The Acoustic Concert Series

I get so caught up in trying to finish my recap of Texas that I'm slipping on all the new stuff that his happening. Then when I want to refer to something, I can't because I haven't posted it in the first place! Okay, enough rambling. What am I talking about? I am talking about live music. One of the things I picked up from being in Texas was the importance and the fun of live music. I've always enjoyed festivals and concerts but there is a grey area between free festivals and high profile concerts that I haven't really explored yet. My first opportunity to do so since coming back was the Acoustic Concert Series put on by my radio station. It's a "win to get in" set up. Only 107 people are let in. I actually debated wether I should enter the draw or not but I knew that if I didn't, I'd regret not trying. Luckily my name was selected.

The concert was on Wednesday, May 16th and featured Canadian band The Wilkinsons with local band The Higgins opening for them. The Wilkinson's lead singer is Amanda (she is joined by her brother Tyler and dad Steve). Amanda is six months younger then me and has been performing with her family since she was eight. Their first single "26 Cents" went number one in 1998 which was right when I was first getting into Country music. In fact I remember copying down the words to the course because I liked it so much. Anyways, I've watched Amanda grow up and I can't help but feel a bit of an affinity to her because we are so close in age so it was nice to finally see them live. Frankly she always kind of annoyed me but after seeing her live I know that she has a ton of talent and is actually really sweet. It definitely changed my opinion for the better.

The Higgins totally surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect and they blew me away. They have fantastic harmonies and are really fun on stage. More about them in a future post ;) The lighting in this picture is really bad. I was a little far from the stage and on an angle so they're hard to see.
This shot of the Wilkinsons is better. I got out of my seat and went around in front of them to take it. I was able to use flash then too. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Jenna came to the concert with me! It was her first one since Grant was born. It was nice to have her "back out" with me ;) (and Grant and Daddy Will did fine without her :))
There was a girl sitting in front of us and I told Jenna that I recognized her but I couldn't remember where from. After the concert Jenna left right away but I stuck around to get an autograph. The girl (I later found out her name was Lori) said hi but confessed that she didn't remember my name. I told it to her and then told her that I couldn't remember where we had met. She reminded me that we had shared a "moment" at the Dierks concert in Vancouver! (I swear this is my MOST referenced blog post). If you remember she and I stood in line together waiting to go down to the Meet & Greet but lamenting the fact that while we wanted to meet Dierks and spend time with him, we *really* wanted to see Doc Walker's set as well. Then after the M&G it was Lori that I RAN back to the concert with. Very fun. Anyways, we had fun chatting and talking about the concerts we have coming up for the summer.

I just got autographs and a picture from Amanda, Tyler and Steve and then headed out. I'm glad I was able to go though. It was a fun time. I can't wait until the next "Acoustic Concert" is announced.

Speaking of, I really liked the intimate acoustic format. There was a few times that it would have been nice to get up and dance but it was nice to just sit back, relax and really enjoy the MUSIC. Neither of the bands had any back up musicians due to space constraints so it was just them and the guitars. It was really nice. I think I appreciated them more because of it.

~Heidi

PEBKAC

I was talking to our computer tech this morning and we determined that his computer had a "PEBKAC" error. That's when a:

Problem
Exists
Between
Keyboard
And
Chair

LOL

~Heidi

The River Walk

The River Walk really is beautiful. Everytime I told anyone that I was going to San Antonio their first comment was "You'll love it there! The River Walk is beautiful!" And they were right. I can't wait to get back there. I'd love to spend some time shopping at River Center Mall

I had received mixed reviews on the "River Cruise". Some people said "go, it's fun" some said not to bother. I decided to trust my local friends. They encouraged me to go so we did. I actually really enjoyed it. It was informative and our guide was funny plus, it was a quick way to see pretty much the whole area. I'd definitely recommend it to first time visitors.

