Dwayne & Tania

Congratulations on your engagement on January 29th, 2006 wish you many years of wedded bliss :)

House Warming Party

This weekend was a good one, Friday evening I went to watch Kristen play hockey where they won 7-2, Saturday Kristen and I spent the whole day cleaning and doing laundry, and yes I did say we he did just as much as I did. He washed all the clothes, cleaned all the windows, vacuumed the whole house, and scrubbed the stained water spots of the kitchen sink. Then I mad a seafood dip for Myrna's house warming party and some dinner. Around 7:30 Steph picked up, we went by their place for about an hour and then off to the party. We had a great time, it was really nice seeing some of Myrna's & Jamie's friends that I know from back home that I don't get to see all that often.

Sunday Kristen and I went to the airport to pick up his brother Brian (he's headed to Cambridge with his girlfriend again for another few months I think) visited with Nanny Betty, Poppy Manuel and Uncle Brian then off to another hockey game. Where they lost 11-6 (the sunday team are more of a fun team rather than competitive). After dinner last night Tania called to tell me her and Dwayne got engaged, just about 20 min before she called. She was telling me that she was in the kitchen in her pj's and he got down on one knee and proposed. I'm so excited for them.

Well that was my weekend in a nutshell....

Caramel Abducted by Aliens

Jen and I caught this alien creature and its pet ladybug trying to abduct Caramel....luckily we showed up when we did and saved him from the evil things they were going to do to him.

Happy Birthday Steph

Hope it was a good one and hope you have many many more :)

William Troy Crocker

Congratulations to April and Bill on the birth of William Troy Crocker. Born Monday Jan. 23rd weighing in at 8lbs 11oz and 23.5 inches long!


Also please remember the Anderson/Barnes family today as Michael undergoes another surgery. Vicki, you're in my prayers today.

Tagging

Saw this on another blog, and even though I wasn't "tagged" I thought the questions were cute.


Fill this out and send the same questionaire to 3 bloggers. Keep this going.

First time you got kissed. How was it?

I was 14 and at Peter Noels house, someone asked me if I wanted to go on a date with Adam Noel that night, so I did. I remember being sooooo nervous. I don't remember it being amazing, more scary and overwhelming as I was trying to figure out exactly what was happening.

First time you drove a car. What kind of car?

I think I was 15 or 16 and at MacKenzies Day Park with my dad and brother (they were picking apples) and I jumped in the car and started driving, my dad was yelling and then I stuck my head out the window saying how do I change gears, how do I change gears. It was a standard Hyundai Pony.

First time you scrapbooked. When you look at your page do you love it?

I was 19 (1999), I decided to do a book for Kristen of our first year together. Now when I look at it, it's so ugly and amateur. Nothing like the scrapbooking I do now, I seriously didn't have a clue. As for REAL scrapbooking I did a album for my Grandparents for the 50th wedding anniversary which would be given to them during Christmas of 2003. Once again so amateur a few pages I liked but most of them I think...gee I could have done sooo much better.

First time you went on a date. Where did you go and with who?

My first date was with Kristen in Gr. 6 we met up at the playground by the school and sat in a swing together and I gave him heck for putting his arm around me. His curfew was 9pm (I was allowed out later cause my brother wasn't far away) and his dad came speeding up the hill in his truck and told Kristen when they were driving home he better not be kissing any girls.

First time you fell in love. How did you know?

I think everytime I dated a guy I thought I was in love with him....lol. I realize now that Kristen is my first love. I realize all the other stuff was highschool hormones along with all the drama and infatuation.

First time you cooked for someone. Was it yummy? What did you make?

Hmm...don't know if I remember that, I would guess Kristen. The first time I cooked for my family was probably Christmas of 2000 I did shake-n-bake chicken and rice (mom's recipe) I think it was okay but I had to cook the chicken FOREVER cause it wouldn't cook through for some reason (a few years after the super replaced our stove cause the oven was crap)

First time you got on a plane. Where did you go? Were you scared?

