The Shocking Truth

I really love doing elecrical work. However, I still have a ways to go. I'm stumbling with a tricky 3-way switch, but I have a couple of friends who are anxious to mediate the situation before the confict escalates. I am very blessed. =)

On the bright side, this past weekend I wired the last room in the basement, the current pantry/future bathroom; my first GFI!! =) But as usual, altough I tried to be so careful with the breaker panel... I hit the test button on the bedroom plugs and didn't notice until getting ready for bed... flipping it back on was a tad tricky... my brute force gene just didn't kick in.

But no worries, that is minor compared to what I did next. I was careful to turn off the breakers and I know not to touch the back of the panel... I didn't turn the panel off... and what should happen??? Right I touched the back of the panel, but it took me a while to register the bite of the electrical current... actually it feels sort of cool. =) The picture is how I image I would look after shocking myself.

And now I am learning to drywall and I don't really like it. I like the end product of drywalling, but I don't like the fine dust that is hard to clean... I prefer sawdust. But I'm only drywalling the laundry room to start so I'll give it a fair chance. On Thursday I am hoping to start taping and mudding. I hear a very thin coat of mud will mean very little sanding. And in hindsight I watched the drywaller patch up my garage and I think I can do it, it wasn't really very much dust. But that might be a result of the small size of the patch... hmm...

So you can guess my holiday plan =) I'll be starting every day for the first week with the laundry room. But of course, I have a socializing to do. I have plans to make bulk meals for the freezer, baking, a couple of parties, cross-country skiing... so I think I'll be pretty busy. =) I'm spending the Christmas week with my family and then a week of nothing at all if I can help it. =) I know, I know, you're placing bets. I will probably work on small projects, but I think the laundry room may be enough of a big project for one holiday.

Oh and by the way, I am single again. I am maturing in my dating though, and am looking forward to my next chase =) Oh wait... by chase I mean mutually interested relationship.

See you soon - and no I haven't writen my Christmas letter... umm... so it may be a New Year's letter. =)

Northern Saskatchewan

A cold hello from snowy Stony Rapids. I'm here at the Water Front Lodge, beautiful, lake front lodge. Unfortunately, the weather forcast called for decent weather, no snow and thus I have no winter boots. I did go on Cabellas last week and ordered some insulated hunting boots. I think I'll wear them next time. I hope they fit! Sorels are wonderful, but a bit heavy, though I bet I'll be wearing them next time I fly. Too big to pack. I fit right in with the crew men they have working up here =D

I'm about to go for a taxi ride - one of those airborne vans that only touch the lops. Maybe I should go eat now... wait! Is that my blood pressure rising??? The road is snowy though so the sailing may be clear.

Martin and I are still seeing each other. I think I'm still happy. So I guess that's good. He's really nice still. I think he's frustrated with my travelling though, and that has put a bit of a damper on things this week. As well, I'm stressed/overwelmed at work right now so it's easy to want to turn into myself for strength and want to hermit a bit, too. I haven't been hermitting mind you, but I think I might this weekend a bit. I set up this dresser to finish stripping and restain, and I'm very eager to get back to it. I've let it sit for weeks now.

Shall I tell you more about my travels?? Flying north at this time of the year is risky. We flew no problem from Edmonton to Saskatoon to Prince Albert. Then at Prince Albert we heard rumors of bad weather in the north... if the weather's out no on flies. What does that mean when the weather is out? Either there is a storm or the air and water are similar temperature and the fog is too thick. But on we went, a little late. Landed in La Ronge... and waited... and waited... and then waited some more for a window in the weather. Then one flight was cancelled!! Thankfuly, it wasn't mine. Then we heard our flight was going!! Thank goodness.

We made it safely, changed our exit ticket to give us time for our meeting. And though we were two hours late, our meeting went ahead, successfully! Unfortunately some members couldn't come because they were stranded in other communities or had to drive the grader to clear the runway. =D Such is life.

So we arrived at the airport after our meeting and just missed the early flight, which actually left an hour early, so we were in time for the "early" late flight, which 20 minutes later was cancelled... my dinner was waiting in Stony Rapids... my bed was waiting in Stony Rapids... I wanted to be in Stony Rapids. Instead we improvised, we found accommodation, one lady complained to the right person and early this morning we received a call to hop on a freight flight =) And here I sit, curled up on my bay window seat looking over the Fond du Lac River leading to the Athabasca thinking I should go eat lunch. Too bad I left my camera cable in the car, I could show you the view out my window. I think it would be peaceful to live up here.

