Adventures?

MOM here they are

2008-11-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.us-appliance.com/kukiariitwdi.html

The unique two-drawer design of the KitchenAid® Drawer Dishwasher allows you the ability to run small loads as often as needed without wasting energy. Extensive features give you numerous cycle options, including the ProDry™ Feature that activates a fan at the end of the cycle to assure dry dishes..Features Include:
Hard food disposer grinds down food particles, eliminating the need for prerinsing and cleaning the bottom of the dishwasher
Pro Wash™ Bar supplements wash arms for additional cleaning performance
ProDry™ Feature circulates air at the end of the cycle to assure dry dishes
Enhanced rack system with flexible, removable tines and a cup shelf help ensure easy loading and thorough cleaning of every dish
Whisper Quiet® Sound Insulation System quietly cleans dishes
Sensor Wash option automatically adjusts temperature and cycle time according to soil level
Sure-Hold® Small Items Mesh Bag secures small or lightweight items during cycle
NSF® certified when using the Sani Rinse option, sanitizing 99.9% of bacteria Approximate Overall Dimensions:
Height
35"
Width
23 3/8"
Depth
24"Before install, consult installation instructions packed with product/kit for current dimensions. Delivery Note: This item ships via standard delivery. White glove delivery is only available on a dishwasher if ordered with other major appliances that are shipped white glove.

Celebrate Women

2008-03-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Saturday March 8th is International Women's Day. Check out this video to learn more.

A good cause

2007-10-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

I was sick of looking at my last post. I know, I'm the worst blogger ever....

So here's a new one. Go to this site and click on the link to help underprivileged women get mammograms.

You can click every day and it helps!

Dee

In the spirit of blog lists...

2007-07-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

10 Days of Fat Food:

1 bag of mini doughnuts
+ 1 corndog

+ 1 slice of double chocolate fudge

+ 2 grandstand beers

+ 3 Blue Room hotdogs

+ 3 frozen lemonades

= time to exercize lots so my dress fits in 6 weeks!!!

Sad sad day.

2007-06-11T21:32:00.001-07:00

We love you Grandpa!

2007-03-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Ramdom Know it all man sitting behind me at the Hitmen game,

You seem to know so much about hockey and what the players should be doing, it's a wonder you aren't on the team. You should really let someone know that they are missing you!

And how is it that you always manage to sit behind me at every sporting event that I attend? You are amazing!

Deanna

Big Fat Liar!!!

2007-02-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

Our salesperson at the Brick is a liar liar liar!!!! Grrrrr! I don't mind if someone gets busy and doesn't have time to do something that they said they would. Sure I might get a little annoyed, but to downright lie about it? Unacceptable.

We purchased a couch from The Brick during boxing week and were told that it would be delivered on the 19th of January. That day came and went and we heard nothing. No big deal, we knew it would probably not arrive on time. So last week while Jim was in Quebec for a conference he got a call saying that the couch was in and they wanted to deliver it on Thrusday. I wasn't able to take the day off to sit and wait for it on such short notice, so I called to let them know that it would have to wait until Jim was back on Monday...well, had they waited for confirmation that we would be able to be home to accept the delivery? Nope! It was loaded for delivery already....do they think that nobody works and we should be at their beck and call when the damned couch is already 3 weeks late?!! I guess so!

So I called the delivery people and told them not to come. And after an annoying round of telephone tag with our salesperson I finally got ahold of her and she said that as soon as we got off the phone she would go to customer service and arrange to have the couch delivered on Monday.

So today, being Monday, Jim took the day off work and waited for the couch to arrive.....no couch came... This afternoon he managed to get the salesperson on the phone and she denied ever telling me that it would be delivered today. Grrrrrr!!!! If there is one thing that annoys me in sales it is lying. And lying about things that would make me seem like I am lying. I know what she said. Why would she lie about it? Just say you screwed up, appologize, and move on.

So now the couch is not coming until Thursday.....hopefully. If there is another screw-up heads are going to roll!!!!!

They're Baaaack!!!!!

2007-01-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

So I know it's only February, but the MINI EGGS have arrived....and I couldn't resist...I had to eat a bag...but only the teeny smallest one...I'll save the big bags for later.....

The picture wouldn't work so this post is kinda lame. Sorry.

BLAH

2007-01-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted and I keep checking other people's posts and don't update mine, so I guess it's time I do so.

There’s a lot going on in life, but not a lot to share online.

Christmas was nice. I only took one day off, so the trip up to Edmonton was a bot of a whirlwind, but nice to see all the family. New Years was better, I got to take 2 days off and we had an awesome time at the Millionaire party we got to go to where we gambled with fake money all night.

Work is still madness. I thought it would slow down a lot after Christmas, but with the state of the store that I walked into in November it won't slow down for a while....now is when the real cleanup starts.

I'm in a really melancholic mood tonight so that's all I think I've for tonight I found out that the driver in a fatal accident on the transcanada on the weekend was someone I went to high school with and it's affecting me more than I thought it would....he's the first one we've lost from our class and it scares me a little. Reminds me that we never know when it’s our time and life is so precious.

Poseidon?

2006-12-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

This is freakin' unbelievable!

A friend of mine is on the waiting list for the honeymoon suite....now all he needs is a lady to share it with....

Lists

2006-11-15T21:43:00.000-08:00

So, keeping with the list theme, here's a new one.

I've been thinking a little lately about how I miss University. Maybe its because a lot of my part-time staff are uni students, but I miss that different kind of stress and pressure...I learned how to play the university game, and learning the 'real world' one makes me miss it.

Here are the things I miss about university:

*The Vortex
*Playing games in the vortex....ah, and I'll never forget the day the automatic door was on the fritz...
*Speaking spanish
*DEST events
*Rez parties
*Going out every night except Mondays my first year
*The corner desk on floor 9 of the library tower
*Wisdom's seminar's
*Ernesto
*Kobe beef
*Slurpees from the stor...K do you remember the old name for it??
*Fridays at Max's
*GNST 500 debates
*Finishing a big paper
*Studying outside in the spring
*BSD!!!
*Online National editorial meetings for Undercurrent
*Sleep-ins
*The campus in the fall

I'm sure there are many more things I will think of, but I'm tired so I'm off to bed.

It's been a while..

2006-11-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know that it's been forever and this a different kind of post, but my life is crazy yet boring at the same time. I have a new job and I'm working 10 hour days 6 days a week and likely will be until January...so this is what you get!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (and I've climbed numerous volcanoes...do I get bonus points?)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg (no, but I've stood on a glacier)
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon (ok so it was at a carnival nd it only went up about 70 or 80 feet.....it counts!)
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (and it gets me into trouble)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse (I'm with Kristen....although I think I was betting loonies on the chucks not nickles...)
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run (only in a game with friends though, not a 'real' game)
36Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking.
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk. (Haven't we all??)
42. Had amazing friends (yep, still do!)
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country (remember one in particular who kept spinning me around and then trying to pull me in and kiss me when I was off balance, that dance lasted about 2 spins before I took off!)
44. Watched wild whales (there were tons of them off the coast of mexico when I was there last year.)
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke ( I don't sing in public anymore though. Learned THAT lesson!)
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured an ancient site
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played Dungeons & Dragons for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised (raising) children (child)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking (every day actually)
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart (I knew at the time that it was best, but he didn't...he's getting married next summer though, so it all worked out!)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper (I was on the front page when we met Prince Edward in London)
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about (I'd like to think so)
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach (only with the bottom of my foot....does that count?)
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad (Parts of it)
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (one of the most amazing 'conversations' I've even had was with my host 'mom' in Japan...we had a good dictionary!)
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life (maybe one day, since I know first aid and all)

2006-09-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

We went to Tofino last week to do a little surfing and relaxing....unfotrunately I didn't take any pictures of the beach we surfed at nor the wetsuits we wore to keep us from freezing in the ocean, but here are a few pictures of the view from the cabin we rented and the cabin itself.

And in case you're wondering...the whole water shortage wasn't nearly as bad as the politicians and the media made it out to be. Everything was open, they were just taking measures to conserve water as much as possible.

Full House

2006-08-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm....that title could have a double meaning...it could be about how we had 13 people over to play poker last Sunday and I beat them all!!! ...yes, we did play for money...and winning the pot made me realize how easy it could be for a person to become addicted. Scary...

Anyway, the real reason for the title is that my brother is in Calgary visiting this week and it has really changed the dynamics in the Verhulst household. My parents are both SO happy to have him around, it's really cool to see. It's great to have him home, but a little strange at the same time. I don't think this is home for him anymore, it's just a place he will visit periodically. That changes a lot in a household. It's interesting.

Might EVEN be funnier than Pug Bowling...

2006-08-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

One of the many many times I've wished I could understand Japanese....

http://www.glumbert.com/media/tonguetwister.html

So funny.

Anyway, it's been ages since I've posted and again I'm too tired to write. It's summer, too much enjoying the weather to be done to sit at the computer. Calgary is FINALLY experencing some fine fine summer weather (sorry K). Got the condo and it's awesome. Work is crazy with 2 people off on holidays and a third off with a broken foot, so yours truly is covering for all three. Wish I was superwoman.

Happy Birthday K!!!!

2006-07-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post this on Tuesday, which was her real birthday, but my internet has been down since I posted on Monday night and I haven't been able to get to another computer. So anyway, HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY Birthday!!! I hope that you had a wonderful day and I'm so sorry it's late!

This Close!

2006-07-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

To running smack into Ralphie tonight. I was playing with my cell phone trying to make a call as I left the grandstand after the Chucks and I just about walked into him. I kind of wish I had...it would have caused quite the kerfufle with his whole entourage there with him! Ah well. Next time Ralphie next time.

K I'm not ignoring you, I promise! I just can't remember the postal code...and whenever I think about Jimmie is at band so I can't ask him!

Happy Canada Day!

2006-07-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a few days late, but better late than never. I've been REALLY busy for the past few days with all the moving and setting Jimmie up in our new condo. It was a lot of work but the place looks great and I think that he'll be really happy there....gotta admit I'm a little jealous that I don't get to live there for now, but that day will come!

On Saturday MAW and I participated in our first parades with the Promotion Committee. It was so much fun and we learned many a valuable lesson....like as soon as the parade is over jump on the wagon or you WILL get left behind! ;o)

It was a great day all in all. The Banff/Canmore parades have always been my favorite and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to interact with the crowd on a parade route. A fun change after the dozens of parades I've done with the bands. Here are some pictures from the parade preparations.....I got to braid a horse's tail and by the end of the day MAW and I were pros at setting up/taking apart the wagon and loading it into the truck! Fun fun fun!