I took lots of pictures. Pictures of buildings, hotels, flowers, of the walk way and more. I'll spare you some of the more boring ones. I got a kick out of seeing the Marriot though because my co-workers stayed there two weeks after I was there.

I really like this picture that Ginger got of me. She pointed out the look on the face of the lady behind me :) Looks like a juicy bit of gossip!

Joanie, Diane and Ginger.

See? It's beautiful!!!

~Heidi

The Alamo

Friday morning Ginger picked up breakfast burritos for us for breakfast. I still maintain that they're not my favourite but it was good to try "authentic" ones. Joanie and Diane met us at the house and we all piled into Joanie's van. We dropped Avery off at Ginger's mom's and then headed into downtown San Antonio.

Again, some background. When my parents visited Texas in 1990 I was just shy of ten years old. I was already a big fan of Disney's Davy Crockett and when they brought back "coon skin caps" for my brothers and I, we wore them proudly. In fact I think I still have mine...it might be tail-less though. My San Antonio friends made a point of preparing me for what to expect at the Alamo. 1. It's in downtown SA and surrounded by large buildings 2. The only part that's really still standing is the chapel 3. It is *very* touristy. Knowing that, I, unlike others, wasn't at all disappointed. I've heard that people who aren't so well prepared arrive thinking that it's out in the middle of no where like in the movies and are very disappointed when they realize it's not.

With that in mind, I really enjoyed it. I only got a few photos out front and you aren't allowed to take pictures inside but these are of the outside. The small plaque on the right says "Legend states that in 1836 Lt. Col. William Barret Travis unsheathed his sword and drew a line on this ground before his battle-weary men saying: "Those prepared to give their lives in freedom's cause, come over to me!"

This tree is a "live oak". They are very common in the San Antonio area.



One of the more interesting things I learned was where the "Six flags over Texas" theme comes from. In Texas' history there have been six different flags flying over it. Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, the flag of the Confederacy and the current United States of America flag.
There were beautiful flowers in the gardens at the back of the Alamo.

Gotta love the "Crocket Hotel" too.

Ginger and I in front of a fountain at the corner of Bonham and East Crockett.

Uneventful

So Wednesday I drove Mere to SEATAC. It was very uneventful. We had a sweet older man as our border guard and he let us through with only a few comments about the weather. Traffic was surprisingly light, even through Everett and we got to the airport area in record time. Using the HOV lane and my heavy foot both helped :D Because we had gotten down there so fast we took the time to go for dinner at Johnny Rockets and then I dropped Mere at the airport.

I did have a minor adventure getting gas. First of all I couldn't use my credit card at the pump because it requires a zip code which of course I don't have. Then I didn't see the sign that said "Pay BEFORE you pump". Then when I DID pump I couldn't get it to stay on. The attendant had to come out and help me. I felt like such a freak and I'm sure he thought I was one too.

I took my time getting home. It was a bit surreal to be that far South on a weeknight. You can tell that summer is coming too because it really didn't get totally dark until after ten. It was strange. I mean it wasn't light out but it definitely wasn't dark yet.

Getting back across the border to Canada was a breeze. The only interesting question he asked was "when was the last time you were in the states". Luckily I remembered that Darrcie's Memoranza was on May 5th.

Yesterday (Thursday) Mom and I had a mini picnic at the church. Our church is out in the country and there is a fire pit there. We risked the wrath of the bylaw officers by lighting a fire (you're really not supposed to burn anything but it's totally contained and away from anything flamable). We had the scrabble board set up too and we tied! First time I've tied in a long time.

Tonight (Friday) should be pretty laid back and tomorrow I'm going out to Deb's to scrapbook for the day. We talk every day all day by email haven't seen each other in person since January. It's time.

Have a great weekend!

~Heidi

Surrounded

I just realized something. I am surrounded by food. On my desk I have a cut up kiwi in a bowl, a half eaten banana, an un-opened granola bar and half a pack of "vanilla sesame snaps". In my lunch bag I have a baggie full of baby carrots. I'm drinking water and I have International Coffee if I feel like getting up and making it.

