Merry Christmas!!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas!

Dog Sledding

I went dog sledding the other night. So much fun. Check out the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/Kimsfirstalbum/DogSleddingDecember2008##

ROFL...

Just read Andre's Twitter..."Boy it's cold out"?!!!?? I just checked - it's -4 in Vancouver! Wow, you must be freezing. I bet you don't go outside in that weather without a jacket even to grab the laundry. Oh, did I mention it's -33 here?! That's not a typo. There really are two threes there. I went outside a few minutes ago to see if there were any clouds in the sky and I didn't wear a jacket. I think I might be becoming a northerner. Hope the weather warms up for you southerners ;)

It's already been a year...

It's been a yeaar since I moved WAAAAYYYY up north to Yellowknife. And it's been an interesting year. I flew back to Vancouver 4 times and drove down to Edmonton once. I've experienced weather that I would not have been able to truly fathom coming from a mild climate like Vancouver. I really didn't enjoy the dip below -40 last week or the problems I'm currently having with my car, but it's been an overall good experience.

I learned a new game this year - broomball. No, it's not played with brooms, but I'm sure it started out with brooms instead of sticks. Whenever we actually get spectators perhaps I'll be able to post some pics.

Although I've had one visitor - she lives in Resolute Bay so it doesn't really count - I've yet to see any southern folks up this way. It makes for an interesting road trip. I wouldn't want to come here in the winter either, except the Northern Lights and dog sledding are real treats during the colder times. I'm going dog sledding in a couple weeks.

So, that is my one year in Yellowknife update. Oh, and I'm going to Cuba in January!! Yippeee! Somewhere warm!!!

Thanks Everyone!!

Thanks for all the great comments!! I think you all rock too!!! I was actually going into my blo today to answer Laura's question and then saw I had a ton of comments. I thought - wow, this Magic Bullet thing has really caught on!

Anyway, I really haven't used my new appliance much. I actually wanted it partly so I wouldn't have to chop onions anymore. Well, it's not made to chop onions. It was more like and onion puree. It comes with a recipe book so once I've tried a few of those items I'll let you know more.

Blending all sort of tastey treats

I got a Magic Bullet!!! You all know what that is...we've ALL seen the infomercial with the people sitting around the kitchen while 2 people tell you how amazing this little blender thing is. Oh, and of clourse there's the lady smoking a cigarette with ashes about 2 inches long at the end. I finally caved and was sucked in. Years of that infomercial have sucked me in. Perhaps it's time to turn off the tv and hide the Canadian Tire flyer.

Tree

Tanya wanted me to post a picture of my tree once it was done. I took a picture, but it looks WAAAAYYY different in the dark.
Yeah, that's right, it's blocking the door to the balcony. I don't think I'll be going out there for a few months so it'll be ok. :)

String this...

To Say I'm a LITTLE bit frustrated is an understatement. I just got back from Wal-mart and a few other stops in town and I still don't have enough lights for my tree. I like LOTS of lights on my tree. Now I have to make the decision: go back out in the -30 weather (-39 with wind chill), or take off all the lights and try to redo the whole tree.

I already took off my long johns. Argh!! I think braving the cold is what I will do. Isn't Christmas GREAT?!!??!!!

Christmas Questionaire Thingy

This is the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends (stole it from Lara). (I had to go with pink instead of red because the red didn't show up well)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for sure. I love wrapping presents and decorating them with ribbon and bows.
2. Real tree or Artificial? I love the real trees, but will only have one if I'm staying in my own place.
3. When do you put up the tree? December 1st if possible. Not before that though.
4. When do you take the tree down? After New Year's.
5. Do you like Egg Nog? Love it! Do you have some? Bring it to me!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? It had to be the stereo my dad got me! I was always the last to get cool stuff, but I was the first of my friends to get a stereo with a double cassette player and CD player. Oh, and I got New Kids CD's that year!
7. Hardest person to buy for? Hmm, there are a few of those, but my step mother probably tops the list
8. Easiest person to buy for? Craig, hands down. I find stuff for him on a daily basis and it helps that he likes anything he gets as long as I pick it out.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope, but my step-mom has crazy amounts of Department 57 stuff and a wicked winter scene she does every year. Well, it's up year-round.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? It's all about snail mail for me. I miss last year, but this year I'm sending them out.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmm, well there was the year we didn't get Christmas or perhaps when I was working for Disney and my dad sent a t-shirt that said "Canada, EH?" I was not impressed.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I like the remake of Miracle on 34th Street and all the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Close to Christmas. I'm all about getting in the right mood to buy gifts.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I have no idea, Perhaps, but I really don't remember.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? The baked good, particularly shortbread and butter tarts.
16. Lights on the tree? Do you mean colour? It depends on the theme of the year for me, but I like multi-coloured usually. oh, and yes, I like lights on the tree.
17. Favorite Christmas song? White Christmas and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer...I love Christmas songs!!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? It all depends. I say i want to be home, but then I have a really crappy/dysfunctional Christmas, but staying away sucks unless I'm with friends. The BEST would be traveling with friends somewhere.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes, but the really question is, can you?
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open one on Christmas Eve (pj's). Then stockings in the morning when you get up. No waiting on that one. After breakfast the rest get opened.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? It starts too early. Wait until December and then bombard us all you want!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? This year I'm going with blue and silver and white I think. I like my Disney ornaments!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Yams and my mom's stuffing
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Christmas cards from all my friends around the world!
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Tanya already blogged it, but have is in some alien language so I don't think she really wants us to know what it says.
27. Who is least likely to respond to this? This question always annoys me.

