This Is Who I Am

T'was the Night

2011-11-16T13:04:00.002-07:00

If you live in Calgary you should come to this. The money goes to United Way so come support us. I'll be there of course :)

DOWNTOWN CALGARY’S BIGGEST PRIVATE SHOPPING NIGHT
Benefitting United Way’s “BeCause” initiative and the National Music Centre

Join us at The CORE on Wednesday, November 30th from 6:30 - 10:00 pm to kick off the holiday season in style!

Special events will include:
Exclusive one-night only offers from The CORE retailers
A performance by Juno Award winning singer Chantal Kreviazuk
Sampling of holiday-inspired beverages and cuisine
Red Carpet hosted by Lainey Lui of LaineyGossip.com
FREE Parking
Unveiling of The CORE's 40-foot illuminated Christmas tree

Calgarians can get all of their holiday shopping down in one night and feel great doing it, because all ticket sales will support two local charities working to revitalize Calgary's downtown: BeCause, a next generation initiative of the United Way of Calgary and the National Music Centre Project.
Tickets for T'was the Night are $15 and are available online or at the Customer Service Centre, located on the second floor of The CORE.

Click here to get your tickets.

Hacked

2011-11-15T08:54:00.002-07:00

My email got hacked last night so if you get any weird emails from me they probably aren't really from me. As a result of this hack i had to change my password. This sucks! I use the same password for everything (I know not good) so when i have to change it it messes me up. Maybe i should come up with a secondary one.

Kris, Renee and I made our annual trip to the states this past weekend. We were going to go down Friday spend the night and come home Saturday but Dad messed up our plans and decided to stay till Saturday morning. He left at 4 am and we left at 6 am. The plan was to go back to sleep after he left but neither of us could. We got home at 9pm. It was a long day but it was good. Great Falls is a totally flashback of the 80's. We find it very entertaining to people watch. We make a game out of it now to add a little more entertainment. It's kind of like bingo :) The best part of the day was when we went to Taco Bell. The kid behind the counter was just sitting there watching us look at the menu. So i asked him a question about one of the tacos. He gave me the blankest look i have ever seen. So i reworded it and still nothing. Hello anyone there???? Renee goes up and orders. He asked for her name so they can call it when her ordered is ready. He writes down Benea. really?!?! Then he stops and was like i don't know how to spell that. So she spells it for him abut he didn't get it and just sat there with the pen on the paper not changing it. It was really odd. Then i ordered and when we asked for my name i spelt it for him and he still go it wrong. this what he wrote down K A K E Y. We laughed so hard.

Last week I had my spelt Karrui, Kakey and kerriy. Really people? I know it's an odd spelling and that's why i spell if out for people all the time. So why when i spell it out for people they still get it wrong. I have dealt with my name being spelt wrong my whole life and honestly it doesn't bother me unless it's by a friend or even family member but this past week it has. I must be PMSing :)

I'm getting really excited for Christmas!! I'm almost done my shopping and i have made over 40 cards already :)

Tailgate Party

2011-11-11T07:08:00.005-07:00

I was in my glory at work yesterday. We are half way through campaign season which means it's time for our mid way energizer party. Last year's party was pretty lame. It was more of a formal event at a fancy hotel it wasn't much of an energizer. This year we wanted to switch it up and have something more relaxed and fun. I was asked to be on the planning committee. Yay! I'm not sure how we got on the idea of have it a sports theme but i jokingly mentioned a tail gate party and everyone loved it. It went from there.

The other day i was driving home from work thinking about this theme and what i was going to wear when all of a sudden i remembered a friend of mine from back home who lives here now is a big Packers fan and even has the cheese head. I sent him a message and sure enough he said i could borrow them :)

Here are some pics. I had some much fun planning it and being involved. Everything went very well and everyone had a lot of fun.

nothing better then a hot dog with cheese :)

I was going to wear this until i found my cheese head

Nadine and her cute little baby bump

haha

minute to win it game

Elvis even came. I thought i couldn't sing :) At least he had the courage to get up there.

my fellow cheese head

Good times!!!

Summary of Europe

2011-09-28T09:55:00.005-06:00

I can't believe I've been home for a month already. In some ways it feels i just got home in other ways it feels i never left.

Truth is i haven't felt like blogging about my amazing trip b/c i find it overwhelming. I have so many things i want to share and of course tons of pictures but i don't know where to start. I was just at Kris' and got her pictures but i still have Dad's to get. All together we took over 1,000 pics. Me taking the most of course (740 but got it down to 690). I took so many pictures of buildings that mean something at the time but now they all look the same lol.

The trip was way more then i hoped for. I have memories that i will cherish forever. People ask me what i liked the most. It's hard for me to answer that b/c there were so many good things. Here's a super quick condensed run down of the trip. I promise to add pictures soon.

I loved the time Dad and i spent in Normany. It's is gorgeous there! We rented a car and drove 3.5hrs to get to where we stayed. that whole time dad told me all he knows about WWII. He was prepping me for everything we were about to see. I loved it! I love his knowledge and passion for the war. he taught me a lot. It was neat to go there with him b/c he kept trying to picture what was happening back then. Definitely different seeing it in person. Highly recommended.

After Normady we met up with Kris in Brussells. Funny story, so my days were totally messed up and we also didn't meet her there until the next day. It wasn't until Dad wrote down the date that i clued in that we actually had to meet her the next day. Phew! Anyway, we met up and all was good. It was beautiful there! We had 2 days there but did everything in the first day so the next day we went to Brugge. I loved it there. It's full of canals and old buildings. Not as busy as Brussells. It was pretty laid back. We went on a canal tour and learned all about the buildings and such but of course i don't remember much of what they said anymore. Then we walked around and did some shopping for the rest of the day. i could have spend days there.

Paris was good but not nearly enough time there. 2 1/2 days only gives you a small taste. My first take on it was ok but then once we explored more i liked it way more. Next time I'll be spending more time there for sure.

Then off to Holland. First stop Amsterdam. Hated it! I guess i shouldn't say hated it but i really disliked it. It stunk so bad. We said it smelled like the 3 P's pee, poo and pot. It was really dirty too. We happened to be there on a Transvestite weekend. Interesting! The only thing i liked about it was Ann Franks House. That is worth going there for. We did the 30min intro before walking through the house which i totally recommend doing. After that we went on a bike tour which was good but by the end it was so crowded that it make it hard to bike.

After a day and a half there we had enough so we took a bus to Edam and rented bike and biked to Valderdam which is a cute fishing village. loved both of those places. Again could have spent more time there.

I loved loved loved the last week in Holland i think the most. I learned so much about my Grandpa's side of the family. We stayed with Oom Hans (Uncle Hans) and Tante Hinke (Aunt Hinke). He is my grandpa's brother, i don't remember ever meeting them before but apparently i did. They are the amazing people. They took us to the city they grew up in and we even got to go in their old house (which was taken over by the Germans in the war). We would stay up late every night asking so many questions about our family. We went for tons of bike rides, eat amazing food, relaxed and of course went site seeing. I didn't want to leave.

One day I'm going to go back and bike Holland.

Just looking out for me

2011-07-29T07:39:00.005-06:00

I was talking to Kris last night making plans for this weekend (I'm going to good old Lethbridge). Anyway, she saying she was going to go for a bike ride with a friend on Saturday and Tori thought it would be fun if this friend brought over her 2 daughters for a play date while they were biking. this means i would be looking after all 4 (which totally is not an issue). So, Tori was sitting there listen to the conversation (like she always does) and asked if she could talk to me. I thought she just wanted to chat but this is what she really wanted to say.

"Hi Auntie Karey"
"Hello Miss Tori how's it going? Tell me all about your fun trip to the cabin"
"Umm later. I just wanted to say that having our friends over on Saturday will be good practice for when you have kids. Also i will come and help you anytime when you have kids"

So stinkin cute!!! Kris and i were laughing so hard. She's on one of her kicks about me having kids.

I was on FB last night while on the phone so i wasn't really paying attention to FB that is. Anyway, a friend that i haven't talked to for awhile starting chatting with me. She asked me if i have ever thought about sponsoring a child, totally random. Anyway long story short she came over and we filled everything out and now I'm sponsoring a little boy from Africa. I can't wait to get all the info on him. I have wanted to do this forever but never made the step to do it. I'm glad she randomly decided to ask me. She sponsors 2 and has met them both. It's actually kind of a cool story. She sponsored 2 from Mexico years ago but one of them moved out of the area so she couldn't sponsor her anymore. Meanwhile she was planning a trip there and went to meet the one she still did sponsor. while there she fell in love with this girl. The girl followed her everywhere she went. She came home with a few pictures of her. Her and her husband decided to sponsor another one once they got home and when they got their package it was the little girl she met while she was down there. Same dress as the pictures she brought home. Cool hey?

I finished Friday Night Lights...sad it's over :(

the girls are happy

2011-07-24T21:20:00.005-06:00

I did something yesterday that i had never done before but always knew i should do. I got properly fitted for a bra. I promised myself once i lost all my weight i would do it but i kept putting it off b/c i knew it was going to be expensive. Well yesterday i was out trying to shop for my trip but kept getting distracted by how much i hated the bra i was wearing. I totally doesn't fit properly at all. I bought it just after i lost my weight but it totally wasn't the right style for me. I tried ignoring it but i couldn't any longer. I went to this store on the south side and bit the bullet. I felt sheepish once i was in there but i got a super great lady to help me and she made me feel totally at ease. She made me try on at least 10 bras (most of them more then once). all different shapes and sizes. i realized i was really picky about bras and this didn't help with the variety they had. apparently this is a bad time of year to shop for one b/c it's between seasons. Anyway, at first i was uncomfortable just standing there in a bra letting her check me out but by the end totally didn't care anymore. nor did i care about the door being open while she was doing it. I thought my cup size would have gone down b/c i know i have lost weight there but to my surprise they were up...way up. I know that it has a lot to do with style and brand ad stuff but i was wearing a C when i went in there and walked out in an E!!!! Goes to show the one i was wearing was totally not the right size. I would like to know what cup size i was before i lost 60lbs :) Side note but the lady beside me was wearing I cup size. I didn't see her but i kind of wanted to see how big she was lol.

Wow what i difference it is wearing a bra that fits. The girls look much better if you will :)

When i went to see Clinton Kelly (from What Not to Wear) he made us all promise to go get properly fitted for one. He said like many others that over 70% of the female population is wearing the wrong size bra. I now believe it.

Clinton making us promise :)

So the bra was really expensive and that pretty much ended my shopping trip for Europe but it was totally worth it :)

Randomness

2011-07-05T21:42:00.003-06:00

look at this 2 posts in one week. what is the world coming to :)

Here's some pictures i took of the flowers in our yard.

Vicki wants to get rid of this peony. I don't want to. I think they are so beautiful.

didn't even notice the spider in there till i down loaded the pic.

Here's a pic of the the dead mouse i found after the snow melted. YUCK!!!! I also found little trails through the back yard from the mice which means they were in our back yard this winter. I told vicki (once i discovered this) that i wasn't going to mow the back lawn until she racked and picked everything up. that didn't happen so i decided to do it myself and sure enough I saw one running down the back part. i was proud of myself for not freaking out. It was b/c i was wearing runners, if i was in flip flops i would have FREAKED. I don't really go back there anymore :)

I was telling Laura about how my crocs melted last summer and told her i would take some pics of them for her. it's kind of hard to tell though. on the top one you can kind of see the darkened and bubbly parts. You know like melted plastic.

this one you can see how the heal curled in and again the darkened parts. I left them on the back beck which gets a lot of the sun. they were too close to the side of the house and i guess the heat from the siding melted them. Crazy hey!

I'm really into Friday Night Lights right now. I just found out today that the season that's on right now is the last one. I'm so sad.

Canada Day weekend

2011-07-03T20:43:00.006-06:00

I'm just coming off of a 4 day weekend and I'm sad it's over. Going into the weekend i didn't really have any plans other then a few appointments and maybe a hike on Saturday. I was looking forward to just hanging out and getting some much needed things done. Well plans changed and i was actually really busy and it was great! Thursday I went to the dentist (no cavities but i need other expensive things done), then i went shopping for a dress before heading to physio, while out in Okotoks I stopped by my friends work for a visit. She works at a recycling place like the one in Nanamio but bigger. I found 2 awesome frames there that I'm going to paint. I heart them and the best part it she gave them to me for free b/c i didn't have any change on me :) then i went and did some more shopping and this time i found a dress for the wedding I'm going to and some cute shoes :) Then i came home, made dinner. i found this really good recipe i wanted to try called Summer Stew. Just as i got it into the over my friend called to see if i wanted to meet her a the mall. So Vicki got to enjoy the new recipe :) We met at Old Navy and tried on a ton of stuff but nothing was working for what i wanted. We walked around for awhile longer till her husband called and gave her a hard time so we parted ways. When i got home i enjoyed my dinner. sooooo good. I'll post the recipe later.

Friday morning we got up bright and early to head to Raymond for the big parade. We had to make a stop at Shoppers first which made us almost late but their usual spot was still open so we were happy :) It was soooo windy though. On the drive down i was hoping to get some sun b/c it seemed so nice out...until you stepped outside. We left right after the parade so i didn't get to see any of my old peeps there. We went back to her mom's for a few hours before driving back home with her niece and nephew. Once back in Cowtown we went downtown to watch the fireworks. they were downtown which may not have been the best place to bring the kids. Lets just say it was eye opening for these small town kids :)

Saturday Vicki and i got up early to go for a run. I should mention that i haven't gone for one in 2 weeks b/c of my knee but i thought that since i had physio the day before i would be fine. Nope, not so much. i made it 2.5k's before i couldn't run anymore. I felt bad for Vicki so i kept trying to push it but i don't think i should have. We made it home later then planned due to my needing to walk so much. We had to quickly get ready and leave so we could meet our friends for a hike. I was excited for the hike b/c i haven't been on one in years. It turns out that it was the some place i went snow shoeing a few years ago. This time it was a lot easier being 60lbs lighter :) It was a beautiful hike not too hard and not too easy. My knee was doing well until we hit the stairs at the top. I had to stay behind while they continued on but it as just a bonus part of the hike so it was ok. On the way back down i took the easy route since i could barely walk. It was kind of sad to me but at least i was outside enjoying nature. Hopefully i will be able to enjoy the whole hike next time :) after the hike we went out for lunch to our favorite place in Canmore (Grizzly Paw). Then came home had naps and then went to see Rio. Such a good movie, go see it.

Today was church and then we drove Vicki's niece and nephew to Claresholm where her mom met us so we didn't have to drive the whole way.

We as in Vicki did a lot of driving this week. All in all it was a great weekend. I'm so grateful for the time i got to spend in nature. I don't do it enough.

Vicki and Shelby at the fireworks

Me and Vix

at the start of the hike

Sam

Shelby

Brandon (Sam's son), Jon (hottie), Caroline (the mom) and Sam

Squirrel!

at the top. so beautiful!

one of the lakes at the top

the only pic of Ryan we could get.

thanks Vicki! not sure what i'm doing in this one. She made me keep it though.

the 2nd lake

can you see the guy climbing the rock. Crazy!

Ryan giving it a try. hahaha

2nd lake from up higher. Pictures don't do it justice.

the waterfall that i didn't get to see b/c i had to take the easy route. sigh!

How my trip to Europe came aboot

2011-05-18T12:10:00.002-06:00

So back in Feb. I picked Kris up from the airport after a trip to the coast. she was saying in the car that Oma was going to Europe this year but the dates didn't really work for her (Kris) b/c it's just before school went back. I thought that was that. Fast forward to the end of March when i receive an email from her totally out of the blue with her flight confirmation. I was a little surprised since i didn't even know she was thinking about it anymore. Here's the thing i have always wanted to go to Europe with Oma and better yet Kris and Dad. She knew that b/c we talked about it before. so when i got that email i was a little choked b/c i thought she would have invited me or at least said something to me about it. I told her that and at the time i thought there was no way i could go since it was only a few months away but after a lot of thinking (sleepless nights even), talking to others and getting a raise at work, i was in. I also had to cancel the kayaking trip with Laura and Vicki which i felt really bad about. I was talking to Kris one night and we were talking about how awesome it would be if Dad came but we didn't think he would be able to b/c of the short notice. I called him and at first he said no but i didn't give up till he was in as well. I can't even begin to tell you how excited i am.

So Dad, Kris and I leave Aug 12, we'll have 10 days before Oma arrives. The day we land Kris is going to go visit some friends South of Holland and Dad and I are going to go to Vimy Ridge, Normandy and all that stuff (camping apparently), then we are going to meet in Brussels for 2 days, then Paris for 3 and then head to Amsterdam till we meet up with Oma and then spend the rest of the time in the Northern Holland. Where she will show us around and stuff. I plan on doing some family history while I'm there as well.

We didn't tell Oma our plan till we were out there for Easter. It was kind of funny b/c she is always trying to get me to go to Hawaii with her so i told her that i can't go to Hawaii b/c I'm go to Europe with her instead. After the shock wore off she said that's great but i still want you to come to Hawaii. It was cute :) She is really excited to show us around her old stompin ground.
I have been busy planning things, looking for hotels and so on. The other day I realized that i will be able to cross 2 things off my "life list" on this trip. 1. got to Europe with Dad, Kris and Oma 2. hot air balloon ride over Paris!!! I really hope it works out so we can go. I've had a hard time trying to find places you use b/c a lot of the sites are in french. I think Tori might have to translate for us :) They said they could teach us from french before we go lol.

Which reminds me of a cute story. The other day Kris was helping Tor with her homework but Tori was getting frustrated. Kris told her that her and Addi are already smarter then her (Kris) b/c they know 2 languages and she only knows one. then Addi who was coloring in the other room pipes up and says "Umm you know more the one language".
Kris "No i don't"
Addi "Yes you know Dutch. you say "vipping" cream all the time"
We call whipping cream vipping cream b/c that's how Oma says it lol. That kid is always on fire!

