Busy Bee

NEWS

2007-09-12T19:54:00.001-07:00

Linden attended his first day of pre-school on Tuesday, he loved it, sooo much that when I was stuggling to leave him there alllll byyy his 3 year old self (well with a very nice young energetic teacher) he says to me " I think it's your turn to go Mama!" and then he says " you can go Mom, I'm a big boy!"

Sorry that I have no "first day of school" picture! L told me that he goes to school now, he's a big boy and BIG boys NEVER get their pictures taken. (Does this mean that pretty soon L will be asking me to park a block away from the school so his friends don't see me?) He's growing up so fast! Sniff!

The new girl at work is very nice, very crazy, very talkative, doesn't really know what's she doing kinda nice! I've been a tad stressed.. maybe I'm over reacting .. what would you do if you ask your co-worker where a VERY important document was and her reply was " I'm not sure where I put it ??? Hmmm....come to think of it, I did throw some things in my burn box" BURN BOX .. you mean the place where we keep papers that are ready to BURN?!?!?!? I had no reply for this .. just a stunned look on my face .. you know the one .. "ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME" .. lately I have wondered if I was on a cand.id camera show. Was someone playing a joke on me ... I WISH ???? My co-worker called in sick this week (she really is sick, in the hospital) but with her being gone I have had to fill in a few extra hours here and there .... I thought I would help her not fall behind .. do her a favor and keep her all caught up ... welllllllll little did I know that she was about 3 weeks BEHIND ... bills haven't been paid ... payables been entered in wrong comapanies .. you name it she has royally screwed it up. Please don't get me wrong .. she is a very nice person ... maybe not the best worker but a really sweet lady. IF everyone could say a pray for me it would be greatly appreciated!

Parents house is coming along ... a bit stressful for them but it's look'in good! I will post some pics for you! Cousin "A" I have asked when the butler arrives so you can meet him!

I've been soooooo busy (weird I know) fundraising for Ry's hockey team! I stress about this too but I LOVE to plan and fundraise and make programs and sell 50/50 ... I truly do. The season starts Oct 13-14 .. can't wait!

L starts pre-can skate on Oct 1st! Pre-skate is a division of figure skating, (they learn how to skate properly) please don't tell L that ... if you even mention figure skating he freaks out .. only girls do that .. not boys ..boys play hockey!!! I wonder if he has been listening to his Dad???? It will be interesting when he starts his first class and can't take his hockey stick on the ice.. I have been trying to prepare him for this but he doesn't seem to understand!

Talk to you soon!

A House Built for Two ???

2007-08-23T08:20:00.001-07:00

Don't have a whole lotta time today to blog but thought I should update all my interested readers on the house! The above pic is the front of the house! The below picture is the back of the house! Now you tell me ... will this small litte thing accommodate 2 adults ... I don't know it might be a little squishy!

July in review

2007-07-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

P and Linden at the lake for Canada Day 2007 . As you can see Nana got a little crazy and purchased hats, flags, and necklaces .. they were soo cute ! Had a great time at the lake with the family.

We spent about 1 hour driving to this mall in Richmond to see a T-Rex (Linden's favorite dinosaur) we fought for parking not to mention it was about 34 degrees out. Well we get up to this famous T-Rex and it comes alive blowing smoke out it's nose .. wagging his tail and this is what Linden does!??! Awesome .. well quite funny actually

Linden caught his first rainbow trout last weekend. He was so excited ... he yells .. I got a fish on ... then he proceeded to reel and reel .. once his Dad finally netted it Linden say "BONK IT DAD, hurry before it jumps out of the boat!" At the end of our fishing day Linden caught 2 trout and Ryan only caught one and it was just a baby in Linden's words!

Please welcome the newest addition to our family .. the "green machine" Ryan's new jet boat .. his dream come true .. he's such a REDNECK but that's why I love him!

Anyone that would like to cruise up the river and catch some salmon .. just give us a call!!

What is this you ask ... it's a dinosaur cake you silly billies .. yes I attempted to make a dinosaur cake as requested by Linden and this is what I came up with .... see what happens when Auntie Amy isn't here to help !! Oh well all the 2,3 and 7 year olds thought it was just awesome!! HA! HA! I LOVE to decorate and come up with unique ideas I just wish I was good at it!!

Our little Linden is no longer little .... he's 3 years old weighing in at a heavy 42 lbs ! This is what we bought him for his big day ... his cousin P had one and he loved it so we stole the idea. Daddy made me take off all the Dora pictures!

It's amazing that 5 years ago I was going through all the tests to determine if I could even have a baby and now I have a 3 year old. He's our little miracle child ... the king of our castle, and #1 in our hearts!

APPRENTICE

2007-06-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Linden gets to spend so much time with his Pa ... he's learning tons of things and he's lov'in it. He is very good at hammering nails, loves to measure things, always is checking that Pa's work is level ... would like to cut the pieces of wood with Pa's BIG saw if Pa would let him. His favorite tool is the cordless drill in fact it takes Pa twice as long to build somthing cause Linden has to screw EVERY screw ! Linden doesn't know how lucky he is to have grandparents that live in the same town or in the same house for that matter. I only wished I would have spent more time with my grandparents ... now it's too late.

I'm not much of a scrapbooker BUT I might have to do a little something up for Christmas for Linden's Pa .... I have tons and tons of pics with them working together... it's so cute~

It's Official!

2007-06-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

The Spencer's house is officially under construction and Linden is working on the path to Nana and Pa's house! Please check back for updates and progress.

Loving the parents living with us. We have the best tenants that a landlord could ask for! I come home from work to find dinner all ready, house spotless, laundry washed dryed and folded .. just have to grab and put away .. L has golfed .. played some baseball, had a good game of basketball and has done some sort of craft ... oh and usually he has helped his Nana make some sort of muffin, cake, pie etc! After dinner Pa usually heads outside to continue on with our yard work. Life is good. ... we just have to figure out a way to slow the building process down ..... not sure what we'll do once these guys are gone !!

Just a Phase?

2007-06-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

L LOVES to get his picture taken .. here's hoping that it's just a phase!?

Before , After , and work in progress!

2007-06-11T22:31:00.001-07:00

FLOWER BED BEFORE

FLOWER BED AFTER

BRICKS BEFORE

BRICKS AFTER

AND WORK IN PROGRESS !!!

AND BECAUSE EVERYONE IS EXCITED ABOUT THIS, I WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE YOU YARD UPDATES!

Another Summary!

2007-06-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Have to yell out a birthday wish to my sister-in-law "T" .... hope you had a great time on your special day (June 1st). My description of T would be .. great mother, great wife (always stands by my brother and help him with everything including all his school work), very supportive, athletic, a great volleyball player, a good friend, very determined (she lost something like 75lbs after having her 1st child, she ROCKS), very smart (the girl is an accountant), T is a daugther, sister, sister-in-law, cousin, mother, auntie, wife etc .. she wears a lot of hats and does a fab job with all ! I love her and am happy to have her in our family!!

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Speaking of family .. everyone was up last weekend for the ball tourney. We had a blast as we always do with those crazy Cousins, Aunts, Uncles and all their friends! The family team came in 2nd place and drove away with hangovers, sunburns and some cash ... just the way they like it!! Can't wait till next year.

pictures to follow ..

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Ryan is struggling with school .. he's in his 3rd week and is hating it .. his teacher is a giant J*CK*SS .. apparently he has been taken to the 'dean' of the school every year for the past 5 years for his teaching or should I say lack of it!! Poor Ry .. he was looking forward to the break of school rather then work but now can't wait for the 10 weeks to be over with! He is studying at least 1 hour a night and when he has an exam it's more like 3-4 hours and he still isn't getting his usual grades .. this teacher loves to see people struggle so asking for help is just about out of the question!!?

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Ry's cousin Gin* is still in the running to becoming C*nada's next top model .. watch her wednesday night! If you watched the first episode you would have seen that she is SUPER camera shy .. not such a great thing for a model but nice for the family .. we didn't have to watch her blabbing her mouth off about everything and everybody like other contestants!!

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Been working like dogs at home in the yard ... I now have a 40' brick flower bed filled with sand, top soil, and perennials... a 22' x 22' deck in the back yard (very nice) .. another flower bed to the left of the drive way filled with all the dirt and flowers too ..

I will post some pics soon!

Things still to do ..... handrail on the front and back porches .. a couple more flower beds .. plant grass in the back yard, build a play ground, build the skating rink, some rock work, build a garden shed, etc .. etc .. etc .. good thing we have a 5 year plan!!! Oh and thank goodness we have a real handy man as our slave .. yep that would be my Dad .. he just doesn't stop .. he works a 12 hour day comes home eats and is outside doing things around our yard. GOD BLESS HIM!!!

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I would like to welcome the new baby to the family .. M & L had a beautiful healthy baby girl .. her name is ...??!?!? can't tell .. well unless L gives me permission .. I think the name is very pretty and it's fairly simple .. Linden can say it plain as day! Just received a email with baby "D's" picture .. soooo cute! Congrats .. can't wait to meet ya ... only one more month!!

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A L*inde*n story just for Tarable ...

** when "L" doesn't listen we ask him to put on his listening ears**

"L" wasn't listening to his Dad so Ry decided that when L*inden asked him a question he wouldn't listen either ..

Why aren't you listening to me Daddy ?? L asked

Well cause I don't have my "listening" ears on !! Ry replied

About 5 minutes went by

Here Daddy, L says with his 2 fists closed, face up

Ry - L if that's garbage you put it away

It's not garbage Daddy, as he opens up his fists ..

Well what is it L ??

It's your listening ears .. PUT THEM ON!!!

Yes I laughed and laughed .. what a character!!!
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As for me busy as usual and loving life! Keep the blogs coming .. even though I slack off in this department .. I ALWAYS have time to read yours!!

A little of this and whole lotta that!

2007-05-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

I want to send HUGE birthday wishes to my good friend D.C. .. hope you had a great day and that all your wishes come true .. oh and I hope that 2007 treats you a little better!

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Sorry about the lack of comments on the blogs .. I bought a new computer back in October and I'm just now in the process of getting it running ...soooo that means I will be off line for a little bit .. well except for those days that I'm at work of course!! ha!

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For those of you that watch Can*da's Next T*p M*del make sure you watch this season's show which starts May 30th and those that don't watch..... Maybe I can give you reason to watch .. Ryan's first cousin GIN@ made the finals .. if you go to the website you'll see her .. anyways Ry didn't want me to tell anyone cause he hates the show with all the catty women ... he's praying that she isn't one of those ... ha ha ha ... I'm happy cause I do watch it and now Ry HAS to too!

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Baseball season has started here in the hoof ... Ryan's team (the KNIGHTS) and my old team (TEAM NIKE) are tied for 1st place .. I have to admit that it's harder then I thought to just watch everyone play knowing that I will never play ball again .. oh well I do enjoy taking Linden down to watch his Dad and watching Linden get on the field with his batting helmet, baseball and his own bat .. we are still looking for some cleats ... I will live through his eyes ... this little guy can hit a ball all the way to short-stop! We will really impress the Chinese team this year at the Canada Cup .. oh that reminds me LKW could you hook me up with some tickets?!?

On the same topic .. it's the ballapalooza tournament Jun 1-3 in Vanderhoof .. my family is bringing a team from Quesnel with a possible pick up from Stewart .. should be a great weekend .. love to have all the visitors staying at our house .. Uncle P cooks up a wonderful breakfast!

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Mother's Day was good .. well a little weird .. I usually have the family over for dinner and a little gift exchange but this year Ryan and I bought tickets to some hockey games in PG and Nana and Pa looked after Linden not to mention did some yard work at our house and the laundry, some dusting, some floor washing, dishes, watered the plants, took care of the dogs ... shall I go on?! I did get a card to my Momma and Mother-in-law .. and I did make them both a strawberry pie !! That doesn't come close to telling them how much they mean to us but I think they know !!!

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So we now are the owners of a 1,000,000 dog named SAGE .. yes this dog was at the vet again last week ... he some how managed to jab a stick into his groin .. only costing us a measly $500 .. but when added with the torn ACL surgery, the fiberglass in the eye appointment, the pulled chest muscules, the taking care of breeding surgery, etc .. were sitting up at the $5,000 mark! Anyone thinking of getting a pet ... make sure you are aware of the "hidden" costs! Sageee we love you but could you please be more careful ... Momma needs a new pair of shoes and you seem to be spending all the cash!

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I have to mention my brother Matty .. he's in school right now (2nd year of his electrical apprentice) and doing a fab job .. Ter just called my parents yesterday and said that Matt just got 95% on his last exam ... soooo good .. I know that Matt works really hard to get these grades and I'm glad it's paying off! Good work Matty .. you're AWESOME!

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On the work front our trainee just QUIT .. yes the one that we've been training for the last 2 1/2 months ... yep apparently she got another job and just left us hang'in, she said that the job was to complicated and she didn't really want to learn it .. the person she was training for (K) is on maternity leave as of Aug 1st and her job is very very intense with tons of responsibilitie .. that leaves us with only 2 months to train .. can you say FREAK'IN OUT!! Anyone need a job!?!?!?

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Well my blog friends that's all I have to talk about this fine sunny morning ..

Childhood Friends!

2007-04-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

Childhood Friends
by Mindy Carpenter

As childhood friends,

we grew up together,

Swearing to be friends forever and ever.

Sometimes we would argue and fight,

Other times we would laugh and stay up all night.

We went from playing with games and toys,

To talking and dreaming about different boys.

My thoughts and feelings, to you I would confide,

Never having anything to hide.

Friends we do remain,

Things changing, and things staying the same.

To each other we still listen and share,

About each other, we will always care.

Happy Birthday Tara ..

May you have a great day

May you be happy that

that I didn't send a hoola-hooping girl to your office

May you be happy that

it's going to be a chip and dale dancer

instead! HA!

I miss ya tons and tons .. wish I could be there to celebrate with you, eat lots of cake and have a martini for me!

~LOVE YA BUDDY!~

Take this time to remember all those good times - operation "cripple creek" .. drinking wine right out of the bottle .. the masked man that drove us on the snowmobile .. (who's that guy and where did he come from)....singing our favorite song "Give me one reason" .. watching every episode of friends together .. living in Sunny Slumps .. skim milk and ripple chips with onion dip .. "COCO BEWARE" and his parrot .. the good old wrestling days .. all our pool days and nights .. the synchronized routines .. our trip to the WL Stampede (still have the video, and it's friggen funny) our drives around Fraser Lake .. and the stealing of the sunflowers .. our nights at buck-a-beer in PG .. driving home at 5:30am .. Weiner king ... our elementary days .. our high school days .. our graduation .. our weddings .. ETC....ETC ... AND MANY MANY MORE!!! I could go on and on and on!!! Thanks for being a great friend !!!

MUST I EXPLAIN ?

2007-04-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

If you need an explanation it goes a little something like this ...

COME HERE DOGS .......HA HA TAKE THAT ........AND THAT ...... BANG BANG......

As soon as the dogs run away .. it happens all over again!!!

Boys will be boys!!!!

Love is in the air

2007-04-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I went on a date last night .....

Where did we go you ask .. well we went to PG to watch some playoff hockey .. we don't live close enough to the Canucks so we thought we'd treat ourselves to the next best thing .. the WHL playoffs! The C*ugars took on the Vanc*uver Gian!s!

Our "date" consisted of stopping at Wa!ly W*orld for a few items .. which turned into a $100 spree .. Ryan ended up buying Linden a new fishing rod , Linden already has a rod but apparently it's not a 'spin cast' ..We can't wait to give the big guy his gift .. he'll be sooo excited. I'm sure he will be trying to hook or catch the dogs very soon!! Speaking of dogs I have another Linden story to tell you but I have to post the pictures so that you can actually SEE the story! Poor dogs!

