this is just too cute :)

My friend made this picture her facebook profile pic and it's just too cute :-)  She has a hamster named Davey so she has a soft spot for hamsters.

Makes me want one.  When I stated that fact....  my  other friend Katie informed me she runs a small animal rescue and has 4 hamsters.....  she can get me one if I want one lol.....  Don't tempt me!!

Merry Christmas!

Jenn

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Irony

Got a chuckle out of this and thought you would too :-)

More baby pics

I had a good chuckle this morning at the ultrasound appointment. Bean decided to show off the pretty little feet and toes :) Bean was not moving around near as much so the Ultrasound tech should have been able to get a good view of the spine. Heartrate was down, about 125 beats per minute. I was told anything between 120 and 160 is good. In fact the baby was so still she thought I might have to go for a walk to get the baby in a better position to look at the spine, but Bean did move a bit and she was able to get the needed pictures for my file. As usual I got a printout :)



Jenn :D

"Little Bean" at 18 weeks

Baby at 18 weeks :) I go for another ultrasound so they can have a better look at the spine. Everything seems okay, just the baby was moving around too much for them to get a good measurement.

Copper Clapper Caper

May these two funny guys RIP :-)

Canadian Humour

The Just For Laughs comedy festival goes on in Montreal Quebec every year and we get to watch it on the Comedy Network. This is one skit that crack up over each and every time I see it.... Especially when he talks about his Catholic girlfriend, going to Catholic Church for the first time and the priest is doing the "flicky thing" :)

Stand By Me

One of the best pieces of sound engineering.

This is a video of unprofessional street singers from around the world being recorded, over layed and mixed with one another while singing the song "Stand By Me".

It is a marvel to listen to and watch. They all deserve to be heard. Take note with each singer where they are from. For me personally "Grandpa Elliot" makes the video :)

The finished product is tremendous!

Good OB Appointment This Morning :)

I had my OB appointment this morning and all looks good. I get to go back for another ultrasound as the little bugger was so active they couldn't get a good measurement of his/her spine, so I get to see my Little One again, w00t! Otherwise everything looks good and the Doctor is happy. I do have an anterior placenta so could explain why I haven't felt anything from the baby outside of the pressure on my bladder. She put the doppler on me and we could hear all the movement this kid was doing in there, pretty active baby!!!!

All clear until next month :)

Jenn :D

The Arab Dilemma

A young Arab asks his father:

What is this weird hat that we are wearing?

It's a "chechia" because in the desert it protects our heads from the sun!

And what is this type of clothing that we are wearing?

It's a "djbellah" because in the desert it is very hot and it protects your body!

And what are these ugly shoes that we have on our feet?

These are "babouches", which keep us from burning our feet when in the desert!

Tell me, papa...

Yes, my son?

Why are we living in Toronto and still wearing all this shit?

Mindless Babble... and Baby Stuff :-)

There's going to be a new car on the horizon for JennieBird here.... I'll be glad when we're a two vehicle family again :-) Stay tuned.....

In other news.... this is how THE KID is treating my bladder lately:


But hey it's all good, I'm lovin' it :)

I went for my 18 week ultrasound on the 18th (time flies!! I can't believe in ONE WEEK I'll be halfway through this pregnancy) and everything looks good. I was in there for about 45 minutes for them to measure everything and check the heart rate and stuff. So far a good heartbeat of 141 beats per minute.

I haven't felt any solid baby kicks yet (but I'm told it's still early yet - give it a few weeks) but I couldn't get over how active this kid is. I swear he's/she's doing pilates in there... active kicking like you would not believe on the ultrasound screen! It was a hoot to watch and I was glad to share the experience with my Mom who came with me to see her first grandchild on the ultrasound screen.

Baby weighs about a half a pound now and I have a printout of 20 ultrasound pictures from the appointment, I'll try to pick a few of the frames to scan and share. I myself was mesmerized in the whole experience and find myself still pinching myself to make sure this is so real. Rob and I are still besides ourselves with joy and Rob has had this glow about him ever since the day we found out I am pregnant. Right now I keep the ultrasound pictures from prior appointments on our fireplace mantle and even though he won't admit to it, I catch him looking at them and smiling. If he's this way with ultrasound pictures, I can hardly wait to see him with our baby in his arms. It chokes me up just thinking about it.

As for the nursery, we're not planning on doing much as the room is currently our guest room. There is panelling throughout the room that makes it hard for painting, etc, but I imagine we'll just be getting rid of the guest bed and dresser or just getting rid of the dresser and moving the bed over to make room for a crib, changing table & chest of drawers. We're not finding out what the baby's gender is so I'm planning on just keeping it gender neutral. In a few years when the budget isn't as busting at the seams as it already is (with the car and bathroom reno and the chimney repair we did a month ago and a few more items) we'll completely remodel the baby room, drywall it etc and give it some decent paint. Right now it's all crappy panelling.

My Mother in Law and likely my nieces are coming up this Saturday and go to Church on Sunday. Likely pick up my new car on Saturday.

Life is good :) I love it.

Jenn

My New Mantra

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Never again will I let anyone tell me to bite my tongue. It's just not worth it.

Did I Read That Sign Right?

Did I read that sign right?
TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW

In a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT

In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD

Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Spotted in a safari park:(I sure hope so)
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR

Notice in a farmer's field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.