Anyway less then 3 months now. Crazy!

Running Blog

2011-05-13T14:44:00.001-06:00

I started a new running blog. Follow me :)

I'll be posting my 1/2 marathon pics and thoughts on there soon.

more injuries sigh

2011-04-19T09:00:00.004-06:00

Some people just aren't made for running. I'm starting to believe I'm one of those people. Yesterday Vicki and I left for the gym at 4:40am to do our last long run. No point on trying it outside after Saturdays adventure :) I was doing well. I was getting into the groove and feeling like i was going to finish right on time if not a few minutes sooner. Then at 16k my knee started to really bother me. it was out of no where. I have never had problems with me knees. I slowed it down to try walking it out but nothing was helping. I continued to run another .75k and then couldn't take it anymore so i had to stop. So discouraging!!!! As i was walking away Vicki (who was listening to her music apparently pretty loud) yelled "Good job, Kare" she yelled is so loud a saw a few people jump. It was pretty funny. Anyway, i showered and got ready for work then walked to the train. The stairs killed me. I didn't realize how many there were until couldn't walk them lol. I iced my knee through out the day but by lunch time it was worse. Anyway, to make a short story long, i think it's my IT band so now I'm doing even more stretched in the mornings and night. Seriously it's so annoying and makes me want to give up on running. it's a good thing i enjoy it (when not in so much pain) after this 1/2 i think I'm going to stick with under 10k's for awhile. let me poor old body heal. Oh i should mention that it's my left knee that hurts and my right foot that has plantar fasciitis. I'm a mess :)

Side note my bruises from Saturday are slowly popping out. I have a new one on my hand today. The one on my hip it slowly coming out but man is it painful. I think i bruise a lot easier since i lost weight.

11 more days and it will all be over!!!!!

Joys of running in the snow

2011-04-16T08:55:00.003-06:00

So today was our 19k run. Since all of our long runs have been inside we really wanted to try outside today even though it was going to snow. We planned it all out last night and even went out for a nice pasta dinner to get our carbs and everything. We were both stressing about the run but against out better judgement we still wanted to run outside. Anyway, i got up at 6:30 to get everything ready (taping my feet, eating, bathroom...) We left the house at 7:20 and headed to the ridge where we planned on running 9.5 out and then turning around. We started on our way and not even a minute into it Vicki fell and then after she got up i fell. Right on my hip! After a good laugh was were on our way again. After a few more slips we decided that maybe running on the road might be better. We turned around. We made it to the spot where we fell and after having another laugh Vicki fell AGAIN and broke a nail (badly). I almost peed my pants. It was right in front of a house with huge windows too. i was totally picturing them watching us and laughing just as hard as we were. We made it to the car and decided that we would drive 9.5k so we knew what to expect. it took us way further then we thought. Anyway, we got out of the car started walking again. We were both wanting to give up at this point but we decided to run at least 5k and go from there. We started to run and just as i was starting to get into it (at 1.07km) Vicki fell again and then before i could even react i was down too. We both laid on the ground laughing so hard we couldn't even talk. What i wouldn't have given to see us laying there. Let's just say we were done. We turned around and walked back to the car but not without laughing almost the whole way.

The best part of the whole thing was on our way to the first path this morning this car was driving down the wrong lane towards us and he kind of gave us the look like what are you idiots doing. Umm he was in the wrong but whatever. So on the way back home Vicki did the same thing and ended up going to drive in the on coming traffic. Luckily i was paying attention :) In her's and the guy's defense it is very confusing but of all the construction and old lines.

I'm glad i brought my camera but i wish i didn't leave it in the car during the "run". We did stop to take this one :)

I like how we fell at the exact same spot :)

Orlando Day 1

2011-04-14T11:03:00.012-06:00

I feel like i have been so busy lately and I'm really missing out on some good blog updates. I just don't have the energy when i have the time. I just got back from 6 short days in Orlando. I was great! the weather was so nice and hot. I of course got burnt the first day b/c for some reason i didn't think to bring any sunscreen with me. My body is so used to getting burnt that it doesn't even hurt anymore. good and bad. Bad b/c it means it happens way too often. Day 1 - Universal - Adventure Island The reason i wanted to go to Orlando was b/c i really wanted to go to Harry Potter World (not the correct name but it's what i call it). It was spring break and the park was going to be really busy so we looked in to getting express passes but decided to wait till we got there to see if it was worth it. When we got to the park we stood in line for the passes only to see that they were 49.99 and it was only good for usage of once per ride AND you couldn't use it on all the ride (basically the most popular ones were excluded). Then you could pay 62.99 for an unlimited one but still not for all rides. Since we paid 83 bucks for just the one park we decided paying another 63 wasn't worth it. I took the risk of long line ups. Once in the park we headed straight for HP. it looked amazing. i couldn't believe how good it looked. It was packed already though. It was so hard to move around in there and to get a good look at things. Anyway we did the first ride which was The Dragon Challenge (roller coaster) not so smart of me to do that after a big breakfast. I didn't feel so hot after. then we made our way to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The line up was already 90 mins but we figured we would stay in line and just get it over with. We were in line for about 30 mins when they announced if you were a single rider you could go in a different line which basically brought you to the front of the line. We did it. It was perfect waiting wise. the ride itself was too much for me, my eyes were closed the whole time to keep me from throwing up. Basically that was it for the "fun" rides for me for the day :( Once we figured out the going singles trick our longest wait for 5 mins for the rides. Brilliant! so glad we didn't pay the 63 bucks. After that ride we walked around but didn't go into a lot of the shops b/c they had line ups just to get into them. it was crazy. We did go into the candy store but nothing was under 10. i couldn't believe how expensive everything was. we did have a butterbeer though. It was pretty much a rootbeer slushie with cream in it. so yummy! the sorting hat. we were trying to capture how yucky i felt after the ride but it doesn't really come across that way. enjoying the butterbeer :) After HP we walked around the rest of the park. and took some fun pics :) then we hit the water rides. They were awesome! only dry spot left on me. i can't get this one to turn around. it much better turned :) I knew if i went on the Hulk i would get sick so instead i sat on the test seat to try to get the full effect of it :) and that's it for day 1. Well actually we played mini golf in the evening but didn't take any pics.

2011-04-04T16:03:00.003-06:00

So Uncle Rick passed away today. I was hoping i would be able to see him one last time but it wasn't meant to be. I'm not sure how i feel. I'm trying to remember the good times but the bad ones keep coming up. I know he's in a much better place now and that he's not suffering anymore. I can't wait to see him again and see the side of him we didn't get to see on earth. For now i'm choosing to remember him like this.

back in the good day before things got as bad as they did.

injuries

2011-03-22T08:33:00.003-06:00

So this past Saturday i was supposed to run 15km. Supposed to being the key word. I got up early to be at the gym and running by 7:30. This was after a night of no sleep. i kept waking up with a super dry throat and coughing. i felt like crap but b/c my run is coming up skipping big runs stresses me out. I just couldn't get into the groove. I wanted to stop before even hitting 5km but i talked myself into pushing on. At about 6km my arches started to really hurt. I didn't know if it was as bad as i thought it was b/c i really didn't want to run or if they really were getting bad. I told myself to run to 10km and if they still hurt i was done. Well i stopped at 10km. They were getting worse. i decided it wasn't worth it. I was down on myself all day for not completing the 15km. The thing is i used to get plantar faciitis all the time but since losing weight i haven't got it...until now. I went for a run last night and today they totally hurt again. My right foot more then the left. I brought my foot roller to work so i can roll it through out the day.
Anyway I'm totally stressed now. I don't know what to do. This happened to my friend last year when she was training for a 1/2 marathon and just before the date she was in so much pain that she couldn't run it. I don't want this to be me. I can't afford to not do my long runs but at the same time i don't want to push myself training and then not be able to run the 1/2 in May. I was reading about it this morning and found a few things to try but they mostly just say a lot of resting.
It's so frustrating b/c running has been great to this point. Once you get into the longer runs the injuries start coming out. It sucks!

2011-03-04T07:47:00.002-07:00

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed you feel like you are going to burst? That' s how i feel right now. I feel like i'm going to burst into tears at any moment.

Forgiveness

2011-02-24T13:44:00.002-07:00

I have to admit forgiveness is a hard thing for me when someone has really hurt me. I have always wanted to do better in this area and i think i am doing better until i get hurt again. Then i realize i shut down and pull myself away from the person who has hurt me. This mostly occurs with family members. Not sure if this makes sense so far but there is a point I'm going to get to.

I have a family member who has abused his body with drugs and alcohol for years now (since before i was born). That's all i know him as. I have written him off many times. I have a very hard time with the fact that he has out lived my mom (who deserves to still be here) and yet he lives on. He has torn the family apart. We used to be a close family and now we aren't. Which is another hard thing for me to deal with. The list goes on. For years now i have felt guilty for the feelings i have towards him. I always think mom would be disappointed in me but yet i can't bring myself to forgive him.

This all changed last week. Kris called to tell me he has cancer in his liver and stomach and it doesn't look good. My first reaction and I'm sorry to say was it's about time. I sat there in silence feeling bad for not feeling sad. I really didn't know how i should have felt at that time. I know this day was going to come sooner then later and have often tried to picture how i would react. The other thing that crossed my mind is that if he goes Grandma won't be far behind him and that's something i don't want to deal with. I put off calling there for a few days b/c i didn't know what to say. I knew my grandma who he lives with was having a very hard time with this and i had sympathy for her but not him.

When i finally called he answered the phone (crap!). I asked him how he was feeling and stuff. He was totally honest with me about everything. I won't get in to all the details but i just want to mention something that really hit me. He was talking about how for so many years he's been abusing his body and has been at deaths door many times but has never felt alone even when he was at his lowest. He said he doesn't understand why Heavenly Father has never given up on him but he knows that he is loved and will never be alone. It brought tears to my eyes as he said that. I was shocked me to hear him say that. I have never heard him mention anything religious before. It humbled me. Who am I to cast a stone? Since that conversation i have thought a lot about forgiveness and judging. I realize i have a ways to go but b/c of my uncle i have also realized it's possible.

As for my uncle things don't really look good but for the first time in years instead of avoiding him when i go home i hope to see him this time. I still don't know how i feel about him but i would love to see him one last time.

Trying to find the beauty in winter again

2011-02-21T18:25:00.006-07:00

Since we have had a never ending winter i decided to try to find the beauty in it again. I have been bringing my camera on some of my runs. When i can run outside I usually run down by the river. I love it down there b/c i reminds me of home. Here's some pics I've taken lately.

Before leaving for my run. at home :)

As much as i like these pics I hope winter goes away soon.

Speed Skating

2011-02-21T17:06:00.006-07:00

I was reintroduced to U2- All I Want Is You last weekend at a wedding reception and now i can't stop listening to it. Scott O sent me a message a while ago asking if i wanted to go to the reception with him. Free meal, I'm in :) It turns out Pat and Tammy Hanson knew the couple as well. I don't even know when i saw them last. We sat with them and basically walked down memory lane the whole night. it was great! oh the good ol' days. I hope to hang with them some more.

As pay back for going to the reception i made Scott come to the World Champ Speed Skating earlier in the day with me. It must be the dutch in me b/c i love watching speed skating. I remember having to wear my Oma's speed skates as a kid when we were going to go skating on the flats and that's all there was that would fit me. It turns out speed skating isn't for me but i love watching it. Anyway, back to last sat we had fun cheering for Canada and Netherlands of course. I wore my bright orange gloves Laura got me during the Olympics. I was under dressed compared to all the other dutchie fans. Note to self for next time. Here's some not so great pics i took.

Cindy Klassen getting ready to start
Cindy again..after winning the 500m

thanks for the gloves Laur!
don't know why but i like this pic :)
this was on the back of the door in the washroom. Just a little disturbing.Shani Davis. Don't know why but i'm fascinated by him. Maybe it's b/c he's the only black guy in speed skating or that he's the only person that doesn't wear glasses when he skates. Don't know what it is but there's something about him.

the dutch band that came to play for us as we were leaving. it was awesome! Not sure what happened to the color in this pic. I blame Scott :)
the hat i want to buy :)i like this pic for a few reasons. First: Only in Calgary would you see zamboni drivers wearing cowboy hats. 2. Christine Nesbitt following behind them after her race. 3. the sea of orange in the stands (all the dutchie fans).

2011-02-08T20:03:00.004-07:00

When i get sick, i get sick.

It all started last Tuesday/Wednesday morning. I went to bed with no energy but didn't think much about it and then in the middle of the night my stomach started growling so loud that it kept waking me up. I was going to get up to go running with Vicki at 5 but instead went to the biffy and lets just say it was down hill from there. I spent the rest of the day running the bathroom every 30 mins basically. I managed to keep some toast down until i decided to have a bath. Big mistake. I was so dizzy when i went to get out that i threw up. It took everything in me to get back to my bed. Thursday i was feeling a little better but stayed home just in case. Well, i was feeling better until i went to Costco with Vicki and then it started to hit again. We went to our friends to watch Chuck but really i should have stayed home. By Friday i was determined to work so i ignored how i was feeling and went. Clearly i was in denial about how sick i actually was. By the time i got to work i felt horrible and basically came back home. Then on Saturday i stuck to my plan about going to Lethbridge (again ignoring what my body was telling). Let's just say i barely made it there. Once i go there i crashed on the couch for pretty much the rest of the day. Scott let to go play volleyball and sent Kris a text about an hour later to say he was on his way to the hospital b/c he thinks he tore his achillies. Scott kind of exaggerates a lot so Kris and i being the supportive people we are just laughed at him. Then he called once he got looked at to say that it was torn and he has to have surgery tomorrow (Sunday) and he had to stay there over night. I felt bad for mocking him. We went up to the hospital to see him and to pick up his car. The girls brought him some stuffed animals to comfort him. Oh and Tori brought a banana lol. The next morning i woke up feeling way better. I was ready to conquer the day....until.... i fainted. Here's what happened. Kris left to go back to the hospital. i was vegging on the couch, Tori was at the counter making a card for her dad and Addi was still sleeping. I remember thinking about getting up to let the dog out and then next thing i know i woke up on the floor with the dog licking me. Tori was looking at me like what are you doing lol. I was SO confused. I asked her what happened and she calmly told me i fainted and then said "that was really loud". My elbow killed! It was so crazy. Kind of scary since no one was around except Tori. I'm glad it didn't scare her though. It's a good thing i wasn't around anything. I still don't know how i made it from the couch to where i fainted. Anyway, once i got up i ate anything i could find and then had to lay back down. Luckily Vicki was down south too b/c i didn't think i should drive home. Not lucky in the fact that my car is still there. I went to work yesterday and felt fine all day until i got home. Then it hit again at 3 this morning. By 6 i was in so much pain that i was almost crying. I drove Vicki to work and then went to the dr. (walk in clinic). I just need to say i HATE walk in clinic's. I finally got to see the dr and he basically made me feel like a loser for going to the dr. He wasn't at all concerned that i can't seem to keep anything in me and that i fainted. He asked if i faint often and i said no that last time i did was over 15 years ago but that didn't seem to concern him. I asked what i should be eating so i can make sure i'm getting the nutrition i need. This was he stupid answer "you can eat what ever you feel like eating". wow thanks! Seriously. I was so frustrated. He sent me away with 2 jar for stool samples. So looking forward to filling those. Oh and told me if this goes on for another week then come back. So your telling me i have to wait another week before your going to do anything????? So help me if this goes on for another week.

I should also add that during this time of being sick i have watched season 4 and almost all of season 5 of the Gilmore Girls. Since Christmas i have almost watched the first 5 seasons of GG. Some might think that's pathetic but i don't. I enjoy it. I realized i didn't start watching it till season 5. All this time i thought i watched it from the beginning lol.

I want to say i'm feeling better but every time i think that the next day is another story. I can't wait to go for a run again. It's been a week now and it's killing me.

On plus note. I hit my goal weight!!!!! Well hit and passed my goal weight. As of last week i lost a total of 63lbs. So now i'm on the last phase of the program. Yay!

thoughts

2011-02-01T08:21:00.002-07:00

On Friday before heading out to go for dinner and then a dance i turned the heat up a bit since it was so stinkin cold in the house and outside of course. Anyway, 5hrs later we come hold to a very very hot house. I would say it was easily above 35. the furnace was still going fulling force. As soon as you walked into the house you were hit by the heat. It was like walking off the plane in Hawaii of something. It was so hot. We tried playing with the thermos stat but nothing was happening. It wasn't even lighting up. Vicki went downstairs and took the cover of the furnace to turn it off. It was so hot in the house that we didn't even need to turn the furnace back on until after noon the next day AND it was -25 outside. So what we did was put the cover on until the house was so hot you couldn't stand it and then take the cover back off. It was a pain but better then getting someone to come look at it on a weekend.

On Sunday Vicki asked our home teacher to come look at it. Turns out thermos stats have batteries. Did you know that? We sure didn't. He replaced then for us and now our house is nice and warm but not too warm.

While he was there he also shoveled my car out of the snow since it was stuck there b/c the stupid plow truck. It turns out he also came that morning before church to do our driveway and side walk. It's funny b/c when i went to bed on Saturday night i remember looking out the window and thinking (cursing) we would have to shovel again in the morning but then when i woke up it was clear. Thought it was kind of strange but I just thought it was the wind that blew it away. Not that it's a stretch around here.