Vancouver flew by...

What a wicked trip!!! Of course I'm leaving out the flight delays, luggage delays, my car not starting, and the person who stole my parking spot, but other than that a great trip!

I stayed at Steph's except the last night when I stayed at Tanya and Andre's. So much fun. When I arrived Monday Steph and I went to get a bite to eat and then we were both exhausted so I crashed.

Tuesday was spent with Tanya and Warren and I stayed for dinner and Killer Bunnies. Totally awesome day!!

Wednesday I spent with my mom and then had dinner with my little brothers adn my mom.

Thursday was spent with Tanya, Lara, and Warren at the craft fair. Then, Steph and I headed to a movie (her mom forgot about us, kind of).

Friday I got my hair cut. I did a little shopping. Had lunch with some friends from Disney (hadn't seen them in 6 years). Of course the evening was spent at the New Kids concert!! It was worth ever penny!! Reliving my youth with Steph and a couple friends who also went to the concert. Very awesome night!!

Saturday i did some shopping then met my dad and Ken and his girlfriend for lunch. I did a little more shopping, then I spent the evening at my mom's with my brothers (not Chris though).

That was about it. I dropped the car off at 7:30am and headed to check-in. Oh, I did remember to pick up the car so I guess teh dreams were for nothing.

Once again I missed out on the Hatch Family! I swear next time I'll make it there!! Nonetheless it was a fabulous trip and I just wanted to thank everyone who helped to make it so great!! Maybe I'll see you again soon, but who really knows...

Ready! Set! Go!

I arrive in Vancouver tomorrow!! Yeah!!! I've rented a car this time, but have had a couple of dreams lately where I've realized about 2 days in that I forgot to pick up the car at the airport. Both dreams were totally unrelated, but in both dreams I couldn't figure out how I got from the airport to wherever I was at. hmmmm, curious how the mind can mess with you sometimes.

I'm really looking forward to coming home. I already have plans to hang out with Steph (staying at her place until Friday), hang out with Adam, get my hair cut by MY stylist, hang out with Tanya and Lara (Thursday, right?!), go to the New Kids concert (Friday), and a few of my Disney pals are going to meet up with me somewhere in there. Hopefully I'll get to go watch Craig play soccer and see his place in Langley. Oh, and I need to help my mom pack a bit, perhaps they've found a place, but I'm not sure.

So that makes for a pretty busy week, but I'll definitely make time to visit with the Hatch Family and get in a little Christmas/Kim shopping.

Stuff

Yippeeee!! 10 days until I'll be in Vancouver!! I'm so excited! I'm also excited because I get this weekend off. Another weekend (it's been 3 or 4 in a row) with very few midnight shifts. I start my On-the-job Instructor Training on Monday which means 5 days in a classroom learning trainer skills! I love training so this should be fun. I also love being in a classroom and learning. I finished a couple of online courses this morning and a couple days ago I had practiced putting out fires with the airport fire guys! So much fun. Doesn't my job sound great?!

Got Milk?

Hey Lara, our secret is out. There are a ton of commercials out there promoting drinking chocolate milk after excercising. Even Bob and Jillian from the Biggest Loser have said drinking milk helps prepare broken tissues. Well, I figure you were the one to start the trend so you should be getting all the credit. At least you know you're a trend-setter!

Week of Firsts

I played my first game of broomball this week - so much fun!

I made cabbage rolls for the first time ever - really good!

I made banana cream pie (never done that before) - so delicious!

So now I'm going to play another game of broomball tonight. I'm going to eat some more cabbage rolls and banana cream pie. I'm also going to do some ironing and perhaps play a little Wii! I know, I live a tough life. Oh, I've confirmed it (after way too many calls to Air Canada), I'm arriving on November 17th and leaving on the 23rd!! Concert's on the 21st and other than doing some packing for my mom I have no confirmed plans!!

