Funny Little Story

Jeremy bought a pair of jeans about a week ago. He keeps talking about going back to "Wally world" (for those of you who don't know...this is Winnipeg for Walmart) so I know he loves them.

He picked me up from work the other day and told me about how he took our Christmas tree down and began washing the tree stand in our tub. While he was washing it he noticed a few circular white spots on his knees that looked like bleach. He was so annoyed that he had just wrecked his new jeans and as he tried to figure out what it was, he remembered the tub number.

A couple days before, I decided to take a bath to relax before going back to work the next day. I brought a book to read, a hand held yahtzee game in case the book was boring and the phone...cuz I didn't want to miss a call.

After a couple rounds of yahtzee the phone rang. After I let the caller know that Jeremy wasn't home, there was a pause and then he began to tell me his number. I didn't have a pen, so my first thought was, "I could just tell Jeremy who called and he could look for the number", but then I got annoyed at my laziness and decided that I could remember it. So I hung up and then I began to doubt how good my memory was. I reached for the nearest writing tool I could think of. The shampoo. Yes yes, I know. Who writes with shampoo. So I wrote the number on the side of the tub so that I could write it down later. Well I forgot to make the tub to paper transfer, so when Jeremy got home I told him there was a number on the tub that he needed to call. But he didn't wash it off. Hence...the white bleachy stuff on his jeans. So the story ends on a good note.

The weird thing is: I hate baths, cuz if you think about it, you're sitting in your own watered down filth; I usually don't care about answering the phone, in fact, I screen my calls sometimes; and as this was my first time writing with shampoo...I think it went well.

Can't Be Bored...Must Do Something...

I have always been a hands on kind of person. Even when I was little, I always had to be busy doing something. I have maintained my low attention span well into adulthood. Now, I find new ways to keep myself from being bored.

Scrapbooking wasn't something I had tried before. But I decided that I was going to make one for my sister Lori this year. It was for her birthday but it took me so long to complete it...that I gave it to her near MY birthday. Meaning...it was roughly 3 months late. It would have taken less time if I was a little less anal.

Well, one scrapbook was enough for me. I may pick that up again later on.

This year, I've really enjoyed baking. For Halloween, I made these cupcakes. The heads were little marshmallows.


But now that it's Christmas...it's cookie time. While most normal people are content with icing sugar cookies simply...I have to take the anal approach and decorate until my back is sore and I've gone cross eyed. Like this tree cookie for instance. I know, who takes a picture of a cookie? Anyways, I decorated about 30 like this one here. Sadly, this is my favorite part of Christmas. All this work for something that gets chewed up, digested and then dropped into a toilet bowl. It hardly seems worth it.

Maybe I should stick to scrapbooking.

Nasty Habits

Ah yes. I have witnessed yet another nasty habit. I must be observant. I am aware that I have a couple nasty habits too, but scratching your ear with a toothpick and then placing it back in your mouth? Can you say conversation stopper?!!! That is far beyond any habit I have!

I find it funny that people have these weird habits and don't realize how gross they are, and more importantly, that they do them in front of people. But I guess we all do things without realizing.

When someone does something gross in front of you...
What do you do?
Option A: Continue talking so they don't realize you've noticed and at the same time think about how incredibly nasty the person is and try to figure out how to get away from them ASAP?
Option B: Or do you stop the conversation and confront them? Like " What did you just do?" OR "Could you not!"

I use option A and then write about it on my blog. That way, I can tell people about it and gross them out, so that they notice if it happens around them. Yuck! I don't even think that expression "You must have grown up on a farm" will cut it this time. Ear wax, really? Who eats that? Am I missing something? Is ear wax good for your teeth? Does it make the toothpick slimy and easier to clean your teeth? Or is it just that the person likes the taste of it?

Okay, here's the bottom line:
If it's on your body - IT DOESN'T GO IN YOUR MOUTH!!

Camping at Gull Harbour

Check this photo out! To me...this is a perfect picture for relaxation. The water was so calm the day we got there. You can even see the rippled sand beneath the surface of the lake.


I was bummed about my summer and so was Sam. Between dealing with our own lives, family problems and work related frustrations, our stress levels were through the roof! We decided we'd go camping to get away from the norm for some relaxation time. Neither of us have really been anywhere in Manitoba but Gimli and Winnipeg, so we decided to go to Hecla Island. It's only 2 hours away, and is supposedly the place to go to relax. We left Friday after work and came home around 4 pm on Sunday. It was short, but I think it was just what we needed.

Sam's sister had told us that she had a tent we could borrow, so on our way, we stopped to pick it up. It was when she realized that someone had borrowed it and never given it back that anger began to set in. Sam and I were thinking "who says they'll lend you something and then doesn't have it?" We got over that when we found someone else that would lend us their tent. Two issues presented themselves once we began to set it up.

Issue#1 - No instructions. Neither one of us had put a tent up in so long and not having instructions tried our patience! We got annoyed at each other as we tried to understand the inner workings of it. We ended up tieing the back poles to a tree and the front up so that together, they would keep it from suffocating us at night. There was a third length of poles that didn't even make it to setup. We figured the tent was secure enough, and it was.
Issue#2 - It reeked! Not just any smell either. Pot and Cattle. Yes! It sounds strange. But I assure you, that IS what it smelt like. But it seemed to air out enough to be bearable to sleep in for two nights.

