Lesson Learned

1. Procrastination is never, ever a good idea
2. Ignoring a problem won't make it go away
3. You can make yourself sick by worrying about something
4. Confronting it and dealing with something is the ONLY way to over come it
5. Facing the music and confessing that you messed up isn't as bad as you'll make it out to be in your head and the sooner you do it the better
6. Other people feel the same way you do and just because "it's always been done that way" doesn't mean it has to continue that way"
7. My boss rocks ;)

Kristal Barrett's CD Release Party

Sunday morning I went to church and then Seth and I went to Mom and Dad's for lunch. Mom and I played a round of Scrabble and I lost horribly. So bad that I refused to play my last rack (DIOUVW) because I was already 100 points behind. Seth, Mom and I then played a game of Cribbage (which I haven't played in forever) and I won that which restored my faith in myself LOL

Sunday evening I went to the cd release party for Kristal Barrett. Kristal graduated a year after me and has recently launched a country music career. She works for the radio station and has great support there. She performed at the BerryBeat Festival in July too.

I love her debut single "High On Life" and she's just such a sweet person and I wanted to support her on this big day. I had a blast. I ended up going alone which was fine. I befriended some people in the line up and they invited me to sit with them. It was great. Thank you to Guy, Edie and Darryl for adopting me and being such great entertainment!

If you have the time, check out Kristal's music on her myspace page (linked above) I admit I'm generally not a fan of female singers. If you look at my cd collection, it's about 90% male. Kristal is different though. I love her voice and her lyrics say exactly what I feel. BC is lucky to have her :)

~Heidi

I LOVE my apartment

1. I love that it's small but has lots of storage.
2. I love that the grass magically cuts itself and the flowers seem to grow without help.
3. I love that the dumpster is just outside along with a recycling bin.
4. I love that there are always lights on when I get home.
5. I love that I have a pool even if I've never bothered using it.
6. I love that I look out into the courtyard and it is like a park.
7. I love that I have a corner unit and only rarely hear the people above me.
8. I don't love being on the first floor (I'd prefer to be higher up) but I do love that I don't have to worry about anyone below me.
9. I love that I park underground so my car is always dry and cool.
10. I love that my mother is an angel and still allows me to bring my laundry over to her.
11. I love that there is an elevator that I can use when I'm hauling my scrap crap but that there are stairs I can use on a daily basis. It's my exercise routine :D
12. I love that my brother and I get along so well and that splitting the rent works for us.

And SO many other things including the location in relation to stores and work and the area of town.

Yep, 13 months in and I LOVE my apartment.

Canadian Idol

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of reality tv. Give me a well written drama any day. Somehow though, this summer, I've really gotten in to the latest season of Canadian Idol. I've watched a handful of episodes from Canadian and American Idol over the years and I'm generally aware of who is making the cut (it's hard to avoid!) but this season is the first one that I've actually made a point of watching. It think it helped that in the top ten were not one but two "hometown heros".

Abbotsford has had it's share of "Idols". Karen Lee Batten, Shane Weibe, Jacob Hogard of Hedley, Greg Neufeld who was a finalist in the top 22 last year and who made it to the top seven this year and Mission's Carly Rae Jepsen who is currently in the top four.

Carly Rae was at Mission's Heritage Park today for a hometown concert. The crowd was huge and the rain that fell near the end didn't dampen our spirits.

There were lots of touching tributes including a proclimation from the Mayor designating August 25, 2007 as "Carly Rae Day" in Mission. There were speeches by the local MP and the MLA read a letter from Premier Gordon Campbell.

It was neat to see so much support for Carly. She was only able to sing a handful of songs but after hearing her live I like her even more! Her voice is really unique and she has great potential.

She had a special surprise too. Greg Neufeld was in the crowd and she brought him up for a guest performance.

The next round of Canadian Idol is on Monday/Tuesday. Go Carly Rae!!!

It's Mexican!

