Christmas Candles

In keeping with my Christmas theme I took a photo of my new centerpiece. I love candlelight, there is something so incredibly romantic and mystifying about it. I will keep my candles burning Christmas day, this year I lit them just for my photo... there was nobody to be romantic with here when they were lit! : (

Santa, my baby and me

Today I went to the Festival of Trees with my daughter and her friend. I have never been to this festival and it was quite the sight to see. There were so many beautifully decorated trees with many different themes. There was even an upside-down tree, odd but it did put some ideas in my head.

There were many events for children, decorating delicious gingerbread men cookies (which were delicious), and seeing Santa to name a few. I convinced my daughter to get a photo with Santa and I loved it! Mind you any time I get to spend with my beautiful daughter I really enjoy, even if there is a funny looking guy in a red suit between us!

Sad Santa

Today Cheryl and I went out to get some of our Christmas shopping done. We were went to various places and this poor Santa at Millwoods Towne Centre was looking pretty glum. It was rather cute when Cheryl said loud enough for Santa to hear "Hi Santa" and she waved at him. This brought a huge smile to his face and seemed to brighten up his moment in time. Cheryl can be so sweet and cute sometimes, I had fun spending my Saturday with her today.

I am ending my day with most of my shopping done and I even have two Cherry Nut loaves in the oven. It's been a productive, fun filled day.

Midnight Madness

Tonight I wondered down to Zellers to see what they all had on sale during their Midnight Madness. There were some pretty good deals, nothing overly exciting. I was rather surprised at how quiet the store was and pleased that they were not crazy busy. I wondered into the tree section of the store and I spotted this tree here... I think that it just might fit in the small space I have to work with.

I got excited and knew that I wanted this tree. As it turned out this tree in the photo was the only one like it left in the store. Me being me I talked them into selling me this tree, naturally less 30%. Then there was the matter of finding a box for this tree, they guys had no luck in the storeroom so I said that if I could find a tote large enough that I'd buy a tote. They found me one and I talked them into 30% off that as well so here it is, my new tree, and the bonus is a box that won't tear after a few years!

Now I have to take a trip out to the farm to pick up my decorations. I'm going to have a tree after all this year and I LOVE it!

I Finally Did It!

Today after class I went down to my appointment at "strange city" and now I have my tattoo. This is something which I have wanted to do for a very long time, and it feels wicked to know that it is now done. I chose to put it on my left leg maybe because I am left handed?? I don't know but I do know I"m tired and happy right now!

It did hurt a bit, nothing I couldn't handle though, and the guy who did this tattoo for me was fast. I'm glad that he was, after about an hour and a half I was getting so tired. I was very happy when he told me he was done!

I have been asked "why a turtle?", in response to that here is a part my response to this...although I do have a few reasons here is one of them:

Turtles remind us that the way through heaven is through the earth. In Mother Earth is all that we need. She will care for us, protect us, and nurture us, as long as we do the same for her. For that to happen, we must slow down and heighten our sensibilities. We must see the connection to all things. Just as the turtle cannot separate itself from its shell, neither can we separate ourselves from what we do on earth.

I also love that the turtle symbolizes longevity in the Chinese culture. After my near brush with death in 2005, which was caused from alcoholism, it is a positive reminder to me that to take the first drink is to die or to not take that first drink can potentially lead to a very long life for me. We all have choices in life, I choose not to consume alcohol today.

I Have a Dream

Today after class we had some of the faculty from the University of Calgary come in to offer us some information on entrance to their institution for a BSW (Bachelors of Social Work) degree. I learned that it is extremely competitive to get into their extension program here in Edmonton, only 25 - 30 students will be accepted.

I am going to apply for this program, I want a degree and I'm going after it. I want my dream of obtaining a degree to become my reality. I will remain optimistic, or try to, and if this is meant to be for me it will happen. I do have other options but what the heck, I say go for it!