Broken Pride

Surprise! Surprise! Another dating blog!

But first this breaking news! A HUGE thank you to everyone who sponsored me in the MS bike tour this year. I raised $1,500 and our team raised over $16,000!! THANKS!!! The MS Society also sends out a big thanks! It was fairly cold biking, but we had a fabulous time. The second day of the tour was mostly downhill and gorgeous. They have these erosion dykes across the trail and all their words of caution for the day centred on not taking the dykes at high speeds. I can see why – they have terrific launching capabilities! An amazing quality until you land on the following dyke and wipe out. =)

So Martin bought a bike last Thursday se we could go biking together. Out we headed on Sunday. We biked for about an hour and he bikes at about the same level as our MS team “A Few Spokes Short”. We’re bombing along some single track and it starts downhill. Now I thought I was doing an okay clip, not dangerously fast. But then I spotted a bit of a dip I the trail and it looked a bit dark. Well in my distraction I hit a large root, put myself a bit off course, hit the “dark spot” aka mud hole and my front tire stopped dead. Well you can imagine with my momentum what happened to the rest of my bike and my body. So next thing I know I’m laying there and all I can think is “Don’t cry! Don’t cry!” Don’t’ cry!” Well I didn’t cry and Martin was a true gentleman. I wish I had it on video, but he assured me he would go buy a helmet-cam for our next ride. =) What a sweety.

And I should mention we are enriching our cultural side, too. Friday he took me to The Comic Strip at WEM and they were so funny! Now we use the jokes on each other - keeps me on my toes. Sunday (yes, after biking) we dressed up and went to live theatre Noises Off at the Citadel. God it was hilarious!! Martin enoyed it, but missed some of the puns and plays on words. I think I may look for a french play next, but his english is loads better than my french. This Friday will be "date" 6 and I'm looking forward to it. =)

A New Outlook on Dating

First, yes I made it back to Canada with my laundered passport. It is now invalid and I received many raised eyebrows and head shakes on my voyage through customs. =)

But on to more exciting news. I have not posted any dating news of late, mainly because I didn't have anything to say. I at times have a bad attitude, find my dates mediocre, pout, avoid dates, and in general fulfill the my princess nickname. I am after all looking for my knight in shining armour or I'd settle for a prince too.

I've tried Lifemates, Lavalife and Plenty of Fish. I don't think I really like Lifemates. Lavalife was fun; I met two people there but neither lead to anything. Plenty of Fish... well my neighbours were on POF so I was hesitant to join. For those of you new to the list, my neighbours are at varying stages of "player" and have all read "The Game". But, putting aside my fear I signed on and my god it was overwelming. I was on for 12 hours and received 20 emails; needless to say I still have unopened email. I chatted with a few people, told more to nicely take a hike and have met one person.

WOW!!! This person blew me away! His name is Martin, he's french, cute, confident, and christian. He added me to his favourites list on POF, so I sent him a note, with encouragement (Thanks Lesley), telling him he was cute. Our first date we were supposed to bring our mugs and meet up for drinks to take on our walk - I of course forgot my mug, even though it was my idea.

I had a great time!! Got home and was swinging on the counters telling Jen about the date. I was excited to go on a second date! And I had a great time again!! We played pool very poorly! Ate cinnamon buns at Southgate and then played Carcazone at my house - we spent over 7 hours together and we still wanted to see each other again!! It's like a miracle. We're about to go on date 3, but I'm not sure what we're doing. Even more impressive is that it will be 3 dates within a week... never have I gone on date with the same person twice in one week!! What's happening to me!?!?!

My flatmate and her man laugh at or with me quite a bit. I suppose it is quite a change, I blow-dried my hair, put on makeup, dressed in nice clothes (as opposed to going directly on a date after doing electrical work not so long ago - In all fairness I did brush off the drywall dust), tripped out the door, had to come back for a coat, ... and on it goes. I did remember to brush my teeth thankfully because I laughed alot. =) LOL. I feel very giddy and foolish. It's actually a good feeling - very interuptive at work, but good. I can't stop giggling either! Good gracious, you would all laugh to see me.

