No, I haven't died!

And I haven't been taken hostage in my office either. Check below and see why...





This is Eli. We got him just over 7 weeks ago, and it's been a busy 7 weeks. I am back to an office job until July so hopefully I will get a bit more of a routine to things to come!

Less than 24 more years until I'm out of jail!

Whoo hoo!! Hurray for me!! I have made my one year of probation!! I half expected to get called up to the human resources and asked to hand in my security pass. But nope!! Instead I ended up having one of the most stressful weeks of my career.One thing that added the stress of the week Max lost a second grandparent in a month. Thank god for mom and vodka paralyzers!!

Oh well the good news is I get to go back to shift work and overtime for the next month and a half and then it's back to case management. I must have done something right in order to get asked again!! YAY!!

My new favorite show

Seems as though The Hills is on hiatus for the winter, I've found a new television show for Max and I to banter about. It's on the CBC, it's called "The Week The Women Went". Within the first five minutes I couldn't wait to see the next episode. Take a small town in Alberta and give all the women a killer week off in the Rockies, and leave the men to deal with the kids and kaos that ensues. Oh and don't forget the Honey Dew list!!!! This is probably the best show that the CBC has come up with. I don't really want to get started on MVP, which by the way is pretty funny when you've had about two bottles of wine, think Footballers Wives meets a slice of Canadiana. Needless to say, I am pretty happy that for once the CBC hyped something up and followed it through.

I think those that live in small towns will see a bit of themselves. I think that most in Alberta will relate to this because alot of people haven't taken a vacation, not because they necessarily can't afford it, it's because we are such hard workers.

Rock on Hardisty!!

New Year Revival

Happy 2008 Everyone!!

I have finally gotten around to actually writing the first post of the new year. I can't believe that it has taken me this long to actually write anything.

So I am still adjusting to this whole domestication thing. Since moving into the house I haven't really allowed for Max to do anything.... not that he can't for the most part but it's just that my way tends to be better.

We're doing well and everything is slowly taken shape. We're hosting our first party on the weekend and we will see how that goes. We're finally getting some snow too which is nice because the grass is going to need it for the spring. We're getting ready to get a puppy. I have to wait and see what my work schedule is going to turn out like in the spring first before we take the plunge because it's kinda hard to train a puppy when you are working 12 hour shifts. If I get to keep my bankers hours then it might be a sooner than later thing.

Speaking of work... it's going well, I am learning how to balance which is an adjustment. It's so nice to have evenings off, not that I get much done!! But I miss working the midnight shifts, all the reading I get done when I set down to it is the best thing of all. That and no one bugs you!!

Did I mention that I love Holt Renfrew!!

I have this thing for very expensive accessories, especially Burberry scarves!! So when I was driving into Calgary yesterday to attend Max's staff Christmas party I heard that Holt Renfrew was having a sale. YAY!!! So I went there today and it was like a dream!! I found a virtually one of a kind scarf there. Not only that but now I have it in Max's head that Tiffany Diamonds are the best!! ;)

An update because it's just been too damn long!!!

Well, let me see where to start. Ahhhh I started working my dream job at the beginning of November. I love it, learning tons and I can see this as being eternally challenging because no case is ever the same, that is what you get when you're working with human nature!!

We finally moved into our house!! It's nice to be out on our own but it's a bit of an adjustment because to be truthfully honest regular everyday stuff confuses the daylights out of Max, so I basically take care of everything and make Max do the little stuff!! We still haven't unpacked and half the basement is still covered in cardboard. Eventually we will get this stuff all cleared up. The computer room still looks like a cyclone hit it. One of these days I keep telling myself. Probably next weekend sometime. I am also in the process of decorating for Christmas and it's kinda funny because I have this old time country snowman thing happening with dashes of modern blue and sliver going on as well, it sort of works, in a way!!

But yay!! We finally did it! We've got our own place!!!

Whew! What a day!!

Today has got to be marked down in history as an awesome day!!

I got served breakfast in bed!! Tim Hortons!! Yay!! I didn't even have to coax Max to do this either, nice!

So we went into Red Deer to celebrate with a friend, her son's second birthday! We stopped by to pick something out because you can't show up to a party without something. I found the absolutely perfect gift, Max ended up finding stuff for our niece for Christmas, bonus! So anyways we ended up finding out that they are putting an Eddie Bauer in the mall, which is awesome for Max because he wears that stuff all the time!! He was actually excited about it!!

