Gratitude......

Today I am grateful for:

1. Having the energy to get a few chores done this morning even though I only had 4 hours sleep.......

2. A quiet morning with the girls....Chris is having fun at his friends house and Lloyd is spending the morning with Laurie and Sam doing 'guy stuff' at the motorcycle show.

3. The black-capped chickadees who don't mind me watching them up close through my kitchen window as they eat from the feeder.....

4. My robe/ dressing gown.......I love it so much - I actually look forward to getting undressed in the evening just so I can wear it...last night I couldn't sleep so I had my robe on and was sat in my bedroom window looking out at the stars...it was such a clear night and with a sliver of a moon the stars were very bright.

5. How 'normal' it seems to have a pig walking around the house....I love that we live this kind of life :)

6. For Lloyd.....who this week has been amazing :) And especially for the way he made me laugh out loud yesterday in Safeway - I was buying a copy of 'First' magazine and he picked it up and said I had to put it back because at the top on the front cover it says 'For women on the go' he joked that THAT is SO not me ;) Cheeky bugger :)

7. Its Sunday which normally means my house is a MESS because we really relax at weekends, but it isn't - it's clean and TIDY.....Yay :)

8. That sometimes the people you think you don't have anything in common with turn out to be great friends :) Someone came into my life recently and I wasn't sure if we would get along very well but the more I get to know her the more I think she is a really great person!

new bag

So here is the bag I finally chose.....it's a roots bag with a LONG strap so I can wear it across me.....it has a pocket either end that would fit a cellphone...it has a zipped pocket that faces in for my wallet/ purse and it has a larger central pocket to fit diapers and wipes etc - so this is perfect for Disney and other places on holiday.....

So now I just want to find a carry-on bag big enough to fit a few things for each child for on the plane.....and diapers/ wipes etc without being so big you have to dig to find anything......we saw a few yesterday but nothing was quite right...I do NOT want a backpack either as I really don't like them......

Oh the dilemma ;)

Anyhoo....I bought a bag! This is a BIG step for me :)

Are you proud???? And I actually LIKE it :)

Motorcycles...........

Lloyd has taken Laurence and Samuel to the Motorcycle show in Edmonton.....they got there early and Laurence was excited to ride a motorbike - they have lessons and 30 minute use of a small motorbike around a track - so he was off to have a go...he would LOVE a dirtbike - he loves his quad but I think he'd prefer a bike! I won't allow Lloyd to have a motorbike ( yes - ALLOW!!)

Chris slept over at Andrews house last night.....Lloyd will pick him up on the way home from the show.....

The girls are making newspapers this morning - again using their book 'How to make your own newspaper'...that book was well worth the money as it has been used a LOT!!!

I didn't get to sleep until 4am this morning.....Lloyd woke me with coffee around 8:30am and then I sat in bed for a while reading......Since then I have tidied my room, vacuumed and tidied downstairs and pottered about...so now I am sat here eating my weetabix and catching up on email and stuff online.....

Last night we had dinner from A Taste of India...I wasn't too impressed - VERY salty :( but nice for a change.....then we sat and watched Firewall which was ok but a bit 'samey'.......typical bad guys kidnap family to rob the bank......good guy wins...bad guys die....everything works out fine.......

We only have 3 more episodes of Greys Anatomy to watch now which is a little worrying as we don't know when series 3 comes out on dvd.....

8 more sleeps :) 8 more sleeps :)

HOT

This time tomorrow the men will be here fitting our new furnace and new extra large water tank :) and then Tuesday they fit the air conditioning unit :) We have gone with a Lennox system........

I am thrilled that this summer we will stay COOL :) and I will be able to run the washing machine and dishwasher at the same time as having a nice deep bath :) endless hot water for a family of 7 is (in Marthas words) a VERY GOOD THING!

Cokers (again)

I grew up in West COKER and my parents now live in East COKER..............maybe thats why I have a fascination with COKERS :)

Coker.........

Ok how sad is this? A VERY large Coker is being moved from Edmonton to Fort MacMurray this week....it is HUGE - so big they have to remove all road signs and traffic signals etc above the road, it can only be moved at night.....it will take it 6 - 8 days to do a 6 hour trip...it took one whole night to get it from 75th St to the city limits of Edmonton.......thats like a 10 minute drive normally! It can only go at 20km an hour.....

