Fort Worth Stock Yards

Wow. It's been a whole YEAR since my trip to Texas. That is hard to believe. You know what is sad? I haven't even finished BLOGGING the trip, never mind scrapbooking it. Oi.

Okay, I started this entry (and a few others) many, many months ago. What say we finish it up?

It was kind of funny to be BACK at the Stockyards so soon after leaving the night before but this was a very different experience. We started off outside watching the cattle drive. Stacy prepared me by telling about the time she brought Debbie (PPD) there. Apparently Debbie had her camera set on "fast action" and when the cattle came down the street she was very disappointed. Instead of the "cattle stampede" she expected, it turned out more like "cattle mosey". We got a good laugh out of that. It was still neat to see them coming down the streets though and it helped me picture what it might have been like back in the heydays of the Stock Yards.

We did the touristy thing and took a guided walking tour of the Stock Yards. Our tour started with a video in the visitors center called "The Spirt of the West" which gave us the background of how and why Fort Worth was settled.

Fort Worth was a stop on the Chisholm Trail and the last major point for food and supplies. With the arrival of the railroad it also became a major shipping point and necessitated the construction of the stock yards.

It was a bit of a production to get me up on "Pecos Bill" but I made it. In front of me are Stacy and Tonya.

This statue is of Quanah Parker, the last cheif of the Comanche nation. It turns out Sherilyn is distanly related to him!

The cowboy church is located in the Stockyards Station, along with a bunch of shops and restaurants. This area was the former hog and sheep pens.

I won't bore my readers with the history of the Stock Yards but I will say that I found it fascinating. It will be hard to scrapbook because I'm going to want to include so many details!

This was our guide. Here he is showing us the Fort Worth brand.

This is the parking lot where Sherilyn, Corey and I parked the night before :D

Looking across the street to the Cowtown Coliseum. Inside the Coliseum was dark and quiet. I can imagine that it must be a pretty exciting place when there is an event going on. One thing I did notice was that the seats were TINY. You can tell they're old! The Coliseum holds the distinction of being the home of the world's first indoor rodeo.

Okay, now we're getting to why I'm inspired to pos this today (other than the fact that I'm reminiscing and it's woefully over due). Karin blogged about attending a bull sale for her anniversary. After our stop in the Coliseum we went next door to the Historic Livestock Exchange Building. We got to step inside and hear a live broadcast of an auction. There were cattle being shown on the tv and the people were bidding. It was very fast paced.

We walked through the Exchange building to the back where we got to walk along "Cattlemen’s Catwalk" which provides a "panoramic view of the cattle pens" We actually hooked up with ShariT from Oregon at this point as well. Somehow she avoided my camera though.
I should note as well that it was COLD that day. Very overcast and the wind was blowing. Our tour took us inside and out and in again which was good because we were able to warm up between stops. Going across the catwalk was windy and cold because we were totally exposed.
I believe this picture shows the abandon packing plants that are featured prominently in the history of the Stockyards. A few weeks before I was there they were used for filming an episode of Prison Break!

We walked along the catwalk to Billy Bob's. On the way our guide gave us the history of it. I'll put those pictures in a separate post.

Deric Ruttan: First Time in a Long Time

I love having a blog. There are little things that would never make it into a scrapbook, or even a day planner, that, when you go back and read them, are so cool! My organized nature loves being able to link back to previous entries (as you well know). I think my most linked entry is this one: Dierks in Vancouver Someday I'm going to take the time to make a top ten list for my sidebar and that one will be at the top. Anyways, enough rambling. I'm linking it today for this paragraph:

Dierks said that Deric Ruttan was kicking around back stage too and he invited him to come out but he never did. That would have been cool. For those of you who don't remember, just after I started blogging last year I went to the Basics for Babies breakfast and met Derric. He's a co-writer on a few of Dierks songs including "Lot of Leaving Left to Do" and the new "That Don't Make it Easy Loving Me". I read on the message board that Derric was at the Grand Prarie show which means he might be travelling with him. That's awesome because it means they're writing together and I love their collaborations.

(The Basics for Babies Breakfast would be the second most linked entry LOL This picture is Deric and I that day)

So, why am I linking to so many previous posts? Well, because I can and because I have info to add. I bought Deric's new cd "First Time in a Long Time" on Friday and I've been listening to it almost non-stop since (I do that with new cd's but this one is especially good). I actually had to go to two different stores before I found it and then when I did get it, I had to go to work at the store immediately.

I wanted to read the liner notes to see who Deric's co-writer's had been. Luckily we had another associate on so I actually got a break (I don't normally when I work evenings). On my break I finally sat down and read the liner and when I did, I laughed. No wonder I like Deric and his music!!! First of all, this record was produced by Brett Beavers who is Dierks' producer as well. Brett is also a co-writer on a few of the tracks. Other co-writers include Jimmy Rankin (I'll put the significance of a Rankin in another post, for now, for those of you who don't recognize the name, he's a fairly well known Canadian musician) and Chris Thorsteinson and Dave Wasyliw of Doc Walker!!!

Also in the liner notes (this is why I'm not in favour of cd's going away but that's another post as well) was a note from Deric. I don't know if it's kosher to type it up but I'm going to anyways since I doubt many of my readers will actually buy the cd (you should though. You're missing out ;))

On January 11, 2007, backstage at Rexall Place in Edmonton, I sat watching my friend Eric Church eat supper out of a styrofoam box. It was the fourth night of Dierks Bentley's "Locked & Loaded Canadian Tour, Eric and Doc Walker were opening, I was writing with Eric, and most nights getting up with Dierks to sing. Eric had invited me out on the road to write songs for his new record. Seemed like I'd been writing a lot lately, writing for a lot of people's records -- except mine. Most days on tour Eric would visit radio, and most days he'd come back on the bus and tell me someone there had said to tell me 'hello'. Every night Dierks was calling me up on the stage to sing, "That Don't Make It Easy Loving Me", and then he'd join me on one of mine -- "When You Come Around". The crowds were loving it. Eric and I sat there in relative silence, listening as 3,000 people roared on the other side of the cinder block wall. Eric paused between chews, "Are you going to make another record?" "Yep" I said. "Good," he said starting to chew again, "Because you'd be an idiot not to".

So, going back to my previous quote, I was wrong on who Deric was out writing with. It was Eric not Dierks. It doesn't mean that Deric and Dierks DIDN'T write together but we won' know for sure until Dierks' new cd is released late this year.

Anyways, I just love how Deric wrote that paragraph. I want to tell him "thanks for not being an idiot!" I have tickets to see him in a few weeks...that's where this is going. I'll be talking about him a lot more in the next little while LOL

And, AND (yes, there's more) Most of the cd's have a little insert in them now. Advertising other cd's, ring tones/music downloads and coming shows. The little slip in Deric's cd has a list of his probable tour dates. Guess what the last one is? July 12th at the Calgary Stampede!!! That's the same day Dierks is scheduled to perform! So, like I said, you'll be hearing a lot more about these guys :D

Karin Called Me a Rat

Well, not ME but, if the shoe fits...

