don't belong.

I'm pretty awake by this point and I don't wanna be. She finally tries to "sneak out" and I quickly ask her to turn the fan back on before she's out the door. She doesn't turn it back on. Instead, she asks "Really?" Yep, really. "Why?" I like it on, that's why. Turn it back on. Convinced, she turns the en suite light on in error. Then the hallway light. Back to the en suite light. Oh, and then she turns my bedroom light on! She selected 3 other buttons, one of which she chose twice, before finally landing on the right fan switch.

"Just get out of my bedroom."

Funtastic 2010- 30 sleeps.

2010-05-31T13:22:00.000-06:00

The campsites are reserved. Our uniforms are washed and ready to go. Now to wait 30 sleeps until we're playing Slopitch and Flip Cup, drinking vodka spritzers and slammin' beers. Something tells me this year will be the best one yet! Can't wait to see everyone!

Lost Hound On Hwy 63

2010-05-31T09:01:00.004-06:00

My sister travelled home from Calgary to Fort McMurray late yesterday afternoon where she found a dog roaming around on the highway- cold, wet, tired, and hungry, without tags, tattoos, or a collar. Lanette did the only thing she knew to do, and brought her home.

If you or someone you know is missing their beautiful pooch (possibly a Bluetick or English Coonhound), we've got Rhoda safe at home with us. Please let us know if this is your dog! We know she'll be loved here, but she's probably desperately missed and loved by someone else as well.

Someone's Got a Case of the Mondays!

2010-05-17T07:08:00.002-06:00

So this just happened.

I woke up to Rocky heaving in bed beside me. All I could do was reach for a cup to try and get him to spew in. As it turns out, my arm was asleep so I actually threw the cup at Rocky rather than grab it and hold it up to him. The remaining water in the cup spilled out all over the carpet and night stand as it bounced off Rocky's melon. Then he puked on our bed.

Happy Monday!

Hockey Time

2010-05-07T17:36:00.001-06:00

Nick recently posted on his blog about turning Christene into a true hockey fan, and a Canucks lover to boot. Christene also very recently became an Aunt, and instead of watching game 4 with Nick she's going to see her new baby neice. This sounds completely reasonable to the average, sane, normal, human being, but to hockey-obsessed men they only hear and think one thing these days- IT'S THE BLOODY PLAYOFFS!

For the past little while, those 3 or 4 words have been the only thing coming out of Scott's mouth. Our life plays out as follows:

"Scott, why are you ignoring me? Playoffs.
Scott, why don't you wanna go to the Brick? Playoffs.
Scott, why haven't you shaved and starting to resemble those cavemen dudes from the commercials! Playoffs.
Scott, why are you wearing socks? Playoffs.
Scott, can you close the back door? Playoffs.
Scott, you forgot to put the cap back on the toothpaste. Playoffs.

EVERYTHING!

I love hockey, I love the Canucks, I love the Red Wings, but I can still function like a normal person even though it's the playoffs.

A Couple Quotes

2010-05-06T21:03:00.002-06:00

"I used an old Kleenex and a receipt- for the two shits he took!"- Scott, returning from a walk with Rocky. Poop in Hand. Sans poop bags.

Lanette starts to tell us a story- "These two low life algae eaters...."Me: You mean bottom feeders?

"I'm just gonna take a quick run thru the dip."- How Narine says she's going to have a shower.

"Send an email to CBC right now. There's a Canadian team playing and it's not even on tv. Like where are our tax dollars going?"- Scott, experiencing all the rage.

He then snapped the laptop from me and immediately wrote CBC an email. The email went something like
this:

There is Canadian team playing right now in playoffs and you decide to switch to a non Canadian game. What the fuck are our tax dollars for??!....mind boggling how this is even allowed to happen. If it were Toronto playing I doubt the game would be switched to two non-Canadian teams. Wake up CBC, wake up! Put the Canadian team game on nationwide! Like fuck!

Then CBC instructed the viewers outside of BC to watch the game "Streaming LIVE to your home laptop!"
Scott wrote another email that went something like this:

"YAAA that's why I bought a giant tv and pay for HD sports channels- to watch the fucking game on a 15" laptop!!!!"

"Do we sound different to you?"- Lanette to Narine, curious of whether Canadians sound like Canadians, or if for some reason everyone sounds like an Aussie to an Aussie.

"It's such a good deal, I wanna phone myself!"- Krystle. I posted an ad on Kijiji for a smokin' deal on a king size Sealy Posturpedic and it had her phone number on it. I confessed my prank sometime after she said "Like, it's such a good deal I feel like someone is playing a prank on me. Someone is fucking with me. And when I find out who it is I'm gonna slit their throat!"

"Oh syuse me, I fink ooh have da wong caht"- A foreign man to Lanette at Extra Foods. After she took his shopping cart instead of her own.

"This is where natural selection needs to come in. At the very least someone needs to go in and kill her eggs"- Scott, about someone who shall remain nameless. (You'd think he was talking about Lanette, but surprisingly it's someone much less intelligent).

"Plus, I just drooled."- Lanette, immediately after I called her out for being completely brain dead.

The Cutest Pooch

2010-05-03T08:37:00.002-06:00

Called Out

2010-05-03T08:36:00.001-06:00

Hello blog world! Where have you been for the past month+?

I know, it's been a long time since I've posted. Nick dedicated an entire entry to calling me (and some others) out on my lack of blogger effort. While I could give you the I'm so busy, I just started a new job, we just moved into our new house excuses, I know you'll think "Who isn't busy?" Well guess what, I'm doing it anyways. Those are my reasons for not posting lately. I've just been too effing busy, and I didn't have anything to blog about other than our new house and that's getting to be old news.

We moved!

I started a new job!

It's so nice out I can't handle sitting at a computer!

My excuses.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The Power of Three

2010-03-31T06:57:00.001-06:00

Scott has some weird sentimental attachment to his alarm clock. It's quite possibly the oldest alarm clock in history that is still "functional." By functional I mean that some of the functions still work, most of the time, in a similar fashion to how they were originally intended to function.

I hate this alarm clock. In the early days of our courtship I managed to sway Scott from the awful beeping/honking sound that protrudes through the speaker every morning, to a more subtle wake-up call that is offered by setting the alarm to "radio." We've made it through months upon months of waking to a song or a radio guy giving the lastest news and traffic reports. It a less "alarming" means of waking up.

Just before Christmas of 2009, this beloved radio function stopped working. Scott slept in a couple mornings cause he thought he forgot to turn the alarm clock on, but we quickly learned that it just wasn't working anymore. I jumped at the opportunity to get him a new alarm, so for Christmas he got a Dodger's alarm clock but has only recently started to use it. I've had to suffer through a few months of the old junker as he refuses to get rid of it.

This brings us to today. For the past 3 mornings I have been woken up by 3 separte alarm clocks, all ringing their awful beeping/honking sounds at 5:30am. You see, Scott also got a BlackBerry from work, so not only does he have his old junker clock set, but he has the Dodger's clock and the BlackBerry alarms going.

I don't understand why he needs all 3 alarm clocks. I get up very shortly after he does and if his new alarm clock doesn't happen to work properly for some reason, he still will not have "slept-in" and will not be late for work. I snapped at him this morning to shut the f*cking things off as I got out of bed early before I had to listen to all 3 of them going off again when the snooze time was up.

Then he has the nerve to ask me- "Why are you so grumpy today?"

Chicken Parmesan With A Side Of Jesus

2010-03-30T15:39:00.000-06:00

Server Tale Number 2

Worked at BP last night, obviously, and while getting a guys' number on the back of his bill or a little note scribbled on a napkin isn't out of the ordinary, what I received yesterday was definitely a first.

After taking a man's order and exchanging the typical "where ya from? what do ya do?" questions he asked me "So, where do you go to church?" I was taken aback. It took me a moment to assemble all the thoughts running through my head but I politely explained that I didn't actually go to church. Then he says "Why not??! What do you have against god and all his magical workings?"*

Excuse me, but is it actually proper to ask someone why they choose not to go to church? Don't get me wrong, Jesus is a sweet dude, but if I choose not to go to church, then that's my choice and I don't think I should have to explain to anyone (complete stranger!) why I've made it.

Again, I politely (hey, I still wanted his money) explained that it wasn't a part of my life and that while I didn't attend church, I had nothing against God and all the wonderful people that do go to church every single week.

He was adament that I should be going to church and that I had no idea what I was missing out on. I was trying to keep him happy and end the conversation before I had completely neglected my other tables and asked Jesus to wash away all my sins and make me a Christian**, but he wouldn't let it go. If I had a crowd of 2500 Jehovah's Witnesses on my doorstep it would have been much more pleasant than this conversation.

I don't recall exactly what I said in order to secure my exit from the situation but I made it out alive and in one piece. I am a firm believer in having the right to your own beliefs and everyone is going to be different, but I also believe that you have the right to choose what those beliefs are going to be without question or influences from other people.

The gentleman finally paid his bill, left me a pretty crappy tip (God is even watching you, buddy!), and a lovely "business" card inviting me to attend some church downtown Fort McMurray.

I dunno about you, but if he'd just left me the card without trying to marry me to the Christian ways of life, it would've been a warmer reception.

*He actually said that exact statement. "Magical workings." Yup, for reals.

**My parents mistakingly sent my sister and I to Bible Camp one summer and I came back a Christian. It was easy. All I had to do was ask Jesus to take away all my sins (Get Out of Jail Free Card) and make me a Christian.

Server Tales- Numero Uno

2010-03-25T06:53:00.002-06:00

Last night wasn't the first time I've run into a ruh-tard of a customer at BP, but I just can't get over the arrogance of some people.

The beginning of my shift was fairly slow so I was running some food for other tables while waiting for customers to be sat in my section. I ran an indi-pizza and a Cajun rice bowl to one table as soon as it came up. I got to the table, asked who was having the rice bowl, and as one of the women raised her hand I placed the bowl down in front of her. An absolute look of disgust came over her face.

Now for starters, I was not her server and she definitely should have taken that into account. She immediately said that was not what she had ordered. What she had ordered did NOT have shrimp in it. I explained that I was unsure of her order as I had not been the one taking it but that I'd check with the server who had. She went on about how her friend at the table was allergic to shrimp therefore she would not be eating it. I asked her what it was that she had ordered, if the Cajun Ricebowl wasn't actually it. She confirmed that is what she ordered, but when she ordered it from the menu it didn't have shrimp in it*.

By this time a manager had to step in because she was pretty irate. We quickly explained that the Cajun ricebowl comes with shrimp as well as chicken but it would be no problem to make her a new one without any shrimp, and with extra chicken. She seemed satisfied and we went on our way.

I had tried to remove myself from the situation as I had tables of my own but I couldn't help being interested in how the rest of the meal would pan out for Rose and our manager, Pam. Once Rose had delivered the new ricebowl, complete with double chicken and an extra toast to smooth things over, the lady basically threw the meal at her when she walked by. This time the issue was chicken. It wasn't cooked and now she was going to die- all thanks to Boston Pizza.

Pam returned to the table to try to explain that our chicken is precooked and there is no possibility of it being underdone. She went on to ask the woman to ensure what she is ordering off the menu is absolutely what she wants to eat and if she needs to take things out or make substitutions, it's no problem. Also, ask the chef to double cook your chicken, just to make sure all the salmmy bugs are dead as doorknobs.

The woman still refused to eat the raw chicken ricebowl and went on her way with a take-out order of Thai Chicken Bites.

Guess what Nancy**? That's got chicken in it too, and it's probably gonna still be cluckin'.