New Moon

Tonight I went to see another movie, this time with my niece. I felt that she deserved a little something special after viewing her report card. Her marks have significantly improved and I am immensely proud of her.

When the movie Twilight came out I went with my niece to see that movie, I thought I wouldn't enjoy it but surprisingly enough I did. Now how could I miss the sequel? It was equally as good, if you're into the whole Edward and Bella scene I suppose.

Two movies within three days, this has to be a record for me... now back to my essay writing, enough time well wasted!

H1N1 Vaccination

Today after much consideration and a visit to my doctor it was determined that I should get my H1N1 vaccination. I was on the north side of the city and found out that the shot is given at Westmount mall and is now given to all Canadians over the age of 6 months old.

The center where I received my shot opened only today. They were prepared for a lot of people. There were at least 50 tables set up, not all were open due to the fact that not enough people were showing up. Nurses were on hand and the set up was unbelievable, they were so organized. From start to finish, including a 15 minute wait time after the shot, it took only about 25 minutes. Now they are prepared for what our government promised, unless they run out of vaccination.

Other than a sore shoulder and tiredness I feel alright. Now I have to find a place that gives the regular flu shot but I'm thinking that I'll wait a few days, one sore shoulder at a time is enough for me!

The Blues Sisters

What a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon, my oldest and youngest sister, my nephew and myself all went to see the movie "A Christmas Carol." This movie is in 3D and it's the first 3D movie I have ever been to.

The funniest part of the movie is when my sister Julie gasped at something flying at her. I got a good chuckle out of her, she did this a few times and I'm not too sure if she even realized that she was doing this, which made it funnier yet!

After our movie the four of us went out to a fantastic dinner. Once our dinner was finished, my youngest sister and my nephew went home and I toured over to Julie's. She showed me a few very helpful tips on using my new camera so now I hope that I'm not too intimidated by it. I ordered some photography books tonight and I sure hope that they are in before my Christmas holiday. I just might have some reading for pleasure time over the holidays and then I can begin to play with my new toy!

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon Jewel, Cat, and Stewie!

West Edmonton Mall

Today I helped cater a job for 750 people, roughly 500 children and 250 adults. The company had rented Galaxy Land at West Edmonton Mall , we served up hot dogs, numerous plates of fruit, baked goodies, chips, and beverages.

I think that this is a wonderful way for this company to have their children's Christmas Party. A gift is soon forgotten about while the memory of three hours in Galaxy Land will be etched into the children's memories for years to come.

Tough Choice

Today I was playing with my new camera out in the country. The sun was beginning to set and I love sunsets, not as much as the sunrise, but I wasn't sitting out in the country all night long for a picture!

I still don't have much of a clue how to work my camera. I must say though for not knowing what I'm doing, I like this photo.

I took quite a few photos today and it was a tough choice which one to post. I can tell that I'm going to LOVE what this camera can all do once I learn what I'm doing!

Intimidation

Well here it is, now what do I do with it? I ordered my new camera from the U.S. and saved a fair amount of money in doing so. The camera arrived yesterday, delivered to my door and after paying the shipping and handling fees I cautiously opened the box.

Sure enough here it is, my new camera. I sat and played with it for a few hours and I'm still clueless as to what I'm doing with it. (I'm one of these people who doesn't like to read the instructions.) It's looking like I'm going to have to call in a pro, my sister Julie is the pro. I am hoping that she has some time this weekend to show me some of the basics. I am not going to allow the intimidation of not knowing stop me at all.

I never realized in the past that I have a passion for photography. Now for some odd reason I can see this new passion getting very expensive! Even though I don't have a clue how to operate my camera I was out looking at Macro lenses yesterday, some wonderful lenses, but OUCH... they'd hurt my pocket book!

Now back to my studies, darn distractions! :-)

Hejduk or Koci?