I LOVE things like this :) Well (as I had hoped) Lloyd phoned earlier to say it is parked at the rest-stop place for large vehicles which is just a 5 minute drive from us......so after he gets home we are going to drive over and take some pictures :)

I HAVE to see it.....I have seen a lot of large cokers since living here....and other large things being moved - we live close to the main highway along which these things are taken (because its such a quiet highway)...I've seen houses being moved and large parts of oil rigs......but this has me VERY excited :)

So check back later and I will post the piccies......it moves on tonight on the next part of its journey north :)

sometimes.......

Sometimes I think it would be good to be a man - life is simple to them.....they either do something or they don't.......they don't think too deeply and they don't over-analyze everything........

I guess its because they aren't as intelligent as us women........geez there had to be a downside to all this intelligence ;)

Who'd have thunk!!!!

How did I get to the age of (almost) 35 without knowing that the dot on the top of the letter i and j etc is called a tittle!!!!?????

THAT is my fact of the day! :)

S.A.D.

Short days and cold weather mean many Edmontonians don't get enough daylight to keep seratonin levels high enough.....this can lead to the Winter Blues and even to the more severe form of SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Symptoms can be:


cravings for carbs, sweet or starchy comfort foods

Weight gain

A heavy feeling in the arms or legs

A drop in energy level

Fatigue

A tendency to oversleep

Difficulty concentrating

Irritability

Increased sensitivity to social rejection

Avoidance of social situations



Treatment can be as simple as sitting in front of a 10,000 lux light box for 30 minutes a day.

You can read more at: http://familydoctor.org/267.xml

Or simply google for many more links.......

Bummer!

It snowed in Las Vegas today....bit of a bummer for those Edmontonians who flew down there to get away from all this damn white stuff lol!

Self Esteem....

Debbie has been posting on her blog about self esteem.....I commented that on LP recently there was a discussion (If you really knew me....)that focused greatly on self esteem......

When this topic came up I was really saddened to read that so many wonderful women that I admire have such low self esteem.....

So why is this? What effects your self esteem? Does it vary on different days/ times of the month....or is it a general thing? Does your childhood effect it? Relationships as adults? Jobs/ careers/ roles?

And then I was thinking about my friends and their self esteem.....and most of my friends seem to have quite high self esteem......Christie especially :) Christie I admire greatly because she has been through so much and yet has really worked on her self esteem through it all and it really shows :) I think thats why I love being around her - because she is so comfortable in her own skin - in who she is and thats just so good to be around - there is no competing there is no judging.....just acceptance....

And what is self esteem about? Is about physical appearance? weight/ style/ hair/ .......I don't think so...I'm a bit overweight and not particularly beautiful but I think I have a good level of self esteem :) so it isn't that - it must go so much deeper........

And if you have low self esteem what can you do to change that?

Do the people around you effect your self esteem? In my experience they do.....I know Lloyd boosts my self esteem constantly and thats wonderful - it really DOES make a difference.........

This whole self esteem business puzzles me...why are some people lacking self esteem and others not? And where does one begin to work on this?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this issue......what you have learnt/ tried/ lost and gained........how you view your own self esteem issues.....any good books to read on the subject.....

Saturday January 13th

It's almost the middle of January already....I hope our holiday doesn't fly past as fast as this! 9 more sleeps!!!! 9 more sleeps :)

I think we are all set to go now......our housesitter is organized (thank you!!) and our neighbours have been told and will be keeping an eye on the place too....the dogs are booked into the kennels and all the other animals will be cared for by our housesitter :)

This morning Lloyd and I went out for breakfast and then did some shopping - mainly for our trip......t-shirts for the children, a new handbag (purse) for me....and some magazines/ toys for the children for on the plane......

Lloyd just brought the suitcases in so we can start packing and getting ready.....not long now :) Not long :)

On the way back from town, Lloyd and I stopped in at the Big Brother-big sister million dollar lottery home.....for those of you in the UK, many charities over here raffle off fully furnished brand new homes.....often the tickets can be $100 each but these are just $25 each or 10 for $100..........and this time the house is in Sherwood Park.......so yes we stopped in to lok and we were so NOT impressed....how can THAT be worth a million dollars????????