*Ok, the menu doesn't say the Cajun Ricebowl comes with shrimp, but it does list PRAWNS as the second friggin ingredient.

**Negative Nancy, of course.

Long Awaited Surprise a Mini-Success

2010-03-23T06:58:00.006-06:00

I had been planning a surprise trip to Edmonton for Scott for almost 3 months now. Krystle and I purchased awesome lower bowl Oilers/Red Wings tickets for the guys before they were even on sale to the public. Ashley convinced me, against my better judgement, to not tell Scott about the trip until he got up for work the morning we were scheduled to leave. I know Scott- he doesn't like not knowing what's going on and he doesn't like hitches in his schedule, so I should've known it wouldn't be all sunshine and lollipops at 5:30am Friday morning.

It was a battle, to say the least, and I ended up throwing the hockey tickets at him (we'd planned to not give the boys the tickets until we got to Edmonton) as my last resort. He was adamant about going to work, about not going to Edmonton and spending money we shouldn't have been spending, and adamant that we could just cancel. I tried to explain to him that it was perfectly OK with his work, they were not expecting him to show up that day or the next, and that we absolutely could not cancel the trip. He wasn't cooperating and I was getting frustrated, so I grabbed my purse, ripped open the unmarked envelope, and tossed the tickets at him- "Here, this is why we can't cancel. Surprise!" End of discussion. I was pissed that I "showed my cards too soon" and Scott felt like a jerk. Luckily we were over the ordeal quickly and could enjoy the thought of spending such a fun weekend together.

The guys were pumped, and we had a great time. The game was awesome, even though the friggin bottom-shelf Oilers won in a shootout. The Red Wings tied the game up at the end of the 3rd period with NO seconds left, seriously, it was like 0.2 or something. The excitement in there was insane! As you can imagine, 50% of the arena was NOT cheering for the Oilers.

We spent the rest of our trip at Winners, West Edmonton Mall (where we ran into my Auntie Linda, Keenan, and Lisa!!), and then we went out for dinner and to a classy joint called Diamonds.

Yesterday the financing subjects were removed on our house deal, and we are friggin excited! Inspection happens Friday morning at 10 and we'll be on our way to moving day. I realized yesterday that we bought a house with perfect "Rocky windows." He'll be able to see out all day long without sitting on the back of the couch or chair and ruining our cushions! It's fate, I tell ya.

I kind of forgot that we'd have to move when we bought a new house so the anxiety of that has started to set in. If anyone wants to help us out on the 26th and onward (after work that week) let us know! There will be beer and pizza involved.

Lastly, some quotes.....

"I hate buying McDonald's cheeseburgers here. They just don't put the effort into them."- Rossy

"There's a lot of cheese in Real Estate. Yup, a lot of Fromage!"- Andrew

"I've been trying to catch my breast all morning."- Pete, trying to catch his boobs apparently.

"Is it bad I might wanna play ball just because there's a new concession stand?"- Lanette, as we drove past the park.

"It'd be so sweet to get carried around all day."- Scott, noticing a toddler living the good life.

"Are you Emu?"- Rossy to Krystle. That's "emo," buddy.

Waniandy Way

2010-03-18T09:05:00.000-06:00

25 years and 1 week old, I am a homeowner!*

Listed 10 days ago, Scott and I have made our move and now have an accepted purchase agreement on a great home (MLS does it no justice) in Wood Buffalo. Pending everything that goes along with an accepted offer, we take possession on April 26th.

It's been a mad scramble this week going back and forth with counter-offers and new terms, but we got it done very late Tuesday night. The excitement proved difficult to sleep through, but once I finally crashed I slept better than I had in weeks. The stress and frustration that goes along with finding the perfect (to us) house, took a toll on my hours of sleep over the past while. I was eating, sleeping, breathing house specs and price points. MLS listings ran through my mind constantly, and all I could dream about were houses. I'd wake up feeling like I was having an anxiety attack because I'd just had a dream that we found a great house but someone put an offer in before us, or we were dashing to get ours into their realtor at the same time as someone else. I was close to driving myself totally freakin' bonkers.

While I'm relieved that we've made it this far, we're not in the clear yet. I don't think I'll feel right until we've got the keys in our hot little hands and are spending the first night in our new master bedroom.

A great big thank you to everyone in our lives that has made this possible thus far, and for hoping for us, and crossing fingers, sending well wishes, and for all of your congratulations.

Keep the power of positive thinking going, and Waniandy Way will be ours!

*pending

I'm Going Through Changes

2010-03-15T10:51:00.000-06:00

Woooeeee what a week it was last week.

Scott and I found a few homes that are in the running for final contender. If I could just get him home for more than 5 minutes at a time that aren't spent sleeping, then maybe we could have a discussion and actually decide on something. If you're interested in looking at them, their MLS numbers are 50549320 and 40569040. If Scott picked either one, I'd be happy as a clam. I go back and forth on which would be my number 1, but I'm positive that I'd be content either way. I just try to remember what happened when we found 194 Laffont and procrastinated..........

In other news, I've handed in my Bucyrus resignation. My last day here will be April 1st. It's an awfully convenient day to play an April Fool's joke on my boss and ask him to revoke my resignation but I don't know if his old ticker can handle that sort of excitement. I might have to take it easy on him.

The decision to leave was not an easy one, nor was it a decision that I was able to make quickly. I had been approached by my new employer on several different occasions but just wasn't ready to make the jump. Scott gave me his full support on whatever I would decide. After very careful consideration, checking in with our mortgage broker to ensure I wouldn't be agreeing to a new job and a mortgage approval meltdown at the same time, and a job offer that I really couldn't resist (it's a Treatment Coordinator position in a dental office, I mean, c'mon) I landed on this decision and it's all very exciting.

I'm sad at the same time though, don't get me wrong. This place has been my home since I moved to Fort McMurray. Starting just 3 days after my relocation, I've spent many many hours here. 18 months down the road, and it's just time to move on. There are so many people that come to Fort McMurray and jump from job, to job, to job, in their first years, but I just didn't feel the need. I was happy with where I was, and fortunate for the opportunities I was given. The room for growth at the present time just doesn't seem to be there and I'm craving the opportunity to learn everything I can.

At the end of these 18 months I've gained many friends, many very intelligent mentors, and a lot of skills that I didn't have before. I will miss my co-workers and my boss, but maybe down the road we'll meet again.

Until next time, Bucyrus. Good-bye!

Ps. Who wants to adopt Bruce?

The Weekend Starts Now

2010-03-05T10:17:00.001-07:00

My dear beautiful BFF numero deux rolls into town this afternoon at 2:15 pm. Ashley and I decided about a month ago that she'd come up to spend my birthday weekend with me. It's been a long and painful wait up until this very day but I'm so excited that she'll be here. I'm SO excited to show her a bit of what my life is like in the alternative universe of Fort McMurray.

Today also marks the official start of Birthday 25 celebrations, running from now until approximately the 16th of March. This time frame allows plenty of opportunity for Canada Post to f*ck up (not a jab at my past co-workers, this is Fort McMurray specific) and for me to still receive all my birthday packages before I turn 26. Oh god....26.......I'm feeling dizzy, and a tad weak.

I probably won't post again until at least the middle of next week, but I will leave you with a few quotes I've got stored up in my BlackBerry.

"What do you think he's gonna be like as a liver?"- Lanette, trying and failing, to ask me how I thought our friend Derek would be as a roommate.

"Friggin cock blocks."- Scott (Mario), to me (Luigi), and Lanette (Toad), during the closing scene of Super Mario Bros. for Wii. We apparently got in the way of him trying to sweep Princess off her feet......

"You know what I hate about sports? How misleading the time is!"- Kristen, during the Gold Medal game.

"Kristen, go get me a beer and think about what you just said."- Mike, after Kristen undoubtably made a negative remark about sports.

"Oh, that's what he looks like? I thought he was black. He sounds like he's from the jungle."- Kristen, in regards to Roberto Luongo.

PS. This will be my 4th post in the last while and I've yet to receive any comments! :( De-Motivated.

A Real Tricker!

2010-03-04T08:09:00.005-07:00

This week's office prank got quite a few people.

You'll see from the picture that I had a small Tupperware bowl of beads on my desk. These beads were originally part of a bracelet that I purchased for my Halloween costume and for some reason they ended up at work. Sherry pointed out that they looked like candy so we decided to cut the bracelet and put them in a bowl on my desk for a few laughs.

Brian walks by, grabs two, and pops one in his mouth- "Mmmm, what are these?" after he'd already tried to suck on it. Sherry and I could not contain our laughter.

Len walks by, grabs one, and throws it in his mouth. We didn't say anything- just giggled to ourselves as he wandered back to his cubicle. He has to pass Brian on his route, and Brian refused to let Leonard be "had" and stopped him before he broke a tooth on the delicious plastic yellow beads.

Yesterday a gentleman we interviewed previously came in to drop off his driver's abstract as part of our pre-employment process and grabbed a "candy" on his way out the door. I couldn't stop him before it was in his mouth. All I could do was shutter and say "That's not a candy....." He came back in, red-face embarrassed, and threw the bead back into the bowl. "Who else had that one in their mouth?" and walked out.

That bowl of beads is no more.

Mo Money No Problems

2010-03-03T08:40:00.003-07:00

We all know the song Mo Money Mo Problems- "I don't know what, they want from me. It's like the more money we come across, The more problems we seeeee."

In this case I will have to select "Strongly Disagree."

Yesterday I got the results of my mortgage preapproval. Not only was this given back to me without a giant "DECLINED" stamp on it, it was approved at a good interest rate and for a decent mortgage amount! All. By. Myself.

At this time a year ago I would have been laughed at. My mortgage application torn up in front of my eyes and my sorry butt kicked out the front door of every financial institution from here to the Cayman Islands.

A certain friend of mine continually tells me that Northern Alberta is a crappy place to live and anyone could get the same opportunities back in BC. I don't doubt that there are opportunities to be had in BC, I just wasn't able to find any like I've found here.

Since my relocation to Fort McMurray I have paid off a substantial amount of debt, doubled my credit score (holy geezus), secured a good job with a solid employer, been given the opportunity to continue my education at their expense, and learn a lot of things about myself and my goals.

I have an idea of what I want to be when I grow up. I know that I won't be working at McDonald's and living paycheck to paycheck for the remainder of my life. I know that through careful planning Scott and I will have the opportunity to provide for our family as we'd want to and retire before we turn 96 (after next Tuesday this number doesn't seem so far off).

While I don't think I'll be able to own my first house by the time I turn 25, I will own my first house while I AM 25. This is something that a year or so ago I'd never deem possible. Hard work, a little sacrifice, and a lot of determination have come through for me this time and I just might keep at it to see what else I can accomplish in this little lifetime.

Fort McMurray has been a big ball of wonderful. It can be the demise of some or the land of opportunity for others.

We're choosing to succeed.

Out Of This World

2010-03-02T11:08:00.007-07:00

My last BP shift made me feel like I was from another planet. Me and the girls were having a lengthy discussion through running food and clearing dishes about our old time favorite TV shows.

It started when we rapped the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song in the kitchen and then started passing around funny quotes that we could remember.

We'd ask "Remember Who's the Boss?" or "Family Matters?" etc., and after hashing through the entire list of cartoon and TV sitcoms from 1980 - 2005 I shouted out "Remember 'Out Of This World'? Man, I loved that show!"

Blank stares.

Lanette and I watched this show religiously, or at least I did. I loved it. It was about a half girl-half alien tween just trying to make it in junior high. Evie lived with her crazy mom and an alien part-time Dad who would teleport his aura into Evie's room whenever she needed to talk.

