Long dog yarns

Moved!

2012-02-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

Well Drew and I have moved again! We moved Feb 1st to New Wesminster, BC's first capital. It is a pretty cute town. It is full of historic homes and buildings, charm and amazing sushi! It is very odd not living in Vancouver and not being within walking distance to a grocery store. However it isn't forever. Our place is a lot larger then our old place, pretty much double the size, and the rent is half the price we paid as well! It is the same vintage as our old place, around 1940's and has original hard wood. We have a view into the apartment directly behind us. that's pretty special.

I have stopped working on social services. I hate it with a passion and ended my line on Tuesday. I was going to just not work however I decided to email my resume around and see if I could get hired welding. Well I did just that! I start my first welding job on Monday! The shop is called Broadway welding. It's a little custom fabrication shop customising in all things original. I'll be mostly arc welding which is great since I'm good at it. I'm excited to learn all sorts of new things like using a brake press and tig welding.
This week we started wire welding (mig). it took me a couple days to figure it out since I was set in my ways with arc welding. But now I have excelled again! I have pretty much passed all welds that I have done within the last 2 days. I still like arc way more although mig is way easier.

Drew cannot decide what he wants to do. He has decided he wants some kind of trade, but that is as far as he has gotten. I think he needs to just jump in and do something. If he hates it then he can work until he pays off any school debt that is incurred and start again. I'm trying to talk him into welding. He can shadow a student for the day to help make up his mind. And the cool thing is, I would be the one he shadows. Every couple weeks I have someone shadow me welding for the day.
Today I had a guy shadow me all day. He was a banker, and like me he has grown to hate serving and helping people. After his day today he has decided to come into the welding program! he is going to come back and shadow me when we are welding aluminum. It's funny to hear all the stories about why people are becoming welders. And the most common thing (beside the money) is that they are sick of serving people. I think its cool that more people are leaving the service industry to come into the blue collar industry!

Anyways, we need a brake job in the element. Anyone know of a good cheap shop to take it to? Drew and I both got new glasses! I got mine last week and Drew is still waiting. His should be here next week. I'll make sure to post some pictures of my handsome man.

2012-01-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

So the picture on the left is a picture of me in the summer 6 months ago. The picture on the right is a picture taken a week ago at my work, in the bathroom. To date i have lost 60 pounds since the summer. I am half way to my goal weight!! I have been working hard and eating right and it is all paying off!

I have been doing some painting.

Momma likes this one.
Drew and I went to a function on Saturday and had to bus home. It was a pretty great ride. except for the part where we chased the bus, and then got scolded by the driver.

On Sunday Drew and I went to the museum of Anthropology. It was fantastic! After the museum we went to one of our favorite coffee shops and had snacks

This is a picture out of my favorite coffee shop window. Saltspring Island coffee is pretty much the best that there is

2011-12-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, Time has been flying. I have already been in my welding course for a month and it seems like it has only been a week at most.
I LOVE welding, no joke! Mom and dad make fun of my welding ego, but it isn't hard to have a huge ego when you are the best in your class. That's right folks. I am a good welder!

Lap joint and single v weld and a jittery free hand torch cut- all on steel

I love everything about welding! I love not having to talk to anyone, I love knowing what I will be doing every day.
I love that I have an expectation of my welds, I love the pressure I am under and the slight danger that I am in every time I get into the shop.
I love the smell of welding and the noises. I love the machinery, and the manliness of it all.
I mostly love that I can weld circles around almost everyone in my class. I hate not being able to brag about how good I am to the rest of my class. However my teacher does talk about how good I am and it only adds fuel to my ego fire.

Anyways, enough about how great I am.

We are super excited about the holiday's. Even though Drew and I have to work threw it, it is nice to have each other. Drew has Christmas day off and I work until 4pm. We are making plans with Drew's sister and her husband for dinner. We are hoping to go to Denny's or for some cheap Chinese food. But we may resort to cooking dinner here, which wouldn't be too bad either. It's hard since Robyn's husband is so allergic to pet hair.

We have our little tiny Christmas tree up and decorated. We found the coolest tree ever this year. It is a rosemary bush in the shape of a tree! So we get to eat and smell the tree all year round.

Drew is still working at Merchies tea. He is still looking for a different job and has only had one call back. The economy really is bad when the only other job to call back is a pizza place. We are hoping that maybe Drew could get a job driving a bus for the time being. He is looking into taking a course at BCIT to upgrade his degree and specialize in something. He was kicking the idea of train conductor or engineer. We will see what he decides.

I have requested holidays off at the end of this month however I still haven't found out if I got the days off or not. I will be disappointed if I don't get them as I would love to come down to the interior for the new year. I have a feeling that I wont get the holiday though. I will find out if I get a reading break during the spring and will request that time off of work if this holiday doesn't work out.

We had our Christmas dinner the other night at Drew's cousins home here in Vancouver. It was so nice to see his side of the family. Doug was there too! he gave us a beautiful set of new pots and pans. They are super heavy and cook everything perfectly even! So far we haven't ruined them with burned rice or oatmeal.

Drew has been super supportive and wonderful while I am in school and working. Every night he makes a large lunch for me so I don't' have to worry about what I am going to eat. I'm finding it really hard to manage my time between school and work and all other things. Drew has been the perfect husband keeping things running smoothly at home. Without him, things would have fallen apart already. Drew does everything from doing the laundry to making dinner, walking the dogs and grocery shopping! It really helps having such a wonderful man around. Thank you Drew!

A couple of weeks ago my trainer did my measurements again. This time I lost a whopping 7 inches off my body and 1.5 % body fat! How cool is that!? I lost 5 inches off my abdomen alone. I still haven't lost a single inch off my arms. But I do have a rather large muscle in my calf that makes me look like a have a calf fat roll. Yuck. I'm working hard to lose more weight but with being so busy I have lost a bit of interest. But I am sure that I will continue to lose weight but maybe just a bit slower now.

Other then that, things are pretty normal. Car runs good, dogs are healthy, cat is needy and vocal and our place is still tiny. Hopefully we can move out of the city this summer and move somewhere we would never expect to live. Maybe in the Cariboo or Kootenays? Who knows where we will end up. But its exciting to think about!

Busy Bee

2011-11-10T12:30:00.001-08:00

Drew and I have been so busy with work and living the Vancouver life. I"m still working full time evenings and Drew is now working down town at a different store and works days. It sucks working opposite shifts but it will only be for a while longer.

I start welding school on Monday and my stomach is turning. It is super scary spending a ton to do something that you may or may not hate. I expect that in the end I will like it, but think that the beginning will be super hard. I have read some of the welding books already so I know a bit about what I will be doing. I don't want to go in being the only person who has never welded. I'm sure most students took some sort of welding in high school.

We got to see Doug a couple of weeks ago. Drew's sister and her husband just returned from a long visit to Thailand. We all met up for a fantastic dinner at the Sand Bar on Granville Island.

I have been working out with a personal trainer often. I love it! So far I have lost about 5 inches off my body and 1.6% body fat! I'm pretty much amazing since most people my size only lose .5-1% body fat. It is an amazing feeling giving away almost all your clothes to someone who needs them. I'm stuck with 2 pairs of pants and a few shirts now. However I wont buy anything else until I'm down a couple more sizes just to save some money.

My computer finally hit the dust so I am not able to post pictures as my tablet doesn't have usb ports to connect my camera.

I have started to weave a scarf for myself out of tosh sock yarn and am using emerald city and twig as the colors (sorry for the weavers talk). I love how subtle the pattern is and how luxuriously soft the yarn is. I am using a new method of putting paper under the warping threads however the warp ends keep falling off the paper and making the tension loose or way to tight. I think I may have to take the paper out and re tighten the warp. But knowing me, that will back fire.

Drew and I are thinking about where we want to move next. Although we love Vancouver, it is a very expensive place to live. I'm done school in June and then we can move anywhere in BC until I have my red seal certificate to allow me to work anywhere in Canada. Halifax has the large boat building contract, so maybe I could get a job there welding? I do need to come back to get more levels of welding however school is only 4 months long after this year and then 2 months long after that. I can easily find a place to live for such a short term.

The Dogs are amazing as always. Smudge seems to be getting a little fat so he is on a diet. Lola seems to be thin so she gets to eat a bit more. Its funny how even dogs have different body types. Smudge is way more active and eats the same as Lola but is a lot fatter. Poor boy

Yesterday night Drew and I were searching craigslist free stuff and found that someone was giving away their bed frame and box spring! We emailed and withing 2 min got a call back asking if we could come right away. So last night Drew and I got to sleep off the floor for the first time in ages! We feel like real adults now. HAHA. It is funny to see a king size bed in such a tiny room. We literally only have a couple of feet on either side of the bed and a half foot at the end. But now the heat doesn't blow in our face and the dogs can't get on the bed.

Other then this, I have been spending some of my spare time downtown at the art gallery for Occupy Vancouver. I know it has some bad publicity since a girl over dosed. but I still like what Occupy stands for. I think the media is giving Occupy such a bad name however it is such a wonderful cause. Plus they have free food that is delish!

The Beach

2011-09-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Drew and I go to the beach pretty much every day. It is nice that I start work at 4 most days so I get to hit the beach for a couple hours before having to leave. Drew joins on his day off or will often meet me for an after work beach picnic.

The Pets

2011-09-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

The dogs have been amazing. They have settled into city living. It took a really long time for them to stop barking at car alarms and sirens. But now the noise doesn't seem to effect them. However the jingling of keys set them off like a pair of cage fighting dogs. I guess all dogs have their triggers, keys are ours.

Drew came home from work one day with the largest cat scratching post ever. Igor LOVES laying on the top two steps and watch the world go by.

Sun Set Pics

2011-09-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to live just a 2 min walk to a view of the ocean! We have this little grass park at the end of our road where not a lot of people go to. My friends and I go tanning there. The other night was a great evening for a walk with the dogs and a camera. We have the best Sunset views from our little grass park.

Bowen Island date.

2011-09-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Drew and I both had a day off in Aug and decided to spend the day hiking and shopping at Bowen island.
First stop we headed to the beach and found this great dead tree.

There was this great cliff behind this old building that was covered in chain link.

Drew hugging a big Tree

Drew took this on our search of a lake.

Instead we found this marsh with grasses taller then Drew

Waiting for the ferry we spotted this little guy who was eating a fish.

Family Reunion

2011-09-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

In July we had a reunion, the first in years that I have been able to attend. Not that we have them often, Maybe once every 5 or 6 years. Any ways. this Year it was at the cabin. Which was wonderful to be away from the city and get to see everyone finally get to see mom and dads slice of heaven.

Helmican Falls

some of the cousins.

Smudge after getting into ants

poor boy.

Drews Grad

2011-09-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is Drew's Grad. We couldn't get up close to him, so these are the best I have. You are welcome to use them if you want a copy to print off.

Something To Laugh At

2011-09-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

Mom asked that we take pictures of myself in my welding gear. These are the best of the ones that Drew took.

Anyhoo. This is me in my gear.
Laugh away- we did.

More good news!

2011-08-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well I have more good news!

Last week I FINALLY had my orientation at my new job.. I wowed them with my wits and charmed the shit out of the manager. That was Friday.
Today is Monday. And Today I landed a full time position with the company!

I am so happy to get away from autism. I admire the people who can do it. However I just don't have it in me any more. I have never had so many bruises, bite marks, scratches, gouges and pulled muscles in my life.

My new job is working with street entrenched youth. I will be working in a safe house environment where they can come and go. However they have some guide lines they have to follow while in care.

My new shifts is
Monday 4-12
Tuesday 4-10
Wednesday off
Thursday off
Friday 4-10
Saturday 8-4
Sunday 10-4

Sadly I work every single weekend. But it is only for a year. It works out perfect for my schooling which ends at 1pm! My manager had to juggle Friday around for me as it was supposed to be a morning shift. But YAY! Everything worked out!

Drew worked this weekend so I spent it hanging out with friends! I bought a new road bike for myself as Madame wasn't made for long rides. The bike I bought is old but a lot lighter. It has flat tires so today I watched a video on how to change them. And blasted off to MEC to buy new tires and tubes. I'm going to change my own tires. And that makes me feel pretty awesome. I also got red bullhorn handle bars for my bike. They are pretty sexy! I got them for a steal on ebay.

I also went to Whistler with my best friend Amy for the afternoon. we had a blast! We went on a walk to see a waterfall. had a picnic and fed the blue jays. We shopped around and hung out in the element and smoked a Cuban cigar and drank spiked slushes. We went for dinner at the South end hostel and had yummy food. Sadly we had to say good bye after that. We are both going threw a lot of changes in our lives and having a best friend in "person" is a really good thing.

Today I got a new tattoo on my arm that reads "all you need is love" and then it has 2 roses, one on either side.

Things are looking up! And I am super excited to see what the future has for us.

Sharing the news

2011-08-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well I'm writing this at work because I can't wait to get the news out. I start the welding program November 15th at 7am!!!

After so many years of thinking I am going to be a nurse and after this year of working non stop helping everyone but myself, mentally and physically burning out, putting Drew and myself second to work, and deciding that nursing isn't something I am going to pursue. I decided to go a completely different rout. I have decided to go into a trade.

Not just any trade, but a trade that needs precision, accountability, a steady hand, quick judgement, and a lot of strength. I chose welding.

Now I have gotten a fair bit of questioning from both sides of the family. Why would I change my mind in such a drastic way?

Well We have huge plans for our future. We want certain things and a different quality of life then we have now. Nursing wouldn't bring us any closer to our dreams for a long, long time. I see my nursing friends struggle with loan payments on top of normal day to day spending ie: mortgage/rent and bills and they are always doing a balancing act. I'm going to be 30 in a few short months. By the time I am done nursing I will be 34 with 10 years of student debt bringing me to 44 before being able to live happily debt free before owning a home and opening our restaurant.

Welding is a fast track. It is something that I will be very good at. I enjoy hard work and I believe that I will enjoy the things that come with hard work. I will be done all three modules by the age of 32. I will work for full wage between courses and will be able to go threw school virtually debt free (except for the first module).

Drew and I will be able to to travel to all areas of Canada with my work or if we want we can travel abroad! Welding is dynamic and has hundreds of different jobs and skill sets and I will easily find a job suited to me. Welding has also become a very coveted art. People love welded sculptures and I can see my creativity soar with this new skill.

I will be a pioneer for other women that want to weld. As of this date only 4% of welders are females. Prospecting Employers are always looking for female welders as women have a steadier hand and are more detail oriented. I will never struggle for work.