Since Sunday i have been thinking a lot about the people in my live and what a blessing they are to me. Especially those that are around me. We can call our home teachers and they will drop everything to come over. I love my visiting teachers as well. They come faithfully every month but you can tell it's not b/c they have to. I have really gotten to know them better and look forward to our visits each month. I love the ward we belong to. It makes me sad when i hear that people don't like it. I have a made a lot of good friends in this ward and always feel so welcome. Going to a family ward when you are single isn't always easy but i don't feel that way in this ward. There are so many loving caring people that love to serve. I want to be more like that. I have some plans that i need to put into action :)

catch up time

2011-01-15T08:36:00.009-07:00

****Warning this is a long one :)

I just got back from running 9km at the gym. I feel like it was the best run I've had in a long time. It was awesome! I was nervous b/c that's the longest distance yet and i didn't know how i would do trying to maintain my goal pace. I did it!!!! See the problem is that after having a melt down about the weather this week i decided until it warms up I'm going to go to the gym. well (and here's the problem) their machines have everything in miles and I've been training in km's so i totally messed me up. Until today when i went on a different treadmill and it converted to km's. It made a huge difference and i felt like i could have run way long. Good sign right? I'm going to buy new runners today. This make me happy :)

Book club the other night was actually really good. I ended up making Samosa pie b/c the pastries i bought didn't work out and so was time. It was really really good though. I wanted to eat it all. The cupcakes were so delish. Again i wanted to eat all of them. Everyone like how i picked food to go with the book. i'm hoping this inspires them. Although the next book is during the great depression so maybe i don't want that :) Anyway, everyone really liked the book too. This meant we actually had a good and long discussion (our discussions are usually over in 30 mins). I felt it was a success.

Here's pics from the Ugly Sweater Party we went to in Dec.
Mine pretty boring until i added the garland to it. I already have plans to improve it for next year.
Vicki's vest was NASTY! She was in the kitchen with her back towards me when i noticed a bunch of eye looking at me. it was creepy.

We were waiting for Marissa to bed Toby to sleep so we decided to have a little photo shoot.

our pic for Christmas cards next year LOL

the rest of the partiers. it was a fun night.

Kris and the girls came up just before Christmas to hang out. Vicki and i have always wanted to go do Airdrie for their festival of lights so we decided to take Kris and girls. I don't know if we could have picked a colder night to go. well actually we could have since it's Alberta but anyway it was sooooo cold. We couldn't really enjoy it. Here's a little bit what we did before heading home for hot choco.

we were by the fire most of the time.

i made these for my primary kids. Aren't they so cute :) (not in the right spot but i don't feel like changing it)

that's the closest she would get to Santa.

i thought our house looked pretty :)

making a gingerbread train. It lasted 24hrs :)

Addi in her Hugh Hefner pjs.

Getting ready for the Resolution Run.

nice bright jackets hey? they were free :)

my running partner Linda.

all of us after the race. It was fun.

book club

2011-01-10T15:00:00.004-07:00

I'm hosting book club this month (Wednesday). I picked The Secret Daughter and since reading it i have been craving Indian food. I have no idea why b/c i don't really like it but maybe that has finally changed. Actually since i started the diet I've been craving it. Anyway, all day today (at work) I have been looking up recipes to try. I'm going to make veggie samosas, naan bread with a red pepper hummus dip, and cupcakes for a sweet. I know, I know the cupcakes don't go but it's another thing I've been craving so I'm doing it did i mention they are going to have peanut butter icing :) I'm excited to make samosas but i don't know what sauce to make for them. Do i need a sauce?

If you haven't read this book you need to add it to your list. I really liked it.

I got released from my calling in primary last week, I'm going through withdraws. I loved primary and my little class. I knew i was going to get released as soon as i heard there was going to be changes in our ward. Then i got the call to come before church so they can talk to me. So for the rest of the night i was thinking about what my next calling might be and sure enough the one i thought it was going to be was the one i got called to. I'm now the RS meeting coordinator. My callings are either primary/nursery or activity related callings. That's pretty much all i am ever called to. I guess i still have some learning to do in those areas.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T20:10:00.003-07:00

I would have to say the best part of Christmas this year was this.

About 2 weeks before Christmas Dad called to say he was coming out for Christmas but i couldn't tell anyone especially Kris. I was beyond excited. He never gets time off at Christmas so when he called to tell me this i was shocked and almost cried. I was so excited i didn't even ask him what Roxy was doing. It wasn't until after when i told a few friends that i realized i had no idea what she was doing. It turns out she was working and encouraged Dad to come see us. Side note: She is the most selfless person i have ever met. Anyway back to the story. I immediately was trying to come up with reasons for Kris to not mail Dad's gifts. She wouldn't buy them and i didn't want to give it away so i left it until one night while we were on the phone she mentioned that she still hadn't mailed them and how expensive it was going to be now blah blah blah. It was then that i came up with the perfect lie. I told her that Alison (a girl that i work with that's from Duncan) said that she would drop the gifts off on Christmas Eve on her way home. Instantly Kris was sold. She was already planning on coming up one last time before Christmas and that just sealed the deal.

The hardest part though was when they were here and not giving anything away. She was trying so hard to fit all the gifts into this one box and stressing about it. It was pretty funny, the whole time i was laughing to myself b/c it didn't even matter.

Before Dad came i did his shopping for him so he didn't have to bring them on the plane. It's a good thing pretty much all my stuff was done.

So Christmas Eve in the am i picked him up at the airport. It was so good to see him. I pretty much jumped into his arms. It must have looked pretty funny b/c i could feel people starring at us. Who cares, i thought. It was the first time he had seen me since losing my weight. He asked where the other half of me was. snicker :)

After waiting for what seemed like forever we headed to the Bridge. I was trying to think of a way to get him there without them seeing. It's hard b/c their house looks onto the main road and a lot of the time they see me coming from way back. So i dropped him off on the other side of the pond and made him walk. I pulled up to the house, went to the bathroom, grabbed my camera and waited. The doorbell rang and Scott answered it. He let out this funny noise and then the girls were like "Grandpa???". Kris was sitting on the couch at this point, looked at me, threw her phone in the air and went running. She was totally doing the ugly cry. It was awesome. I just stood back taking pictures and feeling very proud of myself for Kris' reaction. I learned that i can keep a secret.

Anyway, Dad was only here for 3 short days but it was awesome. We had so much fun together. It made our Christmas. He's the best!

almost at goal

2010-12-22T09:01:00.003-07:00

I had my last weigh in before Christmas yesterday and I'm down 51.6lbs. I'm only 8.4lbs away from my goal now. I was surprised i was down with all the little Christmas cheats I've been having. I think my running is making up for it and as long as it doesn't catch up with me I'm fine. I don't weigh in until the new year now. So i have 2 weeks to maintain what i have lost and hopefully maybe get lose the last few pounds. I can hope :)

I have finally started buying new clothes. For the first while i found it extremely overwhelming. I can't really explain it but the thought of shopping just stressed me out. I thought it would be exciting but it wasn't. Then one day when i was talking to Laura I mentioned it and she gave me a good pep talk that really helped. I was ready to do it. The truth is i have been doing way too much. it seems like i buy one Christmas gift someone and then 2 for me :) I needed to do it though and the deals are pretty good right now, that helps me justify it.

I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming. I can't wait!!

Santa Shuffle 2010

2010-12-12T09:45:00.004-07:00

My second shuffle but Louise and Vicki's first. It was supposed to be a 5k run but ended up being close to 6k b/c the had to change the route at the last minute or something. Anyway, it was fine with me b/c that means i knocked close to 7 mins off my last one.
it was cold!

it was also a really pretty run.

a little self port while running.

yay!

Vicki caught me just before we crossed the finish line.

and Louise was just behind us.

thanks Santa!

They were handing out free subs. This was our first one in 4 months. I can't even tell you how good it was :)

i heart my new camera

2010-12-12T09:16:00.006-07:00

I finally bought an underwater camera for my birthday. Since i got it haven't had a lot of time to play around with it and especially try in under water. So when we went in the hot tub in Banff i thought it was the perfect time to test it. It was fun. We took a ton of pics and killed ourselves laughing after almost everyone of them. Here's a sample. Oh and this is only a some of them. We took a ton.

It's not a good pic but Vicki wanted to capture my sexiness while running through the parking lot in minus -15 weather to get to the tub.

self ports of course :)

I like the reflection on this one.

This one just makes me laugh.

in the sauna.

sexy skinny mini Vicki :)

As you can see it was good times

Christmas baking

2010-12-12T09:05:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago now Kris and Addi came for the weekend to do some Christmas baking. We decide it was going to be our new tradition although i think we did it a little too soon b/c the baking is gone now :) We got up bright and early Saturday morning and didn't stop until about 2:30. We couldn't handle doing anymore. We needed a break so we went and watch Christmas Vacation...of course.

doing our first batch of shortbread

making sure it's not poisonous.
She was such a good little helper.

Addi enjoying the Halloween treats i had for her. I think she enjoyed "testing" the food the most :)

little break playing in the snow.

It was a fun weekend. Too bad Tori couldn't come though. Although i think Addi enjoyed all the attention she got :)

Battling the winter

2010-11-22T20:36:00.003-07:00

Running when it's -25 isn't as bad as you would think. Sadly a lot of the icicles melted before we got home. Apparently it was way better before.

Look we're still smiling :)

Winter is here

2010-11-17T12:33:00.002-07:00

I really shouldn't complain about winter since we have been really spoiled this year and up until yesterday you could go outside without even wearing a coat. Awesome for November in Alberta. Well things changed yesterday and it's been snowing ever since. I don't really mind other then the fact that it changes my running but whatever.

This is what i want to complain about. Yesterday i was walking to the train while i was walking I was thinking about how I have never slipped and fallen on ice. Why i was thinking about that is beyond me but let me tell you not even 2 mins later a totally biffed it. I landed on my right hip. I was embarrassed to say the least. I looked around and there were people around me and not one of them offered to help me or to see if i was ok. There was even one girl who totally had a smirk on her face. It's not like a needed help or anything but i was shocked that no one did or said anything. What kind of a place do we live in. It reminds me of the time i was walking downtown during the day and there were these drunk guys fighting. One pulled out a knife and started slashing the other guy and everyone just kept walking. I even saw a security guard talking to the people on the corner laughing and the whole thing. I was disgusted! Anyway, my hip and ribs are really sore today boo!

There's my rant for the day :)

Running

2010-11-15T08:19:00.002-07:00

I have a new love for running. I have always wanted to be a runner but when i was heavier it was much harder and my injuries would always stop me from doing well. As a result i would just give up. I was always looking for excuses to not go. This time is different. Way different! I started off doing the walk runs, increasing 30 seconds each week. On Friday i went running with 2 ladies from my ward. I was nervous to go with them b/c i didn't want to slow them down. At the time I was walking 1 1/2 mins and running 3 1/2mins (for the first time). Well apparently i run pretty fast (6.5 min km's) and they were saying that it was hard to keep up with me. This shocked me. I have never thought of myself as a fast runner. Anyway they convinced me to try to run my next run without doing the walks just to see where i was. Well Saturday came and i wasn't going to run but it was so nice out that Linda and i decided to go. She knows all of the trails around us and the distances so i let her take the lead. I decided that i would try to run 3km and then increase from there. I ended up running 4.2km without stopping!!!! I didn't feel like i needed to stop once. I didn't even look at my watch. I used to count down the minutes and also so as soon as i felt tired i would talk myself into stopping. This time i pushed through it. Also once i stopped i was still able to carry on a conversation. I didn't feel like i was going to pass out. It felt great! Tuesday we are are going to do a 5km and see how it goes. I was really nervous about planning to do the van 1/2 marathon but i feel much better about it now. I feel that I'm actually making progress and I'm going to succeed. I'm excited!

I weighed myself this morning and I'm down 41 lbs!!!!! Of course it was before dressing but I'll take it :) I'm only going to this diet for 2 more weeks and then if i feel i need to go back on after Christmas i will. I only have 13- 18 more to go and i think with my running and with what i have learned I can do it on my own.

I just had 4 days off. It was great! I did a lot of chillin' and sewing. I'm really getting into the Christmas mode lately. I want to start decorating but I'm going to hold off until Dec. I did however download some new Christmas music this weekend :) I'm not making as many gifts this year as last year. simply b/c i can't think of things to make. I search craft blogs all the time looking for things to stick out to me but nothing really is.

Sorry i have to brag

2010-10-27T10:17:00.003-06:00

I weighed in last night and I'm down 34.4lbs. That means I have under 20 more to go. Yay! it felt like i was never going to get there. It's funny when you have 20-25 to go it seems so far but then once you hit under the 20's it feels like you are almost done. Last time a weighed I wasn't down that much and the lady made me feel so bad because of that i wanted to give up but then this week was much better and i feel i can finish now. 6 more weeks to go!!!! I'm feel energized again. Kris text me to say that i have lost one of Addi plus more now. Great analogy :) The lady i go to has a 5lbs thing of rubber that looks like a hunk of fat (it's nasty) that sits on her desk. I've lost 7 of those now. no wonder running is so much better. I have a new love for running. I'm not sure if i have talked about it on my blog yet but my goal is to finally running the Vancouver half marathon in May. At first i didn't want to commit to it out of fear of failing but then i decided i need to talk about it more so that way i will follow through. This is something i have wanted to do for years. I hope Kris can do it with me.

I got a haircut. After 4 years of searching in Alberta for a hairdresser i like i think i finally found one. No one will ever replace Sarah though. I got straight across bangs and i love them. Before going I kept saying i was going to get them but then once i got there i started to chicken out. Stacey (my new hair lady) convinced me to do it and I'm glad she did. I needed something new. I've been told they make me look younger and slimmer. Next on the list is to get some color. This i wish Sarah could do :(

another story

2010-10-19T13:37:00.004-06:00

So i decided to start taking the bus more often instead of driving all the time. Today was a bus day. I got up and out the door in plenty of time. Once at the stop i looked up the times on my phone and waited. Clearly i was a little out of it b/c my bus came and i just sat there (thinking it was the wrong one). Vicki drove by and asked me if i wanted a ride but i declined since the bus should have been coming any minute. The other bus finally came, i got on that one (thinking it was the correct one). It wasn't until we went straight through 22x that i realized i was on the wrong bus. Curse words! I didn't know what to do so i stayed on it until i got downtown and walk 15 mins to work. I was so late :) I chose to laugh at myself instead of getting mad. What else can you do?

Last night was voting night. I wasn't going to vote b/c frankly i didn't want to but Vicki feels very strongly about exercising out right to vote so i let her talk me into it. The voting station was just down the street from us so we left about 30 mins before we had to leave for FHE. It was so disorganized in there. It was crazy! Anyway we figure out where to go. I went to the line that was v-z. there was only 5 people in front of me. I got through in no time. From there i went to another short line and then to the voting line. I was done in 10 mins tops. Meanwhile Vicki's line (A-C) didn't really move. It was really long. I stood with her and watched all the people come in and stand in the a-c line just b/c it was the first one they saw. The good samaritan behind us finally said something and the line slowly dissolved. The lady up front was pretty much useless in directing people. When Vicki was almost to the front i went to stand in the next line for her. When she came i left b/c it was way to crowded in there for me. I stood outside the gym and waited. Meanwhile the line was going out the door. All these people thought they needed to stand in a line to get in. I noticed some people from our ward and told them they didn't have to stand in this line and explained what they needed to do. i stood there for another 30 mins working for Vicki. Apparently i sent her to the slowest line ever. So after a good 50 mins we were finally on our way to FHE. we were so late. by the time we got there it was pretty much over. What a waste of time. I came home had a bath and went to bed.

Picture this

2010-10-18T11:03:00.002-06:00

So one thing about losing all this weight is the exciting part of wearing clothes you haven't been able to fit for a long time. Lucky for both Vicki and I we kept a lot of them. Well mostly her but I'm benefiting from it too. Anyway, yesterday i got ready for church and felt really good about what i was wearing. I felt hot if you know what i mean. I was wearing a skirt that I couldn't even do up 3 months ago and i shirt that hasn't looked good on me for years. I gave it to Vicki but now took it back :) Anyway, i was all ready for church when i went downstairs to make my breakfast. I was having a chocolate protein drink for breakfast. I put it into the shaker and started shaking it only to discover (too late) the lid was not snapped down. Within seconds i was COVERED in chocolate. I'm not talking a little bit, I'm talking covered. I had it all over my hair, dripping from my face and glasses, all over my shirt, skirt and legging, floor, counter, dishwasher and cupboards. EVERYWHERE! I screamed (Vicki thought it was b/c i saw a mouse). She came to look and started laughing. Looking back i wish we took a picture. Oh by the way we had 5 mins before we had to leave. I went into the bathroom to try to clean up and then put my shirt in the dryer but it didn't have enough time to dry. You know when you really like your outfit and then you have to change but nothing seems good enough. That's the problem i had. Nothing was working. Finally Vicki pulled a red cardigan out of our "too big" pile and i wore that. My feeling of feeling hot went anyway. Once at church all i could smell was chocolate in my hair. I made Vicki smell it and then we had a good laugh.

On another note. i love primary. I love the kids i teach and the spirit they bring into my life. I'm in awww every week when the answer questions i think they won't even know. This one week of my boys referenced and even quoted a scripture with no help at all. He's 5! it was awesome. It brought a tear to my eye :) Yesterday, i wasn't feeling my lesson. i put like no time into preparing it but i think it was a best lesson i have had in a long time. I had their attention the whole time and they were answering everything. I love Sundays like that.

I got up at 5 this morning to go for a run. I love running in the mornings. I think it's a great way to start the day. I love running!

Thanksgiving

2010-10-13T17:46:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we went to Spokane to stay with Vicki's sister and fam. She promised to support us on our diet and to resist having crap around. I had a fun weekend. A bear ran out in front of us just after we crossed the border. It was dark so we weren't sure at first b/c it was a cub but then as we got closer sure enough it was a bear. A mouse did too :) Other then that the drive was pretty uneventful.