So after our shopping was complete we had to head to the game, get our tickets, and of course, pick up our romantic dinner .. I had a cheese burger and Ry went all out and had a cheese burger with spicy mojo's AND a pop. We then found our seat and cheered on the home town! The Coug*rs lost and it wasn't the best played game BUT we had a wonderful time.

Some might think this wasn't much of a date but I thought it was awesome. We are always with friends and family .. now don't get me wrong I love hanging out with everyone but it's nice once in a while to just get away and hang out with each other. We got to catch up on things while we drove to the game, we shopped together and my husband didn't get grouchy(weird Ryan shopping in WM and not even a tad bit miserable), we got to watch our FAVORITE sport together .. it's was just a fab night and I had tons of fun hangin out with my hubby!

Thanks Ry! Love ya!

** No we didn't just leave Linden at home .. of course he got to have a sleepover at Nana and Pa's house! **

Storytime ...

2007-04-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

To set up the story .. I was in the kitchen and Linden was sitting on the front steps playing with the dogs like he does quite often when it's a nice day!

Linden (from the front porch)- "Mommy! " Sage (one of our dogs) is jumping on your trees (shrubs)"

Me(from the kitchen) - "Sage get our of there, you're going to ruin all my plants!"

About 2 minutes later ...

Linden (from the front porch) - "MOMMY! Sage is in your trees again! Get mad at him!"

Me (walking from the kitchen to the porch) - "Come on Sage .. get out of there or you're going to go in the kennel. You're getting mulch all over the grass and you're going to kill the plants!"

As I get to the porch I see Linden sitting there (he doesn't notice that I'm there) and Sage waiting for Linden to throw his stick .. where does Linden throw the stick .. yep right into the shrubs and then ...

"MOMMY Sage is in your trees again"

Another Birthday!

2007-04-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

Yes another birthday in the family .. it's my Daddy's big day! He is by far the hardest person to buy for .. he has EVERY tool a man could want .. if he needs something he just goes out and buys it .. and he doesn't wear a tie, that often! So ... what do ya buy him??????? How about a Canuck jersey .. how about a ROBERTO LUONGO jersey .. yes one of the most wanted jerseys on the market right now! I think this will be his favorite gift that we have ever given him. I'm actually very excited to see him open this great treasure.

What can I tell you about my Dad .. well he is a very hard worker, in fact everything we have today is because my Dad has worked his ass off .. he would give any member of his family his last penny just to see them happy, family is number one to him, he loves his grandchildren more then life itself, he's very caring, very understanding, gives great advice, is always there for you when you need him, he's the biggest teddy bear even though people that have worked for him may care to differ, he's very smart, an awesome woodworker, loves his shop, loves to just hang out and build things .. I have a hunch that we might all be getting whirly birds for our yards as Dad gets older.... he's a great listener, has done extremely well for himself .... he's the BEST Dad EVER!

I found this poem and it really "hit the nail on the head" .. I'm going to have it framed so he can hang it on the wall of his NEW workshop!

PAPA'S TOOL SHED

Papa's tool shed is a special place,

Full of mystery and delight,

Where little kids can come and watch

While Papa builds a kite.

Each day before the sunset,
Papa is always there,
The sound of his saw and hammer
Filling the evening air.

Papa can fix anything
And make it look brand-new-
He fixes toy cars and airplanes,
Trucks and trailers, too.

There are many happy moments
Pleasant to recall,
But Papa in his tool shed
Is the nicest one of all.

~By Marie Dostan

THE STORY OF A DUCK

2007-04-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

Once a upon a time there was a rubber ducky, one day the ducky decided to have a bath with Linden .. they were having a great time .. Mommy was watching them play .. .....then the phone rang, Mommy turned her back for about 5 seconds ......what a mistake!!!!

*********FLUSH***********

Linden saw the look on Mommy's face when she turned around and said "I flush ducky .. he goes round and round and round ..he in the lagoon now .. we get him in the summertime! I fish for him with Daddy!"

So to make a long story short, Daddy had to "fish" the ducky out of the toilet. As you can see from the pictures it was quite the procedure, we had to take the toilet off .. drain the backed up water (disgusting) etc .. but he had lots of help, Linden and Brody!" Good times!

What did we learn from this incident?!?!

THAT MOMMY COULD NEVER BE A PLUMBER !!!!!

When the duck came out it was a "YUCKY DUCKY!!!!!"

Cake Making

2007-04-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Easter cake made by Auntie Amy with no help ! Pretty nice!

Easter cake made by Mommy with Linden's help! Pretty SWEET!

Why the Easter Bunny Brings Eggs

2007-04-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Why the Easter Bunny Brings Eggs ....

10. Big tax write-off.
9. Who ever heard of Easter Bricks?
8. Consider all of the varieties: scrambled, over easy, hard boiled.
7. He gets a good deal from the local chickens.
6. Secret plan to eliminate human race by cholesterol overdose.
5. Pressure from the Egg Marketing Board.
4. Because if it brought bottle rockets it would be the Independence Bunny.
3. Would you want to hunt for waffles?
2. He thinks guys should get chicks at least once a year.

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON THE EASTER BUNNY BRINGS EGGS .....

1. Because the Energizer rabbit got the good job.

HA !HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

*****What do you call ten rabbits marching backwards?

**************************A receding hareline.

*****Why couldn't the rabbit fly home for Easter?

************************He didn't have the hare fare.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE !!!

My Brother ..

2007-04-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Since it's a tradition to write about my family on their birthdays I will continue :

Matty is my little brother .. I should say younger not little since he's about 6'3" and 225lbs (approx) and I'm 5'7" 250lbs (approx)! He is 27 today ....

My favorite memories of my brother and I are:

-staying up ALL night to watch the world juniors play .. Matty was watching the game and I was watching Eric Lindros!!!

-going to the Okanagan every summer so that Matt could go to hockey school and my friends and I could watch the boys and meet Matt's instructors!

-when Matt was younger (grade 8)there was one particular person that would pick on him at school , so one day I seen this particular person walking across the road , so I drove right up to him and hit him with my car .. people should learn not to mess with my family .. I may seem easy going .. UNTIL YOU MESS WITH MY BROTHER!

-travelling EVERYWHERE in BC for hockey tournaments! I was my brother's #1 fan and still am! I don't think I missed one of his games .. well until he moved away to play junior hockey. I did make the 16 hour drive to Port Alberni to watch him play about 5 minutes and then he fought and got kicked out. Oh well we got to visit him in the stands!Ha! Oh and he WON THE FIGHT!

-chaperoning a party that Matt had at my parents house .. I still can't believe that my parents let Matt have a party?! Oh yeah .. he's the youngest and got away with EVERYTHING!

-the night that Matt was beating up some idiot outside the bar and the guy bite him .. I had to fight the guy, not to mention ask him if he was an f'ing dog, and then take Matt up to the hospital for a tetanus shot ! Like I said above don't mess with my family!!! What a night .. good thing I was there to take care of the little guy, okay he probably could have taken care of himself but I like being the BIG sister!

-Ahhh there are sooo many memories .. disneyland and the goofy hat, watching hockey together, go NUCKS, watching Rock'em Sock'em every Christmas, etc ..

Matt has made Dawson Creek his home where he lives with his beautiful wife, and cutest little boy, and one of the way .. not sure if baby is a boy or girl!?!?! Can't wait!

I miss my brother lots and lots .. I wish I could see him more often and that we could watch hockey together like we used to .. it's hard when you get older and have families cause it just seems like time flys and you don't get to see each other very much! Oh well I know he's happy where he is and I'm happy where I am.

TO THE BEST BROTHER EVER .. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTY .. I LOVE YA!

Where have I been PART 2

2007-03-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

March 9-11 - Ry, Linden and I tested the roads and headed up to the "Windy City" to visit with my brother and his family. We had an awesome time .. I must say that our little nephew is the CUTEST BIG guy you ever did see! Just look at him .....

We went swimming, went down the waterslide, and Unlce M took Linden, Ry and I to see a whole herd of deer that are living at the golf course .. Linden thought this was pretty cool but couldn't quite understand why Daddy wouldn't shoot them! They were BIG bucks!!Nice!

Auntie T and Uncle M made us a really nice dinner and we had a great visit. The boys played fairly well together .. Linden did tend to think everything was STILL his but after a few time-outs he learned. N is a very gentle, easy going kid .. he didn't care if Linden took things away from him so Linden didn't really get why he was in trouble .. in fact he kept trying to tell me that N GAVE him the toys when I sat there and watched Linden grab it away .. oh well kids will be kids and sharing will always be a struggle .. let's be honest I STILL struggle with sharing certain things!! Linden LOVES his cousin and still talks about our visit and ask when we can go again. Although we were only there for a short while we made the most of it and got in as many kisses and hugs we could with N .. look at those cheeks .. don't you just wanna kiss em! Oh and N says "Auntie " .. so cool. I guess I should mention that N really loved his Unlce Ryan .. he would just stroll over and give him a hug .. it was very sweet and Ryan thought it was just awesome. Ryan is still taking about how much N liked him!!

The drive home was ugly, the roads were terrible .. thank goodness we were in no hurry and just took our time .. it took us about 5 hours to get there (roads were great) and about 6 1/2 hours to get home. We made it home safe and sound, thank goodness!

**side note -Mom and Dad left for Cuba ... they would be gone for 2 weeks **

While I was at my brothers I was dealing with a UTI .. (urinary tract infection) .. can you say fun! I just drank my cranberry juice and the next days all the symptoms went away ..

wellll for a couple of days. Wednesday I broke out in a fever of 103 .. I had the shivers and felt terrible .. Thursday I made an appointment to see the doctor who just confirmed that I had a UTI and put me on antibotics .. Ryan stayed home from work to help with Linden (cause my Mommy was gone, sniff) Friday I figured I was fine to have Linden .. little did I know that as the day went on I felt worse and worse .. Linden was so good and very concerned about his Momma .. by 8:00pm I told Ry I had to get myself to the hospital ! The doctor on call didn't screw around .. he called in the lab techs and they did a bunch of blood work .. he thought that the UTI could be affecting my kidney and told me if the results came back saying this then I would be in the ambulance to PG ..... to make a long story short .. it wasn't the kidney just a really really bad UTI that my body couldn't fight by it's self .. sooo in the v'hoof hospital I went and stayed for 2 nights with IV meds .. Ry did a FABULOUS job taking care of Linden, Brody and me .. I'm very lucky to have such a great guy! He did turn into a worry wart and stress case but he took on all the tasks of being a single father and dog sitter and did a great job.

While my parents were gone on their trip I realized how much I depend on them .. normally when I'm not feeling well Mom would just step in (while Ry was at work) and be the greatest caregiver a person could ask for. Then when I had to go to the hospital .. Mom and Dad would have had Linden and Ryan could have stayed with me ! I have to say it was pretty scary without Mom and Dad at home .. we did survive it and Ryan did a great job but it was still scary .. and would have been extra scary if I had to go to PG!!! Ryan says he would have tracked my parents down if I was going to PG ..

Everthing worked out and Mom and Dad are home .. YAHOO! Now we are off to BIG WHITE for my cousins wedding .. can't wait to see the family... it will be a long drive .. roughly 10-12 hours but sooo worth it to hang out with the funnest family in the world!

Does Daddy need AA?

2007-03-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

We were watching the Canucks game last night, something we love to do as a family, and the conversation went something like this ....

Linden - "I gonna play for nucks when I get big!"

Daddy - "Wow, that would be great! You'd make lots and lots of money!"

Mommy - "What would you buy Mommy with all your money?"

Linden - "Um, some candy .. the dood (good) kind!"

Daddy - "What would you buy Daddy with all your money?"

Linden - "BOOZE, Daddy loves booze, lots of BOOZE and BEER!"

Ryan thought this was the funniest thing .. I'm think'in .. sign Daddy up for AA!

He also said that he'd buy his Nana lots of wine and Pa too! He'd buy the dogs dog treats and he'd buy Brody a burger at A&W! HA!HA!

What a kid!!

***** Stay tuned for Part 2 of "WHERE HAVE I BEEN" *********

What goes around comes around

2007-03-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have been a volunteer 50/50 sales girl for a lot of teams .. let's see, 3 years for the Vanderhoof Midget Bears (cause Ry was the coach), 1 year for the Omineca Ice (Ry plays on the team), and recently for the PeeWee "A" Provincials here in the hoof. I LOVE selling 50/50 and love helping out around the arena (I'm a TRUE "rink rat"), some might find this strange but I look at it as a way to meet new people and also eavesdrop on the opposing team's fans (kidding) This weekend I signed up for 2 nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, the 8pm -11pm shift. I ALWAYS try to be the best salesperson and try to get the jackpot to an all time high .. (I always hear people say "Oh, Holly is selling tonight the pot will be big!") I do tend to pressure people to buy but that's okay!Tuesday night the pot was $306.50 ... I always count the money in front of someone and have someone double count the money .. I always pick someone out of the crowd (that EVERYONE can see) to pick the winning ticket , and I always buy a ticket from someone else! This weekend was the same, I sold, I counted the money, I recounted the money and I chose a team member from the visiting Prince Rupert team to draw the winning ticket, he drew number 1682467 ... I then take it to the announcer .. then to the raffle table and wait for someone to come claim their prize .. I sat there for awhile and I heard someone say "Oh what was the number, I didn't even check my ticket ?" .. I thought to myself, hey, neither did I ?!? ... can you guess where this is going ... YEP, I WON THE 50/50 ... all $306.50 worth .. I was so excited .. yes I probably have spent over $500 in all my years of buying the 50/50 but who cares .. this weekend I WON ..

You are all probably wondering what I spent the money on ... well ONE trip to Costco and it was gone.... lots of food, a bag of dog food, cleaning supplies and one pair of capris for me.... GONE!

Oh and a BIG congrats to the hockey players of Vanderhoof, the Midget Bears, Bantam Bears and PeeWee Bears all brought home the provincial banners! GO VANDERHOOF!!!

Where have I been - PART 1

2007-03-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm back AGAIN ... sorry AGAIN for being so slack with the whole blogging thing. I've been a very busy gal .. let me tell you all about it !

Mom's birthday .. Feb 20th ...so I would like to take some time to talk about the greatest woman alive .. she is the wind beneath my wings, she is my hero, she is my best friend, she is my support, she is a WORRY WART, she is my taxi driver (yes, STILL), she is someone I look up to and someone I want to become(minus the worry wart part), she is the greatest ..

What Is a Mother?
A mother can be almost any size or any age, but she won't admit to anything over thirty. A mother has soft hands and smells good. A mother likes new dresses, music, a clean house, her children's kisses, an automatic washer and Daddy.
A mother doesn't like having her children sick, muddy feet, temper tantrums, loud noise or bad report cards. A mother can read a thermometer (much to the amazement of Daddy) and like magic, can kiss a hurt away.
A mother can bake good cakes and pies but likes to see her children eat vegetables. A mother can stuff a fat baby into a snowsuit in seconds and can kiss sad little faces and make them smile.
A mother is underpaid, has long hours and gets very little rest. She worries too much about her children but she says she doesn't mind at all. And no matter how old her children are, she still likes to think of them as her little babies.
She is the guardian angel of the family, the queen, the tender hand of love. A mother is the best friend anyone ever had. A mother is love.
- Author Unknown

I had the whole damn family over for Mom's birthday and I wanted to post a picture of the dessert I made .. it's a frozen raspberry cheesecake swirl, topped with blueberry sauce .. can you say yummy ...