Street Art

2006-06-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

This is a cool site.

I find that there is a definable difference between street art and graffiti.....it's a fine line, and in the end, if unwanted, it can all be a nuisance, but this site has some impressive stuff.

http://www.woostercollective.com/

Geez!

2006-06-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Interesting website…….

http://www.pantyraiders.org/plasticassets/index.html

After you go to the site go to this article:

http://www.eya.ca/files/attachments/plastic%20assets%20wrd.doc

The world we live in………

I think I have a crush on Shelagh Rogers

2006-06-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

OK, just joshing, but I LOVE her show. Sounds like Canada is such an amazing radio show and she is an incredible host. Wednesdays are the only day that I get to listen to the program, but she's always got someone fascinating on there and does a great job of reminding me why I love this counrty so much.

Gold Rush

2006-06-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

The way that countries were raped for their resources during colonial times infuriates me and this is a modern example of the same thing with a rediculous disgrgard for socioeconomic impact and environmental destruction. Makes me sick.

In the Valle de San Felix, the purest water in Chile runs from 2 rivers, fed by 2 glaciers. Water is a most precious resource, and wars will be fought for it.

Indigenous farmers use the water, there is no unemployment, and they provide the second largest source of income for the area. Under the glaciers has been found a huge deposit of gold, silver and other minerals. To get at these, it would be necessary to break, to destroy the glaciers - something never conceived of in the history of the world - and to make 2 huge holes, each as big as a whole mountain, one for extraction and one for the mine's rubbish tip.

The project is called PASCUA LAMA. The company is called Barrick Gold. The operation is planned by a multi-national company, one of whose members is George Bush Senior. The Chilean Government has approved the project to start this year, 2006.

The only reason it hasn't started yet is because the farmers have got a temporary stay of execution. If they destroy the glaciers, they will not just destroy the source of especially pure water, but they will permanently contaminate the 2 rivers so they will never again be fit for human or animal consumption because of the use of cyanide and sulphuric acid in the extraction process. Every last gram of gold will go abroad to the multinational company and not one will be left with the people whose land it is. They will only be left with the poisoned water and the resulting illnesses.

The farmers have been fighting a long time for their land, but have been forbidden to make a TV appeal by a ban from the Ministry of the Interior. Their only hope now of putting brakes on this project is to get help from international justice. The world must know what is happening in Chile. The only place to start changing the world is from here.

I have an email that asks to add your name to a petition to be sent to the Chilean government. I wonder whether something like that will be enough....

You can find more info on the project here

ARGH!

2006-05-31T06:51:00.000-07:00

Day started with washing a contact lens down the drain....and I'm on my way to the optometrist to have my contact lenses checked....it can only get better from here right?

Blogging

2006-05-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

So all the crazy comments over the past little while have led me to some thinking about blogging. I'm not sure how much I will continue to post on here. I started this blog as a quick and easy way to communicate with people while I was traveling and it turned into a bit of a journal. Now I blog more for myself than for anyone else, but also it is a nice way to keep in touch with people I don't get to see as often as I would like.

Lately I am starting to question the amount of personal information just 'out there' on the internet. I HAVE chosen to put it out there, but never really thought about who is reading it. So I'll likely be cutting back on the posting a little and sticking to email a little more.....I probably won't delete my blog because of all the travel posts I did, but I'm in blogging limbo right now. Not sure how I feel about it.

Busy Busy Busy

2006-05-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

As usual there seems to be no slowing down with the business of life. Just when I think that things will slow down for a while, something else creeps up on me.

The weekend was really good though. Yay for long weekends. It made having to work Saturday seem not all bad. Fun was had by all on the tiny little island and the canoeing was great! If I can get some pictures from Cindy soon I'll post them...she was the only one who remembered a camera.

This week has flown by with lots of hours at work getting ready for our first annual inventory at work....We're expecting some huge discrepancies, so it could be an interesting day!

Hippie Hippie Hooray!!!

2006-05-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

Yay Hippies! Congrats! You deserved the million dollars more than all the rest!

Celeb Spotting

2006-05-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

For the sake of writing about something OTHER than the house (though there IS some news, I just want to wait to find out a little more before I post about it) I shall share with you the excitement that happened in my store today.

I was in the backroom trying to get ready for our fast approaching inventory date next Friday when T came back and said:

T:"do you ever watch hockey?"

Me: "Well, yeah, of course I do!!"

T:"Does Kipper have a big black mark on this tooth right here?" Pointing to one of her incisors.

Me:"Uh, I dunno, he's always got a helmet on."

T: (nonchalantly) "Well I'm pretty sure he's in the store"

I bolted out onto the floor, and sure enough the guy and his wife I had walked past 5 minutes before at the pharmacy were the Kiprusoffs. Little Kipper and all. It was pretty exciting. A few of the ladies got autorgaphs and stuff. I just took a quick glance and left him alone because I didn't want to creep him out. I'm sure he'll be back because they live in DeWinton and they are all set up in our Pharmacy now.

I didn't even know he lived in the area or that he has a little boy about 2 yrs old....Interesting!

And Now....

2006-05-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

I will finally write a bit of an update.....

K is right. Looking for a house is what I have been up for the past few months. Of course there have been many other things keeping me busy, but whenever I have had a free moment to be online I have been looking at listings. I was hoping to be able to post a listing with a sold sign on it, but alas, there have been three different offers in as many months and all have fallen through the cracks. All very different actually, but none seemed to be as devastating as this last one was for us. It would have been affordable for us, AND the having the river right behind would have been absolutely perfect for our preferred lifestyle. Listen to me talk like I would have been living there right away. The plan is actually for Jimmie to live in whatever we buy until we get married, but we want to get into the market now since real estate in Calgary is skyrocketing with no sign of slowing down. We will find something better in other ways I know. But I just can't help hoping that the people who got the house we wanted won't be able to get their financing in order by Friday and it will hit the market again....I can't give up until it is truly a gonner!

So, some other things I have been up to:

I interviewed and was selected to join the Promotions Committee for the Calgary Stampede. So far it's just been lots of meetings and orientations and I've volunteered at one event. But I'm getting excited for the season coming up. It looks like it will be lots of fun, and Jim's sister MAW and I are doing it together and I'm really excited for the extra time I will get to spend with her.

I've been to two concerts: Rob Thomas and of course the OLP concert I blogged about last week. I'm not usually much of a concert goer, but Cate has invited me to the last few and I've really enjoyed myself. I'll have to take her up on more invites since she goes to lots!

On Friday I went to Stars on Ice with MAW and Jim's mom. It was so exciting to see some of my old favourites like Elvis, and Todd Eldridge.....and Kurt Browning in pleather pants. It's funny that such a nerdy looking guy can pull off pleather pants but he wore them well and I think that any man who can pull off the moves that man can in pleather, all the power to him!!

Of course Mom turned 50, so we had a party for her on the weekend. And I had the big 2-4 a while back so there have been lots of festivities over the past few weeks. I had a little shindig at Cat and Fiddle...come on, where else?? And it was lots of fun. Jimmie partied harder that EVERYBODY else of course, and I had to break in to the bathroom at his house in the middle of the night to make sure he was alive.....

Soccer season has started up again and I'm excited because I think that we'll have a good season. We have a few new players who seem quite good and are lots of fun so far. The first game is this weekend, but I will be missing it to head up to Edmonton for a meeting with Jess and her bridal party...we have some dress shopping to do!! Who knows though? I think there is snow in the forecast for the weekend so maybe my game will be postponed and I won't have to miss it.....we'll see!

Alright, I'm sure that there are many more things I could add to this update, because I've been crazy busy, but that's all you get for now. I have to head out and meet Jimmie for some drinks...it's his birthday tomorrow and I have to work so I figured I'd better do a little celebrating today!

Happy 50th Birthday Mom!

2006-05-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

She was one of the last of her girlfriends to turn 50 and she STILL didn't expect it! Ah, the neighbours have already taken pictures!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

The World's A Subway

2006-05-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

Just got home from the Our Lady Peace concert and I'm way too wound up to go to bed. What a freakin amazing concert. I've never seen a band perform who appreciates their fans so much. It was super cool.

The concert was at the newly renovated Jube which is much more intimate now and every seat in the house is a great one. Raine Maida and the rest of the guys put on a fantastic show. About halfway through he pointed at the people on the floor at the far right side of the stage and said "hey you guys, come with me" and took them through the side doors and onto the stage. He set them up behind the band and let them stay up on stage for the rest of the show. So cool. The people who got to go up there were going crazy. He also wandered around the audience a lot. Came up onto the balcony and sang a song, and singled out some young boys in the crowd who were there with their parents and went and sang a song with them. It was freakin awesome! They even gave us updates on the Flames game...which I heard the end of on the radio in my car...boo. Ah well, I guess we'll just have to beat em on our own turf in game 7! And then on to beat the Oilers!!!

Hockey

2006-04-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

Well, the fever has hit Calgary once again, and I love it! Game five is tonight and guess who might go?? My dad has his seasons tickets from work tonight (in the SECOND ROW!!!) and told me that if I bribed him well enough I could have them ( In the SECOND ROW!!!)....so far I'm not doing so well. He wanted a popsicle at 10:30 at night and I couldn't pull though...maybe I'll make him breakfast today...SECOND ROW!!

I'm not sure that my little heart can take it though. That loss in OT in game 4 almost killed me. Playoff hockey is so stressful, and tonight is a crucial game!!!

I love what hockey does for the City. Sure some Calgary fans are a little fickle and are definitely good time fans, but when we are doing well the city comes alive! The flames flags are everywhere, and the craze can only increase from here!!!

GO FLAMES!!!

Happy Birthday to ME

2006-04-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Yea! All I wanted for my birthday was for the Flames to win and my birthday wish came true....and the birthday fairies brought a few glasses of wine too...so my spelling might not be all that good....

Being Mean

2006-04-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

So I had to lay the smack down at work today...and I have to admit that I kind of enjoyed it.

I've never really been the one to do the disciplining and I've always left it to the owner of the store, but I was the only one around today so it was all me.

Ah, is it a little sadistic that I enjoyed watching the girl squirm as she searched her brain for a justification for her actions? I would never give anyone a talking to like that if it wasn't 100% deserved, but man, I didn't know I had that sternness in me! And it felt good!

