Pondering and Perceptions

Since it's been awhile...

2012-01-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

I will give you a taste of what is yet to come...the next blog will be about a.......SPONGE...There that is all I am telling you. So wait in suspense until I have time to upload the pictures and write story...trust me, it will be thrilling, super intriguing, a story of awe and wonder...or maybe it will just be a story about a SPONGE....you will never know until you tune in again for my next blog post.

A summer picture...

2011-10-01T15:40:00.001-07:00

Harvest time.

Webcam 101 for Seniors....

2011-09-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

I had to share this video- webcam 101 for seniors...it is quite hilarious
But I guess at some point and time the elderly do need to learn how to use technology.
Anyways I guess I haven't blogged in awhile, but for now this will have to do until I can think of something else to blog about.

Summer and watermelons and....ROLLKUCHEN!

2011-07-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Rollkuchen Cooking in the fryer....yummy...

End result...Rollkuchen and a nice tasty watermelon.

I had been pondering for awhile what to write about when i came across a blog called Mennonite Girls can cook....(shocker...mennonite girls can cook!...haha) But I was googling Rollkuchen and how to make it. I haven't had any yet and the summer is almost half over. Google took me to that blog and honestly there are like hundreds upon hundreds of recipes on that blog (it's crazy!) And no not all are mennonite recipes but there are tons of recipes if you like to cook.
the website is:
http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/

So I am craving some Rollkuchen. (It's healthy too- My fitness Pal told me it's only 52 calories for one) So I can have some, ok maybe one.....haha
See I am in the midst of a diet (trying to lose some weight). So I figured I would open My fitness pal app on my cellphone and check and see if it had some mennonite foods and lo and behold it recognized what Rollkuchen was and how many calories per serving...What are the chances of that happening?
The website is:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

This website is crazy amazing. It is also available as an app on the iphone and samsung galaxy phone. You input your weight and it calculates for you how many calories in a day you can have. And you keep up with it by putting in what you eat at all three meals, how much water you drink, and how much you exercise etc. each day and it keeps track of it as a log. You can also input your weight changes and it graphs it for you. You can find almost any food as there are over 700,000 types of food on myfitness pal. You can log in on your phone and then also log in online and all your information is there. It is amazing. Plus it kind of keeps me chained to my diet as its in my cellphone.
So my new addiction is myfitnesspal....move over angry birds....lol
Now off to find a recipe so I can actually cook some of this scrumptous Rollkuchen....I can hardly wait to taste it!

It's a lickety Splickety kind of day....

2011-07-09T19:41:00.001-07:00

I figured I should update my blog so you know that I am still here....I am not gone...I am just not very good at keeping my blog up to date. I promise new pictures to come soon of my latest adventures around here...I realize I haven't been very good at keeping up with my 365 photo project on facebook either...So I will find something interesting to update my blog with soon...

One of these things is not like the others.....

2011-06-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

((I do not quote seseame street often but this song is fitting for my blog today))
"One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong.
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song.
Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely....right..."

ITS THE SCOOTER!
Yes she risked her neck to squeeze past my car on the road as I awaited a red light and squeeze next to the truck parked infront of me at the red light. I feel like submitting this to the local paper....maybe the police showing them how careless and wreckless these little old scooter driving grandmas and grandpa's really are.
I wonder if it'll take someone dying for someone to take notice of our SCOOTER problem.
Maybe I should have labelled this blog "Encounters of the Scooter People".

Why?

2011-06-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

Good read, good stories...I packed so many of these books my finger tips are shiny like plastic. I wonder what would happen if they finger printed me? Would my finger prints show up anymore? My fingers are sore, many have cuts....paper cuts...my left hand is sore from stuffing these books into bags.

I encourage you if you've never heard of the Why Encounter to inquire and get a book and read the book. It's full of heart felt stories and challenging questions.

As sore as my fingers and hands are, it was worth it. Pretty soon people will reading this book and asking questions and hopefully finding the answers they seek to why am I on this earth?

Dairy Queen Commercial vs. Old Spice advertising

2011-05-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

This is a clear example of DQ trying to ride the Old Spice commercial wave...I saw the new DQ commercial on tv this evening and couldn't help but laugh at how awful the commercial actually was. DQ should stick to the commercials featuring blizzards and burgers and try to not steer themselves towards advertising almost identically to Old Spice...Old spice did a better job by the way...

Election signs 2011

2011-05-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

Inside-out Election sign in protest of the candidate who shouldn't have run..Participating in only one debate which he did very poorly in.
Conservatives....they could have picked a better candidate

The sign retired along with previous candidates election sign to a corner in the garage... I was tempted to put up Casson's sign in the front lawn and tell people to re-vote him even though he wasn't running.

We can't always pick our candidates but we can choose our party and what they stand for.
Conservatives took 56.4% of the votes in our riding, while NDP took 27.2% of the votes.. Only 48,179 out of a possible 89,280 voters voted, making that only 54% of eligable voters actually voting. So don't complain if the government doesn't do what you want them to do if you didn't vote!

You've Been Tagged....

2011-03-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

Came home to find this in my neighbors driveway today....

Their white suv was spray painted with a strip of red completely all the way around it and all over the rims and the license plate on the back.

So in case they read my blog I have googled spray paint removal from cars.

1.) dependent on the type of paint used, warm soapy water and a light rag can remove it.

2.) call a body shop and your insurance agent, the body shop may have methods to remove spray paint and if it doesnt work they may need to repaint all or part of the car.

3.) Other products you might try (please follow directions, do not apply these substances directly to the surface without diluting or following the direction of a specialist.) include: nail polish remover, acetone, Meguiars clay, rubbing compound, gasoline/petrol, brake part cleaner or spray.

So your best bet is probably to notify the police, insurance agency and find yourself a body shop to help safely remove the spray paint.

Google Says So...

2011-03-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Googles Head Bar for Today:

Houdini turned 137 today.... since google says so, it must be true.

Some of Harry Houdinis tricks included

escaping from jails, handcuffs, straitjackets, ropes, chains, boxes and coffins

Harry Houdini Died on October 31st from peritonitis from a ruptured appendix....some insist he was actually murdered.

30...

2011-02-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

So someone suggested I should blog about turning 30. I don't know what I should say. Perhaps turning 30 is suppose to make you wiser and people will start to listen to your opinions because your no longer in your twenties but really 30 doesn't feel much different than 29 did. Except now I can't say "I'm in my twenties." that phrase has been replaced with "I am in my thirties." YIKES!

I did not have a breakdown as my 30th birthday approached. I was not afraid of turning 30, I was indifferent to it really. I was excited because it's a milestone and with milestones come parties and cake...and it was a great party with a great cake that tasted delicious. I was glad to be surrounded by my closest friends and my family. That is all you can really ask for.

Starbucks just keeps getting bigger.

2011-02-06T23:19:00.000-08:00

Introducing: Tall (354ml), Grande (473ml), Venti (591ml), and Trenta (916ml) the new starbucks drink to join the family.

The average stomache can hold approximately 500ml's of fluid. The new trenta coffee size at starbucks will be a startling 916ml's. That is bigger than what your stomache can hold. And starbucks just keeps coffee addicts coming back for more and helping feed the consumers like me (who love starbucks) the option to have a trenta size caramel frappaccino.
I can't believe they can make something bigger than the already quite big Venti (591ml) drink.
It will be interesting to see how popular this new trenta coffee will be.

Doodling with acrylics

2011-02-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

A rough sketch...Still has work to be done but I was just doodling with some left over acrylics I had used for something else.

Playing with acrylics....

2011-01-31T21:33:00.000-08:00

Swirling acrylics....just for the fun of it. I think it turned out pretty good.
Guitar player....no he's not a cowboy.

Second guitar player. I hope to make a much larger scale of one of the two guitar players on canvas. These were done on paper and it was much harder to paint onto. Plus with this second one, I only had yellow paper, so he kind of blends into the background.

So I was just doodling with acrylics this evening and that's all I accomplished for the fun of it.

365 days

2011-01-07T22:05:00.001-08:00

365 days...take a photo a day...I think I am a little ahead of myself on that venture but found that it is a very interesting experiment.

The minion....

2011-01-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

I wish I had a few dozen of these guys...a bunch of minions would come in handy right about now. The bad guy on despicable me has it so right when he has tons and tons of these little guys kicking around helping him out.

Old Spice -Questions commercial

2010-12-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

quite possibly the funniest commercial ever...lol

Shortbread cookies...

2010-12-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

Shortbread cookies are my favorite cookie.

I have tried twice now to make them and my recipes are the wrong ones i suppose because they did not work at all.

So I suppose I will just have to stick with ones from the bakery because I cannot make them.
But they sure are a delicious christmas treat. This is the only time of year I eat them, otherwise it just seems wrong.

Feeling Grinchy...

2010-12-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

I love the grinch, I love the movie the grinch who stole christmas (the original version). I am feeling pretty grinchy this christmas and I have no idea why.

I've put up the christmas tree, hung the stockings and wrapped a few presents and tucked them under the tree. I've made christmas cookies a few times which have all been eaten. Turned the christmas lights on outside, put up the plastic snowman and tree on the porch.

But I still feel grinchy.

Off my list...

2010-12-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Like a picture from a postcard. I actually took this picture. I took this picture right before I walked half away across the golden gate bridge. What a magnificant structure. The architecture, engineering and design of this bridge is what makes it that way.

I spent some time in San Francisco and explored the city. It is quite the city.

I can now cross it off my list of places I would like to visit.

The Upside Down Christmas Tree.

2010-11-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

A monk named St. Bonafice from Devonshire went to Germany. He spent time there preaching. He spent a lot of time in Thuringia. Now Thuringia is known as the birthplace of the industry dealing with Christmas Decorations. He used a triangular shape of the fir to describe the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, that makes up the Holy Trinity. As a result people started to worship the Fir tree as God's tree. (or better known as the tree in the garden of Eden). By the 12th Century the fir tree was being hung upside down from ceilings in Central Europe as a symbol of Christianity at Christmas Time.

The real history behind the upside down christmas tree remains quite vague, very little information is known about it.

The trend of hanging the upside down christmas tree has changed, the point of the fir tree pointing up to heaven . Many people believe that an upside down christmas tree is a sign of contempt.

Upside down christmas trees were popular for a short time and were originally just used as ,a marketing gimmick. It enabled customers to pick ornaments off easier and more conviently.