Holy Moly Cow!!!!

Yep, that's right...we have snow!! It's not the first day of snow here in Yellowknife, but it's the first day it looks like it'll stay!! It's really kind of cool. At least I think that now. I'm sure my opinion will change at -20 or so.

So a quick update:

I was suppose to start broomball on Sunday, but the game was late and I'm still trying to get over this cold I caught while in Vancouver. It should be interesting since I shelled out a few clams for the equipment.

My mom is doing better. She's out of the hospital, but tasks are definitely more difficult than before she went in. We're going to be moving her at the end of November, but are still looking for a suitable location. It's been decided that she can't work anymore so that's a big adjustment for her. Thank you all for your thoughts, we really didn't think she was going to make it out of the hospital.

I'll be back in Vancouver in a few short weeks! Can't wait for that NKOTB concert!!! I might change my ticket and arrive a day earlier than planned, but that's still up in the air. Maybe we can arrange a Killarney gathering while I'm home since I won't be around in December.

OK, back to work, I think the snow is getting heavier!

Mom's doing better

My mom is doing much better today. last night was quite bad, but she was sitting up for a while today and is doing much better. She's still very anxious about money and her job which we're taking care of, but she doesn't think things are being done. Nonetheless, she is looking better. No more mask, which she's really happy about. As it is right now, I'll be heading back to Yellowknife on Saturday. We are planning on getting my mom into a new place hopefully by the end of the month. Right now we still don't know how long she'll be in the hospital or if she'll even get out at all. That's my udat for now. Thanks for all your support.

Coming Home

It looks like I'm going to be coming home tomorrow. My mom is, once again, in the hospital. This time it's worse. She was admitted on Thursday afternoon after a routine visit to her doctor who sent her to get some tests. She is now in ICU at Mount Saint Joseph's on a resperator. The had to recessitate her. She is not breathing on her own at all. We don't really know what happens now. We are still waiting to find out more details on whether or not they will even be able to try to take out the breathing tube. Ken and I have already decided that if the doctors tell us that she can't breathe on her own and is not conscious, we will have them turn off the life support.

So far I'm doing fine, but it helps to be distant from it. My brothers are all sticking together and doing as well as can be expected.

I don't really have a good title for this one

I've been having loads of fun organizing lately. I'm pretty close to getting everything right where I want it. One of my big tasks was getting my DVDs and videos organized. While in Edmonton I purchased 2 new DVD shelving units. Of course this led to changing my living room around. Alas, it is done and I don't want to leave my living room. Somehow I managed to open up my living space and give more room to my dining table. All this due to an attempt to organize my movies. I'll post new pics of it soon. http://picasaweb.google.com/Kimsfirstalbum/Apartment#

I also purchased a new desk (my purpose for driving south). It's perfect. There's really nothing to it. Simple is exactly what I needed. Now I have an office/den that is totally clean and organized. I have a clean desk for scrapbooking or studying or whatever else I want. I also have room in there for a blow-up mattress when company arrives.

I also purchased a Wii!! I haven't really played it yet due to the cleaning, moving, and organizing. Perhaps this week I'll spend some quality time with my Wii. I wanted Wii Fit, but it sells out within a day of arriving in the stores! I REALLY want one!

I'm going to go relax in my awesome living room. Have a good day all!!

No Bison Hurt In The Making Of This Blog

So we made it to Edmonton! It took 13 hours, NOT the 17 hours that mapquest said it would take. No, I did not speed. Tanya knows I don't like to speed. :)

I got a few pictures of the bison along the highway, bit it was dark so I didn't see much else. It was REALLY dark!!

Now that I'm refreshed after a well-deserved nap I'm going to go get some food!!! Oh and perhaps do some shopping.

Counting sheep doesn't work

It's nearly 1am and I'm still WIDE awake! That wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have to get up at 5:30am for work. Damn couch making me nap after work! Although I like naps. Naps are good. Maybe I'll be able to nap before work.

Blue Moon go away!

In response to my previous blog my meals of that day consisted of Chocolate milkshake and ketchup flavoured popcorn for lunch and fries and gravy for dinner. I think I might take you up on that suggestion Lara (at least until there are no more "grown" items available here).

My dilemma of the day: my cheque book

I have lost it. I know I had two, but I can't seem to find either of them. The worst part is that there are no hidden places in my house anymore because I've completely organized things and gotten rid of a lot of useless paper and other items I don't need. I know I shredded my really old cheques, but I might have mixed in the ones I didn't want to shred. Argh! And I only use cheques once in a blue moon...damn blue moon!

Oh, did I mention we had our first day of snow? Yep, winter is upon the north!!

And 1 and 2 and 3...um, can we stop now?