I called Steve at the radio station this morning. Our topic wasn't Dierks related but he mentioned that he had seen the new Deric Ruttan video on CMT Canada. I haven't yet and I told him that. Steve said "Dierks is in it" I said "Yeah, I know that's why I want to see it". His response was "You probably know everything about Dierks Bentley. They've locked people up for less than that. You probably even know that his favourite food is like cheese or something" I said, "No, it's Mexican!" It made him groan but it made me laugh :D

It's not rocket science though. The answer to that question is on his website: clicky

Allergy Attack

I am having a major allergy attack this morning. To anyone who walks by my office, I look like I'm sitting here crying my eyes out. I'm not but they are watering like crazy and my nose is running. I've taken drugs and gone through a bunch of kleenex. Uggh. This is miserable!
~Heidi

Super Saturday

Yesterday was such a good day. Even though I was crazy busy I just had a good time. It started off slowly (as mentioned in my previous post). French toast for breakfast and puttering around. I finally got dressed and walked downtown to the library where I chatted with Meredith's aunt, to the bank and to the Farmers Market. At the Market I ran into my pastor and his wife who were showing visitors around. We have a visiting pastor in town this weekend and while he was studying, his wife, son, daughter and their significant others were there. It was nice to be able to meet them before the service yesterday evening.

From there I stopped at home and dropped off my purchases and headed up town. I have a gift certificate for Reitmans so I stopped in there to see if anything struck my fancy (it didn't but it's still nice to shop) and then into the cell phone store where Steve was doing a "on location" broadcast. Curtis (the afternoon guy) was there as well and I hung out and laughed with them for probably 15 minutes. It was fun :)

When I got home I started cooking. I like to have chili in the freezer for the days when I don't feel like making a lunch. Jenna had given me a chunk of mooseburger so I fried that up and made a huge pot of chili. I also made "Scotcheroos" (a recipe from Stacie on HSS) and, with my mom's help, "Christmas Ribbon Squares" (a jello dessert).

Oh and I forgot the most exciting thing that I discovered. The radio station has live streaming!!!!!!! Visit: http://www.country1071.com and you too can hear Steve (5:30-9am Pacific) It means that I can listen at work too. Very cool.

Let's see, after all my cooking I did dishes and cleaned the kitchen, ironed a bunch and then laid down for a short nap before taking a shower and going to church.

Saturday evening services are special events for us. This one is just because of the visiting minister. The service was fantastic and afterwards we had a reception in the basement. I've been going to this church for over twenty years and we had a lot of out of town visitors in too. People I haven't seen in a long time. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone.

Today we have another service and then a banquet at a local hotel. My church is small (about 75 people in the core congregation) so it's like a big family reunion. Lots of fun :)

~Heidi

What?!?! It's called "multi-tasking"

So Seth gets up this morning and is thoroughly disgusted with what he finds. Me, braiding my hair while reading blogs with both the tv and the radio on. It's called m-u-l-t-i-t-a-s-k-i-n-g. Not so hard. He doesn't agree.

Jumping on the blog quiz train

Stacy challenged us to post a quiz for our blog readers. After doing everyone else's quizzes for a few days, I've finally come up with my own. Have fun!

It looks scary on paper

Okay, so you can tell by reading my blog that it's been a busy summer. Look at it when it's all typed out though. This is one month. Keep in mind I work 9-5.
July 20 SSWA Retreat
July 21 SSWA Retreat
July 22 SSWA Retreat
July 23 Got together with Mere
July 24 Tupperware Party
July 25 Evening Church Service
July 26 Dinner with Tracy
July 27 at a Resort in Harrison Hot Springs
July 28 at a Resort in Harrison Hot Springs
July 29 at a Resort in Harrison Hot Springs/Picnic with friends
July 30 DAY OFF!
July 31 Birthday dinner
August 1 Evening Church Service
August 2 Volunteering at local fair
August 3 Attending local fair
August 4 River Tour/Celebration of Light in Vancouver
August 5 Volunteering at local fair
August 6 Volunteering at local fair/Picnic with Family/Scrapbooking with friend
August 7 Dinner with friends
August 8 Evening Church Service
August 9 Friend's Cello Recital - make squares
August 10 Camping
August 11 Camping
August 12 Camping
August 13 Coffee w/ friends/ Meeting momto2pdx at Earls
August 14 Volunteer wrap up dinner/Blood donation scheduled
August 15 Evening Church Service
August 16 FREE DAY (but you KNOW it won't last)
August 17 Many options, haven't decided what's happening yet
August 18 Church
August 19 Church
August 21 Volunteer meeting
and on and on and on!

THIS is why I'm not a consultant. I don't have TIME! And this is SUMMER! When school kicks back in other activities will start up again. Don't get me wrong. I love it. Obviously or I wouldn't be doing it but yi yi yi!!! You know I looked at my couch the other day and realized that I haven't actually sat on it in weeks. It looks like it's going to be at least that long again before I get to use the poor thing!