One other note on christmas trees while we're on the subject:
Christmas trees were not to be brought out and decorated until Christmas Eve (dec. 24th), rather than the first day of christmas (dec. 23rd). They are then to be removed after the 12th night which would be January 6th. To have your tree up before or after these dates was considered bad luck...just a thought for you :)

Amish Christmas

2010-11-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

The Amish celebrate Christmas over two days
December 25th is for scripture reading, meditating and fasting and other religious activities. They reflect on the birth of Christ.
December 26th is for celebrating with family and friends. Having gatherings with friends and families, eating feasts or large meals and they actually do give gifts.

They do not believe or portray santa clause in their celebrations
Some do decorate a tree with candles, some write christmas cards.
Some do not.
Some Amish families exchange gifts by drawing names out of hats and exchanging one gift per person. The gifts they exchange are usually handmade or for use outside.
Younger Amish children recieve toys while older amish children recieve either something for a hope chest (if your a girl) or tools useful for the farm (if your a boy)
A few interesting facts for now....

I promise the blog is not dead!

2010-11-19T12:49:00.001-08:00

Excuse my absence, I have been away exploring foreign lands and visiting dear friends...ok you got me I am not the super world traveller I would like to think I am but instead I went to disneyworld. That isn't so foreign like I would like it to be. I'd like to explore Ecuador, Nicaragua, Argentina...more of South America. I'd like to explore most of Europe except England because I hear it's a really dirty country. (anyone to prove me wrong on that?) Though maybe seeing the queen would be fun.
But For now disneyworld is where we went and it was fun. Exploring the parks, lounging by the pool. Enjoying the heat, I got a pretty sweet tan...only to return home to the city covered in snow, highways whited out by snow blowing freely across the countryside...and home to shovel this snow. I should have stayed at Disneyworld Longer...maybe avoided winter all together.

Google told me so....

2010-11-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

So Google always has headlines and their "google" logo written in some interesting way...well it turns out it is the 115th anniversary of the discovery of the xray. One of the most important discoveries in science and health.

The xray was first discovered by german physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895. X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation. It was first utilised in a clinic in the united states in early 1896.

Some facts about xray and wilhelm conrad roentgen:

born in lennep in rhenish prussia
an only child of a merchant and manufacturer of cloth
considered the father of diagnostic radiation
First Nobel prize in physics in 1901.
married to anna bertha ludwig
had one child a daughter who they adopted at the age of six, it was his wife's brothers child
the japanese word for xray is rentogen
in turkey it is roentgen
in lithuanian its rentgeno
He died on february 10, 1923 from carcinoma of the intestine (cancer)
Upon his death all his personal and scientific correspondence was destroyed in keeping with his will.

So hopefully you have learned a little bit of information regarding the founding father of xrays...it is rather interesting I think.

Happy xray day everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving....

2010-10-10T12:36:00.001-07:00

Enjoy the Turkey....

Filed a complaint....

2010-09-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

So I decided to get some chicken. I was hungry, the kids were already fed. So we packed up the car and went to our local chicken stop and hurried through the drive-through. Well there was a long ling up, the sun was in our eyes and the kids were quickly getting bored and wanting to return home.
We got to the window and I handed the drive through clerk my money. She got busy and didn't give me my change. She handed my meal and I asked her what was in the bag...it was the wrong meal. So I handed it back to her and she got the right meal. I kept asking her, do you have my change? Do you have my change? She handed me the right meal and told me "your change is in the bottom of the bag." I looked at her and said "Are you for real? Why would you put my change in my food bag?" "That's just gross!" She apologized profusely and I drove off furious and angry. I figured there was no reason to tell the manager of the resteraunt but to go above to greater authority. So I went online and filed my complaint with the head company and also dialed the complaint line, only to be put on hold for awhile, so I hung up. But be warned the complaint went up and beyond to the head of this chicken joint....we'll see what comes of this complaint...I am curious because i did write quite a lengthy letter to them...

Lost: One farmer in the city...

2010-09-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

So It would seem my neighbor decided an oil pump wasn't enough to decorate his front yard with. He's got the brick deck in the background. A brand new fence to defend his yard from the intruding neighbor on the corner. (Which if you ask me is ugly because behind that fence is some lovely landscaping!)

He planted some lovely fake astro turf lawn that remains green all year round and you don't need to mow it. Maintence free yard work for the old guy and now to top it all off he has added a little john deer green what-cha-ma-call-it thingy. I don't even know what that green and yellow wheel thing is that he has suddenly erected on the front lawn. I think he's just doing it to piturb the nice neighbor next door. Frankly he's just turning our neighborhood into the "Funny Farm". I won't even mention how many times he has a tractor parked in his driveway either. Someone has definitely lost some marbles.

Eat some pie...

2010-09-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

So it appears my blog has died again...

I don't have much to say on it, which is why I haven't had any new posts to report any new news.
I am working a stretch of shifts of right now, so once the weekend is over I should have more to write about and more time to write...so please if you do read my blog, stay tuned.

There will be better things yet to come and more of my sarcastic, witty, fun stories...I promise!

So spend time with your family this weekend, go do something exciting.

The blog will be back to life next week...

Waiting is half the fun!

Would you like to find.....

2010-09-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

......One of these suckers between your toes?

Well I did and it grossed me out so much that I have decided socks and shoes are now the way to go...no more flipflops...well at least until I can determine where this one came from and how it ended up between my toes.

I was so grossed out that I had to shower and even after my shower I still find myself getting goosebumps from even thinking about how it got between my toes....yuck! I am utterly disguisted at the moment....

String Gel...

2010-09-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

So I was reading on some blogs how to use string gel. I tinted it pink..but as you can see it is pretty white...I hope once it dries it will be pinker or I may need to start over. I used glass bead gel behind (the dark magenta pink color). I love to paint with that, it's so much fun. Now my string gel which is the lighter pink on top of the dark magenta pink color. Upon reading the blogs I discovered that a.) It is difficult to use and b.) It is frusterating to use by first time painters. I figured it would be easy sailing stringing it on and looping it around etc. well I ended up with clump upon clump and ended up wiping those off and restarting again. I finally got it and it turned out pretty good. Next I am going to be layering brown string gel ontop to get a contrasty effect...it should look pretty interesting!

Some time in the country....

2010-08-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

The corn....its little and it'll be late this year....
The wheat field...
Spent some time out in the country and wandered through the fields...it was fun...I did take pictures in the corn field and wheat field for fun. It was nice to take a drive through the country and see what's going on outside the city.

moulding paste....

2010-08-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

So it turned out using the moulding paste the second time was a tad bit more difficult. I mismatched the tinting and on the second painting have white flowers with a slight hue of blue instead of light blue like on the first one, so now I have to paint the flowers which works alright since the background is blue. I can hardly wait to try a whole other painting with other mediums...but finish one thing at a time. Almost done these and ready to hang them.

The blog is alive....

2010-08-18T11:55:00.001-07:00

My latest masterpiece...
I just completed it yesterday, experimenting with different mediums. I used a glass bead medium for the background to give it the sand effect. And for the flowers I used a moulding medium...very cool! It was a lot of fun to work with and I got really, really, really messy! This picture is going into my basement bathroom...I want to try to add some green glass bead medium to the background since there is some green in my bathroom...but we will see! I kind of like it the way it is.

Krispy Kreme Cheese Burger

2010-08-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Introducing the Krispy Kreme Cheese Burger....

I am divided on whether or not this is a good combination for a cheeseburger.

I enjoy reading the news and today a headline caught my attention: "New spin on Cheeseburger at State fair creates buzz." Now I am an avid enjoyer of Bacon Cheeseburgers. Having tasted them all over the city and other places so a headline stating that sparks an interest.

The wisconsin state fair last year introduced chocolate covered bacon, this year it's the Krispy Kreme Cheese Burger. They test ran the idea at the fair and apparently a large number of people who tried it, loved the combination of the Krispy Kreme donuts on the cheeseburgers.

I view it as another healthy treat. You'll go Hyperglycemic from the krispy kreme donut on top due to the glaze full of sugar and you'll get your arteries clogged from the greasy cheeseburger. It is definitely a winning combination if your concerned about your health.

I think I will continue to eat my cheeseburgers seperate from my desserts.

Training wheels...

2010-07-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

(picture taken at a red light)

I was driving uptown today and saw this...take a good look at it. It's a motorcycle, it really is but what you may be noticing is his nice red training wheels. I could not believe my eyes. A full grown man and his biker chick riding a motorcycle with training wheels...guess he didn't pass his motorcycle course? So they wouldn't let him ride without his training wheels? I had such a good chuckle when I saw this, so ofcourse I had to take a picture. But mind you I took it safely when stopped at red light otherwise I would have had to surf the web for a picture. But seeing it in person was just way to hilarious!

Bet he didn't sign up for this....

2010-07-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

If you can see just above the driveway, my neighbors grass is dead....
Along the sidewalk, that goes along the house...more patches of dead grass.
I bet he didn't sign up for this when he got his driveway re-done or coated. There were stakes in the ground and yellow caution tape surrounding his driveway...No walking or driving on it. I respected this and stayed off his driveway and his sidewalk. I mean really, I have no reason to be on his driveway anyways. So I watched this guy spray chemicals on his driveway and it stank. It stank up the neigborhood and as well it just stank when you were outside period.
The man came and went, he did his job and the next day his driveway looked great. But who knew the next day his lawn would look dead and yellowy in color along all the edges where the grass touches the sidewalk. I am glad that I did not have grass there but wished whatever he sprayed would have touched my weeds and killed them. So I am sure my neigbor is not very happy right now, they are a bit of perfectionists, so it will be interesting to see if all the grass is ripped up and re-sodded...the adventure will probably continue...we'll see!

I am here....

2010-07-18T22:16:00.001-07:00

I am still here, this blog is still alive...do not worry! I will be back when I have more to say but it is late and I am tired and need some sleep...So stay tuned for more!

The octopus was right!

2010-07-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

So Germany placed third...as predicted by the octopus.
Netherlands placed second...as predicted by the octopus.
AND
Spain placed First in the fifa world cup...as predicted by the octopus.
To bad he won't be around for the next world cup in 2012...but at least for the time being those who were betting on games and listening to the octopus are richer and Spain is a happier country due to their win.
I was cheering for Spain and am glad I didn't jump on the oranje bandwagon with everyone else. So it was actually an exciting fifa world cup this go around. I am looking forward to cheering on Spain in the 2012 fifa. For all those who think Netherlands may actually win in the next cup, I am sure Spain is up for the challenge again...I know you Netherlands fans would like a rematch but you really did play a terrible game.