I was 18, August 1998 all by myself. I was flying to Toronto to go to college in Peterborough, I sat next to a girl a couple years younger than me who I thought was nice but not super nice, I guess it was her ontario personality and not the newfie personalities that I was used too. I remember wearing my grey sweater and black tear away pants with the white stripe (just like Ricki wears on Trailer Park boys all the time) I wasn't really scared a bit anxious cause I had so many mixed feelings, excited for the new adventure, terrified about moving away from home. I must have looked soooo newfie getting off the plane in that outfit. And almost dying with heat cause it was cold when I left home and super hot here with all their humidity and smog!

First time you shaved your legs. Did you cut yourself?

Don't know if I remember this one either, pretty sure it was grade 6 or 7 and I keep thinking I used my dad's electric razor cause I was too afraid to use a real razor. I'm pretty sure it was grade 7 when I finally used a real razor, don't remember if I cut myself or not....more than likely :)

First time you put on make up. Looking back how did you do? Did you look good or like a clown?

I had a lot of older cousins who loved curling my hair and doing my make up. Pretty sure I was 8 or 9 and Lori had done me up to the nines! I remember going to Zena's house and they did my nails too. I also remember my dad being really upset about the whole thing too...oops.


First time you moved out of your home. Was it an apartment, house, etc?

I moved out the same time as the first time that I flew. Moved to Peterborough, moved into all female dorm, did a one year certificate, graduated from that and moved to Brampton where I stayed in houses and apts for 7 years and just moved to Acton to my new house :)

Here are my 3 tags:
1) Myrna http://myrnaweblog.blogspot.com/
2) Jen http://jennywight.blogspot.com/
3) Daphne http://www.daphnesblogs.blogspot.com/

The boys who don't leave comments

Last night while driving home from work it dawned on me that I hadn't checked anyones blogs to see if there were any new posts....to which Kristen responded, nope nothing new today. I know he reads my blog, Jen's, Daphne's, Tara's, Myrna's, Erica's and now Angie's....there might be another one or two but I think that's the jest of it. This morning I had mentioned that to Jen and Myrna and Myrna says that Jamie reads them all the time too.

So today's post is to give crap to Kristen and Jamie for reading all our blogs and not leaving comments!!! Not only does it tell us that someone else is actually reading it (other than our usual girlfriends) you could also share an opinion or a male point of view. I know Kristen left an anonymous comment once, and that was on a post that I had raised him to the high heavens...ha ha. Other than that....NOTHING!

Anyway just wanted to get that off my chest and challenge those big cowards to leave a comment :)

Babysitting Samantha & Jacob

I'm pretty sure I had mentioned previously about babysitting Samantha & Jacob (my cousins) on Jan. 7th just getting the pictures downloaded now....shame shame. Anyway my Aunt and Uncle were going to my Uncles Christmas party and asked if it were okay for the kids to spend the night. I said sure, no problem. They were very excited, especially Jacob who had never slept over anywhere before, he had apparently been counting down the sleeps all that week. We basically watched movies and for a while they played hockey in the basment with Kristen. Jacob is a very affectionate boy, he always wants to be cuddled or be up in your lap. Samantha is pretty independant but doesn't like to be left out of the loop, so when Jake got up with Kristen she wanted to as well.

But one thing I cannot explain is why these kids ALWAYS get hurt when I babysit them. Samantha had an ankle injury while playing hockey. Jacob did a big swing at the ball and missed and hit her ankel, which quickly ended the hockey game. Then a while later (I missed this whole incident) Jacob and Kristen were in the kids room and Jacob bumped his head on the nightstand. I think you can see the bruise in the picture. Both were minor injuries and were fine after they shed the few tears. I guess its part of being kid and being busy.