Life is good! :D This makes doing minutes easier too.

~Heidi

This feels so weird

Meredith is going to New York. She's flying from Seattle tonight. I'm driving here there. After work. That's right, after I finish my eight hour day, I'm going to get in my car, pick her up and drive her three hours down to the SEATAC airport. There I will drop her off and then turn around and come back home. My goal is to be home by midnight at the latest. We'll see how I do. I've done that round trip before when I went down and picked up Naomi. It's a loooooooooooong drive. I don't mind driving though. I'm actually looking forward to it somewhat. The weird part is that I'm at work today, I'll be at work tomorrow and in between I'm driving halfway through another state!!! Crazy. I must be a good friend.
~Heidi

Victoria Day Weekend

The weekend was alright. The weather was crappy so I stayed inside most of the time...actually all of the time :P Friday Meredith convinced me to come out to South Surrey to her aunt and uncle's house where she was house sitting. She's wanted me to see it since they moved in last summer (they built it) and since they are moving (to a water view home in White Rock) it was one of my last chances. I was *tired* on Friday but the drive was relaxing. I stayed over night but we were in bed by 10! Saturday morning we got up and went and had breakfast at Fronds on Marine Drive in White Rock and then I came back home.

I spent most of Saturday afternoon scrapbooking. I finished Seth's Hawaii album and gave it to him and did a few more pages in my DC album. Saturday evening was bible study. Sunday was church and afterwards I came home and made two batches of yummy corn bread. That evening I went over to my friends house for a birthday party. There was a large group of us (23 including kids) and LOTS of food. It was nice to just sit around and visit.

Monday was supposed to be a "family day" but because the weather was gross I just stayed home and scrapbooked. I finished Di's visit in 2005, uploaded a bunch of layouts and organized some other stuff. Dad took Mom, Aaron and I to the 3:00 showing of Shrek III. The theatre was packed! The show was okay. Funny in parts but IMO, not destined to be a classic. Monday evening was just spent at home. Seth was home all weekend and he took up residence on the couch, mostly playing video games while I sat in my command center with my scrapbook table in front of me and the computer beside me. All in all it was a relaxing weekend but definitely not memorable. I have to admit, I'm glad this is a short week :)

~Heidi

Gruene Hall

Thank you to Suzanne for gently reminding me that I need to hurry up and finish blogging about my Texas trip. I appologize for the delay. Can you believe that I've been HOME from Texas for over a month already???
So where was I? Oh yes, on my Great Texas Road Trip just arriving in San Antonio. So, Thursday I got into SA and found Ginger's house without a problem. In the picture of me at left I am holding Ginger's adorable daughter Avery (the most loving happy child you'll ever meet) and talking to Stacy who was telling me that I couldn't stay at her house in Fort Worth because my Vancouver Canucks had beat her Dalls Stars in fourth overtime. :P

We also spoke with Joanie who called to confirm our plans for the evening. She had a few suggestions and one of them was to go to Gruene Hall to see an old friend of her's perform. It turned out to be a great evening. Ginger, her friend Maria and their two kids joined Joanie, Diane and I for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in North San Antonio before heading off to the Newsboys concert. Then Joanie, Diane and I drove up to New Braunfels.

Greune Hall (pronounced Green) is the "oldest dance hall in Texas" When I was first planning my trip, Gruene was one of the places I mapquested to see how far out of the way it was. It's just off I-35 but it wouldn't have been practical to stop in on my way through on Friday so I wrote it off for this trip. The fact that Joanie called and suggested we go there was just awesome.

It was a beautiful evening in. Diane and I took a walk around the town before it got dark. Next time I'm in Gruene I'll eat at the Gristmill It is an incredibly cool restaurant situated just behind the dance hall and right above the river. This is a picture of the river from the back section of the gristmill.