Dirt Road Scrapper

Seems to me that everyone is running around at warped speed and most of them are running in circles. Reminds me of one of those rodent wheels. DD's hamster just scurries for hours at a time on her wheel and when she steps off, she's right where she started, albeit, she got a good workout.

This is SO me right now. Remember those Family Circus cartoons where you can track the kids path all over the house and yard? Well that's how I feel. Except I go:
To work in the morning
Run errands at lunch
Straight to other job in the evening
Out for drinks with co-workers
Home
To work in the morning
Run errands at lunch
Home for dinner
Over to Mom & Dad's
To Costco
Back to Mom & Dad's
Home (to watch Idol)
Back to work
Errands at lunch
Home for dinner
To Mom & Dad's
To church
Drop Mom off at her house
Home
Back to work
Errands at lunch
Home for dinner
WALK to the scrapbook store/gas station
Home
Down to my car
Home to watch more tv and scrapbook
Back to work
Lunch
Home for dinner
Work at the store
Home
(That's been my week, Monday-Friday)

and it repeats, over and over and over! Like a hamster on a wheel.

The problems arise when you are expected to be two places at once. I'm scheduled for a scrapbook retreat with Deb next weekend. That Saturday I also have a baby shower and a concert that I would like to go to. I realized today that I haven't bought tickets because deep down I KNEW I wasn't available.

At some point I suppose it's the whole "learning to say 'no' thing" but I don't want to say no. I "don't want to miss a thing" LOL

And it's not like I'm ALWAYS busy. Thursday was a night off. I had dinner, went for a walk and then watched tv and scrapbooked until bedtime. Very relaxing. Same with Sunday evening. I was home from about 5pm on. I'm not complaining because as someone said, if you didn't like it, you wouldn't do it. Which is true.

It's just interesting when someone nails exactly how your life is progressing and you realize there ARE other ways. Maybe I need to live at the end of a dirt road...how long do you think I'd last? ;)

Wordless Wednesday: What it means to be a "key holder"

Diana only blogs on Tuesday's. I don't know how she does it. I can't even remember to post a simple picture on just one day of the week. Anyways, here's my weekly offering titled "What it means to be a 'key holder'"

Mystery Solved

Although it's not exactly the outcome I would have liked at least I (mostly) understand it now. One of the reasons I answered a call from a strange number in the middle of the night in the first place was a few weeks before that my brother Aaron had called. He was at a friends house so the number showed up on call display. It turned out that he just dialed my number accidently but I recognized his voice, he appologized and that was that.

Yesterday Mom, Aaron, his girlfriend Carly and I went to Costco. While we were walking through the store I was telling Mom about these strange phone calls I keep getting. Aaron got a funny look on his face and asked what the number was. I whipped out my phone and scrolled through the "received calls" and read it to him. He rolled his eyes and said "That's Beau" (a friend of his). "Oh" I said, "well, please tell him that your sister can NOT help him get 'a twenty bag of bud'"

So, mystery solved. Hopefully that will be the end of my midnight calls.

It probably shouldn't, but it makes me laugh!

Remember this guy from a few weeks ago? Well he called back this weekend.

11:35pm Friday "Hey, can I get a twenty bag"
Me: "Dude, you've got the wrong number. You've called before (I recognized the number) I can't help you. Delete this number please." AND LET ME SLEEP! Uggh.

Last night (Monday) I worked at the store. We were doing a major layout which means changing the whole store around and moving most of the product. Almost all of the staff were on. Afterwards we left together. We were walking through the parking lot and this kid in a hoodie cut right in front of us. The smell of pot hit us all at the same time and we just disolved into laughter.

I shouldn't laugh but it's funny!

Okay, okay, okay

I really should wait until I've been tagged by 7 people but this is so much more interesting than writing minutes. :D

I've been tagged in the past by Ashley and Veronica and now by Tonya
Link to the person that tagged you. √
Post the rules on your blog √
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. √
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. √
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven Random Facts about me…

1. I was scared of my maternal Great-Grandma. I'm really sad about this now. I was looking at pictures over Christmas and while we have a few of me with her I am NEVER smiling. I think it's because she had a thick German accent and I had a hard time understanding her. Plus, she had a stroke when I was quite young and her left arm was pretty useless. As a kid I guess that scared me. She died when I was 17 so I'll never really know.


2. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. One of the questions on our annual review form is "What are your career goals or interests" and "What sort of training/experience do you consider would benefit you in the next year?" I don't know! I would like to take a basic accounting course because I feel I'm lacking in that area but whenever I go online to research courses I invariably end up some where other than the Business Admin section. Usually history...


3. I have a toonie (Canadian two dollar coin) stuck in my steering wheel. I dropped it in there over a month ago and I haven't been able to get it out yet. It's not a big deal except that once in awhile it connects with my horn and makes it blare randomly...usually when I'm going through intersections.


4. I have zero idea how to change headers or colours on Blogger or MySpace. I'm sure it can't be that difficult but I haven't figured it out. (If anyone would like to teach me, I'd be forever grateful)


5. I always use a blue highlighter to track responses. When I started this job, blue was all I had and I like to be consistent.


6. My computer passwords can always be typed with only one hand, usually my left. It comes from working reception for many years and inevitably having the phone ring while I was trying to boot up my computer. This way it's easier to multitask!


7. I love changing the bottle on the water cooler. I love emptying bottles, any bottle, because it gives me a sense of fulfillment. This is just an ultimate bottle. Weird, I know.

TAG YOU ARE IT: anyone who hasn't been tagged before

5 Things

Okay, many of my blog buddies have responded to this challenge with intelligent, soul seeking images and words. I was working on it but by the time I get my act together it's going to be over. So, I'm being a bit creative and definitely stretching the definitions ;) The challenge was to look for the following five things.

1. a sign of spring
2. an image of joy
3. a bad habit
4. a good word
5. a reflection of you

Here are my images.

a sign of spring: the sign is that I'm still drinking hot drinks












an image of joy: seriously, does that "twin-tailed siren" surrounded by the green circle not make you happy?









a bad habit : nuff said...









a good word: coffee, cafe, java, drip, black gold. A good word in whatever form it takes.








a reflection of you: Non-fat, no-foam, latte. My drink, my way.

It's so EASY

I promise my mission in life ISN'T to annoy him but sometimes it's just so EASY! Him being my dad of course. He has this...knack, for asking the most OBVIOUS questions. It drives Mom and I nuts so we tend to give smart-alec answers when he asks stuff.

For example, I was over there late last week filling Mom in on my summer plans. It's been a LONG journey of me trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. There are lots of options for what I COULD do this summer and instead of just sitting back and letting it develop (which I swear, unlike the rest of my family, I am physically incapable of) I gave her the long version of how I came to the conclusion that I am happy with (I was still trying to convince myself which is why she got all the pros and cons LOL) Bottom line is I'm planning a trip to Alberta (Edmonton then Calgary) during the second week of July. The plan is to leave BC on Sunday or Monday, drive to Edmonton, spend time there, then come down to Calgary on probably Thursday and spend time there before coming home the following Sunday or Monday.