Mar 1-5th - We (Mom, Linden and I) went to the city to visit Sister and cousins .. had a FAB time, made me really miss my days in the city, the shopping, the show homing (love love to go look at show homes) the food, the lattes, the snowless yards and streets. I do have to admit though .. I would rather the snow then rain, rain, rain, I mean at least when we have snow we do get the odd ray of sun shining down. You guessed it .. the visit was great the weather not so much. I also have to mention all the above things were a lot easier to do when Linden was in my belly and not running around .. riding on EVERY little ride that the malls had to offer. Can't blame the little guy .. he HATES shopping .. I think it's a guy thing cause I seen plenty of 2 year old princesses shopping away with their parents. Auntie made things better for me .. she took the big guy swimming so that Nana and I could at least get 1 hour of shopping done. Thanks Auntie. I have come to the conclusion that if I'm heading to the city for the sole purpose of shopping and show homing while visiting my sister I will not bring Linden .. BUT if I plan to go to the zoo and aquarium, maybe the science center then forsure Linden should come. Most people might think I would NEVER go all the way to the city to see some fish and a caged tiger but I soooo would. Ask family and close friends I LOVE to hang out in these places .. heck before Linden I made Ryan take me .. still a kid at heart!

The trip was a lot of fun ..
Linden's favs were visiting with his Auntie, playing with his new plane that she bought him, the swimming pool, playing with cousin "P", going to the park with Aunite and the plane ride to Auntie 's house and the plane ride home .. he actually crys when he has to get off.
My favs have to be, seeing my sister (that's something I always look forward to), seeing my cuz and her family (we got to celebrate her birthday with her, I have to mention she has a great husband and he did a wonderful job with the planning, entertaining, drinks and food! Good work M) another favorite thing.... my sister and I went to the CANUCKS game sunday night .. they played the Wild and won in shootouts but with extra shooters.... LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the game ... YAHOOO..... I phoned up our family friend that GAVE me the tickets and thanked him right away. It was soooooo awesome. Of course I could never leave GM place with out a few souvenirs soooo and my sis and I bought a few hats for brother and husband and we bought my Dad a Luongo jersey for his birthday which is in April ... we thought he could frame it and put it up in his new games room in the new house. He'll love it!

The rest is yet to come .. I will continue on with my exciting life stories on a later date ... STAY TUNED!

Valentine's Day

2007-02-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Before I begin my rant on Valentine's day I would like to shout a big THANK you to A, K & B for the cutest card .. it made me laugh .. thank you thank you thank you~!

HATE IT .. yep you read it right .. HATE HATE HATE Valentines Day .. it's such a silly day .. I think that if someone loves you and wants to show you ...they just should .. on any old day ..WHY do they need a "special" day to do so??

People often ask WHY I hate this day ... well here are a few reasons ...

It's not because I'm single (cause I'm married) and it's not because my husband forgets V-day every year or that he doesn't get me a card or some kind of gift (cause he always remembers the day and always gets me something) It's because ...

I can't stand to go out for dinner on V-day .. all you see is those lovey dovey couples .. you know the ones .. they have been together for like 2 days and they are SOOOOO in love ...they sit there holding hands, looking deep into each others eyes ... ! PUKE!

The roses cost 18 times more on V-day then they do on Feb 13th or 15th or on any other day for that matter!

Chocolates .. love them .. but does my fat a** need more chocolate?

Can't stand the questions "what are you doing for "lovers" day?" OR "What are you getting your husband (boyfriend) for V-day?" My reply NOTHING .. it's a plain silly silly day .. I would say the word "stupid" day but that's a time-out word in our house and I'm trying really hard not to use it!

Now don't get me wrong I LOVE to be treated like a queen, cooked for, catered to, showered with gift, dripping in new jewels etc..etc.. but please NOT on this day! Again if someone were to buy me all this and treat me this way I wouldn't turn it down .. it just wouldn't be appreciated as much since it's on heart day!

I also think of all the little kids handing out the cute little valentine's cards .. BUT what about the poor little left out kid that doesn't get one?? No, I wasn't THAT kid in elementary school but I'm sure I was one of the kids that didn't give everyone in my class a card. Kids are cruel!

I feel that V-day is a day that makes people that don't have a "special" someone in there lives feel sad and that is the REAL reason I hate V-day. It's kinda a mean day in that sense .. my one friend says "it's like a big ol' spotlight on her with a blinking sign that says "I'M SINGLE"

Sooooo because inquiring minds want to know .. Ry, Linden and I are having a dinner of steak and prawns in the comfort of our own home .. and we will say we love each other like we say everyday .. we will hug we will kiss just like any other night .....basically the only difference on this V-day compared to last years V-day .. well it's 2007!!!!

For all of you that LOVE the LOVE DAY .. Please don't let this blog get you down .. that's not what it was wrote for .. it's just one little bloggers opinion on this red and pink day ... I hope you have a great Valentine's Day and you get all those flowers, chocolates and other gifts you wished for... I hope that you're husbands/boyfriends/girlfriends/wives treat you really special as you all deserve it!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Happy Birthday!

2007-02-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

It's my little sister's birthday so I would like to dedicate this post to her!

My sister is:

smart
witty
sensitive
loving
independent
caring
kind
determined
SMART
financially stable
athletic
giving
close to becoming a MILLIONAIRE (always remember me!)
loyal
a volunteer
and BEAUTIFUL

"A" I wish you a very happy birthday and I really wish I could have been there to help you celebrate! Miss you lots and lots!

**** This was posted late due to a sick son and husband! Yep that's right everyone was sick AGAIN .. runny noses, flu, ear infections, antibiotics, the whole nine yards. Can you say "Nurse Mom" .. thank goodness I have MY Mom to help take care of everyone! ******

Potty Training ..

2007-02-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

Potty Training has gone pretty well with Linden .. he just started to go to the bathroom .. well number 2 that is (which, honestly, out of the 2 is the better one to learn first!).. he doesn't care to go pee on the potty .. he doesn't really care where he pees .. it could be down his leg .. on the floor .. where ever .. so we decided to buy him some "big boy"underwear like Daddy..... we bought him nemo. scooby doo, ninja turtles, mex, gap .. you name it, we got it . Linden HATES the underwear he only wants to wear his diaper .. when I ask if he'd like to put on his "big boy" underwear he says "NO, you wear them Momma!" So if anyone has any suggestions on how to get my little boy to go pee on the potty I would greatly appreciate the advice .. I've tried giving him a cool sticker when he goes and hope to try the cheerio trick soon .. don't get me wrong he does go pee on the potty SOMETIMES it's just not consistent ... maybe I need to ask him more and pay more attention?!?!?!

More on potty training .....

Linden and I went to the arena last weekend to watch Daddy play some hockey ... Linden has to go potty .. so we head into the washroom .. we both squeeze into the little stall ... I put Linden on the potty .. he's not happy with his long underwear and pants around his legs .. he needs them off ... oh and he also needs his socks off which also means his boots .. so now there is Linden, the heap of clothes and I squished into the beautiful bright orange bathroom stall .. Linden goes about his business .. telling me all about it .. it's a HUGE one Momma .. did you hear the big noise .. I a big boy .. I go potty ... BIG ONE .. there is a Daddy one and a Momma one .. I'm telling Linden to be a little quieter but it doesn't help .. he then hears another person in the bathroom .. he says "is that my friend Momma ... she go potty too .. she a big girl .. she make big noise too ... did you hear that Momma ..

Ahhh ....can you say embarrassing .... I thought it would be great to have a potty trained child ..... now, not so much .. kidding of course .. it's nice not to deal with a dirty diaper but the whole bathroom talk is kinda overwhelming ..

Get THIN Thursday ...

2007-02-01T15:26:00.001-08:00

Another week gone and another pound lost!

Total weight lost = 9 pounds

Happy Anniversary

2007-02-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Yep, it was my Mom and I's anniversary yesterday .. exactly 6 years since I received my new kidney ! I'm so grateful for this special gift and for the special person who gave it to me! People always say how close my Mom and I are ... wouldn't you be if you were caring her kidney! I think I'm very priviledged that I get to carry a part of my Mom!

I still remember this miracle day as if it was yesterday .. we were waiting in the admitting department .. I started to cry

Mom : What's was wrong ? Are you having second thoughts about going through with this?
Me : No just really scared!
Mom : Me too!

Then my Mom just hugged me ... at that point I felt the sense that eveything would be alright! My Mom was soo strong through this procedure .. she never batted an eye with whether or not she'd do this for me. Right from the beginning she just kept saying "let's do this" .. "sign me up" .. I have to mention that other family members stepped up to the plate too ... and I'm very grateful for that too .. just happened that Mom was the best match!

I seen my Mom being rolled down to the operating room .. she just smiled and went on her way. I layed there worrying about her .. would she be okay .. would the surgery go well .. I prayed there would be no complications .. I couldn't believe that someone would go through all this for me .. I felt that if anything ever happened to my Mom I would never forgive myself!

Then it was my turn .. I cried again, so scared .... then the next thing I remember was waking up .. being wheeled down to my room .. there at the end of the hall was my family and friends giving me the biggest thumbs up .. I will NEVER forget this day!

Although I went through some very scary parts after the transplant with rejection and such, my family and friends stood by my side cheering me on .. they gave me the strength to fight and the ability to stay postitive! I think I'm a very lucky person to have gone through this .. it showed me what you do when you love someone so much .. how to be a good friend and family member!

I would like to say thank-you to everyone that was there for me .. I couldn't have done it without you! I thank those that couldn't actually visit me in the hospital but sent 40+ bouquets of flowers .. the endless cards of best wishes and all the phone calls!

To my Mom: you gave me my health back, my dream wedding, the ability to have a child, the sense of freedom .. to sum it up .. YOU GAVE ME THE GIFT OF LIFE .. and I thank you with all my heart!!! You're the best!

Yahoooooo

2007-01-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

Just got off the scale and ....... drum roll please ...... lost another 3 lbs ...

GRAND TOTAL : 8 lbs lost!!!!

Weight loss ... Day Care .... Rocky ...

2007-01-25T21:21:00.001-08:00

So the WW thing is going very well .. the weight isn't melting off but I'm slowly seeing improvements and I feel way better about myself. Unfortunately I don't have a weight in number for you tonight as I forgot to weigh in due to going to PG for a doctors appointment but I will report that last week I lost another 1.5 lbs so my total is now at 5.5 lbs!

Linden starts his 1st day of daycare tomorrow ... well he's only going for a 1/2 day once a week but I think it will be GREAT for him. I found the perfect Day Care provider .. she is so good with kids and treats them all fairly .. she does tons of activities with the kids, including cirlce time, crafts, story time, and some dance time! Linden seems to really like his new "teacher" he hasn't stopped talking about her since he met her on Monday. He loves all the cool boy toys she has ... specially the fishing rod and fish, the buzz lightyear lazer gun and all the books! I think he will LOVE going to daycare and as hard as it is to let go it's for his best interest to learn how to interact with other kids!

Are you wondering who Rocky is ??? Ryan and I adopted him about 7 years ago ... he's orange .. he loves to swim.... ???Give up .. it's our BIG goldfish. I'm sad to report that this long time friend of the family has passed away tonight. I know people think I'm crazy to be sad about a fish dying but the truth is ... I'm really upset .. he was such a nice look'in fish ... Linden loved to watch him swim around his tank all day .. and we ALWAYS said good night to him and all of our other fish before we went to bed! If you ask Linden what happened to Rocky his reply will be "he had to go to heaven!" Rocky you will be sadly missed ... may you swim in peace!

Well on that happy note .. hope everyone has a wonderful day and keep up the great blogging!

WW

2007-01-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

I've offically started exercising and doing WW, if you don't know what WW stands for then you have obviously never needed to lost weight ... LUCKY YOU!! I've been on the program since January 2nd .. and have lost 4 pounds .. I need to weigh in today so I will keep you posted .. actually it might just become a weekly post .. kinda like the Queen's music monday .. I might start "get thin" thursdays .. I know that you're all excited about it!! Let's be honest I will blog about this more for my sake then yours but that's okay right?!?

Why did I decide to lose weight .. well my friends ... I've gotten to the point in my life where I can't keep using excuses to why I'm sooo heavy .. my baby is 2 1/2 years old now .. so no longer can I say I just had a baby ... I'm not having any other children so I can't use the "no point in losing weight when I'm going to have another child" .. I can't use the excuse I've been super sick and on lots of meds that caused the weight .. my health is fine .. so NO MORE EXCUSES ... just honesty .. I'm fat cause I'm lazy and didn't try to lose any of my baby weight ..

After Christmas I decided it was time to put the pedal to the medal and start, at least try, to lose some weight .. I don't feel healthy .. I don't like the way my clothes fit .. and HATE HATE what the scale says .... I just can't believe I let myself get like this .. WHY ?!?! Why wouldn't I have caught this gradual weight gain sooner ... it wouldn't have been sooo hard or so much!! WHY OH WHY?!?

I love WW .. specially now that all foods have to have the nutritional value .. really helps calculate the points .. I decided to try WW online .. it's soooo great .. it helps you calculate points .. gives you recipes .. and keeps track of the food you eat .. I've learned WAY more on this site then attending the meetings .. oh did I mention it's only costs roughly $85 for 3 months .. love it! The only down fall is that you have to be honest when you put your starting weight in and then every time you weigh in! Not sure why you'd lie but some of my friends say they could NEVER do it cause they'd just lie about their weights ...????

Anyways ... I'm back on track and if anyone out there would like to join the club .. feel free .. I'd love to have a buddy to lose weight with!

(Note- I do know that this is just my second week so that's why I'm so excited about it .... sooooo I fully expect my attitude to change but that's why I have you fellow bloggers to help me through the rough times ... thanks in advance .. when I get on Oprah with my great weight lose storyI will be sure to invite you all or at least mention your support!)

HOCKEY

2007-01-09T20:02:00.000-08:00

Remember the post regarding Linden calling the canucks on his pretend cell phone .. welllll has anyone noticed that since that "pretend" call the canucks have won 7 straight .. is my son a miracle worker?!?!? Whatever he said ... here's hoping the winning streak continues .. GOOOOOOOO NUCKS ...

I want to make mention of the FABULOUS win by the Canadian Junior team .. way to be boys! I was a watch'in and a cheer'in every game! Very proud to be CANADIAN!!!

Ryan just started to play hockey again .. he's playing for the newly formed Omineca Ice .. the new senior team here in Vanderhoof. He is having a blast hanging out with the boys and playing a game he loves .. last weekend the team was in Williams Lake .. Ryan got 1 goal and 2 assists .. this weekend they play at home .. should be a good time .. I think Linden will stay the night at Nana and Pa's house so I can go cheer Ryan on and maybe sip back a few beverages!

What happened to Country Mouse?

2007-01-06T16:07:00.000-08:00

Let's see where to start ...

CHRISTMAS HAPPENED!

-Annual Christmas hockey tournament ...S. J. & J. came in from PG and stayed with us ..... to sum it up .. the guys had a GREAT time and the women basically put on their bonnets and made bread while taking care of the children ... welllll maybe it wasn't that bad and we might have had a few beverages!

-Christmas was great we were surrounded by family and friends .. Linden LOVED every minute of it .. he thought the visit from Santa was soo cool ... when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas .. Linden replied .. no guns and bullets (cause the other Santa told him that he wouldn't bring that to a little kid) so he told him trains and planes .. then he told Santa that Momma would like new earrings ... good boy! I actually did get some new diamond earrings ... they are gorgeous and I LOVE them ... basically the Christmas was the same .. a whole lotta spoiling going on .... can't complain .. keep up the good work family!! Ha!

-We did what all REDNECKS do over the christmas holidays .. go ice fishing .. good times ... standing on cold ice for 3 hours with 50 other people and about 150 dogs ... but I have to say this year was better then most ... we actually caught ONE fish!! Yahoo .. we should really go out and buy a lottery ticket!!

- New Years was very mellow but lots of fun .. we went into PG for the day and did things with Linden .. we took him to Exploration Place .. basically a mini science world .. he has lots of fun playing at the water table .. looking at all the bugs, reptiles and of course all the stuffed things on the wall .. his favorite was when he got to shoot pucks at a screen and then it rates your speed and accuracy .. we'd like everyone to know that his shot is approx 16 miles per hour! Not bad for a 2 year old! Let's just say we spent a few bucks at this little game ... cause you know that Daddy had to give it a try .. he'd like me to post he was at 84 miles per hour .. oh but the stick was cheap and the pucks were foam so he doesnt' know how accurate that is .... translation .. his shot would have been way better with proper equipment! .. He keeps forgetting that he's not 20 years old playing junior hockey anymore!! After the fun was over there we took Linden to McDonalds so he could eat a very healthy snack and play in the germ infested playland. Good Times! We ended our New Years with S. J. & J. in PG ... playing some games, drinking some pomegrante maritins, and laughing till we cried!