Today is the start of the new Biggest Loser season. Guess what I'm having for dinner? For that matter, guess what I had for lunch!?! Well, let's just say I need a lesson in healthy eating. Perhaps a trip to the gym might be a good idea tomorrow. Lara, I need my gym buddy back!!

One more down

I think I found a new favourite book...The Fountainhead by Ann Rynd. I've wanted to read this book for some time since it was referenced in a really great movie. I just never got around to it, at least not until now. It was also on my list of classic novels that I'm working my way through. I'm sure the architectural aspects of the novel and the red-head are huge draws for me, but it's simply a great book!

Who invented it?

So I've been trying to be more organized especially with my scrapbooking stuff. Being the brilliant woman I am I started to put the completed pages into a scrapbook. Simple, right? Not so. Who invented the screwed in fasteners that take your valuable time and energy to simply put in new pages? Grrrrrrr. I finally did it, but I can tell you I'm not opening that again anytime soon.

Thanks for allowing me to vent because everything else around here is going well :)

Found this on Tanya's Blog

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
No.
Explaining.

1. Where is your cell phone?
Left
2. Relationship?
Good
3. Your hair?
Awesome
4. Work?
Interesting
5. Your sister?
non-existent
6. Your favourite thing?
Laughter
7. Your dream last night?
Weird
8. Your favourite drink?
Water
9. Your dream car?
Lamborghini
10. The room you’re in?
Living
11. Your shoes?
comfy
12. Your fears?
minimal
13. What do you want to be in 10 years?
Happy
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend?
Bruce
15. What you’re not good at?
cleaning
16. Muffin?
Tops
17. One of your wish list items?
Desk
18. Where you grew up?
Vancouver
19. The last thing you did?
Eat
20. What are you wearing?
Clothes
21. What aren’t you wearing?
Pajamas
22. Your pet?
imaginary
23. Your computer?
Working
25. Tired?
Nope
26. Missing?
Stamps
27. What are you thinking about right now?
Chores
28. Your car?
Ean
29. Your kitchen?
Messy
30. Your summer?
Short
31. Your favourite color?
Green
32. When is the last time you laughed?
Today
33. Last time you cried?
unknown
34. School?
Athabasca
35. Love?
Family

Hmm, maybe that one

I think I should NOT go shopping when I'm in the mood to spend money. I bought a new dining room table today. Here's the best part: I asked for financing and while they were getting it approved they told me to go home since the guys were on their way to my place with the stuff. Yes, that's right, I left without paying. I guess living in a small town has it's benefits. Now I have a wicked dining room table, 8 chairs, and a lazy susan. It's awesome! Feel free to come and see it :)

More randomness

Alas I have completed my 15 days in row!! It's so nice to have 2 days off. Plans for my days off? None really. Perhaps I'll do some more organizing. Watch a little more Olympic action. Oh, and attend a few garage sales looking for plants...yes, that's right plants (not pants). They are hard to come by in these parts and soon will be next to impossible to aquire.

As for the weather here, it is changing. 15 days ago it was 30 degrees and yesterday we had a high of 14 and a low of 6. I waqs told it would happen overnight, but you really can't believe it until it happens. Oh, and it's getting dark again. It's light by 6am still and dark by 10pm. Here comes the winter!

Oh, and here's another random and cool thing: I was organizing my negatives and wanted to put them onto CD for easy duplication, but much to my dismay Walmart's photo lab charges $9.97 for 40 images on a CD. I calculated it out and figured it would cost well over $400. That's crazy right?! So I figured there must be a scanner out there that will be cheaper and allow me to do it myself. Well, here's the best part...that scoockum printer/scanner I bought a few months ago can do it!! So awesome! And it will scan them directly to the CD.

Hope you are all doing well! Have a great weekend!!

Movie to watch

I saw a great movie the other day...Charlie Bartlette. It's awesome! Watch it. It's not a movie I can describe except to say it's about the life of a teenager with a number of interesting twists. Tanya, I think you'll enjoy this one, but I can't guarantee anything. Oh, it's on DVD.

A Little Piece of Kim

All is well...I have the Internet again. In fact, I was incredibly impressed with the technician who came to fix it. Fabulous job! Although, I haven't really been online all that much since it's been fixed anyway. I guess I was just feeling isolated without it.

I'm on day 11 of 15!! Almost there! I guess that's what I get for switching shifts and not taking actual leave days for a vacation. It's cool because I still have 3 weeks of vacation time left. Or something like that.

Speaking of vacations, I'm driving down to Edmonton next month for a couple of days. Why, you ask?! To go shopping, of course. Perhaps I'll find my dining room table while I'm there. That's the plan anyway.