2010-07-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

(Paul the Octopus)
So it would appear my Fifa picks for the final were wrong. I still believe that Germany will place 3rd, so that's ok. But I cannot believe Spain made it all the way to the final against the netherlands. Wow! That is great considering Spain has never made it that far. I am still on the fence as to who I believe will place first. I am siding with Spain but I think maybe Netherlands has a chance. But I guess we have to wait till Sunday to find out.
I will leave my predictions as to who wins to myself until paul the octopus tells the world who is going to win fifa because his track record for predictions has been fairly on the ball as to who will win what match. I am suprised Germany didn't turn him into Sushi when he predicted Spain would win against Germany.
So stay tuned for Paul the octopus' predictions...should be interesting.

My Fifa Final two pics.

2010-07-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

Netherlands.
Germany.
Those are my two pics for the final two in the fifa world cup in South Africa.
We will see after Germany plays Spain but I am sure Germany and the Netherlands will
be the final two in the final match. What a game that would be!

A good blog...

2010-07-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

I like trying to find medical blogs and things to read and I actually found one which is pretty good. It's an ER doctor who writes and sometimes his stories are serious and other times they are funny. If you don't mind medical things you might enjoy reading this blog:
http://storytellerdoc.blogspot.com

It's a good read!

Picture of the day....

2010-06-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Smiley dog!

mmm...cupcakes...

2010-06-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Delicious yummy mini-cupcakes...green icing and all.

Just a picture to leave you wanting one.

They sure tasted good.

Flip Flops and the Rain.

2010-06-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

(Caption in picture says "Ouch...flip flops are not a good idea in the Rain.")

It is June. It is pouring rain out..Buckets upon buckets of rain. Raindrops that hurt when they hit you on the shoulder. But I am all for summer, I am ignoring the rain and pretending it is warm out because we've had like three months of rain. Enough is enough...my grass is green at least so I guess that is a bonus. The rain did not revive my dead tree either. So maybe it just added to the problem of the already dead tree in the front yard. Anyways back to my story.
I wear flip flops, I pretend that it is summer out...caught up? ok let's continue on. Flip flops as you know have no traction whatsoever, which is why they are meant for summer. They are meant as casual wear. I hate socks, which is why i wear flip flops whenever I can...unless there is snow, no flip flops then.

But today i choose to wear the flip flops. On the best of days I slip and slide around in them. I am kind of clumsy sometimes, tripping over my own feet. But I knew my flip flops were slippery with this rain, so I was being overly cautious. I climbed into my truck just fine and had no problems with slippery flip flops. I ran some errands and then came home, got my gripping on the driveway after i got out of my truck, took two steps to shut the door and the next thing i knew I had slipped because of my flip flops and landed on the driveway.

So the above photo is of the bruise it left behind post slip...it hurts, it's tender to the touch...but I bet you I will still be wearing flip flops tomorrow even if it rains because i love them and they are so much better than socks and shoes. If i wear my shoes without socks my feet smell too much so I would much rather wear flip flops and allow my feet to air out.

Time for an update....my subject? Hutterites.

2010-06-14T17:47:00.001-07:00

(Some hutterite girls on the rocker thingy at the park)...
I like to take my five year old to the park in summer. Today was no exception to that rule. It was beautiful outside....the sun was shining, there was no wind. It was just a beautiful gorgeous day outside. So I figured since we hadn't frequented the "big park" lately that we would head there today. I didn't that on a monday it would be busy, seeing as parents have kids in school and this is post lunch, so the younger ones should be napping.....it shouldn't have been busy. Boy was I wrong. It turned out to be an interesting sight. A scool from a hutterite colony was enjoying the ammenities of the park. Kids in polka-dots running around wildly from one thing to the next...they were everywhere!! It was one big sea of polka-dots and boys in dark pants and suspenders. The teacher announced that there was only ten minutes left until the bus was to leave, so I figured we could deal with this for ten more minutes, then the park would be empty again....so i took it upon myself to stealthly photograph some pictures of some of the kids.

A little hutterite girl playing all by herself on another rocker thingy. I thought it was a neat picture.

Group shot! They gathered all the hutterite kids onto the bridge between the two play structures and began to snap away picture after picture of all the kids gathered together....Now I was ready for them to leave post-picture but this brought to mind something else...Photography and hutterites.

Alberta hutterites had been sharing driver licenses. This was a big debate in newspapers and in the court system as well because of the sharing of driver licenses and them being photoless. Their beliefs are based on the fact that images are prohibited by the second commandment. In may 2007, the alberta court of appeal ruled that photographs violate their religious rights and that driving is essential for them. So they believed that having photographs on drivers licenses violated religious beliefs...doesn't gathering school children for pictures do the same? But in July of 2009 it was made mandatory that hutterite colonies must abide by provincial regulations and rules for photos on drivers licenses...So I am still left to debate as to whether or not hutterites believe it is alright to take a picture or if it isn't.... I mean in this case it must be alright because they gathered the school children for a group photograph. Just an interesting debate...

So after the hutterites left, the park was empty for about two minutes until two busloads pulled up full of......No it wasn't more hutterite school children....haha

Things put up the nose...

2010-05-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

We all love popcorn. It tastes so good, it's light, it's fluffy and its a delicious treat. When I make popcorn I use two bowls. One to pop the popcorn and the second one to transfer the fluffy popcorn to minus the left over kernels. I am fairly attentive to these little kernels because I don't want the kids to choke on them or bite them and wreck their teeth. So usually the left over kernels end up in the garbage never to been seen again. I had put my five year old to bed and had her all tucked in and settled for the night. I was in my room talking on the phone a few minutes later explaining to my mom that the kids were tucked in bed and settled. No sooner had I said that when my five year old came downstairs, her eyes were big and puffy and filled with tears. She admitted she had been playing under her bed when she should have been sleeping but earlier this evening she had found some garbage under there and had cleaned it up. All except for one kernel of popcorn, so when i had put her to bed she decided that was the best time to clean it up. She climbed under her bed, got the popcorn kernel and climbed out. She said she was walking to the garbage can and her nose itched, so she itched it and inhaled the popcorn kernel. After many tears and sobs, I told her the only way (other than a trip to the ER and tweezers to extract it) would be to blow her nose. Her first attempt was unsuccessful, so I said try again and this time we plugged her other nose and out shot a single kernel of popcorn. She began to laugh uncontrollably and thought this was the funniest thing ever. I then comforted her and proceeded to give a little lecture on how it was not ok to stick things that don't belong in the nose, inside her nose. I may have told her the next time we might not be so lucky and that a doctor might have to remove it with tweezers or by some other means. She still maintained as she was being put back to bed that she was itching her nose and she inhaled it, but I am not to sure that is the case...after all five year old's are curious and putting something in the nose. What five year old or child for that matter hasn't shoved something up their nose? It did remind me of this however:

Homer simpson and the crayons he was shoving up his nose and in his ears...One ended up making its way up towards his brain, getting lodged in there. Therefore making him the homer simpson he was...so he had it surgically removed which changed him into an intelligent being...Homer however did not learn his lesson and shoved his daughter Lisa's crayon up his nose to return him to his previous state... I find it funny that a popcorn kernel in my daughters nose could remind me of a simpsons episode...but I hope unlike Homer, she has learned her lesson.

Flat stanley...the stow-away..

2010-05-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is Flat Stanley...at least one created by my youngster. He's reading all the flat stanley books and we decided last year to create one of our own before we vacationed in Hawaii. Well who knew that this flat stanley would be such an adventurer...He travelled all the way to Peru, stowed away in my carry on bag. We had such a great trip...hence why my blog has been dead for awhile now, we've been gone. We landed in the huge city of Lima and from there our adventure started. Traveling to Lima from Houston is about a six to seven hour flight. We stayed one night in Lima and then took a six hour van ride to Jauja...a small village or town south east of Lima. Spent four or so days there and then travelled another five to six hours south to a small village in the mountains called Cceccasiri. Where we stayed with a family for two days. Then headed back to Lima in a ten or so hour van ride. It was quite the adventure. Flat Stanley has now returned back home and is quite content still packed away in my unpacked backpack. I think he's waiting for his next adventure. During our time in the smaller villages and towns we worked with the kids in the schools and outside of the schools singing with them, doing crafts and putting on puppet shows. We played games with them and tried to talk to spanish to them...which was sometimes difficult. But seeing their faces, teaching them and spending time with them is rewarding.

So that is my little blurb for now...until I figure out what else to write about...

Complete Randomness today....

2010-04-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

I was just clicking some pictures today...Above my caramel machiatto from Starbucks...it was delicious because it had not one, not two but three shots of espresso in it...xtra caffiene...much needed.

My neighbors ladder....I think he was taking down his christmas lights....maybe...

A tree branch on my tree in my front yard. I wanted to see how far I could zoom in before the picture was blurry and it did a pretty good job, this tree branch was pretty far away...so yes this is pretty random today...

Cute Conversations that shouldn't be had...

2010-04-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

As a nurse you get to interact with patients and hear stories of their lives and stories about their families. In the same way some patients like to hear about your life or comment on your life or your personality or your manner etc...Some patients don't say much, others say too much and some don't say anything at all. They just lay in their beds smiling or grinning from ear to ear and nodding their heads pretending they know what your saying to them or talking about.
Today I met Patient Susie (*not her real name). A vibrant wonderful lady who was an ex-nurse. She seemed like outside of the hospital and illness she would be a busy woman with lot's to do. Susie* was worried about being in the hospital and away from her family. I gathered she was the care giver in the family as seeing she was an ex nurse and nurses are caring, and nurturing. So with patients like Susie* I like to ensure they are comfortable, taken care of...mostly try to distract them so they don't think about things going on at home and can care for themselves to get themselves back to proper health. So I talked with Susie* tried to calm her nerves a little bit and get her settled into her room.
Our conversation went as follows:
Susie* - It's so nice to have such a bright young woman as a nurse.
Me- Why thank-you.
Susie*- Your smile is wonderful and encouraging
Me- Well we just want to ensure you have the best care possible.
Susie*- You have a glow
Me- Oh really?
Susie*- When are you due?
Me- (my jaw is wide open at this point...)
Me- (finding the words to say)
Me- I am not expecting
Susie*-your not expecting? I just thought you had such a glow, a pregnant woman glows like you are.
Me- Trust me, I am not expecting, just a little extra weight.
Susie*- Oh......
The conversation ended, another nurse walked in and I beelined it for the door. Guess my caring personality misled my patient to believe I was expecting because I am a happy nurse, I like to smile. A smile in my opinion brings warmth and forges a type of patient/nurse friendship that is trusting....guess I need to stop smiling so much so my patients don't mistake it for a "pregnancy glow" next time....
Luckily a few of us had a good chuckle out it and compared other stories from other nurses who experiences similar to mine with patients.