There are lots of neat buildings and sights and Diane and I had a nice time wandering around and taking pictures of them.

The building to the right is a very popular bed and breakfast.




The Gruene water tower is as famous as the town it self. Diane and I took pictures of it illuminated after the sun set.

The list of people who have performed at Gruene is staggering. George Strait (seen just to my left) played some of his first gigs there and Merle Haggard (above me) has also graced the stage. The walls are FULL of pictures of stars and local people. It was fun to look at them all and see how many I recognized.

Joanie's friend Sylvia Kirk was accompanied by her incredibly talented children Matt, Bobby and a daughter who I didn't catch the name of. It freaked Joanie out that they were on stage because she remembers when they were just little but they grew up well. :) We also met Joanie's friend Maria and her boyfriend there and she and Joanie had fun reminiscing about the "old days". Gruene is a great place. I definitely want to go back there and spend some more time checking it out.

~Heidi

Look what I found outside my window!

Isn't it pretty?

How did I do?

Well, that was one of the best award shows I've seen in awhile. Full of laughs and surprises...well, some surprises. I participated in a running commentary with Diane, Lisa, Melissa and a few others. CMT Canada finally got something right and broadcast the show twice last night. Once at 8pm Eastern and once at 8pm Pacific which meant I could watch it live with my friends instead of waiting for the world to turn.

So, how did I do on my predictions?

Entertainer of the Year
THINK: Anybody
WANT: Kenny Chesney
WHO WON? KENNY!!! Woohoo! and I must say, he did a fantastic job of kicking off the show and it was really nice to see Shania Twain there to present the award to him.

Top Male Vocalist
THINK: Keith Urban
WANT: I'd LOVE to see underdog Brad Paisley take it!
WHO WON? Brad took it!!! I am SO proud of him. He had one of the funniest speeches of the night too. "Thank you to the fans. I put out a song about two people drinking themselves to death, you buy it. I put out a love song, you buy it. I put out a song about stupid bugs, you buy it. Thank you" Interestingly enough, Keith was no where to be seen last night.

Top Female Vocalist
THINK: Watch your reaction Faith Hill. The last thing we need it to rehash it again for the millionth time. I think this one is Carrie's again.
WANT: I'm cool with Carrie taking it.
WHO WON? I was right. Carrie took it. I liked Paul McGuires comment on CMT Canada "It's Carrie Underwood's world, we all just live in it"

Top Vocal Duo
Somehow I missed blogging my prediction on this one. I would have said Brooks & Dunn even though I would have loved to see The Wreckers take it. B&D walked away with it again though. This was their 14th time!

Top Vocal Group
THINK: Rascal Flatts has this one sewn up
WANT: I'd love to see Canadians Emerson Drive walk away with this one. It would do my "Countrified Soul" good :D
WHO WON? RF took it. No surprise. You can't argue with their insane crossover popularity.

Top New Male Vocalist
THINK: Rodney Atkins, although it's weird that he's even nominated. It's not like he's *new* he's just back on the charts
WANT: I want Chris Young to win because even though he's a product of "Nashville Star" he's my favourite of the three (even if Craig Morgan was at Billy Bob's the night I was there)
WHO WON? Rodney Atkins. His singles have been too successful to overlook. I will also vote him for the most boring speech of the night :(

Top New Femal Vocalist
THINK: Taylor Swift
WANT: Miranda Lambert
WHO WON? Miranda! She has the most experience of the three nominees what with just releasing her second cd. I'm excited that she won though.

Top New Duo or Vocal Group
THINK: The Wreckers
WANT: The Wreckers, I really think they've got a great shot at it.
WHO WON? Little Big Town walked away with this one. I am not a fan of theirs so I wasn't too thrilled but I know they've worked hard for it and probably do deserve it.