Today, outside of the Westin Hotel, I noticed there was this man signing autographs. My curiosity got the best of me so I snapped a photo, then I asked a stranger who this man was. The guy told me who this man was but all I remember is that he's a player for Colorado. I forgot the name, I suppose because he's the "enemy".

After I got home I was chatting with my son and sent him this photo. We have it narrowed down to one of these two players, either Hejduk or Koci. I like the way my middle son thinks, he said "tell everyone it's Hejduk, he has multiple 100 point seasons, Koci has 3 career points", yup good thinking son!

So anybody out there know who this player is? Or do I just go with Hejduk? ;-)

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

I love Christmas, it is my favorite time of the year. I love the way people act around Christmas time. I am not referring to the long lineups a few days before Christmas although these lineups do seem a bit more bearable because people act differently. There is something in the air and whatever that something is... I just wish that people could carry that throughout the whole year.

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the malls, some people have their lights up and turned on and me, I'm not going all out like I like to at Christmas time... or I don't think that I am anyways. I will get through these last few assignments, continue to do my baking and see where tomorrow takes me. Finals will be here sooner than I know it and somehow I will be sitting here on Christmas day reflecting and wondering how in the heck I made it through all of it! No pressure... nope, none!

Time to Readjust

I stayed after classes to print off some research for my psyc paper. Why waste all of my ink? I left the college at 5 p.m. and it was already this dark out. I felt like I was indoors until at least 9 p.m., I have to readjust my sense of time if I am going to get through this winter.

Speaking of winter, it has been unrealistically warm out these days. Last year by this time we were down to at least -35 or lower by now. Now don't get me wrong, this is far from a complaint. If this was how our winters were here I wouldn't have the desire to migrate every time it hits -20 or lower!

So Why Do Men Marry Bitches?

The title of this book caught my attention today. I have often wondered how the women who are real "bitches" manage to attract such "nice" men. I have pondered the reality of these relationships and come to my own conclusion. I have deducted that the "nice" men are not so nice after all or they are plain out insecure and in search of a mother figure. Would you look at that... I just saved $12.99!

So ya, I'll keep being exactly who I am in life, why change now? I'm just starting to like myself and if I have to remain single forever then so be it. It makes no sense at all to turn into a "bitch" just to attract an insecure man.

Just another one of my many opinions.

H1N1

The Government of Canada a while back ensured that there was enough vaccine to give each and every Canadian the H1N1 vaccination. I don't know what or how our government thinks, naturally everyone was going to rush right out to get the shot and today it is now restricted.

The list of people who can get this shot are as follows:
-children over 6 months and under 5 years
-pregnant women
-people with chronic conditions aged 5-64 as of November 1
-household contacts and caregivers of people who cannot be immunized
-front line health care workers.

There are posters, as the one seen here, which are posted every which way I look and I have read a few articles on the vaccination, it is such a debatable issue. The vaccine can cause all sorts of side effects, so do I want to get my shot? I'll let a medical expert tell me what he thinks and take it from there.

Til then I'm going to do as I have been doing and not change a thing. I refuse to live in fear! Yet I do thank the good Lord up above that I live in a country which allows me this choice.

Progress not Perfection

There have been so many essays to write lately that I find I need more computers to keep track of them all. This here should about keep me going for what's to come in my educational journey.

Just kidding... the one laptop is my niece's, she just got it from Dell on Wednesday. There was no operating system on the computer so I called Dell and what a hassle to get this laptop to work. About two hours after my initial call, I finally got the OS up and running. I will NEVER deal with Dell again, it's way to much hassle to get a straight answer from them and it is frustrating.

So yet another lesson in tolerance. And how well did I do on a scale of one to ten? About a six, progress not perfection!

All in a day

This photo was taken at the college I attend. I love this wall, it depicts so much.

My day began with a three hour class which ended at noon. I had an ambassador meeting at 4:30 so I decided to wait it out. I have tons of reading to do for psychology, the BORING class, so I sat in the cafeteria and did just that.