Message on a leaflet:
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS

On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)

Bathroom Remodel

Well, our bathroom remodel is going alright I guess, I've been banished from the room because of a small amount of mold while Rob tears the old tile and drywall down.

It's proving interesting because whoever did this bathroom before used definitely the WRONG kind of drywall that one would use in a bathroom and the tile is coming off with very little effort (it should not be this easy)

Then, while taking more tile down he understood very quickly why the stud finder was not locating studs very well.  It's a makeshift wall (wait until you see the pictures) and very shoddy work.  However, we're not going to mess with it, just get the correct drywall up, the right insulation installed, the kerdi and correct vapour barrier up and then retile.

I am craving chinese food like you would not believe.  I wonder if Rob is up for the idea....?

We'll be going to Port Elgin likely tomorrow to get more supplies.

Still trying to figure out how to make this blog private, so my postings are not much right now.

Jenn

Six Boys and Thirteen Hands

Six Boys And Thirteen Hands...

Each year I am hired to go to Washington , DC , with the eighth grade class from Clinton , WI , where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima , Japan , during WW II.

Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?'

I told him that we were from Wisconsin ...'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.'

(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up.. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington , DC , but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)

'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin ... My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers' which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.

'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.

(He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire . If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph...a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the battle of Iwo Jima ... Boys. Not old men.

'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'

'The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona...Ira Hayes was one who walked off Iwo Jima...He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero'. He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'

So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken).

'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky . A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell 's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press.

'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died in Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the pain.

'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'

'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima , and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.'

Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.

We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice. Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom.

Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray for those still in murderous unrest around the world. STOP and thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's sacrifice.

God Bless You and God Bless America ...

REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day.

One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is...that if you look at the statue very closely and count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th hand was the hand of God.

Great story - worth your time - worth every American's time.

People

It's not about how big your house is, how nice your car is & how much money you have. It's about what kind of person you really are.

Friends

Friends Are Angels

Anonymous

Our friends are like angels

Who brighten our days

In all kinds of wonderful

Magical ways

Their thoughtfulness comes

As a gift from above

And we feel we're surrounded

By warm, caring love

Like upside-down rainbows

Their smiles bring the sun

And they fill ho-hum moments

With laughter and fun

Friends are like angels

Without any wings

Blessing our lives

With the most precious things

"Friends are angels who lift our feet when 

our own wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Christian

I needed this reminder today that's for sure. I the message was appropriate not only for me but maybe for others also. Never hurts to be reminded.

Yesterday was a pretty sad day for me. I am leaning on God more than ever right now as I deal with some of these emotions.

Jealousy is a pretty serious thing and it's amazing the hurt it can cause. I wish I could rid the world of it, but alas, I would be an idealist if I thought I could.

-Jenn


BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER
'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her . '


When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that 'I am clean living.
I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.


When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.
When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.


When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.
When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!
Pretty is as Pretty does but, Beautiful is just plain Beautiful.

Just a tap on the shoulder

Just a tap on the shoulder...

A passenger in a taxi leaned over to ask the driver a question and gently tapped him of the shoulder to get his attention. The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly hit a bus, drove up over the curb and stopped just inches from a large plate window.

For a few moments everything was silent in the cab. Then, the shaking driver said "are you OK? I'm so sorry, but you scared the daylights out of me..."

The badly shaken passenger apologized to the driver and said "I didn't realize that a mere tap on the shoulder would startle someone so badly."

The driver replied, "No, no, I'm the one who is sorry, it's entirely my fault, today is my very first day driving a cab. I've been driving a hearse for 25 years..."

Music

Haven't heard this song in forever until the radio played it this morning.

Good 'ol summertime music :)

Kids

God's Wife
LOOK OUT FOR THE LAST STORY.....
IT WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once
Talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the
Contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was:

A four-year-old child, whose next door
neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his
wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old
Gentleman's' yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his mother asked him what he had
said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, 'Nothing, I just
Helped him cry.'

*********************************************

Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were
discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture
had a different hair color than the other members. One of her
students suggested that he was adopted.
A little girl said, 'I know all about
Adoption, I was adopted..'

'What does it mean to be adopted?', asked
another child.

'It means', said the girl, 'that you grew
in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!'

************************ *********************

On my way home one day, I stopped to
watch a Little League base ball game that was being played in a
park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-
base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was
'We're behind 14 to nothing,' he answered
With a smile.

'Really,' I said. 'I have to say you
don't look very discouraged.'

'Discouraged?', the boy asked with a
Puzzled look on his face...

'Why should we be discouraged? We haven't
Been up to bat yet.'

*********************** **********************

Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot
in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.

Jamie was trying out for a part in the
school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being
in it, though she feared he would not be chosen..

On the day the parts were awarded, I went
with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her,
eyes shining with pride and excitement.. 'Guess what, Mom,' he
shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to
me....'I've been chosen to clap and cheer.'

*********************************************

An eye witness account from New York
City , on a cold day in December,
some years ago: A little boy,
about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the
roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering
With cold.

A lady approached the young boy and said,
'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!'

'I was asking God to give me a pair of
shoes,'was the boy's reply.

The lady took him by the hand, went into
the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks
for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water
and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.

She took the little fellow to the back
part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed
his little feet, and dried them with the towel.

By this time, the clerk had returned with
the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him
a pair of shoes..