Album of the Year
THINK: Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood. Who can dispute over 5 million copies sold?
WANT: I won't cry if Carrie wins but I'd love for King George to take this one home. "It Just Comes Natural" is an instant classic
WHO WON? Some Hearts. I was right. Talk about pressure for her next one though!!!

Single Record of the Year
THINK: Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
WANT: Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood - it's a classic and SO well done
WHO WON? Amazing upset in both Song and Single of the year categories. George Strait won both with "Give it Away" and totally knocked Carrie out. I was very happy for the writers, Bill Anderson, Jamey Johnson and Buddy Cannon. George was genuinely suprised too. Very cool.

The results of these next two categories wasn't televised.

Video of the Year
THINK: Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
WANT:Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
WHO WON? Carrie. That video was pure genius and even people who don't like country music comment on it and the song.

Vocal Event of the Year
THINK: Building Bridges - Brooks & Dunn with Vince Gill & Sheryl Crow
WANT: Me and God - Josh Turner, Dr. Ralph Stanley and Diamond Rio
WHO WON? Brooks & Dunn

So there you go. I predicted six winners correctly and six that I wanted to win, did. I was only off on three categories. Single and Song of the year because I underestimated King George and Group of the year. Great show though!

~Heidi

ACM Predictions

I had so much fun doing my predictions for the CMA's that I'm going to do it again.

Over all prediction, Carrie Underwood will clean up.

The good news? Of all the female singers out there, Carrie is one of my favourites.

My predictions:

Entertainer of the Year
Who I THINK Will Win: Honestly, any of them could take it. Keith didn't tour much last year so I'm not hopeful for him. Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and George Strait all did and had VERY successful tours. Any of them could take it.
Who I WANT to Win: Kenny, just cause he's so awesome and I want to see him take it three years in a row. I'd be happy for any of them (except the Flatts :P)

Top Male Vocalist
THINK: Keith Urban
WANT: I'd LOVE to see underdog Brad Paisley take it!

Top Female Vocalist
THINK: Watch your reaction Faith Hill. The last thing we need it to rehash it again for the millionth time. I think this one is Carrie's again.
WANT: I'm cool with Carrie taking it.

Top Vocal Group
THINK: Rascal Flatts has this one sewn up
WANT: I'd love to see Canadians Emerson Drive walk away with this one. It would do my "Countrified Soul" good :D

Top New Male Vocalist
THINK: Rodney Atkins, although it's weird that he's even nominated. It's not like he's *new* he's just back on the charts
WANT: I want Chris Young to win because even though he's a product of "Nashville Star" he's my favourite of the three (even if Craig Morgan was at Billy Bob's the night I was there)

Top New Femal Vocalist
THINK: Taylor Swift
WANT: Miranda Lambert

Top New Duo or Vocal Group
THINK: The Wreckers
WANT: The Wreckers, I really think they've got a great shot at it.

Album of the Year
THINK: Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood. Who can dispute over 5 million copies sold?
WANT: I won't cry if Carrie wins but I'd love for King George to take this one home. "It Just Comes Natural" is an instant classic

Single Record of the Year
THINK: Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
WANT: Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood - it's a classic and SO well done

Video of the Year
THINK: Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
WANT:Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood - Actually I WANT the videos that aren't even nominated. Dierks' "Long Trip Alone" and Kenny's "You Save Me"

Vocal Event of the Year
THINK: Building Bridges - Brooks & Dunn with Vince Gill & Sheryl Crow
WANT: Me and God - Josh Turner, Dr. Ralph Stanley and Diamond Rio

IMO the Vocal Event Category is weak but at least Bon Jovi isn't nominated again.