The elephant and the mouse.

2010-04-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

I thought elephants were afraid of mice, but this elephant doesn't seem to mind that he is about to step on the mouse. Most pictures I found were of elephants running away or sheepishly hiding from the mice in their pictures. This picture made me smile and laugh...poor mouse...But sometimes I feel like the mouse in this picture...Ever feel as big as a mouse? Or feel like your going to be trampled by the elephants? It's an interesting analogy...the elephant and the mouse....

Totally true story....

2010-04-27T21:28:00.001-07:00

This is a touchy subject for some...death and do you get cremated or buried...I favor the burial route. But this is not a blog about the differences between cremation or burial. It is a story about the funeral home starting on fire today...Well on my way home sometimes you can see the local funeral homes smoke stack billowing away, when their smoke stack billows you know what is going on. Cremation or they are warming up the oven, getting ready to cremate. On a normal day it looks like the above picture, just a small puff of smoke, nothing seriously billowing out of it. Just a normal chimney puff of smoke...nothing unusual or different than any neighborhood smoke stack. I was driving home today and saw some smoke in the air. I figured there was nothing serious going on, probably coming from the funeral home...but the problem was I was nearly four or five blocks away and the smoke was really thick, black and filling the air...As I neared closer and closer I could hear the sirens. I was suddenly halted on the road by a fireruck and an ambulance whizzing past me. Now I am a curious person...I knew the firetrucks were headed to the billowing cloud of black...But what could be on fire?

The funeral homes smoke stack was on fire...literally! (note:above picture is not actual photo from todays events but merely my portrayal of todays events.)( I did not have my camera handy when I saw the cloud of billowing black smoke or the firetruck.) I could not believe how tall and how thick the smoke was, it was a thick black dense cloud of smoke with flames of red and orange shooting up from the smoke stack. The firemen hustled around the funeral home running around and within twenty minutes it was all under control. (I know it was twenty minutes because I drove past it again later) But I never had seen such thick black smoke and shooting flames coming from a chimney before. It left me to wonder, How often do funeral homes catch on fire??

My day...

2010-04-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

My day documented by my 5 year old...here is her view on it...we started at the park...she wanted to take a picture of the houses on the road...so she did.

Drove past the lake towards downtown....another picture, she had a few of the lake as we drove past it.

Ooohh...got to get a picture of her shoe in here....very important! She took a picture of her shoes a few times throughout the day. Sometimes you wonder what they think when they do that.

Our delicious starbucks beverages...caramel machiatto for me, hot chocolate for her with a straw! There were a few dozen pictures of her hot chocolate from different angles as well.

The barbies on the backseat in the car...they were along for the ride. She took a picture of them together, seperately, sipping her hot chocolate. Well they did come along for the day.

A view of the coulees as we zipped past them...

A street pole with a no parking sign...So as you can see, she took pictures...but really we did a whole more than spend time in the car or sitting in starbucks drinking coffee...interesting what kids see when you had them a camera...

Blog is still alive.

2010-04-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

My blog is still alive, just a post will have to wait another day...too tired to post right now and I don't have anything to post about. We'll see what tomorrow has to bring, I feel like I have things to do but cannot think about them right now...honestly I don't know what I have to do tomorrow, so we shall wait and see what comes up...so you'll have to wait too until tomorrow because tomorrow is another day and I am too tired....

Its warm out....

2010-04-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...I love a good starbucks drink. Doesn't it look appetizing? It's vibrant color and appeal. A Shaken Passion Iced Tea Lemonade is one of my favorite drinks in summer. It replaces the mocha's and the tea's and other warm beverages I consume in the winter from starbucks. It is so delicious, but quite honestly.....

I wish they wouldn't put so much ice into it...your left with 1/3 of the cup filled with ice. When you get it, it's pretty much filled to the top with ice. I did however solve this dilemma and realized I could order it by asking them to use a little ice instead of filling the cup full. But if you like steeped tea, iced tea and lemonade then you will like this lovely blend of all three. I look forward to more of these throughout the summer...I wish too they would revive their blended tangerine lemonade, that was a delicious one but it sadly was discontinued. That was another one of my favorites to drink in summer. Hopefully they'll come up with something new this summer.

Dear Peru,

2010-04-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Peru, thank-you for your meals of guinea pig, a delicacy of sorts. A meal commonly served throughout Peru. It was tasty the last time I had it, tasted a lot like chicken. You'd walk through the markets and hear their tiny squeals coming from the sacks ladies were carrying home to serve as meal to their families. Some facts I have learned->they are domesticated for their meat in the Andes. It is a major part of the diet there....mostly because guinea pigs breed quickly and take up less room than traditional livestock (betcha didn't know that...) It is also high in protein and low in fat and cholesterols. Peruvians also consume close to 65 million guinea pigs each year. It does taste like the dark meat in chicken (see told you it tastes like chicken!) So when I return to Peru, I will forget that we keep them as pets in Canada and see the furry little creatures in our pet stores here and remember that guinea pig tastes like chicken.

Dear Peru, Your wonderful stir-fry. I look forward to trying you again. Somehow the frenchfries you incorporate into the stirfry make it all the more tasty...Surrounding the frenchfries with peppers and vegtables and meat...a savoury combination all served on a bed of white rice. Delicious.

Dear Peru, I have been trying to brush up on my spanish to place my order at starbucks...but so far I have failed. I do not know anymore spanish than when I picked up the phrase book in the first place. So when I enter into starbucks and cannot read the menu, hopefully the barista will not laugh at me for my poor spanish skills and my hand gestures motioning to the board what I would like to drink...Maybe I can figure it out on the plane there how to order starbucks in spanish...I do doubt it though...(p.s.-your valet parking is awesome...but I won't be using it)

Dear Peru, the children, their smiling faces and grins are enough to melt our hearts. I wish I could speak spanish to them but enjoy making them laugh at me. (yes, at me...)Spending time with them and letting them know that half way around the world we care and think about them will hopefully give them hope for a better future. I wish we could take them all home with us but visits will have to do. They have homes, they have families and I am sure they have joy.

Dear Peru, your culture and vividness amazes me. The culture is alive in the streets with dancing and marching bands and people dressed up. Its nice to see the diverse customs and traditions. Every town has traditions and customs of their own. Every country is proud of its roots and it does show.

Dear Peru, your scenery is extraordinary. The Andes are breath-taking (literally!) The mountains and the streams, the waterfalls and the towns. The history and the architecture. All amazing sights. The towns and the cities, all have different stories to tell...The statues scattered on the mountainsides. The monuments covering the mountainsides as well. They all tell a story. The storefronts and shops in the towns. The townsquares each with their own unique features. Lot's to see and photograph.

This post was a little long but it was just a few memories of my time in Peru...and a few little pictures of those memories.

Its been a few days...what to post today...

2010-04-17T17:12:00.001-07:00

So I love to paint, acrylic paint is my favorite choice for paint. It either goes on thinly or it goes on nice and thick. It's a great paint to work with. So my kiddos see what i paint and want to paint too. Their choice is acrylic and canvas...the bigger the better...so I let them thinking that maybe a little bit of my artistic side has rubbed off on them...It definitely did...

The youngests choice was multicolored, every color (this is just a corner of her canvas)...golds, blues, greens, purples, salmon, pinks, oranges, yellows, etc...the canvas was littered with every color of acrylic imaginable plus some that was created mixing paints....a young bold artist in the making...

The other child chose green...painted the entire canvas this lovely lime green color...every square inch was green...I may have to work on the artist a bit more to not be afraid to use more color....But he prefers to doodle and draw and write stories and comic strips, so maybe painting isn't quite his thing...Everyone is artsy in their own way...but he is super talented with drawing cartoons...maybe a young comic book artist in the making....Who knows, but we will continue to paint, draw, doodle, create...

Hybrid vehicles.

2010-04-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hybrid vehicles only...is my SUV considered a hybrid? I just thought I should take a picture of these ridiculous signs scattered at the entrances to our mall. No longer are the days of handicap parking or parents with small tots or expectant mother stalls...you have to be hybrid and be rewarded by parking near or next to the doors. They now have four spots next to each entrance dedicated to hybrid vehicles....so is that little car infront of me a hybrid? probably not...how about the big tall black truck that is jacked up next to me? probably not...no hybrid markings on either the car or the truck...so maybe they were, maybe they weren't. I think you should be given a hybrid tag to park in these stalls if your car has no "hybrid" markings anywhere. or they should just get rid of these signs and let the handicap or expectant mothers or mothers with their hands full park right beside the entrances and not the young drivers who are more than capable of walking "a few" extra steps to the doors....

Careers

2010-04-13T18:50:00.001-07:00

I found this picture and laughed...If only being an architect were that simple...attach glasses and wa-lah your an architect! I was thinking the other day if I were not in my choosen profession (nursing that is) what would I be? And every time I think about it, I come back to being an architect. I love house designs, I love layouts and floorplans. I love thinking of how can you improve a house to make it more functional or more liveable. If you move this room here or this room there, slight improvements make a world of difference. I love the outside of buildings, the architecture of old cathedrals and castles. I love the lines and the symmetry, and sometimes even if a building is asymmetrical. Being unsymmetrical is unique in its own way. It is something that has always interested me but I am not good at math, and physics or calculus...so my dream of being an architect is just that, a dream. So that brings me to my next career choice...

If I were not in my choosen field (nursing that is), I would be an interior decorator. (The above house is just an example of an inside of a house). The colors you choose in a house are important, they invite people in, they reflect a bit of your personality, who you are. Are you bold like red or subtle like grey? Do you like to be comfortable like browns or creative like blues and greens? Color is one part of the whole package. You have the decorating aspect. What can be put onto a wall? What kind of furniture would accent your homes design? Do you go modern or traditional? Cottage country or futuristic? Is the space small or big? What would make a small room look bigger and vice versa. The interior of a home tells alot about the person living in the home and their tastes. I like taking a room and creating it into something. But again its just another thought...I have choosen my path in life and have options to branch out into. My other careers will have to wait and just be a thought for now.