The wages are outrageous. We will never go without anything again. Never have to decide what bills to pay first and worry about missing out on fun things with family and friends. We wont have to struggle to make ends meet. We will get to worry about fun things like how we are going to spend our vacation, where we want to go for dinner, what Hummer to take to town. HAHA just joking about the Hummer. Making a trip to Manitoba wont be the end of the earth for us.

Drew and I will be able to retire at an age where we can still enjoy life, own our shop and live on our little farm -years before we could if I went into nursing.

I know that many people can't see why I would want to do such a thing. I really hope that I have opened your eyes to how we see it. And if this doesn't work out? Well then I have one more incredible skill that not a lot of women have. And I can make beautiful art for all of you!

I hope you guys share my enthusiasm as I am ecstatic for our future!

Madame

2011-07-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well I named my wonderful bike Madame. For our 6 year anniversary Drew bought me a bike rack and a basket to fit on the top. It is perfect! He also bought me a pair of Tom's (shoes) that are sparkly silver. I love them!

I have been biking every day whether to the beach, Granville island, downtown or to the market. It is so nice not to have to worry about parking and always having change. Plus it is nice knowing that I am burning some calories.

I don't think that many people know that I have started to jog. I am following the couch to 5k plan. Take a look here. So far so good! I jogged a ton in high school for about a year and then stopped and got fat. So I'm hoping I can trim down again.

Drew is enjoying his job although not loving the commute every day. It sucks when you have to cross one bridge let alone two bridges and pass through downtown. Poor guy.

Lola and Smudge are doing great! Smudge has been jogging with me and does really well. I was scared that he would trip me or I would choke him when he stopped. But so far we have an understanding. He actually loves it! He is such an active dog and Lola really slows us down when we go for walks. She hates walking more then anything. She used to love it but I think that us being so lazy really put a funk on her wanting to walk. But now Drew and I are so active we hope that she will start to love walking again.

A couple weeks ago we had a family reunion at the cabin. It was a lot of fun! Drew caught his first fish and I went white water rafting with my cousins! I got to see cousins that I haven't seen since Drew and I lived in Brandon.

Our place is coming a long with all the art on the walls. I have a little sewing table and Drew has a guitar area. Last week we rode our bikes downtown and we bought some zebra print fabric and I sewed some new pillows for our couch.

We got to the bottom of the smell in our place. It was the stove. It isn't working properly and emitting a ton of carbon monoxide and some other exhaust. It was actually really bad, the gas company came and shut off our gas until the landlord fixes it. The landlord however, is beyond cheap. the whole stove unit needs to be replaces but she wont buy us a new one. She keeps getting people to look at it but no one can fix it. It is become annoying. She dropped off a hot plate and told us she didn't know how long it will take to get fixed.
I give her a week before I report her to the tenants act of BC. We lived with carbon monoxide for 3 months and complained numerous times. But we don't' want to leave. We love our little place.

Other then that, the weather has been shit. The last 2 days were wonderful but today is shit again. I was hoping that it was going to be nice and took the day off. I did get to have a bike ride. and will go for a jog and take the dogs for a walk. But no beach today. Although I did spend the day at the beach yesterday, all by myself with a good book some tunes and Madame.

We have also been investigating some restaurants around our area. There is an amazing sushi place called the Eatery. It is a crazy busy place with cool art hanging on the ceilings. Also we have found a great $10 beer and burger joint.

Xoxo

Finding Balance

2011-06-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to find balance in life right now. I"m working to much and not spending enough time on myself or with my family. It is so nice that I can step back from work a little bit and do things that make me happy.
Today I actually drew. Not very good as I haven't drawn a picture in almost a decade. But I was quite happy to draw while listening to Radiohead and waiting for the laundry to wash and dry.
Today I drew 3 things.

pigeon (charcoal)

dumpster diver -which for some reason wont turn the right way. (oil pastel)

I love Lamp. (oil pastel)
On Sunday Drew and I went to a couple festivals. We went to the Jazz festival and also the Latino Festival. While downtown there was a down town east side market and I got to buy a "hook" painting. It is of a city scape with cranes taking over old vancouver to build a new vancouver. Quite sad actually.
We also purchased a Ken Foster painting. We found him selling a large door painted up in an amazing back ally scene. I spoke to him and asked if he could paint me a picture. He said yes, took my $20 and said he would call me at dinner time and to bring $40 more at pick up time. I was a little skeptical of him actually coming back with a painting as he now had $20 and enough for a paper of heroine. But at 5:30 exactly, he called and told me that my painting was done. I was at the CBC about to watch an amazing Gypsy Jazz band live and aired on CBC radio 2. I had to sweet talk the ushers into letting me back in as this painting meant a lot to me, and likely to the artist who really wanted the money.
Well I got the painting and it is beautiful. It is framed in gold paint and is a scene from a back ally. Ken did it in Blacks and whites and made it very moody. I love it!
Take a look at a flicker account of his work here.

He came to collect his money with his lady friend, they were adorable skipping and yelling down the posh sidewalk outside the library. He waived my canvas in the air wildly so excited about what he had done. He splayed the canvas on the ground and stood over it telling me what it meant. And then some 3o-something yuppie came up to us and scolded me about buying art from such a person. I took offence and asked the yuppie, "what kind of person?" "You mean this famous Canadian artist with works in all sorts of Galleries across Canada?" and he rebutted "this dirty drug addict". I wont repeat what I said after that. But I think I came up on top. I was angry that this yuppie had the tenacity to say such things to someone they don't know and about someone that was standing right there. Ken didn't defend himself, and I felt so sad for him. Even though I know that he has to deal with the constant angst towards him and his lady friend, I am not used to people being so bold and outright mean.

I spoke to ken and his lady friend for about 5 more min after that. I could tell that they wanted to go so they could spend the money that I had just given them. And when I said goodbye they dashed away skipping and yelling some more. And I am sooo happy to own a Ken Foster painting!

Rescued Baby Hummingbird

2011-06-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

Bad Blogger

2011-06-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well it has been over a month since my last blog, I am following close in my mothers foot steps. haha. I feel bad and I am sorry.
About a month ago my parents came for a visit. It was so nice to see them. they stayed one night and brought up a bunch of our stuff from Kamloops including Sargent the scooter.
The weekend after my best friend Amy came for a few nights. We had a great time relaxing, going for walks, feeding ducks and finding out about dubstep which is a crazy electronic music. We ended up in the wonderful underground club full of crazy crazy things. It will be a memory that will last a life time. It was just that good.

Drew and I have spent the last 2 months deciding if we were going to stay in our little place in kits or move. We love our place and Kits, but our apartment has a funky smell that we can't figure out. We thought it was gas from the pilot lights on our stove. But it wasn't. We had a gas guy come and take a look and everything checked out.
We bought some window locks, so we can keep the windows open without letting the cat out of the apartment. Since we have the windows open all the time, the smell has gotten quite faint.

Last week Drew and I spent an afternoon hanging art around the place and getting storage for all of my shoes that were crowding our little home. And now that everything has a spot, the place looks great! So in other words Drew and I have decided to stay put. Hopefully for a long time.

We live in this amazing neighborhood and our home is only a couple of blocks from the ocean and only about a 7 min walk to the sandiest beaches in Vancouver. Our area is nice and flat with amazing houses and thousands of great stores. We watch people ride their bikes everywhere and seem so happy and in shape. Last week I decided to buy myself a bike! She is wonderful! She is a Mixte style, Apollo road bike from the late 70's. She is light and fast and makes biking fun. Her seat must be original as it is so hard. My bum is soooo sore but I expect the more I ride the better it will get. I ride everywhere around here now! And it feels great.

Drew is liking his job at Merchies. It is pretty easy after working at some really busy places. Drew also got a new bike! A couple months ago a lady at work asked if I wanted her husbands old bike. She said I could have it for free and that she would leave it outside her house for me to grab. Wow, this bike is amazing! Drew had to sink a bit into it to get it running. But it was well worth it. They guy at the bike shop was suuuuuper excited about it. Drew gets complements on it all the time. It literally hasn't seen a day of riding in its life. It has no rust or paint chips. Nothing was actually wrong with it except for things like the tires and the breaks were hard from sitting so long. People oogle his bike when we go for a bike ride and it is funny. We got this bike for free and little did we know that we got the diamond in the rough. It is a Bianchi and from the 80's. It is also a road bike and has the same qualities as mine... only better!

A couple of weeks ago Drew and I went to Kamloops from Drew's graduation. Thanks to Doug for allowing us to take over his home and over stay by a couple of Days.
Drew's grad was nice and short. He put on a show for the audience with fist pumping and raising the roof. HAHA. It was so good to see family and friends after being away for so long. We got to go to our old hang our places. I got to go to the beach a few times, and now I have a killer tan!

The dogs are great. Lola is getting fat as she steals all Smudges food. Smudge is still amazing with his winning personality and loyalty with a hint (big hint) of stupidity. I love his vacant eyes and his warm heart.
Lola is still the Queen of our home. She is a princess when she wants to be, and a total demon at all other times.

I'm sure everyone in the country has heard about the Vancouver Riot. Drew and I witnessed it and saw some very terrible things. My heart breaks to all the innocent victims. But we can assure you that it was a ton of people that were there just to riot. Although the news makes it sound like it was a few bad eggs. What Drew and I witnessed was about 10,000 rotten people. 100% of the people that have been arrested so far are from near by city's. None were from Vancouver. the city's near Vancouver are called the suburbs or valley. A lot of people live there for cheaper housing and the benefits of living close to Vancouver. I am sure there were rioters from Vancouver, but they haven't been arrested yet. I just hope the riot does not scare people from visiting our city or visiting Drew and me. This picture was taken on top of a parkade where we were hiding out.

Family is always welcome to come stay with us. There is a ton of stuff to do around my place and I invite you all to come. But not all at once. HAHA. our place is on the tiny side of small. But it is comfortable, warm and a tad bit noisy from the street.

I can't wait to see everyone at the reunion this summer. I am hoping to stay an extra couple of days. If Drew can't get it off he can take a bus back to van while I visit longer. Please don't forget to bring stuff to make home made wind chimes. This is the activity that I can't wait to do the most!

xoxo

Sunset at night, Sailors delight

2011-05-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, things have been crazy and are getting crazier by the day.
Where to start?

May 1st Drew moved to Vancouver with me! We have an amazing little apartment in Kitsilano. The smallest that we have lived in. But it's quaint, clean, and pet friendly. It has a funky smell. It drives me nuts and smells like old. Drew thinks it smells like perfume.

Our building was built in the 40's and has a ton of windows. We have been furnishing it with free stuff from back alleys and craigslist. We have been very lucky and have found everything we need including a dining table, chairs, desk (for the tv), love seat, laps, dish rack, and garbage cans. Ally picking has quickly become a favorite time killer.

Kitsilano is a wealthy neighborhood that isn't ramped with bed bugs like east Vancouver. So we find really nice stuff that isn't buggy.

Drew is still looking for a full time job. He is working part time at IGA where he used to work before moving back to Kamloops. He has had a few interviews and is looking forward to starting a new job at any time.

Lately we have been having some really nice sunsets. And we are so fortunate to be only 4 blocks from the ocean! We can easily walk to the water within minutes and relax. We have met my old roommates a few times at beach to let the dogs go for a run. Duke (their dog) will swim for hours. The other day the tide was out and Duke could walk hundreds of meters into the sea. It looked strange, like he was walking on water.

I started a new job last week. I kept my other job but have cut the hours down to one shift a week or maybe two if they are desperate. My new job is working with drug addicts in the down town east side (Main and Hastings). So far I love it. Like really really really love it. It is crazy work dealing with both addictions and mental health together. A lot of my clientele come from mental institutions that have closed years ago and also a lot of native men and women that were forced into residential schools.
I will be working in two areas within the society. One being at InSite the safe injection site. Where I will observe addicts shoot up and then watch for signs of over dose. I will also be providing the clientele with clean needles, sterile water and alcohol swabs. For those of you who don't understand why I would be providing junkies with needles, it is to prevent the spread of disease as in Hep a/b and C and also HIV.
The second area that I will be working at is in the hotels. The hotels are where the addicts live. My job is to man the desk and provide safety to the residents. I am the person who allows people into the hotel and stopping barred or bad people from coming in, file missing persons reports, checking to see if everyone is alive, and clean rooms when someone goes to jail or moves out.

This may be my career! I am so excited to be doing this work. It is full time and I get to work with other people with my mind set and left wing beliefs. There is room for growth, and since I work nights, I can go to school!

I can't wait to get our scooter up to Vancouver. It is still in Kamloops, however mom and dad are coming for a visit this weekend and will be bringing it up with them! Maybe I can scoot to work and not have to take the bus all the time. Although I have found a new love for the bus. It is a really great place to people watch.

Smudge seems to have settled into city life. Lola is a city girl, but Smudge has never had to do his business on cement before now. He could care less and that makes it so much easier on us!

Anyhoo,
that's it

We Did It!

2011-04-16T21:57:00.001-07:00

We landed our first place in Vancouver today.
And everything went smoothly.

We were having problems with landlords crapping out on us, it happened 3 times where we had the place but then didn't follow threw. But the rental dance is over!

Our new place is really great, even though I am still quite unsure of the location. I work full time In North Vancouver. Meaning that East Vancouver would be the sane place to live, just for a short drive to work. However we didn't find any place to live in East Van that was clean or allowed pets.
On Thursday I went and looked at a place in Kits. It was in a really cool area, was funky, clean. And get this....... the tenant is from Brandon!!!We have actually become friends and went out for dinner tonight and text a lot. Pretty cool eh? She even knew a friend of mine while I was living there.

Anyways, I like the apartment but again, its in kits. Not like close to east van kits, but all the way down by Jericho Beach kits. It took me 40 min to drive from work to the apartment in no traffic when I went to view it.

So today, Drew got together a bunch of viewings for apartments and I also went downtown and called about 40 other apartments to find a place to live. We looked and looked but still had this nagging feeling that Kits was where we should be. For now.

Well after viewing a 450 square foot one room bachelor suite for $1200 and some shitty other places we decided to call back Brandon girl and see if she would rent to us.

Voila. We have a new place!
* 4 short blocks the the ocean
* beside a comic book store
* gas stove and oven
* illegal cable!
* pet friendly
* free parking!!!
* lots of character
* tall ceilings
* storage
* 4 blocks to a dessert restaurant
* 4 blocks to Broadway
* best of all... we will be living on West 4th! (yes the cool street)

We are so pumped.
Also it is a place that mom and dad can visit and actually feel safe. I can even invite people over for dinner and a hockey game without being embarrassed. (unlike our last place)

We are as happy as pigs in shit.