She tied up the remaining pairs of socks
and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, 'No
doubt, you will be more comfortable now.'

As she turned to go, the astonished kid
caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears
in his eyes, asked her.
'Are you God's wife?'

*********************************************

SEND TO ALL WHO LOVE AND CARE FOR CHILDREN.
Hope this put a smile on your face it

Sure did mine!

Humm Feeder

Each night if I leave my hummingbird feeder out, I think a coon comes around and drains it. So I started bringing the feeder in at night. Well the other night I brought it in and some ants came in with it :( (someone we all know forgot to stick the ant moat out there LOL) and Rob killed a bunch of them (the bigger ones too) and put the feeder back out for me. He told me about this later.

So as it is getting dark I look out and I see the feeder has a bunch of the large ants on it. I told Rob I was just going to leave it out and let the coon have it rather than bring it along with the ants in the house when we're trying to keep them at bay.

Sure enough the feeder was drained this morning and I used the last of my sugar to make a 1 cup solution of feed. Remembered to hunt down the ant moat that was outside, fought the (incredibly) huge spiders for it (ick!) and filled it with water after washing it out of webbing. Ants may have gotten me yesterday but today it's Jennie 1, Ants 0 LOL

But I'm sure tired of bringing that blasted feeder in at night. Someone suggested chicken wiring at the bottom and I think I'll take that into a last straw consideration.

My tomato plant is still putting out delicious tomatoberry tomatoes :)

Just having breakfast.... and made myself some tea.

Rob started his new job today and found out I think yesterday that he'll have to start carrying a blackberry. He's not exactly happy about it but so be it if that's what they want. I think outside of that he will really enjoy his new position it will be a nice challenge and change for him.

Jenn

Little Bean

Here are the two ultrasound pictures of the baby:

7 Weeks

9 Weeks

Synopsis

The place where I normally blog has seemed to remove the crosspost to blogger feature, which kind of ..... pees me off... so this blog has been somewhat inactive since February of this year.

A summary of what we've been up to...

March brought Paddyfest so I was kind of busy with that website, plus my duties as current president of my Kinette club.

Plus some shit hit the fan in another group and I found out some people's true colours. It got bad to the point where two of my friends were removed from the group with no explanation and I was hit with a ban from posting. I think the only reason why I wasn't removed like my two friends were was because my mother is on the group and is evidently well liked. Just her daughter is a piece of work in some people's eyes. The thanks I get for being their friend I guess. I couldn't post so if I saw a post I wanted to respond to (and the poster was still speaking with me) I would post to them privately. I think some people were confused by what was going on. Finally I had enough of the childishness of it all and told Mum I was leaving. She told me she only stayed there because I was still there and here I was staying just because she was still there lmbo. So we both left. I found out later that some said they were glad to see me gone but wished my Mom had stayed. Every time Mom saw a post from so and so and their cronies she wanted to reach through the screen and strangle them, she was so mad.

So that was that, and needless to say, we both feel better for not being members of that group anymore.

Hubby finally finished school! So now he has his MBA designation. FINALLY.

Then he decided to pleasantly surprise me. He suggested we use up some of his vacation time and go on a 3 week road trip with the truck and trailer and head out to Arizona and do a big loop back home. We did this in May. WHAT an experience! Half the battle was getting to Arizona where we were going to meet two internet friends. We studied the map and saw that we were south enough to avoid the Rocky Mountains.... but didn't take into account the Ozarks..... We got my new GPS and had it set for shortest distance instead of fastest. Well the shortest distance had us going right through downtown Detroit. Can we say s-c-a-r-y???????? There were sections of road blocked off because a building fell into the street, a dollar store where you could also get your guns and booze and little old ladies (we were also the only white people there.... and surrounded it seemed by pimp mobiles.....) in their PJ's and fuzzy pink slippers at 3 in the afternoon carrying a 6 pack of booze from the said store across 4 lanes of traffic.

We were GLAD to get out of Detroit..... Made it to Indiana and stayed with friends there. We left the next day and headed to Arizona. With a few (huge) hiccups including the check oil light coming on in gun country at 10PM, a few huge storms in which tornadoes could not be ruled out, high wind advisories (80MPH sustained winds!) and climbing to over 7,000' above sea level (home is 195' above sea leavel...) and traveling 1 or 2 miles straight UP just outside of Flagstaff, more high wind warnings, seeing a tow behind trailer on it's roof from the wind, and feeling our own fifth wheel leave the ground twice.... tornado warnings and tornadoes going through where we were 5 hours prior..... we made it to our campsite in Glendale. Rob's knuckles were so sore (LOL) he had to peel them off the steering wheel.

We met my friend Ken and he took us on various tours of the area including a rose garden where he gets the beautiful rose pictures for his flower of the day email and a hike up Thunderbird mountain. Then we met with internet friends Dave and Jeanette and we did several tours including going to Madera Canyon where I had the opportunity to see several kinds of hummingbirds. We also had a chance to just relax and recover from the trip out which was nice too.