Starbucks you have broken my heart...

2010-04-12T18:19:00.001-07:00

This is a typical starbucks cup. I prefer the venti size. It gives you a little extra bang when you drink it or I suppose there is more caffeine in it which helps. I usually order a white chocolate mocha or a caramel machiatto but lately I have been drinking green teas...
There are three types of tea-green tea, oolong tea and black tea. I use to drink earl grey tea but found that had way too much caffeine in it and it would keep me awake for hours on end. So I switched to green tea. I have to admit I have never tried oolong tea and have really no idea what it is. But Green tea has a nice taste to it if correctly made. Well I got to starbucks, ordered my venti green tea and drove off with cup in hand. I didn't have time to stop and taste it, it was burning hot and so I waited a bit for it too cool down. Well I tasted it and it didn't taste quite right. It was not the sweet green tea taste that I was use too, instead it seemed a bit fruity and was a bit on the bitter side and it honestly did smell horrid. So I opened up the cup to see if it was a joke and I discovered this:

Some orangey-yellowish substance. The tea bags I took out were tea bags on the ends of strings. No label stating it was a green tea bag, just a tea bag on a string...weird...usually they leave the label on the tea bag giving something to grasp onto. Plus in comparision to the picture below...the above is not green tea. It did not taste like green tea or look like green tea should.

This picture is taken from the starbucks website...notice the greenish tinge? That would be green tea for you. In all my green tea drinking experiences, the green tea had this green hue to it. Mine pictured above did not. Therefore I am convinced it was not green tea. I was going to go back and argue for my three dollars back but I will bring it up next time and throughly inspect my green tea before driving off.

You may ask why I choose to drink green tea. Well it can reduce your systolic and diastolic blood pressure, reduce your fasting cholesterol, body fat and body weight. It is a more potent antioxidant that black tea or oolong tea is. The green tea is steamed, baked, or pan heated to prevent oxidation and the leaves remain green giving it an antioxidant effect. Green tea unless specified does contain caffeine but the number of times you use the leaves can reduce the caffeine found in it. Too much caffeine can cause frequent urination, nausea and insomnia.

So there, you have now learned why starbucks broke my heart today...but I will return because I love their coffee and green teas on a good day. Plus you have learned a little bit about green teas and their effects on the body.

Exploration of the world of blogs.

2010-04-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I like to search for blogs. I like to see how many links I can follow starting at one blog and going to the next and so forth. Lately I have been immersed with blogs from Philedelphia and New York and so forth. I don't have too many up to date blogs attached to my blog so I have to expand my search. Have to find blogs, most of which I came across by mistake but they are interesting.
I am curious as to whether or not other people read this blog. Are my family and friends the only ones? I know sometimes my posts are uncreative and boring. But that is what a blog is, a place to spread thoughts and ideas or just useless banter.
After a long day I like to sit and write, even if it is about some useless fact or about a sign I found in the bathroom. I like to keep people laughing or to be put into deep thought about some random fact I discovered and decided to write about.
So I was reading some blogs. I won't go into too much detail, as I am sure their blogs were intended for family connecting. But it's amazing how much information people are willing to put out onto the internet. Pictures of their homes, the cars they drive, pictures of their children. Pictures of their wedding days, or their times out as families. How much information can you put on a blog?
I guess too it depends on the purpose of your blog. Most blogs I am sure are for family connecting. Others are to babble, like mine...I like to talk...I like to write. I like to write, even if it is about something pointless.
I found it funny with the links some of them put on their side bars such as : Moms blog, Dads blog, sister in laws blog, sisters blog, nephews blog. There is a whole world of blogging families. I have yet though to find one linking to "grandma's blog". Do "grandma's blogs" exist? It seems blogs connected to bloggers mainly seem to stay within their own generation and their parents generation.
So I suggest if you have not, to find some new blogs and follow them or read them. There are some interesting bloggers out there. I have a few that are on my favorites list....mostly because they update almost everyday, but it's intersting to see other peoples lives. What is going on in family circles or what types of crafts people are into with their etsy shops. Yes I said it, etsy shop. It seems to be another common thread between bloggers. They blog about products or items they make or purchase and then sell online to make money in their etsy shops. Very interesting...but saving that topic for another day.
Well that is all I have to rant about for now, till next time....check out some blogs!

Forgotten picture...It makes me laugh!

2010-04-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

So This picture is from the world of science (or science center)...I forgot I took it until I was looking for a picture to write about. It says How does a flush toilet work? Then it goes onto great detail to explain how exactly a flush toilet works...(yeah you probably could have guessed that from the title on the poster.) But I found this hilariously funny when I entered the stall in the bathroom. So I had to take a picture of it. It's funny because I found it in the bathroom stall on the wall...a little reading material I guess incase your trip to the bathroom takes awhile.

Wind storms.

2010-04-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

This was from yesterday, from our adventure out at the farm. If you look just above the fence line on the left hand side and go towards the center of the picture, you can see all the dust kicking up in the background. The highways had patches where the dust was drifting across and with that dust, I did hear a few rocks hit my car. You could see the dust rolling up the coulees as it drifted across the highways. The further away from the highway, you could see the fields where the dust was drifting away from. The wind gusts on the highways too were quite strong. I was more worried about the semis tipping over than I was about me drifting off the highway.
It is so impossibly windy out here, this is day four or five of this terrible wind storm. I've had enough of the wind but it looks like when the wind goes away its going to get cold and rainy or snowy...some little mixture like that. You can live around this wind, but you never really get use to it ever.
Its April, I could handle the so called "april showers" but snow? I've had enough snow, this winter has been remarkably long and it's time to settle down and bring us some sunshine. Bring us our may flowers.
By the way- the cake tasted wonderful, I will have to bake another again soon...

We eat Cake!

2010-04-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

Baked this lovely, delicious chocolate cake last night. Then the kiddo's help to decorate it. I tried to encourage them to use a few sprinkles...well kids like sugar and kids like sprinkles, so it got a little overloaded...We used purple icing as well...they weren't so excited to spread on white icing, so we dyed the white icing purple.

A close up of the sugar work...there is round circle confetti sprinkles, as well as butterfly confetti sprinkles, topped off with those little circles in an array of colors...sugar overloaded but it should delicious. I will let you know once we eat it for dessert...cake is good!

New boots...

2010-04-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

So I decided to spruce up my green gum boots and make them girly pretty...I can understand solid greens, blacks and maybe blues for guys but girls like things that are personality driven. That make our feet look pretty. Pink hearts, yellow stars, strips or patterns like checkers. We like to have pretty boots, and pretty gum boots I am sure exist somewhere. So I figured until I find the perfect pair of gum boots for me on the farm, I would experiment and see what kind of gum boots I could design. I think I did quite a good job and i am sure somewhere boots like this exist.

These are some gummy bears I took a picture of at the science center. Pretty large, and realistic looking...And no i am not a gummy bear farmer, though I bet that was what you were thinking by the inclusion of this picture.

Attempt to be artsy.

2010-04-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

A wall of crayons. I took this picture at the science center this weekend. It was my attempt to be artsy. I thought it was pretty cool. I should have gotten up closer and taken a more zoomed in shot of them. That's all I've got for my blog today.

Is this your puppy?

2010-04-01T23:15:00.000-07:00

He sure is cute....but he doesn't belong to me.

He sat there, and sat there, and sat there, and sat there, and sat there, and sat there some more.....

Seriously he sat there, so I decided that I could take some pictures of the little fellow. And he just looked at me. No interest whatsoever, just this look of bewilderment.
I did name decide to call him Oscar...but he didn't respond to that name when I called him it. So I tried a few more names like Dixon, Wilburt, Izzie, Raphie...no success with any of the names I tried.
He had no tags, he was a stray dog. I came home from lunch with my mom to find my front step invaded by a little small puppy. I love dogs, I would love to have a dog. But at this point and time in my life, I have no time and it would not be fair to keep the little guy or any dog for that matter. I myself would prefer something tiny, little this little fellow. I have had big dogs before and they are definitely not for me. They take up too much space.
Anyways back to my story. I came home from lunch with my mom, he was wedged right next to my door jam, allowing little room for me to enter my house. I tried to shoo him away but he just squeaked and tried to growl at me. Not much came out of his mouth except a little yip and yap. He moved himself over. (next to the pillar in the picture). It was a somewhat warm day so he ploped down in the shade and watched me as i entered my house, shutting the door behind me.
I tried to go about my house doing things and all I could hear was this tiny squeaky puppy whining outside my front door. I felt bad for him. I would have to go to work soon and him being as small as he is, I could not just let him wander the neighborhood by himself. We have some neighbors with some big huge dogs (bulldogs). So I decided if he was going to take up residence on my front step, I would help him.
I called Animal control. I felt bad I couldn't keep him but something needed to be done. I went outside to see if he was still there and he was because I could hear him through the door. I grabbed my camera and snapped some pictures of him.
I went back in the house and opened the blinds in the window to keep an eye on the little dog. Animal control was prompt and the officer was friendly. I helped him wrangle the little dog to be taken somewhere safe for the time being.
So if this is your dog, I apologize but you should be more responsible with what you do with your puppy because I found him outside my door and there are quite the list of hefty fines you face...but that is another post for another day...

Roll up the rim...

2010-03-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

I must admit rolling up the rim at tim hortons is fun. But the novelty wears off quickly. I switch from my dedicated, loyal trips to starbucks once roll up the rim rolls into town. I turn to tim hortons for my coffee needs. I also go to tim hortons for breakfast sometimes. This morning was no exception, I was on my way home and I figured I would make a quick stop in the line and get something. I ordered my bagel toasted and a milk to go. Proceeded to drive to the drive through window.
I approached and the young woman working there handed me a cup of coffee.
"We're all out of medium roll up the rim cups. So we've given you a small roll up the rim cup with a plain medium cup."
"I didn't order coffee."
"I know that."
"Your handing me a coffee cup."
"It's a medium hot chocolate."
"I didn't order a medium hot chocolate."
"I knew that."
(So why did she hand me a cup then if she knew that?)
She gave me what I ordered, I paid and drove away...I am still wondering if why she knew that, why did she try to give me the cup of hot chocolate, I should have taken it and thanked her for the free hot chocolate.
But I guess they are busy at tim hortons in the morning...

Stir Fry.....