Dad came home halfway through our conversation and I filled him in. He asked "who are you going to see?" Now on one hand it's a valid question. I have a LOT of family in Alberta. He has five siblings who have over twenty kids between them and Mom has four siblings with over 10 kids between them not to mention all THEIR kids. But he KNOWS I'll try and see as many people as possible so it's kind of a redundant question. So, instead of naming relatives I looked him in the eye and answered "Dierks Bentley" (Dierks is playing at the Calgary Stampede which I admit was one of my reasons for picking the second week of July). Anyways, this answer made him roll his eyes and it made Mom and I laugh.

I swear it's not my intent to always get him like that but he walks into it!

Sara & I

This is Sara and I on the first day of grade one. Weren't we cute? :D

Sara & James

The wedding I attended on Saturday was for my friend Sara and her now husband, James. Sara and were in first grade together. Sara met James on the last day of school in her second or third year of university. They've been going out for a few years now and engaged for the last year and a half. It turns out that my friend Janis used to babysit James!!! Small world.

The church Sara and James were married in was the one that Janis and I used for our CM workshops too. The wedding was very nice. Quite simple and quick but lovely.

The reception was held out at Minter Gardens. I've been there many times and even danced there twice but this was the first time I had attended a wedding there. It was really nice. We were in the Trillium Room and I was at a table with my friends Mike, Jenna, Crystal and Sara's teaching partner, another Mike.

Sara is a teacher are both of her sisters and her mom....actually her mom is a principle at one of the local elementary schools. Needless to say there were a LOT of teachers and district people in attendance, including our high school vice principal!

After dinner they showed a slide show that James had prepared. There were a few speeches, toasts and the cutting of the cake and then we danced the night away.

Gotta Love BC

12:44am Saturday morning (Friday night) my cell phone rings. Because my cell is my primary phone line, and because I use it as a secondary alarm (the radio isn't always enough) I keep it right beside my bed. I have a LOUD ring so when it rang in the middle of the night, I answered it.

"Hello"
"Uh, do you have any bud?"
"I think you have the wrong number"
"Oh, sorry"

Actually I don't think, I know but I wasn't exactly awake. Of course after the call, I WAS awake. Awake enough to know that the people in the apartment above me were awake too. And moving around. A lot. I bet they had bud :rolleyes:

Normally, once I'm asleep, I don't hear anything. Once I was awake though, I couldn't fall back asleep because of the people upstairs. I ended up getting up around 1:00 am and scrapbooking. I didn't go back to bed until almost 3. Not exactly the way I like to spend my nights but it was productive.

Of course that's the joy of living in an apartment.

My long weekend was too short

That's my only complaint. Other than that I had an absolutely wonderful Easter weekend.

Friday Deb and her daughter came out and we were going to go to Burlington to check out bridesmaid's dresses again. I chickened out though. The radio was reporting a 2-3 hour wait at the border but when we got down there it was the LONGEST line I have EVER seen on this side of the border. I haven't talked to anyone who went down but I would be surprised if they got down in less than three hours. Because of that I decided against going. It just wasn't worth the wait.

Instead Deb, J and I went to Winners where I got a really cute top, to the scrapbook store and to Michaels and then to White Spot for a late lunch. It was a nice relaxing time.

After they headed home I went over to Mom & Dad's and vacuumed out my car. I've needed to do that for a long time. I didn't realize HOW long until I got going. I found glass under the seats. Glass, from when Seth borrowed my car when I was in Texas and the back window got smashed in. Yikes!

That evening (and on Saturday and Sunday) I SCRAPBOOKED! Amazing I know LOL I mean I've been doing a little here and there but I actually dug out stickers, shape makers, CCS tools and I have a long tail on my tape runner to prove that I had accomplished something. I worked on a bunch of "UFO's". Pages I've ignored for years. I did three calendar pages in my 2006 album and organized my pictures and planned the layouts. I finshed a bunch of layouts in my CM album. (I retired in September 2005...it's about time I finish that book!) I made notes and I used scraps. My work space is a disaster area right now but it feels GOOD.

Saturday I went to a wedding, I'll put that in a separate post when I can upload photos.

Sunday I went to church and then stayed for a potluck lunch. I had to laugh on Sunday. I don't know if any of you are familiar with the Veggie Tales 8 Polish Foods of Christmas but that's kind of what it felt like. LOTS of meat dishes. All of them were yummy though so I'm not complaining.

All in all it was a good, productive weekend. I would have loved to be off today as well but it's okay. I don't have dance tonight so it will be a bit like a vacation.

Wordless Wednesday: True Happiness

I got this idea from my blog buddy Martha

I stand corrected

I have a prejudice against prepared foods. Pre-packaged is one thing. Things like cake mixes, instant mashed potatoes or stuffing etc is another. If you can't make it from scratch, I don't want it. It comes from growing up in a house where everything was make from scratch.

For St. Patricks Day I needed to make something green for dance. I saw a recipe for brownies with green coloured cream cheese icing. I printed it off and THEN realized that the brownie recipe was actually a cake mix. I was going shopping that day and because I knew I didn't have much time, I decided I'd try it.

OMFSM I am in love. Betty Crocker Chocolate Chunk Supreme Brownies Mix. It is SO good! I screwed up on the icing so they look kind of ugly (which meant they weren't good enough to bring to share :D ) By the time I was supposed to share them though, there wasn't really enough anyways. So, I take back anything negative I ever said about cake mixes. And Betty Crocker rocks! LOL

I've got him figured out

I worked at the store on Sunday. 6.5 loooong hours on my feet. I was exhausted by the time I was done and considered just vegging on the couch but my mom called and lured me over to their place with the promise of pizza. We played a round of Scrabble and during the game I was commenting (not complaining, commenting) that I wasn't looking forward to Monday morning because I had a conference call first thing. My dad asked "Have you ever thought about getting a different job?" He does this all the time. I don't know why my current job isn't good enough but maybe that's a Dad's job, getting you to look to the future. Anyways I figured out how to shut him up. I said "of course, I'll get a different job when I go to Ontario!" He doesn't like that idea so he clammed up pretty quickly. We'll see how he reacts when I actually DO move.

And for the record, I like my job. I've been here for two weeks now and it still fits me just fine. I have no plans to go anywhere (in this province anyways).