I've been doing a lot of organizing lately. I alphabetized my CDs so I can store them in the new case I bought. I finally started using the expenses form my dad sent me (with a few modifications) and have entered all my receipts into it. Now I know where all my money went! I also found all my photo negatives which I had started organizing and now I'll finish that today and contact Walmart to see if they'll be able to put them onto CDs for me.

Oh, and I'm a little obsessed with the Olympics. They are so amazing! I saw all 8 of Michael Phelps' gold medal performances. That guy should be classified as a fish, not a mammal. What about the Men's 100m sprint? That Bolt guy from Jamaica was beyond fast and he pulled up at the end! As for the Canadians, they haven't been winning a lot of medals, but they have broken more national records than any other team in the Olympics this year. That's pretty cool if you ask me. Besides, we're a winter Olympics country and we'll have a lot more athletes in Vancouver than ever before because we're the host country. Although a little unfair, I think it'll be awesome!

Have a great week everyone!!

ARGHHH!!!!

I'm a tad frustrated, but it just goes to show how dependant on the internet I've become. At home my internet went out on Tuesday due to (at least that's what the cable company says) a thunderstorm we had on Monday. Well, I still had internet on Tuesday until the afternoon. Of course I called them to figure it out and they said they'll have to get a technician to call me to set up a time to fix it. That was yesterday. I called them today to find out why I hadn't received a call and they said that the online tech didn't pass it on to the dispatcher. So now I have to wait for the tech to call me today, hopefully, just to set up an appointment time. Oh, and did I mention that they only work Mon-Fri from 9am-5pm??!!!? My access to hotmail doesn't exist because at work (I'm there now) they blocked that site. I'm surprised they haven't blocked this site..lucky me!

So I hope this explains where I've been for the past few days and, I'm sure, many days to come.

Thanks for a great holiday!

I arrived safely back in Yellowknife and now I'm relaxing on my new couch and enjoying being inside. It's 29 degrees celcius here today. Not much different from Vancouver except there's no shade here (no trees).

Thank you all so much for coming to the BBQ last night. It was awesome to see everyon, especially Jennifer and Kevin since it had been about a year since I'd seen you. And thanks to Tanya and Andre for hosting it and me during my stay.

Now I prepare to work 14, no 15 (just got a call for overtime) shifts in a row. Lucky me.

Vacations seem to go so fast

I'm in Vancouver!! So far I've done so much on this trip:

1. I visited with my dad
2. I went to Kamloops where I played in 3 soccer games (not my best performance by far...if I ever get asked to play again, perhaps practicing first might be a good idea)
3. I hung out with my dad a bit more
4. I hung out with Ken and saw Dark Knight (great movie)
5. I got my hair cut, but not by my regular guy
6. I surprised my mom on her 61st birthday
7. I hung out with Craig
8. Hung out with Steph and went to see Mamma Mia! (quite enjoyed it)
9. Finally arrived at Tanya and Andre's

So far I've done a lot. I'm very much looking forward to the BBQ on Wednesday and hanging out here with the Baron family. I have a little shopping to do before going home, but nothing major. This trip is just flying by.

Alas it Has Arrived!

My new couch arrived today. It took a bit of maneuvering, but we managed to squeeze it into the apartment. To tell you the truth I wasn't sure it would go well with my love seat, but it goes great. AND it came with 4 very big and comfy pillows. I like this online shopping thing, perhaps a new washer and dryer are in order. We'll see.

Looking forward to coming home and seeing you all at the BBQ on Wednesday, August 6th!!! Did I mention I'm bringing beer?!

Cool Weekend

This past weekend was fun. I worked, but the Snowbirds were doing a show so it was fun. My favourite part of the airshow was the F-18. It's a very cool plane. When he left yesterday, he flew by the tower about 20 feet away on his side. It was sweet.

Also, this weekend the Folk on the Rocks Festival was here. It was ok. I went after work on Sunday and stayed for about 4 or 5 bands. The were now well-known bands, but it was pretty decent. The cost was a tad steep, but it was entertaining. For future reference it's a great time to come and visit during the show.

Best of all this week/end I found a wicked tuna/broccoli dish that is sooooo tastey. And it's easy to make. I also tried to make Boston Cream Pie for the fist time. It was ok, but the filling needs work, but the cake was scrumptious!

Ok, I'm off to eat some tuna casserole!!

August Trip to Vancouver

I finally have my vacation/soccer trip set. I'll be in Vancouver August 4-7. I'm staying with Tanya, Andre and Warren...thanks! The best part is I might actually get to see a few people while I'm there. I totally want to visit with you, Jennifer. And Kevin, of course. That's my news.