Except I am dreading the commute to work 5 days a week. Barf

This is Drew and I on April 8th... my 29th birthday. Yes, I know I still look like I'm 19.
We spent the day at the beach walking, dinner out and lunch out. It was a pretty great day! I love my wonderful husband.

Mothers and Daughters

2011-04-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Mothers and daughters have this special bond that only mothers and daughters understand.

I am so fortunate that I got one of the sane moms growing up. Not everyone can say that they have a sane mother. Even though I was such a terrible kid, my mom never once gave up on me. She believed in me and my crazy dreams and also allowed me to be my own person.

I remember when I was 9 or 10 I really wanted to go into 4H for sewing. I had this crazy idea that I would design purses when I grew up. Mom helped me with my homework and my pattern making. Mom used to like to sew when we were babies, but had hated it for years before I decided to start sewing. My poor mom had to help me with almost every aspect of my sewing projects. I am pretty sure she hated every moment of it. But I remember how much I loved that she decided to help me. In 4H I had to write this speech about a scary life experience. It had to be two minutes long and had to be recited and not read. My mom helped me write this speech and helped me memorize it every night for days and days before my recital day. My mom was so proud of me after I did my speech. I got disqualified for my speech being to short. But that didn't stop mom from celebrating. We went for ice cream. Just her and I.

My mom supports my crazy lifestyle. I don't think she loves the idea that I love moving around so much. But she knows that it is what I like to do, and that is enough for her to support me. She always gives me a "pep talk" (lecture) with each move. I have come to look forward to them and cherish each lecture I get.

If you know my mom then you know what I am talking about with the lecturing. My mom doesn't do the mean lecture, but the worried mother lecture. And I love each one I get. My dear mother has a lecture for every situation.

Going to the cabin consists of:

*bring water
*check mouse traps
*how to turn on the Christmas lights
*how to turn on the fire
*fill the fire wood
*open the windows after a certain time
*drive safe
*drive safe
*drive safe

My mom and I share something else that most people don't have, and that is our birthday. My mom and I will always get to share our birthdays. Never do I have a day that I don't think about my mother, but on April 8th I am able to remember the wonderful moments that we have shared. Even the small moments. The moments that matter most to me.
I am so lucky to share such an important day with someone I love so much.

Happy Birthday Mom

Festivals

2011-04-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Gracious handsome husband picture.

I get my love of festivals and parades from my mom, and just like her, I get super excited when I get to go to one.
On Sunday imagine my happiness when my friend Dre and I stumbled upon a Persian festival in a local park.
Dre and I have decided to go for walks a few times a week when we can. On Sunday we decided to do the sea wall in West Vancouver at Ambleside park. We heard some pretty funky music and we saw some tents threw a clearing. We headed over and there was a full blown festival. What a treat! We got Persian food, watched people dance, listed to groovy music and then continued on our way.

After our walk we decided to go to this new Asian market near where we parked.
I have only seen the amount of fish and crab at the Aquarium.

We saw a HUGE, MASSIVE crab. I want to make a sculpture of it out of porcelain. I think that it would be amazing.

Yesterday we had an amazing sunset. My roommates and I sat on the deck with some beer and watched the sun go down behind the city. It was a great moment.

Today I walked the sea wall around Stanly park. It was wonderful, but totally freezing. I forget how much cooler it is by the water. It is also a lot more windy.

Also two days ago we had hail the size of golf balls. I took a picture off the deck at work. Crazy!

The Search

2011-04-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

I'm getting sick of searching for apartments. Today I drove around my area for an hour looking for rental signs. I found 4 but only 2 allowed pets.
One guy told me that I was a horrible person who makes the wrong choices because I have 2 small (tiny) dogs. He got to the point where he was yelling at me about the choice I made. I told him was was crazy, which set him off. I told him I was a good tenant because I decided to have pets and not kids. And that set him off into an uproar. It was really quite amusing as I needed a good argument.

I am looking at 2 places, one tonight that is way the hell in the middle of nowhere. Its at Frasier and 52nd. So really south of where I want to be. However the owner sounds really cute, and the rent is really cheap.
The second place I am going to take a look at is in a quiet dead end road just on the other side of Nanaimo street here in Hastings Sunrise. It has a big mural on the side of the building and lots of greenery and a nice metal gate to get into the yard. It is a one bedroom and that is all I know. I spoke the the guy today and he didn't tell me how much it was, but I expect it will be less expensive as he said it was small. He was also cute and made a joke about how his son failed obedience school and still yaps.

I am working like crazy all month. I don't actually have a day off as of April 9th to April 31! This will be a nice change in pace, and make the time without my Drew feel quicker.
I am keeping an eye out for free stuff on craigslist.com. You can find a lot of really neat furniture for no cost. I'm sure a lot of you don't know that Drew and I have rid ourselves of almost all of our possessions. I think that starting new is important when you reach a new level or goal in life.
One thing that I didn't get rid of is my shoes. Well I did get rid of 2 large green garbage bags of shoes, but I still have a lot more.
Drew is coming up this weekend for my Birthday which is exciting! We plan at looking at a suite that I had already looked at before, but need Drews approval as it is in a home. I don't want to make the same mistake I did last time with the basement suite from hell in North Kamloops. This suite that we will be looking at is in an old mansion on the third of 4 floors. it has a massive deck, hard wood, stained glass, and all the charm you would ever need. But it is a house, so likely noisy. I heard the person upstairs turn on their music last time and I could hear every word of it. However the suite was vacant so would likely seem noisier then when filled up with all of our crap we seem to acquire.

Ok I'm rambling again. Will post later this week
K

The Picture post!

2011-03-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

All right.. It's picture time!
These were all taken from my iPhone so not amazing quality... well not until I get the iPhone4.
HAHA ok.
picture time.

This is the nasty bed I got to sleep on at work. It smelled old, dusty and like man armpits

Mom made us take a pic with our new Element before leaving for Van.
This is Duke. My roommates wonderful pit bull. Can you spot him?
I'm a lucky girl and am allowed to take Duke for walks and hikes. This is Duke after swimming for a half hour. silly dog, doesn't he know its winter?
Last picture of Duke... I promise. this is him in my bed. lucky guy.
When Drew visited we tried to get into a White Caps game. Sadly it was sold out, but we did see a couple hundred extreme fans marching to the game from a bar down the street.
This is at Trout Lake. This is where Lola loved to frolic when we last lived in Van. This is one of her favorite places to run about.

And a pretty weeping willow at trout lake.

sick of pictures yet???? If not, then keep reading on. HA (I told you this was the picture post)

one of my favorite things to do is have breakfast on our deck and look at the city. One day I will have to take a picture with my real camera. The city looks far, but it is only about a 25 min walk to downtown or a 6 min drive.. it really is close!Most of my friends know that I love eating. I love eating bagels with brie and fruit with hash browns on the side and a nice hot coffee to wash all the carbs down.
This is at Bennies Bagels.. MMmmmmm
my first week here I decided to walk around Stanley park. I found this crazy tree. To me it looks like 2 or 3 trees humping
I also took a trip to Granville Island. This squawky thing wouldn't leave me a lone.
And one if the best parts about Vancouver is its cheap fruit and Veggies at the little Chinese markets. I can make a HUGE fruit salad that will last me a week eating 2 bowls a day for under 14 dollars!!! I do the same with salad.
And deep cove. Deep Cove has this amazing little hole in the wall restaurant called Honeys Doughnuts. It sells donuts and other amazing food... Like Monte Crisco's!

2011-03-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all!
Things in Vancouver have been going well. I am working at 3 different jobs and still have 4 more interviews. I am hoping to walk into a full time position instead of have 2 part time and one casual job. Things have been very busy and I feel like I am falling apart a bit.

The cost of gas is very high and the cost of fueling an SUV had gone threw the roof! I walk when ever I can. I live in Vancouver but have to commute to New West, north Van, West Van and also surrey. So I have a lot of driving that I have to do. I really am happy to have a reliable vehicle. Marge would likely have already bit the dust if we still had her.

I love the area that I am in. It is called Hastings Sunrise, and is located just off the highway and to the west of North Renfrew and east of Naniamo. I am looking at an apartment on Naniamo on Friday. I am really hoping that we land it although it doesn't seem to have a deck. We are also looking at a tiny little 2 bedroom house in North Van. We will see if it will work out next week.

I can't believe the difference between Kamloops weather and Vancouver's weather. It is so warm here. Flowers are out and the cherry blossoms are so pretty. In Kamloops it is still really cold and windy. It was quite the shock when Drew came up for a visit.

Drew is also coming up April 8th for my birthday. what a wonderful husband I have! I hope we get to do some great things together like last visit.

Smudge and Lola are on my mind all the time. I miss them a lot however I do enjoy not having to worry about them when I work a 13 hour day. I can't wait to see them again but sadly I won't see them until Drew moves up here. My work is unpredictable and I can't miss any shifts until I am a little more stable.

Drew is super excited about graduating! only 2 weeks left of school and then his exams and he is done for the next couple years! He will likely have to do some specialty classes to get him into an actual career, but not until I am done some schooling. He has been going to school for 7 years! crazy I know.

It has been quite rainy or at least drizzly in Vancouver and I am so happy that I got contacts before moving up. Nothing is more annoying them getting rain on your glasses then trying to wipe them clear with a shirt that is also damp from the rain making smear marks on the glasses. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. HAHAH. Today I had an interview for coastal contacts. It would just be fore customer service part time. But right now, the more I work the better and also quicker time goes until Drew is with me.

Anyhoo. I"m done talk off your ear.

The Move

2011-03-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

Oh man, this was a move to remember.
It went fairly well until I lost the bed. Yup, the bed flew off between Merritt and the highway summit. Traveling alone I wasn't able to get it back onto my very tall vehicle. So it had to stay on the side of the road.

My new home is great. I get a long well with my roommates and their pets. It is still a bit of a shock to have roommates instead of a husband. I have to keep the door closed to the bathroom now and do my own dishes. yuck.

The roommates have this wonderful pitbull names Duke. Duke comes into your room in the morning and crawls into bed with you, just like Smudge and Lola, only he is much much larger. He is a farty dog however, so once he is in your bed you can't open the sheets. OR ELSE.

I have a few work interviews lined up for next week already. Tomorrow is my official resume day and hopefully I will be working starting next week. Today I set up 3 interviews but I was more interested in shopping for living supplies. It was nice to go shopping and only buying the food that I like. Poor Drew will have to fend for himself.

Drew is coming for a visit 26th and 27th. We were trying to come up with a plan, but I think he has the Vancouver itch and wants to come back more then I want to go there. HAHA.

I also have a new studio that I am going to check out tomorrow. it is called claytek. It is absolutely beautiful. Take a look! really nothing in Vancouver could be as inspiring as the view from this studio. The rates are totally affordable too. Compared to other studios that are charging $150 a month.

Vancouver is so much fun and I am so happy to be back! Even though I am sleeping on the floor with a farty dog, I rather do it this way then not doing it at all. Plans still stand that we will come out this summer to visit.

The Element

2011-02-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

Well Today Drew and I bought a new Car.
With the help of Doug, Drews dad, we have an amazing and safe vehicle to drive.

We are so excited about it. We can go on trips and visit Manitoba, go camping at Tofino and also flip down the seats and sleep in it.

It will be very handy if I need to use it to transport clients and wheel chairs, or if we ever get large dogs. The interior is a plastic material and you can just hose it off. The seats are made of some cool fabric that just whipes clean, great for puke and wet dogs.

We are hoping to get to Saskatoon this summer after the family reunion to see Pam and Joe. And now we know that we can get there without worrying about breaking down. Really it is a peace of mind.
This was a ridiculously scary purchase and gave us buyers remorse before we had even purchased it. But now that we have it in our possession we are in totally in love.

She is sleek, sexy, black and fun! She is a five speed manual transmission with loads of torque. She is speedy and turns on a dime...
Get this.... She has POWER STEERING!!! I have forgotten what it was like to be able to steer with one hand.

She comes fully loaded. We were hoping for heated seats however none of the Element models come with heated seats due to some kind of sensor in the seat to tell the vehicle to deploy airbags. It is so neat to have power options and air conditioning which we have never had.

The back seats fold up so you have a little room in the back, you can also take the back seats completely out, or you can fold them down over 90%. if you fold the back seats back and the front seats back they line up to make a queen sized bed. It has 3 power jacks and an aux jack for our ipods.

I don't see us growing out of this vehicle. And we really hope to have this car for a long time.

Snow Balls

2011-02-02T15:57:00.000-08:00

Lola wants to share that she was tortured by being forced to walk in the snow.
This is her proof.

Altered tea pot

2011-02-01T16:47:00.000-08:00

Well I took this wonderful class at my studio about altered tea pots.

It was actually quite time consuming and tedious although I am sure that if you got good at making them they would go quicker.

So what is an altered tea pot? An altered tea pot is a teapot that had been contorted in some kind of way so it isn't perfect like you would buy in a store.

Our bottom half of the teapots were thrown on the wheel. Same with our lids and our spouts.

the top of our teapots are hand built. I funked mine up by adding a bark texture where the rest of the class left the top half texture less. I also added bark texture to the collar (what the lid is sitting on).

When you add the top slab of clay to your already wheel thrown base, you contort your pot in whatever way you want.

I decided to make mine have nobs to go with the tree theme and also pushed in a side.

These teapots also are tricky also you cut the bottom off the hand thrown pot and then reinstall a slab base... so you can make the pot into an angle. I cut my bottom off on a steep angle so the teapot naturally sits on its back end with the front higher.

It was such a great class that I am very excited to make more. However sadly I am moving to Vancouver in 4 weeks and wont have enough time to make one from beginning to end.

I also added some hand cut leaves to my pot as an after thought. I am so happy that I did! My teapot has a total different look then the others in the class.

I am so proud of this teapot and can't wait to use it. I hope that it will be dry this week so I can bisque fire and then glaze it.

I am so scared that I will wreck my beautiful teapot with my lack of glazing skills. I even dreamt that I ruined it. Crossing my fingers that everything works out.

chillin @ the cabin

2011-01-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Well this was a special trip to the cabin.
It will likely be our last trip until this summer as the move to Vancouver will take all of our time.

We were lucky that there was snow this year. A lot of snow.... past my knees snow...

This meant a lot of winter activities. Mom and dad went snow shoeing and Drew and I went cross country skiing. Sadly the snow was sticky, making gliding impossible and made it more like walking with skis on. However even with annoying snow we had a load of fun.