Saturday and Monday Vicki and I got up early to go for a nice brisk run. there is something about running in the fall that makes me happy. It was a great run and great way to start the day. Also running when you are 30lbs lighter makes a huge difference.

We didn't want to do a lot of shopping since we aren't don't the diet and what's the point in buying new clothes when they aren't going to fit long. I did want to buy some fabric and some Christmas gifts though. On Saturday once we got ready we went to this super cute quilting store called Top Stitch. They had a ton of Amy Butler fabric there and it was so cheap! Then we went to a bead store but it pretty much sucked and was way over priced. It also had a nasty smell to it. So didn't buy anything there. From there we went to JoAnn's fabric which is pretty much my fav fabric store and as luck would have it they were having an awesome sale. I bought a ton of fabric. Some for Crayola costumes I'm making for work and some for Christmas gifts. We spent a lot of time in there :) We needed a rest after that so we went home and had lunch and then went back out. I don't really remember where but we were out until dinner time. We went to Applebee's for dinner. It was so good. I thought my steak was way better then the one i had at The Keg and it was half the price.

Sunday was turkey day. I was so nervous b/c i didn't want to go over board but it's turkey and how could you not. Laura was great though and only cooked stuff she knew we could have. She didn't even make pumpkin pie.

the turkey was 25lbs which is a little less then what i had lost by that point. Crazy!!!! (not sure what's going on with my eye in this pic)

Anyway the meal was so good. I ate way too much but it was worth it. I pretty much went into a turkey coma after cleaning the kitchen and slept till the next morning. I remember waking up at 10:30 thinking was like 4 in the morning and then going back to sleep. It was great :)

Monday after the run it was time for more shopping before heading home.

I was nervous to weigh in on Tuesday but i was down another 3.2lbs which takes me to 29.2lbs and down 17.5". 8 more weeks to go :) Oh and for those of you who have been asking about the diet it's call Ideal Protein. If you want to know more about let me know. It works though :)

bump in the road

2010-09-30T08:29:00.003-06:00

I started a diet 6 weeks ago and have lost 22.2lbs. My goal is to lose 31 more. I feel great and have a lot more energy. It's exciting for me to get dressed in the mornings and put on clothes that i haven't been able to wear for awhile and to throw aside all the clothes that are too big. My pile keeps growing. However for the first 5 weeks i was doing really well. I didn't mind the food and i didn't really feel like i was missing out BUT over the past week this has been changing. I feel like i have hit the wall. It's hard b/c Vicki (who is also doing it) feels the same way. This weekend was hard. I kept saying if i was at Walmart i would be buying a ton of junk food. I have had little things here and there but not much at all.

My fear is that b/c i have been doing so well that i'll give up and be happy with where i am. I don't want that, i want to endure to the end and make the goal i have set. Some people are saying i should stop for a few weeks but i really don't want to. I just need to get over this stumbling block and move on. I think i need to be more creative with my dinners. It's hard for me to be creative with my meals so this will be good for me.

Sorry, I just needed to vent.

Mouse in the house

2010-09-28T10:16:00.003-06:00

So Saturday night i was chillin watch tv and playing Mahjong on my phone when at the corner of my eye i swore i saw something running along the side wall. I tried telling myself it was just my imagination and nothing was there. I continued playing Mahjong when all of a sudden there was a mouse that was about an inch away from my hip. I threw my blanket in the air. my cell and remote went flying and i ran as fast as i could upstairs yelling for Vicki (who was in bed trying to sleep b/c she was sick). She was coming out of her room as i got to the top floor. I tried telling her about it but I was too busy freaking out. She just laughed. Being a country girl she is used to this. I however am not. We then went to walmart to buy some traps. I had high hopes that it would be in the trap by morning. Nope, i was wrong. We were talking about it in the morning and she said that i should be grateful it wasn't snake. then she asked what i would have done if it was. I told her i would move out but after some thought i decided that maybe moving out was a bit much so then i said i would stay somewhere else till it was gone. then the thought of that freaked me out too much so we moved back to the mouse. At church i was telling my primary class about it and the boys offered to come over and catch it for me. It was too cute :)

Sunday night after much encouragement Vicki convinced me to go downstairs to watch survivor. I moved the chair away from everything and put my feet on the table. I had a hard time focusing on the tv though as i was always keeping an eye out for the rodent. Sure enough it came running from the laundry room to the storage room. i shrieked to Vicki who of course didn't see it. I made her put a blanket and box in front of the door so it was trapped in there assuming there's only one of course. Anyway we got home from work last night and still nothing. My guess is that it's having a feast in that room b/c of course that's where our food storage is. Anyway as long as it stays in there i don't care.

summer summer summer

2010-08-10T19:31:00.006-06:00

I guess i will start by writing about my trip to the island. So here's how it all started. Back in March i booked from June 30 - July 11 off. I was going to go to Van, stay for Nikki's wedding and then head to the island. Then we were talking a friend of ours and she invited up to go to Arizona with her (she was going to be down there for the month of July). Well the only weekend that could work for us was July 9. After much debate with myself i decided to go there instead. Even though i wanted to go really bad it still didn't feel right. Anyway, we kept our eyes out for cheap flights but much to our dismay they kept going up. We wanted to go Tuesday - Sunday. Another friend told us if we didn't to go Arizona we could go to their cabin as a back up. i was fine with that even though i still felt really guilty for not going home/Nikki's wedding. We decided that if the flights didn't go down by Sunday we would go to the cabin. Well as it turns out there was a miscommunication or something and the cabin was out. I was so mad b/c now i had nothing to do and i couldn't go back to work (another long story). I decided i was just going to drive to the coast like i should have done right from the beginning. I called Dad's and talked to Roxy. She got off the phone with me and looked at some flights, called me back and told me they would pay for one way for me to fly out. So by 6pm on Sunday my flight was booked and by 8:30am Monday i was in Victoria. let me just say everything happens for a reason. this trip is what i needed. It was perfect.

First off Oma and I went to Coombs. It was good but I think my fav part was the dutch store just before Coombs. I wish i too some pics of the fun stuff in there. It was a good day.

I love that they still have goats on the roof :)

It was really hot while i was there. Being on the island during a heat wave isn't all that bad b/c of all the water around. I want to go somewhere close to Dad's so i could bring Kali (their dog). As a kid i never really swam at Bright Angle park but since it was close i thought i would give it a try. It was awesome. I love swimming in rivers.

totally forgot about the bridge.

I love my dad even if he has no legs :)

i did a lot of visiting with my family. I also met up with a friend from High School. it was nice to catch up with her. I haven't seen her since graduation.

then i got to spend the day with Sarah, Adriel and Sloan. We went to Westwood lake. Adriel wanted to swim out to the dock so i went with him. He kept telling me he didn't need this floaty b/c he could swim on his own. he can't :) anyway we got out to the dock and the only way he wanted to get back into the water was by jumping in. I was a little worried but eventually he came down the ladder and it was all good.

he's so cute ;)
Sarah what does Adriel call goggles again?

I enjoy this picture of Sloan. I love the smirk on his face.

We didn't stay long at the lake b/c Sloan needed a nap but Kyle was nice enough to stay home so we could go back with Adriel. i had such a great day. It was so nice to visit and hang with Sarah.

Oh Kali how i love you! Whenever i go home Kali is my little shadow.

She even comes into the bathroom when I'm getting ready. One day i was waiting for Sarah to get home so we could go to the river. Kali had figured out where we were going and was all excited. i told her to wait by the door and to come get me when Sarah got home. I went downstairs to do some stuff and all of a sudden Kali comes running down the stairs wagging her tail all excitedly. I didn't hear Sarah so didn't think much about it but she kept following me like come on lets go. i finally went upstairs and sure enough there was Sarah. I told her what i told Kali to do and Sarah said "I was wondering why she bolted downstairs as soon as she saw me". it was a proud moment for me lol. She's so smart :)

I got home to Calgary during Stampede. Like every year it's a busy time of year and it's hard to find someone to go with. My friend Cheryl and i went on the last Saturday to watch the chucks (my FAV part).

look at who we ran into. Christine and Jeff. Christine was a 2 days away from her due date and what trooper she was.
We were waiting to see the Acrobatic Ice Show: Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy. Elvis Costello, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were in it. it was pretty cool.

then after that we were on the hunt for deep fried pickles. not bad actually. You can't go to the Stampede and not have something deep fried. Pickles were better then the oreo's i tried before. The oreo's were yucky.

then the chucks. basically everyone i picked lost.
the ferris wheel pic is for you Laura :)

there's some of my summer. more to come once i get the pics from Vicki's camera since i broke mine. Curse words!

it's time

2010-07-26T07:52:00.003-06:00

The other day the girls were given fake tatoo's and Tori put hers on her leg so she could be just like Auntie Karey. This is why i want to get my tat removed. I think it's time.

love my nieces

2010-07-23T08:16:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile, i know. There's so much to write about that i find it kind of over whelming so i don't bother. I did however want to write about this cute little story.

So Kris and Scott are down in Disneyland right now with the girls. They didn't want to tell the girls they were going till the morning of. So they come to spend the night at my house the night before so i could drive them to the airport. the girls were so excited b/c they thought they were coming to stay with me for four days (little did they know). They were making all these plans of the things they wanted to do but number one on their list was to go swimming (not sure why). We kept telling them that they had to go to bed earlier b/c there was a surprise the next day and they needed sleep. They kept asking if it was swimming. Then after i read Little Miss Sunshine to them Tori asked if the big surprise was that they were going to see Grandpa. it was cute. Kris and Scott got them up bright and early and before they could really function they brought them downstairs where i was waiting with the video camera and Kris told them. I think they were still a little out of it b/c it took a bit for it to sink it. But when it did it was so cute. I was having breakfast with them and Tori started asking me about the rides and what they were like and what my favorite one was. Then it hit them that they finally got to go in a plane and then they were asking questions about that. They kept thanking Kris and Scott for the trip and me for the little travel bags i filled for them. They're just so dang cute. Once we got to the airport they were off and not looking back. The best part is Dad and Roxy are meeting them down there and the girls had no idea yet. They are going to be so happy to see them. I wish i was there too.

Oh i forgot one more thing. When we were eating breakfast Tori said "I'm happy we are going to Disneyland but I'm sad we aren't staying with Auntie Karey". then Addi said on the way to the airport "So, do we still get to stay with Auntie Karey when we get back". hahaha man i love those girls :)

need a laugh?

2010-06-02T08:57:00.003-06:00

You have to check out this blog i found. It's about this guy who got a divorce and was left with his wife's old wedding dress. So he made this blog to show all the different things you can do with it. Whenever i need a laugh i go to this blog. i don't know but it really hits my funny bone.

my weekend

2010-05-30T19:49:00.004-06:00

Friday night our friend came over for a visit. After sitting around chatting for a bit i made some caramel popcorn. it was good but not as good as Barbs :) then we decided to watch a movie. Vicki pulled out Run Away Jury that she bought awhile ago but hadn't watched it yet. I really liked it. It was the kind of movie you could predict. i love movies like that. Kept us guessing the whole time. I went to bed way too late though.
Yesterday i went to the temple with my friend Shelly and 2 people from her ward. It was snowing when we left but the roads weren't too bad so we kept going. I couldn't believe how much moisture there was down there. The rivers were highest i have ever seen them. Anyway, it was a pretty uneventful trip. We didn't see the black dog that they usually see (I personally have never noticed it before). Brenda the driver was a little concerned she didn't see him. We went to Subway before going to the temple. Their breakfasts aren't too bad actually. The temple looked beautiful of course. The grounds were covered in snow (which is how you would expect it to look in WINTER). Our session wasn't too busy. Before i go to the temple i always pray that i will learn something that i haven't learnt before and also to feel the presence of the person I'm going the work for. I like do that b/c I get a lot more out of the session and i learn a lot more. Yesterday was amazing and exactly what i needed. I left there feeling so rejuvenated and so much love for my Saviour.
On our way home we stopped at the book store. There were so many things i wanted to buy but i only got the John Bytheway collection #2. It's good but the first one is better. Shelly didn't drive home with us b/c she was going to go home with her sister. I went with the 2 other ladies. We saw the dog on the way home. Phew! I ended up sleeping almost the whole way home. I think i was even snoring lol. Nice first impression. I guess it wasn't too bad b/c they invited me to go with them again.
When i got home i left right away and ran some errands. I had someone tell me at a stop light a few weeks ago my brake lights were out. I have been meaning to replace them since but hadn't made it to the store yet. Yesterday was the day. something so simple takes so long to do some times. It felt good to cross it off the list.
then i went to Blockbuster to get a movie but nothing was grabbing me so i just came home cleaned up a bit and then looked at the movies on Shaw on Demand. I got Dear John. I read the book a few months ago and have wanted to watch the movie since. It was actually pretty good. I like Nicholus Sparks movies except the one with Miley Cyrus in it b/c i can't stand her. then i talked to Vicki on the phone and went to bed.
I woke up early today b/c i wanted to get to the stake center early so i could get a good seat. I got there 45 mins early and all the pews were full or being saved. i wasn't happy b/c then i had to sit on the uncomfortable seats. Stake conference was so good. i loved seeing the familiar faces in Vancouver. While we were singing the opening hymn i got teary eyed thinking about how all the members across Canada were singing the same hymn and listening to the same talks at the same time. The talks were amazing and again what i needed. The only problem was i got cramps so bad part way through and almost had to leave. i was in so much pain i was seeing spots at time. As soon as it was over i practically ran to my car. I looked in the mirror and my face was white. I haven't had bad cramps like that in years. The drive home seemed like it took forever. I got home had a bath then slept for about 3hrs. It's way better now. Sorry for the details :) It was weird though.
I got some good news from a lady at work this week. She's kind of my insider b/c she hears everything. Anyway she told me that they are really impressed with me and they want to promote me. It's so nice to work in a place where you are appreciated. I love my job. It makes me happy. i actually like going to work each day. I love the people i work with too. Everything happens for a reason and this job reminds me of that everyday.

Geocaching

2010-05-25T20:11:00.002-06:00

Have you ever tried Geocaching or heard of it? It's were you put these coordinates into a gps and try to find a treasure (something someone has hid there already). Anyway, Vicki decided to do it for YW tonight to help them get ready for girls camp. Neither of us had done it before and from what I've hear it's pretty fun (especially if you find it). She was going to do a trial run to some that she found around here and i thought it would be fun so i joined her. We went to our first one which was rated as 1 (the easiest) but it was in someones yard and we felt weird so we moved on to a 3 rating down by the ridge. I should mention we thought it was going to be pretty simple so we were wearing flip flops and i just got home from work so i was wearing a dress shirt. Totally not prepared. Anyway we start walking along the ridge but the gps was telling us to go down towards the water. I should also mention how much i hate snakes and have fear of walking in grassy woodsy areas (which is wear we were being lead). We were walking and walking but not getting any closer. We were also getting further and further away from the regular paths. We had to stop every few minutes to pick thistles out of our toes but we kept going. The thought of finding the treasure was exciting. We came to a bog and got a little dirty passing through it but we kept going. Finally we got one coordinate right. This brought us joy as we knew we were doing something right. We stayed on that line while trying to get the 2nd coordinate. It brought us to this really swampy yucky area. I thought i saw something so with excitement in my voice i announced it, ran over (as fast as i could in the swampy area) only to find out it was an empty blue bucket. Did we let that get us done? No! We kept going. Vicki stayed in a really swampy part and I took to a higher part. I heard her scream and looked over as she was falling. Only her hand hit the ground. Good thing b/c that would have been nasty. Anyway, we kept going when all of a sudden this huge hawk that was in the grass about 4 ft from Vicki took off. It scared the crap out of us. it was huge and loud! We made it to where it looked like it could be but by now it was almost time for Vicki to be at YW and we still couldn't find it. We were so far down that we couldn't ever really see the houses anymore and the paths were gone. Our feet were black. So started hiking back. You have no idea how hard it was for me to be walking in this area in flip flops. I kept thinking about snakes and them slithering over my feet. YUCK! I tried to keep it to myself but i did tell Vicki i won't be able this again in flip flops. Anyway we got to the top of this one hill and i could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I starting singing The Hills are Alive :) We got back in time for Vicki to wash her feet and look up new easier locations for them to try. All in all it was a fun adventure. I think it would have been really cool if we found the box but were going to go back and try again. We also got to really explore our backyard :)

this and that

2010-05-11T20:40:00.005-06:00

I have been working hard getting stuff made for Leashy to bring to Vancouver with me. I love crafting. It makes me happy. I wish i had more time and energy to do it.

Here's the quilt i made for baby Bethany. Nine patch is my favorite kind of quilt. I'm not sure why but there's just something about it. One day I'm going to make a big one for my bed.

I also made a burping cloth to match it (bottom corner).

this was my first time quilting like this. I usually just quilt straight lines but Cory sold me on meandering and i LOVE it. I will never go back. It's so super easy. I had to use Cory's machine b/c i don't have a quilting/darning foot. I only broke 2 needles :) Then this Friday i went over there to help her finish her first quilt. Anyway we could not figure out what was wrong with her machine and i was panicking b/c i was the last one to use it but after a good hour we figured it out and it was smooth sailing until we realized that there wasn't enough binding to finish it. Cory dug around and found some scraps of different material but that was used in her quilt so we pieced it together. I actually really liked the look of it. We/I finished her quilt at midnight and then of course we had to take pictures of it. I think i was just as proud as she was. I love it and it totally suits her. Side note Cory is an awesome friends. She is the most thoughtful, loving person i know. I love visiting with her. When i wasn't working we would talk almost everyday. We had some good chats. I'm very blessed to have a friend like her. She is a wonderful example to me. Love you Cory!

Anyway here's a nursing cover and burping cloth i made for Leash too. Not a good pic but i love the fabric :)

then tonight Vicki had the YW over and we made something cool so i made one for Laura, Leash, Edith and me. I want it to be a surprise though so i won't post a pic till later.