The first thing I noticed as we walked in and through the walk through pantry, was that the oven doors open the wrong way - what a pain thats going to be for the owner.....but there are a lot of things we didn't like about the house....the lot is tiny so it is very over looked and the finish inside is not very good at all...its tiny too.....so uh yes - NOT impressed...if we won we would definitely sell!

Chris is sleeping at his friends tonight in town.....tomorrow Lloyd is taking Laurence and Sam to the motorcycle show........I am making pampered chef's cold veggie pizza for dinner tonight......although Lloyd did offer to get Joeys take-out when he takes CHris into town......hhhmmmmm what to do......

Thank you to everyone for your concerns...I'll be fine :)

I think I'm going to make a nice big cup of tea......

The owner of the villa we are staying in keeps sending us literature and info about the house and area...I am SO impressed with this villa so far! GREAT service! Oh I cannot wait......pool, hot tub, and a decent BATH - I am taking a jelly bath to enjoy there :) www.jellybath.com if you haven't tried these then DO because they are AMAZING........

When is Ice on Whyte? I want to go to that before we leave for our holiday....I love Ice on Whyte. I think we have been to every single one...they don't compare to Lake Louise's ice carvings, but they are still wonderful.....the ice slides are a huge hit with the children:

http://www.iceonwhyte.ca/

The weekend starts here......

Lloyd is on his way home...we haven't been grocery shopping in soooo long - apart from grabbing fresh milk bread and fruit/ veggies, we have been eating all the foods we bought for CHristmas when we stocked up the freezers....but now we need to go shopping. Just not big-time as we are only here for a week.....So Lloyd is stopping off to get some groceries for tonight and then we will go shopping tomorrow. He will be home by 5pm no doubt and then the weekend can start.

My dishwasher is driving me nuts...it is so LOUD :( Lloyd fiddled with it a while back and now my 'silent' dishwasher is no longer silent.....think jet plane flying low above your house! We will need a new one after our holiday.....

The children are finishing off their thank you letters this afternoon for their Christmas gifts.....so that is one thing on my to-do list that I can cross off.

Address books - how often do you go through yours and update it? I finally did that this afternoon and wow it is so sad...I haven't gone through it for about 5 years really - not fully through it...and there were so many people that had died that I had to cross off...thats really sad. Also those who had moved or that I don't have contact with now.......so I plan to get a new address book tomorrow and start over....maybe it will be less depressing than flicking through details on deceased friends and family...........

The other major thing on the to-do list is something we should do regularly but we often procrastinate over.........backing up the computer...it used to back-up automatically each night but now ew hae several computers and everything is all over the place - so Lloyd spent a day this week backing everything up to the portable hard drive that he will keep at work.....much safer than having it all here in one house...so with that, back-up on two hard drives in the one computer, my blog (which is also backed up) and sending pictures to family back home, I think our pictures and memories are faily safe :)

I'm not hungry today......I had 3 weetabix for brunch around 11am and haven't felt hungry since.....probably because I didn't eat at all yesterday and hardly the day before.......they finally brought me breakfast in hospital but it was too late and my migraine had already started - so although I got to look at the food I didn't get to eat it :(

Lloyd asked what I'd like for dinner tonight but I have no appetite so anything will do.....what are you all having for Friday supper?

Kathy.......

I can post on some blogs now and not others - and yours I can't :( But I wanted to say that I hope you feel better soon.....and remember - shovelling snow is GUY work ;) ok well in this house it is :) I just stay in the warm and make hot tea for Lloyd for when he's done :)

I'm Abnormal

After a night/ morning in hospital, the diagnosis is: I have an abnormal ECG but that could be just the way I am! Abnormal lol! I thought that was funny!

Lets just say the last couple of days have been filled with things like having my boobs fondled by gorgeous firemen (really lol!), vomiting in a cup as I rushed through the hospital lobby (which was AFTER being discharged) and having almost every part of my chest and abdomen attached to wires.......its amazing how I am still finding the little sticky squares that they attach the wires to.

Yes, its been an odd couple of days.......