After our Ski we went to Helmican Falls. It was really pretty with the dome of snow below. We also saw that the dome has some animal tracks. I wonder what animal is crazy enough to walk all over it and not break threw.

The snow was 2 feet higher then the dogs. So the pooches got to hang out in the cabin and look out the window at the humans shoveling the drive way.

Gracious truck picture. This truck is truly amazing! 4 sandbags in the back and we can drive anywhere!

Moving on up

2011-01-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well more news from the Galloways.
Drew and I have decided to move on. We are moving back to Vancouver.

We are super excited about our new plan.
2011 is the year of change. Drew graduates, I will be going back to school and we will both be able to work full time!

All of this means we will make new friends, be able to do more of the things that are important to us, and neither of us will have to work as hard as we have been.

We are in the process of purging. Well I am, as I am the clutter collector. I'm hoping that my brother will take my chairs and maybe a trunk or 2.

We expect that we will be living in a small one room or even a bachelor pad when we move to Vancouver.

Our plan:
-March 1st- I move up with the truck and some of my belongings and maybe a cat or the dogs.
- March 1st Drew moves in with his dad. all of our stuff goes into storage in Kamloops.
- Drew continues to work in Kamloops to support me in Vancouver. Also doing final semester in University (full time) yes my husband is amazing.
- I will find a small room to rent for 2 months while looking for a job.
- Within 2 months I will have found a full time job (or 2 part time jobs) find a pet friendly apartment that I can afford on one income. Drew can quit working in Kamloops I will now support us
- End of April Drew will join me in Vancouver and we will move in together in our new apartment.
- Drew will find a job and we will get our stuff from storage and move it to Vancouver
- And we will live happily ever after.

I bet you are wondering WHY THE HELL I am moving March first and drew is moving in with his dad.
Our lease runs out March 1st. We could continue to live here but must sign lease for 6 more months. As most of you know, we live in a total dump. The lady upstairs is going to have a baby in April and this place has zero sound protection. (now they have an elliptical trainer-ugh). So living here would not suit us.

So this is going to be our crazy life coming up in exactly 49 days.
I am really excited and really really scared at the same time.

During the day I think about how amazing it is going to be in Vancouver, I think of all the opportunity, the people, and starting over.

At night I think about being away from Drew for 2 months, about not finding a job, about hating my roommate, and not having enough money to see us threw the first couple of months.

Sigh, this is a major change in our lives. Last time we moved to Vancouver it turned out to be a great thing. I am hoping that this time goes just as smoothly.

We only live once. This is going to be so awesome that it will blow our minds. We are going to make everyone proud.

Radies Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome time at the cabin for Christmas this year. We lazed about and also went for a little cross country ski and snowshoe.
I"m going to load you up with pictures of our holiday now!

Greg and Drew playing redneck... beer and guns!
Redneck wife. I have one hell of a shot
Drew got some targets for Christmas... shaped as gophers
On Wednesday afternoon we went to the falls. We caught it at the exact right time. The Sunset was so pretty and we were the only ones there!

The falls
Now lets all say this together... Oooooh Ahhhh
and more sunset
this is my wonderful Dad! notice the scarf.... I wove that
This is my wonderful and very beautiful momma.and the kids.....
And one last Sunset pic...

Christmas

2010-12-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

We are so excited about Christmas this year.
This year will be the first Christmas at the cabin. Drew and I will be staying in the little guest cabin with the dogs, while Momma, dad and Greg will be staying in the main cabin.

This will be the first time we do the family tree hunt. It will be fun to strap on some snow shoes and hunt for the perfect Christmas tree.

One actual Christmas Drew and I are going to see what people who don't celebrate Christmas do. We plan on going to a movie and then eating out. I work both the night of the 24th and the night of the 25th.

Pottery is finally coming out of the kiln all glazed and pretty. I have been testing white glazes lately. I have never used white as it is so boring. However with a hint of other color, white can be a wonderful background color.
I am sad on how my tea pot turned out. It shrunk a lot. and is heavy. I glazed it, but it won't be usable. I think the glaze may have plugged the spout hole.

We never have had more then one day off together at Christmas. This year we have 3 days!

Christmas will be magical this year. It will be amazing to be with my family at a place that we love. Sharing every moment with the love of my life.

Earth To Mom

2010-12-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

Don't forget you have a blog

bisque

2010-12-01T23:47:00.000-08:00

well today I had some inspiration from etsy.com and went to the studio confident and excited.
this is what I accomplished
1) a hand thrown tea pot. the body was done on the wheel and the rest was hand built. It will hold 4 cups of tea and has a built in strainer. the lid is light and hollow!

2) This is a cute little roasting pot. Great to roast dips in the oven with. I am excited to make artichoke dip in it when it is finished.( it does have two handles)
3) This is my first major piece thrown on the wheel. It is a huge casserole/roasting dish. It will be perfect to bake lasagna in or cook a ham in. I decided to do nub handles instead of traditional handles. I was concerned about the weight of the pot/lid (8 pounds) plus the casserole would break off the handle.

The dish and lid will lighten up once fired and will shrink a tiny bit. I can't decide what to glaze it. I was thinking a brown with white or maybe blue with white.

I hope that I can keep this up. If I can keep up the consistency then I know that I have gotten better at pottery. However this may have been a fluke and I am still quite shitty.

Pottery Bug

2010-11-25T16:21:00.000-08:00

I have the pottery bug again!
I went to the studio for 5.5 hours last night. I got soooo much done. I now hope that everything will be done before Christmas at the cabin.

The pressure is on. I have so much stuff to get done. Gifts, gifts and more gifts.

I am having so much fun creating again. It is like nothing has changed. Except with my absence over the last 4 months I somehow got a lot better!

I was making casserole dishes last night!!!

Yes It is true that I used to be able to make a lot of wonderful things. However last summer I kind of fell out of love for pottery as it was so time consuming and I was working a lot. When I fell out of love, I stopped trying. My pieces started to resemble shit.

Some of it was so horrible that I would just throw it out. No reason in keeping crap.

But last night everything came back. I love the feel of clay. Trying to center on the wheel. The smell of earth. And even the wheel burns you get on your hands when concentrating to hard.
(don't like the smell of burning skin)

I had a date with a brand new friend last night as well. I have known her for about 2 years however we never really chatted. She is a friend of my close friend Alli. And so we would bump elbows at parties and functions. We even bumped into each other in Clear water the last time Drew and I went to the cabin.. She is from Clear water!

Last week we went to a party at a friends home and we started chatting. We found out that we both belong to the same studio, we have the same interests, and similar sense of humor. And we totally hit it off.
I found out later in the night that it was a set up. My friend Alli knows both myself and Sara very well and thought that we should be friends. So she set up our whole meeting and started the conversation and left.
It is funny being set up to be friends with someone. But I don't regret it. I think Sara and I will be very happy together. HAHA

I have pictures of my pottery from last night. However you guys can't see them as Christmas is coming.
I know that I can't keep a secret when it comes to giving. But this year I am trying super hard NOT to tell people what they are getting.

I have also been coming up with a list of new years resolution's. Last year I accomplished both of my resolutions and since then I am very happy!
I quit smoking and I lost a wack of weight (sadly all from my chest and back)

This year it will be more about productivity and less about health however I will continue to try to lose weight.

Other then this.... I'm boring.
bye!

What better time to post

2010-11-24T00:24:00.000-08:00

Then 12:30am?
Maybe at noon?? Or 4 hours before or 10 hours after... Right now I should be warm in my bed, beside my wonderful husband, and above my cat. (who sleeps on my feet) Instead I am at work.

I like my job, I really do, however this is not what I want to do for much longer. And I feel like I am better then this.

I feel like there are so many careers that I want to do. I feel torn between the standard female run nursing and the male dominated Forestry preservation and also welding.
I am getting sick of women.

Women are mean, vindictive, and back stabbing. They love to gossip and pull themselves to a new high by making others look or feel low.
This is a common thing when you work in a female dominant career. And sadly, it is likely the only thing I hate about what I do. And because of this, it makes me question my next step into adulthood. Schooling.

I blame being indecisive on being an Aries.

Schooling is great, but only when you know what you want to do. But when you have a few careers that you want to try out then it isn't good.
Nursing is what everyone expects. My friends are all nurses, one side of my family produces nurses like mad, and I talk about nursing a lot.
But then we get into the women issue again.
Can I handle how mean women are? The thought makes me very unhappy.

Then I think about forestry. How much I love the outdoors, and my fairly extensive knowledge of BC's forests. (thanks mom)
I think about how happy I could be wandering and researching. Telling large companies how their buildings will effect our forests and wild life.
I like this idea immensely. But then I think about getting a long term job. Not small contracts. And realize that a long term job likely wouldn't happen in this career field. That I would likely be jobless half of the year.

Then I think, Welding.
Welding can keep me employed 100% of the year. I can travel abroad, work in a long term job within the same company for years and years.
It is hands on work. Which is right up my ally as this is how I learn.
I can make oodles of money and blow it on things like horses and land and sports cars. Then I wonder- will I live long enough to buy cool things?
Welding is fun and exciting but also very dangerous.
I kind of love being alive. You know?

I am perplexed.
How am I going to figure out the rest of my life? I can't seem to decide on what I want to be when I "grow up".

Life is to hard. Why can't I just open a yarn store and be happy for the rest of my life?

Smudge says "It's cuddle time!"

2010-11-14T13:18:00.001-08:00

LOST

2010-11-13T23:32:00.001-08:00

Drew and I went for a drive 2 weeks ago. We got lost. not a little lost. But a lot lost.
We got lost for 5.5 hours!

It was fun, but very scary. near the end we were starting to panic. We were super worried that we would have to spend the night in the freezing cold with the dogs in the tiny truck.
I blame Lola for sleeping on the job. yes that is a map... a very useless map.

However even being lost gave us some great pictures.
This is a pic of...... somewhere

We went for a little walk. We were prepared to go for a nice long hike. but the trail ended about a half km after starting.

Drew on our little walk
Drew finds a big bullet shell

We did see this very cool sign

And this very cool truck type thing.. It makes me mad that there is a pole in the way.

We found this amazing scenery somewhere along the way about 5 hours into our trip

click the pic to make it big!

Be Prepared for Red neck pictures!

2010-11-13T23:03:00.000-08:00

Drew and I took last weekend off to go to the cabin!

We have decided that since we never see each other because of our work/school schedule that each month we will try to get away together.

This month we went to the cabin and it was wonderful!

We played red neck. We shot things with guns. drank milk from the carton. Drank to much coffee. Slept in. and shot more things.

Drew posing like a red neck---(what we think rednecks pose like HAHA)

me shooting shit

I am actually quite happy with my aim. I haven shot a gun in about 10 years. Last time I shot a gun I was hunting a skunk in my parents yard. The skunk had just sprayed Scout.

This was Drews first time shooting a gun. I think he did pretty well.

The bugs were actually quite bad, even for this time of year. Drew and I had to keep covered so we wouldn't get bitten by whatever the bugs were. I got 2 massive bites when I was sleeping. They were so big that they had to ooze.

Lola and Smudge had so much fun! Lola chased squirrels all over the place. Smudge isn't nearly as brave and stayed near his humans.
They enjoyed a few tug of wars. Smudge always let Lola win.

I have been busy with Christmas knitting and weaving. This year people will be getting home made stuff as we are poor.
I made this for Drew! it is made of alpaca and is as soft as a cloud.

Brothers and Sisters

2010-10-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Greg and I went for a hike today. We went out to Lac du Bois as normal. I took him on the valley trail and it was so pretty!
The dogs were a little on the annoying side stopping when ever they smelled something.

On Saturday Drew and I had a date day. We woke early and went to Adams River to witness the sockeye salmon run. There were thousands and thousands of fish and hundreds of tourists. We were lucky though and broke free of them by taking a nice hike. For the most part were were the only ones on the trail.
We also went for a hike that day with the dogs and also went to the beach. It was a very full day and a very romantic day. I am so lucky to have the greatest husband ever.

click the pictures to make them larger!

29 pounds....

2010-09-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

and counting.

Today I weighed myself. I have lost 29 pounds! Mostly from my chest and back area as my pants still fit the same. But my bras are much to big!!
Most women would be sad about this. However, I am hoping that my back pain will soon be gone.

I feel wonderful! I haven't even smoked a cigarette in over 3.5 months! I feel healthy and happy.

On Monday I quit a really horrible job. It was the worst health care job I have ever worked. I feel really happy about my decision. It was such a bad job that it made me sick even thinking about going to it. But I am glad I worked it because now I know how good I have it. I realise how much I really do like my jobs that I already have. I may bitch and complain, however nothing comes close to the job I just quit.

I am living for hikes right now, I think about hiking and walking all the time. To me, this means that it is time. Time for me to get my shit in a row. I have been loosing weight and didn't even know it! To me this is a great thing. Since I hate the gym more then anything. Maybe I have found my outlet!

Our lovely day

2010-09-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well I decided to take Drew for a hike on the trail I love so much.
We went after work yesterday and it was wonderful. We didn't realize that it got dark so early though. By the time it was time to turn back it was freezing cold. But the Sky was blue and the cows were numerous.

I have done this hike many times and have never run into cows before... This hike was different.

Drew has packed us a picnic and when we found a place to sit and eat the cows came closer and closer. I was a little sad when they scattered when we stood up. I really wanted to pet one.

The moon was huge. We found that it was a full moon and also the Fall Equinox. I think for Christmas I will ask for gift certificates to a camera shop. I think these pictures could have been a lot better with a larger zoom.

I got a pair of amazing new hiking shoes. I like shoes more because they don't rub my legs raw since I am not used to boots.

The Bird

2010-09-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well last time I hiked up Lac Du Boise I forgot my drivers license at where I had a picnic.
I carry my license on me when I walk for ID just in case something happens. I want to be identified just in case someone pulls my teeth out and clips off my fingers. lol

Anyways today I went back to look for my license. And guess what was following us? The bird!
This time the bird brought its family. It had a spouse and a smaller bird (baby maybe?)
The dogs had to walk on a leash as the birds were pretty close to us.
I got a better look this time. Any help identifying it would be great.
Stats:
*reddish in color
*huge 4-6 feet full wing span
* has a white stripe over the top of the tail
* has an eagle sounding call.
(click picture to enlarge)

And look what I found

Today we went much further down the trail. We got to a point where the trail drops way down into this very pretty valley. Next time I go out for a hike I plan on following the trail farther down into the valley.