I was apparently the only person out of about 15 BP employees that had ever even heard about this show.

Maybe I'm the half-alien half-girl just trying to make it in her part-time serving job.

In my defense, the majority of my BP co-workers are Filipinos fresh off the boat*.

*This is not politically incorrect. Ok, maybe it is, but they joke about it all the time so I don't feel bad for repeating it,

Couple Puts Foundation Into Fort McMurray Soil

2010-02-19T12:36:00.006-07:00

"A Langley-based couple has completed the preliminary motions to secure ownership of real estate within the Fort McMurray region."

Yep, you're reading that correctly. Scott and I are buying a house in Fort McMurray.

We haven't done anything official, other than committing months upon months of service to our current employers, but we are going to look at houses tomorrow evening with our realtor. Paying close to $40,000 a year to someone else's mortgage just doesn't make sense for very long.

We're looking at homes in the pre-construction phase for the most part but wanted to go out tomorrow and see if we can find anything existing that would be of serious interest to us. I guess the process of elimination is the best approach at this point, as we have a fairly clear vision of what we're looking for.

Scott doesn't make any decisions quickly, but I hope crossing off houses that just aren't "it" will be fast and painless. Walk in, look around, yes or no or keep it in the running, and move on until we find something that blows our socks off.

Buying a house here in Fort McMurray means many different things for our life. It will keep us far from "home" but it doesn't seem to put us out of our comfort zone. We are content on making this our home for at least the next few years, and I truly believe that home is where the heart is. I haven't felt so happy or so content as I did the minute Scott arrived in Fort McMurray almost a year ago. We made this decision very gradually but it came down to the point that staying here, or just living here right now for that matter, didn't feel like a sacrifice. We have great jobs, an amazing group of people in our lives, career opportunities out the wazoo, and the ability to set ourselves up for the long haul.

This is about our future and our lives. What makes you happy is probably going to be different from what makes us happy, and we have to do what is right for us.

We miss every little thing about BC but Alberta is where we are for now. And we like it.

It's Been A Week

2010-02-04T09:57:00.007-07:00

And one hell of a week at that.

I officially started my 3-4 nights a week of serving shifts, Scott was away in Edmonton for work, and I'm about ready to hire a hit man for the bullsh*t I've had to deal with the last couple days. I'm a little bit tired, and a little bit grumpy, but I hope that it won't take me too long to get back into the swing of late-night shifts at BP and continuing to get up at 5am for my daily elliptical meeting will get easier.

Tonight is finally my first solo-serving night, and I'm excited to make tip money again. I'm sure I'll have a story or two for the Server Saga very soon!

Last weekend was Krystle's Birthday. Aside from the awesome party and all the fun, I didn't do much else. Lanette and I shopped for outfits and pink things for the birthday party, and Sunday I slept, had a couple naps, and lazed around the house. Lanette, Scott, and I started playing the new Super Mario Bros. for the Wii, and it is amazing. So much fun! I cannot wait for date night tomorrow night so Scott and I can finally see each other this week, have a decent meal, and play Wiiiiii!

Next weekend Scott and I are off to Edmonton for a few days. It's Valentine's Day and his parents are in town so we are going to get in a good visit and hopefully a bit of shopping. I also think I will have an opportunity to see my cousins and am really looking forward to that.

I feel like there are big changes upon us but I just can't pinpoint exactly what they will be. I have this sense of excitement, but not sure of the source it stems from.

Aside from a few new quotes, that's all you're getting from me until I figure it out.

"Oh ya? Well I'm not a welder, I'm a Metal Fusion Technologist."- Trevor, after I explained to him that HET stands for Heavy Equipment Technician, which in turn, translates to HD Mechanic or Grease Monkey.

"You know what 'Server Games' I like to play? See how much money I can make in tips! 'Cause then Krystle always wins."- Krystle, during a discussion about the ridiculous BP server contests.

"You can get lost in the Internet!"- Lanette to Krystle, after she said that there's only 10 or so websites that she ever visits and that the Internet doesn't have much of anything.

It's Her Party & She'll Strip If She Wants To!

2010-01-29T14:48:00.007-07:00

January 27th 1986, Krystle Budrow was born into this world.

On January 27th every year since 1986, friends and family have already been hearing of Krystle's birthday for a minimum of two weeks.

On January 27th 2010, I thought about one of my best buddie's birthdays the minute that I woke up. I'm not saying that I hadn't been reminded several times, but I think I would have thought about her even if she hadn't sent out invites, preached about the date at every gathering and social function for the previous months, and blasted it across Facebook.

Krystle is my buddy, one of my best buddies, and if I leave Fort McMurray with nothing else, I'll have a friend for life.

To Krystle- Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest most thoughtful people that I've ever met. I am SO happy to hear that Rossy spoiled you just as you deserved, and I cannot wait to celebrate your birthday and a night to remember tomorrow! Whether we end up at Showgirls or not, it will definitely be "The Night of Krystle."

Love you buddy.

Happy 24th Birthday

Server Saga

2010-01-27T09:18:00.009-07:00

Today is my first shift back at Boston Pizza. I'd never been a server before I started at BP in November of 2008, and while I can tell you that I would never want to do it for a living, I made really decent cash. Scott and I find ourselves upon a time where the extra cash flow will be to our ultimate benefit, and with him working such long days and excessive hours it seems like a good opportunity to rake it in myself.

Everyone that has worked as a server, or is close to someone who is, knows that there are many crazy tales to come from the experience. Now, I'm only doing this part time, two or three nights a week, but I'll bet you there will be many stories to come from within the booths of a Fort McMurray Boston Pizza. For your reading pleasure, I will tell the "Server Saga" for you right here on my blog, and I hope that the crazy Fort McMurrayites and their antics will prove to be entertaining.

Tidbit #1:

Yesterday evening I went to BP for a quick orientation. As I have worked there before, it was more so a technicality for the other new people they hired at the same time. Maggie* was giving myself and one other server a tour of the facilities when we came to the dish pit. Maggie continued by saying, "this is where you will run your dishes. As you can see from the stacks, our dishwasher isn't here at the moment, but he will be." This prompts the other girl on the tour to ask, "Oh! So we don't have to wash our own dishes?"

Really? Where have you worked previously that you actually had to wash your own dishes? I thought she was new in town, but I didn't think she was new to life.

This is going to be interesting.

*Names have been changed for privacy and ass-saving purposes

Newfoundland Mumble Jumble

2010-01-21T09:45:00.005-07:00

I've been in Fort McMurray for 15 months (I don't want to hear a single "I told you so," plans change, OK?) and through my time here I've met a lot of people from Newfoundland. So many in fact, that when you asks any one of them what the capital of Newfoundland is, they'll says "Fort McMurray." One older gentleman that I work with continually tells us that Newfies came here to do the work. They're just so good at doing work that theirs is all done and they had to comes here for more.

I works with quite a few Newfoundlanders, my boss is a Newfie, and a large bunch of my friends is from "The Rock". If you've never gone back East or had many dealings with someone from Nfld, you would be absolutely shocked to hears the way these crazies speak.

I have heard words and phrases put together that, to me, make absolutely no sense. I decided to start keeping track of all of the ridiculous things that I hears throughout my daily life, and post them here for your reading pleasure. I should have comes up with this idea when I first moved to Fort McMurray, as I'm sure a lot of these sayings don't even seem absurd to me anymore.

Whether you're a friend, sister, co-worker, aunt, uncle, grandfather, mother, boy or girl, you'll always be called "my son."

Oh ya, and they adds S's to everything, if you didn't catch that.

"I'ma riddle your gut strings!"- I think this means I'm gonna beat you up. Or knock your block off. Or give you the 'ol side hammer.

"Chummyjigger"- similar to our "thing-a-ma-jig"

"Stunned ya are?"- How stupid are you?

"Whattaya at?"- to Newfies this means both "What are you doing?" and "How are you?" I guess it's kind of like how Aloha is hello and goodbye in Hawaii. Ya, that's what it's like........

"What a snarl"- translated in proper English to "extreme mess."

"Well we rolled at dat" or "Well we handy 'bout died"- found something extremely funny.

"Full as a tick" or "Blowed up like a sculpin"- totally full

"Nuttin surer dan dat!"- Absolutely, total agreement

"Where ya to?"- Where are you?

"He don't know hes arse frim a 'ol in da ground."- He's stupid

"Who knit ya?"- means either "Where you from?" or "Who made you?"

"Da' roads are like da' bottle."- the roads are slippery

"Backer back."- drive in reverse

"Wadda ya like attall?"- You are silly

"From arshole to appetite!"- Never ending.....

"Wadda ya gettin' on with?"- What are you talking about?

"Whats did ya brings for dinner?"- What are you having for lunch?

"I'm right clipped."- I'm cold

"Sure as there's shit in a cat!"- Certainly

"Arn? Narn."- Any? None

"Hush yer mout and jig yer squid."- Be quiet and tend to your business

"She thinks she shits dixie cups."- She's a snob

"Pass mes an orange coke or a grape coke."- Pass me an orange or grape soda. Every pop is referred to as "Coke."

"How's she getting on by?"- Either "How are you?" or "What have you been up to?"

"I'm half in the bag!"- Intoxicated

"God luv ya cotton socks b'y!"- Thank you very much

"I'm right rotted!"- Very angry

"Barmp the horn."- Honk the horn (and referred to by my South African co-workers as "Hoot the hooter").

"Go 'way bye!"- Either "You're not serious?" or "Seriously?"

I'm not even gonna bother using spellcheck for this one.

Coming soon to a blog post near you: Aussie Slang!

Cryptic Status Updates 101

2010-01-19T09:25:00.011-07:00

Cryptic messages and status updates are everywhere on Twitter and Facebook. I'm as guilty as the next person for posting them, but sometimes it's just gotta be done.

Every once in awhile you get juicy information, a little bit of gossip, or some ridiculous incident happens to you and you need to express your emotions without singling anyone out or divulging every detail. There's also times when posting a status or cryptic message is just plain fun. There's no reason for doing it other than getting a reaction.

And there are things that you want some people to know, but just not everyone.

I shouldn't make excuses for these types of status updates but I will say that the people who constantly beg for the "secret information" (or beg for what isn't actually there) are just begging for the next cryptic status update to be posted.

A few of my favorites.....

** isn't going to take this anymore and hopes you fall down on a sharp stick.

** wishes some people would grow the F up!

** are you kidding me? Get a life.

** wishes you would back off, but is passive aggressive. So instead of telling you directly, she's gonna create a cryptic Facebook status. Take that!

** hopes this works out.

** can't wait! (excessive use of this one)

** is anxiously waiting for the special arrival

** had two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners. Hmmm......

** likes to keep her bun warm

** loser.

** is going...............

** is surprised it took a full week

** hates it! And you!

** knows something you don't know. Neener, neener, neener.

** hopes it's not lost forever

** can't wait for her stubby case to arrive

** is warning you- If you don't have a vagine, don't poop in our washroom!!

** M + H + K + L = 123.25 (wtf?)

** is posting this just so he has an alibi that he wasn't there at this time

** doesn't want to say goodbye for now but maybe will be saying hello again soon

** is wondering why it's so hard and so 1-sided

** can't believe how big and shiny it is!

These are just a few of the status updates that gave me inspiration for this post. While writing I came across a lot of status updaters that I appreciate and will more than likely blog about it in the near future.

I vow to leave less cryptic updates. I vow to not tell you that I'm wondering what to have for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I vow to not ponder my toothbrush preferences via FB status updates. And finally, I vow to make you chuckle with a blog post or status update at least once a week.