2010-03-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yummy delicious stirfry....of the chicken variety...I cook a good delicious meal...served on a bed of warm rice. It tastes very good....I don't cook a lot of fancy meals, but this is one of my better menu choices. Stirfrys taste good no matter what you put together. You can always mix and match ingredients. Plus I have some secret spices I use...hence the browned look of the chicken...So till my next cooking adventure, i will leave you drooling over this picture...

Power outage.....

2010-03-26T12:12:00.001-07:00

Had to go run an errand this morning. I like to look around Costco usually. I especially don't mind the store first thing after it opens. 10am I am there. But today I didn't really feel like going, usually when I work later on in the day I like to do as little as possible during the morning. So I decided since I needed somethings from there I would venture into the store. Costco at 10am is usually busy with early morning shoppers but it is not so busy that the check up lines are backed up and you have to wait an hour to get through the check out.

This morning, it wasn't so bad, there was the usual 10am rush of shoppers. But generally they were all wandering the aisles. I picked up my items and made a beeline to the check out. I found the perfect line, only one person infront of me. This rarely happens, usually I get stuck behind some person who's cart is filled to the brim and over flowing. So I figured I would be able to get this errand over and done with quickly as one person is ahead of me.

The checkout clerk began to scan through the few items this person had when there was a huge surge of power. The lights flickered and quickly the whole building went dim. Alarm's began to sound and suddenly people (employees of costco) were running around wild. Sprung into action I suppose. All the checkouts went blank and one or two began to make beeping noises. There was a period of chaos where no one was sure what to do. The woman in the line behind me had a lot to say...I overheard her whispers to her husband. "I bet those guys digging up outside did this." "I hope this won't take long." "They should fix this problem, what a hassle." People are so quick to grumble when something happens to interfere with their schedules.

The few employees left standing at the front by the checkouts ensured us that they were getting the problem fixed and the electricity would be restored in no time. Now mind you I myself was feeling a little anxious, i had intended this errand to be quick...but the power surge had me wondering if i would leave costco with my items I needed.

When approximately ten minutes had passed, the line ups stretched past the first aisle..they were a good dozen or so people deep. Then they began to pass out cookies...as if this inconvience could be solved by cookies. Chocolate chip, double chocolate chip or white chocolate chip...take your pick. A few employees made their way down the lines handing out the cookies. I figured ok this isn't so bad, stuck in a power outing and we get free cookies. I could not complain as I hadn't had breakfast and my next stop was tim hortons for a breakfast sandwich. The kids in the line ups were especially thrilled at the idea of a free cookie. They were grinning from ear to ear as they munched on their special treat.

So as we stood there, chomping away at our delicious treat. Two men from the construction site were walking back and forth around the store. The first guy was a rather large burly looking guy. He looked like he knew what he was looking for, like he knew what he was doing. The second guy was a short little skinny string bean of a guy sauntering after the first guy carrying all the tools. The tools looked like they weighed too much for him to carry. He looked pretty overwhelmed. The lady behind me had to comment. "I wonder what his job is? he doesn't look like he knows what to do because he's following that guy around." "He must just be there to carry the tools for the other guy." "He looks to young to have a job."

She amused me, the lady had an opinion about everything! The next ten minutes were met with people running back and forth. The power attempted to come on twice with little to no success.
The one employee asked "Are they following protocol at hte front door? are the front doors locked?" This worried me, were we truly locked in costco? Did I really need the items I was going to purchase? Should I return tomorrow at a less inconvienced moment? He then again assured us in line that the problem was being taken care of and we'd be back in business soon.

This employee began to run around getting more checkout lines open and ready for when the power returned because the line ups at this point were really long. Pretty soon the power returned and we were back in business. They finished ringing the first persons items through and the lady behind me again piped up. "Hurry up before the power goes out again." the checkout clerk was less than thrilled with that comment and gave me a sarcastic look that involved some eye rolling....i was shocked the lady did not mention anything about that. The clerk was cordial, apologizing or the inconvinence as she rung my items through. I paid and headed on my way before the construction crew could cause more problems for the store. after spending nearly forty minutes in costco when the trip was intended to be five or ten minutes, I was more than happy to find my way out to my car and drive off home.

Hola, mi espanol no es muy bueno!

2010-03-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

So I have taken it upon myself to learn some spanish...It's apparently not a difficult language to learn. But it is difficult to retain.
I can remember things like:
hi- hola
como estas- how are you?
good evening- buenos tardes
good night- buenos noches
good morning- buenos dias

Colors aren't so hard either:
red- rojo
orange- naranje
yellow- amarillo
green- verde
blue- azul
purple- morado

But beyond that, I cannot say any phrases. So I am going to further my knowledge and learn some phrases instead of little words that I cannot piece together.

Earls and the bobby pin....

2010-03-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

So as for my previous post. I know I've left you all in suspense long enough. I know it's taken me long enough to blog again.
The story is. I was really looking forward to going out to dinner. Earls restraunt was my favorite restraunt...ok it was my second favorite. Moxie's is still top favorite. Well at least until they do something wrong, which they haven't yet.
So I was really looking forward to a nice dinner at Earls. Now I usually order a salad. My favorite is their hot chicken ceaser salad. But I love their fries and as we all know, fries do not come with salads. I think there is a rule against that. So you either eat healthy or you order something with fries. I had a craving for their fries. So I ordered my usual fry dish. Chicken fingers and fries. Now if you have ever tasted their chicken fingers, they are so wonderfully crunchy and juicy. The ultimate chicken fingers. I had made it through one chicken finger and some fries. They tasted so wonderful quite honestly. They made my mouth water, I was looking forward to digging in and eating some more as the first taste was delicious. I began to cut into the second one and it was a bit tougher to cut. I began to saw away at it, got a piece free and cut a new piece. Now I like to cut up my chicken fingers, easier to dip in the bbq sauce that way.
So I kept cutting, I had a few pieces off when I went on to cut the next bit of the chicken finger. It wasn't cutting so great, it was extremely difficult to get apart. I pried the chicken finger apart to find something sticking out of it...
A piece of shiny metal that looked the length of a bobby pin was wavy just like the rigid ridges of a bobby pin. I immediately inquired with my dinner company as to what it was. Immediately grossing my dinner company out and having my dinner company precede to check their burger for any sharp little metal objects. I sat there for a few minutes before I was able to wave the waitress down. She came right over as I had a look of absolute disgust on my face.
She asked how our meal was and I preceded to point out the wavy piece of metal I had found in my chicken nugget. She was disturbed by it and apologized profusely, quickly picking up the plate and rushing it back to the kitchen. On the way back she showed the manager and a few other staff members who examined the dish I had just been eating very carefully.
I sat for two seconds before the manager and waitress reappeared with a fresh dish of chicken fingers and fries. Now I don't know about you, but I could not stomache eating another chicken finger because I doubt they quickly whipped up a new batch in the deep fryer in the time it took him to return from the kitchen. The manager apologized profusely and walked away. The waitress returned a short time later and asked how everything was. I proceeded to tell her that I had lost my appetite for chicken fingers and could not eat them. She told me that I should feel better because my meal was for free. But did not offer to bring me something else. So my supper consisted of a few frenchfries and getting the bill for my dinner company's meal and leaving right away as soon as the bill was paid. I did get a free meal...but I won't be back to Earl's for awhile...I am to disturbed by the metal I found in my chicken. Though I don't know where it came from.

A puzzle for you...

2010-03-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Earls Restraunt

(My favorite)

A bobby pin...

What do these two things have in common?

Stay tuned and I will tell you

tomorrow....

A pigeon adventure....

2010-03-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

This is a porky fat pigeon....lol I named him Mr. Pigeon. The wild life in the city sure have gotten fat....This poor pigeon hobbled around and wouldn't get off the road, I figured he was ok...I just wanted a picture of the fat little guy...

Well I was wrong...see the car? The woman started yelling at the pigeon...hollering at it "shoo pigeon...shooo..." She thought she was doing a favor to the pigeon, she didn't want the poor little fellow to get driven over, but she refused to get out of her car and chase it away...So she beckoned some help from some strangers.

*Dave (*not his real name) walked up to the pigeon and looked at it, laughed a bit...and communicated the woman who told him he should kick it...so *Dave kicked the poor pigeon. This pigeon was stubborn and stayed sitting...

*Dave didn't know what to do, luckily for him our hero came to the rescue...*Dave moved out of the way and watched in wonder...

As *Lucy (*not her real name) helped pick up the pigeon....with her bare hands (yuck!) and carried the poor pigeon out of the way. Now I must apologize as the picture I snapped of *Lucy is quite possibly the worst picture anyone could post on a blog...So I am sorry *Lucy that I snapped away so quickly to see you pick up mr. pigeon and save the day.. To bad a few minutes later he ended up falling off the curb you placed him on and almost landing under the wheel of another car...but it was the thought that counted....

Who said nothing ever exciting happens in this poor town of ours....till my next adventure...

Nothingness

2010-03-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

I have nothing to say....my mind is blank, there is nothing to say...
Nothing going on, nothing new, nothing, a whole lot of nothing....
The writer's mind is blank and so is her canvas...

I just wanted Pizza!

2010-03-12T19:37:00.001-08:00

I had quite a long day at work today, so I figured I would order pizza. Make a quick easy supper right? Well boy oh boy was I wrong....

Pizza hut is usually the pizza of choice around here....mainly because I am the only one who enjoys this delicious meal. I figured I would order a nice pizza from there since a.) they are close and b.) usually fairly cheap.

I opened up the phone book, found the number and dialed. It rang and rang and finally an operator came on. She asked for my phone number, name and city. So I clearly stated where I was from, my phone number and my name. The operator said to hold on, she was just putting the information in to direct my call. She then informed me that I would put through to the restaurant I had selected and I could then order. The phone rang and rang and finally someone picked up. The person on the other end of the phone said the address of the pizza hut and the location. I then informed the person at that pizza hut that I was in a different city and if they could please put me through to the right restaurant. She informed me that she could not hook me back to the operator and I would have to call the number for pizza hut again. So our conversation ended.

I called back to the number and again was given to an operator who asked me yet again for my phone number, name and city. I obliged and clearly stated that she had put me through to the wrong restaurant before and I would like to be put through to this pizza hut, at this location in my city. She said that she would and informed me yet again I would be put through to the right restaurant. I clung to the hope that she would this time indeed get it right. Well I am in the end, honestly not sure if I had the right restaurant, because after waiting twenty minutes on hold hearing about pizza hut and their yummy pizza's I hung up.