~Heidi...getting scared when looking at her day planner...

Celebration of Light

Last weekend was so busy and the week hasn't been much better. Here it is Thursday already and I'm still trying to catch up on what happened! So, Saturday after the river tour we went to the "Wee Chippie" for fish & chips. Something about watching the fishermen made us want to eat their catch LOL Following that I *raced* to meet up with Melissa, Jevon and Scott (my Hemlock buddies) and we carpooled in to Vancouver for the Celebration of Light. I've lost track of how many times I've been but it's always a blast. We had a horrible time finding parking (which is normal for this event) and ended up parking where *I* normally park (in Stanley Park by the horse barns). Of course Jevon was driving so I bit my tounge while he circled ;)

We got a spot right on English Bay facing the barge where the fireworks are shot off from. Jevon brought Settlers of Catan and we played a game of that right away. I did much better this time. Came in second I think.
Melissa and I went and braved the crowds after that. I don't have any pictures but we stopped at CUPCAKES by heather & lori for gourmet cupcakes. I got "kookoo" and "mint condition" and then over to Flying Wedge Pizza where we got "Tropical Pig" (Hawaiian) and "Traditional Pepperoni" to share. We also stopped at 7-eleven where I was pleased to discover Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper Slushie!!!

After dinner I napped for a bit. As I was laying there, inspired by Stacy's Blog Challenge I tried to capture what I was experiencing with the five senses. Remember this is before the sun went down and before the show started.
See: People, everywhere you look
Smell: Marjuana. Only in Vancouver. To me it's the smell of summer.
Taste: My Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper. Yum!
Hear: Tens of thousands of voices in every language imaginable
Feel: The warm sun and the cool breeze

When the show finally started at 10pm we were ready. The breeze off the water was cool but it wasn't strong enough to move the smoke so it wasn't 100% ideal conditions for a display of this magnitude. It was still fantastic though. This was the finale (Canada won) and each country (Spain and China were the other two that participated) did a display and it culminated in a huge extravaganza. It was incredible. I took a LOT of pictures (to the point that Melissa asked if I was filming them LOL)

These are my favourite though. If you ever come visit (and you don't mind HUGE crowds) The Celebration of Light is worth seeing.

~Heidi

Fraser River Tour

Saturday, morning I was supposed to take a shift at Agri-fair but I cancelled because Mom, Dad, Seth and I finally coordinated our schedules and were all available on the same day. Back in May or June Seth had obtained passes for a "Fraser River Safari" through the radio station. Saturday looked like it was going to be a pretty grey day but we decided to go ahead with the tour anyways.

We left from the dock at Mission and got a little history on the train bridge, the swinging section, and how close the river had been to flooding. We also learned about salmon counting and Department of Fisheries activities before heading up stream.

The bird on the left is a Blue Heron. We have a lot of them around here and we saw a lot on the tour. This one just happened to be sitting still and was easy to get a picture of.

As we made our way upstream our tour guides Rob and Joanne did an excellent job of pointing out anything of interest and telling us what they knew about each spot.

These green barges are parked at Cox Station Quarry which according to my Google search is the ninth largest sand and gravel quarry in Canada. Joanne was saying that the barges can each hold up to 3,000 tonnes and when they are fully loaded, they sink down so that only the green part is exposed.
It's a bad time of year for eagle sightings (in the winter there are literally thousands in this area) but we did see this friendly guy who was kind enough to pose for us :)
This yard might be Catermole Timber (I forget). I just liked the little boats that move the logs around.
You can see exactly where the Harrison River meets the Fraser River by the difference in water colour. The picture on the right was taken over the bow of the boat. The green water on the left is the Harrison and the brown, silty water on the right is the mighty Fraser.

We actually went all the way up under the Highway 7 bridge that runs from Harrison Mills.
The water was as smooth as glass there. Notice the camping spots at Kilby (above)?
Kilby, from a distance. We stopped at the Kilby Historic Site for awhile. It's been many years since I've been there so it was nice to see it again.
The staff in the General Store Museum are very friendly and informative.