- Then is was time to take care of the BIG GUY ... he has been under the weather for a couple of days .. high fever .. only wanting me ... wanting to just sit and cuddle .. not sleeping at night .. coughing ... you know what I'm taking about .. but he seems to be getting better .. you just feel so sad for them .. I'm just happy that he is old enough to actually tell me what hurts!

- The last week has been clean-up Christmas week ... a week I HATE ... it seems so dark and gloomy once you take down the tree and all the decorations .. Linden actually screamed and freaked out when we took the tree down ... he told his Dad that he was very mad at him and that his Daddy was mean ... then he proceeded to tell Ryan that he should bring the christmas tree back in the house NOW! Poor guy .. he likes Christmas just as much as his Momma ..

- Well we hope everyone had a great holiday and we wish everyone a very happy new year!

Daddy with the catch of the day!

Linden checking out his gift from Santa!

The hunter ...

2006-12-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

The hunter ... his dog .....

& the famous Moose Cookies!

Calling the Canucks ...

2006-12-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

All of you hockey fans know that the Canucks lost another game tonight .. well my son is a huge fan of this great team and he was not happy that they lost ... so what does a 2 year old little boy do about it .... he calls them of course ...

Ryan and I were downstairs tonight playing hockey with Linden (like we do EVERY night) .. when Linden stops and picks up his cell phone (no he doesn't have a cell phone yet .. well he does but it doesn't work, don't tell him that)

Ryan - What are you doing Linden .. who are you calling?

Linden - The nucks

Linden - "Nucks you gotta ate aster ... oot more .. no more osing! .... then hung up!!
(Translation) - "canucks you gotta skate faster ... shoot more ... no more losing!

Then he dropped the phone picked up his hockey stick and started to play again .... Ryan and I just sat in silence ... did he really just do that .. ?? Maybe he won't be a NHL player .. he might just go right into coaching!!!!?????

Some misc pics

2006-12-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

Good ....

Crazy ...

Just plain scary ...

Catch up!

2006-12-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

First of all I would like to tell everyone that I have been reading all of your blogs but cannot comment .. blogger doesn't like me right now sooooo like the "queen" I might have to make the switch to new blogger??

I have a lot of catching up to do with my blogging pals .. I know that you're all sooo excited to hear what I've been up to .. you're probably sitting on the edge of your chairs ... well hold on ...cause here it comes ...

We got our christmas tree a couple of weekends ago .. always a fun experience since my husband will not allow us to have a fake or cultured tree ... nope we get to drive around for hours and hours in search of the PERFECT christmas tree .. Linden thought it was very fun .. of course we couldn't leave home without his "hunting hat"so the bucks don't see us .. and his "gun" which is AKA - a watering nozzle (you know those gun looking things that you water your shrubs and outside plants with) ... he basically shot every tree, squirrel and bug that he saw. After roughly 4 1/2 hours we finally got our tree .. and you're all probably thinking we just threw it in the back of our truck ... hell no ... we strapped it up on the ol' ENVOY!!! REDNECKS ... Nope!!!Oh and as for it being the "perfect tree" ... most might not think so but the memories of getting it makes it pretty special!

Rednecks??? .. I made sugar cookies the other night .. most would use the traditional cookie cutters for Christmas .. the angel, gingerbread man, snowman, bells ... not this family .. we use Linden's favorite cookie cutter ...that would be the MOOSE !!!!!!Yep, "P" when you come to visit you can eat a Moose cookie .. and if you're really lucky we might even BBQ you a nice steak or two!!!

What else is new .... took Linden to the "skate with Santa" .. he liked it of course ... he's totally into Santa , just loves him .. shhh don't tell him but our good friend "R" is going to dress up as Santa and come to our house on Christmas Eve ... I think Linden will love it and I'm sure Santa "R" will like the Christmas cheer he'll receive when he stops by!

Ryan and I braved the shopping mall last Saturday ... it's was messy .. took us 20 minutes to find a parking spot, not kidding ... Ryan was very good ... very patient .. which was very unusual! We got MOST of our shopping done .. there are always those few "hard to buy for" gifts that you leave till the last minute ... and with only 3 more shopping days left Ryan still has to find something for his Dad..... in Vanderhoof?!?!?!

After a hard day of shopping we ended up staying over night in PG and went for dinner at the "SHO-GUN" with our good friends "S & J". We had a wonderful time ... specially when "J" and I started talking about my pre-stagette night when my Dad treated me and my bridesmaids to dinner .. memories ... tarable flirting with the cook .... tarable wearing a certain someone's fur coat .. we were laughing sooo hard that we had tears flowing down our faces ... good times .. good times ..
After a couple of bottles of wine ... a couple shots of SAKI and a few bellini's we were off trying to find something else to do ... it just happened that there were a couple of Christmas parties going on in our hotel ... sooooo "S" and Ry decided to join one ... picture "S" and Ryan casually walking up to the bar .. buying some drink tickets and mingling with complete strangers ... surprising enough someone thought they recognized them cause this man came right over to "S" and Ry and said "Hey .. how's it going .. haven't seen you for a long time" Well that was their in.. they headed into the banquet hall and started to talk up the older ladies .. good work guys .. Needless to say "J" and I were too shy to go with them so we snuck off to the Caddy and had a great night!

Sunday Ryan, Linden and I volunteered to help deliver baskets to the needy .. it was a real eye opener to see how some people live and how they are struggling to make ends meet and to raise children with no money ... when you knock on a door and see a beautiful little girl with big eyes watch you as you bring in hampers full of food ... all I can say is how lucky we are .. it was kinda neat to deliver a basket and get a huge hug and invitations to come in for tea or to meet the kids .. most of the people we delivered to were soooo grateful and couldn't say thank-you enough .. it's was very heart-warming ... we will be adding this to our Christmas traditions !

We're not sure who the family was that we adoted this year but I'm positive they stood in disbelief as the person delivering their stuff brought in 5 rubbermaid containers ... full of winter boots, toys, remote control cars, coats, wrapping paper, detergent, and all the food you can imagine!!

As you all know I LOVE this holiday .. I love that it's a time for family and friends to get together ..(I'm not like my sister .. I love company and the more the merrier!!) I love that it's a time to go shopping for OTHER people ... I love that it's a time of endless hours of wrapping .. I love the hussle and bussle .. love decorating in festive colors .... love Christmas lights and of course Christmas carols .. those are playing loud and proud in my truck .. including the famous "I want a hippo for Christmas" ...love the eating (until January and then the guilt sets in )... love all the Christmas shows on TV .. love the Christmas Cheer (drinks)... love that when I leave a store people say "Merry Christmas"... to sum it up I LOVE CHRISTMAS and everything that goes with it!

Getting so excited for Christmas .. only 4 more sleeps ...

Visit with Santa

2006-12-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

Linden and I went to see Santa with our good friends ... "JoJo" and her daughter ... Linden was sooo excited but I really didn't think he'd like to sit on Santa's lap all my himself ... but yet again he proved me wrong.

There we stood in the line to see Santa .. the little blue and white elf (aka. Santa's helper) comes over to us and Linden puts his hand out to hold hers and follows her right up to the jolly old guy .. he climbs up on his lap as if it was his Papa's and looks right at Santa with a big smile .. I was sooo proud of him. He smiled the biggest smile and the picture turned out faulous. Then ..... Santa asks ....

Santa: What do you want for Christmas Linden?
Linden: a dun (gun) and bullets!!!
Santa: With a puzzled look in his eye repeats -What does Linden want for Christmas?

At this point I'm thinking to myself ... Oh lord .. I truly am raising the next DAVIE CROCKETT

Mom: Well Santa he wants a gun and bullets ... his Dad is a hunter and he ...
Linden: want to oot (shoot) bucks ..... then proceeds to do the shooting noise ..

Ahhhhhhhhh... his father would have been so proud!!!!!!

As for Santa's reply: Santa doesn't give guns for gifts you'll have to ask your Daddy!!!!

Tradition

2006-12-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Tra-di-tion (noun) = the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice: a story that has come down to us by popular tradition.

Christmas is a time of traditions! Everyone has their own traditions ... This year I'm starting a new tradition in our little family ... there is a program in Vanderhoof called adopt-a-family and I feel that it's something I NEED to do. My Mom and I are adopting a family together this year and then next year we'll both take on a family. Since we're doing this together we've asked for a family with 3-4 children!

We just got the profile of our family, it's a family of four .. a 11 yr old boy, a 8 yr old boy, a 5 yr old girl and a single Mom! We get to buy whatever we want for them! The Mom gives us a some hints of what the kids like ... the 11 year old boy loves hunting ... ironic or what?!? There a very few rules .. you can buy whatever you want, food, wrapping paper, gifts, clothes, shoes etc ... one rule, we can't wrap anything, this is so the parents can see what the kids are getting and they get to wrap the gifts themselves .. you dont' have to buy anything for the parents but Mom and I will .... I'm so excited about this ... it's neat that the family doesn't know you and you don't know them .. it's a way of giving and not having anyone feel like they need to return the favor. So many people have done such nice things for me and my family it will be nice to "Pay it Forward"

Why do I feel the need to do this you ask ... well my family consists of just the three of us and most likely always will so I feel since it's so small we should help a family that is less fortunate then ourselves! Spend our money on people that will really appreciate our gifts of food and clothes!

I will post a picture of our "adopt-a-family's" gift basket when it's done and let you know what we bought! If anyone knows what the "in" toys are for boys aged 8-11 please leave me a comment, it would be greatly apprecitated!

************************************************************************************
The Road to Creston and back ...

It was a long haul but didn't seem that bad as we were on a charter bus watching movies and eating and eating and eating .. time seemed to pass fairly fast... that is if 18 hours of driving can go fast!?!?!
Our team played terrible which would explain the 16th place finish .. aka LAST PLACE .. yes my friends we travelled 18 hours for our team to take dead last .. 0 and 8 ... basically the team crawled on the court, rolled over and played dead! Okay it wasn't quite that bad, some of the girls played pretty good but they never all played good at the same time. Frustrating .. oh and we couldn't go to the Kokanee brewery cause "it wasn't an appropriate school field trip ... translation we had one religious girl on the team that wasn't allowed to go so we all had to suffer! Our hotel was very old and had that moth ball smell to it .. yucky! All in all things didn't go that well in Creston .. but we made it home safe and that's all that matters!

Bitter Sweet

2006-11-22T22:40:00.000-08:00

Why bitter/sweet ... let me explain!

SWEET :
- the senior girls volleyball team that I coach just won the north central zones .
-we beat a team from Prince George in the final ...
-PG's coach had called me early last week (before the zone tourney) to ask me when the provincials were so she could BOOK a busdriver. Basically assuming that her team had the win in the bag!
- WE BEAT PG ... it was best of 5 and my girls kicked their a**, taking them 3 straight!!!
-I thanked the PG coach for booking us a bus driver .. it was very thoughtful!

BITTER:
-Provincials are in Creston, BC ... yep the end of the earth .. okay not quite but it's a 18 hour drive .. on a bus with 13 girls under the age of 18!

SWEET:
-the school just rented us a chartered bus ... that's right .. you know the ones with DVD players and multiple tv's ... not to mention a bathroom ... the NVSS Viqueens not only won the zones and are going to Creston to represent our small community at the "AA" provincials but we're going in style!!!! YAHOO!

BITTER:
-What the hell are we going to do in Creston?

SWEET:
-tour the Kokanee brewery of course .. not much of a beer drinker but will have to try some FRESH brewed glacier beer!

BITTER:
-I will be gone for 5 nights .. the most I have ever left Linden!

SWEET:
-my Mom will take him while Ryan works and then (Ry) Daddy will be there to take care of the big guy! Not sure what I would do without all my support! I will miss Linden but I won't worry about him as I know he's in the best care possible!

BITTER:
-just broke my tooth and need a full root canal

SWEET:
-I broke it while eating a very good candy! Do you think it was a sign from God telling me that I didn't really need that candy!

TEETH !!!

2006-11-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

You asked for some teeth .. well here you go!!!

Survey Says ......

2006-11-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

Well I did it ....... Let me know what cha think! I've never done anything so drastic to my hair before but I think I like it?!? Still in the process of getting used to it but so far I'm pretty happy!
Sorry about the silly picture ... I can't stand photos of myself .. they never seem to turn out!

SURVEY

2006-11-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here's the question:

Should I dye my hair my natural color OR should I just streak it again?!?

Explanation:

My hair has always been a mousy brown color, okay with lots of blonde streaks but as I'm getting older my hair is changing color .. it's very dark now! What I think I should do is just dye my hair the color of my roots which is dark dark brown?!?! Good Idea, I don't know you tell me!!!

My appointment is 9:00am tomorrow morning!

2006-11-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

Okay I recently applied to be on "Deal or No Deal" .. some of you might hate the show so I think I should mention that Big Dodge, Bits and Pieces, and Tarable .. you are on my supporter list .. so basically it doesn't matter if you dislike it .. if I make the auditions you're going to have to suck it up!! HA!!

Anyways there is a question about what your friends and family would say is your best qualities .. I wrote that you'd say I was a very positive person .. but then I read my last blog and question that ?!? I'm normally a positive person but then once in a while these little negative things build up and WHAM .. I write about them?!? Sorry please bare with me ...

Now I'm back to looking at all the positives ..

It's a gorgeous day here in the hoof .. you should see the sun a shining and the snow a melt'in .. it's a beautiful winter day!

All is good at home .. my hubby just shot a HUGE deer (no worries I will not be posting a picture of this) and thank goodness he did .. Linden and I were starting to eat bark off the trees .. we're starving! To say the least he is soo excited about the kill ... he phoned me right away and was practically screaming in the phone .. too bad I wasn't as excited as he was .. I really try to be happy for him but I just think of the poor little, or I mean HUGE, deer. One good thing is our son has the same interest in hunting as Ry ... I told Linden that his Dad shot a big buck and his reply was "Hmmmm .. delicious .. Linden love buck" .. which I replied .. " Good then you and Daddy can eat all the deer you want .. less for me! Yahoo!"

Well I should get back to work but I will let you know when I will be appearing on TV as soon as they call! You best be nice to me as you never know if I will be a millionaire in a few months .. !!!
You know what they say "always be nice to people that play DEAL OR NO DEAL!!!HA!

Little Boys ...

2006-11-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

I suggest if you don't want to read a negative blog PLEASE don't proceed .... this is just something I have to get off my chest and the best way to do that is to blog about it!!!!

This weekend I overheard (at the arena) someone say ..... "Man I hope that my daughter doesn't have a little boy" .. what kinda statement is that?! ....I then hear someone ask ... "Why do you say that?" .. where the lady quickly recovers by saying "Oh I just couldn't handle watching my grandson play hockey, it's just too rough!" ... why does everyone think that little boys are so bad. Yep they are busy but not all of them .. take Linden for example .. a VERY VERY busy, go-getter, dare-devil .. but take one second and look at Linden's parents .. Are we every home? .. Do we ever just sit at home and do nothing??? .. NOPE!!!! We're always always busy ... do ya think that that's why Linden is busy??? OF COURSE it is .. he doesn't know how to sit and watch a movie for more then 1/2 hour cause that's about the longest that Ryan or I sit for! It just makes me soooo mad that people just assume all boys are bad ... it's quite hurtful and I'm not sure why? I kept saying to myself .. oh Holly not everyone thinks that .. but you know I hear it OVER AND OVER AND OVER .. it's terrible .. I just hope that when Linden gets old enough to understand all these comments that he doesn't actually believe it!!!!! I think kids are a splitting image of their parents .. our son loves all sports and is not seen without a baseball bat, hockey stick, golf club or some sort of ball in his hand but like I say he's a true child of ours .. does it make him BAD to be busy and want to swing a bat or throw a ball???? I'm sooooo hurt and frustrated!