So we arrived to the party late but just in time for the cake, vegan cake to boot!! It was totally awesome, I think I could give up some meat, I think!! So we hung out at the pool, the waterslide at the Collicut Center is totally killer!! I can't believe how fast that thing was. I can't wait to have kids!

So after the party I decided that we should go and check out the house. They have installed the cabinets!! YAY!!!! So it is only a matter of time until we will be able to move in, Max has it nailed to 20 days. I think that November of this year is going to be more stressful than last November!!

Wow!

Today was a good day here in the city of Edmonton. Drivers were nice and courteous. And the shopping..... oh my god. I think that I have spent way too much money as of late. I ended up finding three pairs of shoes!!! I can't complain things are getting better. I only have another week here! And then it's time to concentrate on the move!!

My debate rages on...

do I really hate Edmonton or does Edmonton hate me??

I went out in search of sushi tonight, had the route planned out and everything. I got lost!!!! Luckily I was able to find my way to West Ed. I didn't get sushi but I did get something to eat. I don't think that I am going to venture out anywhere else!! I am getting tired of getting constantly honked at!! I do know the rules of the road, I don't get honked at anywhere else I have ever driven, which has lead me to conclude that Edmonton drivers aren't the nicest bunch.

I am so not into staying in hotels!! Or in Edmonton!!

It's obvious that I haven't completely gotten over the three months that I lived in a hotel in Saskatoon. Everything seems to bug me, especially my neighbours, who have a baby, and it cries and it cries!! And the mother has this coughing thing, which the first night here drove me nuts!! I have been reduced to taking two ativan before bed just to make sure that I get some sleep. I am also pretty sure that there was a domestic here last night because I remember something about loud voices fighting. So basically when I check out of here for the weekend I am going to make it abundantly clear that I want to stay on a different floor that isn't this one!!

I am trying to make myself get out and about in Edmonton but it just hasn't happened yet! I am having a hard time with this is as well... for example imagine how frustrating this is... I go to the local grocery store in search of just one 500 ml of pop, you would think that a large grocery store would carry such a thing.... ahhh nope. So I ended up going to a really really creepy liquor store and bought a 2L for $2.50! I am really trying to like Edmonton but I just don't think that it is a happening thing!!

Maybe tomorrow!!

On the road again!

Well here I am on the road again. Luckily this time it's within the same province. I am still trying to figure out if that is a good thing or not. This time last year I was preparing for 3 months in Saskatoon, which could be basically summed up as "character building". This time I am in Edmonton for what would seem to be something like three weeks. There are some contrasting differences. One of which is that work is actually funding this, which is really really nice, second of which is that I could eat chinese food every night and it wouldn't make a difference because I get a decent amount for a meal allowance. The hotel.... ummm it's good and bad! At one point tonight I had eight... that's right EIGHT pillows on my bed, which made me feel like I was floating on a cloud, except for the fact that the mattresses are rock hard. There's some give to them but not a whole hellva lot!! How meeting up with the drunk/strung out prostitute in the elevator was a little scary. She was drunk because the elevator smelled like vodka and I am assuming she was strung out. But for being in the middle of city it's pretty quiet, I am surprised, however the only thing that is keeping me up is who ever is the room next to me because every once and a while someone is yelling profanities and someone else is coughing up a lung. Oh I wish I could sleep! I think I have to go to walmart tomorrow and get something.... be it some caffine pills or a new duvet!!

Vacation from blogging!

Wow this is totally unlike me to not post something for a whole month. It's been a bit crazy as of late!! Right now honey and I are still living in limbo here at mom's. Grrrr. Thanks to our wonderful booming economy and that overwhelming need for instant gratifcation, the completion of our house is not set to be complete until November 16th, which ironically enough is my late father's birthday. I don't want to read into that one if you know what I mean. But needless to say the last month has been nothing but endless trips to Costco, Linens n Things, and Walmart, trying to get everything we need for the house. We can barely move around in the basement with all the boxes of stuff that we packed or bought within the last month. I've gone ahead and packed too much because I have now had to go back and unpack a few things that I need because I am getting sent off to Edmonton on yet another course, but happily this time it is actually what I really really want to do. I can't wait, I have been reading over stuff from my last course which barely touched on the topic matter of which I love so dearly. But I am excited and I can't wait. The only major downers are that my cheque that was supposed to fund the trip hasn't come in yet, and there is no word yet on what happens when I come back from course. All I know is that I have every reason to be cautious!