Ok, so this still isn't an update on what I've been up to for the past few weeks, and I'll try to do that soon, but this is all you get for now because I gotsta go to bed!

G'night!

Check it out

2006-04-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

I'll update on my crazy busy few weeks sometime soon, but in the meantime, check out this breakdancer. He is incredible!

The Fall of King Ralph

2006-04-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

It looks like some Albertans are finally coming to their senses! Although he didn't completely loose the leadership review vote last night, with 55% of his party still backing him, I think that the message was clear.

Your reign is coming to an end Mr. Klein, get outta there while you still have some respect.

Wait, I think you might have lost most people's respect when you drunkenly threw money at a homeless man and told him to get a job...too bad he already had a job, just couldn't afford housing in a province run to meet the needs of business before people....or maybe last month when you threw a book across the legislature a hit someone....

Well, I guess Redneck Alberta will soon have to find another fearless leader....good riddance!

I miss school

2006-04-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

I never thought that I would feel this way, but I do. I miss school. A lot. I miss learning, I miss having people to chat with that will know what I'm talking about, I miss debating issues, I EVEN miss the late night library sessions!

Ah the library. I used to bring in my laptop and work on papers in the info commons because I get too distracted at home, but it was not always all that distraction free. Has anyone else noticed the sub-culture that exists in the library? There are about 3 or 4 cliques who like to hang out in the library. Some of them are doing work, at a very slow pace mind you with all the interruptions of their friends, and many of them are just there to socialize. In the Library. Strange, I know. And they spent so much time in there that they thought they owned the place. They didn't care how much noise they made and made fun of anyone who shot them angry looks when they shouted to each other across the room.....ah it was annoying on the days when I forgot my headphones to drown them out, but so interesting to watch. Who woulda thunk the library would be a good place to people watch?

Anyway, I digress. So I don't know if it's just that I've been out of school for almost a year now, or that I've been in my job for 6 months so the learning curve is leveling off, but I'm getting the itch to go back to school...I just don't know what I want to do. This program fascinates me and I know that I would love it, but a joint MBA/MSW would make me much more employable....I guess I have lots of time to decide because applications are generally not until February....

Water

2006-03-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

Once in a while as I drive out through the countryside to work I lose myself in thought. For the past few days it has been about water. I know that we all know how essential it is, but do we really appreciate it as much as we should? It's been a few months since I've been anywhere where the water is scarce and what flows out of the tap is far from drinkable. And it's been years since I experienced the days of '3 days on 4 days off' with water in the peak of the dry season in Honduras.

Because we're so spoiled with the abundance of water in Canada I don't really think of it on a day to day basis, but this film has made me think this week. Jim and I saw it a few months ago when it was playing at the Globe. And now it has reached the top 10 at blockbuster and some friends rented it earlier in the week and invited us to watch it with them. It was just as good the second time as the first. You'll have to watch it to see for yourself, but I would vote it as one of the best films I've ever seen. The subject, the writing, the cinematography, everything. It really moved me.

Also in the news this week is the fact that 76 first nations communities in Canada are under a boil water alert. The water supply in two thirds of first Nations communities is considered to be "at risk". I could rant for days about the status of First Nations Peoples in Canada, but suffice to say that these numbers appall me and that I hope the improvements made in the past few years will lead to more attention and action in this situation.

It's winter in the shire

2006-03-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

My aunt and uncle live in a part of Spruce Grove called Stoneshire and I love coming here so much that it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling every time I start to get close to their house....and whenever I see the Stoneshire sign I can't help but giggle because it is so similar to the way that those hobbits feel about the shire. Huge nerd, I know.

It's a little crazy to come up here in the winter when there's practically no snow in Calgary and just 3 hours north it looks like the dead of winter. It's been snowing since I got here. Really makes me want to go skiing. But there are more important things to be done today. Like breakfast with Jess' bridesmaids and wedding shopping. Yay!

4 times in one day!

2006-03-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Yep that's right 4 times. Driving out to my store that is. Yesterday was a REALLY long day!

The first extra trip was to go meet Jimmie to look at a house - potentially very exciting - but it turned out to be a bit of a dump to I was really disappointed....not really worth an hour and a half in the car that's for sure. But I did get to hang out with Jim briefly mid-day so that was nice. ;o)

To make up for leaving in the middle of the day I stayed for a few extra hours and then went home to feed my mom. Hehe...she would hate that I put it that way, but that's really what I did. I was home long enough to get her some dinner and left to go eat Kirsten's cooking which is WAY better than mine. Tuesday night dinner was lots of fun even though I was late. I learned how to play Settlers. So nerdy, I love it.

As I was driving away from her house, thinking about how exciting it would be to catch up on my sleep with a nice early night and a sleep in the next morning, I checked my voicemail to find the first message about crisis #1 for the evening. No supervisor to open the store the next morning. Shit. I sure didn't want to have to get up at 6 to go do it. 5 phone calls and very little bargaining later. I found someone willing to go in early and open. Crisis averted.

So I went home watched a little TV, read a little Harry Potter and drifted off into dreamland....only to be awoken at 10 past 12 with crisis # 2. My night supervisor on the phone telling me that the pharmacist (usually responsible for the locking of store) was a relief pharmacist and he left without locking up....boo.

Out of bed I get, pull on some clothes and head out the door. Although very groggy from being woken up minutes before, I had the brains to take the car with heated seats to make the 20 minute drive out of the city a little more pleasant.

At about quarter to 1 I arrived at the store, a little miffed at the lack of planning on our owners part (he schedules the Rx staff), but generally in good spirits considering....only to walk up to the door, meet the two night staff who were waiting for me and realize....my key to the store is on MY key ring not the ring to the car I drove out there. Damn. Guess I wasn't really all that awake when I left the house. So now I had to drive all the way back into the city and out to Okotoks again....swearing at myself the whole way....grrrrr....sometimes I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed!

The Weekend....it's gone so quickly

2006-03-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

Grrr....I'm extremely angry at myself because I'm second guessing myself on the it's vs its grammar rules! I even gave a presentation on it in English 30AP because simple grammar mistakes like that drive me crazy...and now I can't remember it at all! Bah, I'm sure that the grammar police will correct me. K put down that red wine or you'll be forced to do it!

Anyway I can't believe the weekend has gone so fast. I guess I really only had one day off so that could add to the speed with which it flew by. Although it went by fast, I had a nice weekend.

Jim and Buck Sr cooked up a Moroccan feast for Cindy and I last night and it was excellent. I think the plan was that the 4 of us would cook together like we used to do sometimes when Jim lived with Buck, but instead Cindy and I let the boys go to town and we drank wine and chatted like girls do best. It was nice to catch up with Cindy since I haven't seen her in a while and I managed make myself switch to white wine after 2 glasses of red wine so things didn't get too messy....though I DID still manage to break a wine glass. It wasn't my fault really, I got excited after a big poker hand and my elbow got a little out of control.....oops! The night ended with a trip to the pub where Jim and I met up with a few other friends for a nightcap. Good times were had by all.

Today I had a well deserved sleep in and then a Sushi takeout feast for lunch. It was awesome and as always we ordered way too much. I think it took us 2 periods of the Flames game to eat and I still had to give my leftovers to Evan. After a poor showing by our beloved Flames, Jim Evan, Brian and I made our way down to Kensington for a cupcake feast at Crave and then we checked out the Oolong Teahouse. I was in heaven there. There were dozens of types and flavours of tea and I got to make my selection by smell. Does it really get much better than that? 'Hmmmm.....this one smell best today, I'll take it.' I had a Mint Mate. So tasty and so good for me. I think that I will end up frequenting that place!

I finished off my relaxing day by turning it up a notch for my second last soccer game of the season...it was a tad frustrating as we ended up tying the last team in the league. Boo. We just couldn't put the ball in the net and the goal that they scored with 2 minutes left to tie it up was a beauty, I must admit. Top left corner off a free kick. Their centre forward did a perfect job of screening our keeper and she never had a chance. Oh well, we have our last game on Thursday and its against the team we're currently tied for third with so we can still hold our position.

Again courtesy of Curly

2006-03-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

For all you Simpsons lovers...this is pretty cool!

http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=456abf68-c763-4c09-8e9f-6eb395c0e0ab&f=06/64

What a sexy bride!

2006-03-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Since Jim STILL hasn't sent me our pictures from K & J's wedding I haven't had a chance to post any yet, but here's a good one that Julia sent me....ah, K you are so beautiful! I love that you were just glowing all day....well all week really. It makes me happy to see you so happy!

Too. Many. Mini. Eggs.

2006-03-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

I have spent the past three days setting up our easter stock and am SO CLOSE to being done. It looks really good too if I do say so myself. It's really like a big puzzle...without a picture on a box to tell me where it all goes. 7 Palets of stock come in the back door and has to fit out with some semblance of order...not as easy as one might think!

One of many many boxes I opened today was of family sized bags of mini-eggs....and more than half of the bags on the box weren't sealed properly...so since I couldn't sell them I decided that I should eat a few....or a whole bag.....I have a tummy ache!

Ah Kickinghorse...

2006-03-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

I started writing a description of my weekend but I was boring myself and I'm too tired tonight so I erased it.

Long story short:

-Won soccer game on Friday night. Yea!
-Watched two friends say goodbye to a loved one in a beautiful but very sad ceremony on saturday afternoon. My heart is still aching for them.
-Cate and I met Jimmie and Buck Sr in Golden at Packers Inn and Pub. High class establishment.
-Didn't get to satisfy my craving for Lasagne from the greek place (very greek I know) because it was full.
-Had some Chinese food and some drinks.
-Watched the Flames beat San Jose 2-1
-Stayed up watching movies on TV with Cate because our room at packers was situated RIGHT over the dancefloor downstairs in the pub/nightclub and the music was so loud our walls were shaking.
--> somehow the boys had a MUCH quieter room
-got in a good day of skiing today. I fear I'm becoming a snow snob as the snow wasn't too bad today but I was pretty disappointed after how awesome it has been in the past.
-visited mom in the hospital and had a nice chat with her. She might be getting out tomorrow so she's pretty excited!

Now its time to crawl into bed and read a little goblet of fire. I have to finish it to I can go see the movie before its out of theatres!