I often hear people say things like .. how can you handle having a boy .. I don't want a boy they are way to hard to deal with and get into everything .. it would suck to have a boy ??? It's very hurtful to hear such things .. that's when I think to myself .. if they only knew how much little boys LOVE their Moms and how you as a Mom would be number one in their heart for the rest of their lives they wouldn't say that!

Yes .. boys are way different then girls .. most of them just won't sit down and color for an hour .. or sit in a nice outfit without getting dirty but it's been that way since the beginning of time. Boys will ALWAYS be different then girls but (I will ask one more time) does that make them BAD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

I wouldn't change being a parent of a little boy for the world ..

Let it snow!

2006-10-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

Thought I would send a few more pics of all the snow we got over the weekend .. I honestly don't think people understand how much snow we actually received in a 24 hour period.

Left: Linden helping himself to a little treat .. snow ... yes I made sure it wasn't yellow!

Top Right: Just proving the unbelievable snow fall!

With all the snowfall comes trouble ... the snow was so wet that it caused a lot of trees to fall .. I had one fall across the driveway .. one fall 5 ft from Ryan's truck and about 30 others snapping all around the yard! Perfect weekend for Ryan to be gone not to mention my parents! Yep, Linden and I were all alone on Friday night ... can you say freaked-out! As everyone knows I HATE being by myself .. I know I know .. Holly you're 30 (okay 31) years old .. you gotta get over it! Well my friends ... I will get over this fear when they find a medication that can help ... now I want to make one thing clear .. Linden thinks that I'm not scared of anything .. well maybe snakes .. but not the fear of the dark .. when he tells me he sees ghost and they scare him .. I just laugh and say ghost are nice they won't hurt you .. I play the strong, nothing will hurt you when I'm around Mom ... if he only knew that the more he talks about ghosts the more I'm crying inside ....

Anyways .. more problems with the heavy snow and trees snapping .. NO POWER ... yes from 3pm until 2am we had no power .. it's quite sad how much we depend on power ... no lights, heat, fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer, dryer, washroom, phones (thank goodness for the faithful cell phone) COMPUTER and on and on!!!! Now you're probably wondering how the biggest scaredy-cat dealt with the no lights being home by herself issue .. well it's simple .. it was my annual sleep-over with my team this weekend at our house .. so I got to sit in the dark with 9 other people. It was a lot of fun .. we played cranium by candle light ... we ate by candle light (you can see in the pic .. Linden and the girls at his little picnic table) .... everyone even went to the washroom in candle light .. we did a whole lotta talking and learned a lot about each other .. I think it was a successful "team building" weekend.

Once again I have to be sooo thankful for my parents .. they got home Sunday afternoon and before they even unloaded their truck my Dad was on the quad plowing the driveway and he then filled my wood boiler, cleaned up all the fallen trees etc .. my Mother-in-law calls and asks if she can bring over some homemade stew for all of us so that me or Mom don't have to cook ... so thoughtful .... then myMom made a nice light dessert and did some cleaning for me .. not to mentioned looked after Linden so I could get some groceries without my little helper .. who adds things to the cart .. such as jelly-beans! Family is the best!

It's sooo nice to have the power back .. I feel bad for a lot of people here in hooterville .. they are still without power .. so over 24 hours ! In a little town just west of here .. Burns Lake .. they got 4 feet of snow and still don't have power today .. poor people .. it's kinda like a mini-disaster .... people keep calling into the radio to tell their stories .. sad!

Linden story: Linden is flinging his fishing rod around the house and hits Brody .. I give him a timeout after 1 warning ... then he is sitting on the floor, playing nicely, pretending to fish .. he accidentally hits me when he's casting .. I say to him .. "Linden you just hit me" he replies with the sweetest confused voice " Nope, I don't think I did Momma" ....... good times !

Is it Christmas?!

2006-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is what it looks like in Vanderhoof today! Shocker!!! Linden and the dogs are loving the snow. The first thing Linden said when he woke up and seen the snow was "Santa coming Mommy?" ... Yep he is a true child of mine .. LOVES Christmas .. don't worry Tarable I won't talk about it yet? Although I would like nothing more then to throw the old christmas lights on tonight .. I won't! I have made a promise to my family that I will not turn the lights on until December 1st! I PROMISE!

A little of this and a little of that

2006-10-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

Just a few random shots of Linden .. one he is at the park in Dawson and the other he is with the friendly scarecrows that Nana and Linden put at the end of our driveway to welcome all our guests. Linden and I say good morning to them everyday and we tell them that we're home everytime we drive up the driveway! They are practically part of the family!

So the big day is coming .. when kids get to dress up and get way too many candies for free .. well I won't be the parent that trucks my kid around to every neighbourhood so he can get a PILLOWCASE full of candy ..!No way! We're lucky in this little town .... our Chamber of Commerce organizes a "Pumpkin Walk" .. what happens is all the local schools carve pumpkins .....which equals about 500 ..... then they truck them down to a local campsite where they light them all up at dark .. the kids get to walk through the creepy campsite and see all the different carved Jack-o-laterns! Tim Hortons comes down ...donates and serves hot chocolate ... they have a few campfires going where you can warm up if it's chilly (which it alway is) and then to top the night off ... they have a HUGE fireworks display .. .. oh and they also give out candy! It's a very nice evening out and it's not knocking on everyone's door begging for candy ! I love it! I plan to take Linden although I'm not too sure how he will like it this year as he's going through a scared of everything stage?!? I really wanted him to dress up but he's not into that either ..but tonight he did tell me that he wanted to be a ghost!? Perfect .. throw a sheet over his head .. ... cut some holes for eyes and done ... cheap!

My husband is gone away for work and won't be back for 7 more days! Usually I'm kinda excited about not having to worry about dinners, not as much laundry and picking up after .. and getting to spend some more time doing things I like to do ... such as go on the computer ... . but this time it's kinda sad .. I haven't really seen him much lately .. with me coaching and him working soooo much overtime, then getting fire wood and of course we can't forget the endless hours of hunting (again he only does this because we NEED the meat ... we might starve this winter .. our freezer is empty ...) we're never together .. oh well I know I will survive but I do miss him lots!

What else is new ... had a great time in the "loops" the girls did pretty good .. it was a long way on a bus though .... in a car you're looking at about 7 hours but in a bus full of girls with little bladders you're looking at about 10 hours ............We don't have a tourney this weekend so I 'm having all 14 of the girls over for my annual sleep-over .. should be fun .. we watch chick flicks, paint nails .. do manicure .. eat tons and tons .. play a few games .. it's supposed to be a team building thing?!!?

Linden has been skating a bit ....I think he might be a bit spoiled .. this Gidu (Ry's Dad) bought him brand new skates... very expensive but apparently he has to learn on proper skates with good ankle support .... I'm already learning stuff about the hockey equipment and Linden is only 2!!!! I'm soooo pumped to be a hockey Mom ... that is if Linden plays ?!!?!?Does he have a choice??

Weird but true!

2006-10-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I have neglected you .. just extremely busy and I won't bore you with the details .. I will sum it up with volleyball and being a Mom and Wife!

I'm the MAIN cause of the hectic life style I live ... for instance .. I'm leaving today for 3 days .. so last night I had to pack .. you'd think that would be all .. but nope .. I do stange things .. I figure I must accomplish everything before I can go to bed .. let me explain .. after I put Linden to sleep (9pm) I figure I should do ALL my laundry (those that know me .. this means maybe 2 loads as I do laundry on a regular basis) .. while it's washing and drying .. clean my kitchen .. take out the garbage ... load the dishwasher, turn it on .. then I remember I won't be home for 2 dinners .. I decide that my "poor" husband shouldn't have to cook for himself so I make dinner (10pm) put it in a casserole dish in the fridge , it's all ready for him to slap on a plate and zap ..... he works much to hard to cook for himself (he does not expect this and asked that I don't do this but I'm my Mother's daughter and have to have everything ready for everyone .. no one will survive while I'm gone unless I do everything for them) .. yep I'm a bit crazy .. then it's fold the laundry and put it away .... unload the dishwasher ... oh I better have a shower .. then it's shave the legs .. look at my toes .. terrible the nail polish is chipped .. quickly paint my nails .. notice that my fingernails need some strengthing so more polish .... oh shoot I forgot to email so and so . ... etc ... you get the point .... to sum it up I was putting myself to sleep around 12:45am! I figured that I was sooooo organized and this morning would be so relaxing I would get up at 6am and have a nice cup of coffee then slowly get ready for a half day of work ... well to my surprise I SLEPT IN....... yep ..... thought I set the alarm for 6am and woke up at 7:30 .. the time that I should be in my vehicle driving Linden to my Mom's house!? Don't worry I wasn't in a panic .. why you ask .. well cause I stayed up all night doing everything ... I didn't have anything to do except get myself ready and dress Linden .. even his stuff was packed!!!! The morning wasn't as relaxed as I hoped but not as bad as it could have been!

So .. I'm off to Kamloops .. should be fun but again always mixed feeling with leaving my men behind! Talk to ya soon!

Photo's

2006-10-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

The family partying it up at the wedding! Nice smile Linden ... it's his "NEW" thing! Cheeeeese!

... the picture of our finished set of front stairs .. YAHOO ..I will take another once we get the forms off and stuff .. they look fabulous .. just LOVE having them .. no more worrying about Linden getting out and falling off the deck .. I know we still need some sort of railing ... we're working on that!

Things I'm thankful for .....

2006-10-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well kids it's Thanksgiving .. which means it's that time of the year that we all should sit down and think of all the POSITIVE things in life and all the things we're thankful for ... I won't bore you with the millions of things that I'm thankful for but I will try to list my top 5!

5. SOOOOOOO thankful that HOCKEY IS BACK .. YAHOO .. sexy men playing the SEXIEST sport alive .. Ry and I watched the end of the Dallas Colorado game last night on TSN and it was FABULOUS ... greatest game on earth ...

4. Very thankful that my hip is still attached and has been for over 2 months .. touch wood

3. Thankful for my health, happiness, house, life, marriage, child, husband, job, hair (yep, I said Hair .. remember I once was bald)

2. Thankful that I have a great support system that allows me to do what I LOVE and that's coach .. I get so much out of this volunteer work .. love the kids .. I laugh a lot ... love that I can teach them things and in return they teach me things .... coaching brings me back to my youth which I love .. I think everyone should do something that makes them feel like a kid again .. and that, my friends, is why I will be heading to Disneyland next year ... the HAPPIEST place on earth!

1. Obviously for my WHOLE family .... who has supported me through everything ! They are the best a person could ever ask for! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! I will never forget the day I got my transplant and I was getting wheeled back to my room ... there at the end of the hallway was my family ...each and everyone of them giving me the biggest wave and thumbs up that you can imagine .. one of the greatest days of my life ...

SO I challenge all my blog pals to get in the thanksgiving mood and list their top 5 things ... come one you can do it ..

Well I will be away from blogland again as we are heading up to my cousin's wedding ... it should be a blast .. hang'in with the fam ... most people might dread the thought of hanging out with the family for a whole weekend .... obviously you haven't hung out with my family ... they like to party and have fun .. can't wait!

Hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend ..... be safe and I look forward to reading about everyone's adventures .. specially Tarable's!!!

Things that make you go hmmmmm?

2006-09-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Another Linden story ... I was putting Linden to sleep the other night .. like I usually do .. snuggl'in under the covers talking about our day .. I know you're all probably thinking ... what's Holly doing ??? .. still having to lay down with Linden to put him to sleep and he's 2 years old ... welllllll I LOVE putting my little man to sleep .. it's OUR time and honestly it's the only REAL time that the guy cuddles ... sooooo BACK OFF ... okay now that I have that off my chest .. I will continue

We were snuggling and happened to be talking about how Mommy was going to be gone on Friday night and Daddy would be putting Linden to sleep .. the conversation went something like this:

L: I love Momma's arm (he always has to hold your arm, kinda like a blankie .. his security I guess)
H: You will have to love Dadda's arm on friday cause Mommy won't be home
L: No want Momma's arm!
H: You know Linden you're very lucky to have a good Dad like yours .. he takes you fishing, hunting .. reads you books .. etc ... ..

After a few seconds ... Linden replies ..

Dadda a dood (good)man, Momma!!!

Where do they learn these sayings ?? What the heck is Ryan telling Linden while I'm at volleyball ..??? Ha! Ha!

Good Deeds

2006-09-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

This isn't really my story but I will tell it anyway .. last friday Mom was heading into PG ... she was about half way when she sees this dog weaving in and out of traffic ... my Mom being the animal saver she is, decides it's her duty to RISK her life to save this helpless dog ..... since this lady does not fail at anything .. she finally captures this poor dog. Now what??? .. that's when Linden and I come into the picture .. we were at home watching .... PRICE IS RIGHT, of course .. it is only 8am .. when the phone rings .. Mom tells me the story and that she took the dog to the local store/cafe .. got it some sausages and water .. she looked up the lost and found in the local newspaper and the first ad is for a dog that's description is EXACTLY the same as the dog she found .. she calls the number ...a gentleman answers .. he agrees that it might be his dog until Mom says it has a long tail .. the guy on the phone says that his dog has a curly tail .. it can't be his .. soo Mom is in a panic that she has this NEW dog .. She asks me to call the radio stations... I always do as I'm told .. meanwhile she starts driving back to the Hoof with OUR new dog! Linden LOVES the new dog .. and the dog was soo good with kids .. ! After about 1/2 hour the dog seems to be doing great .. sleeping up on the leather furniture ... then BANG ... the long tail is no longer LONG .. it's CURLY ... I say to Mom "Call that guy back and ask if he has email .. i will take a picture of this dog and send it to him" ...(who said we didn't learn anything from Inspector Gadget) of course the phone is busy for over 1 hour .. Mom is getting impatient and is sure that this dog belongs with this guy that she called earlier .... so I get my "Nancey Drew" cap on again .. do a reverse look-up and find the guys name and address ... Mom takes off with Linden (cause he wasn't letting this dog go without him) and I stay at home and continue to try to call this guy .... FINALLY I get through .. he has email .. I send the picture and not even 10 minutes later he calls me back .. "YOU FOUND ROXY " .. I could have cried ... I said "YAHOO .. I'm soooo happy that we found your dog ... which he replied .. not as happy as we are !!" .. the guy was a little emotional .. so cute ... Next I get on the phone to Mom .... tell her the directions to this guys house and she safely returned ROXY!Turns out that Roxy had been missing for 6 days ... the family was so happy and now the lady of the house is trying to reward Mom with a nice dinner in PG or something.. she couldn't believe that Mom would do all this and spend her whole day for one small little dog .... Mom just told her ... all I want you to do is PAY IT FORWARD .... !!!! Do you have goose bumps .. such a nice story hey!!!!

Now this is the weird part .... Ryan didn't know this story cause he was hunting .. but when he got home late Sunday night he says .. "Hun I did a good deed today" ....

This poor 70+ year old Man was stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire .. Ryan stopped and changed his tire for him .. the man asks Ryan what he can pay him ... Ryan answered "Nothing, I just ask that if you come along someone that needs help .. you do the same"

Weird or what?!?!?!?

Ho Hum

2006-09-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hello .. I'm here .. back in blogland and it's looking the same .. not much change .. although I do have another friend that has joined the blog world .. pretty excited about that .. plus I still read everyone's blogs just haven't found time to write my own .. but today there is time!!