Overall we had fun and the kids didn't want to leave (which I take as a compliment) cause if they were eager to leave that wouldn't reassure me much of my parenting skills. Don't know when they'll visit again but hopefully there won't be any injuries and they'll still enjoy being with us :)

Maggie

I was reading an article this morning from a P&G newsletter that I get via email. It was talking about how cats seems to seek out heat and theories as to why...here's a portion of what it said:
Your cat has good reasons for craving his fun in the sun.Like tiny kittens seek out their mamas, cats find warm spots every chance they get. This is the first sensory quality cats develop, and they don't ever seem to lose it, says John C. Wright, Ph.D., a Certified Applied Animal Behaviourist and Professor of Psychology at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia."For the newborn, the source of something warm and soft is mom's belly, which also is where the kitten finds nourishment and a cuddly place to snooze," Dr. Wright says. Warmth has beneficial physical effects, too, as it helps soothe older cats' aches. Cats with arthritis love to curl up on soft blankets or snuggle with their owners.Some experts also say cats love hot spots because they were originally desert animals, and follow this instinct of their ancestors.
So I thought today I would talk about my kitty, Maggie. She's not a very friendly cat, friends show up and she immediately hides. If they get too close before she gets a chance to sniff them out then the back goes up and a very obvious warning HISS! She Hates children, I think she fears them picking at her or grabbing her tail. Usually she hides from them so quickly that the kids wouldn't even know we have a cat, that's until they walk in the room where she's hiding and you start to hear a low growl. I know she sounds awful but she's not that bad, cause when it's just Kristen and I home, she's so cute and adorable. She loves sleeping in her cat bed or next to a heat vent, usually the one in our bedroom. She loves to play, especially with her toys. But it has to be her yellow mouse or yellow chick, she seems to only like yellow. And when it's bedtime for us, she decides that's playtime for her. We go to bed and all you can hear are the paws thumping across the house, wouldn't know but we had a herd of elephants. Kristen usually hollars at her, "you know this isn't a race track!?!?" I crack up laughing and she totally ignores him. She does this for about 15 min and then comes and cuddles into me for the rest of the night. She's a cat who doesn't like to be picked up yet at night I've seen us pretty much roll on her and she doesn't do anything. I moved her the other night and she just stayed limp like a child who's sound asleep, thought it was funny. On Saturday mornings when we're sleeping in too late, in her opinion, she either pats me on the nose with her paw or starts sniffing my nose with her nose which usually startles me cause her whiskers tickle my face and it wakes me up in a not so pleasant way... lol. Or she'll jump up and run to the edge of the bed and keep doing that til you finally get the hint and follow her out of the room. She loves the basement, no idea why....but if she knows you're going down those stairs she's not long behind or she's racing you down and almost tripping you up. There are so many other things that I could tell you that make up her quirky personality (must be like the owner...he he) but I'll conclude here. I think everyone should do a post about their kitty :)

Tyler Alexander Noble

Congratulations to Greg & Janet on the birth of Tyler Alexander Noble born January 17th at 7:57am. I know he was 8lbs. not sure of the ounces. Wish you all the best.

Woman or Girl, doesn't matter WE need to hold up this world!

I want to share a HUGE pet peeve today. It's about women in general, I keep saying that we're all cats! So quick to turn on each other instead of standing up for each other, trying to be so independant sometimes instead of finding that one good girlfriend to lean on, and also the infamous curiosity killed the cat, that would be the gossiping bit. I will be the first to admit I'm guilty of all three, but there's this one thing that women do that just aggravates the shit out of me. We sit around chatting, and someone makes the comment oh I need to lose weight (this isn't directed at any friend in particular, there will be some of you who think I'm referring to you directly, but so many girlfriends say it, that trust me, I'm not talking about you) then it goes on to well my hair is awful, or I wish I had smaller hips, bigger boobs, smaller nose, bigger lips. And the list goes on and on, once again I am guilty of it, but I REALLY REALLY try not to say anything or jump on the band wagon with the competition (we know it is) of who has the most wrong with them or who's the ugliest. Well if you had the skin that I have, yeah well if you had the butt that I have, or the blah blah blah blah....get my point??

Anyway....why can't we be positive women instead of negative all the time? Do we really say these things to ourselves when we're alone and that silent voice is talking in our head? Do we ever look in the mirror and say you know what my feet may be ugly to everyone but truly I don't mind them and actually kind of "like" them...oh my gosh did I say I like my feet?? MUST be something wrong with me....I have toes that are as long as fingers, no joke! It would be so easy to list everything that I think is wrong with me, but I will not. Voicing it somehow makes it more true rather than if it is just a thought in my head. I'd rather say you know what, I love my eyes and straight hair but wait can't do that cause then I'm vain and conceited....once again the cat thing, tear them down before they get you!!