We spent a total of 4 days in Arizona and did the trek across southern Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to get to Louisiana where we were going to meet another internet friend. It took about 2 days to cross Texas and it was flat and boring (which was welcome compared to our trek across the northern parts of these states) but I couldn't get over how remote it was. In the two days we were driving across the southern part of the state, I think we only saw 2 houses... Finally reached Louisiana and got to Slidell. We stayed there for I think 3 days and got to tour Katrina neighbourhoods where you could still see the damage. So sad.... Then we toured the French Quarter and drove down Bourbon Street. What a trip that was :) We got our picture taken in front of Emeril Lagasse's restaurant. Dress code in effect so we wouldn't have fit in with our crocks and jeans and shorts LOL We also did a swamp tour and saw alligators and wild pigs. Took a whole whack of pictures.

We ate at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. I ate alligator and it was cool. Tasted like chicken. Really!

After Louisiana we made our way north towards Arkansas. Visited with Lizz & David for 4 days and had a nice relaxing visit :) From there we went to Indiana back to Indiana and stayed with Julie and her family for 4 days. We celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary and took everyone out for dinner. Yummm! Went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on hummingbird feeders :) Nice easy clean and easy to fill. And cheap. Love it.

Then made our way home and collapsed.

After we got back I went for blood work and found out that I still wasn't pregnant. So I took my second round of clomid and evidently this time it took!! I am now 10 weeks pregnant and the baby is doing very well. I've had two ultrasounds so far because they wanted to make sure everything was okay considering my past miscarriages. First ultrasound the baby was 1.27 cm long and two weeks later the baby ballooned and was at 2.34cm long. Just dealing with the perpetual tired and I'm on meds for the morning (more like all day) sickness. Was keeping nothing down. So now I'm in the market for an obstetrician. You can see my pregnancy progress in the widget on the side of this blog :)

So now you're about up to speed!

Jenn :D

Tissue Alert

Britain Idol  Talent Show – This is a tear  jerker.

# 1 Song the day I was born....

 Four Seasons - December 63 (Oh What A Night)

Hmmm.....

I really need to get myself one of those pill minder boxes....  I can't remember if I took my pill this morning or not.  I don't think I did....

Getting caught up on some stuff around here, and need to open PSP to get a cake done for an HLC member.  I was hoping that my mouse that I ordered would be in...  heck I'd like to know if it was even ordered (Paul works on Paul's time.... which can be aggravating at times) and Rob never thought to ask Sunday night while they were hanging out.

Getting caught up on the dishes from last night's bakefest.  I made Rob's Angel Food cake and brown sticky icing for his 37th birthday.  I wanted to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles recipe.....  I have all the ingredients.....  but somehow those ingredients just don't blend themselves together and surprise me.... so need to set aside about 45 minutes to make them.  But I did cook up some leek & potato soup and am letting it simmer in the crock pot all afternoon.

The Angel Food Cake and Brown Sticky Icing was a hit and Rob ate half his cake..... LOL

Snowing lightly out there now.

Jenn :D

Algonquin Slideshows

 Day 1

Day 2


Day 3

Day 4

Vet's Trike

This "Trike" owned by a Vet, on display at a car show, check the power plant he used, it should haul .


The work that went into the paint job is priceless.

Photos

I know of no real way to share a slideshow here from Picasa or if there is even a way to do it, but here is a link to my photos including the Algonquin Photos of late.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jmasearson


Enjoy and feel free to comment :)

Jenn

Heat Wave!

Don't laugh.  LOL  Okay you can laugh.  It warmed up to zero celsius (that cracks me up to start with - "it warmed up to zero..." ha!) so about 32 for you guys.  I went for a walk down my street and saw a bunch of birds.  Having a brain fart maybe they are hanging out behind all the houses to escape the bitter wind from the lake, I went through the obstacle course also known as my shed (everything was just thrown in there when we moved.....) and saw that all my sheperds hooks are in the far corner (of course! LOL)  leaning against the wall.  I should almost take a picture so you can see what I had to get through to get to them and try to get one out LOL  But anyways, I was praising dryer vents.  There is one in the L part of the house and the ground was thawed enough underneath that I could spike the pole in there even if only part way down the ground but far down enough that it won't be going anywhere.  I hung a suet feeder and my brand spanking new "deluxe silo feeder with tray some assembly required" (boy was there EVER assembly required....LOL)

So we shall see if I get any feeder action now. LOL

It was cloudy and overcast this morning but I could see a break in the clouds in the distance over the lake.  That cloud break finally reached shore here and I'm seeing sun and blue sky with clouds.  After the freezing temps and cold winds we've  been having, this at freezing with sun and sky is a nice refreshing change.  I may go for another walk this afternoon after I get some laundry done.

Jenn

No More PC

THOUGHT OF THE DAY


Here's a solution to all the controversy over full-body scanners at the airports. Have a booth that you can step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on you.*

*It would be a win-win for everyone, and there would be none of this crap about racial profiling and this method would eliminate a long and expensive trial.  Justice would be quick and swift..*

*Case Closed!*

Sand Animation

This is beyond words....to say her work is incredible seems trite.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this talented girl create these amazing works of art.

Nothing short of genius .

Read the entire introduction then watch the magic created by this young lady since the audio is in Russian.

This video shows the winner of 2009’s "  Ukraine ’s Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $75,000.

She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated...

It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.

She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in  Ukraine  , resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.

An art critic said: "I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment."

We're Home

Had a great weekend and quite a few photos to share.  I think I'll just upload them to picasa and share them here somehow LOL

Jenn :D

Huntsville Sunset Sky

Red skies at night... sailor's delight?