What have I been up to .. well absolutley EVERYTHING .. let see .. sept long weekend a wedding.. next weekend was yard work and garage sale .. last weekend another wedding plus I coached my girls in PG .. this weekend our home tournament .... the weekend after that Mackenzie .. coaching again ... thanksgiving longweekend .. Chetwynd for cousin's wedding .. then Quesnel for a tournament (for those living in the lovely city of Quesnel ... I will be there Oct 13-14 with my team, and Mom and Linden .. hope to do some visiting!) .. then kamloops for a tournament .. and so on and so on and so on!! I won't bore you .. but it does continue!

Volleyball is going very well .. had the dreaded parent meeting to explain that playing time won't be FAIR .. which they all sit there and agree .. UNTIL I don't play THEIR daughter!?!? Last weekend my girls did quite well placing 5th out of 10 .. and no parent problems! YEAH! This weekend is always SUPER stressful .. just having everyone's parent, cousin, unlces, aunts, grandmas, grandpas ..etc .. come to watch a game and then the kid doesn't play .. can be a fight and some confrontation .. WHICH I HATE .. oh well wish me luck .. I think the girls should do good .. and I hope they do as we have some VERY cool prizes .. such as .. choker chains with vballs ... vball toe rings .. so cool ..

Ryan is doing well .. hunting lots .. you know trying to get meat for the family .. if he doesn't start trying harder the family might starve .. winter is coming you know !

Linden is up to his old tricks .. funny story .. as you all know my Mom grand-sits for us while we work .. well EVERYDAY I ask my Mom how Linden was .. her reply is ALWAYS the same .. oh he was such a little angel .. he is soooo good for Nana .. Ryan and I always roll our eyes knowing that Mom would NEVER tell us he did something bad .. so today I was on the phone with her and she says "Just a sec" .. I hear her say to Linden .. "If you don't stop swinging that I'm going to through it in the garbage .. do you want Nana to do that" .. to NO surprise I hear Linden answer back "Yeah, Yeah I do Nana" .. in the most smart a%$ voice .. I say to Mom .. "Did Linden just sass you?" ... of course she trys to down play the situation with "Oh he's just tired" .. well I caught my Mom .. Linden isn't always a little angel!!!!!

************************** Tried to post the above but blogger was being silly *************

So our home tourney went WELL .. my girls came 3rd out of 10 .. should have probably got 1st or 2nd but that will come with more practice .. "J" and I got lots of compliments on our organizational skills and of course on the COOLEST prizes .. It turned out to be a great weekend .. today is LAZY day ... so tired from running here and there .. looking after refs, coaches, kids, etc ... Linden and I are relaxing today .. we played hard this morning and now he's sleeping and I'm blogging, cooking some dinners for the week and baking .. YES baking is relaxing to me and stress relief .. I really am my Mother's daughter ! After nap time I think we'll head outside to enjoy the beautiful fall day and hopefully Linden will let me get some pictures in .. he's not like his older cousin "K" who knows what a photo shot is and LOVES getting her picture taken!! I will post pics if I get some!

Oh my front stairs are being done as we speak .. the final cement will be here on Wednesday .. I will post some pictures of it when it's done .. very excited about this .. the front yard will ALMOST be complete!!

I PROMISE TO TRY HARDER TO BLOG MORE OFTEN .. SORRY ABOUT THE NEGLECT!

Singing the blues

2006-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

I think the blah's are going around .. that's been my week .. not sure what it is or if it's exactly one thing .. it's really multiple things .. I would love to blog about them but I can't mention names so it wouldn't make sense .. or would it ..

You know when you plan something and then finally decide to depend on someone that has asked multiple time to be depended on .. does that make any sense? ... and then 2 days before you need to depend on them ... BANG they find something better to do and leave ya hangin .. well that happen to me .. I was up until 1:30am last night .. couldn't sleep .. worried about this problem all night .. (no this wasn't Ryan or a close friend or my parents) these little problem have been building and building for many years and I just can't handle it .. I know I will but it's getting harder and harder ....

Next Issue =You know those people that some how make you become or feel like a different person .. take me for instance .. usually ..and I stress usually.. am a happy, high on life, laughing, joking and trying to be as positive as I can person..... well there is an individual in my life that makes me turn into a angry, grouchy, over protective, miserable, big fat b*$tch ! I hate it soooo much but can't seem to change my attitude when this person is around .. I just put up my claws and wait to attack .. do I have a split personality ?... what the heck .. do I need counselling?!? Things with this individual have happen and I can't seem to forgive for them .. EVER ... aghhhhhh it's so frustrating ... I hate who I become when I'm around this person .. I become someone that if I met them I would HATE them .. making any sense??????

**** wrote the above stuff last week .. Thursday I think .. Tonight is Monday .. things have changed for the better .. the WAY BETTER***

Had a great, fun extremely exhausting weekend .. Friday Ryan came home from Tumber Ridge where he was working all week .. had a little visit and off to bed .. Saturday Ryan was off with his hunting buddies and their boats to go shoot the family a big elk! Linden and I were off to the golf course where we helped Mom and Dad set up for the company Golf Tournament .. Linden LOVED driving the golf cart! Mom and Dad golfed with the staff and Linden and I went home to get the prizes ready and have a nap (Linden I mean) .. Grandparents came over to grand sit for a couple of hours while I jetted back to the golf course to hand out the prizes .. it was a nice day!

Sunday ... ohh Sunday GARAGE SALE day... 10am till 4pm .. now because we had to open the gates of the sale at 10am we HAD to be up at 6am getting ready .. you people know my Mom .. she is more organized then myself .. we woke up to RAIN .. yep RAIN .. it hasn't rained for over a month here in the Hoof but on our garage sale day it had to rain .. it was kinda like a wedding day .. you know you wake up it's pouring the bride's crying and then it's wedding time or in our case garage sale time and BANG the sun comes from nowhere and starts a shinning! The sale was a HUGE ... HUGE success ! I'm not kidding you when I say there was a line up .... A LINE UP at 10am of people that wanted to be the first to get to our stuff .. it was kinda flattering to think people wanted to buy our stuff that bad! AND boy did we sell .. I made close to $1000.00 and Mom made $700.00 or just shy .. we were rolling in the cash .. apparently Amy and Jared need to come here for some lessons .. To be honest I have never seen such a busy garage sale .. again .. I'm not lieing when I say that ladies were just about fighting over some of Linden's clothes ... weridest thing .. I really should have had my video camera .. who knows I could have won $10,000!

What am I spending all my loot on you ask ??? Well it just happens that our TV went on the blitz last week .. it would turn the volume up and down by itself .. we'd hit the volume button down take our finger off the button and it would turn it's self up .. it would turn the channels by it's self ..totally not freaky at all .. I would never think that there was a ghost haunting my house...never .. I'm not scared of anything .. specially when Ryan's not home and Linden recently told me he seen a ghost and it scared him .. all these things are just silly .. not scared .. not me!

Sooooo ... yes I just bought a new TV with the money .. a flat screen tv to be exact .. it's hangin on my wall as we speak .. what .. those tv's cost more then $1000. 00 ... NOOOO.. NO they don't .. right .. we tell Ryan that there was a good sale on .. you understand .. kidding of course .. we did have to VISA some of it but hey that's what the visa's are for! ... PlUS we did get a really good deal ..

Linden stories .. what's new .. he watched bull riding once on the TV .. thanks Ryan .. now he thinks he's a BULL RIDER .. we often see him riding this cute little horse that M & T bought him for his birthday aruond the house saying "YEEHAW" .. "Rid'em cowboy!" ... he is really good at his manners now .. he always says "thank you very much Mommy" .. the other day he was outside and I said " It's time to go inside now Linden" ...he replies "No thank you very much Mommy!" .. how cute is that! H mmmm .. oh we were in Costco today and I said to Linden "Should we go look at those toys before we go" .. he looks at me with this stern face "I had ENOUGH Momma!" .. I say "oh you have had enough shopping" .. he say "YES"! ....At least he's honest!

Sorry that my bloggin has been slack BUT vball has started and it's eating up all my extra time .. I will try to fit it in while I'm at work .. God knows I can ALWAYS make time there .. HA!

Weekend Update

2006-09-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was very busy .. friday night Ryan and the boys went with the groom and did the golf thing .. drinking thing .. but it was very good that they didn't come home until the next morning .. no drinking and driving .. that's a very good thing! Saturday the wedding was very nice and here is a picture .... ladies .. this girl is 6 month pregnant .. what you can't tell .. of course you can .. she is huge .. that wasn't depressing at all .. of course I'm being sarcastic! She looked fabulous! It was good to see all our friends and have a night out! Sunday was the gift opening and then relax day ...

Monday was a little yard work and a whole lot of getting ready for the garage sale. Yep, Mom and I are having a garage sale this weekend .. and do I have things to sell ... all my little boy's stuff .. it's pretty sad .. I thought I was totally fine with only having one beautiful, handsome, smart, go-getter, healthy little boy .. until I started packaging up all his stuff .. it was super sad! Don't get me wrong I know that I'm soo lucky to have Linden and I'm not trying to be greedy but wouldn't it be so cute to have a little sister for Linden?! Plus Linden is no longer a baby he is a little boy .. look at him .. he's brushing his teeth .. his teeth .. it was only a year and a half ago that he had no teeth!

Ahhhhh .. he's so grown up .. i know I will get over this baby craze .. my hubby was the one that got me on this kick .... at the wedding there were about 5 little girls under the age of 2 .. he says to me "I think we should have a little girl!" ... "What?" .. he continues ... "Well you know it's not going to be long now that Linden will want to go everywhere I go and we'll be hunting, fishing, camping and you'll be at home by yourself .. sooo I think we should have a little girl!" ... of course my reply was "Why can't I go fishing and camping too .. screw the hunting I will go shopping" ... he quickly recovers with " oh ... you can come I just didn't think you wanted to " ... good recovery! If my health allowed it we might consider having another child or even adopting ... Anyways ... don't get excited I'm pretty sure Ryan and I are done having kids ... we love little Linden with all our hearts and our family is complete! This was just a subject that came up this weekend and I thought I would share my thoughts on it with you!

All in all we had a wonderful weekend .. Ry is gone up North all this week .. that means I will get a ton of stuff done and hopefully get everything ready for the BIG garage sale!

Tried to post a pic of the pierced nose but blogger wouldn't allow it !! I will try again later!

Blonde shining through ..

2006-08-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

You know when you have one of those blonde moments .. or do you ?? I have them all the time .. and here is one example .. first a little history .. Matty .. is this guy that I play ball with and is like my homie .. our ball team's name is Team Nike .. I have the banking stuff for our team account .. okay now on with my story .. I get this phone call at work .. the girls that answers the phone says she THINKS it's Matt .. I get on the phone :

Mystery Man: "Hey Hol"
Holly : "MAAAAATTTYYYY" in my best homie voice "Whasssup "
Mystery Man: "Oh just packing up my house" ...

*I think to myself hmm ... didn't know he sold his house but didn't bother asking.. still not thinking this might not be Matt*

Mystery Man: " yeah and I found my visa .. it needs to be paid by Sept 3rd .. sorry it's so late .. can you do a cheque up"
Holly: "like out of the Team Nike account?"

*Still thinking it's actually Matt .. baseball player .. friend ...

Mystery Man: "What do you mean ..??"
Holly: "well did you buy something for the team or what?" Getting a little annoyed that he won't tell me why I'm writing the cheque!

Mystery Man: "Holly..?!"
Holly: "yeah .. "
Mystery Man: "This is Tyrone!!"

EXCELLENT !!!!

Well Tyrone is our mill manager here at work ... yeah feeling like crawling under my desk and starting the day over .. nothing like embarrassing yourself with co-workers .. but my question to Tyrone is why didn't he say something when I blurted out "Maaaatttty .. Whasssup!"

volleyball, corn chowder, bumbleberry crisp

2006-08-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

Had an extremely busy day .. went to work 8-4 .. I know you're wondering why I was working on a Monday .. well it's monthend .. yep the dreaded Monthend .. the time of the month that people (co-workers, bosses)just fall off the face of the earth .. such as the person you NEED to approve ONE thing so you can go on balancing .. you accounting kids know what I'm talking about ..

So work .. then pick up Linden at Nana's house .. get home and check on the stew that I made last night and put in the slow cooker this morning .. (LOVE my slow cooker) get changed and gather all my vball stuff .. make sure Linden has juice poured, grapes cut up, dinner dished out, treats on the counter .. I know that Ryan is more then capable of doing all this .. BUT I'm such an organizing freak that I have to do everything myself .. as you will see as I continue ..

Off to the first day of vball camp 6-8pm.. we were expecting 12-15 girls ... cause that's how many registered but to our surprise 24 kids show up .. don't get me wrong .. we were pumped just not really prepared .. I guess people up in the North still haven't caught on to the whole registration thing .. oh well camp was a huge succcess .. I was ran off my feet collecting money and handing out receipts but that's okay .. everyone was having fun!

Home to hear all about Daddy and Linden's night ... Daddy did such a great job .. he took Linden fishing, out for ice cream and then a little drive to see if they could find any deer .. (great, just what I need ... another redneck on my hands!) Ryan had Linden all fed and bathed when I got home.. things were good .. I'm very excited about Linden and Ry spending more time together .. Linden LOVES his Dad .. Next was story time and then sleepy-by .. well for Linden and Daddy ..

I got up .. loaded the dishwasher, put the dinner stuff away .. did some hand washing (yes , hand washing .. weird concept .. isn't it!?) Made a Bumble berry Crisp .. while that baked I loaded up the slow cooker .. this time with a nice corn chowder .. that will be tomorrow nights dinner .. then did the dishes AGAIN .. made the lunches .. got Linden's stuff ready for tomorrow .. and now at 11:08pm here I am .. making sure I get a blog in .... Life is busy .. just the way I like it!

Kids do the cutest things!

2006-08-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

I know what you're think'in .. wow 2 posts in one day .. I had to blog again cause the cutest thing happened ...

Linden did it to me again .. you remember when I last dislocated my hip and Linden came running into the room .. looked at me laying on the floor and said "Momma broke ... a hug pause and then 'the CAKE" .. well the little bugger did it again ..

We were laying in bed talking before bed time, as usual, with the exception that Daddy had joined us because he was a tad hungover (he would NEVER admit that) ... it was Daddy's bestfriends stag last night and apparently Daddy thought it was his OWN stag .. AGAIN .. anyways .. Linden asks me to turn the TV on .. I say no .. he says ... ahhh gees .. come on Mom ... Please Mom .. No Linden it's bedtime .. so we continue on talking and I try to distract him from the thought of turning on the TV .. when he takes his cute little hands and puts them on my cute big cheeks and out of the blue say "I love you Momma .. as big as the sky (that's what Nana always tells him) I think oh my goodness he just told me he loved me for the very first time .. aHHHHHHHH .. my heart was melting BUT then he hits me with "Turn TV on Mom" ... that little bugger .. he was totally trying to sweet talk me .. ALREADY ...at age 2 ... what the heck am I in for when he turns .. 3 ...4... 10.. 16.. ???

PS- Make sure to read ... "Pierced Princess"

Pierced Princess

2006-08-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend was an adventure ..