I should work in Radio

2006-03-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

Check out this link...courtesy of Curly, who has me convinced that his job as a radio producer is the best ever because he seems to have endless amounts of time to surf the net.

http://84.40.3.164/

Maybe it's because I'm a huge nerd, but I think that's one of the coolest commercials I've ever seen!

Say a Little Prayer

2006-03-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

Mom's going under the knife at about 1pm today for a total knee replacement, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers today and in the coming weeks for a safe surgery and a speedy recovery with her shiny new bionic knee!

Brad, we're still waiting for you to arrive home to take care of her....you did such a great job last time when she had her first knee surgery!!! ;o)

Disturbing...

2006-02-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

So there's this really crazy guy who comes in to shop at my store on a quite regular basis and all my cashiers are terrifyied of serving him because he creeps them out. He's got more than a few screws loose and likes to talk about death a lot.

Until today I've never had a run-in with him, but I had 3 people go home to take care of sick kids today, so I was running a cash register for most of the afternoon and had the pleasure of chatting with our crazy man. He walked up to the counter and before I could say hello he blurts out:

"I'm thinking of walking to work down the centre of the highway tomorrow. I've never done that before I bet people would notice that, I've never done that before."

So I'm thinking to myslef 'ok looney tunes, hang on while I call the mental health clinic down the road", but I know he's always a little crazy so I just tried to explain what I bad idea I thought that was. He dropped the subject, and paid for his sunglasses....on a rather cloudy winter day I might add....and went on his way. As he left I didn't know whether to laguh at his craziness or be genuinely afraid that he might actually be suicidal. I don't know what I could have done since I don't even know the guy's name....but I do know that I will feel largely responsible for having done nothing if I hear tomorrow that a man was hit whilst playing in traffic on highway 2A.

Scary. How do I help a crazy man like this??

A problem like Maria....

2006-02-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

Having that song stuck in my head makes me smile ;o)

I can't believe that this weekend is actually over! The wedding was a complete success. Due to some amazing planning by K and everyone who helped, everything ran smoothly and fun was had by all. It was a beautiful ceremony and K was a glowingly beautiful bride. (Ok, Jordan you looked pretty hot too, but you know we all were looking at her!) And she even survived being the centre of attention for so much time!

It's really hard to believe that they're getting on a plane to head back east tomorrow and though the weekend was filled with so much joy, there were a few tears today and I'm welling up again now thinking of how long it will be until I get to see them again....or the fact that I don't even know how long it will be! But if they aren't able to make it out here for a while, maybe I'll be able to go there and see them. The only part of Ottawa I've ever seen is the Toronto airport, so I could use a few tour guides!

Congratulations K & Jordan!!

The Singing Giant

2006-02-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

Went to Ceili's last night to hang with K and watch a friend of her's perform. It was lots of fun! You know the guy's gotta be good if he landed a weekly gig at Ceili's, and I have seen him before but man, did I ever enjoy the little concert last night. Last time I saw him it was on the lower level where there are tonnes of walls and a big 'ol bar in the the way, so we couldn't actually see him singing. Which is part of the adventure for sure. The man is a giant. A real life giant, a friendly giant if you will. He's even gotta duck to fit through doorjams!

He's got some great original tunes and is crazy good at singing covers. He really knows his voice and his style and knows what types of music to sing to complement that. And they were all songs I knew and loved. I think I actually said "I LOVE this song!!" for 5 songs in a row. Yea for Brent, I will be back to enjoy another Ceili's Wednesday for sure! AND another thing that made the evening fantabulous was that

I didn't really notice this until this morning when I woke up with my normal nest of hair around my face and noticed the lack of stale smoke smell that usually makes me want to vomit! It is SO nice not to have to feel like an ashtray the day after being at a pub, and I might even be able to wear my jacket again without having to wash it! Yea for fine establishments like this catering to us non-smokers before it becomes the law to do so!

Wedding Fever!

2006-02-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

Well, K & Jordan's wedding is fast approaching and I am getting more excited by the day! Good thing I've been ridiculously busy at work because even as I run around like a chicken with my head cut off answering everyone's questions I can barely think of anything else! Two more days of work and then I get to take 3 off to participate in this oh so exciting event. AND it's snowing like crazy outside my window right now. Normally I might not be so excited for it, but since we've been so completely spoiled and haven't had a winter this year I've missed the snow. And if it sticks around for the weekend, it will make the scenery a lot prettier than the brown we've been seeing for the past 6 months!

In addition to the excitement of this wedding coming up in a few days, I got some news yesterday that another one of my favorite people is getting married!!!! I can't reveal who yet because she wants a chance to tell people herself, and I don't want anyone to inadvertently find out here. But I literally jumped for joy yesterday when I found out that the wonderful man who came into her life a few years ago had proposed on family day. I'm so happy for you two!!! And I'm extremely excited to say that I get to be a part of another wedding party, this time as the maid of honour. I have to say that both times I've been asked, yesterday and for K's wedding I welled up a little. I don't know if everyone takes it as seriously as I do, but I see it as such an honour that my friends whom I love so much would want me to share in their special day with them!! I have to admit that being the maid of honour is a wee bit scary, but it's a responsibility that I can't wait to take on, because I love you so much and I want this next 8 months to be exciting and low stress for you and I will do my best to make that happen!!!

Congratulations both of you! And thank you for making me such an important part of it. It really means a lot to me!!!

Can I wear sneakers to your wedding??

2006-02-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

No, I'm just kidding. I think that I've found some shoes that will work, but man! Was I ever close to giving up! You see, I'm not so much of a shopper, I can't be bothered with all of the trying on and the decisions and stuff, so after my second trip to the mall I was feeling a little deflated and not all that motivated to keep looking for the perfect pair of shoes. I found a TONNE of pairs that I loved, but they all had super high stiletto heels and no matter how fantabulous they may have looked on me, the aisle at Knox is REALLY F*#$ing long and I don't think K would apreciate me falling down the aisle.

But Sarah saved the day!! What are best friends for really? If we had only known when we were 5 months old that we would grow up to be the same size and be able to share clothes and shoes!!! She has an awesome pair of strappy black sandals that are NOT 6 inches tall and will work out perfectly. So now not only will I not trip down the aisle (touch wood) but I don't have to go shopping again!! yea!! Now I have a pair of shoes to bring to my dress fitting on Friday and I'm all excited for the wedding again!!!

Yea! Yea! Yea!

Happy Weekend!!!

2006-02-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's a day early, but I worked a six day week a few weeks back when we had to fire somebody, so I'm taking a 3 day weekend and Jimmie and I are going skiing!!! Yea! I haven't been out yet this year and I've really been missing it!

We're going to Kickinghorse which has become my favorite mountain in the past few years because the snow has been decent every time we've been there AND the runs are really long so it doesn't feel like you're sitting on the chairlift all day long! It's still a little hard for me to wrap my mind around only doing 4 runs a day but when it takes a good hour to get from the top down to the bottom it really makes sense!

One of my favorite things about going to Kickinghorse is staying at the Copperhorse lodge. It's a fantastic little place that feels nice and cozy and has THE best managers of any hotel I've ever stayed at! Jim and I discovered it last year when Puddle and Buck stayed there and convinced us to move over there from the hotel we were at and we haven't stayed anywhere else in Golden since. We even went back in the summer to check out the place with grass instead of snow and it was a fabulous time. (They even upgraded us to the Deluxe Suite!!!) And because it wasn't as busy as in the Winter we got to spend an evening chatting over drinks with the managers Paul and Stacey and got to know them better. We're really excited to go see them this weekend!

Jimmie

2006-01-26T23:14:00.000-08:00

In response to your question Peter.....yes I do have a boyfriend, his name is Jimmie and we've been together about 3 years. Here are a few pictures of him:

Hehe....I almost peed my pants when I saw him in that chicken suit at Halloween!

I hate whiners

2006-01-26T22:59:00.000-08:00

And man, did we have to deal with a lot of them on the soccer field tonight! I even got a talking to from the ref!

It was funny though, I took out a girl twice my size in what I think was a perfectly clean play, and she swore and made a huge scene so he felt like he had to say something to me.....guess what my lecture consisted of? "Well she's injured (she was wearing a bionic knee brace) so anything you do she's going to embellish." So I'm still not sure why they got a free kick because he obviously thought she was a big drama queen, but it shut her up for a while until the next dive....so whatever. In the end we won 1-0, so yea for us!

I don't have much else to say but my blood's still pumping with adrenaline from the soccer game so I can't go to bed yet...these late games suck!

4 things

2006-01-22T08:52:00.000-08:00

I saw this on someone else's blog this morning, and I liked it. A nice twist on all those surveys I used to fill out when I was procrastinating during university....

4 Jobs You Have Had in Your Life

1. Waitress (retirement home, BP's and the Kilt and Caber)
2. Maintenance worker on a Golf course
3. Teacher/mom/computer room supervisor to my kids in Honduras
4. Assistant Front Store Mgr at Shoppers

4 Movies You Would Watch Over and Over
This one is hard because I LOVE movies and will surely think of another 4 as soon as I post this.

1. City of God
2. Bad Boys
3. Y tu Mama Tambien
4. The Whole 9 Yards

Places You Have Lived

1. Calgary, Alberta
2. Tegucigalpa, Honduras
3. Lima, Peru
4. Spruce Grove, Alberta (but only for 6 weeks...does that count??)

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch

1. CSI- Just the Vegas one
2. Las Vegas (is there a theme here?)
3. The Amazing Race
4. Any movies that happen to be on

4 Places You Have Been on Vacation
I'll just name the countries because there are too many specific places....I live to travel!

1. My first big trip was Germany and Switzerland
2. The next was Japan
3. Then Holland, England and France
4. Then Honduras (not really vacation, but I traveled around) and Guatemala
5. Then I lived in Peru, but traveled around there a bit too.
6. A few months ago Mom and I went backpacking in Panama and Costa Rica
7. And Mexico...but I barely saw the country...so i have lots more to see there!!

I know it's supposed to be 4, but how could I choose? And many would think, wow, that girl's been everywhere!! But I look at that list and think....wow there are so many more places to visit!!

4 Websites You Visit Daily

1. Here obviously
2. My email
3. Lots of blogs, including the one's on my link list and more
4. www.makepovertyhistory.ca

4 Favorite Foods

1. sushi
2. pasta
3. salsa
4. fresh fruit

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now

This one's pretty tough....I'm pretty content as home right now...I don't get to do this much
1. On a beach....preferably one of the less crowded ones Mom and I found in Panama or Costa Rica
2. Skiing at Kickinghorse
3. My Cabin....which is strange because I could have gone there this weekend....so I can't say I'd rather be there, just another place I wouldn't mind being.
4. Somewhere outside the city and surrounded by nature....if it was summer I'd say picklejar lakes.