So there. That's my predictions. Let's see how close I am :D

~Heidi

Random Observations

• The birds will ignore your car until you wash it. Then it's open season.
• Extra cheery Tim Horton's employees just come across as fake
• The phone won't ring until your mouth is full
• Good songs just make me happy
• The day after a board meeting are my favourite days of the whole year
• Other people love cheese just as much as I do
• When you get behind on blogging, it's hard to get caught up
• Some people just call to talk
• A whole summer without board meetings is fantastic
• Happy news from someone you don't know very well balances out not so happy news from someone you do know well
• A small AGM is okay even if it means we don't get to leave BC
• 3" heels LOOK great but they can be a pain
• Ditto for linen skirts
• Just when you think everything is going okay, another bird poops on you :P

Blog Challenge: The Power of Words

Words can be powerful. Think of an occasion when someone blessed you with their words. (Conversely, words can be powerfully hurtful, too. Write about one of those instances if you must, but try to think of a positive memory instead.) Describe the circumstances surrounding the words that were powerful to you. Who said it? How did you react? How does it afffect you today?

Apparently I've never blogged this. I've told enough people about it but according to the search function, I've never blogged it.

Last year when I was in the middle of my job search I was emailing back and forth with Deb. I'd send her updates on my job and vent when I was frustrated. During that time she told me that I was "smart and articulate" I claimed those words as mine. I even went as far as to put them on a sticky note on my computer. They've stuck with me. SMART and ARTICULATE. That's me. That's the me that was brave enough to turn down a position with a company I loved in favour of the unknown. That's the me that was referred to a position that is perfect for me. That's the me that gets up every day and goes to work and communicates with people wether I want to or not. Those words gave me confidence then and they continue to encourage me.

Thanks Deb.

~Heidi

Ontario?!

I originally posted this on SS but I want it here as a record.

I was born in Alberta but my parents moved to BC when I was just a few years old. My dad had decided that he wanted a change of pace and because he had friends down here, this is where he moved. We've been here ever since.

I love it here. I'm definitely a BC girl at heart. This is home. But, I get restless. Travel helps but part of me wants to go really experience new places. I've tossed around the idea of moving to Ontario before. It's still in Canada so there's basically no paper work and I have lots of friends out there and a whole established social network. Right now I'm kind of thinking that if my life hasn't changed too much by 2010, I'll start seriously considering it then. I need to pay off my car (which, at my current pace, will be done in March 2009) I'd like to stay at my job for a few more years and I want to be in BC for the Olympics. After that, I'm thinking a change might be good. That's only three years away after all and it doesn't have to be permanent. Just go, experience a different part of the world and have some new adventures for awhile.

I told my parents that I was considering this a few weeks back. My dad's initial reaction was "Well you didn't ask us!" "No Dad, I didn't ASK you but I am telling you, way in advance".

I don't know if I'll actually follow through with it. I briefly considered it just after highschool but I wasn't mature enough to make that big of a move without a reason (like school or something). I thought about driving across Canada for awhile too. Even got all the guide books and planned a route. That never worked either though. It was a huge trip (I planned on it taking about 4-6 weeks) so logistically it was hard to plan and financially I never prepared properly. This, I think could really work though. In 2010 I'll be turning 29 and a big move like that will make the numbers easier :)

We'll see. Stay tuned.

~Heidi

National Scrapbook Day Re-cap

This is taken from an email I sent to Deb this morning.

My weekend was good. I was SO tired by the time I got home yesterday though! Okay, I'll start at the beginning. Friday I left work, went home and changed and went to Mere's mom's house for dinner. It was awesome. Very gourmet. She always out does herself. It's fun to eat there. We hung around at her house for a bit visiting (it was Mere, me, her mom and four of her mom's co-workers) and then headed over to her church for the fashion show evening. It was the first time the church had done anything like it so it was a bit rough but it was a lot of fun. Lots of laughs and interesting things. The funny part for me was seeing all these people that I haven't seen in *years*. I used to go to Awana with Mere and her mom has been friends with the same core group for over twenty years so there was a lot of familiar, if older, faces. They all recognized me too which was kind of neat.