One night at the store

I kept a rough journal of my shift last night so you can all know what it's like :D

5:15 Arrive at the store
read bulletin board (New Easter contest coming. Cool.)
put on name tag and lanyard
5:30 Check in
get an update from my coworker (hey, I haven't been there in over a week!)
Review my tasks for the night (refreshing the nook and unpacking new stock) and current sales/sales goals
5:45 Co-worker leaves early because she didn't get her second 15 minute break earlier.
5:50 Check coming schedules. Working this Sunday :( Whole Easter weekend off :)
Get going on nook. The picture at right was taken at the end of the night. I re-folded most of the t-shirts, moved the new ones from the nook to the table, re-arranged the sweatshirts/jeans/sweatpants and folded the vests on the table over the course of the evening.
6:00 Check and record sales
6:10 A "yahoo! sale" $172!
6:45 Call co-worker "we made budget again!" (For you non-retail people, "budget" is the goal set by head office for each store to achieve each day. Our store hasn't been doing that well but my co-worker has been having a great week. So fare we're the first in the district for the week. Meeting budget for the day, again, was a good thing.)
7:05 Finish bottom of nook, start top, start unloading new stock
7:10 I found a note from my manager "Note for Heidi: Hi Heidi, I know you're still here!! See you soon :)" I haven't actually SEEN her in well over three weeks because our shifts don't over lap. It's nice to be acknowledged.
7:25 My littlest brother walks by. I go outside under the pretense of straightening the front table and yell after him. Can you believe that I've been working at the store since October and this is the first time I've seen him? He practically *lives* at the mall. EVERYTIME I'm at my parents I swear he is looking for a ride to the mall. I've watched for him but this is the first time I've actually seen him. We chatted for a bit before he continued on.
7:30 I called mom to report that I saw Aaron. (hey, it was kind of exciting LOL)
7:45 Finish the table
7:50 Do the "tag tucking, fly zipping" thing again
7:55 Wonder for the umpteenth time if the girl at Naturalizer is the little sister of someone I graduated with (note, the second picture is my view out to the mall from the cash desk)
8:00 Check and record sales
8:10 Talk to Aaron again. He's with his girlfriend (somehow he thinks Mom and Dad don't know she's his "girlfriend". I tried not to burst his bubble but he's been with her since Christmas. I'm pretty sure they've got it figured out). His friend and friend's girlfriend were there too. I talk to the friends girlfriend like I know her (I've heard a LOT about her). She was a bit creeped out until I explain that I am Aaron's older sister. She mentions that she is a "cousin" to Aaron's girlfriend. Get this. Her uncle's, girlfriend's, sister's, daughter is Aaron's girlfriend. Cousins. Right. Got it. LOL
8:20 Finish nook
8:25 Read newsletters, coupons, anything in print to keep from falling asleep
8:30 Sit on small step ladder to rest feet
8:35 Write this entry, lament lack of internet access
8:40 do stats for the night (I'm not making any sales in the next twenty minutes right?)
8:45 Take self-timed portrait for blog.
8:50 pull in front table, t-stand, half close doors
8:58 Close doors, cash out.

So there you go. A night in the life. Hopefully tonight is as stimulating as yesterday's was :)

Crazy Weekend, Part 2

So Sunday I came down from the moutain, stopped at home, made some quick mac n' cheese, repacked my suitcase from casual hanging out clothes to business wear, stopped at the office to check email, got gas, went to church (thank goodness we had an evening service so I could still attend) and then drove out to Vancouver.

I arrived at the hotel, checked in, dropped my bags off in my room, half heartedly looked for the welcome reception (I didn't really want to attend so I didn't look that hard) and, not finding it, just went to my room early. For the locals, I was in the Coast Hotel at Comox and Denman. Not a horrible area of town but not really the best either. I slept okay once I fell asleep but the city noise (sirens, traffic etc) made falling asleep difficult.

Monday morning I woke up, earlier than necessary, even with the "spring forward" time change got ready and headed downstairs (funny how much easier it is to get to work when your commute only consists of an elevator ride LOL).

So, why was I there? Annual General Meeting and Strategic Planning session for the association representing the organization that I used to work for. The one I sit on the Board of Directors for now? And yes I realize that I'm being cryptic but so far this blog isn't set to private and I don't really want my comments showing up on a Google search or something. I realized that as of this week, I have been involved with this organization for NINE years. NINE!!! That's longer than I've been scrapbooking!!! (For those of you who can't tell the story on your own already, I was placed with this group for work experience during grade 12. My plan was to work there for 50 hours and then try something else for my second 50 hours (100 hours total required for credit in my course). I got along really well with everyone on staff and enjoyed the work so much that when my 50 hours was up, they convinced me to stay for the second 50 hours. I then had two months "off" until they called and offered me a part time position (8 hours a week). I did that for the month of June (while I graduated, attended prom, wrote exams etc) and then took a full time summer position. When the summer was up they added me to an existing contract, when that expired I was brought in under core funding and then in December 2005 they offered me a position in another town where I was essentially office manager. After 15 months there the funding ended and I could have come back to the main office but I made, the hardest decision of my life, to leave. I secured my current position shortly after leaving that office.

Four months after I completed my employment (which had lasted seven years from the day I first started my work experience) they recruited me to the Board of Directors as a youth/female representative. I've been serving in that role for a year and a half now.

Phew! All that to say, I've been around for awhile. There were reps from 34 different groups, (all members of the same association) at this meeting. Many were names that I have heard for *years* and was finally able to put a face too.

Being at the conference felt very natural to me. All of the terminology was familiar (it should be after that much time!) and I've gotten pretty familiar with those situations. Breakfast, meeting, lunch, group break outs, formal dinner, sleep, breakfast, group presentations (I was volunteered. Yipee. Good thing I don't have a phobia of public speaking LOL), lunch, more brainstorming.

Lots of information. It was different to attend as a Director and not as staff. I admit it took awhile to stop paying attention to catering and facility arrangements, or if everyone had a package (that's the hat I wear when I do board meetings for my day job). It was good though.

After our session ended on Tuesday I went to Pacific Centre and shopped at Sears for awhile and then met up with Deb and her daughter for sushi before heading home.

It was a bit surreal to go from a rustic cabin at the top of a moutain to the 15th floor of a hotel in downtown Vancouver all in one day but I made the tansition quite smoothly if I do say so myself. And like a few people said when I explained my weekend plans "well, you wouldn't be doing it if you didn't enjoy it". Very true.

Hemlock 2008

This was a crazy busy weekend. Fun but busy. I worked Friday morning (which was kind of a waste because I was only in for a few hours and we didn't have email access so my hands were really tied). At noon I headed home and did some last minute packing before Glen picked me up. We stopped and picked up his fiance Erin and the three of us drove up to Hemlock together.

This is the sixth year that various members of this group have gathered for the weekend. Melissa, Jevon and myself are the only ones who have been there every single year. This year we had a wonderful large log cabin. It was very rustic feeling, complete with a deer head on the wall (we found out later that much like "Billy the Bass" it sang! Creepy LOL)

The first picture is me, Jevon's sister Rachel and Jevon having a very philosophical discussion about marriage and personal expectations. I was having the high class dinner of wine and cheese (read...I didn't feel like cooking :D)

There were a few different game systems set up in the living room (a number of the people there this weekend have worked at EA in the past and the rest just love video games). I tried my hand at Guitar Hero III and Rockstar. I think I found my niche as a drummer! (I don't have a picture but Melissa and Rachel are posing there for you). In fact I didn't take any pictures all weekend. Instead I just relaxed and let others be shutterbugs.