Meow

I had this dream today that really freaked me out. I'm currently looking after my co-worker's cat. Well, actually, it's his wife's cat, but that's beside the point. So back to this cat. He's not staying in my apartment, but he lives downstairs so it's easy enough for me to feed him and spend some time there while playing the Wii.

I had a dream that I was late feeding him so he found a way to squeeze under the door and took off. He left a note though saying that he was tired of waiting for his food and he was going to find a better place to live. I was freaking out trying to think of what I was going to tell Isabelle about her cat. Then I woke up and went to feed the cat who was safely inside the apartment and not upset with me at all.

The funniest part: Isabelle, who's with her husband in Hawaii, called me tonight to check on her cat. Of course I told her everything is fine. Weird, eh?

Where oh Where?

Why is it that at 7am on Saturday mornings only 2 people on my msn list are signed in? What are all you people doing?

What Happened?

There was a time when I was good. I know I was good because people would ask me to play on their teams. Those days seem to have passed me by. I don't know what happened. Oh yeah, I'm not 20 years-old anymore. That could be the answer.

Regardless of my abilities, I still love to play and that's what really matters, right?

Living in the North Causes One to Do Strange Things

It's amazing how many different things you'll buy online when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere. I know people who buy shoes online and I think that's going just a bit too far. I mean, shoes?! How many times do you go into a shoe store and try on the 'perfect' pair of shoes and realize they don't fit? How on earth do people think this will be different when you don't even try them on?

The point of this blab: I bought a couch online yesterday. Yep, that's right, a couch!!! I'm a tad concerned, but not too much. I almost bought the same couch Tanya and Andre have, but I decided that wouldn't be right. Then I rethought that and figured, why not?! Then I thought the material just wouldn't go well with my loveseat.

This is the couch I decided to buy:

























My couch arrives July 26th! Just in time for me to enjoy it for a few days before heading home. Cool, eh?

Homeward Bound

I love my instincts. I knew there was something Chris was keeping from me. He's in a bind with this girl in Bolivia and has decided that he's too young to get married. That's a relief, right? Well, there's a lot more to it than that and as a result he has asked me for help. Now, I know I'm going to help him out, but I'm going to make him seriously think about it. He's gotten himself in way over his head on this one.

I guess this is the part where I realize living in the middle of nowhere kind of bites. The good news is I might be able to solve this in Vancouver. I'm coming home, briefly, in August. I was asked to play soccer in a tournament in Kamloops so I'm arriving on July 31st and driving to Kamloops on August 1st. We arrive back in town from Kamloops on August 4th, my mom's birthday, and I'm not sure yet if I'm staying for one day or more. It depends on which days I switch to get away from here. I'm not going to tell my mom I'm coming and just show up on the evening of her birthday.

This means I'll be home long enough to see some of you, however brief it may be. Are you as excited as me?!!

This and That

We won!! Yep, last night my soccer team, with only 8 players won the game 4-7!! It was great!!

Did I tell you I'm starting to take courses through the University of Athabasca? I received my course material in the mail yesterday. It's a philosophy course. If all goes well with this, I have a list of courses that I'll take while I'm up here (for many years).

I was invited to a soccer tournament in Kamloops August long weekend. I would love to go, but am not sure if I can switch my shifts to get the time off. It would be so fun if I can work it out.

Happy Canada Day!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day!!!

Paddle Me This

I just got back from a fun 3 hours spent in a canoe with 13 people and 2 dogs. Such a fun time and not at all a strenuous endeavour, though check back with me tomorrow on that because I may have a different opinion after my body has time to figure out what I just forced it to do. Now I'm off to bed since I worked a midnight shift last night. Did I tell you I love this place? Indeed I do...you should come visit, there's lots to do!

And the winner is...

Played soccer again last night. We had barely enough players to play and the other goalie didn't show so I got the pleasure of standing between the posts. The other team was terrific. I can't even tell you hoew many shots they had from about 6 feet away. By the end of the first HALF we were losing 7 or 8 to nothing. It was crazy!

Another team member offered to play in goal during the seccond half so I graciously accepted. The other side was really cool though and instead of trying to rack up points, since they had won anyway, relaxed on the offense a bit and only added 3 or 4 goals in the shortened 2nd half. We did manage to get one goal, but I believe that's when we put an extra player on the field.

Although the scoreline was a little lopsided, I did have a blast. I am a little sore today though.

Showers

Alas, we see the rain such as it would be if we were in Vancouver. Nice little treat to the week. Gotta love a little rain every once in a while.

Work and Play

I have such a busy week ahead.

I work day shift until Thursday which is nice, but means I start at 6:30am. Tonight I have soccer practice/pub night, tomorrow and Wednesday - softball games, Thursday - soccer game, Friday - another softball game.

