Ask me a question - Susan

So Susan asked me: 'Why do you think you enjoy blogging so much'?

I have always kept a diary - right from when I was little - my Dad used to bring em them home from work and I'd write what I did each day...I loved that and I always loved looking back at them to see what I did this time last year etc etc....I think pretty soon after I learned to write I started to keep diaries.

I kept a gratitude journal for a long while on CPO. I kept a blog on t-blog for a while. Just writing...no pictures..to me it was just a new way to keep a diary. I think its really therapeutic to write about your day - get it all out on to 'paper'.....if you know what I mean.

Then I stopped for a while until Tasha from LP posted about her blog and used it as a way to share family pictures and news with everyone at once.

I thought this was a fab idea - instead of taking forever to write to everyone individually in emails or letters, I could write in my blog daily and share our news with everyone at once - family, friends etc etc AND it would be a diary for us to look back on too! Its like instant scrapbooking - I can add the pictures and do the journaling straight away! Whereas my scrapbooking pages are mainly still waiting for the journaling to be done!

What keeps me writing though is that we LOVE being able to look back on the last year and see EXACTLY what we did each specific day...if we forget when we did something or why we can look back and read all about it - enjoy it all again! Like we couldn't remember what we did for Sams birthday last year until we looked back at my blog.....and this last week or so we have really enjoyed looking back at our Disney holiday from last year. There is no way we would have remembered it in quite so much detail - what we did each day..what the weather was like....where we ate....what was good and what wasn't.....

With family the other side of the world, its also a great way to help them still have daily contact with the children - really watch them grow up. So much nicer than the occasional email or picture or letter....they can know what we did in detail every day too.

I can share interesting news stories with everyone at once without filling their inboxes up with junk mail!

But mainly, I just love to write....and I love knowing our memories are down here in black and white to look back on whenever we want.

I hope that answers your question ok ;)

So/.....anyone else have a question for me? Last time there were plenty of questions - doesn't anyone else have a question?????

It's Beaumont!

januarymagazine.com/profiles/anderson-dargatz.html

A Rhinestone Button is a novel based just South of Edmonton...in a small town. Its based about 25 years ago,,,and ends a few years later just after the Black Friday Tornado. It is based in a town called 'Godsfinger'. It was actually called Hay Lake until two tornadoes hit on the same day a year apart and they renamed it 'Godsfinger'.

I wanted to know more about this town - wondered if it was based ona real town...so I looked online and it is! It is based on Beaumont! A small farming town until after Black Friday when land was sold and a golf course and new subdivisions were built....

Beaumont is very close to us - and is where the splash park is that we frequent in Summer months!

It was so neat to read a book based around Edmonton...that mentiones Millwoods and Old Strathcona...shopping on Whyte Ave etc etc...

Gail Anderson Dargatz used to live in Millet close to hear, and now lives on Vancouver Island!

NOT the pet expo lol!

While I was emptying the camcorder (the pics from today aren't very good because I used the camcorder) I found these two old pictures from the day we went to the zoo a couple of weeks ago.....This is Boris that jumped up at me in the video clip ;)

Y'all come back now!

Pet Expo.......Boat Expo......

Our First Anniversary...

I can't believe how fast this last year has gone!

A year ago today, Lloyd and I got married at a little ceremony in Orlando, Florida. After the ceremony and the pictures had been taken, we spent the rest of the day/ evening in Disneys Animal Kingdom - travelling through Africa and Asia on our 'honeymoon' lol! It was a lovely hot day...sunny and bright :)

www.royalchapel.com/07JaneLloyd.html

Today it was -1 and cloudy.....the occasional little flurry. Sigh...I know where I would rather be!!!

Today has been nice though. Lloyd woke me with coffee and a gift :) And I gave him his gift while we sat on the bed with our coffee :) Thank you to my Mom and my Sister Clare for the cards they sent us! Thank you Clare for the email too!

After breakfast, we drove into Edmonton to the Pet Expo and Boat Expo at the agricom. The children enjoyed climbing on all of the boats and in the limousines that were there...one stand had some kayaks that the children could sit in and 'row'.....and there was a big sand box/ pit for Sam to play in with toy trucks! I wasn't impressed with any of the boats there - they were all too small but I guess here in AB they ahve to be as the lakes are so crappy and small. Pointless. So we have decided that we are only interested in off shore boating so will only get a boat if we end up in either a) Florida or b) Vancouver/ Vancouver Island....and right now Vancouver Island is looking like a big possibility...but who knows....

The boat show wasn't very good so its a good job we got in cheaply and didn't have to pay full price. I know its the first year but still...not impressed!

The Pet Expo was ok....like Lloyd said though, it was a bit like paying to get into a pet store...not that many animals there and it was mainly stands selling pet food and supplies....we watched some dogs doing flyball.....the children enjoyed the petting zoo and pony rides.....meeting puppies, baby rabbits and seeing the snakes and tortoises..

I had hoped to see pot bellied pigs there but no.....

After we left there, we went to Lumberjacks for brunch.....I had apple cinnamon waffles :) YUM!!! That was nice and after everyone had eaten, we headed to Costco to get Susannahs birthday gift. Grabbed some brussel sprouts and spuds for dinner tomorrow....then headed home finally.

This afternoon I have been curled up reading - I finished my book 'A Rhinestone Button' and figured I'd now catch up with my blog.

Chris just got home from Vegreville where he was taking part in a basketball tournament. Laurie has been on the phone to his girlfriend for the last hour.....Abigail has been on webkinz. Susannah won't be home until late tonight as she's going to a hockey game with a friend.

Lloyd is outside clearing the snow some more in case we get a bug dump of the white stuff with tomorrows storm. Sam is playing on his scooter and waiting for Daddy to come inside again.

Tonight we will probably curl up and watch a movie. We planned to go to La Ronde during the week as we weren't sure what time Chris would be home tonight and thought he couldn't babysit.

I'm not sure what book to read now.....maybe Wicked....I want to read another Gail Anderson Dargatz but I have to wait for Turtle Valley to come out in paperback....I don't like hardbacked books.

I get lost in her novels..they're wonderful!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

This is the first year since it started that we haven't been to ice on whyte. No one seems bothered but me lol!

For tomorrow....

WINTER STORM WATCH

SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WINTER WEATHER EXISTS OVER THESE REGIONS.

.AN INTENSE WEATHER SYSTEM SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY..AN INTENSE WEATHER SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA SUNDAY. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ARE EXPECTED THROUGH MUCH OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL ALBERTA HOWEVER THE AREAS THAT WILL SEE THE WORST CONDITIONS ARE EAST OF EDMONTON TOWARD LLOYDMINSTER AND COLD LAKE. SNOW DEVELOPING SUNDAY AFTERNOON WILL GIVE AMOUNTS OF 10 CENTIMETRES OR MORE. THIS SNOWFALL COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS WILL RESULT IN BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. A WINTER STORM WATCH IS AN ALERT OF THE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WINTER WEATHER. PERSONS IN OR NEAR THESE AREAS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR DEVELOPING ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SHOULD LISTEN FOR UPDATED WATCHES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST PUBLIC FORECASTS FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

So today is a balmy -4c but tomorrow around lunchtime things are set to change......I am sooooooo hoping there isn't a snow day on Monday as it's Susies birthday and also party day for her class (they watch a movie and have party treats once a month for being good students!) and she would be sooo sad not to go to school for her birthday.

Well, we are heading out for the day now but tomorrow we may end up staying home.