We got a kick out of this "Low Doorway". Mom is 5'5" and Seth is 6'4". If he had his way all pictures of him would be taken like this.
I don't like to always be behind the camera so I posed with some early hydrangeas. My *favourite* flowers.
After spending time in Kilby we re-boarded the boat and made our way back down stream. Rob and Joanne showed us some Native articfacts that they found when they went on a dig with archeologists from Simon Fraser University. Arrowheads, grinders, hide scrapers and the like. They also showed us this rock that had a perfect hole bored through it by a rock eating bug. Very neat.
There were LOTS of fishermen out on the river. On the shores, the sand bars, in boats, basically anywhere you could drop a line. We were lucky enough to watch these guys reel in a sturgeon. BC sturgeon are world famous. It's a catch and release program but the thrill of catching them is still there.
The Westminster Abbey bell tower as seen from the river.

And finally a shot of the four of us. I did take more pictures but this gives you an idea of what the tour is like. Highly recommended and worth every dollar you pay or point you spend.

~Heidi

Dreams, Spiders and the Macarena

Yi yi yi! What a morning. First I woke up after having very, VERY vivid dreams that half my co-workers were pregnant. I remember saying "if that is contagious I am OUT OF HERE!" Then I got in the shower and there was a big black spider (about 1" in diameter including black fuzzy legs) in there with me. I don't like creepy crawly things but they don't freak me out either. What I really don't like is seeing them when I'm in the bathroom because I'm generally in a state of undress (as I was this morning) and I just feel vulnerable. I had to turn off the water, get out, grab toilet paper and transfer it to the toilet where I flushed him. ::shudder::

Then I get to work and I had to educate my boss on the joys of the Macarena. She and another co-worker are creating a presentation for our AGM which includes pop culture from the last thirty years and she had never heard of the Macarena! That song and dance embody my highschool years (as much as it pains me to admit that) so I was able to share it with her.

What a morning!!!

~Heidi

Abbotsford Agri-fair

Now that was LONG weekend! For me, the weekend started on Thursday night with my first shift as a volunteer security guard at the Abbotsford Agri-fair. I volunteered at the fair in 1997 and 1998 (according to my resume) and had a wonderful time. I've always wanted to get back to it but because it's so close to my birthday and I'm usually away on the long weekend, nine years have slipped by without me making it back. This year on of the organizers at the Berrybeat Festival was in charge of security at Agri-fair and asked for my help. I knew it would be a good opportunity to get involved again so I agreed. I'm glad I did but man am I tired! I "worked" Thursday and Sunday from 6-10pm and Monday from 10am-2pm. Please excuse the rather unflattering self portrait. I was telling people all weekend about how they gave me a freakishly bright orange shirt (it says "Volunteer Security" on the back) and a radio and called me a security guard so I had to take a picture.

Friday Meredith wanted to go to the fair just to see it so we went together. She bought a cowboy hat and we visited a few of the animals before heading over to the rodeo for most of the evening. Kristal Barret, a local singer who actually graduated just one year after me from the same highschool, sang the anthems (American and Canadian). The Mighty Fraser Bud Pro Rodeo includes seven events: ladies barrel racing, tie down roping, bareback bronc riding, team roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, and bull riding.


The funny thing was when I did my shift Sunday night, I was stationed at the rodeo again! (for crowd control) so I got to see it twice! Friday night we stayed until after the fireworks but my camera batteries decided to die so I didn't get any pictures of them.

Sunday night Chris Janz was on the mainstage. I only caught a few minutes of his set but it was nice to hear him again. The midway is a very popular attraction at the fair. I patrolled it a lot while I was on duty and took pictures when I was off.

The West Coast Logging Show made a return appearance. One of my duties was "catching axes" as my supervisor liked to call it. During the show two volunteer security guards stood behind the stage and kept people away just in case a stray axe missed it's mark. They never did but it was fun to say that was why we were there :)

Monday I was stationed in a corner of the fairgrounds watching for fence jumpers. It was a rather boring spot but someone had to do the job. My arms got fried as did the back of my ears. Other then that I fared pretty well. After my shift I hung around for awhile and took in some of the shows that I had missed. Jack Jackson on the main stage, the Rodeo Riders (who did their drills to Dierks Bentley's "Long Trip Alone" cd), and the Avatar Circus Project. Eight amazing young men and women who did "Circ de Soleil" type acrobatics. Very cool. By most accounts this was a highly successful Agri-fair and I was glad to be a part of it again.

My own Draco Malfoy

I'm about halfway through the second Harry Potter book (I'm re-reading 1-6 before I read book 7) and I can't get over how much Draco Malfoy reminds me of a guy I used to go to school with. Not in the same "evil" way but physically JK Rowling describes this guy to a T. Plus they have the same initials. D.M. The DM I know had a knack for always showing up when he was least wanted and making jokes and making fun of people. I had a crush on one of his friends for all of grade 10. We (the friend I had a crush on and I) shared four (of eight) classes so we were together a lot. DM would tease us mercilessly. They had another friend who I swear is Crab and/or Goyle incarnate.