One date at a time. And he like x-country skiing and biking!! But I haven't told him about hunting yet...

Spanish Pubs

Here´s a picture of me in front of the statue of Phillipe Cousteau at the Museo Anclas, Avilles. I now realize that ancla is anchor... which is now very logical to me as 90% of the attractions are anchors... =)

I had the best fish today in a Spanish Pub - Casa Gelu!! I wish I had have taken and picture of it. It was I´m not sure what type of fish... but it was cooked whole and then just split in half and placed on my plate... I didn´t eat the eyeball. Best fish yet, I would definitely come back.

The funny thing about this pub, Casa Gelu, is that the owner is very charismatic and likes to visit everyone. He remembers my sister. Anyways he gave us two appetizers, then after our meal brought us dessert and an extra round of shots. I am still full!!! Anyways, the funny thing is that someone can order something and it will cost $X but then two hours later it will cost a different price. So be nice =)

Hopefully I´ll get comfortable enough to sleep sometime tonight. I´m too full to sleep right now.

Wish I could stay longer. Today I swam in the ocean twice!! But tomorrow we´re heading to to the Picos de Europa and Bilbao, and then home.

Police Advice

Well, I took my passport to the police here in Spain and they said my passport was no longer valid... oops. =(

Thankfully on second look they said that seeing as I am returning to Canada it will be okay, cause if I didn´t have a passport they´d deport me to Canada anyways. =)

But I have a message from my dear friend Fawn and she knows someone who has treated their passport terribly and it was still good until finally their dog ate it.

Value of Water

My travel in Spain is fabulous! On the weekend I went to visit Jorge´s grandma. She lives in a small village and has a wonderful house and garden. I found I prefer peaches to plums. But I was given a ripe fig to try - my first one and they are really good.

I learned how to make typical potato tortilla and I really like it!! Lots of fried food here - fried sardines, fried trout, fried potatoes - YUM!! I like the desserts too! I still don´t like cidre and I don´t really like paella either.

Anyways, back to the country weekend... imagine making bread, making a meal for 12, having 5 people in a house for a weekend, having an indoor toilet... and the water runs out!! Who knows why!?!?! It just stopped. We brought water jugs from the city to fill with country water and it stopped!!!???

Well I hauled water, as you can see above, in my sandals and skirt =) It was fun, but I was grateful when the water came back on... unfortunately it only lasted a few minutes. So I poured water for dishes. Other than that, I swept the floor and harvested fruit and vegetables, and then mostly sat around and knitted near a window with a breeze cause I was told to chill out, they (the adults?) would do the cooking and cleaning. Ah, I tried =) Oh the lives of spanish families. The other women soon joined me to chat and the men watched Formula One. You should have heard their cries during the preshow. WOW!

How important is a passport, really?

The question of the day... my passport...

Does my passport need to be in pristine condition to travel?

You may be wondering, oh my, what happened to Nicole´s passport?

Well it just so happens that after being awake for 30 hours wearing the same clothes, eating weird food, I may not have been thinking properly.

Of course at home, I check every single pocket before putting my clothes in the washer. But you know, I was tired, I wasn´t doing the laundry... or was I? Anyways, the jist of the story is, that this morning after getting dressed, there was something funny in my pocket. And just as I felt the glob it dawned on me that I hadn´t seen my passport since last I wore these pants... sigh. There crumpled up in a ball in my pocket was my still wet passport. You´ll be happy to know that the cover shrinks, the blue writing on the inside front and back covers smudges, the picture page looks okay (I think), the edges wear, and the stamp pages which are partially cotton, just get wrinkled.

So I gently unrolled my passport, took out the iron and carefully flattened each page. The iron also helped dry the pages with the heat.

My passport is now sitting on my harry potter book in my room in front of the window drying some more. I will iron it again a little later. I was a little concerned about the picture page but it is laminated. I think my passport is okay, it looks like a very well read book, though it has many empty pages. Perhaps I was flipping tthrough it dreaming of the stamps I wanted. =) yes, that´s what I´ll tell them if they ask.