Haiti Relief

2010-01-15T11:02:00.004-07:00

I encourage everyone to donate $5 to the Red Cross Haiti Relief fund by texting "Haiti" to 45678. This campaign will work for Telus, Rogers, and Bell customers, and the charge will appear on your next phone bill.

The campaign has been active for one day and has raised close to $8 million dollars!

Let's keep it going!!!

I Wanna Be a Na'vi

2010-01-15T09:30:00.005-07:00

Avatar was an amazing movie. Scott and I went to watch it last night with Andrew and Elsa and we were all totally blown away. The two hours and 40 minutes of movie magic flew by and it was over before you knew it.

Tucked away in our seats, popcorn, drinks, and candy in hand, 3D glasses on, Avatar takes you to a new place. It's a world that my mind couldn't even imagine. I remember continually thinking throughout the movie- "How do you even start to make a movie like this? Who has the imagination to dream up these kinds of things?"

The time, effort, money that went into making this movie is completely insane when you really think about it, it is just a movie after all, but having watched the movie I feel it was 100% worth every single penny. Aside from the Star Wars trilogy, I don't recall ever seeing another film that would begin to compare to Avatar.

I don't think there's a person out there who'd see this movie and not enjoy it. If the genre isn't really your thing, I still think you'll love it. It has a bit of everything. Nick told me last night that he wasn't really into it and he thought Avatar looked dumb despite every good review he's heard or read. I continued to emphasize this movie's awesomeness, and it finally came down to these key factors in convincing him it'd be worth seeing:

Explosions, killing, war, and boobs (although no nipple). If that's what it takes to convince you to see the movie, then so be it.

I'm just waiting for someone to create a good* program that will allow us to all Avatar-Na'vi ourselves.

*I've already looked. Aside from doing a lot of work to a picture of yourself in PhotoShop, a good program hasn't been created yet.

Seems Like a Good Start To Me

2010-01-14T09:57:00.005-07:00

Gossip columns, celebrity websites, bloggers, and people everyone seem to have very different opinions when it comes to the most recent Heidi Montag-Pratt news. She apparently went under the knife for at least 10 different plastic surgery procedures in one single day. She's been quoted as saying "For past three years, I've thought about what to have done. I'm beyond obsessed." After 10 different surgeries she said that she's just trying to achieve "the best me."

In my opinion, 10 surgeries is just the tip of the iceberg when trying to fix this problem......

Please never again put Heidi on TV without a stylist and make-up crew. My eyes just can't handle it.

My Bucket List

2010-01-13T20:07:00.001-07:00

1) Be a judge on Iron Chef America- Battle Cheese

On A New Team

2010-01-12T08:53:00.005-07:00

I am no longer going to play on Team Fat Kid. I am no longer going to be a representative for Lbs Enterprises.

I'm only down 4 lbs in my first week but I'm more motivated than I've ever been. I purchased a new Elliptical, we've taken up skiing, and I'm actually working out! I plan to use the machine 6 days a week and hopefully ski on my off day until the snow disappears. (In June.)

I may have turned my alarm off at 5am this morning, reset it for my usual wake-up and rolled back over, but within 5 minutes I had talked myself into getting up and getting my fat butt on the elliptical.

I'm eating healthy, drinking lots of water and green tea (not today because our toilets are broken at work and I'm not driving to the Esso every 15 minutes to pee), and I'm already feeling the results. Tonight I'm going to measure so that I can record my lost inches as well as dropped pounds.

I'm not calling this my New Year's resolution, but rather a "Quest To Drop 40!" I don't know what it is about 2010, but it's been a motivating year for everyone by the sound of things.

Good luck to everyone on their resolutions/quests/missions/adventures!

Vista Ridge

2010-01-10T17:00:00.006-07:00

Today we went skiing. Krystle and Sam had mentioned it a few times earlier this week but I didn't really think twice about going. I don't know why, maybe because it was never really a "Hey, you guys should come!" discussion, but I hadn't considered going until yesterday when Sam actually asked me if we were gonna ski. I immediately thought "Why wouldn't we?" We didn't have other plans, we have both gone skiing before. It was an easy decision.

After a quick trip to Wal-Mart to grab some snow pants, we were on our way to Vista Ridge this morning for our first ski day.

I don't think I've been skiing in 10 years. I was so pumped to go and then as soon as we got up to the hill I started to doubt myself and my skiing abilities. What if I wasn't any good anymore? What if I couldn't even remember how to snowplow? Snowplow? That is what it's called, right?

I was frantic. Scott and Krystle both laughed at the puny bunny hill, but I was initially terrified. I made them go down first, and then I quickly went down the other side alone so that if I fell they wouldn't see me. I don't even think that "hill" is steep enough to cause a fall, but I snowplowed the length of the slope.

Round two on the bunny hill went a little better. Scott and Krys went down first again but I quickly followed. There was no carving as the moment I tried to turn my ski to the side I felt like I was going to tip over, so I continued straight down and snowplowed to a stop at the bottom. I wasn't quite "comfortable" yet but fortunately the others pushed me to try a big hill.

As it turns out, you need to actually pick up speed to be able to carve side to side. After bailing once and losing my skis, and then bailing again immediately after getting them back on, I was good to go. I was flying just like I used to when I was a wee squirt zooming down the hill without poles and without a sense of fear.

Run after run, I felt like I could ski forever. I couldn't believe that I'd actually forgotten how much I loved skiing or that I had let it be so long time since I had last strapped a pair to my feet. Krystle mentioned earlier that we'd have to leave by 3 because she had to get ready for work, and initially I thought that would be great because I'd probably be more than ready to go home by then. I wasn't ready. I was sad when she pulled out her Ziploc-baggy-wrapped-Blackberry and said "Guys, we gotta go! It's 2:58!" I'm sure my muscles will thank me for taking the last hour or so off, but I didn't want to quit. I'm also sure my muscles will hate me tomorrow when I make them get back on the Elliptical.

I may not be begging my Dad to wax the bottom of my skis to make me go faster, but I've definitely rekindled the flame for the slopes.

My Christmas Hangover

2010-01-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

You've seen it everywhere- "So and so is back to the grind!", "So and so is back to reality", "Holidays are over, it's back to business!" As irritating as the repetitive status updates are, it's the truth. And it sucks. I'm exhausted from our insanely fun holiday, Scott and I both have brutal colds, work is crazy, I'm disorganized, I currently loathe Job 2, and it's friggin freezing outside to top it all off.

I was off work for 18 glorious days. We spent 15 of them in the warm province of British Columbia where I didn't wear my jacket even once. While everyone else stood around shivering and freezing, Scott and I stood there in our shirts (possibly why we are now sick?). It's weird how quickly you become climatized to your environment and I thought I was going to absolutely freeze my butt off when we returned to Fort McMurray, but as it turns out it feels like we never even left. In every aspect possible.

If you can't quite make out what that Weather Forecast states, I'll break it down for you: +1°C by next Tuesday. I'm not religious, but HALLELUJAH!!! It was -34°C this morning.

I really don't have time for a big long post, nor do I think anyone wants to hear my recap of the vacation, so I'll leave you with that and post again when I come up with something clever.

A couple quotes collected over the holidays....

"I do not want to be reincarnated as a Pointsetta!"- Krystle. (Hers died two hours after she bought it).

"If I could keep a semi-chub for 10 hours it'd be a miracle; I can hardly keep it flaccid for that long"- Sean

"How do you feel about Justin Timberlake on SNL? He's the kinda guy who I'd suck his dick."- Sean

"Two minutes until I headbutt you."- Scott, after I refused to put my BlackBerry down and pay attention to him.

"The good thing about this room is that you can't tell what time it is so you never have to feel guilty."- Scott, while playing PS3 on a 110" television in Zach & Gill's window-less theatre room.

Me: You wouldn't have a PS3 if I left you. "It goes where I go," remember?

Chris (immediately after the comment above): Why don't you take his BBQ while you're at it?

"Imagine you were a ginger kid?"- Me to Scott, after he continually made fun of redhead adolescents.

"Imagine you were a gorilla?"- Scott. His rebuttal.

"I know I said the shirt was tight but it's only when I sit down. So I did 45 stomach crunches and I'll just stand all night. Crisis averted."- Nick

"That's cute! Ya know, for just playing out in the winter."- Lanette, after I showed her the Olympic touque I was given for Christmas.

A Few Things About Rocky

2010-01-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

My previous post generated some interest in giving the ability to read the list about Rocky. I cannot seem to get the photo to load so that you can click on it and it will enlarge in a new window, so I added it to FB as a note.

You can check it out here, if you wish.

Home!

2009-12-16T08:52:00.007-07:00

Today is the big day- Scott and I are flying back to the coast.

We are EXCITED!!

Aside from being home for 20 hours back in April, I haven't been there in a year. It's long overdue and I cannot wait!!

I had a little meltdown last night when I realized that it was going to be our last night with Rocky for over two weeks, but he will be in very capable hands and I know he'll have a lot of fun with Sherry and her clan. Yesterday I typed up a quick note for them so they'd know how much he eats, drinks, sleeps, plays, etc. I realized that I may be a little bit nuts-

A few quick notes turned into two full typed pages. I had to edit a few times, take a bunch of things out that I finally convinced myself weren't important, and send it to Lanette for final review. What is wrong with me? He is going to be fine. Why am I freaking out?

Spending so much time apart when Rocky was at Gramma and Grampa Lundquist's has taken it's toll on me. I've also realized he is almost 6 years old, and I've had to have a little chat with him about becoming immortal. He agreed and things look good from here.

This will be my first Christmas away from my family, as well as from Rocky. They are headed to my sister's in Calgary and then on to the Martindale's. I'm really going to miss them but it will be a great holiday and it 's really nice for my family to spend time with Uncle Jon, Cassie, and little Jovan. Jovan is named after my Dad so he should spend as much time with him as possible. 'Cause really, who wouldn't want their toddler to take after my Dad?............

On the up-side, however, this will be my first Christmas where I get to be with Scott and his family. I'm looking forward to new Christmas traditions and to see how others do things around their house. I'm sure it will be a really great holiday :)

Well I better get to work here as I have quite a few things to take care of before I leave this afternoon. I'm already dreading the workload that awaits my return, but three weeks off with two of them being spent back home is more than worth it!

Happy Holidays!

Winter Whiners

2009-12-11T10:28:00.003-07:00

I am a Winter Whiner today. It's currently -39 outside....but feels like -48 with the windchill according to the Weather Network. This evening it's supposed to be -37 but feels like -51.

Minus. Fifty. One.

"These severe Arctic winds will cause frostbite on exposed skin in less than 5 minutes."

Like seriously.

How do temperatures like this even exist?

Mother Nature must be pissed off at someone, cause we're feeling her wrath now.

The Addiction

2009-12-10T11:22:00.007-07:00

I have to admit it. I can't kid myself any longer. I am addicted to cheese. I'm obsessed with it. I love it!

It's impossible for me to leave the grocery store lately without buying cheese. Swiss, Dill Havarti, Gouda, Ricotta, Mozzarella, Baked Brie, Aged White Cheddar, Feta, Bocconcini, the list goes on and on.

For real. Have you ever Googled cheese and glanced at an alphabetical list? There are hundreds, and possibly thousands of different kinds, different ages, made with different ingredients, different creams or milks. It's a science. Making cheese is a science and an art. It takes years to perfect cheese-making. Heck, it can take years to make just one wheel of the deliciousness.

If I had known or admitted this obsession to myself at an earlier age I would have gone into the cheese-making business. At the price of the stuff, I could have probably retired by now strictly off the profits of supporting Rachel, Meghan, and my own cheese addictions.