The two of them were total class clowns. I remember one time we had a subsitute teacher for Social Studies. DM and his sidekick sat at the back of the class burning potato chip bags inside the desk. The teacher never did figure out where the smoke smell was coming from.

One of the strongest memories I have of my graduation was of DM cheering for e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. that came across the stage. Thanks to the luck of the alphabet I was seated right beside him so his yells were generally directed in my ear. The comments he made under his breath kept me in stitches during the whole ceremony though. Good times :)

I can't remember how to spell his last name or I'd google him. I'll have to remember to look in my yearbook later.

~Heidi

Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa

With all my birthday excitement I forgot to blog about my weekend!

Friday after work I stopped at home for a few minutes, parked my car, packed some last minute things and headed out to Harrison Hot Springs with Meredith. I've been to Harrison many, many times with my family. To picnic at the beach, to hike up to the hot springs, to see the World Championship of Sand Sculpting and even to see the fireworks this Canada Day. This time was different though. This time we went out for the whole weekend and stayed at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa.

Before this weekend the only time I had been to the Resort was about 15 years ago when we took my grandparents for lunch at the Lakeside Cafe. Oh, and briefly last summer when we stopped to get directions to a hiking trail. I'd never stayed there over night though.

Meredith's brother and sister-in-law are moving, with their three daughters, to Costa Rica for a year and then to Mexico for three years to do missionary work. They are in town for about a month before they go and Mere's mom wanted to take a family trip as part of their good-bye. Meredith was allowed to bring a friend and she chose me.

We took the back way to Harrison and arrived in plenty of time. We unloaded the car (her mom had already checked us in) and then made our way down to the Copper Room for dinner. The Copper Room has a reputation of being THE place to go for a nice dinner and dancing in the valley. There is a live band and they play a variety of big band and pop hits. Lots of Michael Buble, Elivs, and everything in between. It made for a really fun night. The older two girls (7 and 5) had a great time dancing. (in the picture on the left you can see Mere's dad dancing with her oldest niece) The food is really good too. I had a delicious four course meal (soup, salad, New York steak and chocolate mousse for dessert) which was included in the package deal for the weekend.


That night after the girls went to bed, Mere, her parents, brother, sister-in-law and I sat in our room (which was adjoining her brother and SIL's) and played "Settlers of Catan" It was my first time playing and although I lost miserably and was having a really bad allergy attack, I still had a great time.

Saturday morning our resident alarm clock (Mere's youngest niece) woke us up. We got up, got ready and went for breakfast in the Lakeside Cafe. They had an extensive buffet filled with pretty much every breakfast item you can imagine. It was great :) From there Mere and I went for a short walk in to town to pick up water wings for the girls while they changed into their swim suits. When we got back we met them at the pool where they played until lunch. After lunch Mere and I went for another walk into town. This time we got ice cream and walked around the lagoon. Then we came back to the hotel and sat in the lobby and read for awhile. I'm finally re-reading the Harry Potter series and by the end of the weekend I had finished the book.

Saturday evening we went back to the Lakeside Cafe for a buffet dinner. The prime rib was the best part. I got the end piece and it was huge but I ate the whole thing because it tasted so good. After dinner Mere and I were scheduled for pedicures in the spa. Her's was at 7:30 and mine was at 8:45. They were wonderful. I've only had one pedicure before and my feet definitely needed the attention. I just went with a clear polish but it was so nice to be pampered. While Mere had her pedicure I took a walk through the gardens and then read by the pool.



Our room was on the eighth (top) floor so we had a good view of the town of Harrison, the lagoon and the lake.



Following our pedicures, Mere and I went for a drink and then went for a walk and hung out with some very drunk wedding guests. The "smoke pit" outside the Copper Room is centered around a gas fire pit. We sat by the fire and were entertained by them. Following that we went and changed into our swimsuits and went in the hot tub for a little while.

Sunday morning we packed up and loaded the cars and then had breakfast in the Lakeside Cafe again. The weather was pretty iffy. It was warm but very breezy and overcast so we decided to just head home.
It was a wonderful weekend. Very relaxing. I didn't get many pictures but I've included a few of the ones I did get.

~Heidi