4 People You Tag to complete this

1.K
2. Hez
3. Peter because you're the only other person I know actually reads this.....
4. Anyone else who actually looks at this!!

Success!

2006-01-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

I did it!! I guess I just needed to revisit it with a little more patience.... I will master this html terror if it's the last thing I do!!

Muahahahaha!

Lazy Saturday

2006-01-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

And I give up! Is my attention span really that short you ask? Why yes, it is! I just spent all of 15 minutes trying to add links to my blog and I couldn't get it to work...even following what seemed to be simple enough instructions on the help page...grrrr.

So now it's time to continue my completely unproductive day...I'm allowed right? It's my one day off....so couch time is just a necessity. And a long bath...and a good book....or maybe a trashy book....not really trashy but a la shopaholic style, just not quite that bad. Oh who am I kidding? I don't need to justify my reading choices. I'm a big girl and if I want to read something completely un-intelectual then I will...besides, I have to wait until MAW is finished reading the 4th Harry Potter book to her grade 5 class before I can continue with that literary genius, so off I go to read "The 'EX' Files"!

Wowzers!

2006-01-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a freakin' long time since I've written in here...i wonder if anyone is even still checking my blog for updates....I'll try to be better I promise!

I guess some bulet points would be the easiest (and least boring) way to catch up.

*Brad came home from New York for the Holidays, and it was fun to have him here. Mom was especially happy to have her whole family in the house for a month!

* Christmas was great this year although a little rushed because I had to be back in Calgary for work on Boxing Day. I was able to see most of the people I look forward to seeing every year, and the family celebrations were joyful and fun. Some highlights were: that Grandpa is home from the hospital and was able to make it on Christmas Eve, Greame forgave me for forgetting half of his gift in Calgary..., I got to have a lot of cousin time, which (sortof) made up for missing the Boxing Day cousin time, Midnight Mass was fun and full of giggles as usual, the Christmas day celebrations were bigger than ever with lots of new additions to the usual group, our crazy gift exchange was loads of fun, and many particiapted in the stealing of gifts and choosing new ones. And over all I felt extremely loved and blessed to have such a wonderful family to Celebrate the holidays with.

*New Years was a little bit less than thrilling, I worked LOTS in the week leading up to it and until midnight on New Years, so there were no festivities for me, but who can complain with all the holidays I've had lately, and it was nice not to have to make many of my staff work it.

*New Years Day, on the other hand was pretty good. Other than the bout of flu I was fighting off (rather unsuccessfully) I had a great day. As per tradition, we spent the afternoon/evening at the Green's house with our 'Calgary family' and Sue cooked up an awesome meal for us all to share and us "Kids" played games all night. Fun fun fun.

* A few days after New Years, on January 3rd we took off to Mexico!! I know, can you believe the amount of travelling I packed into 2 months? I can't. It was lots of fun, we were a group of 14 including my family and 3 others, and there was never any shortage of people to have a drink with! I've never stayed in a resort before, and though I had a few reservations (like the fact that the only Mexicans I met were serving us....and that people looked SO shocked if I spoke Spanish to them....in their own country where the spoken language is Spanish....) I really did enjoy myslef. Who can complain about sun and sand?? Not me!

* Since then I have been working lots and have come to the conclusion that I really like my job. It's been 3 months now and I'm so glad that I made the move. A deskjob was just not for me I guess! Here I am learning loads and it is constantly changing, I work with great people and we do a lot of laughing and generally enjoying each other's company. I had to stay home a few days (still fighting that silly flu/turned cold that won't go away) and I really missed being there.

* Jimmie was in Miami on a conference for work when I got home from Mexico and I missed him lots! Our travels seemed to do a poor job of overlapping each other in these past few months, and I'm glad we're both home and will be for a while. We really need to start travelling together!

Ok I think that's a good sum-up....much much more has happened in the last little while, but those are the highlights!

My love affair with red wine

2005-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know that I should know better...there are more than a story or two floating about out there which include me and too much red wine....but I just love the stuff too much!

Jim and I went out for a fancy dinner at the Sheraton last night on Jansen Ortho's dime and we just had to have a bottle of red wine to accompany our fondue. And it was oh so good that we ended up having a second bottle....bad move. I felt like garbage all day today!! It wasn't until about 9:00 tonight when I finally had some McDonalds cheeseburgers for dinner that I started to feel better. What is it about McDonalds that cures a hangover? I don't get it, but damn does it work!

Even with the nasty stomach yuckies all day today it was well worth it. We had a great time and some amazing food! I love fondue, and though it wasn't quite the grizzly house, it was a great Christmas dinner. Thanks Jimmie!

Christmas Goodies

2005-12-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

Ah, there's nothing that makes me feel more like Christmas is coming than the smell of chocolatey goodness throughout the house. I feel very successful today because it is not yet 2pm and I have already crossed 3 things off the baking checklist….although I’m not sure that I am allowed to count the peanut brittle I made because it seems that while I was busy dancing around the kitchen to Alejandro Sanz’s sexy voice I neglected to read that it was a microwave recipe rather than a stove top one…oops! It still tastes yummy, just looks a little bubblier than any peanut brittle I’ve seen before. Hehe…

There are still presents to be wrapped today. Including the HUGE box that Jimmie’s is in!! Hehe I love teasing him…maybe I should make him wait until after Christmas to open it….

But I think that before I continue with the holiday tasks its time for a little Harry Potter break first. It IS my last day off until Christmas, so I’d better enjoy it! I missed the boat on the Harry Potter books years ago when the craze started, so now I’m playing catch up. I’m only on the second one, but at this rate I’ll be done all of them and ready to see the new movie by New Years! I decided that I was being lazy and cheating myself out of the best possible Harry Potter experience by just watching the movies, so for this one I will not let myself see the movie until the books are done.

Oh my, I just re-read this post and I’m a huge nerd.

Since I've been home

2005-12-14T08:37:00.001-08:00

It's been nearly two weeks, so I won't bore anyone with the details of life since I got back to Calgary, but here's a list of some of the exciting things that have happened:

*My work Christmas party was a few days after we got home and it was a blast. We had it out at D'arcy ranch golf course and it was a great place for a party! The food was yummy, the drinks were flowing and the band even let a few of the braver souls sing along. Fun was had by all!

*I had my first meeting with the dressmaker for K's wedding!!! The lady had a few dresses that she's working on set up on those little manikin thingies they use for dressmaking...what are they called?? Anyway they looked amazing! I think that all of our bridesmaid dresses are going to look fabulous!

*I went to the Flames - Sens game on Saturday with Jimmie. It was lots of fun! We were in the fan zone and after a long day of Christmas shopping (no malls through yea!) we didn't get there early enough to get low seats in the rush seating zone so we decided to sit in the very top row. I was amazed at how well we could still see and how exciting it was from so far away. There really isn't a bad seat in the Saddledome. Go Flames! They haven't lost a game yet when I've been there. I think someone should give me free season's tickets because I'm such good luck.

*On Sunday Robyn, Cindy and I cooked up a holiday feast for the boys and we impressed everyone, even ourselves with our culinary skills. On the menu we had a juicy roast with rosemary potatoes, butternut squash ravioli, warm brie and apple spinach salad, asparagus, hockey puck yorkshire pudding (ok so those didn't turn out so well) and stuffing! Yum! And we had crave cupcakes for dessert. Wow, I don't know how they make those, but omigod they are tasty!

I'm sure that there are many more things I could add, but those are the highlights, and I have to head to work, so that's all for now!

The last few days...finally!

2005-12-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know it's been a VERY long time since the last post, but life has been hectic since we got back to Cow Town!

So I guess I left off on the day before the Canopy tour. That morning we were picked up at our hotel by the tour company and after picking up all of the other people taking the tour that day we made our way through miles and miles of African Palm plantation to the Tour site. We stopped along the way a few times to that they could point out different plants and animals. The oil that they extract from the palm comes from big bushels of little red fruit...who knew? We saw a turtle and a baby alligator, and lots and lots of cows with these little white birds surrounding them (mom probably remembers the name but I don't). We also saw some rice fields which we appreciated because the rice in Central America is sooooo good!

Once we got to the mountain 'lodge' owned by the company we had a big buffet breakfast, complete with pinto gallo the typical Costa Rican breakfast of rice and beans...it was yummy....mom even liked it! After we were all fed they suited us up with harnesses and gave us some very thorough safety instructions. Then the adventure began!

After a short hike further into the rainforest we reached the first platform for the first of nine zip lines and 3 repels. It was amazing and I was so proud of Mom, she was fearless flying through the trees!! There were a few points when we got a little nervous as we stood on a platform with 10 other people on it and the tree swayed back and forth. But safety was a big priority for our guides and we were secured by cords from either the zip line or the tree to our harness at all times. I don't know how to put the experience into words because it was so unbelievable, but we got some awesome videos of it, so we'll have to show them to you all!

When the tour was done we caught a bus from Quepos westward up the coast to Puntarenas which is a jumping off point to the Nicoya peninsula, our next destination. We arrived in puntarenas just after dark and started walking in the general direction of the ferry, hoping to catch a taxi there because it was about 2km away....no such luck. We ended up walking the whole way there with our packs on, but it was a very well lit street, so it ended up ok.

We had about an hour wait for the ferry so we took a seat on a nearby bench to rest and were approached by a guy named Raul who claimed to work with Tourists in the area. He informed us that we had missed the last bus from the town on the other side to Moctezuma, our final destination for the evening. He offered to help us make a reservation for a taxi to pick us up and make the hour long trip to Moctezuma and to book a hotel room before we got there in case the reception was closed. It all seemed a little fishy, but we took him up on the offer because it would be nearly 11pm when we arrived and we didn't want to be stuck without a room. After all the arrangements were made he asked us to pay him for his services, which we had kindof expected...nothing is free in this world! We were glad to have everything arranged though so it was worth the extra $5 for security!

The taxi driver we had waiting for us was a very friendly man and he talked my ear off the whole way. He got us to the hotel safely and the guard was there waiting with our room key when we arrived. It was VERY nice to get settled in that night with some of the most comfy beds we had the whole trip!