One more thing. it finally stopped doing this (this was taken last week) and today i found this in the yard! Good thing b/c i was ready to stay in Vancouver :)

keeping busy while trapped at home

2010-04-23T16:45:00.005-06:00

I've been off work since Monday b/c i have strep throat. It started Monday night and by Wednesday morning i could barely swallow. it hurt so bad. Anyway, i went to the dr and he told me i had to take the rest of the week off. Some might think this would be good but i have been so bored. Vicki is away this week, which is probably a good thing but it also means i have no one to talk to. I can't invite anyone over or go anywhere b/c I'm still contagious (until tomorrow, YEAH). I did sneak out last night to go to the fabric store though :) to keep myself busy I've been doing a lot of sewing. I made Elicia's baby a quilt, 2 sock monkey's, nursing cover and started another quilt. Don't worry I'm also getting my rest too. A friend brought over all 3 seasons of Arrested Development and 3 jumbo freezies so I've also been watching a lot of AD. It's pretty funny and it makes my family look amazing (JK). I should have used this time to read my book for book club though. I tried but i kept falling asleep.

Another awesome friend brought me this. I felt so loved :) that Slurpee didn't last long b/c it felt so good on my throat. (Yup i actually took a picture of it)

I still have to blog about my super fun Vancouver trip but that will have to wait for now. I just booked my ticket to go back next month to see Elicia and to meet Bethany. I'm so excited to see them. I really miss Elicia. She's such an amazing friend. I'm looking forward to all of us hanging out again. Long live the Crayola's!!!

Here's a little something i created a little while ago but i had to keep it a secret b/c i made one for Laura for her bday. I'm quite proud of it.
Are you tired of your purses laying around with nowhere to put them?? Me too! (yes, that's a little miss bag in there :))Here's what i came up with. I made this purse hanger to hang on the back of my door and out of the way.

Look at that! isn't it great. I'm going to sell them. Want one??? let me know.

I'm a Gleek

2010-04-08T10:00:00.004-06:00

As soon as i saw the preview for Glee last fall i knew i would love it. It makes me happy :) Tori and Addi love it too. I got them the soundtrack for Christmas and they know every song word for word. It's hilarious to listen to them. sometimes i think Tori thinks she's on Glee. Last Sunday they came home with me to spend the night, we listened to Glee on the way home. They knew the songs better then me and the best part is, if i asked them who was singing the song they could tell me without even thinking about it. I finally bought season 1 last night after obsessing over it for the last few months. I kept telling myself i didn't need it but everywhere i went i had to look to see how much it cost and then talk myself out of it. I finally gave it. Maybe I'll start watching it on the road trip :) Then they were on Oprah yesterday, it totally got me pumped for the new season.

My name is Karey and I'm a Gleek.

getting things done

2010-04-07T12:48:00.002-06:00

I love making lists. they make me happy. I sometimes will add things to it that i know I'm going to do right away just so i can cross it off. I'm a geek i know. Anyway, one of the things on my list for a long time is to do my taxes from 2007 on. I was bored one night last week and was in the sorting through my papers kind of mood so i went up stairs and started but then got distracted by my taxes on the floor begging me to get them done. I have never done my own taxes and i knew Vicki was really busy so i didn't want to bother her. I decided to just figure it out on my own. I pulled out 2006 and used that as my guide. It was so easy. It only took me an hour to do 2007. i thought it would take forever. So i did 2008 right away and did 2009 yesterday. they are all mailed now. it feels so good to have them done and to finally cross it off my list for another year. I can't wait for the return either. Just in time for my Cali trip :)

Now it's time to move on to something else from the list.

2010-04-07T12:34:00.002-06:00

I love my sewing machine but it's getting old and they just don't make them like they use to. Recently my foot pedal has started to die. If i drop in hard on the floor it will work for a bit or if i hold it with one hand (this makes it hard to sew though). i tried taking it apart to see if i could figure it out, once it was a part it was working no problem. then i put it back together and guess out it stopped again. I looked for a new pedal foot online and found one for 179.00 USD before shipping. I was shocked that it would cost that much. My problem is i love my machine but do i love it enough to spend 200 bucks to make it work. It would be cheaper then buying a new one similar to what i have/want. Why can't they make universal foot pedals? it's annoying!

I leave for Vancouver in 2 days!!! Even thought it's going to be a super short trip I'm so excited. Oh the smell of the ocean....

April Fools!

2010-04-01T08:17:00.004-06:00

I wanted to pull some good ones at work today but since I'm new i thought i would hold off. I was reflecting over the joke that i have been part of over the years and the one that sticks out the most for me is the one we did every year on Dad. Mom would make chocolate pudding on April fools for dessert and every year she would put shaving cream on dad's instead of whipping cream. I asked him a few years ago if he knew she was doing it and was just playing it up for us and he admitted we got him every time. Seriously how could he forget from year to year?!?! It would only have to happen to me once and i would never forget. Anyway, i remember as a kid always getting excited when it was time to have dessert to see his reaction.

I enjoy new seasons. I didn't think this winter was bad at all but I'm glad it's over. The snow is almost all melted and the grass is trying to turn green. I can't wait to see the blossoms come out. My dad keeps informing me when he cuts the lawn. It seems like spring came early to the coast this year. I get jealous when people talk about how beautiful it is there right now. i think i like Vancouver the most in the spring. I love cherry blossoms!

So we use white garbage bags and in Calgary no one uses garbage cans (probably b/c they would blow away), we just simply put our garbage bags at the corner of our lawn. We discovered a problem this year with using white garbage bags during winter. Apparently the bags blend in with the snow. it wasn't until the snow started melting that we discovered a few bags weren't picked up AND something got into them. So as the snow melted we found more and more treasures hidden by the snow. Our yard looked so white trash :)

I'm heading to the Bridge this weekend. I'm excited to see my nieces. i made them the cutest skirts for Easter. I'll add pics later. I had so much fun with them last time i was there. Addi was glued to my hip. i took her on a little date b/c Tori was at a birthday party and Addi was feeling left out. We went to DQ and then i brought her shopping (for stuff for me of course). She was so cute at DQ. i think she liked the one on one time. I love the things she talks about. Shopping was awesome. When ever i tried anything on she told me how good i looked (who doesn't like that). then she would usually add that when she grows up she is going to buy it. The ladies in the store were all laugh at her (she was talking pretty loud). Then that night i had to lay down with her till she fell asleep. She held my hand to make sure i wouldn't go anywhere. It was too cute! I decided I'm going to try to do one on one's with them every time i go down there. I think it's good for them and i enjoy it. I can't believe how fast they are growing up. Tori is getting so mature. i hate it! She's also getting very sassy which is not cool.

Anyway Happy Easter everyone!

little of this, little of that

2010-03-29T11:10:00.002-06:00

I love my calling at church. I think it's such a blessing to be able to teach in primary (even though you have to miss RS). I love my class. they are so stinkin' cute. During sharing time i always have at least one of them sitting on my lap. There's one little girl that runs up and hugs me every time she sees me. i love it! I have been working on their reverence b/c they can be out of control a lot of times, yesterday i realized that they are kids that enjoy talking so i need to work with it. So at the beginning of class i let them talk. They told random stuff about their families and their weeks. I think they really enjoyed it. I love the stuff they talk about. They make me laugh. I have also been working on them bringing their scriptures to class. So i got a jar and marbles and every time they bring them they get to put a marble in the jar. I decided that they also get to put a marble in if they answer a hard question without help or if they are being really reverent but i can also take them out if they aren't. once the jar is full they get a special treat. This works so well. I have noticed a difference already. They amaze me with what they know. Sometimes i feel like I'm not getting anything across but i guess i am. Not that i can take all the credit for it :) I hate it when people say someone is a sweet spirit but these kids really are.

Sunday, after church i went vting. We went to visit a single lady who has 3 sons. They're a great family! Anyway, we were sharing the message and i was bearing my testimony on prayer when the older son who was sitting on the couch playing with the dogs threw a ball and hit me square in the head. We were all crying we were laughing so hard. It was awesome!

I have been so extremely tired and cranky lately. I hate it.

2010-03-19T14:37:00.002-06:00

I do this all the time. i think i have nothing to write about and then i get super busy and don't have time to write about things i want to write about. Now i don't even know where to start. I guess i could start with my job. i finally got a job!!! I've been temping at United Way of Calgary for almost 2 months now and today they made me an offer. I knew they were going to for a few weeks now but they needed to figure some stuff out first. I'm glad it's official. I really like it here. they people are so nice and friendly. not like the crank pots at my last job. It seems like a fun place to work. it's kind of slow right now b/c they just finished they're major campaign season but it will pick up soon and be then be crazy. I'm excited for that. We just got out of 3 days of long meetings but at the end of yesterday we got to go curling. It was my first time and i loved it. it was so fun. it was a good way for me to meet more people here. I was told by an older guy working there that i was a good sweeper. Not sure how to take that b/c i wasn't really sweeping but whatever. Anyway, i totally want to go again. I'm sore today though. It's all everyone is talking about is how sore they are. I'm so mad i didn't bring my camera. What's up with that? i usually bring it everywhere but i have been getting really lazy about it. Maybe i should go back to taking a picture a day again.

I'll write more later. this took too much out of me :)

2010-03-03T09:54:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was a good day. I finally got my car towed to the mechanic to finally get fixed (I can smell freedom again). Then I got my EI figured out. I almost lost out on it b/c of laziness but by some miracle it's figured out now.

I just felt so happy yesterday. A high that i haven't felt in a long time. I think it was Heavenly Fathers way of preparing me for today. Today is March 3rd (duh) but it's also the hardest day of the year for me. It was 20 years ago today that Mom passed away. 20 years, can you believe it?!?! I tell people it gets easier but it really doesn't. I don't know why but this year is really hard. I had been feeling sad for quite some time now. I started to really notice it when i heard about Joannie Rouette's mom. I instantly felt so sad for her. I knew how she felt to not have her mom there to share this amazing moment with her. I feel like I'm forgetting too much about mom. I remember stuff about her but i don't remember specific things and that's what makes me sad. I miss her hands. I look at mine and they remind me of hers. It's the only thing i can see that resemblances us but everyone else says there is more. That makes me happy. I wish i had more pictured of her. I did find one that i really like of us (mom, Kris and I) on FB and Kris made the comment that it looks like Addi sitting on her lap. It made me cry b/c that's something the girls will never have. They will never (in this life time) have the privilege of getting to know their grandma. I know that they would love her so much. I remember one day this past summer I was talking to Addi about mom and she asked me if i missed her. I was caught off guard by this question. It brought tears to my eyes. I of course told her yes and then she said she wished she knew her. How sad! I wish they did too. I always wonder what life would be like if she was still here. Of course i don't have the answers but I would like to think we would be best friends. In fact i know we would be.

Love and miss you more then words can say Mom!

Funny little story

2010-02-21T21:50:00.003-07:00

So my dad was at the Bare Naked Ladies concert up at Whistler and the guy next to him who had never heard of them was expecting naked ladies to come out. You'll be happy to know he wasn't Canadian.

this still hits my funny bone so i thought i would share it :)

Reading mood

2010-02-20T13:02:00.003-07:00

Since I've been home i have been in a reading mood. Maybe it's b/c i didn't read much in Hawaii. For book club this month we read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. i really liked it. Right from the first letter i couldn't put it down. I even found myself reading it in an English accent :)

Then i read Dear John basically b/c i want to see the movie. It was good but not great. I read it in 2 days while i was temping b/c there was nothing else to do.
Now I'm reading The Boy in the Striped Pajama's again. It's next months book for book club. I love this book though so i don't mind reading it again.

Oh and i finally finished Glass Castle. it was good but from what everyone said about it i thought it would be better. I found to similar to Shattered Silence which i read a few months ago. Maybe if i read this one first i would have liked it better.

I have a huge list of other books a want to read. I just ordered The Girl in the Green Sweater. I hear it's a good one. Kind of like Striped PJ's. I really enjoy reading books about the holocaust.

Olympic Fever

2010-02-17T18:06:00.005-07:00

I'm so excited for my Dad. He's volunteering at the Olympics up at Whistler. He called last night to tell me all about it. I don't think i have ever heard him so happy. he is having the time of his life. I want so bad to be there to experience it all but i had to go and move away.looking at this picture you wouldn't know he's happy but he is. Judging by the look on his face he was thinking "k, hurry up and take this picture i have a ton of stuff to do". I know this face b/c i do the some one :) This is some of the attire he got for volunteering

I went to Lethbridge this past weekend and basically watched the Olympics the whole time. Kris let the girls make beds downstairs and stay up for the opening ceremonies.

As you can see Addi was out. See that sock monkey under her arm? I made that for her birthday. she brings it everywhere. She saw the one i made for Laura at Christmas and asked me to make her one. I love seeing how much she likes it.

Back to the opening ceremonies. I loved them! There are so many things i liked about them. I think my 2 fav parts were the killer whales (it totally brought me back to my kayaking trip) and the part were the snowboarder and skiers were hanging from the roof and it looked like they were on the mountains. Oh the poet was good too. Amazing job on everything. I was a little disappointed the Michael Buble had nothing to do with it. Come on!!! Although Kris and i both thought KD Lang was him at first LOL. I did think the Nelly Furtado and Bryan Adams did a horrible job. lip sync much?! Maybe next time practice a little more so it's not so obvious and painful. I found this on a website "I wasn't surprised Nelly Furtado was lip syncing b/c i have seen her perform on TV before and she sucks, but Bryan Adams wasn't even lip syncing well - it was so obvious! What an embarrassment to Canada!" haha

I totally cried when the Georgia team came in. it was very touching.

Dad got to go to the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies and said it was amazing to see live.

go Canada!!!!!!

I am so proud to be Canadian!

They had skating on Saturday so we took a break from the games to go watch. Of course i had my camera with me which turned out to be a good thing b/c their teacher got to carry the torch in the relay and brought it for everyone to see. Then she saw that i had my camera and asked if i wanted to take a picture of the girls with it. I wanted one too but felt too sheepish to ask :) The girls were so cute to watch skate. Addi falls all the time but has mastered getting back up. she's so proud of herself. Almost every time she fell i saw her looking at me to see if i was watching. Tori does the one foot shuffle. As in she keeps one foot still and pushed with the other. too cute!

I had such a fun weekend. I missed the girls so much. Hopefully I'll get my car fixed soon so i can go down there on my own and see them more often.

Blonde moment

2010-02-10T07:55:00.003-07:00

So as most of you know my car is broken. i haven't been able to get it fixed do to a lack of money of course. So there is sits on the road lonely and not feeling loved. Well on Sunday when we were coming home from our friends house for dinner we noticed signs all up and down the road saying "no parking, tow away zone". They were finally going to remove the snow! So i called our home teachers to see if they could help. I decided if they couldn't help move it i was just going to risk it but really the last thing i need is to deal with my car getting towed. They came over the next day and moved it into the driveway for me. it took them 2 minutes lol. So yesterday they finally did our road which meant i could move my car back onto the road. This part would be easy so i didn't bother calling anyone for help. I asked Vicki to steer and i would push. I warned her the brakes don't work that well b/c the car isn't turn on so she will have to put it in park instead. So apparently she has a huge fear of pushing on the brakes and they don't work and she crashes. She compared it to my snake fear but i personally don't think compares but who am i :) I assured her we wouldn't be going very fast as we are pushing it but she said it would be better if she was pushing. I didn't want her to do all the pushing but i wasn't going to argue since i do except understanding about my fear. Anyway to make a short story long i thought i put the car into neutral but it was really in reverse instead :) We didn't notice till i got out to help push b/c it was a little hard for one person and my one foot out the door doing the Fred Flintstone wasn't helping. so anyway i got out and went to the back to look and saw the reverse lights on. Oops! i thought about not saying anything since Vicki didn't notice but i had to b/c it was so funny to me. We had a good laugh and then she called me a dumb ace. Good times :)

Hawaii

2010-02-06T17:37:00.014-07:00

I have had a hard time sitting down to do this post. It's probably b/c i didn't want the trip to be over but it is and it's time for me to blog about it and dream of the day i will go back. it's so beautiful there and so much to do. So bare with me b/c here comes a lot of pictures. Would you expect anything else from me???? It hard to narrow down what to put on here b/c there are over a 1000 pictures to pick from. Oh and they are in on order b/c i don't feel like moving stuff around. This was just as we were landing. Can you tell how excited i was :)

chillin' in the water

playing around
Good ol' Duke

The first day we were there Oma and her friend were too so we hung out for the day. If was so fun! it was a windy day

wild hair
Vicki enjoyed how wet i got from the wave

I thought the trees were amazing there. I took a lot of pictures of them. i felt like Heather from our Cali trip :)

view from our room at the resort

not bad eh?

sunset

the temple was closed but it was still nice to walk around and check it out.

learn to hula dance at PCCsinging Happy Birthday to Nancy at the luau

Benny our host at the luau. He's been working at PCC since '63. wow!
Start of Diamond Head
made it to the top. it was killer! Like the "glow" i have going on. Sick!
view from the top. Almost worth it JK

Vicki heading back down.
had to try the Spam sushi. Surprisingly it was good.

another random roster

playing around in the pool

a Dole Plantation must

view from the resort again

this coconut reminded me of Cast Away. Vicki said it kind of reminds her of a monkey

in the middle of a down pour. it was still so warm though. it reminded me of the down pours from my mission
best shaved ice on the island. Good thing we found it at the end of the trip

a little surprise i left on Vicki's camera :)

beautiful story that goes with this. still brings tears to my eyes. I'm sure if you google Eddie-Hawaii you'll find it.
I started exploring this beach while Vicki and Nancy were looking for shells and i found this tree that had all this random stuff nailed or hung from it. It's stuff people had left at the beach. it was kind of odd and fun.
I love this picture of Vicki. I won't say what she was doing but i think you could guess :)

So i got a heat rash really bad and didn't know what to do to stop the burning so Nicole said to put a wet rag in the freezer and then put it on. Well i forgot about it till the next day and when i went to put it on it was totally frozen (of course) but i still used it. Vicki thought it needed a picture.

i loved the phone booths there.

our last time at the beach...sigh

the night before we left they were showing Lost on the beach. We went down there to see the celebs. i didn't add any pics on here but we saw a lot of them.

last day at the resort

Another highlight was seeing Brandon. We served together on our mission and thanks to FB we have kept intouch. He's lucky enough to live there. Anyway is was so great to see him and catch up. it was like no time has passed. Funny thing, the first thing he said to me was the he liked my hair. This is only b/c the last time i saw him i had a horrible hair cut (from a lady in the ward i was serving in). i looked like Carol Brady from the Brady Bunch. nice to know that's how he remembered me. Vicki and I still laugh about it. I'll have to find a picture of it and post it.