Video games and board games. With 12 people you had at least one or the other and usually both going at all times. I played Scrabble (right), Dutch Blitz (below), Uno, Skip-Bo, Settlers, Settlers with the Seafarer expansion pack (very cool), Ingenious (my new favourite game) and others.

Saturday Jevon made French toast (with French bread) for breakfast and for dinner we had chicken parmesean with pasta and garlic bread.

The bottom floor of the cabin featured a ping pong table and a pool table so we fit in a few games of that too. Saturday Melissa and I had considered going snowshoeing. We probably could have but it was raining in the morning and by the time we were inspired, it was too late. So, we just enjoyed spending the weekend inside. Oh, we also watched movies. Juno (which *everyone* loved), The Anchorman and some strange Chinese/soccer/kung foo spoofish thing. NOT my choice.

Sunday we packed up and I was home by about 2. I'll put the rest of that advenutre in a separate post.

Gone, gone, gone

This weekend is our annual trip to Hemlock. I've got my bedding folded and ready to go, lots of warm clothes packed, munchies and real food segregated in the fridge. I just have to grab it all and go. I can't wait!

I'll be out of the office on Monday and Tuesday for a conference too but I'll update y'all when I get back :)

Official tag tucker-inner and fly zipper-upper

I've often joked that I could spend an entire shift at the store just tucking in tags and doing up flies. (The latter has garnered me a bit of a nick name LOL) Wednesday, I did just the opposite. Thursday morning an inventory company came in so I spent my entire shift UNTUCKING every last single tag in the store. It was painful. It went against everything I've been taught. It took me all evening too. Stacks of shirts, stacks of pants, clothes hanging on racks against the wall, 4-way displays and rounders. By the time I left, every tag was exposed. The store looked like a tag explosion.

I haven't heard yet how the inventory went or how long it took to tuck all the tags back in but I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to do it!

Good friends visit

and bring coffee. Or chai :) Jenna stopped by the office the morning and brought an almost perfect grande-no-water-extra-hot-soy-tazo-chai (she just forgot the "no foam" but I forgive her ;)) It was wonderful. I've been absolutely burried in paperwork since the board meeting last week but the drink made it a little easier to handle.

Okay, back to the stacks of files and an inbox full of un-opened emails!

Word of the day #35: gingival

So I sent an email to our computer tech. The text was supposed to read

"an individual" instead I typed
"an gingival"

Or something like that. Spell check either let it through or changed it to that word. So I'm talking to the tech today and he's thinking that it's a name. He's trying to pronounce it and I'm like "how do you spell that?" Then I find the email in question and read the context and realize that he's spent time looking for my spelling error!!! Apparently, it's a real word though:

gin·gi·val
Pronunciation Key - [jin-jahy-vuhl, jin-juh-]
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the gums.

yi yi yi!

The longest short week ever

Four times a year I organize face to face board meetings for my day job. One is always in conjunction with our Annual General Meeting and three (February, May and November) are just standard meetings held in Vancouver. They start with dinner at 6pm on Thursday and run through Friday as long as necessary, usually into the early afternoon.

The weeks leading up to board meetings are always crazy busy. There are hotel arrangements to be made. RSVP's to collect, catering and AV to coordinate and TONS of handouts to prepare. The handouts are the hardest part. I have a full page spreadsheet detailing what I need to have, how many and who I am getting it from. I generally start working on them the week before the meeting. It's always lots of pressure to get them finished as soon a possible but I CAN'T finish them until I get the information FROM everyone so it's lots of following up and hounding people. Something I don't particularly enjoy.

Then there's the handouts that *I* have to prepare. One of which I am procrastinating on right now. I'll go do it though. You have to practice what you preach right?

Before that though, back to the title. Because our meetings are evening/continuing in the morning and in Vancouver (about an hour away from home) we just stay over night. That means that we're ("we" being my boss, our accountant, one other staff member and I) out of the office from mid-day on Thursday and basically through Friday (we generally stop by and drop off our stuff before heading out for the weekend). So that techincally makes it a 3.5 day week but it is by FAR the longest week of the year.

And then to top it off, this week I also had a volunteer board meeting and I came back to the office last night after that one to get a different handout done when the office was quiet.

Tonight I work at the store.

Yep. It's a LONG week.

City in the Country

The tag line for my hometown is "City in the Country". It's a description that fits me well. I am a city girl with country leanings. This morning, and for the past week plus, the local farmers have been doing their best to remind us city folks that we do live in the country. The smell of fresh manure has been pungent. Strong enough to burn your nose hairs out. I don't really mind it but it's hard to drive when your eyes are watering from the smell!!!

Someone needs to remind them that it's still only February.

The most beautiful thing

The most beautiful thing under the sun is being under the sun. ~ Christina Wolf

So I survived my first weekend without a computer at home. Well, first weekend in a long time. It helped that I still have the tv and it was gorgeous out. Saturday morning I ran errands in the sunshine and then took some "required reading" to the park where I had an impromptu picninc lunch and soaked up some vitamin D. In the afternoon I went over to the office and was going to do a bit of work but when I got there I realized I didn't have my key with me. Instead I went up to the library and used the internet there for my hour of alloted time. Then it was back to home in time to get ready for Melissa's birthday dinner. (That's Melissa and I on the left)

Sunday I worked all. day. at the store. It was a waste of a gorgeous day but what can you do? The morning at work started out painfully slow but it picked up in the afternoon and was actually kind of fun. After that I came home and watched the Oscars while I cleaned up and organized. Normally I would have been online during the broadcast but I did okay without that connection.

For now I'm not in a big hurry to get a computer but I may in time. There's just other things that are a priority right now.

Saying good-bye, again

Seth is officially moved out. The arrived on Wednesday evening (while I was at the concert) and packed everything up yesterday. His bedroom is almost completely empty. In the rest of the house it feels like he took random things but it was mostly the stuff that was his. The toaster, microwave, coffee tables, a picture off the wall, the cabinet the tv was on...but he left the tv (sweet!!!). He also took his laptop :( (not sweet). He took one frying pan, and a few assorted dishes, half the towels, oh and the other big thing, his bookshelf. So my house looks somewhat raided. I need to vacuum and clean up my stuff that got moved. Now to make a decision on what I am going to do. I was able to put it off for awhile but no more. He's officially gone.

On a brighter note, I got to spend Thursday night with them. Them being my Uncle Tim, Aunt Candace, their three boys and Seth and Robert. We went for a walk around the lake and then back to my parents house for dinner. Afterwards Tim, Seth, Robert and I played a loud game of Dutch Blitz and then we convinced Dad to join us for a round of Risk (Tim won). It was fun but way too short. I definitely need to get to Alberta to visit them all soon.

Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans

Last night, for her birthday, Jenna and I went to the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver to see Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans. It was *late* concert. Doors opened at 8pm, and the oening act, Hayes Carll took the stage at 9pm. Because of that we didn't leave home until after six and were still there in plenty of time. We chose to sit at a table on the first level instead of up by the stage like we were when we went to see Dierks (the night I fell in love ;))


The first and last (until last night) time I was at the Commodore was to see Dierks in 2005. Those were the first tickets I won from the radio station and the first time I got to see him up close (before that was when he opened for George Strait at the Pacific Coliseum but we were up in the second level). Being back at the Commodore was great. It's crazy to think of all the acts I've seen since I was last there. Probably 3 dozen already!
This concert was a lot of fun. Hayes Carll is considered an "Americana" artist and, from what I understand, is pretty big in Texas and other areas of the US. He doesn't get airplay up here so I wasn't familiar with his music but I enjoyed it. Even the irreverant "She Left me for Jesus". He was a good fit for Corb too.
Corb Lund I am much more familiar with. For one, he's Canadian and two, he gets airplay. He's not a mainstream country artist, his MySpace categorizes him as "Folk/Country/Alternative" but with his last three cd's he's developed a healthy fan base here in his home country. I also have his last three cd's so I was able to sing along quite a bit.


Corb has toured extensively. He was in Dallas the night I was at Billy Bob's and he's going to Australia when he finishes this Canadian run. His songs have a lot of Canadian references. He is *VERY* proud to be from Alberta and definitely makes that known. He also loves poking fun at the Americans which made for lots of jokes ;) Above all they're catchy and fun and make you want to clap and dance along.
The Commodore is an 19 and over venue so there was lots of alcohol flowing and "smoke" blowing. At one point Corb looked at the crowd and commented "that doesn't smell like a normal cigarette..." Hey, welcome to BC Corb!

If you get a chance to see him, I'd definitely recommend it. It's a fun show and I'm really glad I was able to take it in...even if I didn't get home until 2am.

White Rock

I had a super busy weekend. I worked Friday night at the store and then went over to Jenna's for a short visit. Saturday I worked from 10-2 and then went to my first Close to My Heart party.
Sunday after church I had lunch at my parents and then the three of us decided to go take advantage of the beautiful weather. Normally after dinner Dad likes to take it easy for a bit and have a coffee but Mom and I convinced him to stop at Tim Horton's on the way out. Of course he accidently spilt half of his "medium, two creams, one sugar, one shot of almond, coffee" (Timmy's is getting tobe just as bad as Starbucks!) so my car smells like coffee.

The sun was warm but it was still cool out. My mom was bundled up and wearing winter boots. It looked funny on the beach and I told her "you must think it's still February or something" LOL

We weren't the only ones who had the brilliant idea of getting out and enjoying the weather. White Rock was *packed*. It was okay though, everyone was there for the same reason. We walked along the beach to the pier (my actual destination was the bathroom LOL) and then along the street back to where we had parked. We gave in to the temptation of fish and chips and then ended up waiting for almost an hour for them to be ready. I'm glad we did though. By the time we finished and were walking the rest of the way back to the car, this is what the sky looked like. Absolutely gorgeous. I haven't seen a sunset like that at White Rock in a long time.

I have a reputation

I went over to my friend Jenna's after work last night. On the way in I stopped and said hi to her husband Will and friends who were playing poker in the game room. He greeted me and then said "You know, not a day goes by that I don't flip by CMT and think of you. I'll see Kenny Chesney and go 'we should call Heidi and ask what his middle name is or something'". He was poking fun at my...shall we say "knowledge" of country music triva. I just looked at him and said "Arnold" and walked away. LOL

Oh the Drama!

AKA why today was a bad day to not pack a lunch

So I'm standing in line at Subway between a big burly construction dude that keeps backing up and threatening to squish me and a group of high pitched teeny boppers. Just as I reach the counter my phone rings.

Me: "Hello"
Caller: "Hello, this is XXX Security Company. We have a report of a breach at your home"

I'm thinking WTH? I don't have an alarm?

Security Company: "At XXXX XXXXX Street"

Oh, that' my parents. Apparently I'm on the call list

SC: "Are you at the residence right now?" (meaning are you the dufus who set off the alarm?)
Me: "No"
SC: "Would you like us to dispatch the police"
Me: "Uh, yeah that would make sense"
SC: "Can you go to the residence"
Me gazing longingly at the tasty looking sandwhiches on display: "Uh, yeah I guess so"

So, off I drove in the rain. Calling my dad, home, and any place my mom may be in turn. Halfway there Dad finally calls "Where are you?"
Me: "Headed to your house, where are you?"
Dad: "About 10 minutes behind you coming from the same direction. I've called {a friend} too and he's going to go over and check"

So I arrive at the house and our friend is there. I have a key so I enter, disarm the alarm which is ominously blinking "POLICE" and check all the doors. Everything is secure (Huh?) The reason we're all panicky is because about a year ago someone DID break in and cleaned out the place. They took the brand new computer, monitor, the tv, Robert's guitar and amp, Aaron's PS2 and some other things.

Everything seems to be in order so the friend leaves. I call work "Yeah, I'm going to be late coming back..."

Dad arrives a few minutes later. The only thing that is "off" is the shower in Aaron's bathroom is warm and wet (that sounds wrong LOL) We finally deduce that his friend who stays over on a regular basis must have tripped the alarm on his way out.

Dad calls the alarm company and has a lengthy talk. (He sold alarms for years so he knows how to use all their lingo like "entry point" and "contact" etc.) THEN, FOURTY full minutes after we received the inital call, the policeman arrives. Now I get that they have to attend false alarms all the time but come on. That is horrible response time. His only redeeming grace was that he was cute LOL

And after all this, I still hadn't had lunch! I hit the drive thru on the way back though.

So there. That's my excitement for the day.

Was I not the cutest kid ever?

I was looking for something else last night but when I ran across an "autobiography" I had done as a school project in Grade 11. A precurser to a "Book of Me" ;) I thought I'd share a few pictures just cause I'm so cute LOL

The one of me on the phone is part of my "career" page. Remember that I did this project way before I startd working. At that time I put my interests as "receptionist" which is what I did for seven years. Looks like I started training early!

The date on this photo is October 1984 which would have made me about three years old. That's my mom behind me sitting at the kitchen table. She used to wrap my arm up in a "sling" ALL the time. I *loved* pretending that I had a broken arm. I remember one time (a few years later) when I was trying to learn how to ride my bike with one hand, Mom put my arm in a sling and I rode the whole way around the block like that.