The next morning after a bit of a sleep in...ok I slept in until about 8:30 when mom couldn't stand it anymore and had to wake me up because she had been awake for "HOURS!"...we went for a wander of the town. It consisted of about 3 very touristy blocks and we had breakfast in an overpriced americanized restauraunt. The food was good and it was a cute restauraunt, but the portions were small considering the prices. Costa Rica is definitely more expensive and touristy than Panama!

We decided that we would catch a flight to San Jose the next day rather than taking the taxi-ferry-bus route there so save us about 7 hours of travel time and when we called to make a reservation were told that we had to pay by 4pm that day...after a brief panic that we would have to take a $25 taxi ride to Tambor where the plane flies out of just to pay for the tickets we found a place in Moctezuma where we were able to pay and save the travel time to Tambor and back!

Once all of our travel stuff was arranged, we hit the beach for our last beach day! The beach one one side of town was a little rocky and we decided to explore a bit after a few hours there, because it was far from the nicest beach we'd visited on the trip! We eventually found another beach on the other side of town (remember it's only 3 blocks) with much softer sand and a bigger rock free area to swim in. The waves at this beach were very powerful and some were huge! It would be a great surfing beach!

We watched the sunset from the beach and headed back to the hotel to get showered and changed for dinner and made our way to a really neat restauraunt that we had seen earlier. They specialized in BBQ'd seafood and we both opted for the lobster. It was fantastic! And the 2 for 1 daiquiri's went superbly with it!

The next morning we were up early again and headed to the "airport" in Tambor. We had mistakenly assumed that there would be some sort of building there where we could wait and have something to eat....no so. There was just a landing strip and a guy from the airline drove up in an SUV a few minutes before the plane got there to check us in. The plane was tiny and we were a total of 10 people including the 2 capitans who we would have been able to reach forward and tap on the shoulder had we been sitting in the front row!

In San Jose we checked into our hostel and headed out to find some lunch and the market. We had lunch at a Peruvian place and I was very excited to find "arroz chaufa" and "papas a la hauncaina"...anyone who knows Peruvian food will understand my delight! And we finally figured out while we were there that the delicious fish called corvina we had been enjoying for 3 weeks was sea bass!

The market was very fun, and Mom and I had no trouble filling up the sports bag we bought to transport our purchases! It was a bustling place with anything imaginable for sale...we would have loved to buy some of the fresh seafood we saw there, but didn't have time to cook it! Huge prawns, fresh fish....could have been a feast!

Once we got all of our purchases stuffed into our packs back at the hotel room we had a little rest and headed out for our last dinner in Central America. And it was a good one! At the Peruvian restauraunt we met a very friendly american man who recommended a place called Cafe Mundo to us and it was great. It huge old house with a large outdoor courtyard, complete with a fountain. Great meal to end the trip.

The next morning we headed home, and after a very uneventful trip made it back safe and sound to meet Dad and Jimmie at the airport. And now time is flying by as Christmas approaches!

Homeward Bound

2005-12-01T05:01:00.000-08:00

Well that´s it! We´re about an hour from the beginning of the trek home to snowy Calgary. Boo! We are excited to come home and see everyone, but still can´t help but dream about how great it would be if everyone we miss could just come here and see us, so we could stay!

The last few days have been quite busy with a lot of ground covered and a few more beaches! But I´ve gotta go get in the shower and catch a shuttle to the airport, so those final stories will have to wait until we get home....wow, can´t believe I´ll be home in 14 hours.

Why, oh why do I live in a place where it snows for more than half the year??!!

Monkeys!

2005-11-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

I am officially allowed to come home now because I got that picture of a Monkey that Jim said I am not allowed to come home without! Actually I got quite a few!

Backtracking a few days first though. Last time I wrote we were in Matapalo a quiet little beach town which has yet to really be discovered by the hoardes of tourists invading Costa Rica. There were 7 or 8 small hotels on the beach there, but it is a ways off the beaten track and a little harder to get to, so we were again rewarded with a beautiful beach pretty much all to ourselves while we were there!

We stayed two nights in Matapalo arriving late on Friday afternoon. Saturday was spent on the beach. All day. We played in the waves which were much gentler than any we have encountered thus far and read our books on the beach. It was a perfect day all in all, but by about 7 that evening I had to leave Mom and go lie down because all that sun got to me and I was feeling a little under the weather.

Thankfully I was feeling great this morning for the early start to make our way to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio where we spent the day today. The man running our hotel was nice enough to get up at 6am and drive us to the main road to meet the bus so that we did not have to walk the 2kms with our packs on. From there we got a bumpy bus to Quepos (Amazing race watchers will recognize that place). From Quepos we got another bus 7kms to the edge of the park were there is a little ´town´, which is really rows of hotels along the beach outside Manuel Antonio National Park. We quickly checked into a hotel and headed to the park.

We were told to watch for monkeys and iguanas along the trails and were getting a little discouraged after about 45 minutes of hiking along a muddy rainforest trail without catching a glimpse of any wildlife....but our perserverence on the steep trails paid off when we stumbled on a troop of monkeys playing in the trees right alongside the path! There were at least a dozen of them and they gave us a show for a good half hour. It was a little scary how familiar they are with humans milling about because they barely looked our way the whole time. One little guy came onto the path at one point and looked like he was about to take a swing at another hiker though, so maybe they are telling us that there are too many tourists invading their home!

After the hike we spent a few hours relaxing on the 3rd of 4 beaches in the park. It was absolutely gorgeous, and was actually a little too hot for us....we had to sit in the shade most of the day! While we were on the beach we met some of the even more tame monkeys in the park who came right up to some of the sunbathers hoping to steal a little food. There were a few rather large iguanas soaking up some rays as well!

Tomorrow we are taking a Canopy tour through the rainforest which will involve bridges 20 stories above the ground as well as zip lines and some repelling...should be an adventure!! Mom´s a little nervous about this one, but she´s brave and knows it will be worth it!

We made it to Costa Rica!!

2005-11-25T16:17:00.000-08:00

The last post came from Bocas del Toro in Panama on the northern Carribbean coast, and we are now all the way on the other side at the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

Yesterday was a rather uneventful day. We left Bastimientos early in the morning and took a water taxi to Isla Colon, where we hung out for a little while and did a little shopping (tshirts, bathing suits, etc) before heading to the mainland in another water taxi. This one was more like a 15 passenger speed boat and we were very happy that it had a canopy with pull down sides to keep us dry!

Once on the mainland we all hopped in the back of a pickup to get to the bus terminal (we were travelling with 6 of the Yosemite Gang). This bus ride was a bit of an adventure as the driver really liked to race around the blind curves through the mountains. We spent most of the time hanging on for dear life and trying to stay upright! At one point we were unsure if we would make it to our destination because we were stopped by the police and the driver seemed to be in some serious trouble. We never did find out why they stopped us and held up the bus for 20 minutes...but we managed to get into some trouble of our own. While we stopped I decided that it would be cool to have a picture of the police station with all the cool vegetation surrounding it....but as soon as I opened the window and snapped a picture a policeman armed with a shotgun told me that it was prohibited to take pictures of police stations in Panama. Who knew? So I put the camera away and went back to my seat promising not to take any more....apparently this was not enough for him and he got on the bus asking to see my camera and made me erase the picture! We were worried for a while that he might try to take my camera away from me, but don´t worry Jimmie, I still have it!! I would have held on kicking and screaming before he got it away from me!

We ended up staying the night in David last night because we didn´t want to cross th boarder at night. It was a nice relaxing evening and a good chance to say goodbye to Genny, who we will greatly miss as a travelling companion. We had another great plate of mixed seafood for dinner (in wonderful company with the Yosemite Gang who were celebrating Thanksgiving) and after dinner Mom, Genny and I did a little shopping. I even found a great Christmas dress! We finished off the night with a trip to the Cine to see 40 year old virgin...funny show but pretty crude!

Today we got up early and started the LOOOONG trek to Costa Rica. The boarder crossing went relatively smoothly, but was a little confusing at times. There were no signs at all directing us where to go, and if we hadn´t asked the men changing money I think we might have just ended up walking into the town at the boarder without getting our passports stamped...not a lot of security that´s for sure!

The bus ride from the boarder was a long one. The highways in Panama were much better than the ones in Costa Rica, and we are already missing the awesome bus system there. We got on a bus at the boarder thinking that it would be a smooth ride, but about half an hour into the trip we were kicked out of our seats because apparently the pre assigned seats sell out a few days ahead of time and everyone else still gets to go on the bus but has to stand. So it was a long 5 hour ride to San Isidro el General where we ended up missing the last bus to our final destination for the day. Because we missed the bus we ended up hiring a taxi driver to take us the last hour and a half of the trip to Matapalo where we found a lovely little hotel with Cabins on the beach.

The room we have here is great. It´s almost twice as much as we paid last night at $41 dollars US, but it is a spacious cabin complete with a little table by the windows and separate towels for shower, beach and pool use...we can see the beach through the palm trees....it doesn´t get much better than that! We are a little sad though, because the first thought that we had when we entered the room was that there was an extra bed that Genny could have stayed in. We miss you already Genny!

We got all settled in and had a few beers at the hotel restaraunt with a fellow from Alaska, his Canadian son and an american who came to visit Costa Rica 5 years ago and just never made it home. After a nice chat with them we said goodbye and headed down to the beach to watch the sunset. Beautiful!

We will likely stay here for a few days before heading on to Quepos and a national park called Manuel Antonio where we will hopefully catch a glimpse of some of the wildlife we hear Costa Rica is famous for! I need to get a picture of a Monkey or Jim says I can´t come home!!!

For now we´re off to the hotel to enjoy a fresh Tuna filet cooked up by the owner of our hotel...the seafood diet is still going well!!

Stranded on a tropical island..

2005-11-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a post that I actually wrote yesterday but was unable to get up here...the internet on the island that we were on is via sattelite and the connection was pretty bad yesterday because of a storm. We were hoping to leave the island in the afternoon yesterday, but the water was too rough so we had to spend an extra night there. It has calmed down quite a bit today, so we left the island of Bastimentos and are now on the main Bocs del Toro island called Colon. From here we will catch a ferry to the mainland and head south to David to hopefully cross the boarder into Costa Rica this afternoon...hopefully we can make it that far today!!

So again we have been without internet access for a while and there is way more to say on here than I have time to write, but I´ll quickly write about a few of the highlights.

We left Santa Catalina on Saturday morning with heavy hearts because it was such a wonderful place and we had a great time during our short stay there.