I went out to dinner after the ambassador with a former instructor and a student who was in the same class as I was over a year and a half ago. I really enjoyed the company and the salmon was delicious as well.

I arrived where I began, back at home, at 9pm and I was wiped.

Yup, it sure was a long but wonderful day!

Beautiful Morning

It is hard to believe that today, Remembrance Day, that the weather was so wonderful. I awoke bright and early... well ok early... and I looked outside at the beautiful pink sky. There was a wee bit of frost on my car but it was nothing compared to what we generally have weather wise at this time of year. I believe that last year we were in a deep freeze right about now, most likely hovering around -40 or close to it. I do know for sure that last winter was the longest, coldest winter that I remember in a long time.

Here's to hoping that this stays right until the day before Christmas, then it can snow! :-)

'tis the season...

to be baking
fa la la la la la la la la la.
Don me now my Christmas apron,
fa la la la la la la la la la.

It's that time of year once again, time to start whipping up the Christmas goodies. I am hoping to have time to do so, wait a darn second here... the heck with that... I'm going to make the time. After all what is Christmas without Nanaimo bars, butter-tart and date squares, cookies galore and such? It just wouldn't be proper to go to visit without taking a tray of baked goodies or not to have these treats on hand to feed guests, nope just not proper.

So let the baking commence... in the morning!

Parking Violation... I think not.

Today a friend of mine parked her vehicle where she parks quite often. We went down to feed our meters at coffee break and lo and behold she had a hefty parking violation ticket. The ticket said that she was parked in a handicap parking zone. There were no markings, although there is a sign, (which is the post in the forefront of the photo), which had a handicapped 30 minute parking zone picture on it, but the distance my friend parked from the sign is not in the handicapped zone.

I took photos and now she has proof that she was NOT in the handicapped zone. Packing my camera around daily came sure come in useful some days!

Windows 7

Today I had Windows 7 installed on my new PC. So far I love it, I'm sitting here playing with it and trying to see what is all different. I really like the way I can pull up all that I have open, such as on the screen here, and I can rotate and stop when I want a particular screen to come up. This is going to be fantastic for all of the non-stop research papers. I often have to open up a few files when in Vista to find which one I am looking for to insert my evidence to back up my statements and then cite it. No more of that and this excites me, mind you anything that is going to save me time in an essay excites me!


How in the heck did people ever manage college with no delete or erase key? Copy and paste to move around the paragraphs and insert a graph or any image... nope I can't even fathom attempting to write an essay that way! Thank God for modern technology.

Me & Johnny B

Tonight I went with a very dear friend, Johnny, to a dinner and dance. We arrived with five minutes to spare after almost getting side swiped on the highway, that sure was freaky! Dinner was not too bad at all, a roast beef dinner with delicious gravy, tons of salads, potatoes, veggies, and tons of desserts.

There was a speaker after the dinner who was quite interesting, then the dance began. There was this one other fellow I know who was there and he's an awesome dancer who loves to dance. I had my dances with him and he was teaching me a really neat dance. I danced until I was so dizzy from all the spinning that I felt like I was going to fall over, but what a blast! 

I think that I needed to get out tonight, it was a ton of fun and my second Dad here, he's a blast to go anywhere with. 

Does anybody else here NOT like the changes with posting on this blog site? I just wonder if I can go back to the old style... this is frustrating me but oh well, I'm sure that I will get over it! 

Another Small Project

I am now  staining a pine storage box. I took the entire day off of my studies once again and now am starting to feel human. I need to touch things, do things other than read and write essays. I was feeling stifled, out of touch, and I was getting restless. I feel much better now, after a drive in the country, getting lost, doing some shopping and now staining this box. I feel like I can tackle more essays, more reading and challenge the projects which will see me into the end of the first semester. 

It's hard to believe that there is only about a month and a half left of classes! It seems like yesterday I went back through the college doors, yet in a sense it seems an eternity ago. The Christmas season will allow me three glorious weeks off and I am really looking forward to rest and relaxation. 