I work a midnight overtime shift on Friday night and then head out canoeing with my coworker and his family Saturday morning.

It's going to be busy, but I can't complain because it's 22 degrees, the sun is shining (all the time) and I'm doing all the stuff I love.

Ahhhhhh

I feel it is my joy, er, my duty to pass along this amazing wonderfully delicious item. I believe it is one of life's truly perfect delights. You might scrunch up your face and wince at the sound of it, but once you've tasted it you'll have to whole-heartedly agree with yours truly. Now, there might be those who are allergic and for that I believe you have been sadly left out of a treasure surely meant for royalty. Those who disagree with my assessment of this heavenly beverage need not comment, merely lie and say you are allergic. It'll make me feel better. Oh, the scrumptiousness is overwhelming. I need to go finish mine. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

TIme ticks on

Today is officially the first day of summer AND it is one of the longest days here!! Cool, eh? Not that it gets dark here unless it's cloudy, but it's officially the longest day. I know I'm milking the nice weather for all it's worth, but that's because the winter will make me miss rainy Vancouver.

The first day of summer actually reminds me that Craig's birthday is a few short days away. In lieu of his birthday I called him to discover what he wants as I'm not with him enough anymore to figure it out without hints. That part sucks, although I think he'll get a surprise when all the Whitecaps stuff arrives at his place.

Talking to my brother, Craig, is always such a highlight of my day/week because he has such a different view of the world. He always makes me laugh and feel a sense of pride as he matures. Of course there are times when he doesn't want to talk, but for the most part he tells me all about his life. It makes me so happy that I spent all that time with him when he was really young because I don't think we'd have such a strong bond otherwise.

Ok, I just had to babble about my brother because his birthday is on the horizon and I miss him so much. I miss all my brothers and all of you, too. Have a great day!

Ronnie sent his to me so here you are:

Here is my answers!Hit forward and place an X by all the things you’ve done and remove the X from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end and send it to your friends (including me). This is for your entire life! It's a great procrastination tool, too!

(X ) Gone on a blind date
(X)Skipped school
( )Watched someone die
( X ) Been to Canada
( X) Been to Mexico
( X) Been to Florida
(X) Been on a plane
(X ) Been lost
(X)Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington , DC
(X ) Swam in the ocean
(X )Cried yourself to sleep
( X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
(X ) Sang Karaoke
( X) Paid for a meal with coins only?
( X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t?
( X) Made prank phone calls
(X ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( X) Danced in the rain
( X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X)Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
( )Been skinny dipping outdoors
(X) Gone to the movies

1. Any nickname? Red, Kimmy, there used to be so many more
2. Mother’s name? Cindy
3. Favorite drink? Beer
4. Any Tattoo’s? nope
5. Body piercings? ears only
6. How much do you love your job? So much I couldn't put a number on it
7. Birthplace? BC, Canada
8. Favorite vacation spot? Florida
9. Ever been to Africa ? No, but the possiblity looks greater all the time
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? me? no, never. Ok, maybe once. Well, perhaps a few more times than that. OK, it's a regular meal. Happy now?
11. been on TV? Not sure. I think they put one of my soccer games on tv once
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? haha. No.
13. Ever been in a car accident? yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 2-door
15. Favorite salad dressing? depends on my mood and the type of salad
17. Favorite number? 21
18 Favorite movie? Dirty Dancing
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas if it's spent away from home or Halloween
20. Favorite dessert? Lemon suffle
21. Favorite food? Lasagna
22. Favorite day of the week? Tuesday
23. Favorite brand of body wash? don't use body wash...soap - ivory
24. Favorite toothpaste? Colgate
25. Favorite smell? mood dependant, things that are baking, but not burnt...vanilla...lemon
26. What do you do to relax? chat, play sudoku, watch tv, read, and most often SLEEP
27. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Happy! Doing some job totally different from the one I currently have. Surrounded by the coolest friends even if not in the immediate vicinity (yay internet). Best aunt in the world (no doubt my brothers will have had kids by then). Still exploring and playing soccer.
28. How many siblings do you have? 3 - the most amazing brothers in the world!! Even though they don't always call, I still adore them all!
29. Furthest place you will send this message? Oh, the possibilities are endless. Of course, I haven't told many people that I moved my blog...thanks for the advert Tanya!
30. Who will respond to this the fastest? It's beyond me

Oh, and just for those of you who might be wondering, I didn't see #16 either and I chose not to attempt yet another question.

Woohoo!

I played my first soccer game last night! So much fun!

I was told I was to play on the "new team" even though I'd already registered and practiced with Gold City. This is due to a lack of goalies in the league. Well, I arrived at the field where my Gold City teammates wanted me to stay with them. I'm so glad I did. I didn't play in goal, but totally have that option should I choose to take it. Also, this team is really easy-going. If we win that's cool, but it's really all about the social aspect and going for drinks after the game. We lost our first game, but scored 4 out of the 7 goals...you figure it out.