From Catalina we headed to Boquete a small little mountain town that was absolutely beautiful! It was a little colder there and for the first time on the trip I actually pulled out a light sweater...which I later lost because it warmed up and I took it off!! Boquete was a very tranquil little town with a laid back mountain feel to it. Quite touristy, with a huge US retirement market booming there...it´s a little sad because it used to be a popular place for Panamanians to retire but it is now far too expensive for most local people as homes are selling for the same as what a comparable one would sell for in the US.We spent a day strolling through the streets and there was a beautiful garden there called ¨mi jardin es su jardin¨ which translates as my garden is your garden. We spent a few hours exploring the gardens and taking pictures of all kinds of flowers. Unfortunately the visit there ended on a bit of a low note because Mom got attacked by some fire ants when she accidentially stepped on an ant hill! But she was ok, they only sting for half an hour or so, so she lived!

From Boquete the three of us (Genny is still with us) made our way up north to the Bocas del Toro province on the Carribbean coast where we are now. We took a little plane that fit about 30 people from a city called David onto the largest of the Bocas del Toro Islands (I can´t remember the name of it right now...starts with a C..) and when we stepped off the plane two of Genny´s friends who she had been hoping to meet were waiting for us. They had been staying on the island of Bastimentos for a few days with about 8 other friends of Genny´s so we took a water taxi out here to meet all of them and we´ve been staying on this little island for the past 2 nights. Genny´s group all know each other from working together in Yosemite National park in California and have a few months off during the off season so they are all travelling around Central America

We arrived on the island at about 10am on Monday morning and the weather was fabulous! It was super sunny and we quickly got changed into our bathing suits and took a water taxi to the beach. The main town on the island consists of a sidewalk on the south side of the island about a mile long with houses all along it. The best beaches are all on the north side of the island, so we had to hire a boat to get to a beach called Polo beach which is named after a man who lives there. We spent a few hours on the beach enjoying the crystal clear water and white sand. The snorkeling there was fabulous and we barely came out of the water the whole time we were there!!

Yesterday we went on an all day trip with the same man who took us the day before, and we spent the whole day traveling around. Frist up was a VERY bumpy ride to Dolphin Bay where we were lucky to see a bunch of dolphins splashing about. They came right up to the boat to check us out and swam beside us for a while. It was very cool!After Dolphin bay we headed to a little restaraunt/bar which was built on stilts above the water. There were three little thatch huts with a pier connecting them were we set up camp for a few hours and snorkeled all around. The sun wasn´t shining too brightly which was actually probably a good thing because it was quite comfortable to sit out in the sun and enjoy the views and watch the fish from the dock.

From there we headed to Red Frog beach which is named for the tiny frogs which are found in the jungle there. They are a brilliant fire engine red and are not much bigger than the size of my thumb! We got some really great pictures so hopefully I´ll be able to download a few of them and post them up here soon! The beach there was really great. It was a little less protected than the last one we´d been at, so the waves were bigger and tonnes of fun to play in! We didn´t quite get the hang of body surfing as well as the Yosemite boys, but it was fun to splash around in the water!

When we made it back to our hostal we were starving and cooked up big meal in the little kitchen Mom, Genny and I are sharing. The little Cabaסa we rented is so great! There is a bathroom and a kitchen on the bottom floor with a great little porch where we have spent lots of time hanging out sipping on wine and cuba libres (rum and coke)...you can buy them premixed in cans here!!! Upstairs in the ´attic´under the thatch roof are our beds. It´s pretty cozy up there, but we are glad to have a mosquito net as its completely open to the outside in a few places!!

Today it´s raining and not all that warm, but we couldn´t be more glad to be here because the annual festival to celebrate the founding of the island is today. There are about 5 different marching bands from the surrounding islands here and we got to see a parade!!! It was very cool to see all the little kids all dressed up in their uniforms. They were so cute!!We were hoping to leave the island today and head back down south to cross the boarder into Costa Rica early tomorrow morning, but it´s nearly 3 and the rain hasn´t let up so I don´t know if we´ll be able to make it back to the mainland!! It seems like we´re just not meant to leave this beautiful country! We meant to be well into our trip to costa rica by now but we just haven´t been able to tear ourselves out of Panama!

Hope all is well with all of you!

Until next time!

Dee and Shelley

The time of our lives!

2005-11-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, it´s been so long I don´t even know where to start!

We left Panama City and headed west along the interamericana highway and stoped for a few hours in a small town called Penonomé. It was a really cute little town with a beautiful central plaza we walked around a bit and took a few pictures but then it started to rain so we made our way to a little artesan´s market and took shelter there looking at all the beautiful handicrafts. Mom got a really cute Panama hat and we bought a few other souveniers but we didn´t let ourselves buy much because we don´t want our packs to get to heavy this early in the trip! It was still pouring when we were done shopping, so we sat for half an hour or so and visited with the lady working there. She was very nice and animated, and Mom even tried out her spanish a bit! (She´s really understanding a lot now and starting to talk more and more).

The rain wasn´t letting up, so we pulled out our rainjackets and braved the weather to get to the bus station and catch our next bus. We then headed to another small town right on the interamericana called Aguadulce which means sweetwater. It´s got its name from a freshwater well nearby. It was dark when we arrived there (and still raining) so we checked into a hotel and watched our first bit of TV since the trip began. After taking in an HBO movie the rain had stopped and we ventured out to find some dinner in this little town that is famous for its jumbo shrimp. There was a cute little resturant named Manolo´s really close to our place so we went there and had a GREAT meal. We enjoyed a dish of mixed seafood...including a few things that we didn´t recognize, but it tasted great and the shrimp were delicious. We also had some shrimp fried rice...there was a pretty big chinese influence in the food in this town.

The next morning we got up early to beat the rain and caught a taxi to the ´beach´just outside of town were we read that there were some tidepools and slat flats and a neat restaraunt....but we found it less than impressive. We are glad that we went though because it was different from anything we have seen and we got to see some locals coming back from their morning fishing trip and chat with some interesting old men who were sitting around (enjoying a 9am beer or two). We caught the local bus back into town and had another yummy lunch of sweet and sour shrimp and shrimp fried rice at a restaruant on the plaza, and then headed to our next destination: Santa Catalina. It took three buses to get there and we had about 10 warnings from people that we shouldn´t go because of all the rain we might have trouble with the road, so we thought that we would just stop and stay in a town if the rain got too bad, but luckily the weather was great and not only was the road paved all the way, but the scenery was breathtaking and the sun shined most of the way! Along the way we met up with an American girl Genny who we had intended to meet in Santa Catalina, so we were all able to take the last bus together. She was travelling with her mom too, but her mom headed home and she has a few weeks to kill before heading to Honduras to meet some friends so she´s traveling with us for a while.

Santa Catalina is AMAZING. It´s a beautiful little town that is still quite pristine (but unfortunately not for long because a few big hotel chains just bought up all the land there and are planning on building some resorts). We got checked into a hostel in the main town right away that was called Rolo´s and was quite cute and headed down to the water to dip our feet in. It was great and we were very extited to be at the beach. We wandered around and found a little restaruant that served us some delicious fish and we had our first fried plantains! I missed those!! We had a bit of an early night and got up the next morning and tried to see about taking a trip to a nearby island called Coiba that has a national park on it which is supposed to be very beautiful and full of wildlife, but the water was choppy and they weren´t sending any boats out, so we made our way along the rocks while the tide was out to what we found out was a much nicer beach over in the next cove. We played in the waves for a while and watched some surfers and then decided to check out a hotel on the beach that we could see from the water. IT WAS AWESOME! there were four little two room cabins that you could see the water from with some palm trees shading the grounds and a beautiful thatched roof sitting area/restaraunt that the owner and his dad built together. We found out the a room with three beds was only $30 a night so we quickly decided to go back to our hostal and gather our things and move to the beach. The owner, David is an Italian guy who has lived most of his life in Panama and was great. He kindly offered to take us back in his 4WD truck so get our bags because the tide was coming in and we wouldn´t have made it back over the rocks and the road was super muddy and would have been a half hour or more walk with our packs on.

There´s so much more to say about this place, but I´m running short on time so I will have to leave it until next time, but I will say that we spent three wonderful days enjoying the waves, in an absolutely beautiful place, in great company with David, his sister and some other people staying there, and some amazing food! David cooks up an italian meal (which I must say was delicious!!!) there every night since once the tide comes in its hard to get back into town where the other 3 or 4 restaurants are. We would have had to wade in water up to our necks at high tide to get the the road. We ended up staying one more night than intended there because we just couldn´t pull ourselves away from the wonderful setting. And it was still hard to leave when we finally did!

We´re now in a little mountain town called Boquette which is beautiful as well but we´re still missing Santa Catalina a little. We´re all scheming up ways to get back there someday!!

Ok I typed this fast and don´t have time to check it over so I hope it all makes sense! We´ll write more soon!! Hope all is well with all of you!

Dee and Shelley

Go Flames!

2005-11-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

Ok I had to! 7 game winning streak! Woohoo!

Anyway, today was a big day so I should get typing! We started the morning off a little slower today because the last few hours of sleep were a little um...interrupted. At around 6 am the parrots which are in a big cage out back on the patio started squaking...about every two seconds....for an hour and a half... it was kind of neat for the first minute or so because it was a sound we´d never hear at home, but it got old fast when we couldn´t get back to sleep. Needless to say when it finally shut up we wanted to get a few more winks in!

Once we got going we had a complimentary breakfast at the hostel (just some toast and juice) and then headed for Casco Viejo. This was a city that was built in 1671 after Capitan James Morgan (yep the guy they named that yummy spiced rum after) invaded and sacked Panama Viejo or ´old panama´ where the city originally sat and is now in ruins. The two areas are about 8km apart and are now connected by the current city. Our tour of Casco Viejo began with a walk along the high wall by the sea with views of the skyline of downtown Panama. From there we went to Plaza Francia where we spent about half an hour translating some large stone tablets that told the story of the conception and construction of the canal. We continued our walking tour through the narrow cobblestone streets and took in the main cathedral and the churches of san jose (with a very impressive golden baroque altar) and san fransisco de assisi. We also saw the home of the President of Panama and the cultural institute of Panama. Many of the buildings have been beautifully restored but the streets were spotted with buildings now in ruins. Otfen times the ruins would lie between or be connected to restored buildings, looking quite out of place!