Pog Lake Campground

Black Capped Chickadee

Taken at the West Gate Visitor Centre at Algonquin Provincial Park.  Click to view higher 1024 x 768 resolution.

Jenn

New Link

I just added a new link to my side bar here for Maddy the Goose's website.   It offers invaluable tips on surviving Algonquin's interior, (any back country, really) and I look forward to perusing it more once I get more.

Enjoy,
Jenn :D

Today's Hikes

After the cruel reminder of how out of shape I am yesterday, I slept like a log (bear in hibernation?) from about 10:30PM to about 9:00AM with only one interruption at 2AM to visit the little room.  Rob showered (I was going to wait until evening to shower) and we headed to Timmies for our breakfast sandwich and headed to the Park.  Still feeling yesterday, I opted for an easier trail with not too much of an incline.  We picked the Logging Museum trail.  The trail was pretty packed with people passing through prior on foot, but we made it through, walking on the lake for a bit.  I was cold enough that I didn't get very many pictures, not to mention very tired (still from yesterday but determined not to let it keep me off the trails!!)  The mitts I wear are very bulky..and... well...  look like these:

OK, so they're kids... you get the idea.  Anyway, they are not meant to be photographer's buddies.

We finished the trail and oddly enough, I was still up for some hiking...  maybe sans snowshoes, but still up for some rugged beauty.

We drove to Beaver Pond and did the 2.0km hike by foot (no snowshoes) on the path.  Had a few hairy moments on the stairs, but broke into a sweat in my polar gear so off came the polar mittens and stuffed them into my pockets.  Hands no longer constricted...  I took photos till... well, the batteries went dead near the end of the trail :)

When you see the photos I've taken so far on this holiday, I think you'll agree 150% that the scenery up this way is second to none.  Especially in the winter when the ice forms on the rocks on the side of Hwy 60, the rivers show some open water that seemingly appears right out of the snow and ice.  It is a surreal experience, the best I can describe.

As for now I'm just relaxing and having dinner...  my leftover steak from yesterday.  Mmmmmm :)

This has been one of the nicer trips we have taken so far and I'm enjoying myself a LOT.  I think I'll fire up my laptop and empty the camera card and look at the pictures taken thus far...  about 130 so far :)

Jenn

Up North

Whew what a workout today!  We had breakfast this morning and then headed out to the park stopping at the visitor's centre.  They have a large birdfeeder out there and had a bunch of chickadees taking advantage of it.  Some blue jays in the trees too but couldn't get a shot of them.  Checked out the wildlife observed board and then we headed out to Pog Lake campground and strapped our snowshoes on.

Didn't see any wildlife but  man lots of tracks (including moose)

We walked out onto the lake and took a slew of photos.  Then snowshoed around and then went around and started heading back to the car.  We figure we snowshoed about a couple miles, a bit of it on an incline too.  Realized how out of shape I am LOL  But the fresh air was unreal and before long I broke into a sweat.

We went back to the car and had our lunch (we packed one at the hotel) and drove around the rest of the afternoon just admiring the scenery.  Headed back to Huntsville going to the grocery store to get some snacks for tomorrow's hike (location yet to be determined - dependent on the weather and how windy it will be) and passed this restaurant "3 Guys and a Stove" and I said let's check that place out.



http://www.3guysandastove.com/

Well it wasn't exactly what I thought it was (more higher end dining, I was picturing a sports bar & grill type establishment) and nearly balked at the price ($30 for a sirloin tip!) but Rob said order what you want so I ended up getting the steak.  When it was served to me, I could see why they charged $30.  I like my steak medium well and they got it perfect and it was SO good......  yummm...  ended up taking most of it home it was so huge (and thick) so I'll have it  for supper tomorrow night.  Rob had the Carolina Catfish.  We stopped at Timmies and got our tea/coffee.

We stopped at the Visitor's Centre and became members of the "Friends of Algonquin Park" association (http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/friends.html) and picked up a book on canoeing.  Eventually in the future (once we get in better shape LOL) we want to try canoeing into the park interior.  Not only are we supporting this favourite park of ours, we get a discount at the store too :P

Overall I'm having a fantastic time and can't wait to share the pictures when I get home :)

Jenn :D

Have a nice weekend :)

Shutting down the laptop and packing it up.  Just wanted to wish you a good weekend and a happy Valentine's Day just in case there is no internet at the hotel we are staying at (I can't remember, to be honest)

 

We'll be back on Monday

Jenn :D
---
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
~Mark 4:17 KJV

 

The WILL of God will not lead you where the GRACE of God will not protect you.

 

My husband says I never listen.  At least that's what I think he said...

 

Argue not with dragons for thou art crunchy and go well with brie.

 

http://hummingbirdsweetie.blogspot.com/

Photos

Just emptying the camera card before we go away for a few days tomorrow.  February 9th was a nice sunny day and the lake looked very pretty.  Interesting slant of the trees possibly gives testament to some of the breezes here!  Also, one of the many things I fell in love with when we were looking at this house.

Jenn :D

MPP Blog Site

My kinette club made our MPP's picture blog:

http://jwilkinsonmpp.blogspot.com/2010/01/palmerston-kinettes-receive-trillium.html

Jenn :D

Caught up for now

All the blog entries brought over, I think I'll end up blogging here and importing over onto my multiply site and we'll see how that works.