Hiking: The trails were great. Easy to walk through and were surrounded by beautiful scenery. We snapped tons of pictures! There are a few at the top of this page.
Marsh Boardwalk: The only "wildlife" we saw there was a couple of snails. My favorite part of it: The wind was very strong and all we could hear was the calming rush of the bulrushes in the wind. It was much different than the waves hitting the shore or the rustling of the trees.
Wildlife: We stood on a tower at sunset to see some moose but were unlucky. There are a lot of bald eagles on the island but we didn't get to catch a glimpse of them either. The only animal we saw was a fox as it trotted across the road.

We didn't do a whole lot while we were there. But I think that was the point. No tv, computer or cell phone made it easy to settle into relaxation. It's amazing what a couple days away from technology and the frustrations of every day life can do.

My recent trip to Atlanta

It had been decided months ago that we would drive 8 hours to Minneapolis, stay the night in a hotel and then fly to Atlanta the next morning. The drive was interesting...meaning there was a little bickering and one incident of gas tank drainage resulting in a 45 minute wait for CAA. We were about 1 hour away from our hotel when the van began to loose speed. It was ok, most of us just kept our cool and decided to eat dinner while we waited.

On the drive, I found one thing quite weird and a little alarming. Any bodies of water we drove by in Minnesota were surrounded by dead trees. The water was so full of algae that it killed all trees in and around the water. Made me think twice before I drank their water.

Everyone else (Jer's parents, brother and Mike) had left on an earlier flight so Jer and I shopped a little at Mall of America. After an hour I was done though. I've never been too fond of shopping.

As we received our boarding passes...we realized that we were sitting on opposite ends of the plane. I was totally annoyed at first, but it was kinda nice to have some down time. When we arrived in Atlanta, we hopped onto a clean Marta train so I was happy. I thought that they had finally replaced the old smelly ones that I remember from the last time we were out there. But, I later found out that the smelly ones were still in use. They smelled so bad that I felt disgusted any time my skin happened to touch anything on the ride. It smelt like someone had urinated all over the carpet, daily, for years. Ew! Not my fondest memory.

The day after we arrived...it all started. The 3 hour sessions 3 times a day. The first day I was a complete grump because I was more worried about our money situation than pretending to be happy and excited about being there. The sessions were too long for me. I was very fidgety and my attention span just barely made it. Thanks to hand held Yahtzee and my ability to daydream. I did get some good things out of the sessions...but I was not "gung ho" like everyone else there was. So I felt very much like an outsider for the most part.

I do believe that Primerica sells good products and genuinely cares for the consumer; Something most companies don't consider. Some would argue against that, but this is what I have come to believe, through research, information from "Primericans" and also through observing how each agent talks about what they have done for their clients.

The highlight of my trip: Visiting with my "brother from another mother". This was the second time I met up with him. Him and his wife are great people. Nick was adopted by a family in Ontario when he was almost a year old. His official adoption date happened to be the day I was born. I wish they lived closer. I could see us getting along very well.

The day we began our treck home...I was so glad! This was where the "I want to sleep in my own bed" feeling set in. I get a little annoyed when I'm around tons of people for long periods of time too. I guess I like my own space.

All together, the trip was alright. I can't say that I'll do it again for sure. Atlanta is a great city when you put aside the bums and the stinky Marta train. The architecture is interesting and the people are very friendly, even the bums. If they ask you for money or food and you don't have any, instead of swearing at you (Manitoba bums are all about the swearing) they'd say "God bless". It was sad to see how many homeless people there are in the city. So many would crowd around the church to sleep at night.

If I visit again, I'd like to see the Coke Museum and the Aquarium. I did get to go to IKEA though. So that made up for everything.

Just Thinking

The following sentence was at the bottom of a recent email that I received, and it made me think about things.

When you're down to nothing...God is up to something.

For people who are believers in God...this sentence makes perfect sense. Being a "believer" requires you to "give yourself" to God. Meaning, you live a good life in the eyes of Jesus, living by His example. Telling others about the eternal life that He offers at the end of our stay here on earth. This sentence is just so...I don't even know how to describe why it's got my attention. I guess when you are down to nothing...it's true, God is up to something. Attempting to give you a wake up call of sorts. But so many people just give up at a certain point because they don't feel that they have the strength to carry on. To strive to achieve what they desire. And in giving up, sometimes they blind themselves to what is right in front of them. Although life can be rough, it also has it's bright moments. Family, friends, laughter and life...the list does go on if you choose to see it. Even if you are not a "believer", you are here for a purpose just like the rest of us. You may not know what it is, and you may never point your finger on it, but why not make the best of your life?! You only get one. Why waste it letting the rough times drive you through each passing year?

If you feel that you are down to nothing...maybe it's time to evaluate your surroundings. Make a list of what you want for yourself in the next few months and years. You have the strength in you if you choose to see it.

What The Facebook?

For the longest time I was getting an email or two a day, saying that "so and so have added you to their friends list on Facebook." I just kept deleting them cause I figured, it was just another internet/email/blog thingy that I didn't need. I was partially correct. I finally checked it out and now I am freakin addicted. I check it daily before work, at lunch, after work and before I go to bed. That's completely retarded but I can't stop!!! I love that I have been able to find people that I haven't seen in a while (from elementary school, high school, old friends, youth girls, youth leaders I had...) It's crazy!! But it is so addictive. Why? I guess it's because it's a fast, free and easy way to keep in touch. It's not just me, one of my friends (You know who you are) has added an extra feature that phones her cell every time someone leaves her a Facebook note. I've been on it so much, that when I'm at work, typing something out...I want to spell like I do online. Ppl=people; U=you; R=are; enuf=enough...the list goes on. Help me!! No! Don't help me...then I'll lose my new best friend...Facebook! My family is even starting to get annoyed that I talk about it all the time.