WikiHow has a good explanation of How To Make Cheese at Home but I can't imagine it would actually be that easy. If making cheese is so simple, why doesn't everyone do it on their own? For a fraction of the cost of buying it from a store or market? It's safe to say that making the good stuff, or the "fine cheeses," is a little more difficult. Difficult, or time consuming at the very least, and who has time to watch cheese age?

Me.

Stay tuned for my Cheese Company commercial coming to a blog post near you!

PS.

2009-12-09T14:08:00.002-07:00

You're not that anonymous.

Thanks, Google Tracker!

Anonymity

2009-12-07T10:10:00.010-07:00

"It almost makes you feel warm just looking at it."- Lanette, watching the Holiday Fireplace channel.

Me: You know what I don't really get? Nicknames and the like are typically for the purpose of shortening one's name. But take 'Scott & Kels' for instance. One name is longer than it's original. What's the point?

Nick: Hmm that is a good point. But with your two names combined, it's stillone letter shorter. And you're a team, so it all works. Yeah...that's it.

_____________________________________________

Through my years in the Blogger world I've learned that you gotta have thick skin. When you put everything out there, your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and opinions, you're gonna get feedback that you don't always want to hear. I've been praised and encouraged for speaking my mind, for laying it all on the line, but there are always a few people that don't share the same point of view or think I'm completely off my rocker. I also don't think I'm that brave, as a lot of things that I want to say don't actually get said. I don't like being judged, and unfortunately we all have those people in or around our lives that don't totally understand where we're coming from. I have learned to accept these differences of opinion, and while I don't like to be wrong, I can understand that it's not always about being "right."

As a blogger, and many of you can relate, I appreciate the feedback. Good or bad, it's welcomed. We need to hear back from our readers to know that they appreciate what we do. I've adjusted to not always being able to please everyone, and I've gotten past the urge to write about things that everyone wants to hear. I've said it before, and I'll say it again- I write for me. Yes, I write to keep my far-away people in the loop, but I write for me. It's a way to say what's on your mind, without having to actually find someone to listen.

When I read a blog entry that I don't agree with, that offends me, or degrades someone, I tend to speak my mind when leaving a comment. If you and I don't see eye to eye, I'm probably going to congratulate you on your honesty and courage to speak your mind, but I am also probably going to express my own opinion on the matter.

When I comment I publish as myself and sign my name. If you don't have the balls to leave your name, you probably shouldn't comment at all.

Pet Peeve # 74256842: To receive a negative, conflicting, or irrational comment from "Anonymous."

If you want to express your disagreement with something I've said or done, then stand by what it is you're trying to tell me.

If you're posting as Anonymous, you're posting as nobody.

You Know You've Made It When....

2009-12-04T09:21:00.012-07:00

Tiger Woods comments on your blog!!

In the wake of his latest scandal, T. Woods has stumbled across my blog only to offer his enlightening words of encouragement for my boyfriend; "Keep your head up Scott" as posted on my "The Conclusion" entry.

After a 31 month affair, a swarm of negative paparazzi coverage, and numerous publications that blast his morals and integrity as a man, Tiger found the time to be concerned about my Scott.

Now I'd like to send him a message of my own, to sort of return the favor.

Dear Tiger,

You've got much bigger issues. You can rest assured that my boyfriend's head is held high, his heart is happy, and his life fulfilled. Thanks for the concern, but we're good over here.

Don't you have other hearts to break? Other worlds to shatter? Other lives to ruin?

You Watch Your Mouth!!

2009-12-03T15:36:00.003-07:00

I've always wondered how new people stumble upon my blog. Turns out that they've been Googling very random things and I'm slightly concerned about #2.

Random Cravings*

2009-12-03T15:08:00.009-07:00

The phone rings......

Me: Good afternoon Bucyrus
Person: Hi!
Me: Hi??
Person: Can I have....Oh, what did you say this was?
Me: Bucyrus
Person: Oh, so this isn't Jomaa's Pizza? Pizza & Chicken?
Me: Nope. *click*

Thanks a lot, dickhead. Now I want pizza. Really, really badly.

I wonder if I should skip Job 2 to go home and order pizza before writing my final exam in HR Management? I probably should.

Our Mama

2009-12-02T07:53:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was the world's greatest Mom's birthday. Bonnie turned 48!!

I sent my gift in time that it arrived yesterday morning, but Lanette's was going to be a few days late thanks to 'ol Canada Post and their efficient package handling.

She still managed to give our Mom one of the sweetest gifts possible- Check it out here, cause it's pretty great and I couldn't have said it any better.

Happy Birthday to our Mom. We love you so much!

oxo

The Conclusion

2009-11-30T19:26:00.010-07:00

Happy Anniversary to us!

Looks like we were thinking similars thoughts when buying our anniversary cards for each other but Scott wins by including some very special words of his own. I swear that he could write "I like your face" and I'd still cry while reading it, but this one really got me- "Love you better, hug you more, kiss you sweeter, you're the one I adore."

They're absolutely beautiful & smell amazing

Thinking of our future together, and all of the things that we still have to look forward to is the most exciting thought I could ever have. Everyone out there who has found their somebody, knows what it's like to be forever in love with your very best friend.

I love you babe oxo

The Sequel

2009-11-30T06:25:00.001-07:00

I didn't have to cook something with potatoes for dinner last night. Scott took me to Fuji for sushi (which I'd been craving for days and days). It was really nice, and Vinny, our regular server, gave us the extra special treatment.

When we got home Scott played Call of Duty and I watched.

Today is our actual anniversary and Scott doesn't start night shift until 8pm so he's off for the majority of today.

Stand by for late breaking news.

Scammed

2009-11-29T16:08:00.003-07:00

Tomorrow is our anniversary. Scott has to work nights for the first half of the week so we won't get to spend our day together. I had arranged for us to take a plane ride this afternoon with a pilot-friend of mine but the plane was iced up this morning so the surprise didn't happen. I let Scott know what I'd originally been planning so that he wouldn't think I'd completely forgot about the anniversary and he said "Were you going to tell me? What if I had something planned?" Crisis averted, no plane rides happened today, bring on my surprise. Then he made another comment last night about having something planned for our anniversary. This morning he said "keep your afternoon and evening open."

So far today I have made myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast, rather than my usual Sunday hashbrowns and eggs prepared for me by Scott. Then I took the dog for a walk (Scott was there too so I guess it wasn't too bad) and gave him a bath. I played around on the Internet for awhile waiting for Scott to finish cleaning out his work truck. Then I got to go grocery shopping where I didn't ask what we should do for dinner because I assumed that plan had been taken care of. We are now home, and Scott suggested I cook something with potatoes because we have alot to use up.

I'm still waiting to see if his "plans" involve anything other than chores and football.

Happy Anniversary to me.

The Funnies

2009-11-26T07:47:00.008-07:00

After BlackBerry Update so graciously wiped out all of my calendar appointments and the memos in MemoPad I wasn't able to post the few quotes that I'd jotted down in there. Last night I located the backup file on my computer and downloaded some other software program that decodes .ipd files. Calendar appointments and MemoPad recovered!! Thank you to everyone on the CrackBerry Forum for providing me with the solution to both of the issues.

So, without further adieu.....

"Why do they call him Louie? It took me a day and a half to figure out they weren't talking about two different people. They call him Ron & Louie! How was I supposed to know?- Scott, confused.

"Oh thank you. I wanted a Transformer. But a boy will do."- Dylan, after I congratulated him on the upcoming birth of his son.

"I wish this show was an hour."- Robbie, watching The Hills.

"Do I have to have you on my insurance? Really? I may as well throw my money in the garburator."- Scott, to me. I know you were unsure about who he was talking to.

**Post Edit** This next bit of dialogue came from my Mom via e-mail this morning. It just had to get added.

At a typical Lundquist family dinner, Joe, my little cousin, has apparently been attempting to go "Vegan" for the past 3 weeks.....

Bonnie: Joe, do you know what a Vegan is?
Joe: Yup, somebody who has never had sex, YET!
Bonnie: No, no. Not a virgin, a Vegan.
Joe: Hehe OH! Nope.
Bonnie: A Vegan does not ingest food that originates from anything with a face.
Joe: Oh, cool.
Granny: That's much more difficult than just staying away from meat.
Dave: Well technically, virgins don't eat meat either.
(Hunter laughed so hard he choked).

Stay classy, Dad.

Slack 'o Lackin'

2009-11-25T09:28:00.004-07:00

21 sleeps.

It appears that I've been a bit MIA from the blogger world lately. I typically come into work, log into my Google account and browse through Google Reader to see what I've missed. I guess my life has just been crazy busy and I can't find the time in between work tasks, or maybe eBay has consumed my Internet attention. Either way, I need to smarten up!

21 sleeps.

Scott celebrated his 25th birthday a couple weeks ago, and this past weekend we drove to Didsbury to spend the weekend with my family (Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncle, Cousins, Ron, and Lanette and Brody briefly) and Scott tried his hand at hunting. He had a great time out in the bush, and even had the opportunity to become a "real hunter." Dad said that he aimed right where he told him too, and he just barely missed his target. I didn't ever think Scott would turn into a hunter, but you can bet that he's fitting in beautifully with the men in our family and my Dad is happy to have some boys to teach gun slingin'. We came home with happy hearts, full bellies, a new TV and a gun. Lucky me! Thanks for that one, Uncle Lenny.

Work has been busy, both jobs, and school is wrapping up over the next 2 weeks. You can imagine that this means final projects, presentations, and exams, but I am ecstatic that it'll all be finished on December 3rd. I get a couple weeks to relax before heading home on the 16th for our 2 week holiday. 21 sleeps.

Friday is Scott's Christmas party, Saturday I have to get together with a couple ladies to work on our presentation for Organizational Behaviour, hopefully meet with Mike, Kristen, and their puppy Juno to see if she'll get along with the Rockstar, and Sunday is Grey Cup. We also have to fit in an Anniversary celebration (3 years, holy toledo!) and a fancy shmancy dinner.

I am almost done my Christmas shopping! The Lundquist clan draws names for the gift exchange, and this year I got Brody. I had a hard time in the beginning coming up with a great gift idea for him, but I think I've hit the nail on the head this time. I hope he likes it! I also had some trouble with presents for Scott, as it was just his birthday (PS3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and all the gear) and our anniversary next week, but I have also managed to sort out that fiasco! Stocking stuffers are covered for my family, as well as his, and aside from a few things I need to get when we get to Vancouver, I'm all done. It feels great!

I have been working on my Christmas Wish List this year (thanks BlackBerry update for wiping out my entire Memo Pad and notes!!!) and I've pretty much figured it out. If anyone wants to get me a TeaCup Piggy, or a Macbook Pro, you know where to find me.

If you could have any one thing for Christmas, completely materialistic and fabulous, what would it be? (I don't want to hear World Peace, feed the hungry, save an Endangered species. We all want those things, so gimme something real good).

21 sleeps. Did I mention?

What You Can Find In The Fort McMurray Parks

2009-11-14T10:50:00.001-07:00

Oh ya know, just a bag of raw ground beef.

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

A Few Little Bits

2009-11-12T15:17:00.004-07:00

"Wow, the Internet sure doesn't have anything, when it really comes down to it."- Scott, apparently frustrated with Google.

"I can do so much now. It's like my wings have been unclipped."- Krystle, talking about finally having a vehicle of her own.

"Do you guys gotta work Remembrance Day? I hope not, I won't remember a fucking thing."- Robbie, so patriotic.