Right now hubby is in school and should be home soon. This is his last term and he'll have his MBA designation. I am SO proud of him.

About all that is new here....

Jenn :D

Love (February 9, 2010)

This is my most favourite love poem. I first read it 15 years ago in High School....

Sonnet 17

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

in which there is no I or you
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand
so intimate that when you fall asleep it is my eyes that close

~Pablo Neruda~

Tuesday - Feb 9

Was super tired after my day yesterday so I slept really well. Still feel tired for some reason lol

Working a little on Paddyfest's website just need to code in the sponsor logos and upload it all.

Thinking of making a chicken casserole for dinner tonight. Have a loaf of bread done.

Not sure when Rob will be done tonight.

Jenn :D

Shirt and Sunbeam (February 6, 2010)

My Kinette shirt, which I bought to wear to meetings and Kin functions for $27.... (don't get me started - to me a shirt costs $2 or $3 at the thrift store....) arrived in the mail the other day. I took two photos yesterday of it.




Got up at 8 this morning (trust me folks that's early for me nowadays.... ugh....) and saw that the sun was shining through the small window near the ceiling in the living room. I liked seeing the beam on the wood ceiling here.

Jenn :D

Went Snowshoeing Yesterday (February 1, 2010)

Brrrr should have wore my polar pants. Leotards and fleece do NOT cut it LOL Every part of me was warm except for my face, ears (the hat I'm wearing in the photo is not one I normally wear and the wind just goes right through it) and thighs.

Well, now I know for next time but we had a nice walk through the provincial park. We bought a winter pass and it's good until March 31 so that will include our excursion to the Algonquin provincial park.

It was about 19ºF so not many pictures, I took one of Rob, he took one of me that I'm sharing.

The sky was partly red last night but it was an interesting drive home. The wind would blow the car and it'd get into the ridges of the had snow so only did 60km/H all the way home just trying to keep the car in the correct lane.

Had Oktoberfest Sausages for dinner with homemade perogies. I'm not too keen on perogies but Rob thought if he stuffed them full of flavour I'd develop a taste for them. So he put garlic, ham and a few other seasonings in the mashed potatoes and had me sample the mashed potatoes bit, and it was delicious. Made the pasta up and stuffed them with the potatoes, I put a few on my plate, ate one and spit it out. I have no idea what it is about them I don't like, maybe it's the pasta and mashed potatoes, even with sour cream and onions it was awful to me. Oh well, I tried. I made buns yesterday following a new recipe and while the recipe itself is vague the buns turned out ok. My appetite was still iffy yesterday so only ate my left over stir fry minus the rice, a freshly made bun and an oktoberfest sausage. I had a bun on my plate but couldn't finish it. This is a great diet I tell ya lol

Rob has gotten addicted (but try convincing him that) to a facebook game that I play called Treasure Madness. Everytime I load it to play the little arcade type games in it, he looks at me and I say in my best sing-song voice "Would little Robbie like to PLAYYYYY????" and end up relinquishing the computer to him LOL But you'll never see him on facebook or myspace or any site like that. He hates it that he is on LinkedIn but was told it would be good for his career if he signed up on there. It's an online profile for professionals similar to facebook but geared towards what your trade is, etc. You can meet up with head hunters there, colleagues who give you an online reference to applied jobs and such. He's only maintaining his profile until he gets into Bruce Power full time and then he'll delete it/deactivate it saying he has now reached his goal.

He played Treasure Madness until he went through my "energy" reserves that allow you to keep playing on the game (when I play during the week I save them for him LOL) and he went through all of them Saturday and played again last night. I evidently fell asleep on the couch sitting upright (Sign I'm super tired) and he woke me up and sent me to bed at 10:40.

Not sure what the weather outlook is for today but I'm not planning on going anywhere.

Pics.... the cinnamon buns I made Tuesday Night/Wednesday Morning, and snowshoeing yesterday.







Jenn :D

Friday Night/Saturday (January 30, 2010)

Last night we made plans for today errands wise. Rob asked me how I felt about the hot tub should we/he be using it since we didn't really get a clear cut yes/no from the specialist. I said I didn't know either, just read that it wasn't such a wise idea. So Rob said may as well shut it down then, but do you want to go in it one last time tonight? So that's what we did.

Put it on our to do list to make an appointment with the hot tub place to come out and winterize it.

Watched Criminal Minds last night they had a few episodes back to back. I was feeling a little loopy having taken 3 500mg of metformin a day since Thursday and the tummy cramps were really irksome. I went to bed around 11:30 and around 2:30AM woke up choking on an acid reflux episode. I was on my side thank goodness but my throat was just burning and I felt lousy. Got up and had a glass of water to get rid of the taste in my mouth. I hadn't had that for awhile. Went back to bed and got up around 9, only because I had to use the bathroom. I felt like I could have slept another 5 hours I was so tired.

Did the dishes up, had my shower dried my hair and we went to Wingham to pick up some computer stuff from Paul, hit the hot tub place only to find the guy we need to talk to wasn't there, and to just call sometime next week to book an appointment. Went back to Kincardine did the grocery shopping, and came back home. We're on a 3 week cycle with the propane company, every 3 weeks they are supposed to fill our tank up (it's only a 100lb tank we have and it is what heats our house). Rob went to check the status of the tank and it's near zero. Not good when it's -21ºC (-5ºF) Rob was on the phone with the guy on Thursday and he was to be out yesterday to fill it.