Sand

Anyone ever gone swimming with me in a lake or river? Yeah, not a common occurrence. So I´m at the beach today. One would assume that being at the beach is synonymous with swimming and sunbathing. I have the sunbathing part down okay. Well, unless there are clouds. But the whole swimming thing has got me. Sunday I managed to walk in the water =) But I didn´t swim.

Tuesday we went to a new beach, so I had to start all over again. And my God! The waves crashing on the shore were intimidating. We laid on shore for a bit, then off we headed. Today I walked out with the pretense of swimming. But I had to cross a knee deep tide pool to get to the ocean... I waved my family ahead and slowly worked my way into the water from toe to knee. After about half an hour I was able to successfuly navigate the puddle and unite with my family. But! They were in the water!! Not to worry. I stood at the edge and again started into the water. I made it in knee high - what a proud moment. When a wave came and crashed over my head when I was looking the other way. Well Alex has refused to go to the beach again without a camera. My face was evidentally priceless. =) Needless to say, I was just regaining my composure when I was bowled over by a second wave close on the heels of the first. It was okay. I felt prepared for the next wave, which subsequently bowled me over again - a 9.5 for face plant technique. I lost .5 for losing my hat. I know! What was I doing wearing hat in the water?

But that´s not even half of it! Who would guess that swimming in the ocean means coming home with a cup of sand in my swimsuit? Plus a minimum hour long shower to remove all the sand clinging to my skin and entangled in my hair? I swear I would wash my arm, and the next thing I knew it was covered with sand again.

By the way, I´m in Spain visiting my sister and brother-in-law. Guess what that means? Yes, my blog instructions are in Spanish. I thought about writing is Spanish to match, but then was unsure of their translating abilities =).

I have to admit though that my sister´s keyboard makes better sense than mine - and Hannover Just scored against Madrid. Wow.

Sorry, no pictures.

Flowers

I love flowers!

I think if I didn't have to work I would like to take pictures of things... but then what would I do with the pictures? Right now I horde them with plans of framing some for my folks... I suppose I can say it's on my list =)

Here is one of my favourites from the trip to Jasper this year.

Perhaps if I didn't have to work, I'd have time to work with my photos. =) My dream job - to be a stay at home hobby-ist. =)

I'm hoping before the year is out I can update about the landscaping, but so far there is nothing too impressive. I am pulling weeds and bit by bit the landscaping is creeping across the yard. Now if I could give it a boost so that it would be done when I returned home at he end of the day. =)

Eavesdropping

"Hey it's stuck in the leg of my pants!"

WHAT!! I formally apologise to all those bystanders who only heard this part of the conversation.

You may recall a few years back, the saga of the purple toque; I can post it on request. Anyways, I have a new saga. A few weeks back, we decided to go biking at Terwillegar despite the surely muddy trails following our weekend rains... sure enough it was muddy. And during the last stretch of our ride what should happen, but the heavens open up and torrents of water turnt he already sticky muddy parking lot into a quagmyre (I may need a spell check here). I meticulously as usual put my glasses and gloves in my helmet to keep them safe. But alas they are muddy. My car is muddy... inside... the sides, the roof, the mats... why didn't I put my bike rack on the roof??? Your guess is as good as mine.

Of course, upon arrival at my house, I went staight to the washing machine and dumped my biking gear in with some other assorted duds I found scattered across my bedroom floor... or was I wading through those duds and grabbed the closest ones... can't remember, must have been trumatic.

The following week, bike night roles around and I can't find my gloves, well I can find one, but the other is alas lost. Sadly I find my back up hand-me-downs and off I go. Unfortuantely they are black, not purple. And to top it off, I am late for biking.

In desperation I stay up past my 10pm bedtime sorting my clothes, seaching for my stray purple glove. But to no avail, I cannot find it and imagine it is some dogs chew toy at Terwillegar, or buried under layers of clay packed down by careless vehicles. Poor glove. =(

This last weekend I went to Jasper, and seeing the variable weather forecast, I pack for sun and rain. I'm dressing Saturday morning when I find there is a "sock" in my pants... well imagine my surprise when the cosk sticks to my pant leg! Ah ha! My glove is velcroed to the inside of my pant leg. Hurray! I'll match again next week Pink and Purple!

Random Physical Search?!