So there you have it. believe it or not there are way more but I'll spare you and just add them to facebook one day. We didn't get any pictures of the turtles b/c they were swimming the whole time and it was hard to capture them from the beach. We also still have to get the underwater pictures.

Other then the heat rash that drove me nuts and all four of us having out periods at the same time (nice hey) everything was awesome.

Charity

2010-01-18T13:44:00.002-07:00

Meet Charity or as some would call her Peggy or Eileen :)

this is my sister's new addition to the their family. She is an amazing dog with a story that will probably bring tears to your eyes.

Back in Nov a lady that Kris works with came into the school one morning beside herself b/c the guy in front of her had hit this dog and she saw the whole thing happen. She pulled over to make sure everything was ok but then ended putting the dog in her truck to take it to the vet b/c the guys car was too small. they went to the first vet by their school but he wouldn't even come look at the dog until they paid him 800.00 upfront. Neither of them wanted to do that so she went to the school to see if anyone knew of a better vet to go to. They found one on the south side and the vet there was awesome. He was waiting outside for them. She had to leave her there b/c she had to get to work. The vet found the owner and contacted her but she told him she didn't have time to deal with it b/c she was going to work and she didn't even want the dog anyway. He gave her the options which were to amputate her leg or put her down. She said put her down but then she found out she still had to pay for that and decided to sign the dog over to the vet. He then called Jen (the girl Kris works with) and she said she would come up with the money so go ahead and operate. She had no idea how she was going to come up with them money but there was no way she would be able to give up on her like her owner did. By now word was getting around the school and people were handing money over to her to help. By the next morning it was on the local radio station and people from no where to drop money off for her. Some one even went to the vet and paid the whole bill. Then the news paper got ahold of the story and did a big write on it for the front page. I'm not sure how long she had to stay at the vet for but Jen had her home with her by Dec (I think). So Kris kind of kept a close eye on the story and fell in love with Charity (she got that name b/c of all the people that helped save her) before even meeting her. She talk to Scott about adopting Charity if no one else wanted her. Of course Scott was in. He's wanted a dog forever but Kris never did. Kris talked to Jen about adopting her but there were a few other families that were interested in her too so Jen said she would get back to her. So just before Christmas she told Kris that if they still want her she's all theirs. They told the girls that night and lets just say they could have returned all their Christmas gifts b/c they were soooo excited. When they got back from the island they picked her up. She fits in so well with the family. She is so precious. Missing a leg doesn't even slow her down. It's like she doesn't know anything else. Everyone feels so sorry for her but it doesn't phase her. When she first got home from the vet when she wagged her tail she would fall over b/c she couldn't keep her balance so she's now trained herself to wag her tail in circle so she won't fall. To me that's amazing. She needs to gain weight but b/c of only having one leg they need to keep it off for now until her font leg stronger.

She doesn't look happy in this picture but she really is. She is so full of love and happy she has new owners that love and look after her.

She is a little crazy on walks b/c she loves to just run. We think her last owner didn't take her for walks or trainer her to be on a leash.

Charity has really thought me that no matter what happens you can adapt to it.

Life List Update

2010-01-06T16:42:00.006-07:00

I started my "life list" about 2 years ago and was updating it the other day. I was surprised when I realized I have completed 7 things on it so far.

1. See Michael Buble in concert

Vicki got me tickets one year for Christmas. I think it's the best gift i have ever gotten although my Kitchen Aid is a close 2nd. Here's fun little fact and further evidence we are meant to be together. Michael Buble's first concert he ever went to was MC Hammer. Guess what mine was??? Yup same concert, same place, same time. i think we sat by each other :) Don't ask me how i know this.

2. Run a race with Kris and or Dad.

Kris came up to Calgary to do the Santa Shuffle with me. it was so cold out that day but we still did it. It was so fun to do it with her. She was so encouraging the way time.

3. Go to New York

What can i say other then this was the best trip i had ever gone on and I can't wait to go back. Next time it will be for New Years

4. Go to the Today Show while in NY

We went the day they were having a Foot Loose reunion. Kevin Bacon is better looking in person :)

5. Dog Sledding

So much fun!

6. Hug Michael Buble

It was all i could do to just hug him :) I wish there was a picture of it but it happened too far. In this picture he is signing Dawn's sweater. Best day of my life :)

7. Go on a kayaking trip with Dad

This trip is the 2nd best trip i have even done. It's hard to put into words how amazing it really was. It was nothing i could have ever imagined. I can't wait to do it again.

Here's to completing the rest of of my list!

Christmas pictures overload

2010-01-05T11:22:00.007-07:00

I wanted to do this post before the new year but i just didn't get to it.

I had such a wonderful Christmas with all my family. It was such a blessing to be able to go home for as long as i did. I really needed to get away and leave my stresses behind (but they were waiting for me when i got home of course). I had some adventures while there of course. The first one was before i even left Calgary. The plane was loaded and ready to go when they realized there were more people on there then were checked in. I have no idea how this happened but apparently it did and it delayed us for almost an hour. We had to get our boarding passes out and everything. I'm not sure what ever happened b/c the only person that got off the plane was the pilot but later returned. It was odd but i did get to know the people sitting in my row. One was a big Vinyl Cafe fan and we bonded over that. I also found out that the flight attendants name was Lancealot which i thought was funny. They said to call him sir :) Once the flight finally took off it was a smooth sailing flight.

The next day i went to Vancouver with my cousin to get the girls and bring that back with me b/c Kris and Scott were going to go to the Seahawks game with my cousin. I was so excited to go on the ferry lol. It's been years since i was last on one. When i lived on the coast i hated the ferry b/c it was a pain and expensive but now that I'm away from it i love it. It's probably the smell of the ocean and White Spot :) I got dropped off at their (Kris and Scott's) hotel. they went to a wedding the Scott was the MC at so i called Edith and made plans with her. I met her on the other side of Granville St bridge. When i was walking to meet her i realized once again how beautiful Vancouver is. It made it better that is started to rain. Oh man do i miss the rain. Once Edith and i found each other we walked around for a bit and then she got this idea to go to this really good dessert place. I felt out of place b/c to me it seemed fancy but she said it's fine. They sat us at the bar anyway. While we were there Kris called to see where i was b/c Addi was throwing up everywhere. I wasn't close to the hotel to get the car so she said they would call a cab. Edith dropped me off at the hotel and they still weren't home so i went to pick them up. They were all standing outside in the rain with puke all over them. Poor Addi looked so sick. Scott did get out of being the MC though :) It was a long night with all of us in the hotel room. Addi wasn't throwing up anymore thank goodness but the beds were so small. In the morning the room stunk soooo bad. I thought i was going to throw up. Anyway b/c Addi was sick the night before Scott felt bad going to the game so he stayed and Kris went. I wished i brought my passport so could have gone but whatever. I called Chere and Marina to tell them my plans had changed and i wouldn't be able to meet up with them anymore. I was so sad to not see them. We basically got ready and caught the ferry. By the time we got to dad's i could feel i was getting a cold so i basically slept for the rest of the day. So i turned out i didn't need to go to Vancouver at all but I'm glad i did.

They rest of my time there went by so fast. Here's some pic

This picture makes me laugh. Roxy is so organized! She set up a wrapping station equipped with everything we would possibly need.
Uncle John and Ant are looking after 4 little puppies so we went to visit them. Addi stayed with them the WHOLE time we were there. It was so cute.

This is what i moved away from. Why? There weather was perfect the whole we were there.

Kali getting into the Christmas spirit. She doesn't look impressed but she loved it.

I was so proud of myself b/c i got everyone to play a game. Usually we sit around watch sports all night but this time i was determined to not do it. look they are even enjoying it (Addi was too but she doesn't like to smile for pic most of the time). We played that game every night after that AND i didn't even make them play.

Grandpa and his girls. We went to the Forest Museum to ride the Christmas train.

This is the "excited face" series.

Scott's face makes me laugh

LOL to me he looks more scared :)
Addi was SO excited to be there :)

oh that's better.

Nut!

devilish face

Christmas morning waiting for everyone to wake up

the girls got a Barbie van from Santa

What's Christmas without a little Beatles Rock Band. I totally suck at it.

cousin Scott checking out the Barbie van :)

I wish i took more pictures but probably a good thing for you guys b/c I'm sure this was boring for you.

2009-12-13T17:52:00.004-07:00

It's been awhile so i thought i would do a quick update.

I went to a temp agency and got a temp job right away (Yay) that by the time I'm done it will be 2 weeks. It feels good to be working again. I'm working in the mail room and I'm liking it. I swear i have lost 5lbs already. It's downtown which is nice b/c my car still isn't fixed. I need to take pictures of it b/c it hasn't moved since all the snow started and you can barely see it now lol. There's someone at church who said he will look at it and then someone else said once it's diagnosed he is willing to fix it. Being in the ward we are in has been such a huge blessing for me. There are so many people who have been willing to help me. I'm so full of gratitude right now. Thanks again to everyone who has offered to help.

I leave Friday for home. i can't wait!!! i was supposed to leave on the 23rd but i found a cheaper flight that leaves Friday and i thought the chances of temping are probably slim so why not leave early. So i called westjet and waited on hold for 20 mins before they hung up so i called back and waited for another hour. the lady was really nice and didn't charge me for changing my flight and then she also gave me a credit for the difference. Yay!!! I like to think it's a sign to go home early :) I'm looking forward to relaxing with the fam. I'm working like a mad dog to get things done before i go so i don't have to do anything while I'm there. I just have a few more things to finish so if i use my time wisely I'm good to go.

here's pic of the snow from over a week ago now. it's doubled since this one was taken. I used to like shoveling the driveway....the first few times but when you have to do it like 3 times a day it's not fun anymore. I wish someone would take pitty on us single ladies :)

We went to see Chantal Kreviazuk last weekend with our friend Cory. It was good but i was a little disappointed with Chantal language. She swore a lot more then you would think. She looked stunning and sang beautifully but the swearing kind of brought her down a notch in my books. She seems like a bit of a diva too.

I didn't go any good pictures of her. this is the best one. It was too dark in there.

Here's a recipe I got from Super Saturday that i thought i would share. Let me tell you it's worth making and super easy. I love it!!! I think next time I'm going to make it with peanut butter instead of candy canes. I'm going to try to copy the popcorn i had in NY.

Candy Cane Popcorn

Ingredients
24 cups popped popcorn
3 cups white chocolate wafers, melted
2/3 cup finely crushed candy cane

-Pop popcorn.
-1/2 cup of unpopped popcorn yields approximately 10 cups of popped popcorn.
-Make 24 cups of popcorn.
-This is approximate-- not to worry if you have 22 cups or 28 cups-- it is a forgiving recipe.
-Put candy canes into a food processor. Finely crush.
-Melt dipping wafers following the package instructions.
-I used the microwave instructions-- very simple& easy.
-Put popcorn into a large bowl-- you need a really big bowl-- I actually used 2 bowls.
-Add melted dipping wafers to popcorn and stir to coat.
-A gentle hand is a good idea-- Add crushed candy canes and gently mix.
-Spread popcorn mixture onto paper lined cookie sheets.
-I used non stick aluminum foil-- it worked well-- I used 2 cookie sheets.

-Place cookie sheets in fridge for approximately 30 minutes or until coating hardens-- I had 2 cookie sheets and not enough fridge space so I put 1 cookie sheet in the fridge and the other cookie sheet in the freezer (for 15 minutes only) to harden the coating-- Remove from fridge/freezer-- break into pieces.
-Store in airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Enjoy!

If i don't have a chance to blog before Christmas, Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas crafts and more

2009-12-02T22:34:00.004-07:00

Here's few things that i have made for the house and as gifts.

I'm so proud of this first one. I LOVE IT! I bought the kit to make it the first Christmas i was here but didn't read the instructions and did it the hard way. i kept doing little bits here and there but this year i promised myself i would get it done. So once i actually sat down to sew it it actually didn't take long to do. This picture doesn't do it justice though.

This is similar to the above one but made into a quilted wall hanging. I made one for Vicki's mom and my brother in law's parents.
I made this at super Saturday. I had some issues with it and I'm not loving it as much anymore.

I found something similar to this online but we couldn't find all the stuff we needed so we changed some stuff. We think this looks better then the one i found. We love it!

I'm making G a jean quilt for her birthday. i found this awesome retro bowling fabric to use for the flannel.

better shot of the awesome fabric.

I made this book of our kayaking trip online for Dad and Roxy. It turned out really well.

and of course done a little baking. I'm not really doing any this year which is nice for a change.

There's more to come stay tooned

Thanks everyone for your comments on my last post and those of you who have reached out to me. It really made me feel good, it's what i needed :)

things will change right????

2009-11-30T07:09:00.002-07:00

I would like to think I'm a pretty positive person. For the most part I'm happy and joyful and it takes a lot to get me down. I mean I can be down for a bit but it doesn't take much to get me bounce back....until recently that is. When I lost my job as hard as it was I found myself is still pretty happy. i was stressed of course but still trying to be positive. The weight of Hawaii was heavy on my shoulders but i thought if i found a job soon it would all work out. I admit i haven't been looking as hard as i should but i have been finding way to do some service so i figured at least I'm doing something useful. I decided to go to the temple last Friday with a lady from church that i wanted to get to know better. We had a wonderful visit while driving and even better time in the temple. i didn't want to leave. i felt so at peace with everything. Until my car broke down on the way home. It just stopped and wouldn't start again. I made it to the side of the road (the left side though) and waited for her husband to come save us. Of course Friday was the day it snowed and since i hate wearing jackets i didn't have one. it was pretty cold out but luckily my jean quilt was in the car so that helped. Anyway her husband come and we still couldn't get it started so we had to call a tow truck. luckily we were only about 20 mins from home but the tow truck took forever to come. I got it towed home since i can't afford to get it fixed right now. I must say I'm so glad i wasn't by myself when this happened. i would have had a break down. At least they were able to take my mind off of things and make me laugh. This family is awesome and I'm really glad i got to get to know them better. So we got home from the temple almost 4hrs later then planned. I was so tired once i got home and just wanted to cry but they were so kind to come get me and take me to dinner with them. I needed that. Once i got home for the night i cried until i fell asleep. Good times!
The next morning Vicki made me a wonderful breakfast and bought me flowers. I cried some more... a lot more. We had a really good talk and she pointed out some stuff i didn't even think about. It helped me to see things differently but i still was felt really down.
I thought i knew what i was going to do but now i have no idea. I'm wondering if it's time to move home as much as i don't want to but at least i could save money that way. I really don't want to leave Calgary and especially my ward but maybe it's time. I just feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I didn't think it would take this long to find a job and i haven't even had one call back. I have no money to fix my car which makes things worse b/c that holds me back AND stresses me out even more. I;m so stressed. yesterday at church took me everything i had not to cry the whole time. I cry at the drop of a hat. I can't sleep or eat either. I feel the joy i once had slipping away from me. I feel like this black cloud is never going to go away. I don't want to feel this way. i want to be happy again and not feel so stressed that it make me want to vomit.
Sorry i just really needed to vent.

update on the smarties

2009-11-24T09:54:00.002-07:00

I still have yet to find green smarties. My sister made a smartie cake for Tori's birthday and there wasn't one green smartie!! When i saw it the first thing i asked was if there was some green ones b/c maybe they ate them instead of putting them one but nope there really wasn't any and she got them from Bulk Barn (so they weren't the Halloween ones). Why did they take them away? Are you bringing them back? This makes me sad (although that doesn't take much these days :))

2009-11-20T09:36:00.003-07:00

So as some of you know i lost my job last week. To say the least it's been a hard time for me. I'm so glad my sister was here for the first day and for my friends that have been going out of their way for me. I'm trying to stay positive but some days it's hard. this is a blessing in disguise b/c i wasn't happy there but i would have rather quit then let them make the move. It would have been better on the old ego :) I've been applying for jobs but not putting in as much effort as i should. i hate looking for jobs! I don't think it will take along time for me to find one.

I have been trying to make the best out of the situation. I'm making all my Christmas gifts this year so I'm using this time to get a lot of it done. I've been spending a lot of time in the sewing room watch Grey's (from the beginning) and sewing. it's been nice. I love sewing and don't do enough of it. I'll post of pictures of the projects I've been doing. Some will have to wait until after Christmas though :)

Last weekend i went to Lethbridge for Tori's 6th birthday. Can you believe she is 6 already???? I can't either. Anyway she had her first kids party and instead of getting gifts she asked for food for the food bank. She called me on Monday to say she they weighted it at the food bank and she got over 80lbs of food!!!! She was so proud of herself. I;m really proud of her too. I can't believe a 6 year old would ask for food to help the needy instead of gifts.

that's what's been going on with me. And no I'm not planning on moving back to the coast. Not sure why b/c now would be a good time to but i feel i still need to be here so for now I'm staying. Sorry Dad!