Ahhh some time off!!

Yay I have a week off, which means many many things this time around. One of which means that I can work some serious overtime which I did last weekend. I worked over 32 hours during the long weekend. Nice cash eh!?! It also means that I am going to have some time off, which I need, the last three days I have gotten a little burnt out at work. I don't like working posts that I am not familiar with, I am not aware of all the ins and outs and it's one of those things that I don't want to screw up because that could have some serious consequences!! Clusterfuck describes how I felt coming home the last couple of nights. Plus this week it's one of those things I can start to serious packing and getting ready to move. We now have insulation and I have a feeling that we will have drywall coming soon, very very soon!

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY... I GET TO SLEEP IN!!!

I love Tori Amos!

When I was 14 I discovered Tori Amos. I thought that she was so cool and I wanted to have red hair just like her. At one point I did too!! Much to the chigrin of my parents... it washed out in a week!! It left me with some awesome red highlights. Anyways this is in reference to an earlier post about Hollywood poptarts. Tori wrote a little ditty, that well exudes common sense!!

Sometimes I really wonder why I was born here in Alberta.

Mum and I went to Red Deer yesterday to buy furniture for our new house. We get possession sometime in October. Anyways we were heading home on the good ole QEII and all of a sudden things slow down, right down to a crawl. Traffic is backing up and it turns out that someone lost their pull-along trailer. It didn't look really bad but it sure did back up traffic. So mum and I get back into town and we're listening to the radio and all these callers saying that the highway is getting pretty backed up, however one gentleman put it in a perspective that would be easy for anyone to comprehend: "Holy shit is it ever bunged up here!! It's bunged right up, you're not going anywhere!!"

Yeah I love livin' in redneck country!!

Keeping busy and out of trouble!!

I am back on 12 hour shifts for now which is sooo nice, I get a week off every five weeks!!! I've just come off of nights and ready to take on what is shaping up to be a very busy weekend.

We finally settled on another house. The whole townhouse thing in Airdrie fell through, which has worked out better because we are actually getting a house now with a yard and get this.... out our front window is going to be a man-made lake!! We're going down tomorrow to pick out colors, and then on Sunday we are going to buy furniture. We're hoping to have possession October 1st that way I can use my week off to move in!

Yay!

I wanna go to Med School!

Watching the news tonight and there was a story about a group of med school students at the U of A who did a video remix of Justin Timberlake's SexyBack, it was some sort of cardio arhythmia thing. Watching that and some of the other Med Show stuff available on YouTube made think that damn, I wanna go to Med School. Not only would it be a cool job, but it will have a guaranteed profession, I will always have work.

Ahhhh but then again it's one of those things, the job that I am working right now has that exact gurantee. Plus it's interesting. I have learned so much about human behaviour.

But damn I would look good in a white lab coat and scrubs!! How I miss wearing scrubs!!

Finally some rain!!

Ahhhhh I love the rain. It was nice to see some rain tonight, I hope that tomorrow will be that nice rain where it deems it possbile just to curl up and read a good book. It's been a long time since I've done that! Here's hoping I can finish Harry Potter tomorrow.

Any more drama ...

and I am going to insist that MTV starts to pay me a wage!!

So the drama continues with our place in Airdrie. The developer wants money, the bank doesn't want to give it just yet. Uggghhhh. So that means that we might have to pull out and look elsewhere. Good thing we didn't buy the furniture just yet!!

Now this is more like it!!

I, for one, am the happiest clam of them all. It's finally cooled off! Working last weekend in the unbearable heat was an experience that I don't want to have to repeat too often. In fact I think I lost about 5 pounds in the four days that I worked last week!!

Nothing too new. Max and I go to the bank today to sign our lives away. It's got the both of us rather edgy. I didn't help matters much when I came home last night with some furniture quotes. "Do we really need a second dresser??" Ah yeah!! I think Max has somehow forgotten that we have outgrown our current closet and two dressers. It's one of those things that the furniture we will be getting will last us for about 10-15 years. It's money well spent, I don't imagine that our cars will last us that long, and we paid more for them!!!

But for now I think that I am going to head back to bed for a mid-morning nap, that way I will be refreshed for when we have to go to the bank and intital hundreds and thousands of papers, I wonder if anyone has yet to come up with a paper-less mortgage??