I flew from Edmonton to Calgary to Saskatoon two weeks ago. Very unobtrusive flight plan. I was going to Prince Albert. I made sure I wore no unecessary metal objects, even took off my watch through the security screening. But, I expected to ring as usual, regardless of what I wear. Up go my arms as I head towards the beeper crew, but what's this? I get the "you're okay, move along" wave!! Hurray!!

My elation was short lived however, as another crew member siddled up beside me, asked to see my boarding pass then informed me that if it was alright with me I'd been randomly selected for a physical search... HUH?!?!... my heart stopped, my butt clenched, and I'm sure all my capilaries shrunk two sizes, while my legs trid to decide their plan of action. What exactly am I supposed to say, "no thanks, it's not alright, I don't want to be searched. Hey wait, give me back my boarding pass, I have a plane to catch!" As she walks away to get security. Instead, I mumbled, "oh," and she waited with me to get my bags.

We retrieved my bags and headed over to a clearing by a table. We put my stuff on the table, secured my boarding pass so it wouldn't get lost. She had me face the table so I could watch my things; I suppose I'm still responsible for preventing my belongings from being tampered with by a corrupt security crew member. So she tells me that she's going to pat me down, and if anything hurts let her know... should I really tell her? Or will it arouse suspicion and cause her to do an extra thorough search? I say, "My left breast hurts can you be careful?" Then she turns left and right obviously trying to figure out which is my left. Thankfully she was gentle, however, very thorough... My concern is that she did not wear gloves and she touched my shoes. I tried to tell her that I just came from a bottle depot, but she didn't seem to understand. I didn't see any sink.

Well, as a princess, my dream of being the centre of attention was fulfilled, though not as expected, as everyone passing through security had to stop and stare, smile, shake their heads, collect their belongings-children-spouses and redress themselves while quickly, yet unobtrusively, scurrying away from the security centre, lest they be subjected to the same treatment as I.

=)

Skeletons in Your Closet?

So I was highly motivated or perhaps driven by an insatiable urge to organize this past weekend. (As you can see, even at 18 months I had a keen sense of organization; me with science fiction, sewing notions and some unidentifiable objects all grouped into one suitcase.)

I'm in the process of incorporating another person into the house and we need storage space. So off to the farm I went to pick up this closet organizer I had when I moved off-campus for my one semester of independence.

I arrived at my sister's mowed her lawn, played a game with Miki on the deck, dropped part of the game between the deck boards, took the deck board off, retrieved the card, killed the battery on her drill, got my mom to get my dad's drill, finished putting the deck back together, and had a picnic. Very productive day, but no where close to getting the closet. Next I went shopping with my mom and sister, by which I mean I fell asleep in the backseat of the car while my mom and sister went shopping. =)

Finally we arrived at the farm, where my mom and I had to negotiate who should decide what we were to do, both of us insisting the other should make the decision. Finally we compromised and decided I could decide Saturday and my mom would decide Sunday. =)

We found the closet, washed it and loaded it into my car... minus the hardware... we knew this to be a potential risk. Who separates the hardware from the boards?!? Who!?! We prayed it would turn up in the search, but alas, no hardware. =( And thus I am left to guess what type of harware I need... on to the mission to find hardware. First stop Walmart. (success... now when I get back to Edmonton I'll see if I acquired the right stuff; it's a bit like a treasure hunt)

Anyways, back to the skeletons. After loading up the closet I felt compelled to go through some of the boxes in the shed. My friend Kathryn, and my new roommate Sarah, inspired me to depackratify. =)

So opened up 8 boxes in total I think. To my displeasure, however, I encountered some unpleasant, but not unexpected surprises. Unfortunately someone left the shed door open and farm mice seem to have a keen sense for detecting open doors. Needless to say, many of the boxes showed signs of mouse habitation, thankfully many of the boxes were also free of these signs. =)

I found my wonderful polyester dress that I wore in college, my mom wore before me, and her aunt wore before her, and so on and so forth. I was heartbroken a couple of years ago when I thought I had inadvertently donated it to goodwill. Our joyous reunion was much appreciated by my mom, though my dad seemed somewhat confounded.

In another box, I was happy to see my missing Mountain View Water Treatment Plant vest that I had misplaced. Only to be horrified seconds later by the gigantuous holes eaten from it by those pesky mice. =( Needless to say, that garment was burned. We had a wonderful bonfire that night.