From Casco viejo we took a Taxi downtown to the Plaza 5 de Mayo where we wandered a pedestrian only shopping district and had a quick look. If we didn´t have to carry all of our belongings on our backs we may have bought some very inexpensive but nice clothes...but we´re hoping maybe we will find some similar things at the end of our journey in San Jose, Costa Rica.

We were hoping to catch a but from the Plaza 5 de mayo out to the miraflores locks at the Panama Canal, but after about 15 minutes of standing on the corner in the muggy heat we didn´t see the right but pass by (and at least 40 passed in that time!) so we gave up and caught a $5 taxi to this place about 9kms out of town. At the miraflores locks we paid an $8 admission to enter the Miraflores locks musem which also had a great observation deck on the 4th floor were we watched a few boats go through the locks. For anyone who doesn´t understand the locks (because I sure didn´t before!) I´ll give you a quick rundown. There are three sets of locks in the canal which runs about 50km from from the north to south of the counrty. Ships are required to pay in cash (or by an electronic transfer of funds) 48 hours in advance of their transit through the canal. The trip through the canal takes approximately 8 hours as ships are first raised up from sea level to 26 meters above sea level where they transit into Guatun lake which is one of the largest manmade lakes in the world. Once they travel through the lake they are then lowered back to sea level by another set of locks at the opposite side of the canal. Each lock has chambers 330meters long and 33.5 meters wide where ships move up and down using the water from the Chagreas river. The first chamber of the lock will equalize with sea level by opening a valve and in 8 minutes 26 million gallons of fresh water from lake Guatun are spilled into the sea. Gate A is then opened and the ship enters the chamber. The first gate is then closed and the ship is raised by opening a valve between chamber one and two and equalizing the water between the two. Gate B is then opened and the ship moves to chamber 2 where the process is repeated to raise the boat again and move it on to chamber 3, etc. Through 4 gates and into Guatun Lake. An opposite process is then used to lower the boat at the other end.

We watched two massive cargo ships go through before heading inside to check out the 4 storey multimedia museum dedicated the the construction of the canal, the Canal watershed, and the insects and wlidlife found in the area. After checking out the museum we were back on the observation deck in time to see a very large cruise ship enter the locks. We then headed down to the second floor open air restaraunt where we enjoyed a glass of wine and some yummy chicken tacos while we waved to the tourists on the criuse ship.

We then headed back into the city and grabbed our bank cards from the hotel to make our first attempt at withdrawing money from the bank machines here. Both our cards worked so we now know we´ll be fine for finances for the rest of the trip! Yea!

After that we stopped in at a little corner store were we bought ingredients to make ourselves a spaghetti dinner at the kitchen in our hostel. And went to the supermarket to buy a bottle of Rum. The total cost of the Rum, spaghetti ingredients, including shrimp; 2L of Coke, a box of tea, a few chocolate bars and laundry detergent under $15. We might do some cooking more often!

So we came back here and cooked up a feast and planned the next few days of travel! We head west tomorrow for Penome and Aguadulce, so we´ll have more stories to tell soon!

Island Girls

2005-11-13T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well the weather did hold out for our island trip, in fact it was fabulous! We woke up pretty early again this morning and managed to leave the hotel by a little after 7am and the sun was shining already at that time! We think it must have been about 27 to 30 degrees already!

We caught a taxi to the port for the ferry to Taboga...we only got a little lost on the way because the ferry has changed docks from when our travel guide was written, but we made it on the ferry in time to get a seat on the second level with a great view of the scenery. There were barely any clouds in the sky and we had a great view of the little islands sticking up out of the water on the way to Taboga as well as many boats, mostly freightliners, lining up to pass through the Panama Canal. Some of them were huge!

We arrived on the island at around 9am and spent the first hour wandering the island. The houses there were all painted with bright pastel colours and were all named with cute little cottage names. Some were very impressive! The town was very clean and all of the local people were very friendly. One boy even stopped to tell us a little about the town....but we decided not to take his suggestion to do an ´´easy´´ hike up the side of a mountain...he said it would only take us half an hour, but we didn´t believe him...it probably would have taken us at least 2...and we don´t want heat stroke on our first full day here!

After a thourough exploration of the town (it consisted of about 4 rows of houses along the bay and a big white church) we hit the beach where we camped out for the rest of our time on the island. We rented an umbrella for 5 dollars from a man who called himself Orlando Florida and by alternating between the shade of the ´para sol´ and the water all day we managed to get only mildly sunburned. As we sat on the beautiful tropical beach we couldn´t help but look back at the stormcloud pouring rain on Panama City with a smile because we were happy to be missing it. The rain reached the island just as we were preparing to leave and though the trip back to the city was a little slow, and wet, by the time we reached land the rain had almost stopped.

Once the boat docked we walked over to a really cute open air restaurant with a thatched roof overlooking the bay named ´Mi Ranchito´. Mommy Shelley had a plate of jumbo garlic shimp (with the heads still on!!!) and I had a plate of calamari..but not the battered and fried kind we get at home, this was fresh and very tender. It was really good and we are quite enjoying our seafood diet.

After dinner the rain had stopped so we went for a walk along ´The Causeway´which is home to a few shops, restaurants and bars on a little island separated from the mainland by only two lane road and promenade. We ended up walking for close to two hours to get back to the mainland because all of the taxi drivers were trying to charge us a fortune to get back....more than 4 times what we paid to get there! It was a really nice walk down the promenade though so we didn´t mind too much...and Mom´s knee isn´t even all that sore! She been a trooper so far, but we´ll have to make sure we don´t wear out that knee because the trip is just beginning!

Once we finally found a taxi to take us ´home´we were a little relieved, because it was still quite a long walk back! We had him drop us off one block from our hotel filled with shops and restaraunts and stopped in at a pharmacy suprisingly similar to Shoppers where we bought some snacks to go with our beers tongiht. Robin, you´ll be interested to know that the bag of peanuts and rasins we got is named Manitoba!

So after a full day we are back at the hostel and two beers and a few hands of rummy later we are ready for bed!

Tomorrow its off to ´Casco Viejo´ an older part of the city to explore the sights of Panama City and then we will hit the Miraflores Locks (any amazing race watchers will be familiar with this place!) to check out the Panama Canal.

It´s raining on the parade...

2005-11-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

So again we have been withody=OK....so when I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it. According to this article, the Southern Baptists acted better than what my article stated. I'll give them credit for that, though I'd still be interested, when push came to shove, how they would have dealt with handing out the Annheiser-Busch water.

But...don't be dismayed. While receiving this update from a friend, I got another article that proves the same point. Leave it to Robertson to save my butt and this post . We've now come to a point that we are willing to state that God's judgment will come upon anyone who doesn't vote along with us AND that if judgment comes, don't turn to God because He is no longer listening...Maybe I read the Bible too quickly, but isn't judgment from God almost always DESIGNED to cause people to turn to God....?

Below is the original article.

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

John 15:18-19 tells us in no uncertain terms that if we are not of the world, if we are of Jesus, then we will be hated. To associate ourselves with our Savior is to put ourselves in complete opposition to the world. For this we will be hated.

However, I don’t think that Jesus meant that we should go out of our way to be hated.

Llegamos!

2005-11-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

We´re in Panama! We arrived at theairportt this afternoon, and though they were disconcertingly slow arriving in the baggage claim area, our packs arrived safely as well. We had a little cheer that we will be able to change our underwear tomorrow!

The trip from the airport into Panama was supposed to be about 30 minutes, but ours took a little longer...I´m not sure if it was because the car couldn´t go any faster, or it was just that the 117 year old man driving us didn´t like to go above 40k per hr, but he got us here safely and that´s what matters most!

The hotel we are in is very cute, it has an awesome little patio out back with some colourful tables and hammocks hanging from lusch trees. Our room is small, but cozy, and most importantly, VERY CLEAN!

We have however encountered the rainy season in Panama. It was a muggy 29 degrees when we landed and the sun managed to peek through every few minutes, but while we were settling into our room the heavens opened up and it poured for about 3 hours. To all you Calgarians, the floods this spring were nothing compared to this! But other than a little rain the weather is still fabulous..I´m a little warm in my jeans and light cotton shirt!

We had dinner at a seafood restaraunt overlooking the ocean....there are pictures to come, but I can´t get this computer to recognize the card reader yet! We had a bit of an adventure getting there and never did find the restaraunt we were looking for. The cabbie gave up looking after one circle around the block and we didn´t argue because driving through the rain was a little scary....Jimmie it was reminiscent of our trip to Denver last year!

Anyway, there is a girl waiting for the computer, so I´ll sign off and I will write more soon!

We´re off to an island called Taboga tomorrow just off the coast of Panama City, so hopefully the weather will hold out!

Ciao,
Dee

and they're off!!

2005-11-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

We are officially on our way! There isn't too much news to tell of, we are in Dallas Texas tonight and have a few hours to sleep before our 4:00am wakeup call. The flight here was bumpy but uneventful.

Tomorrow we head first to Miami and then on to Panama!!

We'll post some news as soon as we get there!!

~Shelley and Dee

I finally graduated...

2005-11-10T22:18:00.000-08:00

Today was the big day and it's now official, I'm a university graduate! Whew! Feels like it was really a long time coming. And the day was much less boring than I bargained for. Luckily I sortof knew the girl sitting beside me...we were the lone development studies majors who showed up, so at least I had someone to chat with.

AND for anyone who went to the UofC.....the sign guy graduated today! I meant to remember his name so that I could call him by that rather than "the sign guy". I was a little disappointed that he didn't try to walk the stage with it, but his family held it proud for most of the ceremony. I guess it could be seen as a bit of a mockery....but the real mockery was really the jester outfits that faculty had to wear. Wow, I couldn't help but giggle every time one of them stood up.

So now I'm off to bed to hopefully get a good rest before the adventure begins tomorrow. It isn't really a super exciting day because we just fly to Dallas for an overnight layover, but it's the beginning of the trek, so stay tuned for more!

~Dee

5 more sleeps!

2005-11-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

Well it's getting down to the wire and I leave for my trip in less than a week so I thought that it was about time I set this thing up! I'll be posting on here as often as I can so that I can keep everyone up to date with my travels in Panama and Costa Rica.

Mom and I are finally taking the plunge after about 4 years of talking about returning to Central America and I'm more excited than ever....of course I still have about a billion things to do, so it's likely that I won't be able to post again until the day that I leave, but keep checking on here because I'll do my best to fill you in on all the adventures we encounter!