"J" and I headed into PG at 8am on Saturday morning to go get our noses pierced .. I was talking a mile a minute on the drive in .. I dont' think "J" even got one word in .. why was I talking so much ???.. well I was really nervous about the piercing .. you'd think that a person that has had 4 total hip replacements, kidney transplant, shoulder replacement ..etc .. would be thinking this was a piece of cake BUT not this girl .. I was shi**$#g my pants .. we end up getting to the salon 20 minutes early but good thing we did .. we walk in .. check in and then the lady at the desk gives us a info sheet about cleaning and what you can and can't due for the first month and then we get a test .. yep a TEST .. another thing to think about and stress about .. well we passed with flying colors .. did I mention that you could just look at the info sheet and then write the answers down .. anyways this girl got 100% .. feeling good about things .. we walked into the BRIGHT white sterile room and get a talking to about the same things we just read about and did a test on .. well then we get a verbal test .. I was thinking to myself .. is this that dangerous or scary .. like why do we need to go over and over and over this ...then I notice that this guy has no piercings ?!?!? "J" asks him "will this hurt?" .. he looks at her with a funny face .. it's not really a hurt but more of a sting .. okay if it's not that bad then why don't you have any visable piercings?? I'm really freaking out .. "J" and I decided I would go first .. well I basically told her I was going first .. I DON'T want to know if it hurts ... finally it's piercing time .. "J" has to leave the room .. I'm by myself .. the heart is racing .. welllllll to make matters worse the Piercing man tells me that I have to take off my sweater .. ummm excuse me ?? Did I mention it was my NOSE (which happens to have no clothing on it ) that I'm having pierced .. I'm a bit confused but I do as I'm told .. after I tell him I have nothing under the sweater but a bra he LETS me have a hair dressing cape .. now my blood pressure is through the roof .. he then continues on with these silly games .. he puts an ice pack behind my neck and then a big one under my knees .. "What the hell am I doing .. have I made a big mistake?? This is worse then getting ready for major surgery .. THEN ... yes it continues .. he starts telling me to take some deep breathes .. OH MY GOODNESS ... I wanted to phone my family and friends and tell them all that I loved them just in case I didn't make it .. ??????????? After all the breathing ... which happened to be more then when I delivered Linden ... he says okay here I go ... then a bee sting .. a little adjustment and bang it's over .... This guy makes me go through hell and back for a bee sting .??? What I'm trying to say is it didn't hurt ME ... yes it was "J" turn .. she looks at me with trust in her eyes .. "Did it hurt .?" I repy with a quick "no, nothing like I thought it would" ... poor poor "J" .. she was in there for 1/2 hour .. I started to worry .. did she faint? .. is she getting lucky with the piercing dude ?.. was she kidnapped and taken out the window ?.. the waiting room started to fill up with others waiting to get something pierced .. still no "J" ... I just about went up to the front counter and asked the girl to go check on her .. well after ANOTHER stressful event .. "J" comes out of the room .. she is alive! .. not looking like she got lucky ?!.. not kidnapped! .. live is good .. until I see her face .. it's mad ... she says .. "You said it didn't hurt" .. I say " well it didn't" .. "J" continues .. "try having it done 4 times!!!!" ... Unfortunately "J" had to go through the process 4 times before the guy finally got the stud in .. I think to myself POOR POOR "J" and then .. "THANK GOODNESS I WENT FIRST!!!!!!" It was quite an eventfull process but I couldn't think of a better person to go through it with .. thanks "J"

The day did get better .. we got to have Starbucks .. those "London Fog" are pretty good .. although I did get the look of death when I asked for a "London Fog" .. and then a " you mean a misto?".. nope actually I seriously want a London Fog! Oh we did some solid shopping ... ate a great lunch and totally enjoyed our day .. thanks Mom for looking after Linden for me .. it's been a super long time since I went shopping without the big guy .. who happens to HATE shopping !?!?

I'm baaaaaaaack

2006-08-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well I'm baaaaack ... and so much to say:

-Had a BLAST at the lake with the family .. it was soooo hot .. like 30-36 above .. we did lots of talking, boating, swimming, eating, drinking and enjoying the rays! Linden got a new fishing rod so he practiced a bit .. we didn't really put a hook on the end .. just pretend .. I didn't want him to catch a fish .. who would have released the poor thing .. God knows I won't touch those slimy things .. he will have to wait for his Daddy to teach him!! Although Linden didn't catch a fish he already is a true fisherman ... when people asked him if he caught a fish .. his answer was always the same "Yep, a BIG one" ... he is a exactly his father ... a story teller!!! I truly LOVE the lake .. I love the relaxed atmosphere .. Love that everyone there (well most people) are so happy cause they are on holidays ..I love to meet all the people that stay in the campsite and learn about them and their families .. I did tell you that I'm a social butterfly right?!

-I'm back to work .. and let me tell you it's WORK ... you take a week off and then suffer to get everything caught up when you get back .. soooooooo busy ... not to mention that next week is monthend!!!

-My vball camp that I'm running starts next week .. so things are a bit hectic but thats the way I like it ... busy, busy, busy! The girls are excited about the season and so are "J" and I ... it's going to be a great time! We are VERY organized so that makes things a lot less crazy..

-Getting my nose pierced this weekend with my good friend "J" .. it should be fun .. I will admit that I'm a bit nervous but I'm not backing out .. it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time .......it seems a bit weird that eveyone has to comment on me getting my nose pierced .. things like "Why would you do that?" .. "That's just gross!" ... "It won't suit your face!" ... "I hate that people pierce their noses!" ... "I would never do that" ...... this is from everyone ...friends, co-workers, family ... guess what .. I'm STILL doing it .. it's my nose, don't really care who likes it a who doesn't!!! Sorry about the rant .. just a tad irritated about the subject ..

-Ryan got all the trees planted in the yard (will post a pic soon!)... he was a busy boy while I was gone .. but don't worry he got his fair share of fun in too .. he drank a lot of beers and even did some scouting for the upcoming hunting season .. which he is sooooooooooooooooooooooo excited about! You know the guy has so many hobbies .. hunting, hockey, fishing, baseball, golf, poker, hang'in with the boys, yard work etc ... can't believe he still fits us into his schedule .. one thing that the sweet guy did was cleaned up the house for me .. when I came home Monday night the house was spotless .. well spotless for his cleaning abilities but it was super thoughtful !!

-Favorite song right now is "London Bridges" by Fergie .. I know country mouse is probably a little behind the times but that's okay .. I am waaaaay up North .... just about time to get the dog sleds out, take the tepee down and start getting the plans ready for the igloo!!

-Linden is totally off the bottle .. easiest thing I've ever done .. he must have been ready .. I didn't have one hard night or day .. he thinks the bottle is yucky and only for babies .. perfect!

-Talk about being busy we are actually booked for every weekend until Oct 27th ... 3 weddings .. golf tourney, vball, hunting ... gotta LOVE it!

-Oh .. regarding the movie "Snakes on a plane" (still VERY disturbed by this movie).. just heard a funny story .. in a theatre in Arizona .. someone thought it would be a great prank to let 2 rattlesnakes go during the movie .. talk about sh*t**g your pants ... and that my friend is why I would never .. I repeat NEVER go to that movie .. freaky!!

-It's great to be back in BLOG world .. I love it here .. it's so fun .. I did read all the blogs I missed and thoroughly enjoyed each and ever one.. I missed all my blog friends ..

Talk to you soon!

2006-08-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

So it was another weekend of yard work .. we got a ton accomplished .. We planted 32 potentillas ...in the lovely 65' flower bed that Ryan made ...plus we put down landscaping fabric and mulch .. oh and 12 solar lights .... sorry that I don't have a completed picture .. I can't believe I forgot.. then we started to build septagon (is that the word for a 7 sided object?) flower beds that go around our trees .. we have 8 trees to plant but as of this weekend we only got one in the ground .. it's a ton of work .. I know it sounds like I did a sh*t load of work but really it wasn't me .. I'm still on the ol' crutches so I was little help .. we had some people over helping Ry so it went a bit faster then him trying to struggle by himself! I was on "L" patrol and think I had the hardest job .. that kid is gone in a blink of any eye .. all I can say is thank goodness we have dogs to keep him entertained .. he LOVES spraying the hose at them and since it was a nice weekend ... I don't think they minded! He also loves that we have a gravel pit in our driveway right now .. he climbs to the top and throws sticks for the dogs .. it's really a win win situation .. it keeps the dogs away from everyone working and it keeps "L" very entertained!

Well this week will be non-blog week for country mouse as we are off to the lake .. the Shuswap to be exact ... heading there with the parents ... hope to relax and enjoy some rays .. hope eveyone has a great week and maybe if I can I might sneak off to a computer somewhere to check -in ..

Snakes on Planes??!

2006-08-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

Okay .. I was watching Rockstar Supernova tonight (for the first time, gotta say I wish I would have watched it all along) when this ad comes on for a new movie .. SNAKES ON PLANES .. what sick person would even think of such thing .. like who is going to watch a show about everyone being attacked my snakes on a plane .. the worst part is the movie title.. they probably should have thought of a better name for the movie .. snakes on a plane pretty much tells you the whole story line .. I'm flabbergasted .... I can't name one person who would be interested in it .... it's ridiculous !! Sorry about this rage but I couldn't believe my eyes (and then my ears cause I couldn't watch the whole preview and couldn't find the remote quick enough) when I saw this movie highlight ..it's simple silly !! On a scale from 1-10 I would be giving this flick a ol'
-1,000,000!!! Thumbs down!

NO I'M NOT AFRAID OF SNAKES.. okay maybe a little !!

oh and to my sister don't watch the preview .. it's terrible ..

Volleyball on the Brain ...

2006-08-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

That's all I can think about .. my Co-Coach and I got together this weekend and started to plan out our season for the girls .. ever since then that's all I can focus on .. I try to sleep and then vball drills pop in my head .. then things I need to do before September and emails I need to send and etc ...... I won't bore you with the details .. just had to vent about it .. don't get me wrong .. I'm not dreading the season ... I'm just SO excited .. I love to coach and we have sooo many good ideas this year, can't wait to show the girls!! I know I get excited very very easily!!

So the long weekend was great .. Husband left for his fishing trip on Wednesday ... so I spent friday with Mom and L in PG doing a bunch of shopping .. bought some more house, and landscaping things .. (told husband he shouldn't leave me so much ... I love to spend money, oh well what he doesn't know won't hurt him!) saturday spent the day outside doing yard work not to mention some CLEANING .. yep you heard me right ... we continue to clean and that continues to make me happier! Sunday - more outside work and of course my meeting with my co-coach .. did I mention that I'm totally looking forward to coaching this year?! Husband got home late late Sunday night and was extremely tired .. he got no sympathy from me! HA! Well L and I did let him sleep until 10am on monday morning (that was nice of us .. wasn't it!?) .. Monday did the same thing .. worked in the yard .. it's like the never ending yard .. but you just wait .. in 5 years it will be looking good .. 5 years .. oh my goodness!!!

Oh ... Mom cut our lawn .. yes our cute little sparsey lawn has filled in .. not completely but just about .. it's looking good and green .. I will post a picture a little later!

Nothing else to report on .. working on getting the bottle .. bubby .. botty .. etc .. away from L .. he's doing soo good .. we just told him that bottles are yuck and for little babies .. he agrees and just goes to sleep .. well it take a little longer, okay a LOT longer for him to actually fall asleep but we're working on it!! I think he's adapting very well! Once this is accomplished .. a potty training we shall go ....

Believe it OR not ..

2006-08-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Okay .. I know that I'm a slow poke but this 100 things about me is super hard ... here it goes ...

1. I can't stand negative people .. don't get me wrong everyone has a bad day but it those that dwell on things forever!

2. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 16 years old but had symptoms when I was 14 .. doctors just told me that I was experiencing growing pains?!?

3. I'm blessed to have become a Mom and wouldn't change it for the world.

4. I will have no more children but have came to terms with that because I have a healthy little guy and should be grateful for that!

5. I met my husband in grade 2 .. we hated each other up until grade 7 .. I moved away and so did he .. we wrote to each other all the time .. we both moved back to Vanderhoof ... he asked me out in grade 11 and I said No, didn't want to disrupt out great friendship .. he hated me .. he moved away again to play hockey ... he kept calling and would visit me all the time when he came home .. even though I was with a new guy .. after 3 years my husbands persistence paid off .. thank goodness ... we are a much better match.

6. I moved in with my husband after only 3 months of dating

7. We dated for 7 years before we got married.

8. My wedding was a dream come true .. it was more then I could have ever asked for. It was like a fairytale night ... I truly did find my knight in shining armor.

9. My husband, son and myself are all CANCERS!

10. I had a kidney transplant when I was 26.

11. I carry my Mom's kidney ..

12. It scares me how close I am to my Mom ... not sure what I would do without her!

13. I believe I have the best family anyone could ask for!

14. I feel sad sometimes that my sister and brother had to miss somethings in their lives because of my illness.

15. I love to watch hockey and think it's the sexiest sport alive!

16. I love to play all sports but my favorite is volleyball!

17. I love sports sooo much that often my husband goes to sleep and I stay up to watch Sportsdesk.

18. I always talk about losing weight but don't seem to do anything about it!

19. I coach senior girls volleyball and love it!

20. I strive to become a better coach ever year.

21. I have many good friends .. although I don't see them all the time .. when we get together it's like we were never apart!

22. I wish there was something I could do to thank everyone that has been there for me through all my health issues.

23. how do you repay someone for a kidney? Come on lottery ticket !! Ha!

24. I have 2 artificial hips and 1 artificial shoulder but I still play vball, baseball and golf!

25. My favorite thing to do is LAUGH!

26. I love to color ... can't wait till "L" likes it too!

27. I'm always busy .. can't sit still

28. I hate being by myself .. I thrive on people!

29. I'm very outgoing and am not afraid to meet new people!

30. I don't have a favorite thing to eat... I love all food!

31. I would like to become a foster parent but know that I couldn't handle it .. I would get to emotionally involved!

32. I worry about everything .. and lose sleep because of it!

33. I love to organize things and often take on more then my share because I'm scared things won't get done properly!

34. I love to clean ... I have became a lot less anal since my son was born .. which is a good thing!

35. I love to cook and bake .. it's a stress relief for me!

36. My favorite christmas present was my adoption papers!

37. Although I was adopted I've never felt that my Dad "K" wasn't my Dad ..

38. Eveything I have I owe to my parents .. I pray that I will be as great of a parent as mine were to me!

39. I won the fastest spike award at our zones in grade 11!

40. I had a scholarship to play vball in grande prairie but was too sick to go .. the coach there still sent me all the newspaper clippings for 1 full year!

41. I believe that God gave me a chronic illness to make me a better person.

42. i believe that his plan worked!

43. I love starbucks and have my cousin and sister to blame!

44. Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself I ALWAYS see someone worse off then myself. I've learned a lot from this ..

45. My son, husband and I are going to Disneyland next year and can't wait .. already can't sleep

46. I'm getting my nose pierced with my good friend "J" .. I've wanted to do this for a long time!

47. I have had my belly button pierced.

48. My son still wakes up through the night at age 2!

49. Love my job and the people I work with but hate to work .. would love to be a stay at home Mom ..

50. Love to shop but would rather buy for my son and husband then myself!

51. Love surprises and love to surprise people!

52. Love where I live but wish I was closer to my family!

53. Like to travel for short periods of time .. 2 weeks max!

54. I have a secret crush on another man and often wonder if I should persue this?!?

Just kidding .. making sure that you weren't falling asleep while reading this!! HA!HA !

55. would love to visit vegas, disney world, and hawaii

56. Lived in Hazelton where HUGE salmon swim the rivers and knew nothing about fishing , live in Vanderhoof with Ryan and travel 4-6 hours to go salmon fishing .. and LOVE IT!?!

57. I love to drive .. anywhere!

58. Love living in the country but love to visit the city .. much better shopping!

59. Wished I scrapbooked .. it's so neat and very interesting to look at .. I think the books will be priceless to look back at .. thanks to Aunty A, "L" has a couple of cool books of himself...

60. I can't wait to be a hockey Mom !!!!!

61. My son sleeps in his crib but in our room ... that's my fault ....

62. I'm very sensitive and get hurt feelings easily!

63. LOVED LOVED being pregnant .. never felt soooo good!

64. My first job was a gas jockey at a Kal Tire .. I made $3.75/hour

65. I always try to make things better ..

66. Hate confronting people .. and would rather agree then argue

67. I regret being mean to one particular person in elementary school ... I wish I knew where she was so I could apologize .. maybe I should go on the Maury show!! Kidding!!

68. Kids are sooo mean and I pray that "L" isn't one of them ... I promise to make sure he isn't !

69. I still believe in SANTA

70. Favorite flower is daisy

71. but the sweet pea is a close runner up

72. regret not talking more to my grandparents and learning their history ... like the old saying goes .. you don't know what you got until it's gone!