Now what do you suppose the next box held in surprise? You're right! Curled up under a fold of blanket was the skeleton of a long ago perished mouse. =( Of course I called my mom over to inspect it and we spent many a second discussing the effectiveness of mouse poison and how doors should just be kept shut in the first place. =)

Safety

Great news!! The police patrol my neighbourhood with dogs, helicopters and cruisers with flashing lights! =) In fact they spent an hour on the corner of my block tonight. I saw the flashing lights outside my window, but couldn't see them immediately. Then my roommate Jen came home and we all rushed outside! It was a like a personal community light show. We didn't get to pet the dog, but we did get to see it race.

Oh the brilliance of leaving our homes wide open while some hunted man, fleeing certain punishment, is roaming, seeking shelter. Where's my shotgun? ... =) Oh right, under my pillow (Just joking - it was too uncomfortable. I mean I can't handle a pea under my mattress, how can I handle a shotgun?)

I'm relieved to remember that our back door was left open today unattended... wait, my address isn't visible is it? Oh wait, my place looks identical to all the other suburbs in the city =)

On the brighter side, my second roommate is great! Her name is Sarah and she quite effectively evicted my office/craft room, which has since been relegated to boxes in my bedroom and basement. =) This weekend, I am heading to the farm in search of a solution. I remember in my early university life, I lived off-campus for 3.5 months - that's right, one semester. =) Anyways, I had a storage closet and I know that the boards are at the farm... well hopefully the hardware is too. We're putting it in the basement to help turn it from storage to recroom. Wish us luck.

The picture at the top is Liatris punctata. Beautiful flower photo taken north of Pincher Creek, Alberta, 2002.

Birthday

What a joy! This birthday I am spending at NAIT taking a web server for windows course. I know, I know, you can hardly contain your excitement at my luck and wish you could spend every second hanging onto the professor's drone with me. Fear not, I will gladly re-enact the weekend to Bach's Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor with an oboe accompanyment. Tickets are limited so please sign up now.

But it will be good for me to sit in a class. I am signed up for 3 esri gis courses and have yet to start them after 6 weeks. There are just so many other things to do. This class starts in 1 minute!! I'd best get prepared. I'm thirsty and my lips are chapped - how will I ever concentrate with such irritants?

And in reality, I will be celebrating my birthday on a number of occasions so I shouldn't complain. Wednesday we had cake at work =) Saturday I'll have a bbq, cake and a movie with a couple of friends. May 11th we're having a girl's pizza, movie and pool party!! I think it will be very exciting.

But birthdays are a very good excuse to get together! What other day can you justify eating so much cake without any guilt.

Ha Ha! And thanks to Nik and Jim I have some wonderful princess pink duct tape!!

Dating

I think dating may be an art form. Either that or a cruel form of self-inflicted punishment . I have mentally and emotionally evolved over the last two years that I've been attempting to date. Yes, it has been drastic enough to be evolutionary. It's hard to gauge success as there is an amazingly large learning aspect that has to count for something!! I still remain happily single, busy with all things unfortunately not conducive to dating. Mild glitch, I'm working on it.

In the beginning... I was alone... (Surprisingly I still am. ha! ha!) I mean, I was reluctant... well perhaps extremely reluctant to sacrifice my hobbies and activities to go on a date. Now, I can't say I am any more willing to make a sacrifice, BUT I do leave more nights open to the possibility of dating. And then it all collapses and I am booked solid for two weeks straight. =)

I was brave enough to invite a beau to a few events with friends... Nothing like a night with friends to (a) reveal my true, yet seemingly outrageous date expectations, (b) bring to my attention all the flaws of a date and (c) reveal my actual comfort level with my date. But you know, it's okay to meet a nice guy and get to know each other; it doesn't always have to work out. Perhaps next time.

However, after meeting a wonderful young man with whom I have tons in common, one would think I should snap him up. I guess I just haven't figured things out yet. My one friend told me that I should watch out or I'll get bad dating karma... but I think you have to meet and date different people to meet the right one sometimes, and it's not like I'm being mean, I don't think. I know some philosophers say we are inherently evil, but after years of councelling I thought I had become a nicer person. =)

Perhaps I am too romantic at heart, but every princess deserves her knight. Oh right, in Shrek the princess needs to be rescued... why the heck did I become so self sufficient?? Oh right, I got tired of waiting for prince charming. =) I love myself!!