A nice day

2010-09-04T17:07:00.001-07:00

A couple days ago I took the dogs for a nice long hike in Lac Du Boise grass lands.
It started out really rough. You park then walk up a really steep hill. But once you get to the top the hills are nice and rolling so you don't notice the ups and downs so much.

An hour into our hike I heard flapping of wings and the dogs ran back to me and hid around my legs. I looked up and their was this huge eagle or hawk.
It wasn't a bald eagle as it has a reddish head. And under the wings was a lovely colors of red/brown. But the wing span was enormous. it was likely only 50 feet in the air and the wings looked about 5 or more feet in full span.
The bird flew along with us for a little while. I got scared and turned back because I thought it was going to eat my dogs. About 5 min of flying overhead with us it flew straight up in the air and then plummeted down to the earth. It came out of the long grass with some sort of animal and took off.
So the dogs and I turned around again and finally got the the grass meadow.
It was a heart pumping hike. But wonderful and absolutely beautiful.

I never ever have appreciated Kamloops. I actually hated Kamloops for the last 2 years that we lived here. But this summer I have found a new love for it. We spend much of the summer either at the beach at our beautiful river, or in Lac Du Boise.

please click on the photos

Things have exploded

2010-08-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well things have been crazy over the last month. And it is a good thing.
We have packed up and are ready to move at any time. We are just waiting for the ok from our new land lords. We can't wait to have a home where we can open the windows and not smell smoke and even better..... no more air conditioning! yes people do think we are insane. But air conditioning kills both Drew and my throats and also makes us cold. A fan works wonders and plus it is better for the environment.

The scooter has been treating us very well. I got to take it to my day job which is nice since I get to park it for free.
I have a new day job. I work as a drug and alcohol screen tester. I test people going back to work on the oil rigs and also for the ministry. I love this job!! I get to go home for lunch everyday and let out the dogs. I still work my other job plus I picked up a third job. What ever job can offer me most hours will become my secondary job to my new day job.

Drew has given his notice at the movie theater. I wanted him to just walk out with a big "Fuck you" sign on his back. But he wouldn't comply. I"m not entirely sure why he wouldn't cooperate with me.

Today is his first day at his new job! I can't wait to hear about it when he gets home. He appears to be very excited about the brew house. And even more excited about the great discounts on beer and food.

Drew and I have been going to the beach on our time together. It is a nice change of pace since both of us work so much. Even if we can slip in an hour or 2, it seems to help us unwind and lets us take life into perspective. And I love that!
Yesterday we drove down this road by the river saw a sandy island in the middle of the river and decided to swim to it.. We got to the river and found that we could just walk across. So we spent the afternoon at our own sandy beach alone. on the other side of the island the water was much deeper so we could go for swims. It was such a nice change!

Smudge will be going on a new over the counter medication (pepcid ac) for his puking and licking. Apparently he licks and licks because he feels nauseous. we can give him a half pepcid and it should cure him! I can't believe that we didn't know this all along. We have been dealing with daily pukes for the last year. I"m so excited about the prospect of a puke-less dog!

Other then both of us starting new jobs, moving and the beach, nothing at all has changed. We are happy and in love as always.

Sarge

2010-07-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today Drew and I sold our Volvo!!! What a relief. We turned around and got a cute scooter instead. We have decided less is more for us.
We still have the truck, So mom don't go fretting. The truck runs really well and we have no desire to sell it. Plus it carts our new scooter around quite nicely.

Well anyways. The back story.....

Drew and I left Friday morning to go off to the cabin for our anniversary trip. We took the Volvo and also the canoe and canoe trailer in tow. About a 1/4 of the way to the cabin the car decided that it couldn't handle the pulling of the trailer.. So we had to turn around and take the canoe and trailer back home. We decided to insure the truck and then drive it to the cabin instead.

We got the the cabin in one piece but sans canoe. Which was heart breaking, since our trip was all about fishing and paddling.

Anyways. We did a lot on our wonderful holiday. We went and saw Dawson Falls.

We spent a lot of time in the gazebo. Drew brought his laptop so we could watch a movie while being outside, BUG FREE!

We went back and forth to Clearwater and witnessed Strawberry fest, and a farmers market. We had a nummy bagel with cream cheese and jam at a little cafe called "the kettle".
We also went for a nice back road drive behind a village called Burch Island. It was beautiful!!
On our way home from our drive we saw a HUGE bear. it was an adult for sure and was about 300 yards from us. Not close at all, but still close enough to see that it was big. HAHA

Other then the bear and a single Deer on our way home, we didn't see any wild life. However we heard bugs or bees in the chimney buzzing around all night. Their buzzes were amplified threw the metal chimney.

While on our vacation we came to the conclusion that we needed to seriously rethink owning our turbo wagon. She wasn't cutting it. She should be able to pull 200 pounds with no problems at all.
And she made us mad by making our vacation a little less exciting.

When we were in Clearwater we received an e-mail about a possible trade. And by Sunday we were confirmed honda ruckus owners... On Monday we picked up our new bike. Got rid of the volvo. became a lot more happy. and started to take thing a lot more slowly.

We love our new scooter. We plan on modifying it and making it have more cc's. I think if we want to be able to drive the scooter up the hills here in Kamloops, we need to make it a bit stronger.

Tonight we took it on our first test drives! It is a fun little thing to drive... A little weird since it doesn't have a seat belt. But it will be perfect for us to have for in the city. it costs $4 to fill the tank and $30 a month to insure!!
Oh and his name is Sarge, Marge (truck) appears to like him. She had to give him a lift home tonight.

Now Drew is making me watch "the Passionate Eye" on CBC... Depressing story about all the shit going on in Mexico.

Vancouver

2010-06-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

Mom and I recently when to Vancouver for a night of fun! It was pretty impressive and slightly epic. Epic because of all the shopping I did.
We went for African food, where we ate more then naturally possible. We went to Deep Cove and had breakfast and a look at the cove. We went to old navy in Langley, We bought the store out. We went to Fort Langley and had Sushi, and played in the hat store. And stayed at the historic Sylvia hotel. This is only touching a fraction of what we did.
Here are a few photos of out trip.

You have to click on the photos to see the full picture. Ooops
Me hanging out of our penthouse window... look at that view

Momma sitting at one of out 4 windows looking at the ocean

Us eating African food. YUM!!

This is Deep Cove. Drew and my old stomping ground.

A picture of me in Deep Cove.

And a second picture of me... notice the wonderful feather headband? I got it at the hot shop in Fort Langley

Cirton and alpaca

2010-06-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well the pain is over. I hated knitting the citron more then any other pattern I have ever knit. This was by far the most boring knit. Except for the part where I dropped 2 stitches on the very last row before bind off. I didn't notice and kept knitting and made a major hole. I had to rip back 4 rows (over 2000 stitches) and re knit.
But after all the bitching and complaining, it came out pretty. 4 inches shorter then it was supposed to be (even though my tension was spot on) but very pretty.
I added a beaded bind off. And I think that was the ticket. It made the shawl pretty, and sparkly, and girly.
This is going to be given to my brothers girlfriend Daisy.

I have been spinning a lot lately. Yesterday I washed up some fleece and put it in a laundry bag and put it outside to dry. Today I carded it! It is wonderful!
Look at how pretty it is. It is a wonderful faun color, with most of it being white and then streaks of red and browns. I am spinning this up for a friend online. It is from her sisters alpacas, and since she doesn't spin, I am doing it for her. She is going to make 2 lovely shawls out of it. I have about 6 ounces left for myself!

Groovy Bracelet

2010-06-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

I spend my evenings alone, without a vehicle. This gives me loads and loads of time to shop (window) online.
The last two days I have spent in Vancouver with my mom, having a Mom and daughter night. While I was there I wore my favorite silver bracelet. I only wear my bracelet for about an hour at a time, because it is silver. My wrist goes green within a couple hours and then stays green for the next few hours. And I hate it.

So when I got home today, I noticed that I had left my bracelet on all day, my wrist was a lovely shade of evergreen.

So I ran to etsy to see what I could find. I found many very neat sterling silver cuff bracelet.
But one stood out to me. And it is glorious!
I think it would be wonderful to have "love" in sign language.

Sorry

2010-06-17T20:49:00.001-07:00

Well I am sorry that I haven't blogged in a while. Nothing has happened that is worth bragging about, or to complain about.

I had a craft fair in Barriere, and it went really well the first day, the second day..... well it was a hell of a lot slower. I don't think I belong in the craft fair circuit. It was long and boring, however I made money and didn't buy anything from other vendors.

Greg had his 25th birthday. He is getting old! We were fortunate to all have corresponding days off. So everyone was able to meet for a birthday dinner, here in Kamloops. Sadly Greg's lovely girlfriend was not able to make it. I was super excited to introduce her son to my mom and dad. But I was able to brag with pictures of Elliott and Daisy.

I also went on a date with my best friend. We went to Armstrong, and Vernon. We had bubble tea, shopped at a wonderful cheap store, sat in the Armstrong park, and had a pretty spectacular day.
a couple of pictures of us on our date

I also spun up some yarn and dyed up some fiber for a ravelry friend.
the hand spun was spun in natural white, then after it was dyed.

and this is a wonderful merino top dyed for a different friend

You're "Dead, Man"

2010-05-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Today Drew and I went on a wonderful date. We drove up Dead mans Valley just past Savona. It was glorious.

I suggest everyone does it. There are loads of hiking trails, lakes, camping and very very remote cabins and ranches. The scenery can't be beat.

At the very end of our drive we walked to a massive waterfall. It was amazing and scary. The waterfall is very remote. No fences to keep you from falling off the cliff.

I was pretty much laying on the ground 3 feet from the edge of the cliff to take these pics. I was terrified that Drew would trip and bump me somehow and I would plummet to my death in the ever fitting Dead Mans River. I know the pictures are silly, as you can see the ground. But I hope they give some idea on how high and scary this was.

The geography kept changing every few Km's from desert to hoodoos to lush to treed to lakes to alpine. It truly was beautiful and wonderful and I am so glad we took the time to drive out there and smell the flowers. There was this part of the road that was red, like blood. It reminded me of a book that I read called "Turtle Valley" by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. The characters in the book have to travel this road called "blood road" it is also a red road.

The coolest part, besides the waterfall, was the beaver dam. We saw some chewed up logs on the way to the falls and so on the way back we decided to check it out.
We found loads of chewed up sticks and logs. And then we found the amazing and very large damn. The dammed water was over 5 feet higher then the bottom water. (pics will explain)

Look! Beaver marks!

weaving.

2010-05-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well I have started a new and wonderful weaving project! It is for a swap that I am in, and so I am hoping that the receiver of my woven scarf will like it as much as I do. As always, the colors are off due to cell phone pictures.

I have also been preparing some pottery to sell on my etsy store.
these are some fresh yarn bowls

Brainless

2010-05-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

I seem to have lost my brain. It has gone to mush.
I have cast one about 4 projects in the last 3 days and each and every project that I cast on, I have had to rip back.
I seem to have forgotten how to count. cast on 54 stitches, four rows later I have 60 stitches! How the hell do I gain 6 stitches in four rows?!

I started a lovely new blanket and I forgot how to do a type of stitch... for you knitters the stitch is SK2P.... but I forgot to slip the slip knit over the 2 pearls.... I did this a total of 14 times.... meaning that I have 14 extra stitches. So I have to frog back to the row before and then slip all stitches wrong ways. ARGH.

I have been working A LOT. Maybe my brain is just..... dead?

I went to my knit group today and people were still excited to meet "Long Dog Yarns" I gained a lot of new customers and sold more fiber today! I also designed and ordered my new Business cards today! I should get them within the next couple of weeks.

I have been loving my new hobby, long boarding! And proof to my worrisome mother, yes I wear a helmet!

My wonderful, supportive, sexy, amazing husband makes the best cupcakes ever!

And Lola says that she doesn't get enough attention on my blog. I told her it was because she is black and hard to get a good picture of. This one isn't much better then any other ones we have.

Smudge is one!

2010-05-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

Smudges birthday was yesterday! he is a full year old!
Steve and Christy came for a visit and also brought him a squeeky toy... And he loves it!

Today he spent a lazy day chewing his bully sticks and relaxing with his sis and his humans.

Crafting....

2010-04-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Is taking over my life. I have been invited to more craft shows and I am so excited. I haven't even put anything on etsy yet and I am getting e-mails about custom orders. Sheesh!

Here is what my table looked like at the heritage house craft sale. Sorry about the bad pics. I used a panoramic app on my iphone to take the pics.

Also, I have learned how to weave! My friend Lisa taught me. I think I caught on pretty quick. It only took me 2 hours to make a nice blue scarf!

I love Fiber!

2010-04-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well I have been overwhelmed by tomorrows deadline for the craft fair I will be in.
I have dyed sooooo much fiber and made soooooo many luxury batts, spun a basket full of yarn, and divided 2 targhee cross fleece. (targhee is a type of sheep)

Everything was made from scratch, so all the color was dyed by me.
take a look!

Fruit of my Loom

2010-04-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

I did it! I bought my first loom. And I am scared and excited at the same time.
I have no idea how to use it, string it, hold it.... Nothing.

On Saturday night I posted an add on craigslist looking for a small portable loom. within 4 min I had someone e-mail me. I e-mailed her back within the min, 2 min later she called me. And Voila, I have a cute little loom for CHEAP!.

I think I should name her Dusty. She came to me very dusty, and strung with this horrible cheap plastic yarn that was much to fat.

I like her because she doesn't have any plastic parts as the new ones seem to have. I was looking at an Ashford knitters loom and found that there was just to much plastic on it. I was also looking at a rigid heddel and there was so much plastic that I thought it was for children.

This is Dusty, and the dogs.... fighting like normal

Todays work

2010-04-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Just stopping in to show you how much fiber I have dyed today and yesterday.. roughly 13 pounds.. which is a LOAD of fiber.... I have banded about 25ish 100 gram skeins of fiber so far... I have lots and lots to do still.
One of my friends decided to take a couple raw fleeces out of my hands! so only about 28 fleeces to divide up and sell!
FYI these pictures are taken with my phone. The colors are actually very bright but my phone doesn't have a flash.

these pics are about 4 pounds of fiber drying in my shower

I have 2 laundry baskets overflowing with fresh dyed product.

Birthday Season is OVER!

2010-04-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

April 24th Heritage House will be having a craft fair and I will be there!
Not there to buy (which I likely will) but to sell!
I signed up on Saturday and since then (Ooooh 2 days) I have been dying fiber left right and center. I have also been going threw all of my 30 something fleeces to see what to split up and sell in 80z bags.
I have been making stitch markers as well.... but I am not much for beading and think they look dorky when I do it.. So I think I will just keep the ones I make and not sell them.