Saturday morning I got up at my regular weekday time, loaded up my car and headed out. It took about twenty minutes to get across the border because, before eight o'clock they only have one guard on. I crossed over just after eight. I took a slightly different route past Bellingham becuase someone had suggested it. I don't know that it was any faster but it was different and very pretty, which was nice. I got to Everett at about 9:30. From my house to the church is 150 kms so 1.5 hours is just about right! Sue (foleysfriend), Anne (jellybeans) Christie Jo (seajay) and I had a table at the back of the room (by the door to the washroom where the embosser was set up last year). Because there was lower attendance then in October (Darrcie says that it is always lower in May) we each had half and eight foot table. Lots of room.

The product that I forgot I had ordered was a 7x7 Denim Album for my country concerts. I picked up Seth's coverset as well and put the pages in it along with most of the page protectors. I still have a few finishing touches to do there and then I'm DONE! I didn't end up seeing him at all this weekend so I wasn't able to pick his brain. Maybe next weekend :) I started on my DC/VA/PA 2006 album and made good progress. I was initially doubting my choice of black pages but after getting input from the group, I decided to go with it. My problems is that I'm TIRED of black pages. My PA 2005 album was on black pages, Seth's Hawaii album was on black, the country concerts album was on black. I need a break from black. Anyways, the album is going fairly well. The retreat portion is only going to be five double page spreads which I'm happy with. In total I finished about eight single page layouts and started about a half a dozen more. Not stellar numbers but I'm happy with it considering 1. it's a new project that I'm still working out in my mind, 2. all the chatting we did :)

Sue let me borrow her mp3 player in the evening which was great because the people noise was getting to me. Having some calming Kenny in my ear really relaxed me. Anne and I did a Starbucks run after dinner as well but the caffeine never really kicked in. Clean up went really fast and we were back at Darrcie's by midnight. Of course we chatted for a bit to wind down and by the time my head hit the pillow I was OUT. I set my alarm for 7:30 the next morning and was out of there by 8.

Church was good but I was tired. Afterwards I headed straight over to the Stampin-Up! class hosted by one of my ex-coworkers at my old work. Luckily I thought it was at one but it didn't start until 1:30 so I wasn't actually late. The demonstrator was good. We made ten cards, all of which I was very happy with. She made a point of supplying options for the greetings so they weren't all birthday or thank you or whatever. I got to use a crimper for the first time (I think) and a brayer. I ordered the "City of David" stamp set which I wanted last Christmas but talked myself out of for some reason along with a "night of navy" stamp pad and paper. I'm planning on using it for my Christmas cards this year. It's May. It's time to start thinking about that right? LOL

I won the door prize too. A baggie with card stock for two cards, two envelopes, various ribbon and twine bits and a stamp that says "Chick Up" from one of the Sale-a-bration sets. Very cute. The demonstrator is based in Maple Ridge so I did tell her that I have a local consultant who sends me catalogues and stuff but I would like to be on her email list for events and stuff.

I ended up going home after the class and, after checking my email and the board briefly, I took a nap. I was SO tired. I slept for about three hours, got up, un packed a bit, tidied up the house (it was all my mess, I question if Seth was even THERE over the weekend) and then went back to bed. Today I feel quite rested. Here's to another week! I hope your weekend was as good as mine :)

~Heidi

Catching Up

I went over to Jenna's house last night. I got to see her adorable baby boy who is getting SO big (of course he started out big but he's growing like a weed). I got to see another friend too. Deanna was part of the "group" in highschool but lately most of us had lost contact with her. It was great to see her again and catch up on her life. It turns out that her parents (who she's moving back in with next week) live about five minutes from my parents house! It's kind of a weird, out of the way area of town so it's neat to hear when people actually live there. Anwyays, it was good to catch up with them.

Tonight I'm going to a fashion show thing with Meredith. Tomorrow I'm going to Darrcie's Memoranza and Sunday after church I'm getting together with my ex-coworkers for an SU workshop and then a craft day. Should be fun!