My attempt to twice get through to pizza hut in my city had failed me. I decided to go to their rival Panago Pizza! They have good pizza but it was slightly expensive. So I dialed in their universal number and got an operator. This guy asked me for my city, phone number and name. I hoped he would get it right the first time. That I would not repeat what had happened five minutes ago with Pizza hut. He said please hold while I connect you through. I was hoping he had it right. Within two minutes there was a voice at the other end of the phone. Success! I was able to order my pizza. It was so good, and it was probably a lot better than what I would have gotten, had I waited on the line for pizza hut to take my call.

I had to blog about this!!!

2010-03-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

I like to think that we live in a good neighborhood, it's quiet, and quite a few elderly couples live there. Well not much happens in the neighborhood to report. It's generally business as usual...well unless you've seen my pictures on facebook..that's a whole other story... Well I came home from work one day to find this oil rig put up in his front yard....

I thought maybe we could get use to it, after all people are allowed to express themselves and their interests in their yards. But I find that after it having been around for almost a year, I cannot get use to it. It stands there and stares at the neighborhood. I think this oil rig should be on a farm. It'd make a great yard ornament for an aging farm on their big wide open front lawn in the country.

Did I mention that it lights up at night? It emits a big glowing orange light...enough to light up his whole yard and house as well as his neighbors house and his entire front yard... So this is what I get to see when I pull up at night from work...the big ball of orange.

This oil pump is also conveniently motorized, it makes a loud screetchy noise and I don't even live close to him. So I wonder what it would sound like if I lived next door. I am glad people like lawn ornaments but you don't see my lawn covered in garden gnomes because I like garden gnomes...Anyways hopefully not all neighborhoods are filled with interesting lawn decor like mine. Guess I will just have to get use to it....I am waiting for it to start pumping oil one day, it apparently can do that.

2010

2010-01-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010...That's pronounced twenty-ten...not two-thousand and ten. I haven't been corrected yet myself on the new terminolgy but have corrected a few on how to pronounce 2010.
Not much going on, its warm out today...i would have liked to play outside but instead got stuck inside on a nice winter day and worked. Maybe tomorrow will be just as nice and i can lay out in the snow on the front yard and relax a bit...we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Three days till christmas

2009-12-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

I have a charlie brown tree...
beneath the charlie brown tree are presents...
What's in them? I do not know....
Suprises waiting to be opened on christmas morning...
Curiousity is on the top of my mind....
what could have been bought....
not to sure what`s under the tree...
It`ll just have to wait a few more days....
curiousity might just get the best of me...

Merry christmas

2009-12-19T21:51:00.001-08:00

Today is saturday...so I decided against my better judgement to head to the mall...attempt to do a few last minute christmas shopping purchases...what followed was a half hour drive from one end of the parkinglot to the other end with no available open parking spots whatsoever. I should have known from the traffic entering the parkinglot that a drive through to find a spot was hopeless. I decided against it when i was about midway through the parkinglot. If I wasn't going to find a spot, there was no way I was going to enter into the mall. For the amount of cars parked in the parkinglot, I am sure the mall was jam packed with people with the same intentions as me...finding that last minute present to wrap and put under the tree.

So I decided to go to wal-mart instead....not to christmas shop but to buy a few tags for some presents and to buy a few little ornaments for the charlie brown christmas tree i have set up in my livingroom right now. I told myself the only way that i was going to shop in walmart was if i found a spot near the door...not like i couldn't walk the extra few car lengths to the door but it makes a packed parkinglot seem so much nicer when you can park next to the door of the store. I did two rounds up and down aisles when the perfect spot opened up. I flicked on my blinker signaling that i was going to enter that spot when the car was out....well i had some competition, some sneaky young woman thought she would nudge her car in before me. So I stepped on the gas and steered into the spot only to have the woman honk her horn at me and wave her arms furiously at me....she was pretty upset but she was one isle over when this person started to back out. What gave her the right to attempt to steal my spot? After all I had signaled for about two minutes my intention to get into that spot. Plus i wasn't going to go to wal-mart if i had to park too far away. Just timing, if she had been there first, signaling for the spot i would have just driven on past. But i waited and waited for that person to back out and she sped on up to the spot as if to say it was hers no matter what. I was quite happy with my parkingspot...now i could head into walmart to do some shopping.

Well I found a few little icy snowy looking candy canes for the tree and some sticky tags to put on presents...I also bought a gingerbread house. I was a little hesistant to purchase the gingerbread house because my past experiences with gingerbread have been less then pleasant. I am less than patient with letting the icing settle and harden. I like to get things done and have the gingerbread house looking like the picture on the box...which i am sure is all a scam and those are professionaly decorated by a baker or something....giving us false hope that our creations could look that lovely. My gingerbread house never turns out like the pictures. But i caved in and bought one. Tomorrow we assemble it...last year i had to use the glue gun to keep the house together. I am hoping things will work out better tomorrow and the icing will hold it together....here's to hoping i don't have to use the glue gun...but you never know.

So after the walmart fiasco I decided to stay away from major department stores and chains until the weekdays because people work, so not so many people are out. I have one or two more things to buy but am pretty much ready for christmas...Our stockings are hung and our charlie brown christmas tree looks lovely. I will post some pictures of that at a later date and of our gingerbread house too.

Anyways I am off. Wishing everyone a merry christmas.

December!

2009-12-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

Hurry...not too many days yet to complete your christmas shopping. Christmas will be here before your ready and realize it's here. Anyways this year is pretty difficult on the shopping. No one really knows what they want for christmas, me included. Kids are so easy to shop for. It's easy to go buy a transformer or a barbie doll written on a piece of paper addressed to santa clause. Adults are sooo hard to shop for. What would you ask for, for christmas? Not too much time left to get it all done.

Well I think my blog is suffering because nothing very interesting is going on at the moment...so for those of you who still read this, I will update more when I have something interesting to say. I'm going to continue in my thinking for what people want for christmas.

November almost ends...

2009-11-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe how quickly this month has flown by. Next tuesday it will in fact be December 1st...how scary is that? We have no snow, but there are plenty of chinooks to go around. The wind here is terrible, it always has been. And in my 28 years of experience with braving the winds, you never ever, ever get use to it. Its a real headache most days.

So I was sitting here staring out at the brown grass and the leafless trees thinking how much prettier everything would be if it were covered in some wonderful snow. Unfortunately all my trees are tiny little shrubs, newborn little baby trees-so my yard won't quite look this good.

Anyways I miss the snow, I would like the snow. It just seems to make everything so much prettier and more wonderful than it actually is.

So unfortunately I am trying to be good and keep updating my blog but it is difficult. Too much going on, but i will try to insert the occassional smart remark or blurb about something. I have a few topics up my sleeve, just need to work on them yet.

Till next time, enjoy this picture of the snow until the real thing actually graces our yards and lets us build snowmen.

November...

2009-11-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Who thought November would come so quickly...but it has.
November is here and it feels like the summer went by so quickly.
Why does it seem time is going by so quickly?
Maybe I'm busier now than before.
2010 is just two months away....will the rest of the year
go by as quickly as November has come?
November...its here, it's going to get cold out.
I wish it was summer again...
I always say that once its cold outside...

August 1st

2009-08-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

It's august
where has the
summer gone?

I can't believe summer
is almost
over...

It's august...
I can't believe
it's august
and I really
have nothing
to blog about...

does anyone
read this?
or are we all
on facebook now?

It's May....

2009-05-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd mention it's May and its cold outside...updates to come at a later date when I have something interesting to blog about :)

A snap in time...

2009-03-29T15:44:00.001-07:00

Its been quite awhile since I've been on blogging. It just seems like life is too busy sometimes, that there is too much else going on. Life is funny that way, one minute you could be sitting sipping coffee. Then the next minute your running, running, running. So my blog is again neglected for the fifth, sixth or seventh time... But I dont really have much to say right now, or somewhere to draw my inspiration from. So until I find something unique or worthwhile to blog about, my blog might be a little dead...I apologize in advance for that.

Globetrotter

2009-02-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my absence from my blog. I was away for a week and a half and previously to my departure I was getting ready to go on my trip. But I am back now and hopefully my blog will stop being so neglected and forgotten. Not much to say right now except I am tired and will be doing loads and loads of laundry. I still haven't unpacked my suitcase, its staring at me waiting for me to open it up and dislodge the contents...if only it were fun to do so.
So anyways keep your eyes open, my blog will be brought back to life again soon. So until then, take care and get some sleep! I know I am going to.

Kristy are you doing okay?

2009-01-28T22:51:00.000-08:00

This is a song by the Offspring...its titled appropriately
Kristy are you doing okay?

There’s a moment in time
And it’s stuck in my mind
Way back, when we were just kids
Cause your eyes told the tale
Of an act of betrayal
I knew that somebody did
Oh, waves of time
Seem to wash away
The scenes of our crimes
But for you this never ends
Can you stay strong?
Can you go on?
Kristy are you doing okay?
A rose that won’t bloom
Winter’s kept you
Don’t waste your whole life trying
To get back what was taken away
Though the marks on your dress
Had been neatly repressed
I knew that something was wrong
And I should have spoke out
And I’m so sorry now
I didn’t know
Cause we were so young
Oh, clouds of time
Seem to rain on
Innocence left behind
And it never goes away

Apparently its 2009

2009-01-18T12:36:00.000-08:00

I have neglected my blog again...only one person has told me to update the blog for fear he might have to give in and join into the facebook culture. So I am updating it just so that he doesn't have to do that. But unfortunately my blog is less detailed than my facebook account is.

Anyways I cannot believe that January is half over, it seems like christmas came and flew by way to quickly. I spent most of the christmas holidays working, which is not a bad way to spend the holidays. I did have christmas eve, christmas morning off and as well new years day off. So at least i did not totally miss out on the holidays completely.

But it is again back to the grind of my usual routine which involves work, being at home and attending my kiddo's activities. Its busy but it is life. Otherwise not to much else going at present.

Well more to come....this will have to do for now.

Its still October...

2008-10-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

This month seems to be flying by fairly quickly. I've been busy, still in orientation to the units that I am going to be working on. Its my third week in orientation and I am feeling fairly confident and comfortable working on the units.
My patients are great, they keep me fairly amused and I have gotten several positive comments from my patients. One room appreciated my cheery smile and my upbeat attitude. Another one appreciated the fact that I did my job no matter how gross things were...in regards to poop...LOL...Another one said how nice it was to have such a pleasant young nurse caring for them. I haven't had any negative feedback no matter how difficult the job gets or how much pain the patients are in. I hope I won't get any negative comments but I am fairly new at this.
Anyways I only have two days of orientation left and then they are setting me free which is good, I am looking forward to working on my own and not following someone around anymore. It will be good to be independent.