On Saturday I went to Armstrong to visit my family for birthday season. Remember when I mentioned that I hate April because it is birthday season???
Well it wasn't all that bad. I got all the pottery finished in time. I bought cards, ate good food (apple ribs) and visited with my lovely family.
My ma and pa gave Drew and I a lovely patio set for our little area under the upstairs deck. Also ma bought us a cute little out door mat for our patio set to rest on.

I took some pics. All pics are taken with my sexy iphone.

Also on Friday my BFF Amy decided to have me over for a birthday dinner... It was amazing! we did the hot rock... like fondue but not...... Its a slab of slate (or marble) that is put into the oven to warm up to 350 degrees. then it is put onto a stand and candles are put under it to keep it hot.
Then its like a free for all stir fry. Amy prepared some yummy black tail deer, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, And LOADS and LOADS of nice large tiger prawns. Add a little oil to the hot rock and you have the worlds most interactive and yummy meal..
For desert she made chocolate toblerone fondue. She had strawberries, bananas and cream puffs to dip in it... and then CANNED (the best kind) whip cream to finish off.
Greg was lucky enough to join us. (Amy insisted)(I agreed). Plus he made us a yummy drink from Port that he was saving.
This week has been a good one!

Cheers and beers!

Lac Du Bois

2010-04-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

While I have had pneumonia for the last week I have been going stir crazy. I have still been going to work and also been going for hikes.
Even though I have been sick, I have been super productive.

Here are some pics of my hiking trips out to Lac Du Bois.

Sharing

2010-03-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

I am sharing with you my Kids in the Hall skit.
I have seen every skit but for some stupid reason, this is my favorite.

enjoy!!

iPhones and headaches

2010-03-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday I made the plunge and bought a new cell phone. Since I had such horrible reception in my place. I missed lots of job calls just because my phone didn't have reception.

So I bought the famous iPhone. Well I love it! except that I am on it so much that I have a headache. I squint when I use it. However having reception in my house is well worth the headache. I no longer have to go and sit outside to chat.

Porno for your taste buds.

2010-03-11T19:24:00.001-08:00

Home made Mr Big Bars....

Landscaping.

2010-03-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

It is hard work but someone has to do it.

A couple nights ago Drew and I decided to tackle the yard of our place. Drew hauled out old iron fence posts and dug up a garden area. While I raked the yard and planted grass seed.

I can't believe that all of the daffodils and tulips I planted last fall are coming up! I can't want to see them in full bloom.

Pics Included. Yes that is Drew about to throw his pitchfork.

There Once was a Cat

2010-03-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

That Loved His Mouse.

The other day we went out side and noticed that Igor, our 20+ pound black cat, was sitting funny in the garden.
We went to see what had happened. Had the dog next door hurt Igor to? Did he step on something and hurt his foot?

Well he had nothing wrong with him! Sitting on his back feet (remember he was sitting funny.... back feet were under neath him) was a wee tiny mouse.

We watched Igor and the mouse play for a few minutes and then realized that Igor had no intention of hurting the mouse in any way. He was very protective of the mouse when we tried to get it away from him. He followed us around while we looked for somewhere safe for the mouse to be let free.

Well we decided the best place to let Igor's mouse go would be on the fence.

I think Igor has fab taste in friends. He befriended our old pet rat "Molly" in a big way. He really did love Molly and licked her and she would lick him back. I guess finding this mouse was the closest thing to Molly that he could find.

See how tiny the mouse is compared to my keys?

Birthdays are coming!

2010-03-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness I do not like March and April.... and November/December. These are the months that myself, a crafter, despises. April is my families birthday month. Mom, dad, aunty, grammy and myself all have birthday within 3 days. Mom and mine on the 8th, Aunties on the 9th and Dad and his mom (grammy) are on the 10th.

I don't craft for my Aunts birthday, but the other four? I sure do! I am busy knitting, throwing and beading to my little hearts content. Well more like I have to much on the go. Maybe I will have to purchase a gift or two this year.

As a rule I try not to buy gifts for people. I like making things, Its cheaper and it is from the heart. I actually think about what I am going to make, plan it, illustrate it, and then put in the countless hours in finishing the object. I know that my family actually enjoys these things I make. So they will continue to get my hand made gifts.

Other people, I have found, don't really understand getting hand made gifts. I have had it happen a couple of times that I make something for someone and they look at it and say "nice" and then put it down. I think it is because my stuff looks like someone MADE it. It doesn't look like the things you can buy at the store. My stuff is never perfection. I feel guilty and embarrassed when I get a bad reaction to things I make.

So to keep me from getting mad at someone for not having the "proper reaction." I just give my pieces to my parents and some other specially chosen family members.

I have finally taken some pictures of some pottery I have made.

The Dream

2010-02-24T13:18:00.001-08:00

It is super hard not to get excited about the prospect of moving back to Vancouver.

Every evening I apply for jobs in Vancouver and then Drew and I look at apartments in the city. I have this vision of living in a beautiful very old building in a nice small Studio apartment. It has a couple nice big windows, shiny hard wood floor, and all the time period features. Like an old tub, crown molding, beautiful retro kitchen.

Our little studio will be bright. We will paint the walls yellow and have sheer drapes over the windows. It will be light and airy when you walk in the front door. And you will know that you are home.

It will be so nice to be around so many people and to be faceless. My therapist said that she thinks that We love the idea of being faceless. Not knowing anyone and having to run into people that we know. I think that I agree with her. Maybe growing up in a small town where rumors surround you all the time has put me off of the small town life, for the time being.

I do know that I love going back to my roots. I do love small towns, they are charming! And I do know that I would like to live in a small town again. But not at this time. Maybe when we get into our late 30's early 40's. I still have a lot of schooling to do. Drew does too. So to be in a city with loads of Universities, colleges and private schools is most feasible for us.

But we can't shake the image of this beautiful Studio Apartment that we both dream about. It will be small and quaint. And it will make us get rid of all the shit we have accumulated.

Aladdin

2010-02-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Last night Drew and I watched Aladdin. Neither of us have seen the movie in years and years. The movie brought back a lot of memories. It was such a nostalgic movie.

Aladdin came out in 1992 and so that would have made me 10 years old. I remember going to the Vernon Town Theater before there was a big famous players multi-plex.
I for some reason only remember going with Greg and my dad. However I bet my mom was there too since it doesn't seem like it was something dad would have done.

I think dad enjoyed it more then we did at the time. I remember laughing at my dad laughing at the movie. There was a part where the Genie turns into a sheep and says something along the line of "you baaaaad boy" or something sheepy like that and my dad was in hysterics. I remember looking at him and thinking "this is a great movie if it makes dad laugh". And I was right. It is a great movie!

There was a part in the movie when Aladdin and Abu are on the carpet racing to safety from a big wall of lava. I was so scared that they wouldn't make it out alive. Then whoosh the carpet takes a hard downward turn and they are into safety and I remember being so happy!

I was in grade 4 when the movie came out. I practiced the duo "I can show you the world" with a friend every day at lunch. We did it in a talent show for school. And we felt like we were on top of the world. I think that my grandparents had to bring me to the talent show because my parents were working. I was so proud for singing in public. I sang Aladdin's part and a girl named Jessica did the Princesses part.

I loved the music so much that I asked my next door neighbor to teach me how to play the songs on the piano. She even taught me play them with two hands! I was in all my glory playing Aladdin on the piano and singing away.

Aladdin was such a great trip down memory lane. I think that I will have to start watching all the old movies that I used to love.

Pottery is great!

2010-02-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today I grabbed my guts and decided to throw a bowl that is out of my comfort level.
I threw 2- 3.4 pound bowls!
The first bowl was a wee bit off center so one edge is thinner then the rest of the bowl.

The second bowl however turned out perfect! Perfectly centered same thickness all the way around!

I also made 2 soap dishes and 2 mugs.

My yarn bowls are being bisque fired as we speak and tomorrow will be a glazing day. I have 12 8oz bowls to glaze and 2 little saucers for dips plus the yarn bowls.

Pottery seems to be the exact outlet that I need for my stresses. Knitting and spinning are nice and soothing however I am alone when I do them. Alone means thinking about stuff.

Pottery means punching the daylights out of my clay. Then sculpting it into something beautiful. And meeting new people and getting to make nice small talk with them. Maybe someday I will make some friends?

I have also taken on the volunteer position of Maintenance Coordinator. I got tricked into doing it. I got lured into a meeting by getting excited about the craft that goes along with the meeting. But I think taking on a small roll in my studio will be my contribution to everyone at there. Plus then I feel like I have a real job!

I can't wait to start giving away my pottery! I know that a couple of my knitting friends want a yarn bowl. Electrictree, yours is being fired right now. We will need to make a date with your new son Patrick for coffee, chit chat, knitting and gift giving. Plus I really would love you meet your wee baby! Oh and is there a color you would like your bowl to be? Leave a comment on the color you would like. Sorry we don't have bright reds. But we do have a very nice breaking glaze that is red and brown.

Another reason to move

2010-02-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

We got into another fight with the people upstairs.
I went and got the mail and BAM. Verbal arsenal was fired at me.
It is time to move on.

Absentee

2010-02-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

Well life goes on whether it is hard or going smoothly. This has not been Drew's or my time. But we have been toughing it out... And like a smart, wonderful, beautiful mother of mine once (or more then once) has told me.... If life sends you lemons, make lemon aid.

This is exactly what we are going to do, make lemon aid!! We have decided that I am going to try to find a job in Vancouver for 3 or 4 days a week. I would like a 4 on and 3 off situation. And we will start moving slowly back to our city. We though that Kamloops was where we wanted to be and where we were needed however things seem to be falling apart around us. We were very successful in Vancouver and miss that feeling of happiness.

We have found that living in such a small city is very hard to find a decent job. I have applied at every single place that I can, being a care aide. And all I can find is casual. Casual meaning very casual. Drew's health isn't good at all due to all of his stresses. (yes we each have different stresses)

But I do think that we have a great game plan! Distancing our selves from here, slowly, will work wonders for us! It will be a couple of months until I start a new job. But it will be worth the wait! I have high hopes of our life. We can can do this! We can move on in our life and reflect back on this situation. Remembering how we don't need the stresses that seem to plague our young lives.

As all of you know. Drew and I haven't had our marriage handed to us on a silver platter. Starting with our engagement. People were so mad at us for getting married so young. We are always in love and that is never the question at all. But we have had a lot of tragedy and we are still working on healing. Healing is coming slowly for both of us. However with our healing process comes growth in our marriage. And I love that.

With our growth we have found that no one is a better supporter to the other then our selves. I support Drew's decisions. And he supports mine. We have such a strong relationship that embraces our differences and our likenesses. We honestly complete each other. We have the same values and can trust each other like no one else. We are each others best friends. And I think everyone deserves a solid no fuss relationship.

Although things seem like they will never get better, Drew and I have each other. Which is more than a lot of people have. And I am thankful for that.

selling some stash

2010-01-22T17:09:00.001-08:00

So apparently there are a few hundred readers of my blog. So I may as well utilize my blog to sell some of my stash and one of my wheels.

I am selling my Louet S15 with 3 bobbins it will come with a garbage bag full of raw fiber. The Louet is discontinued wheel that was worth 600 new. I am asking 300.

I am also selling off all of my prepared and raw fiber. I have way to much and have decided that I don't spin enough to keep it all. Prices will vary on different amounts and also type of fiber. Angora and cashmere will cost more then Icelandic for example.

Also for sale is a picker. I am asking $100.00 since I had to drive 2 days to pick it up. This picker is huge! its great for someone who plans on picking lots of fleece. It will fit in the back of a truck or van, but not in a car. I can deliver for a fee.

For my family- do not worry, I still have 2 wheels and some fiber that I will be keeping.

feel free to call me or Ravelry message me if you are interested in any fiber or the wheel.

Aries.

2010-01-19T18:25:00.000-08:00

It seems that I have fallen head over feet for pottery. I do this once every couple of years. I start a new hobby, fall in love with it and then a year later I seem to loose interest again. Like I did with spinning. I will never sell my good wheel. However I would consider selling my Louet wheel and most of my fiber.

I am sure this pattern will continue with pottery. I love it now, but I will likely grow sick of it and stop going.

Now someone told me that I do this because I am an Aries. And then I think about all the millions of Aries that I know. My mom is an Aries and shares my birthday however she shows no signs of being an Aries. She is level headed, even tempered, and she finishes what she starts.
My dad, a few friends and some other people I know are all Aries. And it seems like all of us fall into the same pattern. We are all starters but not finishers. We all seem to jump into things with 2 feet and then quickly loose interest.

Some people would likely say that this is a bad habit. I cannot agree with this. I think of all the wonderful things I can do now, because I decided to jump in with two feet. I can spin, I can paint, I can make beautiful potter, I can do flooring, fix the toilet, knit, change the oil in my car, fix small things on my car, I"m learning how to build a cabin, I can do almost anything related to computers. I don't think I could do half these things if I didn't just jump in.
My dad has so many talents and I believe it is because he does the exact same thing as I do.

Then I think about Drew and how he has one hobby. His guitars/music. I wish I could be more like him in the way that he has stuck with music since he was young. Now he is a wonderful musician. He can play all sorts of instruments and all types of music. This is because of his perseverance.

I waver back and forth thinking that it would be nice if I stuck to one thing and got really good at it... then the Aries kicks in and I forget what I was thinking. I don't have the attention span that I need to keep doing one thing.

Maybe Aries people have ADD?

Geek or Chic?

2010-01-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I bought something that I almost entirely regret.
Here is a hint. The noise can make your ears bleed if not played properly.

New Tattoo

2010-01-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

I got a cute tattoo today to resemble the life Drew and I have.
Also a couple of pics of the dogs at Christmas.

Pottery.

2010-01-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well starting today I am back in my potters guild! I am very excited and can't wait to get my clay tomorrow. I will be focusing on things that I use with my knitting for the first couple of weeks. So buttons, yarn bowls, slab plates, pin heads and stuff like that. Then the hard stuff will begin like mugs and goblets and lids.

I"m not doing classes but will be using the studio and kilns and I am so excited. I haven't thrown in a couple of years.

I will be taking orders within the next couple of weeks after I get used to the wheel again. And to see where my abilities end. I'm not all that great to begin with, however my mom loves my work and so does my husband.
I am very excited about doing yarn bowls. take a look here.
I have a few people that I want to make bowls for. But I will also be selling them for about 25 dollars (maybe 30. depends on clay cost).
I'm super excited about doing buttons. I love the look of clay buttons but have only found a few that I liked enough to buy. So I can't wait to start designing my own in my own color scheme.
My guild has around 50 colors of glazes from breaking glazes to full coverage glazes to glazes that are clear.