It should be noted that the cloth she used was a diaper. Seth would have still been wearing them when this picture was taken and Robert wasn't even around!
I remember the day this photo was taken. It was around the same time as the previous photo. I was only three but some how, using wood blocks, I figured out how to spell my name all by myself. I remember it being really early in the morning and when Mom got up she was SO proud of me :D

Good Time Dancing

Last Monday at dance I was invited to a seventieth birthday celebration for one of the ladies that I dance with. Her name is Olga and she is an absolute sweetheart; one of the ones I tend to gravitate towards when we have our breaks between tips. Her “party” was to be held at Kennedy Hall in Surrey which, it turns out, is a dance hall almost as old as our own. The difference is that our hall is out in the country. Kennedy Hall was probably out in the country when it was built in 1941 as it is right by the train tracks, but the city has built up around it. For the locals it’s at 88th Street and 120th Avenue. Two incredibly busy streets. It even shares its parking lot with an Arby’s now.

This hall hosts an “Good Time Dance” with a live band every Saturday night and has for YEARS. I don’t know exactly how long but they had articles on the wall about different people who have played there and I know one gentleman said he has been dancing there for over 30 years himself!


Olga’s friend Grace is the pianist for a group called “Grace & the Guys”. (Seen on the right) Olga goes in with Grace regularly so it wasn’t an issue to get her there. We just all showed up to surprise her. And surprise her we did. It was great! Every time she turned around there was a new familiar face. About a dozen people from dance, her two sons and their significant others, her brother flew in from Alberta for the evening, and a bunch of other friends. We had cake for her, some gifts, and sang. It was a blast.

The band was very, very relaxed. They’ve obviously been playing together for forever and one would strum a bar and they’d all jump in to the song. I told my dad that I was going and I mentioned that it was “Country Western Music”. It’s a running bone of contention between us. I call current radio stuff “Country” but he insists on calling it “Country Western” I will conceded that this was “Country Western”. They were all plugged in (including the fiddle) but it was so relaxed. They played everything from Willie Nelson and Anne Murray to “Yellow Rose of Texas” and “Down on the Bayou” and some great Polkas. (I say great because they’re fun to dance to…even if I really didn’t do very well LOL)

It reminded me a lot of my grandfather and hearing him play the fiddle and of some of the weddings my prairie cousins have had. Fun times and a great way to spend a Saturday evening (even if all the available men were 50 years my senior ;)) I tell you though, some of those people can MOVE! I mostly just sat back and watched them dance. It was highly entertaining.

At one point they called a square dance for us...the problem was the moves they called were removed from the list like thirty years ago!!! It was pretty bad but we did have fun.

Or Not

It looks like I won't be giving up my keys to the store after all. Apparently the new MIT's husband got a job in Alberta so they're moving. Don't y'all just love the play by play updates on my life? LOL

"I have three brothers"

Last fall Stacy asked "What will be the title of your autobiography"
I came up with some goofy options at the time but I never developed the idea so I never posted them. I've finally figured it out though. My book will be called:
"Heidi's Story: A Life with Three Brothers" Seriously. That has become a motto for me. A tag line. A defnition of my life. It explains so much!

Here's why (with appologies to Jeff Foxworthy)

If you laugh at fart jokes...you might have three brothers

If you don't take the bait when someone is intentionally annoying you...you might have three brothers

If you hit back...you definitely have three brothers

If you burp at the dinner table...you might have three brothers

If you can roll your eyes so far back in your head that they look totally white...you might have three brothers

If you get why guys are in to cars...you might have three brothers

If you've ever addressed someone using any, or a combination of the following adjectives: poop head, loser, nerd, jerk, freak, idiot, geek or snot face...you might have three brothers

If you've ever been called "princess" and not in a complimentary way...you might have three brothers

If you've ever played video games for hours on end...you might have three brothers

If you aren't grossed out by blood, bugs or dead animals...you might have three brothers

If you enjoy sports and understand them...you might have three brothers

If you've ever been in a car going over 150 kms and hour, and not been worried...you might have three brothers

If you've ever discussed the consistency of human excrement...you might have three brothers

If you've ever fallen into the toilet in the middle of the night because someone left the seat up...you might have three brothers

If you've ever used the line "he who smelt it dealt it!"...you might have three brothers

And by the way, I credit my wonderful father with teaching them everything they know!


Having three brothers explains SO much about my attitude towards life. I find myself saying "don't worry, I have three brothers", "I have three YOUNGER brothers" ALL the time. It's actually kind of funny. There's a converstation on SS right now about farting in front of other people which inspired me to finally post this (I actually drafted this list a few months back) You can anticipate additions to this in the future :)

~Heidi...big sister to three brothers

Funnies

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. It must be the full moon. First I get an email from a guy telling me "you all have some doosies" in reference to some photos he wants to use.

Then my co-worker gets a very formal letter from the National Parks Service informing her that her letter was undeliverable because the location she sent it to was "a public restroom facility"! Also known as a "comfort station".

THEN, I call this guy who had faxed us a purchase order for something we didn't order and he goes "Dadgumit, I sent it to the wrong company!" Ya think?!?

So so far we've had "doosies", "dadgumit" and a letter to a bathroom.

I love my job.

She Giveth and She Taketh Away

First they give me keys then, they take them away. It's all good though. One thing that really sticks with me is when I first started I had asked my boss about staying after Christmas. At that time she said "the needs of the store are always changing as are the needs of individuals" That has really helped me through the changes that are inevitable in a retail store.

So why did they take my keys away? My boss is planning on moving to Texas as soon as she can get all her paperwork in order (probably summertime). In anticipation of this the district manager hired a new "MIT" (Manager in Training) The manager gets 40 hours a week, the MIT gets 32 and that leaves about 20 hours to be split by the rest of the staff (currently, it will go up in time) So, that means that, since my availability is limited, having me as a key holder is redundant.

Things will probably change though. The other key holder (not manager) is in the process of adopting. When she does her availability will go way down and I'll probably take back over.

It's the ebb and flow. I'm not worried. It's just kind of funny if you really think about it :)

How good is YOUR world geography?

Random Memory #5: Keyboarding 11

A lot of my highschool memories are fuzzy. Not because of drugs (thankfully) or time (yet ;)) but highschool was something to be endured. I read books of people who have super clear memories of certain periods of their life and I wish I was the same. One thing that is clear is my Keyboarding 11 class.

To graduate in my district you had to take a "Career and Personal Planning" (CAPP) class. That course only lasted half the year and for the other half you could chose an elective like wood working, cooking or, in my case, keyboarding.

I had five very close friends in that class. We took up the back two rows (three computers one each row) which was weird for me because I almost always sat at the front of the room in my other classes. We started with file folders over our hands so we couldn't look at the keyboard while we typed. We had these excercise books that had built in stands and we would type "asdf jkl; asdf jkl;" over and over and over. I remember being excited when we progressed to the second row of letters "qwer uiop qwer uiop" because I could actually spell my name!!!

Our teacher, Mr. Spann, (affectionately called "Spam"...so original I know :P) let us listen to the radio during class. Now anytime I hear Celine Dion singing "My Heart Will Go On", Shania Twain's "Don't Be Stupid" or Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply" I am instantly transported back to that hot stuffy corner classroom with the sound of keys clicking methodically.