(No spelling or grammatical errors are being corrected for these next two quotes):

"Nice. Tell the boss that I'm the bee knees and can dunk on a 14 foot net and am a national badminton champ from the years of 1988-1991 and 1994-1996. And that I may be a little older but I can still smash the shuttlecock."- Kyle, I have no idea.

"Oh, and Scotty said if you have to show the boss alittle upstairs to get me up there. it was ok. but don't conferm that with him."- Kyle, again.

So, 34 sleeps until we're home for the holidays. Only 7 sleeps until we're in Didsbury to visit my family (and so Scott can go hunting. Yes, hunting. I know).

Can't wait to see everyone!

My Lucky Stars *

2009-11-10T08:58:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was one for the history books- I had good luck.

Like I previously posted about, my camera was miraculously returned to me yesterday afternoon. I had to wait until 3pm to phone Paddy's for the terrible news that "No, your camera is not here" but to my complete shock and amazement, it was there! I picked it up on my way home from work and then stopped to grab some groceries from Safeway. I bought a slew of veggies for a big pot of soup that I was planning to whip up, and this is where my other bit of luck comes into play.

I put dinner in the oven and decided to start chopping up the vegetables. I was almost done when I thought it could probably use a bit of fresh parsley. I ripped off a handful of the pretty green stuff, rolled it up, and started chopping away. I was moving so quickly that I didn't even see my finger resting directly under my knife blade. SLICE. I thought I'd cut my finger off! but when I looked down I had completely hacked off the end of my finger nail, as well as the very top layer of skin which was sliced clean off the tip with what looked to be total precision. Precision it was not. Luck it was.

Thank you to whoever was watching out for me yesterday. I like it. Care to stick around awhile longer?

False Alarm

2009-11-09T18:39:00.002-07:00

In some form of a miracle, my camera was returned to me this afternoon in perfect condition. Actually, I had to go get it from the pub where the camera almost met it's drunken demise, but I got it back nonetheless.

Thank you to whoever out there turned my camera in to the lost and found. Something magnificent is going to happen to you one day soon!

Much Love,

Happy Camera Owner.

Efffffff My Life.

2009-11-09T14:21:00.004-07:00

Another camera gone, another few hundred bucks down the drain. This better be the last time it happens or I'm gonna take Mom's advice and quit pictures.

Maybe Paddy McSwiggins has it?

Happy Birthday Babe!

2009-11-06T09:18:00.007-07:00

25 years ago, a little baby named Scott was born. Today, we celebrate his quarter century birthday. I don't know who was more excited about this day coming, but it was probably me. I have a killer gift to give him tonight, woke up bright and early this morning to make a big French toast breakfast, and tonight I'm taking him to the Keg for dinner. Tomorrow we are headed to Pestos for dinner with a bunch of great friends, and then to Paddy's to continue the shenanigans.

I wish everyone else could be here with us to help Scott celebrate, but he appreciates the great Happy Birthday notes!

Here is to the best boyfriend a girl could ask for, and the greatest friend in the world:

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY SCOTT!

Love you always.

xxoxxoxxoxxoxx

-- Quotes --

2009-10-27T15:03:00.003-06:00

Still in recovery mode from the epic BFF weekend and playing catch-up for the extra day off from work, but wanted to post a few wicked quotes that were collected over the last 4 days.

"It's not like it'll go bad."- Rachel, in reference to her WestJet giftcard never spoiling.

"I never used to drink. Then I met Cody."- Robbie

Me: Whatta ya doin' Rach?
Rach: Fingering the icing.

"I'm not gonna lie- I'm terrified of Lanette. She'd kill me if she wanted to. Like, if I got up in the morning and she was in the bathroom and told me to brush her teeth for her, I'd do it."- Robbie, referring to his fear of his downstairs roomie.

Derek: Whatta ya got on there? Black jam?
Robbie: Nutella.

Me: Rach and I like Big 'N Rich.
Lanette: I like 'em big and rich.

"Oh but I could so do him. I like 'em dirty."- Rachel's response to Lanette referring to Justin Bobby as a grease-ball.

"I don't use condoms. I'd rather die."- Chris

In the early stages of our party on Saturday night....

Scott: Someone ripped off the last couple days from my baseball one-a-day calendar!!!
Me: Oh, no, that was me.
Scott, completely disgusted: WHAT?!? Why would you do that?!! It's bad luck! I'm doomed thanks to you. Not that I wasn't already.

Halloween Shmalloween...Or Not?

2009-10-20T10:46:00.004-06:00

Anyone that knows me will tell you that I do not embrace Halloween. I am a downer when it comes to dress-up parties, themes, costumes, etc., so you can just imagine how much of a riot I am when October 31st rolls around.

As kids we always had fun on Halloween, and had pretty decent costumes......

but once I outgrew the opportunity to collect pillowcases full of sugar-infested goodies, the novelty wore off.

When I reached my twenties (ya know, cause I'm so far past them now) I just didn't understand all the hoopla around Halloween. I have friends that are OBSESSED with it and plan their costumes a year in advance. Sometimes their plans actually require these insane time lines for the purpose of growing out their hair, etc. I have other friends that use Halloween strictly as an excuse to be the true jacka$$'s that they really are (ie. Kyle Bucholtz dressed as the late Crocodile Hunter who had not yet been deceased for two months). Then there are the folks who like Halloween because they can dress up as skanky Nurses, Firemen, Police Officers, or Nuns. To each their own, but I never really "got" it. Until this year....

For some reason, I am truly excited about Halloween. I couldn't think of a costume for the last couple weeks and was starting to panic as I knew we had committed to attend a "Costumes Only" party on the 31st. I figured that once I convinced Scott to reveal his costume plans I would have some sort of inspiration or maybe his costume would require a sidekick or counterpart. I was wrong. I got nothing from his idea, and was left with less momentum to participate than when I first started on my costume-quest.

This brings me to yesterday. I had been tossing around a couple different costume ideas, one that Scott immediately kiboshed (why wouldn't he want to dress up in awesome foam penguin costumes and go as Mumbles and Gloria from Happy Feet?), and a few others that I just couldn't get really worked up about. I refused to wear something that is listed on eBay as "Sexy something-or-other" or "Luscious something-or-other" so I was left with the frump. Running out of time, especially to order something via the interweb, I pulled the trigger. I decided on a costume, selected expedited shipping, and the costume was on it's way.

Then today I came up with a really good idea and was a little bummed I'd already bought a costume. I had purchased it through eBay so I couldn't even cancel the order. C'mon, I have 100% positive feedback and I'm not willing to jeopardize such a GoldStar-shopping accomplishment.

I couldn't get the new idea out of my head and I had butterflies in my tummy because of the excitement. What is this strange feeling? Halloween enthusiasm? Wow, I figured I better act on it. So I did. I bought the 2nd costume and am now totally stoked for Halloween!

11 sleeps until the Jack 'o Lanterns light up and the crazies come out.

Trick. Or Treat.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-10-15T10:13:00.002-06:00

What a great long weekend! As unfortunate as it was that I had to miss Jenna's wedding, my parent's anniversary, and spending a birthday with Lanette, we had a pretty great few days.

Scott took Saturday off so that we could go to Lloydminster for the day (1200 kms later) and get him all geared up for a winter in the North, we spent Sunday night at the Ross residence for Thanksgiving dinner and shenanigans, and a recovery day at home on Monday.

Myself, Scott, and Rocky packed into the car at 6am on Saturday morning and made the 5 1/2 hour drive to Lloydminster. We could have done it in 5 hours but we hit some bad weather and road conditions early on that caused a bit of delay. We made it to Lloyd early, took Rocky for a walk and did some driving around the city to see the Alberta and Saskatchewan sides. We wondered how a person would decide to live in Lloydminster, Alberta or in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan? Saskatchewan has a provincial sales tax, but there is no way it applies in Lloydminster. Why would anyone ever choose to live on that side of town? As Scott said, it would be a ghost town!

We met Rae's friend Neil at his store in the early afternoon and managed to get Scott all geared up for the upcoming chilly months. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the local Kelsey's and were back on the road by 4pm.

We arrived in Fort McMurray just before 9 pm with only a slight delay thanks to the wonderful RCMP. I got pulled over for speeding and received a hefty ticket of $57 for doing 101 in a 100 zone. Technically I was doing 123 (Scott and I both thought it was 110 and I had the cruise control set around 120 to be safe) but the bugger still got me. He was nice enough to give me the lowest ticket possible and we were back on our way.

Sunday I made a batch of yummy mashed potatoes as our dinner contribution and were on our way to the Ross residence. About 10 of us gathered for dinner, ate a good portion of the ginormous turkey, and people were coming and going for other dinners and work all night. I taught the girls how to play Bullshit Pyramid while the boys watched football, and the night took off from there. We had plans to go out to the bar afterwards but never actually made it. A great big thanks to Mark and Krystal for inviting us to share in their Thanksgiving and for providing such a delicious meal.

Scott and I missed spending the holiday with our families, but all of the great friends we have up here made it an easier pill to swallow. A very Happy Anniversary wish to my parents, a Happy Birthday to Lanette, and a big congratulations on her first 10k race completed on October 12th. She finished in an hour and 5 minutes and we're all very proud of her for beating her target of 1 hour 10 minutes.

This week has been an interesting one. I need to be as focused on my future and our lives as I can, and hopefully everything works out for the best. Everything does happen for a reason and the power of positive thinking will prevail at some point in my life :)

Today we woke up to this, and it's still coming down....

Happy Winter everyone!

How Do I Call Someone?

2009-10-10T15:17:00.001-06:00

Here I sit in Kelsey's Restaurant in Lloydminster, over hearing a conversation that an elderly woman is having with her son just one booth over. She purchased a BlackBerry this morning, somehow not realizing it was a Smart Phone, and just had a serious meltdown...

"How do I call someone? There aren't even numbers! I can't see the buttons. Everything is shifting around. It just shut off! I think its broken. None of the keys work. This thing is a piece of shit. Excuse me waitress, I'd like a double Caesar extra spice. Thanks."

Get this lady a walkie talkie, asap.

Just The Business

2009-10-08T13:35:00.012-06:00

Nothing witty or overly entertaining to post about recently, so I'll just give you the business. Ha.

Rocky is in full recovery mode. Has kicked his infection and came out of his re-check on Tuesday will a clean bill of health. No more severe urinary tract infection and no stones! Phew*

Scott and I are going to Lloydminster on Saturday to pick him up some new winter work gear. Looking forward to a day road trip with our little Fam and some new photos.

Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with the Ross familia is going to be oh-so fun.

Mother Nature has taken to the streamlining craze. No fall season for us this year- straight into winter. Fml.

15 sleeps until BBF Rachel Penner arrives in the Mac.

Undetermined amount of sleeps until she heads home as I have put my "Rachel now resides in Fort McMurray" plan into action.

School is well underway, 2 classes going right now, and I have my first midterm tonight. Thank the good lord for one of my teachers deciding to not have tests or exams.

Lanette got her braces off yesterday. Her teeth look amazing and she couldn't be happier. I still don't recognize the bottom part of her face though...It's like some hi-jacked her mouth and chin.

We are having a party at our new place on October 24th to celebrate Lanette's birthday, Kristen's birthday, Rachel's arrival in Fort Mac, UFC 104, and living in a new house.

Robbie has moved in with us and is getting settled. His first week was pretty crazy as he was still trying to clean and fix things at his old house in an attempt to recover some of their damage deposit but we are getting him initated with the ways of the Lundquist household and we're very glad to have him.