73.I TRY to be a very positive person

74. My nicknames have been .. Holly Holly Ho Ho .. holl-a-nator ... jolly holly, ninja, grams, holl-a-rama, hollywood, holly holly, bubbles , etc ......

75. Love all music except for classical .. that stuff is worse then running your nails down a chalk board!

76. love to be in crowds .. christmas shopping is the BEST!

77. Favorite season has got to be the fall .. it's soooo beautiful

78. Christmas is my favorite holiday .. always has been and probably always will be!

79. Love to watch people open up their gifts ..

80. Love to give GOOD news ...

81. Favorite booze .. white wine, rye and 7 , coolers, sleemans ..

82. Favorite drink .. grape flavored water.. aquafina!! Who would have thought that we'd ever have flavored WATER?!? It's cool and totally helps me drink my 8 glasses a day!

83. My longest friend is "T" and we've been friends for 24 years ... we did seperate at times ..me doing the sports thing and "T" doing the partying thing .. me staying in the country and "T" going to the city ...but when we get together it's like we've never been apart!

84. I, with the help of my Dad and an architech, designed my house ... to find that there are still things I would change .. live and learn ..

85. We started building our house when our son was 3 month old ... .. not the easiest thing to do .. but sooooo worth it!

86. My dream job would be a Wedding Planner! Love, Love, Love weddings!

87. The only musical instrument I can play is the recorder and man can I play a mean "Mary had a little lamb"!

88. I'm addicted to blogging and reading blogs .. I check everyones blog about 3 times a day .. ..

89. Nothing better then a hot bath and a cold glass of wine!

90. I'm always early .. although it's a lot harder with a toddler with a mind of his own!

91. I'm very competitive but will not ruin someone's fun just to win!

92. I'm a lot harder on myself then I am on others!

93. I take 17 pills a day ... and will have to for the rest of my life .. it's kinda like eating breakfast!!

94. I plan not to work after my husband is done school ... 3 more years ... I would love to volunteer!

95. When I first got sick I couldn't even swallow a little tiny gravel pill ...I would mash them up and put them in yogurt .. then I would plug my nose so I didn't have to taste them ... my grandma swanson taught me how to swallow them .. now I can take 10 at a time!

96. I still get asked for id ..even in Vanderhoof!!!

97. This is getting sooo hard ... When I was young I would NEVER eat breakfast cause it made me sick .. now I HAVE to eat breakfast other wise I feel sick!!

98. I used to be a size 29 and thought I was soooo fat ... Now I wear at size ??? as if I was going to tell you?!?!

99. bottles of beer on the wall

100. My favorite saying is .. "SMILE ALWAYS"

Thank you for the idea to do this .. I have learned a lot about everyone and I hope you have too! It made me really think about myself and what I'm made up of!!

Money Monday !!!

2006-07-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

Since the Queen did the music week ....it looks like I just followed right along with my own theme .. cleaning week .. or perhaps month? I will keep you all posted .. cause I know it's super interesting ..

Let's see what did I do since the big bottle drive .. well I had all my outside windows washed .. hired a nice man that was very cheap and did a fabulous job .. then I have to mention my Mommy AGAIN .. cause she did all the insides PLUS all the screen (she scrubbed them in the laundry tub, what a lady) Boy does clean windows make a difference ... Oh and I also cleaned up the fish tanks .. they are much happier now and can actually see out the sides of their tanks ... I'm such a good Mom!

Today Mom and I rolled all of my change from the piggy banks .. those pennies do add up, believe me .. Ry and I's piggies held a smashing $131.00 so if I break that down into landscaping dollars .. well that's basically 2 trees or 4-6 shrubs .. or 3 yards of mulch .. yep it does cost a lot of money for your yard to look good .. and then you get taxed more .. sounds reasonable and makes a lot of sense ?!? !!

A little about "L" .. two words "Competitive SWANSON" .. I was downstairs tonight pitching the usual 50-100 balls for him to bat .. (I have been teaching him all the baseball lingo .. such as .. bad pitch, tic ball, foul ball, strike, ball, out .. etc .. ) I pitch him a ball, he swings and misses, naturally I say "Strike One" .. we looks at me with disgust and says "No Mom, tic ball" .. I thought maybe I didn't see the tic so I'd let it pass. I continue to pitch and then he misses another ball .. I say "Strike One" .. we looks at me like he can't believe that I would call that a strike .. he says, "BAD PITCH MAMA, NO STRIKE" I sat there in disbelief, is he this competitive already?!?!?! I guess if you add Ry's competitiveness and then mine .. oh my goodness we have created a monster ..... ha! ha!

I will end by again copying the Queen .. Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to work I go .. but my saying will be Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to the cupboards I go ... plan to clean the kitchen cupboard this weekend with .. you'll never guess .. no not Ryan .. okay I will tell you .. my MOM !! Stay tuned for more cleaning updates ...

PS- I've never cleaned so much and felt so good .. who said that having a dislocated hip and being on crutches for 6 weeks was a bad thing .... ????

Crazy Cleaner ..

2006-07-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

SO this will have to be short and sweet .... Ryan and I are heading out to my good friend's surprise 30th b-day party .. we were going to bring "L" but it's pissing down rain and now the party is being moved inside .. "L" hates being cooped up specially if he doesn't have his bats, balls, hockey sticks, pucks, golf clubs, ..etc .. so he is staying with Nana and Papa for the night ..

Today was another clean up day with my Mama and "L" .. we sorted all my bottles .. most people would think that this would take an hour at the most .. oh no ...not at the Makow's house .. I was saving my cans and bottle for my volleyball team .. to help with the fundraising .. but couldn't stand the mess any longer .. turns out after 3.5 hours .. Mom, "L" and I sorted enough of these messy things to make $$$$$$ 111.00 ... soooo Ryan and I have decided to take that money and buy 2 tress for our yard! GOOD IDEA !!!

Ryan worked in the yard all day .... yes in the pouring rain .. but accomplished some quality stuff! I have a very hard working man!!!!!! After our hard day was over we all sat down for a couple of coolers and beers so that we could start the collection again!!!

Pictures ..

2006-07-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

"L" getting ready to help Daddy .. thanks Jared for all the safety equipment .. The big guy LOVES dressing up in his carpentry get up .. he then goes to his little tool bench and starts hammering everything in sight ..

Daddy and "L working in the yard ..now you can see the landscaping ties that I have been talking about .. do you see the grass .. so cute.. a little sparsey but it will get thicker .. good work Ry !

Nana and "L" at swimming lessons ... tomorrow is his last day so we will see what his report card says ...

Changed my mind

2006-07-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

SO I have totally changed my picks for SOTYCD .. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Benji and Heidi .. they are the BEST .. and did you know that they are cousins?? Yep, my good friend told me that they are .. she works with a guy that knows them and even brought in some home video of them when they were little .. like my good friends says .. you learn something new everyday! Now I also have changed my mind on Natalie .. she is silly .. especially when they were saying how bad Ryan was and she just stood there and nodded .. who does she think she is?? She is no Heidi .. that's forsure ... I DO love Allison ... she is so cute .. maybe next time I let everyone know who my picks are I should watch more then 3 episodes .. OH WELL .. As for Canadian Idol .. my guy is still there .. gooooo Rob James ..

Nothing new on the home front .. went to the lake to visit the in-laws last night .. it was much too windy and rough to go in the boat but "L" was fine with that .. he loves just to throw sticks for the dogs ALL NIGHT .. then when we left the lake Ryan insisted that "L" should get a treat so he bought him a GIANT freeze .. "L" loves freezes but is only used to the small ones .. you should have seen his little face light up when he seen his treat .. all he kept saying is "BIG ONE, Mama" "BIG ONE" .. sooo cute ..nothing like giving the big guy some sugar right before bed ..

A little of this and a little of that!

2006-07-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

I love that "THE QUEEN" asked the question why isn't anyone blogging and then 'poof' .. everyone blogs everyday .. she must really be a queen ! Thanks you ..I just love reading everyones blogs .. it totally keeps you in touch ..

So since baseball is now over and volleyball hasn't started yet, I have some time to watch TV and I would like to get on the tv band wagon .. Canadian Idol ... I LOVE Rob James.. sooooo cute .. the way he looks at the camera you actually think he see you sitting there... I think he like me .. just me.. no one else .. SO glad that Andrea won Canada's next top model .. not that I have watched more then 4 episodes but last night I really like her and wanted her to win .. she is soooooo skinny .. I think she went from geek to chic ...good for her! So you think you can dance .. love Natalie and Heidi .. think Ryan is super hot .. that's all for now on the tv side of things ..

Last night Ryan, "L" and I were outside working in the yard, honestly, I was drinking one of those pomegranate martini coolers (soo good), watching Ryan and "L work .. they were putting in more landscaping ties ... it was so cute .. if Ryan shovelled then the big guy would shovel, if Ryan was hammering, they the big guy was hammering .. I have SUCH a little boy there are no if ands or buts about it .. "L" is nothing but boy ... I will post pictures of our cute grass and yard ... maybe tonight or tomorrow!

Mom's are the BEST ...

2006-07-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

So sorry that it has been so long .. I've been very busy .. this weekend while Ryan was fishing, Mom came over and helped me accomplish some tasks that have been driving me crazy .. first she sat me on my bed and basically dumped my whole closet on the floor ... I sat there like the princess that I am .. yes I will keep that .. give that old thing away ... and then there was a lot of ... that doesn't fit anymore .. too fat! The second thing that Mom helped me with was cleaning my office/spare room .... we took 7 garbage bags full of shredded paper to the dump .. man does it feel good to be organized again .. I think having a baby and then building a house might have something to do with my organizatinal skills .. now I just have to stay on top of things .. thanks Mommy .. as for Ryan and his fish ... WHAT FISH .. he got skunked .. no fish for him .. but like my Dad says .. catching a fish is just a bonus on that trip .. it's just about hanging out with the boys!

I went to the doc yesterday .. he thinks that I should stay on the crutches for another 4 weeks so that my muscles can strengthen and keep the ol' hip in place .. things are better on the crutches .. I think because the pain isn't as bad ... I still HATE .. HATE .. having to depend on people to do things for me .. poor Mom has to basically do everything I need everyday until Ryan comes home from work .. which can range from 4:30 to 6:30pm ... but Dad says that when you have kids you have to support them and do everything for them until you can't anymore .. that's what having kids is all about .. ??? I just pray that I will be as great as a parent to "L" as my parents have been to me ..

Did some shopping in PG while waiting for the doc appointment .. I've been buying stuff for my yard as things go on sale .. I just bought a bunch of solar lights .. they will look so nice next year when we have tons of grass and trees .. speaking of trees we plan to go get these this weekend if the weather hold outs .. Ryan has been busy putting landscaping ties in to seperate the driveway from the lawn .. and then the trees from the lawn .. it's so exciting to have a yard .. living in the dirt is just sooooo ugly!

Crunchy on Crutches ...

2006-07-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

Being on crutches has never been so hard ... you know before I had "L" being sick or having surgery or being disabled was hard but nothing like it is now ... I have been struggling ...it's been a tough week .. just coming to terms with not being able to be the best Mama I can be .. it's hard when you're little one asks to be packed or even picked up and you have to say that you can't .. I'm struggling with depending on people and having them do everything for me .. including helping me get my pants on .. thank goodness that I have a Mom that doesn't work and can be at my beck and call .. she's the BEST .. and I have a husband that stands by me through thick and thin .. listens to all my problems whether they are petty or not and gives great advice .. THANK YOU .. okay enough about this ..

This week "L" started swimming lessons and is doing great .. he's learned how to blow bubbles, kick his feet, jump off the side of the pool, go under the water and squirt people with the little toys that they have .. most of the kids just gentle squeeze the squirt toys but Nana says that Linden actually aims at kids or herself .. Nana got the big squirt up the nose yesterday .. what did you say .. he reminds you of when Ryan was little .. nooooo, not sweet little "L" ! Ha!

What else is new .. husband left for Terrace today with the boys for their annual fishing trip, he wasn't going to go cause of my injury but I convinced him to .. wasn't that hard... Mom and Dad are moving in with Linden and I to take care of us .. once again... THANK YOU ..

Oh good news .. we have GRASS .. yes .. a lawn .. well the start of a lawn .. it's just so cute ..

Hippy Bithday ... I mean Happy Birthday

2006-07-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

So I won't be able to send you pictures of the famous baseball cake as it landed between my legs and then was spread all over the floor and my pajamas as I crashed to the ceramic tile floor with a dilocated hip ... (Thanks Amy for being there for me) ...oh yes it happened again .. 25 days after the first dislocation .. funniest thing is .. June 20th was the first time which happen to be my good friend Marnie's birthday and the second time was July 15th which is Ryan's birthday .. I have to admit I hate other people getting all the attention .. I know this is a bit harsh to steal the floor but apparently it had to be done! Joking! Poor Linden he came running up to see me and the only thing he could say was .. "Momma... broke ".. I thought ahhhh .. but then he quickly added CAKE ... Yes Mama broke your cake .. then he added "No eat cake ...Mama" Wow did I feel bad .. poor guys didn't get a piece of the ball cake .. oh well everyone got a piece of Ryan's strawberry pie ... which turned out not to bad .. thanks to Grandma Swanson's pastry recipe!! All in all the week with the family here was sooooo precious .. it was short but will never be forgotten .. we were still able to get the family photos done so that's good and then Ryan (the birthday boy) treated us all to ice cream .. the day started a little shaky but ended calm and cool!

THE BIG DAY

2006-07-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

"L" is sleeping so I'm getting ready for the big day .. Ryan and toddlers birthdays .. I'm doing a ball theme for "L" so as we speak I'm attempting to make a ball cake .. yep, I said a ball cake .. I will be decorating it as a baseball .. but it was a hard choice as my son LOVES all sports .. I think maybe for his real birthday on Tuesday I might do a beach ball ... more challenge for decorating .. since I'm a pro at that .. kidding of course .. I will post pictures once completed so everyone can laugh .. actually it shouldn't be that bad as my assistant decorater (Sister Amy) will be here to help .. thank goodness!!!!

Saturday is actually Ryan's 31st birthday but since everyone is home we will combined the two and have one big party .. Now don't worry I made a special strawberry pie for Ryan so he feels important and not forgotten .. the day should be fun, we're doing BBQ burgers, and salad .. a lunch thing cause we have a family photo shoot that night! I LOVE having my family around!!

Well my oven buzzer is telling me that the cake is done .. wish me luck!!! Hope eveyone is doing great!

Hello Bloggers

2006-07-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness I'm in blogland, cooool ... it's so fun .. blogging .. blogger .. bloggy .. blogtastic .. bloganater ... I like the name blog .. it' s cool and hip .. and COUTRY MOUSE has finally caught on to the new rage ... you cousins must be so proud of me .. but don't get too excited as I might not be a regular blogger .. I have a ton of things going on .. okay maybe I will have time at work .. God knows you ALWAYS have time at work for fun things like email and now the newest thing .. blogg'in .. what else should this blogging machine tell you ... planted grass this evening .. or let me rephrase that.. lawn .. I can't wait for all the dust to go away .. "L"is doing wonderful .. always up to something ... he will start swimming lesson on Monday so that should be fun and might tire him out a bit .. the guys has endless energy ... ahhh to be young again .. ohhh my brother, sister-in-law and nephew are in town .. so good to see them as it's been a while .. baby "N" is soooooooooo cute .. I just love him .. he's one of those babies that you just HAVE to hold and kiss .. the cutest thing is .. if you show him that you have a camera he looks right at you with the perfect smile .. ahhhh .. Sister-in-law looks like a million bucks, makes me want to get my butt in gear and lose all my baby chub .. Brother looks good.... as usual and is extremely good with "L" ... my little guy doesn't know how lucky he is to have a great family like we do .. well this has turned into a big blog for little country mouse ... I'll be back .. .