has it really been almost a month?

has it really been almost a month since i've typed anything on here?? whoops!

well - the snow came, went, and came again. and christmas came and went. my lead up to christmas was full of surprises. lots of late nights at the office (job = good, but busy holy cow!), crazed trips to the dreaded mall to find that perfect something that no mall actually ever has, an occasional melt down and good cry over the shopping disasters, a surprise phone call from my fantastic friend Elga and finally, a 12 hour plane trip back home.

we had SO much fun. or rather, I had SO much fun! i just assume that everyone else did too. everyone was there - my two sisters plus husbands plus one with baby, my parents (handy that they were there since we were staying at their house), and then me and Vernon. i do have a ton of photos however they are all on my camera which is in Vernon's carry on which is in Vernon's house where Vernon is patiently waiting for the nice man to bring him the suitcase that didn't come out on the conveyor belt last night.

oh wait - no here's my camera. he must have left left it here because he knew i'd want it. yay! some exciting things that happened over christmas....

olivia learned to sit up by herself....look at how fast she moves! she's like the baby from the incredibles.....or maybe i need to learn how to use my camera?


we went for walks.....


we saw llamas!......


we basked in the beauty of nature (some of us basked in it by going out in it, some of us just looked at it while staying warm inside).....


and i shovelled snow - in training for what awaits me in the coming months back home....


vernon and i went snowboarding while michelle and nathan went cross country skiing - it was really fun! both the downhill group and the xcountry group had a great day. no pics though - i forgot my camera.



i taught paula how to knit.....look at her knitting!!

and started my first pair of socks!.....they might end up a bit baggy, but holy cow it's a toe! i made a toe!



olivia totally stole the show on christmas morning in her cute little outfit. she really is the cutest baby ever and so well behaved. it definitely shows that she is a well cared for little muffin as she is very content and happy (except during the limb-severing screaming episodes....but really, when you're overtired you feel like screaming too, right??)

so to all of you out there wherever you ended up this holiday season, whether you celebrate anything or not..... happy happy festive season to you! i miss everyone back home terribly - can't wait to see you all again.

winter!

last night we got our first dump of snow - real snow. it came down sideways in a huge wind and now it's all piled up everywhere. i started worrying about driving and salt and all that crap - but when i got up this morning - the roads were nicely plowed and it was starting to get melty. there is still a lot of snow - and more is coming down now with more in the forcast for tonight. it's really pretty. of course - the forcast also says that on friday it's going to be 8 degrees with rain (100%), at time heavy. so the snow will be gone and it will just be gross.

this is what i saw last night - i had no idea it was snowing, when i came home and starting studying it wasn't even raining - weeeee!


and this morning!



oh right - so why am i posting during the day, you ask? (well you didn't, but i'll tell you anyway). i got up bright and early this morning - aiming to get to work at 7:30. got up, freaked out at the snow, got the driveway shoveled, freaked out at the snow, got in the car, drove to work, freaked out at the slush on the road and when i got into the building (after giving the nice man snow blowing the front walk at our building a nice warm smile) i heard the oddest noise...." beep.......beep.......beep". i looked at the alarm panel and thought "this can't be the burgalar alarm - there are other cars in the lot". so i peered at the panel and i read (in the dark) "fire alarm - evacuate building". and i thought - "well that's just stupid, there's no fire, there was no one else outside. besides, i don't SEE fire, so there must be no fire". (the inner firefighter in me knows this is stupid and had there been a fire i would have kicked myself - after rolling in the snow to put out the flames). anyhoo - the little panel also had a little "continue" option at the bottom so i pushed that so i could learn about the other 3 alarms going off (according to the panel). it then goes on, over about 37 little screens, to tell me what all the alarms sound like. if it beeps on every OTHER second then the building is on fire, if it beeps on every second then there's a burgalar with a pick ax coming after you, if it beeps loudly on every other second there is a really BIG fire, if it beeps quickly the unit needs servicing. are you kidding me? gee, let's see - how loud do they mean? this is just irritating loud, not shatter ear drums loud. but i don't know how loud this thing can go - so is it loud? no idea. beeping on every other second....well, it wasn't calibrated with the office clock that ticks so loud you can hear it (like the ones at schools!) so i would say the beeping was more "syncopated" - was there a syncopated option? does the unit need servicing? after poking a few more buttons and making sure i wasn't breaking it, i called the ADT number. where the man asked me for my address (aren't they suppose to know from the phone number you call from?) and then proceeds to tell me that yes they are aware of the alarm, they have already spoken to our security guru and "we're ignoring it until morning". um. ok. well, it's morning and i'm at the office and the entire building is BEEPING. what i actually said was "oh! great! you talked to so-and-so! great. ok then, thanks!" then he asked me for my security code, which i provided and he told me i wasn't in the system. he suggested it was maybe a word or something that i had chosen to remember it easily. i said , ya, it is - and it's what i just said! he tried again - hmmm, nope, not in the system. so i said "ok, well that's what it is, bye!"

then i sat in my dark office staring at my dark computer listening to the building go "beep......beep.......beep......" for about 25 minutes while drinking my coffee. it wasn't until my coffee was almost done and i realised the coffee machine at the office runs on power (which we were apparently mostly out of) that i decided to go home. i slapped a post it note on my bosses door with my number and told him to call me when the power was back on. that was at 8am. it's noon now - i just called the office and some random person answered the phone. my boss left for the day hours ago and there is still no power.

today is a total gift. i was freaking out about studying and not having enough time. now, i'm sitting at my desk at home, eating my chicken sandwich wrapped in saran out of my purse (nothing but class i tell you, nothing but class) and i've already studied for 3 hours. by the looks of it i've got nothing but another 12 hours of study time ahead of me. yeeeehaw!

j

The House

Go and look at pics of V's new house. he takes possession January 11th. yay! i can't wait until summer so i can 'use' him for his great patio.

:)

i just had to know...

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.