I have located a dog groomer who does scissor cuts and lives on the same street as us! This means I can cancel Rocky's appointment at the groomer's on Saturday and he won't have to get shaved to the skin right before winter. Yay for looking cute immediately after an appointment rather than 30 days down the road when his hair starts to grow back.

Lanette the Dog Whisperer strikes again! She has taught Rocky a ton of tricks since his arrival North in July, and he's a rolling-over machine!

Our network crashed first thing Monday morning (payroll cut-off) and we didn't get it back up and running until 3:30pm Tuesday. I managed to help out our IT departments quite a bit and received a new Bucyrus jacket today as a thank you for my efforts.

I am having a difficult time deciding what costume to get for Rocky. Halloween is fast approaching and I'm torn. Please help me decide and cast your vote for your favorite!

Me: Wow, Rocky! You really do smell like Apple Pie. Lanette: I know! So weird, eh? Me: No, not really. You bathed him with Apple Pie shampoo...

"It's snowing so hard here today. Its like somebody forgot to pay the 'Summer' bill."- Erhan.

*Stones = Surgery = Sad Rocky = Stressed Mommy = Lots of $$$$

A Mother's Intuition

2009-09-30T13:45:00.009-06:00

I don't know how parents do it.

For the past few days I have noticed that Rocky makes a beeline for his water dish as soon as we wake up in the morning. I know it doesn't sound like too odd of a thing for him to be doing, but Rocky is the dog that gives you the eye when you turn the light on in the morning, and refuses to get out of bed until I've showered, make-up'd, hair did, and dressed to go out the door. It is only then that he will drag himself up, give a great big stretch, and then march straight to the front door for his morning walk.

I had noticed he was drinking a little bit more than usual, but didn't think too much about it. Then Lanette and Scott both walked him at separate times yesterday evening and said that he was peeing an excessive amount. Lanette mentioned that she noticed his "thingy" was sort of an orange color, but by the time I got home from school late last night, it was red. Blood red. Either his "thingy" was bleeding, or it was coming from somewhere.

Scott and I decided to let him sleep for the night and we'd check it out again in the morning. There was no sleeping....not for me and Rocky at least. He whined all night, wanted to go out for a pee every 5 minutes, didn't sleep a wink, and paced around the room. I took him out several times but it got to the point where he wasn't doing anything. I tried to get him to go to sleep in his bed but he was crying quite a bit and it was keeping Scott up. By this time I had definitely decided that I was not going to work in the morning and was taking Rocky to the vet asap so I moved him out to his bed in the living room and laid on the floor next to him until he calmed down enough to stop whimpering. I think I fell asleep on the couch for 20 minutes before he started back up again.

I spent probably 15 or more minutes with him outside and then tucked him into his bed in the living room so I could try and warm up and get a bit of sleep. I think I slept from 5:45 till 6:15 when Scott got up for work.

I took him to the vet this morning and they asked me to get a urine sample and bring him back in. I couldn't get another appointment with them until 12:20 so we headed for home. Spent the morning trying to keep him occupied with something other than the pain and then took his urine sample right before we were scheduled to leave for the appointment.

This was the scary part.

I knew he had some blood in his urine, obviously, but by this point he was peeing what looks to be straight blood. Rocky has never really been sick before, and I've never really not known what's been going on with him. I am the most freaked out about my little guy than I've ever been before. I know that it's probably just a bladder or UT infection, and am hopeful that it isn't kidney stones or will require surgery, but it's scary. I feel so helpless and he seems so uncomfortable.

I got a call from the clinic and Rocky's appointment had been cancelled. The power was out and they didn't know when it would be back up and running. I could take them the sample but they couldn't run the tests. They could send it out to a lab but it would take 2 days to get the results.

Cue freaking out a little more.

I have now scheduled him into a different clinic for later this afternoon, but I will have to take another urine sample, and he seems to be getting worse as the time passes.

If only I had caught it sooner. If only I'd paid more attention to the signs. If only I had listened to what couldn't be anything other than a Mother's intuition.

I don't know how parents do it, but I hope one day that I'll be able to.

RUNNING FOR THE CURE

2009-09-29T13:33:00.001-06:00

OK people, let's get down to business. I previously told you that I was the top fundraiser in my whole region, but the gap is closing quickly. I am currently only $5 ahead of the next fundraiser and breast cancer prevention needs your help!

I am in the running to receive an award for my fundraising efforts, and your generosity does not go unnoticed. I cannot express how much I appreciate every penny that you have all contributed so far.

If you have not yet sent in a donation to this amazing cause, I beg you to do so now. If you've already contributed, then I encourage you to dig a little deeper!

Every dollar counts!

Keep 'em coming, we've got till Friday!

Kelsey's Personal Donation Page to contribute online.

Thank you so much!

° Quotes °

2009-09-29T09:38:00.004-06:00

No time for a real post so far this week but I've got a few beauty quotes.

Me: Why aren't you putting the rest of those books on the new bookshelf? Not showy enough titles for ya?
Lanette: They're self-help books.
Me: Oh, and you want people to think that you came like this?

"I'm gonna start a show called 'Guests come over for interviews and then get punched in the face.'"- Scott, being forced into watching The After Show on MTV.

"Ok, when you sit on the couch can you vary when you sit each time? And don't sit in the middle, it's been worked in. And don't sit between the cushions 'cause it will get droopy. Oh, and put a sticker on the spot that you sat when you get up so you know where not to sit the next time.-" Lanette, driving me absolutely bonkers with her new-couch-working-in-etiquette.

"I'm feeling kind of dizzy- ohhh that's so nice. Quick! Somebody choke me out!"- Jesse, feeling a little lightheaded and loving it.

"Wassup? Wassup? Wassup? I feel warm inside."- Matt, shitcanned at BP

"We're leading the pack in personal-belonging-safety."- Scott to Robbie, in reference to why they insist on having safes in their rooms.

"Ok Princess Di. Where were you 8 years ago when I was changing the world one life at a time?"- Lanette, expressing her displeasure with the praise I've been receiving for my involvement with the CIBC Run for the Cure.

Seriously?

2009-09-23T17:42:00.001-06:00

Here I am at work, trying to get a hold of one of our patients, but I get his voicemail. This patient's name is Jeremy but his vm initially says Lebron. Quick ck that I have the right number and then I get this message-

"Hi you've reached Lebron James. I can't get to the phone right now cause I'm too busy playing basketball and kickin' ass." Beeeeep.

Wow.

Holy Toledo!

2009-09-23T09:18:00.005-06:00

I've just been informed that I am currently the top fundraiser for the CIBC Run For The Cure in this whole region!

I've now raised over ~~$2300~~ $2400 and I'm not gonna stop until race day on October 4th.

If you or anyone you know would be willing to contribute to this amazing cause, please visit my Personal Donation Page to make your donation.

Thank you again to everyone who has made reaching my goal (first $250, then $1000, then $2000, and now finally $3000) a possibility. Your generosity and kindness has not gone unnoticed.

Thank you, Thank you :)

Snappity Snap!

2009-09-22T10:07:00.001-06:00

Waterproof to 33ft., Shockproof, Crush proof, Freeze proof....now only if they made them Burglar proof.

Foreman Kelsey

2009-09-20T14:38:00.001-06:00

Just making sure the job gets done right.

Me Myself & I

2009-09-18T14:01:00.004-06:00

This past week has been disastrous to my health. We ate out for at least 4 days when we were mid-move, half our lives in one house and half our lives in the garage of another. All pantry food packed and relocated, but the fridge and freezer left behind. It's pretty difficult to make anything with half the ingredients so we decided to get as much of everything moved that we could, and sacrifice home cooked meals for a few days.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad. I have this deep passionate love for Subway sandwiches and I had Subway at least once, three days in a row. It was glorious!

I also worked all week (minus half of an afternoon off on Tuesday for moving day) and had school. You can imagine how disheveled our house is right now, especially with Organizer-Extraordinaire Lanette out of town for the week, but it is really coming along. Our new bed is heavenly to sleep on and we picked up the new couch and chair from the Brick last night. Shaw hooked up our cable and HD PVR, and the Internet. The kitchen is functioning and I cooked our first dinner last night.

Scott tried to make some soup and grilled cheese sandwiches at about 9:30 on Wednesday night but it proved quite difficult. Mid-prep we discovered that Lanette had surrendered our god awful excuse for a can opener to the old place, and we didn't even have a pot or a soup scoop! He massacred the can of soup with a knife sharpener and then squeezed out the contents to cook it in a frying pan. I've since acquired some kitchen essentials and we are back to functioning like modern humans.

Yesterday I brought my fancy new work camera home and took a bunch of "before" pictures. I want to be able to show Lanette the turmoil that went on before she arrived home to a clean and pristine abode.

I'll post them when I get everything together and can snap some after photos!

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend. I cannot begin to explain how much I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

oxo Lulu

Getting My Fix

2009-09-16T09:49:00.003-06:00

Roll out the red carpet, batten down the hatches, and look out! In 37 sleeps, on October 23rd at 3:59 pm, the ying to my yang will be in Fort McMurray for 4 whole days.

This has the potential to be the best weekend in history.

I'm just sayin'.

What WOULD Your Mama Think?

2009-09-15T11:04:00.006-06:00

Everyone around the world has heard what Kanye West did to poor Taylor Swift. It broke my heart, but I wasn't the least bit surprised.

This guy continually proves that is he an unclassy scumbag. The lowest of low, and doesn't care about anyone other than himself......and maybe that broad in the leopard skin catsuit that he brought to the show. Also classy.

I, on the other hand, am one classy individual. My fortune from lunch yesterday proves it-

" Rarely do great beauty and virtue dwell together as they do in you."

Ha, take that Kanye. I bet your fortune would say "You may yearn for perfection, but mediocrity if your fate" or "Today is a huge improvement over yesterday. Keeping going dickhead."

Get over yourself.

Google = Self Diagnosis

2009-09-14T11:39:00.003-06:00

Dear Cold Urticaria,

As you can see below, I am not fond of my appendages swelling up, nor am I too pleased about the rash/hives and uncomfortable itch that you bring along.

Please leave me alone.

Sincerely,

Irritated. (pun)

How in the hell am I supposed to survive a winter in Fort McMurray with an allergy to the friggin cold!?

Pantry

2009-09-13T14:59:00.001-06:00

I never want to hear "We don't have anything to eat" again. We haven't even touched the fridge or freezer yet.

Welcome To Fort McMurray, How May I Not Help You?

2009-09-09T16:03:00.000-06:00

In typical Ft. Mac fashion, I got the run-around at Canadian Tire this afternoon. I can assure you it was NOT the happiest store in town today, contrary to their mind numbingly stupid radio advertisement.

I called earlier to schedule an appointment to get an out-of-province inspection done on the Explorer. The gentleman on the phone told me that I didn't need an appointment and to just bring it down with the appropriate forms before 3pm.

So, down I go at 2:15 pm and am told that they can book me an appointment for Monday morning. Ahhhh pardon? No, not gonna work. Insurance expires on Sunday so that shit ain't gonna fly with me.

It's not their fault that we left this all to that last minute, but I phoned to schedule an appointment today and was told I didn't need one and the truck would be done by 5pm at the latest.

After politely explaining the situation, I was getting nowhere.

So I explained things rather impolitely and demanded that something be done to rectify our current situation.

The truck will be done by 5pm.

Don't mess with me Fort McMurray.

Kelsey

It's Fate

2009-09-08T14:15:00.006-06:00

Seriously!

Right after I clicked "Publish" on my last post, I got this message.....

It's on, art gods.

**sarcasm**

Studio Me

2009-09-08T13:51:00.004-06:00

I love art.