This Is It

2009-11-06T08:46:00.004-07:00

So about 3 weeks ago we bought tickets to see This Is It. We thought since it's only in theaters for a few weeks (at the time) they are probably going to sell out fast so to be safe we bought tickets in advance. We got them for the 5:10 one b/c we knew it would be as busy.

Anyway so yesterday came and i was feeling stressed out about getting there early to get good seats (typical i know) I decided to leave work at 3:30 LOL. I had to take the train to Chinook and i knew that could take some time. We as luck would have it i got there in 15 mins. I had tons of time and felt sheepish going so early so to kill time i went to Bath and Body Works for get some hand sanitizer. Of course they just got all their Christmas stuff so i had to take a look. Side note they were also playing Christmas music already. Anyway i found a new sent i like/love called Winter Candy Apple. I bought lotion, hand soap and hand sanitizer it in. I also treated myself to a pineapple scented lip gloss to get me in the mood for Hawaii :) Then i got up to the counter and saw their Twisted Peppermint body wash/shampoo/bubble bath. Vicki had i a few years ago and i loved it. It was $12 though and i didn't want to spend that much on it. then the lovely sales lady informed me it was the last one in the store and she didn't know if they were going to get anymore in. I had to buy it then :) So i went in there to buy one thing of hand sanitizer which is like 2 bucks and walked out with way more and spent way more. Oh well i was happy with me purchases. Now i know why i avoid malls though b/c after that i totally wanted to do more shopping. instead i headed to the theater, it's safer there :) Well i was still super early so i sat and waited for Vicki to come and then i met her downstairs to do more shopping. She's on a quest to find a new perfume. We went to the Bay where we were greeted by a nice lady. I walked to the other side of the counter to take a look and this annoying sales lady greeted me. She would not stop talking long enough for me to inform her i wasn't looking for perfume. I was trying to walk away but she kept going on and on. We finally got away from her and met Stacy back at the theater.

The movie was really good. i didn't hear a lot of good reviews on it so i was a little nervous but i thought it was good and it's not like there were meaning to make a movie out it of. So for what they had it was good. Michael Jackson was a very loving, caring person. It's too bad the world never really got to see that side of him. It's sad that he never got to do the concert b/c it would have been amazing! If you have the chance to see it go! Oh and by the way their was hardly anyone in there. good thing we bought the tickets early :)

Halloween

2009-11-03T14:58:00.005-07:00

I hope the reason i wasn't into Halloween this year was b/c i was sick. Maybe it's also b/c Vicki isn't all that into Halloween and when you live with someone who's not into something you are you tend to not get as excited as you normally would. Anyway since it was on a Saturday this year I went to Lethbridge to go trick or treating with the girls.

Friday night we carved pumpkins. Addi explained to us how you carve a pumpkin the way she did at preschool. First you have to draw it out on a piece of paper.

then when you are happy with it you transfer it on to the pumpkin.

Here's there finished product. They did everything by their selves. Not bad eh! I love the mouth on Addi's. They even grew their pumpkins in their garden. I think they were most proud of that.
Kris made their costumes. Addi LOVES Cheetah's so that's what they both were.
Tori doing her best Cheetah face.

Now Addi (they both have fake glow in the dark teeth in. Tori couldn't stand them but Addi loved them and wore them all night)

I wish this picture could capture how windy it was out there. It was a typical windy windy day in Lethbridge. this picture makes it look really nice out but it wasn't.

Addi with her loot.

Here's a few pictures from Chandra's visit. We took her to our new favorite place to take visitor's, Elbow Falls. I think it's more exciting for Vicki and I then anyone else. It reminds us of Vancouver.

I think this one of Chandra is cute.

I this one too.

Smarties

2009-11-02T14:10:00.005-07:00

This Halloween season i have had more little boxes of Smarties then i care to admit. I personally think Smarties are way better then M&M's. Don't you? Anyway the reason I'm confessing the fact that i ate way too many is b/c out of all the little boxes i have opened not one of them had any green ones in them. I'm not sure why i noticed this but i did and so my quest to see if i could find at least one goes on. I mean why would they leave out the green ones???? Poor guys. If you have any little boxes left and you find a green one please let me know so i can put this to rest :)

Thank you

2009-10-27T13:03:00.002-06:00

Dear MSN,

I would just like to thank you for the removal of the snake. I'm glad we can continue our friendship. You have no idea how happy i was to open my home page to see Michael Jackson there instead.

Thanks again
Karey

This is your warning

2009-10-26T21:41:00.002-06:00

Dear MSN (US),

I just wanted to let you know how much i love your site. In fact i make it my home page on every computer i use. I love to open it through out the day to see what's new in the world of Hollywood. I'm a gossip junkie what can i say. However this afternoon you let me down. I opened up MSN after i got back from lunch only to find a big huge snake on the left hand side of the page. You must not know my fear of snakes and how i usually scream when i see them (not good to do at work though). I'm asking you nicely to remove the snake. I mean who really cares about them anyway???? I'm hoping when I open MSN tomorrow when i get to work to find it removed. I also hope I'm not going to have to change my home page b/c i find MSN the best frankly. Please use this as a warning (in the nicest possible way of course).

Thank you in advance
Karey

sandy beaches here I come

2009-10-21T09:28:00.004-06:00

I'm so excited!!!! So, Vicki and I were planning a trip to Mexico this winter b/c there is no way we could make it through another winter without going away. So were kind of looking into things but not going to book anything till the last minute in hopes of a good deal. Anyway, last week her cousin emailed her to say her parents were giving her their timeshare in Hawaii for her birthday and invited us to go. I never really had much of a desire to go to Hawaii but after doing some research i was sold. I mean we get to stay for free so why not and the resort is amazing! The timeshare is from Jan 23-30 but we are going to go there Jan 20-31 b/c it's cheaper to fly on the Wednesday and Sunday. So for the extra nights we are getting a cheap hotel somewhere else. I can't wait to go.

Here's a few things on the list of to do's:

-rent mopeds

-swimming with sharks (I'll be in a cage) Don't tell Kris though :)

-snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

-Diamond Head

-Polynesian Cultural Center

-Dole Plantation

-Luau (of course)

If you have any other suggestions let me know

my dad is the best

2009-10-02T10:02:00.011-06:00

I was going through my summer pictures and found a cd that my dad burnt from their road trip out here. There's a ton of pictures of him (one would think Roxy wasn't even on the trip b/c they are all of Dad or Sarah). Anyway when i look at them it makes me love him even more and miss him tons. i decided to post some of the pictures to show the different sides of him.

He knows how to have fun during a slow day watching for whales

he's proud of his beer belly :)

he's a meat lover and cooks the best steaks

he can sleep anywhere (I get it from him)

he loves his nieces and nephews

He's a proud father (Kris just finished her first triathlon here)

He's hairy like a bear :)

He loves the outdoors

He wishes he was buff

he will do whatever you ask him to do for a picture

He loves his granddaughters more and will do anything for them

He's a good husband...i think

he's the best to go on road trips with

he's handsome :)

he's so funny :)

He's a pushover of a grandpa.

He's a great kayaking guide

He's the best. My love of the water comes from him.

Love you Papa!

i realize he's not in this picture but they took it on their trip and i absolutely love it.

Just a few things i've been up to

2009-09-21T15:44:00.010-06:00

Last week someone from work gave me the hockey tickets (but shhhh b/c no one is allowed to know :)). Anyway I don't think when he gave them to me he knew Fleury was going to be playing otherwise I'm sure they would have kept them. I'm glad he didn't b/c the game was awesome. Even though it was preseason it was probably the best game i had ever seen. The first reason was b/c it finally wasn't a Colorado game (every time i get tickets to go it seems to be a Colorado game) and second b/c the crowd went nuts whenever Fleury would come on the ice. The energy was great! Flames won but not till the shoot out. i hate it when it gets to a shoot out b/c it stresses me out. So like i said it came down to a shoot out. Of course Fleury got the winning goal. the place erupted.

Not really sure what happened here other then the guy in the background was hit and had to be taken out on a stretcher and all the players started fighting. even the goals got involved. There were a lot of fights.

the only Islander fans :)

Fleury's winning goal!

Then it was off the Banff and Lake Louise for the weekend. Vicki's friend Nadine was in town for the weekend and they decided to go there. I wanted to take it easy so i was going to stay home but they convinced me to go with them. I'm glad i went. we had a lot of fun.

By the time we got to Lake Louise it was rainy and cold. We did stay there long b/c i was with 2 whimps.

I love this picture. I think the colors are beautiful.

Nadine sporting a lovely hat in one of the stores in Banff. I don't know why she didn't buy it :)

Our hotel had a mineral pool and hot tub. it was so nice. I kept trying to get Nadine to take pictures of Vicki and i but she would always zoom in and they looked horrible so we had to coach her and this is the best we could come up with.

the next day we went horse back riding (still in Banff). My horses name was Hoss. I liked him and he like me :)

I was in the front so there are no pics of me :(

unless i took it myself (not so flattering but i like Vicki in the background)

Then Last night was the night i have been waiting forever for. I finally got to see The Tragically Hip in concert. We have the best seats ever 5th row from the front. It was awesome. I went with Kris, Lud (Chris actually. we grew up with him and now he lives here) and his friend with the sexiest accent ever! We had so much fun. And let me tell you i was not let down. The concert was almost 3 hrs long. I wish they played some more of their older songs but they have so many song so if they did that they would have been playing way longer. I totally want to see them again.

this was Kris's 8th time seeing them. She drove up just to see them and then drove home that night.

Gord doing some crowd surfing

Yup that is him and me taking the pic. we were only separated by 3 people!!!!! I don't know why i didn't jump him lol. We could smell him as Kris would say :)

I took videos but apparently it's not going to upload.

such a rough job

2009-09-14T10:49:00.004-06:00

As most of you know my job is pretty borrowing except for the Spruce Meadows events i plan. I love this part of my job. it's the only highlight of my year. I have to plan 3 a year. We pick 3 different themes and then i go to town. Let me tell you we spare no expense. We (the staff) have to dress up according to the theme and sometimes the guest even dress up (i love that). Anyway this past Saturday was the last one of the season. This one took a lot out of me. Not only did i plan the whole thing but i also got the gift basket together which meant a lot of running around getting the stuff. we usually get them a gift like bbq set or something boring along that line. I wanted to do something different this time so i convinced my boss to let me do a "night out at the movies" basket. Our theme for this one was Celebrity Look-Alike. I thought it was perfect but he didn't want to do and wouldn't admit how good it was until he was drunk and saw how much everyone else liked it. I called it right from the beginning. Anyway the basket was great it had movie passes for 2, popcorn, milk duds, twizzler, Mike n Ikes, 2 bottles of Pop Shop and fuzzy peaches all in a popcorn bowl. Does that not sound awesome?!?! You know what the best part is? i ended up with 7 extra that i got to keep lol. that means 14 movie passes. Sweet! Here's some pics from Saturday. i think out of all the events this one was the best.

From the left: Kevin (dog the bounty hunter), me (Mimi from Drew Carey Show), a guest (I Love Lucy), hidden in the back Ashely (Marilyn Monroe), Clayton (fat Elvis), Frank and Carol (Sunny and Chere), Fred (Michael Jackson) and in the from John (Pee Wee Herman)

Here's some close ups

Richard Greer and Julia Roberts stopped by :)

and of course Maverick and Charlie from Top Gun.

It was a great day. I love party planning. If only i could do it full time :)

finally a CareBear cake

2009-09-11T08:27:00.004-06:00

After all these years i finally had a CareBear cake for me birthday. Mind you i had to make it but whatever i finally had one :) I think Addi and Tori were more excited then i was.
Those are Kris's hands holding it together b/c it split down the middle after i iced it :( It was still yummy!

Oh no!

2009-09-11T07:57:00.003-06:00

I'm not totally sure what happened but the other day when i got home from work i went to the dining room to open the window(it was a little stuffy). i opened the blinds and noticed something didn't look right. The wall on the back deck fell over! it's not like it's a flimsy wall. it's super heavy. I knew it was windy but i didn't think it was strong enough to knock the wall over. it baffled me a little, I'm not going to lie.
Of course Vicki was on her way back from Spokane and wouldn't be home till late. Stuff like this always happens when she is away. So i did what i do best called her to let her know, then i took some pictures for no reason other then for my blog and waited till she got home to deal with it :) We ended up leaving it over night and had someone come over the next day to fix it. Apparently it was rotten on the one side. this surprised me since it's not that old. Anyway it's all fixed now until next time it falls as Cheeko (the handy man) said.

Awww Fall

2009-09-08T11:20:00.006-06:00

I don't know what it is about fall but it really makes me miss the coast. I was just reading Amy's blog and picturing Victoria and i got a weird feeling in my stomach. Since I've been back from the coast i feel like something is missing. I feel like I'm in limbo or something. not sure what it is but I won't focus on that. instead I'll focus on how much i love fall. Fall is my favorite season of all. i love seeing the leaves change colors and scattered on the ground. I love the crisp air and smell it brings. I love going for walks in the forest and hearing the rustle of the leaves. I love pulling out the fall clothes and wearing them again. Of course i love shopping for new fall clothes too. Thinking abut fall makes me smile. Of course on the coast fall lasts longer then it does here :( Oh and the other thing i love about fall and i can't believe i almost forgot it, i love that all my shows are starting up again :)

I just had a very relaxing weekend at Kris and Scott's. I wanted to go do something fun but i ended up being sick for most of it so laid around and read. I just finished reading Still Alice. It's so good and i highly recommend it. Heads up it's sad. I think the reason why i was sick is b/c I'm totally run down. I have been going non-stop this whole summer. Don't get me wrong it was great and I've had the best summer in a long time but it finally caught up to me. I still had a good time though. I took the girls to go see Up! It's was soooo good. Tori was laugh so hard in parts she was making everyone else laugh. It was funny. I had to tell her to shhh a few times. The girls have started a new thing when i leave. they cry and beg me to stay. it breaks my heart and makes it so hard to leave. I just love them so much. I'm so glad i live close to them so i can see them often.

I'm looking forward to things slowing down a bit so i can start some of the projects i have started and lined up.

2009-09-01T15:43:00.002-06:00

Thanks to my family and friends i had a great birthday. I wasn't looking forward to my birthday this year so i tried really hard to have a good attitude leading up to it. Vicki tried extra hard for me to have a good day and she succeeded. She hung streamers from my door so when i opened it i would see them. they scared the crap out of me though. I think i had more phone calls this birthday then any other :) We decided to stay in b/c we had a bunch of Taber Corn that needed to be dealt with last night. I totally didn't mind b/c Vicki made me a yummy meal on the bbq for me. We had steak, corn, ranch potatoes, garlic bread and of course Italian sodas. After we were stuffed from dinner she brought out a white cupcake with pink icing from Crave. she knows me so well :) I couldn't eat it b/c i was too full. I'm looking forward to having it when i get home though. After dinner we had an argument to settle about the Inukshuk at English Bay so i called Chere b/c i knew she would know for sure. Vicki was right once again. I thought for sure i had this one. Then we went to Co-Op and Walmart to get some jars for the pears and other treats we found a long the way. I bought season 1 and 2 of The Facts of Life. Vicki bought season 1,2 and 3 of Gilligan's Island. By the time we got home we (as in Vicki) cleaned up from dinner and went to bed. it was a really good day.

Oh and by the way this was the temperature when i got home from work. I have never had a birthday this hot. As G would say "it was Africa hot!"

Edith this is for you

2009-09-01T14:03:00.002-06:00

YESSSSS!!!!

Mmmmm Dill Pickles

2009-08-28T08:22:00.003-06:00

Making pickles is so easy and fun to do. Tuesday night was made a night of it. I thought I would document it for 2 reasons.

First, b/c i like to do that :)

Second, so we remember for next year. We bought 2 5lb bags at the Farmers Market and soaked them in cold water in the fridge until we were ready to use them (worked out to be 4 days). This helps them stay crisp.

Oops, some froze. We couldn't use those ones :( So we only ended up doing about 8-9 lbs worth.

add the garlic and dill weed, then cucumbers, then add more garlic and dill weed. Once the brine is done you fill the jars almost to the top then put them in the canner to boil for 15 mins. Easy!

Finished product! 8 beautiful look jars of pickles that have to sit for 8 wks before we can try them. I can't wait :)
If you want the recipe or someone to make pickles with let me know.

this isn't a great pic but this is the piece of pottery i bought last weekend.

My love

2009-08-26T10:22:00.004-06:00

Yay!!!! The wait is finally over. Doesn't he look so sexy! The first single from the album (Haven't Met You Yet) can be bought from iTunes starting Aug. 31! What a great birthday gift to me :) Album comes out Oct 13 which means a concert will soon follow. this time I'm getting floor seats :)

Good times!

2009-08-24T11:18:00.005-06:00

I have so many things to blog about. i have done so many fun things this summer, i can't believe that it's almost over. Those posts will have to come later. This post is going to be dedicated to this past weekend. It was the first weekend all summer that both Vicki and i were around at the same time. We decided we needed to make the best of it.

The weekend started on Friday night with a trip to Costco. I was going to meet Vicki there b/c she had running group first. I left with plenty of time to get there and walk around before meeting her but of course they were doing some work on Deerfooot which meant it was a stand still for ever. Had i known this i would have gone a different way but once i was in it i was stuck. Anyway by the time i got there we only have 30 mins before it closed. Turbo mode kicked in. Our first stop was to look at the books. I finally found a world atlas for a descent price so i scooped it up (this excites me). We also bought some food storage stuff b/c Vicki has been feeling an urgency to get going on it. Then we bought some portobello mushrooms and soya beans. Neither of us had dinner b/c you have to eat at Costco if you are going to be there. Of course by the time we were done and went to buy the food they were closed. my heart fell :) Since Ikea was right there we decided to go there b/c they have 2 hot dog and a pop for $2. So, yup we went there just to eat :)

Saturday, we left the house at 8:15 to go to Chuckwagon in Turner Valley for breakfast. i saw this place last year when i did a run there and have wanted to go there ever since. You have to get there early b/c they get really busy on weekends.