Maybe I will drop knitting for a few months while I get back into my pottery?? Yeah right. I am addicted to socks and hats right now. I have a sweater worth of yarn in a beautiful dark purple waiting to be knitted. However I can't decide on a pattern and it is driving me crazy.
I need electrictree to help me decide on something as she is great at gauge. As my gauge seems to be off on almost everything.

Anyhoo. that is it.

wow 2010 already

2010-01-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it is 2010 already. I still remember 2000 like it was only a couple years ago.

Christmas was wonderful and I got so many amazing gifts and got to spend time with everyone in the family.

I worked so much that it was impossible to fit a Christmas dinner at our place like planned.

New Years was pretty awesome. I went for fondue at Amy's house and then went to a party upstairs. That is right people. The people upstairs and I have seemed to make amends. However I still stay wary as she still drops rude verbal bombs here and there.

Drew had to work New Years and has had the worst schedule since. He has many back to back shifts where he works until 130 am and then had to work at 930 am the next morning. It doesn't seem very fair that he has the worst schedule at Ciniplex.

My god daughter stayed with us for a couple of nights and it was great. She is very clever and seemed to enjoy staying here.

Other then these little bits of news nothing at all has been happening.

More Shit

2009-12-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

Today we had to put down out amazing cat Boris. Boris loved Dogs more then anything. And was perfect in our home.
He got into a fight and lost his eye and had lots of damage to the rest of his body. It was a sad day.

Tis the Season......

2009-12-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

.......For Shit to go Down

I used to love the Holiday Season but as I grow older I am getting less and less fond of it.

This year has been a disaster.

For those of you who don't know, I was in the hospital for a couple of days with a puncture in my colon. I was bleeding internally and pooping out 1/4 of a cup of blood every time I had a bowel movement. (8ish times a day for me)

I had to get a blood transfusion done, I was hooked up to IV and had 12 rounds of morphine and gravol. It was pretty serious.

This was all caused by a colonoscopy that went wrong. The Doctor took a biopsy that was to large and thus punctured my bowel.

I have had a full week off now and tomorrow I am able to resume my normal life. I will be able to work and also go to the gym.

Oh I am recording my weight as 18 pounds lost since I started my weight loss journey.

Now for my car situation.

I went to Vancouver on Tuesday to purchase a car. A Volvo to be exact. I bought one after doing all things right. getting a mechanics approval to buy, buying winter tires with rims so I would make it home, making sure there were no accident claims on the car, etc....

I bought this lovely Volvo wagon! but to my horror before I left Vancouver the radiator blew up. Like green fluid everywhere. Apparently the tube on the top going from the radiator to the engine corroded and was detached from the radiator. So I had to purchase a new one. While the mechanic was installing the radiator I asked them to install these winter tires the lady sold me for an extra $300. So they put them on. As I try to leave the mechanics I hear this horrible noise. They found out that the tires don't fit the car and are rubbing on some springs behind the tire. She the mechanic takes the new winter tires off and has to put the summer tires back on.
So after spending over my budget on this car i had to pay hundreds more because of an incompetent mechanic telling me it was ok to purchase and nothing was wrong with the car.

So after a scary drive over the summit in snow and sleet I got home safe in the Volvo and its summer tires. I haven't decided if I will sell this car too. I will take it to get inspected one last time before I make up my mind.

While all of this happened I received 4 calls from work and picked up 4 new shifts over the holidays. One of the days I got called in was for Christmas day. I was having Christmas dinner at my house for my family and also my father in law. And now I had to cancel the day. I also had to cancel a visit with my god daughter. She was going to stay with me for 3 days but I had to pick up 2 shifts on they days she was visiting.

So Christmas this year is isn't as jolly as I was hoping.

Oh the Cold

2009-12-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Drew and I went to the cabin Sunday and came on on Wed... While we were there the temperature dropped to minus 25 degrees. It was sooooo cold. We used so much wood trying to keep the cabin warm but it was about 15 degrees at the most. The dogs wouldn't leave the cozy bed and were beyond cuddly. What they do for body warmth is ridiculous.
Drew and I passed the time by doing our projects. Drew did homework for his shitty english class. I worked on Dads Christmas gift and made up songs.
We did some pretty stupid things to pass time. We found out that charades with 2 people suck. But we stuck with it. We acted out movie names starting with A all the way to V in the alphabet.
I spent much of my time hovering over the toilet seat in the outhouse... There was so much frost on the seat that the lid was stuck in the up position.
We went for drives so we could warm up. And we have decided that the heat in our cabin will be base board heating and then a fire place for backup. The fire just didn't keep us warm and the amount of wood we went threw was insane.
That is about it.
I have some pictures to share soon

This stupid golf

2009-12-05T22:27:00.000-08:00

Well we are doomed with this golf... The people who bought it decided not to take it after taking it to a mechanic and finding out that you couldn't give this car away.
there was a long list of things that was wrong with the car. and now I'm even more scared to drive it.
It has a new head gasket that was put in only a year or so ago and it is about to blow
needs new shocks and struts
has one major oil leak with numerous others
something with a pan......
e-brake leaver needs work.

the list goes on. Pretty much the mechanic said he wouldn't even offer 1500 for the car.
So here we are again. I think it is getting to the point where we need to get a good but used car. Something late 90's or early 2000's. We just need something that is reliable, safe and fun. The truck is in much better mechanical condition then this golf. And the truck looks like crap!

Nice Pics

2009-12-01T23:49:00.000-08:00

Well mom had to beg for these bad boys..... But here are a couple of normal pictures of me and Drew. Notice the picture on Drew's mug also note his stupid shirt. HAHA
Mom was being a photographer and wouldn't allow me to move from where I was because I looked "pretty". So here it is... A pretty picture of me.
News.... I have some people who are picking up the golf! Yes that is right... I have finally sold it and can get back to my dream car. I will hopefully be the proud owner of a volvo wagon by the end of this week...

Pictures!

2009-11-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

ooook here are some Pictures that I have been hoarding on my camera.

This is momma and daddy-o having their 26th wedding anniversary. They were a little hyper and giggling like a young married couple. Man I love these guys

This is a picture of our little guys looking out the cabin window watching for deer and moose.

Lola is sporting her new jacket that I made her. I made it so it was also a hood so she can tuck her ears in when its really cold

Finally, Drew and I spent Halloween at the cabin..... and there was mysterious fog that set around the cabin. Spooooky.

And the dogs say "thank you and good night"

forst the good news...... then the bad

2009-11-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

Today I had my appointment with my gastroenterologist and it went very well. So here is the good news........... hold on.......... She isn't convinced that I have Crohns Disease!!!
The bad news.......... She said that it can be much more serious if it isn't Crohns. She decided that its important enough that she needs to do a second scope herself, and not a general surgeon. (a Surgeon did my last one)

So here we go again! So for the time being I do have crohns, But the massive pain that I am feeling isn't normal for crohns. I get spirts of stabbing pain throughtout the day. But crohns is constant pain but not stabbing.. Its like a dull pain, but for the full day..

I"m hoping that it is not Crohns but something simple to fix without medication.
I have my scope on the 11th of December.... Momma you are welcome to come with me if you would like... I'm positive you know the questions to ask. Plus Drew wont be able to come and I need someone to pick me up and talk with the doctor.

thats it! My good news and my bad news.

oh my heart.

2009-11-19T20:58:00.000-08:00

these F*&#ing sock are so hard! I can see 2 mistakes already after one pattern repeat. (each repeat is 20 rows) the mistakes are on the same row about 15 rows back. So there is now way in hell I am ripping these socks back to fix the problem. I know what I did wrong (cabled in the front instead of the back) so one heart has a flaw and one cable is going the wrong way...
I love this pattern but the yarn I am using barely shows the intricate pattern. I'm not sure if I should carry on with the pattern or just knit stitch the rest of the way.. It has taken me about 6 hours to get threw one and a bit repeats on a tiny little circular needle and my fingers feel like they are falling off. I'm not even doing 2 socks at a time! So I have to go threw this one more time for the next sock.... I want to pull mu hair out.

Speaking of hair, my hair seems to be getting a little lighter for some reason. I haven't dyed it at all. In fact I cut most of the old blond crap out of my hair and dyed over the rest. So I mean all of my hair is getting lighter. It's a little weird.

Last night I had a horrible sleep. I dreamt that Drew cheated on me with this wonderful girl that he used to work with at Starbucks in North Vancouver. I mean I was crushing on her. She was that wonderful. Anyways. In my dream we were in this old western movie like town. We had to walk everywhere and there were streetlights to control all of us pedestrians.
I remember running around trying to hunt her down. I was so mad because we were all friends before Drew and her hooked up. It's funny because I wasn't mad at Drew in my dream but I was going to kill her even though he did the nasty too. Weird how you react to things in dreams.
I woke up in a coughing fit and then saw my beautiful husband sleeping beside me. Mouth open snoring slightly and I was beyond happy that he was in bed with me. I decided to play hookie from the gym so I could snuggle with my Drew.
I am so happy that I am Drew's and Drew is mine.

While I am gushing about my perfect little life with my perfect husband and two perfect dogs I should tell you guys that I have been working very hard at the gym and also with my food intake. I am at my heaviest weight ever and plan on loosing pounds like crazy. With the guidance of my dietitian and my personal trainer I plan on having this beat within the next year and a half. Drew plays a huge part in this because he is supporting me by not bring shitty food into the house. He is helping me overcome my sugar addiction and making sure that our good friend doesn't bring fatty foods and sugary foods into the house either.
My plan is to get to 180 pounds. This may be heavy for a women, but I feel that it is reasonable and attainable for myself to get to that weight. I don't think that I should be telling myself that I can be 120 pounds when my body and structure would never allow it.
Wish me luck. I"m spending loads of time, energy and money in this. And I will make it happen. I have the perfect life, however I'm not happy with myself and don't believe that I will be until I am a healthier person.

The days are flying by!

2009-11-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Well I'm leaving my blog in the dust! I have been so busy with work and cleaning and of course Christmas Knitting.

I can't show any pictures of my knitting for obvious reasons. But I assure you, most people that I am shopping for will be getting a little something hand made.

The exception would be daddy-o. He has massive feet, hand, head........ and I'm quite lazy. He will be getting something hand made by me, but not knitting.

I'm very excited to try thrumming for a gift for my girlfriend. Thrumming is a style of knitting where you also incorporate fiber as well as your yarn. You loop fiber along with the yarn to make the inside of what you are making fuzzy. So you know those mitts you can buy with the fuzzy in the middle, that is thrummed.

I am done my knitting for Christmas except for the thrummed gift and have moved onto knitting for myself. I am knitting this lovely lace pattern in a hot pink with sparkle yarn that I dyed myself. I am making heart socks... Yes you read that right.... Heart socks! I'm sure they will be amazing

here is the yarn that I will be using.

I have also been going to the gym... I come out of the gym vibrating and beyond exhausted. But I know that things will get easier and I will enjoy it. When I go to the gym I think about Kim. I remember Kim saying that she was going to the spa instead of the gym. It was something her dad said.

It has been one year and one month since Kim passed away. Drew and I have been thinking a lot about her and miss her tremendously.

oh dogs

2009-10-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share with you..... My dogs are idiots.

Back Woods Fun

2009-10-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

The dogs and I went and surprised my parents this weekend at the cabin. I knew they would be there this weekend since Drew and I claimed the cabin for next weekend.
When we got to the cabin, my parents were no where to be found. So I left them a note and went hunting for them. They were a few kilometers down the road going for a walk. So while they were going for a walk I decided to try to get up to the Trophy meadows. I could see that they were under snow but I thought I would chance driving up in my little VW golf.

Well first off. I had no idea that our shocks were so bad. I knew that we would need them replaced sometime in the next couple of years... But after the drive I went on, what shocks we had left are now totally gone. But the drive was amazing.

At the bottom of the mountain the trees were still beautiful and orange, gold and reds. But the higher I got into the mountain the more the leaves changed into browns, and at the top the trees didn't have leaves.

About 9km's into my drive, the road was lined with small amounts of snow. I got excited and pulled over for a couple of pictures.

4ish more Km's and the road was nothing but snow. I had to back down and pull over as I couldn't get any further in my car.

The dogs were released from there warm and cozy car to play in the snow. It was the first time Smudge has been in snow. And after initially inhaling it threw is nose and sneezing over and over, he decided that he loved it. But only with his jacket that I made for him.

Cabin Warming

2009-10-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

Drew and I went to the cabin today to do something for my parents cabin Warming gift.
For something so simple, it took a long time to actually finish.
I made a rad one for the Bat House but forgot to take a picture of it. It has an amazing painted bat on it. As you can see, my artistic skills are still amazing. (I kid you)
Drew did the silver lining on "Cabin A" because I was taking much to long.

This is a picture of a cute birds nest in the overhang of the shop that is on the property.

Big News

2009-10-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well something incredible has happened.
My parents have bought a large chunk of land in the woods that include 3 cabins on the property and various other sheds and out buildings. The cabins are at Wells Gray Park near Clearwater.

The lucky thing is that there just happens to be 3 of us..... Mom and dad, Greg (and someday wife?), and Drew and myself....
Mom and dad have claimed the main cabin (Cabin A) for themselves. Its a beautiful place! It has beautiful peaked ceilings with a nice big loft. It is quite large at about 700 square feet.. Its very rustic, with a wood stove for both warmth and for cooking. However there does seem to be electricity hooked to the main cabin. It does have a full washroom, although the plumbing doesn't work. The washroom is where the mice like to hang out. But soon enough we will have the main cabin winterized and there will be no more mice.

Greg (brother) and I have each claimed a cabin as well. There was no fight over who got what one.

Greg claimed a little tiny cabin. It has one floor and one room, like a bachelor suite. It was the cabin the last owner lived in. Meaning that it is fairly well taken care of, although I believe it needs a new wood stove.
Neither Greg or I have been in this cabin, as the doors have been locked with a key we don't have.