The crazier the better.

A lot of stuff I do is very hit and miss. I excelled in all of my art classes throughout highschool, and received the Grade 12 Artist Excellence award, but it can take several attempts to get an end product that I'd be proud to show people, and over the last couple years I haven't done much of anything.

This may have to do with the fact that my art supplies get stuffed in a box every time I move and it's takes some time to recover it. The last 3 places that I have lived haven't been ideal for an art station and I guess I just stopped unpacking my gear all together.

I was craving the acrylics over the long weekend and it made me very sad to think that I stuffed 23 pairs of jeans in my suitcase on my original trek up here instead of my small tackle box of paints, brushes and other mediums. I discovered that the local dollar store has some decent canvas's for sale and I'm gonna go pick up a few to get back into it. I know I'll have to hammer out a few junkers before I'll find my "creative flare" again.

(chalk pastels on cardboard)

(you work with whatcha got)

Scott is going to get his hockey gear shipped up here pretty soon, and if I can recall what stupid box I crammed that stuff into when I crazily packed to move, it's getting sent up here too! I just need to find a store that carries decent acrylics, as I'm sure mine are long dried up.

Robbie might have to move into the living room downstairs if I really get back into this. Ya know, cause I'll need the extra room for my studio.

Lanette Lundquist- Dog Whisperer

2009-09-04T08:40:00.011-06:00

Rocky is 5.5 years old. When he was little, I house trained him and he'd sort of listen when you called him. I'd give him a treat, say "paws," and he'd go up on his hind legs and wave his paws in the air. End trick show.

Then he went to Puppy Bootcamp at Gramma and Grampa Lundquist's in Enderby.

During the time he spent there with them, he became so well behaved. He'd listen, he'd come, he'd stay, he'd wait for a treat. I was amazed when I got him back and he was near perfect! He was doomed from the beginning with me as his mother, but he's turned out pretty darn good with a group family effort.

Lately he's been picking things up that even my Dad could never get him to do, and it's all thanks to Lanette. She has a university degree in Communications, but her real profession should be Dog Whisperer.

Teaching Rocky a new trick never takes her more than 10 minutes, and it's unbelievable. He now knows how to speak, to give High 5's (he actually High 10's with both paws), and most recently, he knows how to lay down. I received a BBM message from Lanette on Wednesday evening while Scott and I were still hanging out at Mike and Kristen's, she'd been home for about 15 minutes, and she'd somehow taught Rocky how to lay down!!!

Next on the list is 'rollover" and "dance!"

And "get me a beer."

Smart Beans

2009-09-03T11:31:00.004-06:00

Whoever invented the Starbucks Splash Stick, was an effing genius.

I bought 8 assorted coffee beverages this morning from the local Starbucks, and had to transport them approximately 10 kilometers back to the office.

Not a single drop of that delicious bean juice ended up anywhere but in the mouths of me and my coworkers.

Thank you coffee geniuses!

Idiot

2009-09-02T14:39:00.006-06:00

This afternoon I sent out a company-wide (Fort McMurray, Edmonton, Labrador City, BC, South Milwaukee) e-mail containing information about revisions to certain employee's contact information.

Then I sent out an e-mail to everyone in our office here, about a surprise birthday for Leonard. I forgot to include that we were all welcome to bring along our spouses and significant others.

So I pulled up my original message (or so I thought) and hit Reply All. I added a little blurb regarding spousal invitations and sent it along.

And then I realized that I Reply All'd to the wrong friggin message.

Now everyone in our entire company thinks that I invited their spouses and significant others to Josh and Cole's new office out at site.

I think these new blonde streaks are seeping into my brain.

FML.

Movin' On Up

2009-09-02T07:45:00.008-06:00

Lucky us, we're moving again!

Monday morning I received an e-mail from our landlord stating that our lease expires this month, and they will be moving back into our place at the end of September.

In other words, pack ur shit and get the hell out. ("Thanks for landscaping our yard and cleaning the place up. Now we want to live there").

Since July of 2007, I have moved 5 times. From Burnaby, to South Surrey, to Langley, to 365 Diefenbaker Drive in Fort McMurray, to 241 Kodiak Crescent, and now onto 128 O'Coffey Crescent. Needless to say, I'm tiring of packing my life into a box and truckin' it across town. It seems like these last two times have been the easiest moves because I don't think I even had a chance to unpack everything!

We signed a 6 month lease for 241 Kodiak and were certain that once it expired in September we'd still be good to go on a month-to-month basis. We weren't so lucky!

There are positive aspects to this move though, don't get me wrong. Our new place is definitely a step up. It is similar to our current house, in that it's a 4 bedroom split level duplex, but it's in amazing shape and has been very well taken care of. Laminate floors, upgraded stainless steel appliances, a microwave and dishwasher that I won't want to smash through the front window everytime I go to use them, enough garage and driveway parking for 4 vehicles (yay!), his & hers sinks in the master bedroom and a walk-in closet!

We had early reservations of 128 O'Coffey Crescent, because it didn't come with any furniture. We have relied heavily on "furnished" homes since Lanette shipped her life's collection of furnishings back to her new house in Calgary. She still has her bed though, and with the pieces we have pulled together from friends and co-workers, it seems that the only thing left to get is a couch! I found a gorgeous microfiber sectional online for $450, but it was sold by the time I tried to get my hands on it. I am watching Kijiji like a hawk over the next week, and am certain we'll find something!

Moving right along....(haha)....we had our softball playoffs last weekend and ended up 3rd. We started strong, with 2 wins on Saturday, but just couldn't get it together once Sunday morning came. I don't think it had anything to do with the massive Robot party thrown by one Jill LeDrew on Friday night, or the team BBQ at Alex's on Saturday, it must have just been the amazingly hot weather that has been missing from our lives for the majority of the summer.

(This is not a random Google image, I actually know this guy)

A solid season by the Slow Sox, and a thank you for putting up with Scott and I on such short notice. I'm sure we'll be asked back for the next season and I know Scott has secured a spot on the roster for the rest of his life- he and Lanette received the team MVP awards, and are now rockin' awesome* new tshirts.

"If marriage didn't exist, do you think people would get together and say 'Hey! Let's get the government involved?'"- Matt, expressing feelings towards traditional marriage.

Robbie: You guys have any Aspirin or Advil? Scott: I've got Rolaids.

"It's a gong from ancient Vietnamese. I loooooove reasons to hit it."- Cody, shitcanned.

Kelsey: I'd prefer your first hunting trip with my Dad to not be a week long. Scott: It's fine, I'm sure I'll come home early in a body bag.

"The words that come out about vaginas are gross. Like labia? That is fucking disgusting.- Mike

Me, to some guy across the table in the beer gardens: Um, your fly is down. Guy: It generally is.

*They're ugly.

The Things We Thrive On

2009-08-27T15:20:00.000-06:00

Anyone out there that has posted or published something meaningful, to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, blogs, etc., can back me up when I say that we live for feedback. To the point that we may shrivel up and cease to exist without it.

It seems that I go through phases in my blogging where I don't hear much back from anyone. This leads me to feel uninspired and somewhat defeated. Am I boring people with my pointless ramblings?

A month goes by with few-to-no new posts on here, and I'm getting threatening comments and FB messages requesting that I get back at it. Well if I'm writing for nothing, what's the point!? If you like what I do, make it be known.

It's during these phases that I don't feel the urge to make anyone laugh that day or to rant about my morning commute. Who cares about my favorite things, stupid e-mail addresses, Running for the Cure, or how cute my dog is? I know there are people close to me that read my blog to keep up with my life, to see what I'm doing, but I often wonder if there are any strangers out there that frequent my blog simply because they enjoy what I can bring to the web.

I write about things that mean something to me. I write about the stuff that I think is funny or ironic (which happens a lot up here in Northern Alberta). And I write about my life.

If I snap a funny photo with my BB, I have the technology to immediately post it to my blog from wherever I'm at. I feel these spur-of-the-moment, I-just-gotta-get-this-on-film posts are the most enjoyable. But that's just me.

I read a few blogs every single day. I find some to be inspiring, some are full of information that I had no idea about, and some are down right hilarious and are my source of a good giggle. These are the blogs I envy. The bloggers have 100's of followers, receive tons of comments on every post, and are the apple of the internet's eye.

When I post a link on Facebook or Twitter, it's because I feel good about what I've written, or the story is downright hilarious. It makes me feel like a shameless self-promoter, but how else do you get the word out there? I don't know how these other bloggers get such a strong following, but I'm trying my best.

Then we turn the page. I write on my blog for me. There are posts that I write because I need to get it off my chest, or I just need to put my thoughts into words to better understand them myself. I don't care if anyone reads it, I just write 'em because I need to. Ironically, these are sometimes the writings that receive the biggest response and I thank you for that. Just because I don't need to hear what you have to say, does not mean that I don't welcome and appreciate your feedback.

Comments are the life source, the bloodlines, and the vital organs behind our blogs.

Let me hear it.

The One

2009-08-27T07:44:00.004-06:00

It's not for sure, but it's looking pretty good.

Scott stumbled upon a resort that looks a lot like heaven on earth.

Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera in Playa Del Carmen.

Trip Advisor rates it as #14 out of 180 hotels in Playa, and I would have to agree.

Now we wait for a sale!

"I wonder what it would feel like to have a tail."- Scott

The Chronicles of Kelsey

House Haul

Hot or Not?

My Motive My Inspiration My Drive

That's Smarts

The Burpee, The Killer

Rage

Sometimes Being Alone Is Better

It's My Blog So I'll Post What I Want To!

*Lunch*

Beginner WOD Complete

Day 1

Crossfit? Why not? I've Always Loved To Exercise.......

*~ Happy Holidays 2010 ~*

Christmas Is Coming & Our Butts Are Getting Fat

It's Fate

A Thesaurus of Happy

Prediction? Great. Conclusion? Poor.

What A Weekend! (Prediction)

Fuck Cancer

Catchin' Up With Tha Funnies

If You Don't Know, Just Ask

Puppy Day- Sunday July 18th 2010

Put A Lock On It

Funtastic 2010- 30 sleeps.

Lost Hound On Hwy 63

Someone's Got a Case of the Mondays!

Hockey Time

A Couple Quotes

The Cutest Pooch

Called Out

The Power of Three

Chicken Parmesan With A Side Of Jesus

Server Tales- Numero Uno

Long Awaited Surprise a Mini-Success

Waniandy Way

I'm Going Through Changes

The Weekend Starts Now

A Real Tricker!

Mo Money No Problems

Out Of This World

Couple Puts Foundation Into Fort McMurray Soil

It's Been A Week

It's Her Party & She'll Strip If She Wants To!

Server Saga

Newfoundland Mumble Jumble

Cryptic Status Updates 101

Haiti Relief

I Wanna Be a Na'vi

Seems Like a Good Start To Me

My Bucket List

On A New Team

Vista Ridge

My Christmas Hangover

A Few Things About Rocky

Home!

Winter Whiners

The Addiction

PS.

Anonymity

You Know You've Made It When....

You Watch Your Mouth!!

Random Cravings*

Our Mama

The Conclusion

The Sequel

Scammed

The Funnies

Slack 'o Lackin'

What You Can Find In The Fort McMurray Parks

A Few Little Bits

My Lucky Stars *

False Alarm

Efffffff My Life.

Happy Birthday Babe!

*-- Quotes --*

Halloween Shmalloween...Or Not?

Thanksgiving 2009

How Do I Call Someone?

Just The Business

Lunch

~ Happy Holidays 2010 ~

-- Quotes --