When Mr. Spann left the classroom, much to the chagrin of our male classmates, we would CRANK the radio and sing at the top of our lungs. I remember having it so loud that I couldn't even hear my own voice! Good times :)

Each of us were given a 3.5" floppy disk to store our exercises on. During the spring of 1998 (when this class took place) the movie "Titanic" was the biggest thing going (hence the Celine Dion song). All of us had huge crushes on Leonardo DiCaprio and we would practice typing his name over, and over, and over. (The modern incarnation of doodling all over your note book I suppose.)

My paternal grandmother passed away that Easter and I remember calling one of my classmates from Alberta and asking her to delete the document with Leo's name before handing my disk in for marking.

I am so thankful for that class. It was a pain to learn but now, if I couldn't type correctly and as fast as I do, I wouldn't have this job or my current career. It definitely makes a difference. Thanks Mr. Spann!

Friday, February First

I don't actually have anything intelligent to say. I just thought that sounded cool. Friday, February First. Friday, February fifteenth will be my brother Robert's birthday. Today is just (finally) Friday :)

Farts ARE Funny

Tie this back to my "I have three brothers" motto for explaining life if you want to but farts ARE funny. Really, you don't want to get me started on fart stories.

****WARNING****
Quit reading here if your senses are easily offended.


Okay. You've been warned :) (Just be glad that the internet doesn't readily deliver smells!)

It's probably a sad truth that some of my best family memories include flatulence but it's the truth and you can't avoid it. My dad has *quite* the reputation on this front and he's taught my brothers (and me) well. My mom grew up visiting her grandparents farm every weekend as well so she doesn't exactly have the most delicate sensibilities.

My paternal grandmother TRIED. She was the girliest girl you could ever meet. Every shade of pink imaginable and the scent of roses. That was Grandma. Unfortunately her children and grandchildren did NOT smell like roses! One summer we rented a cabin by the lake. There were a bunch of us sitting around the kitchen table visiting. Someone (one of my uncles if I remember correctly) kept letting farts go. Nasty smelly ones. Grandma was armed with an areosol airfreshener and she would calmly walk up behind the offender and SPRAY. Too funny :)

Another time we were visiting my aunt's house and watching Canucks play the Oilers on tv. My cousin was RANK that night. My family STILL talks about that time.

And one of my personal "most embarassing moments" (I really shouldn't share this but I'm going to anyways). I was at work one day, all alone up front. I let one loose and my poor unsuspecting co-worker decided to come and chat at that moment. He paused by my desk and sniffed and said "It smells like methane in here". Now I live in a farming community and on a summer morning that's not an unfamiliar smell. IN the building though, not so much. I put on my most innocent face and blamed it one the cows.

See? Farts are funny!

When "should" turns to "do"

Monday afternoon I came back from lunch and my co-worker and I decided to finally do the office re-organization that everyone has been talking about since before Christmas. We dismantled a desk in one office, move it into another. Took the makeshift "desk" from that office and distributed the pieces around the office. Moved a credenza and the photocopier, aranged a bunch of filing cabinets and supplies. When that was done, I worked with my boss on flinging magazines. We filled seven boxes for recycling and I had the wonderful task of carrying them down the stairs and outside. By the time I got home I was *exhausted*. Dance was cancelled due to the weather so I watched the second "Jane Eyre" video that I had (you're right Sherilyn, it was way better) and went to bed early.

Tuesday the nasty weather started. A huge dump of snow, closed schools, treacherous roads. I had my first BerryBeat Festival meeting. Because of the meeting I didn't get in to work until 10. The roads were pretty interesting but quiet too so I could set my own pace. The weather didn't let up all day so we were let out at 3:15. Tuesday evening I had the whole evening to myself. It was wonderful. Granted I ended up working until almost 7, drafting the minutes for that morning's meeting but I set my own pace and just hid away in my apartment.

I even went digging in some boxes and found some candles that I've been hoarding for some unknown reason. It's amazing how much difference a little bit of light makes when it's cold and blowing outside.

Wednesday the weather was again nasty. The snow kept up and when my boss gave me the choice to go home at lunch, I lept at it. Of course then when the store called and asked if I could come in early I conceded so I didn't really gain anything other than more hours at the store.

In between leaving the office and going to the store I stopped in at my friend Jenna's. I haven't seen her in awhile so we spent a little while catching up. She mentioned that she's working on memorizing all the US states. That evening at the store I challenged myself and I managed to write down 49 states from memory!!! The only one I missed was Missouri. I also named all 28 NHL teams. I used them to cross reference a little bit but some how the fact that St. Louis is IN Missiouri escaped me. Pretty good though huh? 49 states off the top of my head?

Today it's raining so the snow is slowly washing away. I asked Veronica the other day "when's the next plane to Australia?" and she said "Anytime you want to come". Believe me, if it was just as simple as getting on a plane I'd be there in a heart beat (although my heart would probably stop when I get there because I understand it is REALLY hot right now). Too bad there are things like tickets and vacation that has to be considered :P

Speaking of vacation, Southwest has finally extended their booking dates (I want to compare how much they'd be to fly to Diane's wedding). They've extended them to August 22. The wedding is on the 23rd. That is absolutely no help!!!

So, back to waiting :)

~Heidi

Jane Eyre

I did my first full day at the store yesterday. Opened and closed all by myself. I won't go in to the details of what I could have done differently but suffice to say, it wasn't a particularly smooth day. After work my co-workers met up at a local restaurant for dinner. Over Christmas we had won some cash through different contests and the consensus was to blow it on dinner (as opposed to buying something concrete like a fridge or something). We had a great time. I really enjoy each of the people I work with but I rarely get to see them because I'm generally working alone. It was nice and relaxing even though we had a lot of "shop talk" and we got some deep belly laughs in over things that only someone who works in retail would understand :)

When I got home I just vegged. A few weeks ago I was at the library and there were two versions of "Jane Eyre" on the return cart. I'm always game for the classics so I grabbed them. They've been sitting on my counter ever since. One of them is overdue already so I popped it in last night. It was the 1944 version with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine Now I was tired but man, it played out like a cheesy horror flick! Lots of dark shadows, people moving around a cold dark castle in big billow cloaks, spoooooooky music and women's screams piercing the night. That said, it was interesting to watch. Normally when I view the classics like this I'll listen to the book on tape first so I at least have a grasp on the story line. This one I had to get entirely from the movie.

I still have another version to go. I'm interested to see if it will be any better.

The weatherman was right

No more cold clear weather. Now it's cold, overcast, and WET :P The snow started very slow yesterday. Miniscule flakes that you could almost deny. Within an hour they were big as loonies and fluffy. I'm not a fan of snow but I will admit that it is pretty.
These shots were taken at work. It was slippery driving in and I almost took out the sign that said "Caution Parking Lot Slippery"

Ya think?!?! By the time I got off it had warmed up so that the roads were just slush. There's still snow on the ground and they're predicting more today. Yipee :P