October already...

2008-10-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

So obviously I am good at neglecting my blog, it seems like something I am just not that good at keeping tabs on. I cannot believe my last blogging was in august and it's already october. The leaves are falling off the trees, its starting to get cold out in the evenings. Fall is starting to show itself outside.

So this is a picture of a J-tube. I've been orientating at the hospital and it seems like all my patients have these tubes in them. Ok so there's only a few of them, but still it seems like all I've been this week is working with tube feeds. They're pretty cool to work with actually, and you get to push medications through them too which is alright. They aren't as difficult as I remember them being when I was a nursing student.

The IV lines and hanging IV medications. I only had one patient with an IV, and the meds came up pre-mixed. So little to nothing for me to do with that. But it's a learning experience since I didn't get much IV training in clinicals as a nursing student.

So much to learn and see. Orientation is fun but I can hardly wait to be on my own without a shadow, though I've had pretty cool nurses to work with so far that have made my orientation good. So it's the weekend, a small break before more orientation next week...let the fun continue...hopefully.

Its been awhile!

2008-08-28T15:55:00.001-07:00

So its been awhile...again. At least I've made an effort to blog more often and failed again miserably at it. But it's been a busy few weeks of enjoying the summer. I've been able to have a few movie marathons which included House, Gossip Girl and ER. I've painted a few new pieces of art, which actually turned out really good. I've spent quality time with my friends, I took a day trip to calgary more than once and I dusted off my golf clubs too. They were covered in spiderwebs and I even managed to get a few good days in at the driving range. I haven't golfed in a year and my attempts to prove I still knew how to hold a club and whack the ball proved to be a very daunting task.

But at least I golfed when there were new learners at the driving range and did not feel so out of place with my lack of skill and lost talent. I almost got hit a few times by a guy who was golfing next to me during my first session at the driving range. He wasn't so good at getting the balls far as he was hitting them straight up into the air coming over the divider and almost landing on my head. Golf is a lazy man sport, so I don't understand why some people find it so difficult to play.

Lazying around has been nice but I think it's time to direct my energy elsewhere before I go completely stir crazy. As much as I love summer and all that comes with it, it's time for summer to leave. Let it snow!!!!

Its been pointed out...

2008-08-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

That I haven't updated my blog in awhile and ofcourse visiting my own blog today, I realized just that. It's probably because I am way to busy enjoying summer. Between swim lessons, bubble blowing, and side walk chalk there isn't much time left.
So to appease all the people who pointed out that I have disappeared from the blogging world and from existence via email, facebook or whatever...look here I am!
This might be a boring entry though since I don't have much to say. Infact it may just end right here until I have something more to share with everyone. I will post again and sooner than last time. I do promise that I am alive and I am here still, I haven't forgotten about you just yet.

It was a dreary day in London Town

2008-07-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

The way to find out about your happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you really are happy- not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what I call "following your bliss." --Joseph Campbell--

My blog title probably contradicts happiness but can you be happy when it dark and dreary outside? The weather out lately has been swirling wind, tornado warnings (almost), funnel clouds looming above us. It gets hot, then it rains and hails and is miserable outside where you can only sit at the window and stare outside in hopes that the storm will last a matter of minutes. (like the usually do).

So are you happy? Do you know what happiness really is? Has happiness found you lately?
This is just one of my ponderings for the day since my blog is titled ponderings and perceptions.

Tagged

2008-06-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

So Mick tagged me.

The idea is to share six unimportant things about myself and then to tag six other people to do the same thing.
Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your entry

So, 6 unimportant things about my life:
1. I drive a black car
2. I live in a house
3. I love green tea
4. Spring is my favorite time of year but I am quite of sick of the rain we're getting.
5. I could survive on a deserted island and be resourceful
6. Other cultures are quite fascinating to me

I tag Adrienne, Garth, Sonya, Ashley, Jeremia, and anyone else who really feels like wasting five minutes of their lives.

Did you miss me?

2008-06-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

So it's been awhile ( a month) and my blog is yet again neglected. I think I just haven't had anything to write about. That or I am too busy to write anything. I cannot really say what is exciting in my life at the moment either, it doesn't seem like there is too much going on that out is of the normal for me.
So I guess for now I will leave my blog this way until I have something creative or intelligent to say at least.

A slideshow of Hula Hannah's Island tour.

2008-05-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is the rental car, I considered allowing her to ride on top of the car but it was quite windy that day and I didn't want to damage the paint on the car.

Our first stop along the road that winds down all the ocean. What a view.
This is Hula Hannah riding in the car...no dashboard riding for her.
We made a stop at a very mountainous region...actually it was the wall in the bathroom...(haha)
China Man Hat, a prominent landmark off the coast of Oahu. Can you see how it got it's name?
We were off to the famous Kualoa Ranch. A very interesting place if you have time to stop and spend there. You can ride horses, go on ATV's, take a jungle ride, a boat ride and my favorite the movie tour of the ranch.

Pearl Harbor was partially filmed in the bunker behind the sign.
Remember this log? It was in the movie Jurassic park.
Close up shot.
Here we are at the mormon temple in Hawaii. Hula Hannah had never seen it before.
The North Shore....no waves and very few sea shells to collect...(haha)

Having a Pineapple float at the Dole Factory. It was really tasty.
Hula Hannah wanted to pose with the pineapple. There were too many to choose from so we found this rather small one and she was happy.
She wanted to go swimming with the carp but I couldn't let her....they were quite hungry vicious little fish.
Taking a rest in the shade.
That is the Royal Hawaiian hotel, our next door neighbor here on the beach. Yes it is a PINK hotel.

That concludes the tour of the island for today.

At the beach and the boat.

2008-05-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

We spent sometime exploring the beach. Sitting, watching the waves, the people and enjoying the scenery. In the background is diamond head volcano. Hula Hannah was wondering if we would find a live volcano yet to get our picture by, but I think we're on the wrong island for that.
Spending time by the pool is another favorite past time of Hula Hannah's, only because it is not as hot by the pool and the sun is not shining directly down onto you until about noon. So it is the perfect spot in the shade to rest and relax and the pool is nice and cold. Hula Hannah wouldn't go swimming today though.
Hula Hannah wanted to go out on a catamaran ride, so being the island adventurers that we are, we took a chance on this catamaran that parks on the beach near our hotel. The trip was enjoyable with huge swells and big splashes. Hula Hannah seemed to have fun until a fellow passanger decided to lose his lunch all over the deck. Hula Hannah thought she was going to gag but luckily made it back to shore before she lost her lunch.
Docking back to shore...she's glad to be off the catamaran.
We followed our ride with a trip to try some of the local cuisine (hehe). Let's just say it is one meal that will not be repeated on the island. (The corn on the cob though was good.)

Hula Hannah at the beach.

2008-04-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hula Hannah wanted to go to the beach. Sitting, listening to the waves crash onto the beach is peaceful. She was getting restless though, so she wanted to go for a swim in the ocean.
She insisted I take a picture of her by the water. This picture was taken moments before a huge wave crashed into the beach and attempted to carry her out to sea. The rescue was quite dramatic and hula hannah was quite shaken. Hula Hannah said she would no longer be swimming in the ocean for fear that she might almost drown again.

When we returned to our beach mats, she wanted me to build her a sand structure. Having no bucket or shovel, this turned out to be a difficult task, the only structure I could build was a wall to keep the water off of our beach mats. She just sat and played her ukelele while I constructed this sand structure.
She wanted to go for a walk along the beach wearing my flip flops. I said that it was too hot to be wandering around the sun aimlessly because she refused to go walk down by the water which would have been better because that way you can at least cool off. So we did not end up going for a walk in the sand, she just ended up sitting on top of my flip flops during our stay on the beach that morning.
We did end up going for a walk later on in the day. She found another waterfall that was hidden behind the marketplace. So we took another picture with her and a waterfall.
Along our walk we found some volcanic rocks and plant life. She said her home use to be hidden amongst thick dense jungle and her and her siblings would have to walk miles across volcanic rock to fetch water and fresh fruits such as papaya, mango and banana's to eat. She spent sometime sitting on the volcanic rock reminising about when she was a young girl.
When we got back to the hotel, hula hannah helped write the blog about her day, just to make sure I didn't miss any detail.

Tune in later for the catamaran ride....

Welcome to the adventures of Hula Hannah!

2008-04-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

First let me introduce you to my travel companion, her name is Hula Hannah. She is a minature hula girl that I found searching through one of the many bargain places across the way from my hotel. The minute I found her I knew that we would have many great adventures on the island together.
Hula Hannah has unfortunately made herself very comfortable at the hotel that I am staying at. She is a bed hog, she likes her space and likes to be tucked in at night. She never stops playing her ukelele either. There is always a noise coming from her direction....even when I am attempting sleep at night....it is starting to get old and annoying.

In the morning she likes to be out on the balcony to just sit and collect her thoughts with the wonderful view of the ocean from our hotel balcony. During this time she likes to sit and be undisturbed and play her ukelele...so I usually leave her outside for a period of time in the morning while I get ready for my day.
Hula Hannah likes to eat a large breakfast. She likes her pancakes with her hashbrown and as well the orange juice which tastes a bit like something that you find expired in the back of your refrigerator....yes the OJ is nasty. But Hula Hannah is also a huge fan of pineapple. She won't let me take a picture of her eating pineapple, but I will see if I can sneak a picture of her on a different occassion.
After breakfast we took a stroll near the shops and she found these lovely water falls with a mosaic backdrop and giant carp fish. She took photo op's and played her ukelele for money, unfortunately nobody gave her any money for her songs. I guess she really isn't that great of a ukelele player...but don't tell Hula Hannah that.
Hula Hannah wanted me to put a flower behind her ear....as all the islanders and tourists wear a hibiscus flower behind their ears. So we took a moment and took a photo of her with her new flower. It did get to heavy for her to carry, so we left it for someone else to wear.
Later on in the day, we ended up meeting with Hula Hannah's hula friend and they danced the night away and she continued to play her ukelele.

To be continued...Tune in next time for the adventure with Hula Hannah at the beach.