I don't have perfect self esteem and I still have those days where I think I really am the ugliest girl on the planet but a lot of days I feel great about who I am and I feel awesome that I try to take care of myself (being active, eating right, wearing make-up to be presentable...make-up not for everyone but for me it is....lol). And when that small voice starts to nag I am distracted by surrounding myself with the awesome family and friends that I have.

I want to challenge all women to start thinking better of yourself, FORCE yourself to have the good thought not the bad thought. Surround yourself with good things: friends, family, hobbies that give you pleasure, whatever it may be. And who knows maybe one day women will truly stick together and stand up for each other instead of being the first to attack and tear down. Women are the ones who are strong and compassionate, it is US who need to make the world a better place, we can by starting small, with ourselves...change our mentality, be more positive, and take steps to help yourself feel better about you. And that takes me to my title: Woman or Girl, doesn't matter WE need to hold up this world!

Here are some links to further my argument....lol
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.ca/ (Dove Campaign for Beauty)
http://www.weightwatchers.ca/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=381&inbound=sym (I know it's weight watchers but they have some valid points)
http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/72 (article from dr. phil how to change your internal dialogue)
http://www2.oprah.com/relationships/relationships_content.jhtml?contentId=con_200505_5friends.xml (article from oprah about the 5 friends who every woman should have in their lives)

Our Home

I honestly don't know if I posted pics of the house since we moved in. These are some from our walk through and not long after we moved in. Some things are different (decorated better or organized differently) but mostly the same.

Sick again...

Since moving to the new house, it seems I'm sick more often then I'm well. I honestly not have been sick this much and with so many different things in the past two years or more that I can recall. And since Nov. 1st I've had 3 different illnesses that I can think of, 2 in Nov. and one now. I woke up yesterday morning (approx 4:20am) with SUCH a bad stomach by 5am I was puking. So I called in sick, devestated that I was using a sick day so early in the year and spent the rest of the day puking and sleeping. Last night around 9pm I finally started to feel a little better though my head was pounding. I managed to get a decent nights sleep and today I came to work. My stomach still really hurts and it's been hard trying to eat but I think with another good nights rest and some r&r tonight I should be okay. I'm not going to volleyball cause I figure the jumping and running probably won't be a good thing...lol.

So I wanted to share a few little stories that happened yesterday, Kristen had to go to the airport to pick up Angel (Brians girlfriend) and half of her luggage went to Calgary (since she was a connecting flight) and some of the luggage that was there was actually for the Calgary people. She said it was an inconvenience but she wasn't half as upset as two other guys. Sometimes I just don't get how the airports can make such a simple yet big mistake, I mean obviously they unloaded the wrong compartment.

Also I called Bev for Kristen to see if Angel had left for her flight and she was telling me that Sasha (their husky) went outside about 4am that morning to come back in the house around 4:30 to find her tongue and mouth area covered in quills from a porcupine. They tried their best to remove them but had to give up and bring her to the vet. $102 later she's quill free, has been sedated to remove the quills and has medicine for infection. Poor Puppy, hope she's feeling better soon. Anyway that's all my stories for today....til next time.

Happy Birthday

Birthday greetings to Iven Pittman (who turns 27 today) and Marina Hann who not only turns 26 today but just had her first child on Dec. 10th don't think I officially congratulated her on the birth of Adam Cole, who weighed in at 7lbs. 12oz.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve we had intended to have a party but half our guests were invited to a brothers party so they had to go there :(

The six of us just hung out, ate food and watched hockey and then American Pie....lol. It was quiet and fun.

Heard a long time ago that whatever you're doing when you go into the new year is what you'll be doing all year, I would say watching hockey/ movies with the gang is fairly accurate.

Maggie

Over the holidays Maggie would crawl, climb, or whatever means necessary to get over gifts and under branches so she could curl up for one of her many naps. On New Years Eve Myrna took a few pics of her, obviously not asleep, I'm thinking it's the flash that woke her....lol.