~Heidi

My Great Texas Road Trip

Thursday, April 12 Naomi dropped me off at the Budget rent-a-car in Beaumont at about nine in the morning. After signing paperwork and transferring my luggage I set out on my Great Texas Road Trip.

Last week I was inspired to write about my trip so I'm just going to type that verbatim. Excuse the somewhat formal wording.
Content
During mydrive to San Antonio I fellt completely content. I had just finished spending time and making memories with a wonderful group of people yet I was on my way to another set of adventures. The sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue. The wildflowers (blue bonnets, indian paintbrush and black eyed susans) covered the hill sides and the long horn cattle grazed contentedly in the pastures. (The first picture here shows the rice fields just outside of Beaumont. Did you know that they grow rice in Southeast Texas?)
Sure driving through Houston was a bit interesting (have I mentioned yet how much I *love* the American Interstate system? It just makes so much sense!) and the construction before the city was a pain (I saw SO many people drive across the median to avoid waiting in traffic). I entertained myself by planing the license plate game, (I counted over 30 different plates by the time I got to Dallas) by scanning radio stations (who knew there were so many Spanish and Christian stations?) and I rewarded myself for making it out of the city by stopping at Wal-Mart in Katy to pick up some cd's that I had been coveting.
That's as far as I got with that journalling.
The cd's I bought were George Strait, Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet "Live at Texas Stadium" (appropriate don't you think?) the new Tim McGraw "Let it Go" which, if you buy it at Wal-Mart in the states, comes with a DVD with music videos on it and Craig Morgan's "My Kind of Livin'". I figured since he'd be on stage at Billy Bob's it might be good to have at least one of his cd's plus, it was only $5.99 :) I also bought some snacks and a frappacino to sustain me on the LONG drive to San Antonio ;)

Texas is fairly flat but not totally, as evidenced by this picture. (Excuse the dirt on the windshield. Apparently the car I rented had only been returned a few minutes before)

I really, really enjoyed that drive. I can't remember what month my parents visited Texas (October maybe?) but they made it sound like a desert wasteland. I kind of expected the whole tumble weeds and cactus thing to be going on. Apparently I visited too early in the year because as I said earlier, it was beautiful and green.

Naomi's mom had suggested that I stop at "Buc-ee's if I needed gas or a break. I had fun reading all the billboards leading up to it. It's an interesting place. Sort of a rest stop, convenience store, tourist trap all in one.

Other then that my trip was pretty uneventful. I found Ginger's house without a problem. I'll blog about our evening seperately.
~Heidi

My box came!

I'm not even sure if I've blogged about this yet. BTW I appologize for being so slow in my Texas recap. It's the picture uploading. It takes a long time. Anyways, I, well, Stacy mailed a box of my stuff to me. I was concerned about weight limits on the plane and about customs limits coming over the border so I shipped a big box full of new purchases and other clothes. I have been waiting VERY impatiently for it to arrive. I am so excited! :) Now I have three more pairs of shoes to wear and some new tops and stuff...plus all my regular clothes that I was without for 2.5 weeks. Yes. Two and a half weeks. That's how long it takes to get a box from Fort Worth to my house via Canada Post. Not exactly speedy. Oh well, it's here now!
~Heidi

Wednesday at Tyrell Park

The formatting on this post is totally messed up. I appologize but I'm done playing with it.

Wednesday, April 11th was another low key day. We slept in a bit and then went shopping for a little while. I picked up a really cute pair of shoes and a few tank tops. Because it was such a beautiful day we decided to go for a walk in the park. Naomi's sister had just gotten gradpictures done at Tyrell Park in Beaumont and since Naomi didn't remember going there, we decided to check it out. They have a really nice garden section and we had fun doing a photo shoot of each other and of the flowers. Here are some of my favourite shots. Click on them for a closer look.