Doesn't it look so cute? It's the kind of place where everyone knows you name :) The food was so delish!

After Chuckwagon we went to Millarville for the Farmers Market. Jamie and India met us there. This was my first time there. i wish summer wasn't over so i could go again. it was really fun there.

Mistake number one was not buying the good stuff when we saw it. As soon as we walked in we saw the Taber corn lineup but decided since there was a lineup we would come back. Same withe the bread stand. the bread look so amazing too. Well when we went back they were both sold out. Sigh! I did find dill and baby cucumbers for pickles. I'm not sure why i have had this burning desire to make pickles but i do and i will :)

There was so much to see there. I found some cute ideas for Christmas gifts.

here's some entertainment. I thought this sign was funny

Then it was off to Bragg Creek. We went there for the first time when Laura was here and really liked it. We wanted to go back and explore the shops but we were kind of disappointed with the ones we went to. I did find a place that offers Stain Glass lessons. they are going to call me in the fall when they have a few more people interested.

I did like the name of this store though :)

the last leg of our trip was to Cochrane . For as long as i can remember we both talked about going to Cochrane but never did. Of course it would have made sense to go there when we lived so close to it. They have so many cute stores there. It's too bad it was at the end of our day b/c i was feeling drained. I'll have to go back and explore again one day. There was this cute little quilt, pottery, yarn....etc. store there. we were in there for a long time. I bought a really cute piece of pottery (wish i had a picture of it). It matches nicely to the piece Kris and Scott bought me. I was also going to buy a quilt pattern but decided I better not. It gives me an excuse to go again.

i thought the saying in this was cute. I love cheesy signs like this.

and of course we had to end with the famous ice cream there. it was yummy!

All in all it was a great day. I love getting out and exploring new places.

2009-08-17T09:56:00.002-06:00

My car got egged last night and this doesn't make me happy. Luckily it only hit the back tire but still. Hopefully that's the only one they threw at it. i was too mad to take a closer look to see if there was more. Why do kids think this is cool????? I can't wait for them to go back to school.

2009-08-14T09:24:00.005-06:00

These were written by Andy Rooney, a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words.

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.
I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when
I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
I've learned....That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost, someone will take the ones you miss.
I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I loved her one more time before she passed away.
I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I've learned.... That when your new born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

2009-08-13T11:02:00.003-06:00

Last night Vicki and i went to see the Lion King. It was AMAZING. I would totally see if again. In fact I'm trying to get Kris and the girls to go so i can go with them. It is absolutely amazing how they did it.

I will write about my holidays soon. I've been too busy since i got home. Stay tooned

2009-07-24T14:08:00.003-06:00

I'm getting ready to leave for the island tomorrow for 2 weeks. I have mixed emotions about going. A lot has been happening since Sunday that has made it hard for me to deal with my family and the passing of Grandpa. All i can say is if you have something specific you would like done after you pass away maybe please share it with everyone to prepare/ deal with. Once again Kris and i are being left out of any decisions that are being made. i feel like are opinions don't matter and are being ignored. We are the only ones that have to travel to the island but that doesn't seem to matter. it's hard for me to explain without letting it all out which i don't think i should do. I just want to walk away from the whole thing but i really need closure. i feel hurt and let down. why can they not put stuff aside for a time to deal with other stuff. I'm so glad i don't hold a grudge like most of my family does (both sides). Kris and i really lucked out that way. Thanks Mom!

On a happy note the second week of me being on the island i will finally be going on the kayaking trip i have been getting ready for, forever. I don't think it could come at a better time. It will be good to get away from everything and enjoy nature. I'm really really looking forward to it. I have no idea how I'm going to get everything into my suitcase. now that i see everything laid out i wish i was driving.

Wish me luck while I'm gone...i will need it :)

Grandpa Bob

2009-07-19T22:15:00.002-06:00

I got a call from Grandma today with the sad news that Grandpa had passed away. I knew as soon as the phone rang something was wrong. It caught me off guard to hear her say it though. I'm still trying to piece everything together b/c basically I don't remember anything she said. I guess on Friday night he had a heart attack in his sleep (they didn't know at the time) and on Saturday morning he was very lethargic. Donna (his wife) could sense something was wrong so she called the nurse up the road from them and she said he needed to go to the hospital. Once he was checked out they decided to keep him there to make sure everything was going to be ok. Donna called Uncle Mike so he drove up from Victoria to see him. Around 9 last night they talked to the nurse and felt good about leaving and not phoning everyone b/c they seemed to think he was going to be ok. Then around 5 this morning Donna got a call from the hospital saying she needed to come right away and notify the family. U. Mike left right away and called everyone. He had, had another heart attach and was going down hill fast. By the time U. Mike arrived he was in a comma. From what i understand everyone was there except Kris, me, Cody and Liam. Cody is on a sailing trip and can't be reached. He passed away peacefully around 11:30 this afternoon.

Here's the thing and for those of you that know me well know this already but I found it very hard to spend time with Grandpa b/c he says things that were hurtful and i don't think he realized how much they hurt us. I loved him don't get me wrong and i know he loved me but he's a tough love kind of guy. I know he meant well and would do anything for Kris and I. It was hard on him when Mom passed away and i think that make him treat us different. I feel bad that i never really called him and when i did it was so hard for me to do. the last time i was on the island i didn't even go visit him. Granted i was only there for a few days but i always make time to the G no matter what. I feel so guilty right now. I feel like i let him down and that he is disappointed in me. U. John called tonight to see how i was (which by the way means sooooo much to me) and he made me feel better about how i was feeling. I just need time.

The thing that is giving me peace right now is knowing that he isn't suffering anymore and that he is reunited with his daughter who he missed very much.

It looks like i will be going to the island about a week earlier then i had planned. I'm going to cherishing the time with my family. life is too short. why does it always take something like this to remember that?

Grandpa holding his first great grandchild, Tori. He was so proud and protective of his girls.

I'm going to miss you Grandpa!

Stampede

2009-07-09T14:59:00.003-06:00

Mike Holmes (Holmes on homes guy) was the Grand Marshall of the parade. I had to take a picture for Kris b/c she loves him.

Dad, Roxy, Sarah, Kris and family were here last weekend. It was short but a lot of fun. Dad Roxy, Sarah and I went to the Stampede. Dad's favorite part was looking at the animals and military stuff.

One of the many things i love about my dad is i can always get him to do fun stuff for pictures.

No shame!

Sarah hates having her picture taken. i like this one of her though.

We took the tram thing across the park. good times!

the end! don't forget to check out the other posts.

Yard

2009-07-09T14:25:00.004-06:00

I know i have said this a thousand times but i love having a yard. This is the yard in early spring before we got a lawn mower and before a lot of the flowers bloomed. the grass looks better now.

the peony in early spring. it grew from the ground to this in a week!

these a tomato from the dreaded plant. I'm sure there would be a lot more then 7 if we planted it in the ground.

flowers from one of the gardens. a few shots of the peonies. They looked sooo beautiful until the rain came. they are so top heavy.

I don't know what this is but i like it.

We had more flowers but the rain got them before i could capture them.

Work Events

2009-07-09T14:11:00.003-06:00

This is the fun part of my job :)

It's Spruce Meadows time again which means it's time for us to dress up like idiots and entertain our clients. this one was Australian Outback. I'm a kangaroo. it don't have a good picture of my costume yet but it was a good one hot though.

I was making Alain do a bunch of poses.

Kevin too :)

The next one was Dirty 30's or Great Depression. We thought it would be a good year to pull it off :)
I was a paperboy with 5 o'clock shadow.

We have one more to go. Celebrity Look-A-Like. i can't wait for that costume :)

Quilt Show

2009-07-09T11:38:00.004-06:00

I finally got around to down loading some pics and since it's really slow at work this week (stampede week) i thought i would do so much needed blogging.

These are from the weekend i had the girls. I took them to Heritage Park for the quilting show. I have wanted to go to this since i moved to Alberta. even though it probably wasn't the best idea to bring the girls there (boring for them) I still really enjoyed it. It was very inspiring. Here are only a few pictures i took. i didn't want to bore you with a ton. I loved the displays on the buildings.

You had to wear a white glove to touch the quilts. i loved this quilt.

We took a boat ride too. This is the part the girls liked the most.

Here's Addi having one of her many pouts that day.

Poor Laura pushing them all uphill and she's pregnant! it was the end of the day and everyone was tired. Thanks Laura!

Then it was back home to relax. Tori took some self ports.

I love it when she makes this face.

isn't she precious :)

Addi took this one. Tori loves having her picture taken. Addi not so much.

2009-06-19T09:38:00.002-06:00

Here's a conversation i had with the girls while i was looking after them. First i should give you some back ground. We had just spent the day at Heritage Park and were driving home but we still needed to have some lunch and McDonalds was right there. It wasn't my first choice but i was tired and super hungry and it was the only place around.

Me: Do you guys want McDonalds for lunch?
Addi: Sure. i love McDonalds!
Tori: We aren't allowed to eat there.
Me: Says who?
Tori: Mommy but Daddy still takes us there. It's a secret though
Addi: but Tori i really want to eat there
Me: Well mommy's not here so we are going to eat there :)
Tori: K, we won't say anything (chuckle to myself)
Drive up to the window
Me: Do you guys want fries or apples with your chicken nuggets?
Tori: Apples b/c it's the healthier choice. (what the...?!?!?!)
Addi: I'll go with apples too.

So i got them apples which comes with caramel sauce. I hand them their food and start driving home. it was quiet for awhile and then Tori says "i don't want my caramel sauce anymore. here Auntie Karey". i took it and then thought about it for a minutes and then asked her if she was eating her apples or chicken nuggets. she was eating her nuggets and dipping them into her caramel sauce. Yuck! I asked Vicki to look to see if Addi was dipping hers in caramel too and she said she wasn't but sure enough when we got home her caramel sauce was gone but the apples were still there. Rookies! it was pretty funny.

2009-06-09T14:18:00.002-06:00

I feel it's time for another post but I don't know where to start. A lot has been happening lately. When the weather is nice I'm outside playing in the gardens. I can't believe how fast everything is coming up and how pretty our yard looks. Make that the gardens. The lawn is another story. We waited too long to cut it and as a result it looks awful now. The front yard looks good but the back yard not so much. I was hoping all the rain we been getting will bring it back but I'm not sure if it will. Our tomato plant has 6 tomatoes on it. I have no idea why this excites me as I hate tomatoes but everyday I do a count and find myself talking to it. Encouraging it to grow if you will. I moved it inside b/c we got snow on Saturday and I didn't want it to get killed. Yes, you read that right we got SNOW on Saturday. It didn't really bother me b/c it gave me a good excuse to stay inside all day. I finally finished unpacking my boxes in the craft room and set it up. It's ready and waiting for me to start some projects I have planned. I also make some chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. they were so good if I do say so myself :) On Friday night we had some friends over for dinner and then chocolate fondue. Yummy! I also made us some Italian Sodas. I love Italian Sodas and they are so easy to make. It was a good night. I felt sick after from pigging out on the fondue though.

Sunday was good. The last few Sundays at church have been really good. First b/c I feel so welcomed there and second b/c the lessons that have been taught are awesome. I get so much out of them. I love our bishop. He really does love us and you can feel it when he teaches. We have the challenge to write in our journals for 6 months. He showed us a clip from Henry B Eyring talked about how he writes in his journal each day. He writes about how he can feel the Lords hand touch his life and how it did that day (not word for word at all). Anyway he wants us to take this challenge on. I haven't started yet but I bought myself a new journal to start. I'm looking forward to doing this and seeing how certain things I want to work on will change during this time. I have always struggled with writing in a journal but yet I can write in a blog.

We are also moving into the new chapel in July. I'm really excited b/c it's a 5 mins walk from our house! I hope this makes it easier to be early. They have some fun activities in the community planed to introduce people to the church. I think this is going to be a great missionary tool and I'm glad to be part of it. I just got called to probably the best calling I could hope for. I got called to the service comity. I'm really looking forward to this calling b/c I have wanted to do more for a long time but I haven't gotten off my butt to do anything so this will be my chance.

I'm reading My Sisters Keeper. I can't put it down. I'm over half way done. I was reading it on the train today and almost started crying. I hear it gets worse then that. I think this might be a book I read at home not on transit.

So you know how I talked Kris and Dad into running the Victoria half with me this year? Well it's changed to the Van half next May. It's my fault b/c I haven't been training at all. I don't know why but I just keep putting it off thinking I have lots of time. Not really though. Last night I went out for a 30 min run and 20 mins in I had to stop b/c my calves’ hurt sooooo bad. I talked t Vicki and Kris about it and I decided that I need to take some running clinics before I jump into a half. I feel way better about this decision and feel like this is a way better way of doing it. I'm excited to get training for it. I'm joining a running clinic that meets on Mondays.

I have pictures to add but i'm at work so that will have to wait till i have time at home.

Departures

2009-05-26T10:34:00.004-06:00

Have you ever heard or watched Departues on OLN? Let me tell you how awesome it is. I watched an episode awhile ago and totally forgot about it until Roxy reminded me of it and now I'm addicted to it. It's these 2 Canadian guys that are traveling around the world. they are on their 2nd year now. They go to all these places that are hardly visited and do amazing things. Justin Lukach is the biggest goof. he is so funny! I love the thing he does. and as a plus he hates snakes so they hardly show any :) Scott Wilson is the more serious one but really cool. Roxy wants me to marry him lol. The cameraman (Andre Dupuis) is amazing. I can't believe the shots he gets. This show really makes me want to travel more. there are so many beauties around us that need to be discovered. Here's some pics i found of them.

Scott is the one in black with the blue collar. Justin is the hottie with the toque and white shirt.

I love the shirt Scott is wearing. he wears it a lot. it's the best picture i could find of it :)

this was from one of the best episodes i have seen. they were on the Cook Islands and their luggage so they had to pick out new shirts for each other. Justin picked the lovely pink one for Scott. they wore them almost the whole time :)

Doesn't that look amazing!!!

just chillin' in the trees

2009-05-25T10:16:00.006-06:00

I'm sad the weekend it over. For the first time in a long time i had a new relaxing weekend at home. I got up early on Saturday to do some cleaning before heading out in the yard to play in the gardens. I love gardening. i wish i knew more. Kris came over Friday night before heading to the airport. while she was here we did a little walk around and she told me what i could get rid of and cut back. I'm surprised the lady that was there before didn't cut anything back. She seems like the type that would. anyway i was excited to get out there on Saturday and get started. While i was doing the last of the 4 in the back yard i discovered we had a herb garden. Yay! While i was gardening to lit the bbq to make sure it worked ok. since i was having some friends over for a bbq that night i thought it might be a good idea. After i finished the back yard my back was too stiff to finish the front so i grab my book and sat on the deck to read. it was wonderful! I got some nice color and Elicia I'm happy to report NOT burnt. I'm getting better in my old age :) Then i got ready for the bbq. i went all out and got burgers. yup i know how to throw a good bbq :) Once it cooled down too much to sit outside we went inside and played Wii. We had fun! After they left i hooked up Wii fit and did that till 11:30. I loved it! Side note Vicki won Wii and Wii Fit when she was a the conference in Orlando. Sweet!

Sunday i went to sacrament meeting and then had to go to pick Kris up at the airport. Sacrament was really good. i love my new ward. i always feel so good while I'm there. I wish i could have stayed for the whole thing. After Kris left i started to read my book on the couch and then fell asleep for a nice 3hr nap. It was great! then i got up to make dinner. Laura called me back and we talked for 3 1/2 hrs. we never talk that long on the phone anymore. It was nice. I miss my bff. After we got off the phone i tried to go to sleep but b/c of my super long nap i couldn't fall asleep till midnight. Nice!

Here's some pics for last weekend

Tori: "Hey Auntie Karey, i think you need to take a picture of me and my dog". so it started
the nuts :)
I have to add that Addi is number 5 which was my mom's favorite number. That's why she picked it :)

2009-05-22T08:17:00.003-06:00

I was just reading my Buble alerts (yes I'm a geek) and i found out that MY MB is dating again. I ask you, why does this bother me? Like i had a chance or something. time for me to move on i guess :)

Last weekend i went to Lethbridge b/c my nieces were bagging me to come. they have me wrapped around their fingers. Brats! Anyway, we had a good time. They put me to work b/c they are trying to get there yard done. Kris and I were in charge of moving the rocks. it seemed daunting at the begin but once we got going it only took us 2 hrs. We rested for a bit and then went to Canadian Tire to get some flowers for the girls to plant. Kris was taking forever so i started taking pictures of the flowers. Can you think of a better place to take pictures of flowers! i still need to upload them. Monday Kris made me streak her hair. I totally didn't want to b/c of what happened last time but she helped and it turned out not bad at all. then Scott and i took apart the bbq so i could bring it home. I'm excited about this. i put it together last night and I'll be using it tomorrow when my friends come over for dinner. After that i went to watch Addi play soccer. she was really excited to have me there. I love watching kids play. they just follow the ball everywhere. Addi has a hard time though b/c if she doesn't score she gets all upset and gives up. I told her it she didn't give up i would give her some gum and it worked.

So, back at home I've been busy finishing things up. Vicki is away again so things aren't really getting done. I finished the family room, played in the flower beds, went through my papers, did some stuff in my room, there's more but i can't think of what yet. There's a lot to do in a house. we need to mow the lawn so bad but we don't have a mower yet. I bought flowers to plant tomorrow. apparently it's going to finally be hot so i plan to be out all day playing in the yard.

Pretty boring post sorry! I'll post pics this weekend.