Rob jumped on the phone and phoned the office and had to leave a message. He phoned another office to see if he could get through that way and found out that the delivery was slated for yesterday, but his supervisor said to hold off until Monday because Rob apparently had to sign something. Well this was news to us. The guy said he'd call his supervisor and explain the situation. Rob said to tell her that if we run out of propane, we're switching companies there is no second chance to see if that would smarten her up. The guy did call the supervisor.... I *think* (forgot already - lovely drugs.....) he said he couldn't get a hold of her. He did some more calling around and found someone who will let us use their tank to tide us over until Monday when the delivery comes. We are currently still waiting for it to arrive. (He just got here now)

The fireplace is still going so we still have propane. The guy did say with a sudden drop in temperature it can affect the pressure in the tank, so may not be getting an accurate reading, which makes sense. Because Rob checked the tank and it was at 20% and then the outside temperature plummeted to severely and it was reading 5% or less. That's a HUGE drop and doesn't represent our usage.

Stir-fry for dinner and salad. Never did get that loaf of bread made but tomorrow I'll be making hamburger buns and we'll have burgers and fries.

Think I'll make a pot of tea and see what the rest of the evening brings.

Jenn

Back to the Grind (January 29, 2010)

Got all the events details put in up until 2 days left. Rob talked me into stopping for the night, I apparently looked stressed LOL

So I'm going to finish it up, and then trot on over to his computer and upload the whole sh'bang.

I hate working on this site more than anything but when it's all said and done..... I think it looks pretty good and I'm glad I did it. Just the tedious process of it all......... I've been working on this site since 2004 from October to the end of March and every year I do a different method to see if I can get it where coding is more smoother. Getting much better.

Just the events take a lot of work, putting them on a calendar view page and then putting all the details of each event in.

Paddyfest and you'll see the calendar link on the left.

I had to add an extra row on the calendar because it's been stretched out 2 days with events on both the 21st and 22nd of March.

Well, the end is in sight (site?) so I'll get this done and then I have the rest of the day. Rob has schoolwork this weekend so I imagine it will be quiet around here.

Jenn

Tea Time (January 26, 2010)

Just sitting here having a cup of tea and planning the rest of my day.

Getting a little laundry done and do need to change out the bedding.

Tomorrow we're going to London to see Dr. Power again for the follow up.

I'm still tired.

Don't have much of an appetite either.

Jenn :D

On TV (January 25, 2010)

Well, there was a television news camera present and the everyone was supportive as I gave my statement (as best as I could I don't know how it came out) and I relaxed when it was done thinking my bit was over. Until the guy with the news camera came over to me and asked me to come over to answer a few questions. I looked at Tanya and said "This wasn't part of the deal girl!" LOL

I think I did better in the interview than I did on the statement LOL

If they put it on their website it will be here, I think:

http://eastlinknews.com/index2.htm

If they don't, I'll be getting a copy of it.

My camera never even made it out of the bag :( Fortunately there were other people there taking photos and they'll share. As soon as I get a copy I'll share here.

I'm just relieved it's all over.

Not feeling on top of the world right now, stomach is upset and I'm very tired, so I'm just going to take it easy for now.

Jenn

Baffle with briliance? Or buffalo with BS? (January 23, 2010)

Here's the speech I drafted just now for Monday. I bounced it off Rob to see what he thought and he felt with more reading it will come out more natural.

What do you think of what I said?

Friends, serving the community's greatest need has been the mission statement of the Family of Kin and the Palmerston Kinettes are no exception. Today is a day of celebration in our community.

First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Trillium Foundation for working with us on the application and in the end, providing us with this grant, which will help the Kinette Club of Palmerston & District fulfill our dedication to serving the greatest need of our area.

With this grant we can realize our dream of purchasing a portable concession trailer and related concession food equipment. With the purchase of this trailer, we will be better enabled to provide food to various events in Palmerston including, but not limited to, the yearly Fall Fair, Tractor Pulls, Christmas Parade and certainly many more events that make Palmerston popular. We can also be better prepared for events outside of Palmerston such as the Town of Minto Redneck Games held every year, as well as other area events like Canada Day celebrations in and around town. These events turn into dollars raised for our community, that turn into funds for playgrounds, the area food bank, donations to school organizations and recreational sports, and other organizations in need. We are truly thankful for the Trillium Foundation, and it's recognition in supporting community service clubs such as Kin Canada.

I would also like to thank fellow kinette Tanya Hartung, who worked tirelessly on the application on our behalf. Thanks also go to fellow kinettes Sandy Mitton and Brenda Dineen who met, along with good kinette Tanya and myself, Trillium Foundation staff to answer their questions and ensuring all their requirements were met. Our club could not have done it without you.

I would like to further thank everyone who came out to support us in all the events we have attended to support our club as we continued fulfilling our club motto of Serving the Community's Greatest Need. We could not have made it this far without you.

In closing, I would like to say that for the Palmerston & District Kinettes, the sky is the limit and we look forward to better serving you at events, thanks to the Trillium Foundation. Thank you.


Jenn :D

Trillium Grant (January 19, 2010)

My kinette club is this year's recipient of the trillium grant... we are getting $45,000 to buy a towable concession stand. January 25th is the presentation day. Which is fine and dandy... go there, get a few pics taken with our Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP - our voted representative for Ontario Gov't) and do the cheque thing.