Til then, back to essay writing... and I know that I must take these days off to regroup in order to maintain my sanity. 

What I Have Been Looking For.... in a table.

Ever since I have moved into this house I have wanted a new table. Today after class I went out browsing once again to see if I could get a table which would fit into the small area I have to work with. I have been in the looking phase for the past while and have been to many stores looking for "the table". What sold me on this one was the make, it's an Ashley, and the price was unbeatable. I was set against getting the stools without the backs until I sat down on one of these stools in the store today, they are very comfy.

I can't believe my little car and the things I have hauled in it. First it was moving and hauling all sort of things in it, then the rather large BBQ and now a table and four stools. It was a tight fit to get the box into the car, but the salesman figured it out and my nephew Michael managed to get it out of the car for me. Thanks Michael.

Strange City

Today was the last of my midterms! Whew!
A few of the "girls" and I went down to Whyte Ave., to spend some time together. I now live close to Whyte but haven't made the time to go touring down the strip. Talk about a range of shops. We were in all sort of stores and I stopped into this one place that does tattoos. I am having an artist from "strange city" draw a tattoo for me and I hope to have my tattoo done before mid December.

Some people might think I'm a tad bit nuts, that is fine by me due to the fact that I am a tad bit crazy at times, I must be to be getting into the field that I am. Social Work is one of the most stressful, underpaid jobs from what I have heard yet I want this so badly that I am spending the time to be educated in this field. The successes (which we all define in our own way) will be worth every last word of every essay I have written and every hour of sleep I have lost doing so.

Yup, it's not only a strange city, it's a strange world which I live in at times. :-)

It's a New Day

It is odd how I can see something nearly every day and not see it. This morning on my drive to the college I couldn't help but appreciate the view heading towards downtown. I was stopped at a red light, (really it WAS red), and I glanced away from the traffic I was surrounded in when I spotted the Canada Place building. The beautiful pinkish color of this building makes it stand out from the drab gray concrete, it is like a rainbow shortly after the storm.

This new view gave me a new perspective, even though something obviously stands out, it sometimes still does not get noticed. Why bother to compete, just do and be the best one can be and accept this and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

And off I drove to learn just a little bit more...

Oilers

I finally got an Oilers jersey! I am so happy to have my very own official Oilers Jersey, the Oilers after all have been the team I have cheered on for the past... gulp... many years now. I remember how this started like it was yesterday...

I was working in a lounge in a small town in Northern Alberta, I was a bartender and hockey is all that was ever on the televisions. I decided one night to make things interesting while I poured the drinks, so I bet the waitress that the Oilers would win. The game was between the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers won that game, if memory serves me correctly they also won the Stanley Cup that year. Ever since then I have been a fan of the Oilers.

Still to this day the Edmonton Oilers fans are the loudest fans, cheering on their team like there's no tomorrow! The singing of our National Anthem in the final game of the playoffs in 2006 is a must hear! I still get goosebumps when I listen to this, it really makes me proud to be Canadian.

And no, not all of the Edmonton Oilers Jersey's are pink, Oilers ladies wear the pink jersey's in support of breast cancer. One wee problem with my Jersey, it's not Souray on the back, it's #83 Hemsky!

Merry Christmas??

Wow, Halloween only one day behind us and I just noticed that Christmas lights are already coming on downtown! I love the feeling of Christmas don't get me wrong, as a matter of fact it is my favorite time of year, but it's November 1st. A tad bit early I must say for the lights to be lit even if they are pretty and all. I just all of a sudden felt like I'd best get shopping, and that's not what Christmas is all about.

I feel that the spirit of Christmas should not be saved for one day of the year, we have the choice to carry it within us the whole year through and tonight I will continue to feel Christmassy without feeling pressured to get out there shopping!

Merry early Christmas! :-)