The cabin that I claimed is the nicest of them all. Although it will cost Drew and I a bit of money to start.
The cabin I claimed is unfinished. It is pretty much 4 walls and a roof. The walls don't connect to the roof however and bats have moved into the peak of the ceiling.
My little cabin is about 500 square feet and also has a loft. It is quite a bit further away from the other cabins and also has its own outhouse. Because it is so far from the well, it wont ever have plumbing. But I'm crossing my fingers for electricity. I would really like to have a fridge in the cabin so we don't have to rely on buying ice for a cooler.
It has some nice windows in it, however it seems like it needs more as it is so dark out in the woods. There is a long list of things we have to do. Like insulation, ceiling, chinking holes, drywall or wood slats (which ever is cheapest) and get a wood stove and a chimney.
This will be a slow process and we hope to have it all done by next fall or winter. So we can spend Christmas in the cabin. (We hope to spend Christmas in the main cabin this winter with my parents.)
Drew and I are going out tomorrow to measure the walls of our little cabin.
Also even though we have all claimed a cabin, we will also share them all. If we have guests we will be able to use all the other cabins. We all just took on the projects of different cabins.. which is very cool.
The property backs onto crown land which is perfect for hiking. And the crown land backs onto the trophy mountains. Which is a very high mountain that is alpine at the top.. So beautiful in the summer for hiking, wildlife watching, backpacking, and frolicking threw amazing alpine flowers.
In the winter we will be able to cross country ski and snow shoe!
This is mom and dads Cabin A.
Cabin A from the other side. there is a large loft as well
This is the Bat House. (mine and Drew's)
Our Loft.
The wall between the 2 rooms. the back room is an old cabin while the front room is a newer addition.
this is a picture where you can see the 2 different cabins making one.
This is the Bat House bathroom.
And this is the view of the Bat House from behind

Saved by the Bell

2009-10-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Thank god I took a shift today for 7pm. It got Drew and myself out of a bad situation.

Now for my readers, I want you to be aware that my blog is intended as a personal diary. I write out my feelings, and with Drew's permission, I write about his. This is not intended to offend anyone. But it is our feelings.

Tonight Drew and I met someone who was truly insensitive. She acted like Drew and I were not even in the same room. So much that Drew and I left to watch tv.

She was over the top kissy and Lovey to a certain person. And every time she did it, she would peer over to see if Drew or I were looking. Her actions seemed disrespectful and inconsiderate.

It was over the top. And blew both Drew and my mind. So much that Drew and I planned on leaving when we were cooking the meat. But I convinced him to stay, even though we were
upset and mad.

However, dinner was amazing. The fish was perfect and the stuffed squash was quite festive.

Edited by Drew...

Giving Thanks

2009-10-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving is going to be hard this year. Like the first Christmas without grandpa was hard.

This thanksgiving will be the one year marker of Kim's death. It was the last family dinner that we got to share with Kim.

Drew's sister came from New Westminister to visit and Drew and I both got the day off as well. (which never happens) Everyone did something. Drew sliced the turkey, Drew's sister made a salad and I did the gravy. The conversation was great. We spoke about the pets, how much Kim loved Whiskey the cat and our Lola. We talked about farts and poop at work and had everyone laughing over the dinner table.
It was perfect. And always will be, in my mind.

Its still very hard on Drew, and worse when he sees others have moved on.

I could not imagine not having a mother at the age of 24. And I get really sad thinking about being motherless. And then the tears start flowing.

Drew and I had/have different relationships with our mothers, I know. But to be in his shoes is heart breaking. One year without a mother feels very short. We still expect to get a call at anytime from her.

We cherish everything that we have of hers. A silly t-shirt that she gave him for his last birthday. One that we both know he will never wear. But its a keepsake none the less. We don't have much of hers so we feel that we have to keep everything we have received from her. I some how inherited her sewing machine. It's large, heavy and it doesn't work at all. But We have kept it for reasons unbeknown to us.

I wish that everyone got to see Kim's quirky since of humor. It took a long time for Kim to warm up to me. And me to warm up to her. I believed that she hated me all the way up until her death bed.

When we were in the hospice she told me lots of stories when it was just me and her. She also told me that she loved me and that she now knew why Drew loved me. She told me that I was a very good care aide, and that I needed to be a nurse. And I have taken that to heart.

I feel Drew and I have gone threw too much for a young couple. The loss of our baby, the loss of my Gramps the loss of Kim and now Crohns Disease. All within 2 years. However I am a believer that because of all of these horrible things, Drew and I are a stronger couple.

this is the last picture that I took of my mother in law. Thanksgiving 2008. one week before her passing away. She looked beautiful even though she was sick. Not many people can do that.

A Push

2009-10-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need a push to lose more weight. I have reached a plateau and have been gaining weight. It's hard having a super skinny husband who doesn't have to work at his weight or keeping fit. So thus I think that I"m the same way. But yes everyone knows that I am not that way.

I was thinking about keeping a live journal of my weight process. But then I would be horrified if I didn't keep it up and people knew my size and weight. But then again I may need the push and embarrassment to make me follow threw.

Tomorrow the only thing on my to do list is go the YMCA and get a new gym pass. Last year I went to the gym and was jogging every day. But when school started and work was crazy, I just didn't have time. However no I have more then enough time. Shit, I could go on one of those fat shows since I have so much time.

I am still working a few times a week and really like my job. However there is no physical activity at all. This is the easiest job that I have had in a really long time.

So this is my promise to myself and who ever wants to partake in it.... I WILL lose 25 pounds by Christmas.
I will post how much I have lost each week. However, how much I weigh will always be a secret until the end of my process.

I have bought new work out wear and have great shoes. So there is no reason why I can't do this.

Wish me luck

All Things New

2009-09-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

Drew and I have been quite spoiled lately. As most of you know, we sold our last 2 cars. That's right people. I sold Luna. She did go to a caring home and the new owner only haggled the price down by one hundred dollars. Drew sold his car to two nursing students that need to get around to practicums and horrible hours. and voila we have money for new cars.
We decided that we would like both a car and a truck. I got to choose the truck and Drew got to choose the car.

I chose a wonderful 1988 Nissan pickup in a lovely teal color (barf). I paid way to much for it, however it is very reliable and cute as a bug.

Speaking of bug. Drew decided with a late 90's model VW golf. It wasn't a car that I would have chosen. But he wanted it. So he got it. Its black and has a sunroof and is cute. But I don't feel safe driving it... It isn't a Luna, that's for sure.

While in Vancouver I did a little shopping. I bought a new wardrobe and love getting dressed now. I not don't have to wear the same pants more then once a week!

We came home with a little cash in hand. Drew and I decided to spend it on practical things. I got a used sewing machine and a used desk from Penny Pinchers (it's amazing and painted blue to boot!) We also bought bed side tables. real ones! no just card board boxes any more!!! they are made out of bamboo and then have 2 grass drawers. they are pretty nice. We also got bed side lamps and some kitchen things from ikea on our way home.

We made an appointment to get the dogs fixed! hurray! No more heats and stinky smudge pee.

We have also met the new tenants up stairs. They moved in last Thursday and they are horrible. They are so mean that they made me cry. They own a daycare and we get to hear kids screaming and running about the hard wood floors above us. We get to listen to the lady yell and scream and then she smokes outside our bedroom window. They have already picked a fight with us about the use of the back yard. And talk loudly about us so we can hear them. It is a horrible, horrible situation. It feels like we live in the slums. When we get home our stomachs sink and we realise that we are home... Home to these very mean people above us.

Nothing would be better then owning our own little place. Just a trailer with a little yard. And we could be happy. Why can't we find a suitable place to live? It doesn't seem that it should be this hard. It's annoying as well because all of my friends (and some of Drew's) have bought homes. I'm in my late 20's and I"m ready too. I just want a quiet and safe place to live with my husband, dogs and cats.

anyways. enough with my rant and whoas me. Other then our living situation, life has been wonderful to us and I shouldn't complain. I hemmed 4 pairs of pants today, ate yummy pancakes with black berries. And my dogs have been fairly well behaved. I love my new truck and my new desk/sewing table and my new computer chair is comfortable

Regrets.

2009-09-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was driving and listening to CBC radio. They were interviewing a actress/writer and one of the questions was "do you have any regrets"? She answered the way most people would have answered saying that she didn't have any regrets and that she has learned from all of the things that she did in the past.

I wish I was more like her..

I don't have a lot of regrets because I have learned from the past. But there are still things about me that I don't like. Besides the obvious of my appearance.

I grew up being bullied. I skipped every single day of grade 11 and 12.. Not full days, but classes that I felt were going to be rough for me. I regret that. I wish I had stood up for myself and kicked some ass...

Well there were a couple of times when I did kick some ass, always with popular dick heads. One time in Socials class this guy named Brett was making fun of my fat. He kept doing it over and over. So after making me furious and knowing that he did... I punched him right in the face.... 3 times. HARD. I told the teacher what I had done because I was scared. The teacher laughed and said that Brett deserved it. I don't regret this. Only because I told on myself.

In grade 8 these 2 boys names Kyle and Chris were picking on me in Science class. They kept calling me fat and dinosaur. (it's funny how details become vivid when reminiscing) They were standing on a table together because the teacher was showing us a lab. the class was so big that students had to sit and stand on tables to see what she was doing.
After what seemed like an hour of fat jokes I grabbed BOTH of them by their shirts at the same time. I pulled them both off the table and smashed there heads together. then I smashed their heads into the table. I became super human! These boys were 2 grades ahead of me and failed science. they were the rough boys, the smoke pit kind of guys. And I beat the shit out of them... at the same time!
I regret doing that. Even though they were brain dead before I beat them up. I still should have been able to keep my temper under control. I did get suspended and I deserved that. But neither of them got suspended.
I wish that there was the anti bullying law that there is now. When I was in highschool people like me got it bad. I was smart, but witty and had a mouth like a motor bike. I could have used my mouth and insulted them back, but I was smart and knew that I couldn't hurt them like they have hurt me with words. So I resorted to my fists and my physical strength.

I think that I will blog my regrets for the next few posts... reminiscing has brought loads of crazy memories. And Most of them I regret.

Now my parents will get to see more into my teen life.... Buckle your seat belt mama, your daughter was crazy!!

Almost

2009-08-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

We are so close to having all our stuff at the new place. I can't wait to be fully moved in and not have to go back to the other place. I didn't really notice how shabby the other place was until we started to move into this place. This place is just so open and clean, and fresh. There are screens on the windows so the bugs and dead birds can't find their way in.

That's right.... Dead birds... a couple days before we started to move into the new place we had an incident. Smudge was acting like a moron and running about with a toy in his mouth... then we noticed feathers.... and a leg..... We never did find the head and suspect a cat must have eaten it. Either way. we were not impressed that someone brought a dead bird into the place.

Its hard having the cats in the new place. We need to keep them in the house for a week or so just so they know that this is there new home.... But they are soooooo hyper and have cabin fever like you wouldn't believe. They are literally bouncing off the walls and the windows.

The dogs love it here. they love the big yard and love barking ALL the time at the dogs on either side of us... Both our neighbours have 2 dogs... So Lola and Smudge Love running in the yard and barking.. I'm hoping that it will get old soon though.

Oh Luna

2009-08-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

Well Luna is on her last miles. And I am very sad. I used to be able to go 140 or faster on the highway to Vancouver... I'm lucky if I can get 80 on a flat road. She is shaking and rattling and trying to stall when I go up a hill. I'll shift down to second or third and she is still not wanting to go.

She loves to over heat even though all of her fluids are topped up and she is spoiled by having regular services. I"m sad to say that it may be time for a new car. I have already pumped 3 times what I paid for her, into her. Most people wouldn't do that, but I am/was helplessly in love with my beautiful wagon.

I have mixed emotions about letting her go. I'm happy that I have had the last 2 years with her.. but I feel angry that she no longer wants to work even though I spend so much money on her with her synthetic oil, new tires, new alternator, roof rack, cd player and speakers.
I think she is one of those friends that takes and takes but doesn't want to give.

Trip pics

2009-08-21T23:11:00.001-07:00

Lac La Hash.... or what Drew calls it Lac La Ass. The worst camp site ever... right by the highway, noisy generators, and bright lights in the bathroom. I guess its fine if you are in a 80 grand motor home, not so great if you are in a cute 2 man tent.

This is Drew at Cotton Wood farm on the way to Barkerville. You can rent out a little cabin for $40 a night. We didn't, but we did get to see a cellar and get a tour of a really old house
This is my wonderful Luna in Wells. Drew and I have fallen in love with this quaint picturesque village.
Finally here is a good picture of my very "sexy" husband.

New Home

2009-08-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

that's right my friends. Drew and I are moving to Nicola street. Exactly one block from where we live now.
It wasn't a planned move. We are quite happy here in our little place. It happened because I was bored 2 days ago and surfing kijiji.com like always. and there it was..... a cheap 2 bedroom with hardwood and it was brand new. I e-mailed and told them we were interested (without Drew knowing) told them about all of our wonderful pets. After getting a response saying that they weren't interested in renting to anyone with pets.... Me being as adorable as I am..... persuaded him into meeting us and the dogs. The new land lords loved us and the dogs! We had to fight out a bunch of other people looking for the place. But we did it! we move in on the 25th of this month!
It was a very unexpected thing. But I think its for the best.
It has a huge back yard, which is ours!!! gas stove, hardwood, 1200ish square feet, high ceilings, a garage for storage, en suite laundry (front loading), and has 2 bedrooms! all for 1050 a month!
The place was made last October and is fully sound proofed. (yes I asked)
The kitchen is quite small, but with a portable dishwasher and a freezer we should be able to create more counter space.
Oooh get this.... there is like 10 windows!!!!!! the place we live now only has 2. The windows have screens and open all the way. No gates to go threw and only one door to enter.... Wow. I can't imagine what that will be like. right now I have to go threw 3 yard gates and then 3 doors to get into my place.
I"m thinking a BBQ will be in order mid September. We will be in the new place for a very long time.
toodles

Excitement!

2009-08-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Just a day and a half until our vacation! We are so excited to finally have a few days off together.
We will be camping at the head of the Bowron Lakes for a couple days, spending a couple nights in Barkerville's haunted hotel and then maybe camp in Horsefly for a night or two on the way home.

I bought some lovely fleece artist somoko in a blue-purple-brown colorway. I'm hoping to make some beautiful socks with a honeycomb pattern.

Today I went grocery shopping, on the way in to the store I was approached by a couple of women to see if I wanted to donate money towards cancer. I went over to the booth and found that If I donated a certain amount of money, one of the runners will run with a name on their shirt. So I signed up and wrote "Kim Galloway we love you". Then one of the women that was doing the sign ups said that she was a friend of Kim's and then the other women said she was too. We all started reminiscing about Kim and started to cry. Someone (not me, for obvious reasons) will be running for 60 kms with "Kim Galloway we love you" on their shirt.

Hopefully I will have loads of fun vacation photos of Drew and myslef for my next post.
Stay safe!