Good Kinette Tanya who was the one to fill out all the forms and such was keeping us abreast on details. She sent out an email saying when it was but still working on a location etc..... I sent back a smartass email saying "I suppose next you'll be telling me I have to give a speech in front of another 100 people right? lol" adding that I'd planned on being there.

Well... lol..... I'm eating my words.

About an hour later I got an update saying:

Jenn - they have earmarked a spot for you to speak (you'll be speaking to media & all those in attendance). If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. We all saw how well you spoke at Brenda's Life night, so we know you can do it, girl!

Then they talked about getting a news crew going and everything.

I think that's what put me over the edge and gave me this sick feeling that I've been dealing with.... LOL

It's exciting..... but you guys know me.... I'm TERRIFIED.

Jenn

Cross Posting

For whatever reason, the cross posting feature from Multiply has disappeared. So there is a gap here where I have no posts here at blogger.

I'm not impressed. I wish Multiply would quit screwing around with their settings.

I'm thinking of posting a blog here exclusively.

I will now copy + paste my blog over at multiply over here with the date shared.

Enjoy!

Jenn

Cross Posting (Cont'd)

I had to re-enable cross posting. I guess every time MPland decides to "upgrade" I'll have to reset that.

Jenn

My Saturday

We were up yesterday at I think around 9:30 after a late night, Rob had his shower and we headed to Listowel stopping in Wingham to check on the progress Paul was making on putting Mum's hard drive contents onto an cxternal drive. He was so swamped he hadn't even been able to get to it. He took the hard drive out of her old laptop and checked it, and learned that Mum has 4GB worth of stuff in her My Documents folder alone. This isn't even including the few gig she has stored on her desktop (not something I recommend..... tends to slow your system down even more and she is only working of 512 MB Ram) instead of using shortcuts.

So we continued on to Listowel we both had hair appointments at 11:00. The girl there was running behind so asked us if we could come back in a half hour. We had to go to Canadian Tire anyway to grab some stuff they had on sale. We are in the process of switching all the regular light bulbs in the house to the energy efficient ones and they were on sale. We picked up a bunch, I got a thing of measuring spoons since mine were getting old and starting to collect rust (they are metal) and did not feel comfortable using them anymore. These are interesting, it has a ½ Tablespoon measurement in addition to the regular increments. I'd never seen that before. We also meant to get some cupboard slide outs but noticed the time and had to get going. Got our hair done (ohhh felt so good!) and went to Pizza Delight for lunch. Did the buffet thing, and then went over to Mum and Dad's for the afternoon.

We left there I think around 7:30 after dinner and headed back to Wingham. We dropped by Paul and Annalese's. It was Annalese's birthday (turned 36) so instead of going back out for coffee, I was poured a glass of wine, Rob was given a beer and it was an evening of music, talking, dancing (lol) and lots of laughter. I had a few glasses of this strawberry wine so now I'm hooked on that (and it's cheap too lol - $12 for a large bottle) and by the end of the evening I think Annalese, her friend Rebecca and I were feeling pretty good LOL We left around midnight and got home a half hour later. I took my meds and went to bed. Up at 2:45AM for a pee break and then slept until 8:30. We took our time getting up.

Right now I'm just doing a few bits of laundry and Rob's working on school work. We'll be heading to Mississauga later. I'll be taking my laptop with me.

I'm hopelessly behind on email having not gotten on at all yesterday, so I think I'll put it off until tomorrow and catch up while I've got time to kill at the hotel.

Well, going to pour myself another tea and get ready to have a shower.

Jenn :D

T.G.I.F.

Finally Friday, but I have to admit the week just flew right by!

Recycle never did get out so I still have a box full of flattened boxes to get rid of, and recycle day is every other Wednesday. Next recycle day is January 20. I'm trying to turn a blind eye towards it but it is kind of driving me crazy. I wonder if I should just put it in the shed for now.

Partly sunny today with the odd snow flurry. Took some photos this morning of the snow, the lake and some tracks that are in the snow. Some critters moved through here a few nights ago!

Still very tired but at least I'm not feeling sick like I was earlier this week. The other night was the worst of it. Rob came home from school around midnight and never strayed far from the couch all day and the house sure showed it. We went to bed and I sweated the whole night. It was weird, but felt better yesterday morning. It was nice to get my chores done and get caught up. I haven't checked my temperature but as of last night I felt like I was still running a bit of a temperature. Chilled in the hot tub for about 15 minutes, went to bed and was up at 8 this morning instead of 9:30 like I had been the days I felt sick. Think I'll just work on laundry today.

Tomorrow we're going to Listowel for haircuts and visiting Mum and Dad in the afternoon.

Sunday evening Rob has to go to Sheridan Park (AECL headquarters) and won't be back until midnight Wednesday after classes. I haven't decided if I am going with him or not. I do need to pick up a birthday gift for my kinette secret sister. I don't think I'm quite ready to spend 3 nights alone in this house. Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night I'd be at the hotel and they have free internet and then in the evenings Rob and I would be together. Wednesday we'd head to Waterloo for his class from 4 to 10 and I'd have the car to do whatever for 6 hours LOL I think I just talked myself into going don't you? LOL

Tea has gone cold so need to nuke it. I'll empty the camera card and see how this morning's photos turned out.

Jenn