I'm liking Yellowknife more and more. Who would've thunk it, eh?

Softball tonight! Problem with playing all these sports is that I think I'm going to gain weight rather than lose it with all the drinking after the games. haha.

Miss you all. Hope your summer's going as well as mine!

Can it really be this difficult?

Ok, I finally purchased a photo printer so I can print all my pictures adn scrapbook them, not that I don't already have enough to scrapbook without adding more. I thought this was great and researched the one I wanted. it turned out it was on sale so I got it!

I get the thing home and am setting it up when it gives me an error. This does not make me happy. After trying for a while online I decided to get some help from HP. Earnest (I don't believe that's his real name) and I spent quite some time troubleshooting only to discover that the ink cartridges, all SIX of them, that come with the printer are only "host" cartridges. Although they were only used for initialization and there is plenty of ink in them still, I was forced to go out and spend a bunch of money on ink.

Is it just me or do you find that incredibly insane?!! Even the people at Staples, where I purchased it, thought that was odd. I didn't purchase their extended warranty so they were pretty useless other than to show me the ink I needed.

I did write to HP and might still send them snail mail with my disgust over something so stupid. Why provide cartridges if they don't work? Why does it not say that you need to replace the cartridges right away? Was the HP help desk guy just too lazy or unqualified to fix the problem rather than tell me to go get more ink?

Argh, what a frustrating experience!

Busy Busy

Wow, i can't believe how busy I am. It's great! I'm now playing baseball (slow pitch) and soccer! Games are all on weeknights and vary anywhere from 1-3 games a week. I played my first baseball game EVER tonight. Our team won. I was walked twice. Translation for Tanya: bla bla bla bla bla.

I play my first soccer game tomorrow night. I'm still not sure which team I'm playing for since they're trying to make the 2 new teams a bit more competative than in past years. I, being one of the only goalies, am being moved from team to team. We'll see how it goes because I really liked the team I was playing with.

I'm working a lot too. I have 3 overtime shifts this month, 3 next month ans, so far, 1 in August. It's a little busier at work too so that's nice.

So that's me, taking advantage of the nice weather despite the obscene amount of bugs. Hope you're all enjoying the fine weather (oops, forgot we don't share the weather). Have a good day!

New and Exciting News from up North

I officially live in the land of the midnight sun. It's currently 3:46am and the sun is rising, although the sun set around 11pm, it didn't get dark. Cool, eh?

I joined the local co-ed outdoor soccer league. Not too sure when we have our first game, but I'll meet my team on Wednesday at practice. I'm a little worried since they are pretty mucha group of beginners. Should be interesting.

Oh, and the really cool news...I'm coming back to Vancouver in November. Do you want to know why?

I'm going to the New Kids on the Block concert! Yep, that's right. The New Kids reunited and are touring North America in the fall. I'm so excited!

Hope you're all doing as good as me!!

Read This!!

See how productive I can be at work? Yes indeed. Have a great day Tanya!!!

Dreams

I was discussing with someone at work the wonder of my dreams. I told her that I really don't have nightmares - dreams that make you wake up all freaked out. I've had a few, but generally my dreams, although odd and possibly scary, they end up being more interesting than freaky.

Here's proof:
I had a dream today (I work midnight shift tonight) where I was a police detective and I knew there was corruption within the force. I decided I wasn't going to take the elevator with my partner so I waited for another and one of the bad cops got on. We pressed the button for the 6th floor, there were 9 in total. At the 4th floor someone else got on. I was suspicous, but stayed on. He was going to the 9th floor. What happened next would be the scary part because the elevator didn't stop. It just kept going up and shot out of the top of the building like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This one, however, wasn't suppose to do that.

So this is the point where most people would freak out, right? Not me. I was in the elevator with these 2 guys I was certain were the bad guys and thought, "This can't really be happening. There's no way we're going to die like this or when it lands."

Then we kind of dropped out of the elevator and the bad guy lands on some ledge. I grabbed onto a pole of some sort and grabbed the other cop's hand. I swung him onto another ledge and then jumped down myself.

That wasn't the entire dream, but don't you find it funny how the scariest stuff only made me think of how it was going to work out rather than the other way around? And people wonder why I like to sleep so much...ah, for the cool dreams :)

Happy dreams!!

I, alas, have joined the revolution!

I've converted too! Are you proud of me? We'll see how this goes. Pass along the info of my move. I'm trying to see how many people figure it out without me telling them. I guess that means nobody'll be reading my blog. Oh well, that's life.