Well, I just made rice krispies squares so perhaps I'll eat lots of them to make me feel better about dating... or perhaps I'll eat lots just because I really like them. =) You're right, it's the latter, cause I don't really feel bad about dating today.

Building

You'll notice from my picture that I was interested in building at a young age.

Well I have good news! The basement is just about done. After working at home for the last four days I realized my heightened stress level was due to lack of physical activity. I haven't played hockey in 5 weeks due to an unfortunate collision which resulted in a severe strain to my rotator cuff and a series of micro-tears to the tendons at the front of my shoulder. *oh sigh* After a series of intensive physio-chiro-massage treatments I am feeling almost new. The rotator cuff is not causing me any pain but the tendons can still be excruciating at times. I finally went back to hockey last night and had a wonderful time. Yes, my shoulder is sore today, but hopefully some ice and vitamin I will cure that. And I feel great today!!! Life is great - mad? frustrated? annoyed? What are those?? *ha ha*

Natalie and Fawn you'll be relieved to know that any homicidal thoughts have passed and I am very happy with the contractors... well I have yet to really see the finished product because I can't go downstairs for 24 hours when the cement dries... only 5 hours to go. And to boot, I have a new electrical outlet in the basement... granted I'm pretty sure it didn't have a permit, so I'll get it inspected before I close up the walls, but that's still months, or perhaps years away =)

I have to say, the electrician that came was very young and I'll admit I thought he should have had a supervisor. Granted he did hook up the wires right, but his tool pouch had only a fraction of the items he really needed, he didn't have a 2x4 to attach the electical outlet box to the metal framing, he forgot a vapor pocket for the exterior wall outlet, he took the screws out of my metal framing then wondered why the framing was loose, didn't want to cut the vapor barrier which would have made his job a ton easier cause he didn't have a knife or tape, couldn't run the wire right so the basement contractors did it for him and the drill bits he brought didn't match his screws so he had to use the basement contractors tools... I may have popped a critical artery during this process. Thankfully by 10 am Monday morning the basement should be done.

And now on with my day, I hear that taxes are due at the end of April and I need to gather all that up. I know I can hear the envy in your thoughts.

TTFN

The Mackenzie

So over a year ago I moved into my first home; the Mackenzie it is named. I love it... or so I still think. (Nice grey color to match the grey winter sky - I specifically asked for winter grey sky siding).

I have since learned lots about houses, from personal experience or watching Holmes on Homes or DIY Disaster on HGTV. In the winter my house has drafts... I see them building houses nearby and only putting Tyvek around windows, not all the way around the house, but condos are completely wrapped in Tyvek. Hmm... I bet the heat efficiency of my house would be better if my house was wrapped. There are a number of these little issues, like proper /complete insulation, sealing vapour barrier, and others that I'm sure would have improved the heat efficiency of my home. However, I hear my house was "built to code." Oh how I love that phrase. Yes there is a problem, but it doesn't really excede code so we won't fix it. Ha ha!

Not to worry, I'm turning into a bit of a handywoman myself; it was actually a necesity because of my tendancy towards perfectionism. =) But I really have no desire to tear down the ceilings to improve the insulation in the garage and my bathroom, nor do I want to take off the siding to add Tyvek. It's not really that bad, but it could be better. I am thankful that I found one deficiency as it is called that exceeded tolerance, cause I have no desire to fix it either. My basement is 2 inches higher in the centre than the edges... so they are going to fix it. Now we have some differences of opinion regarding what they should do to fix it. But do I have the courage and smarts to stand up and say I disagree... I'm not sure. They were supposed to be here early this morning or so I thought... at 9 I finally called... they arrived at 10 then left to pick up some supplies... they should be back by noon I think... to start work I hope... I'm questioning why I took today off from work.

Webpages & Sign Language

Well, I finished my webpage and it is ugly, but it was a great experience. I've wanted to create one for a while... but now that I have a blog, a webpage doesn't seem as enticing. Anyways, the point was to learn website stuff for work. Hopefully the pages I make for work will be better. It's a bit time consuming to create a nice one though. I think I might have to get a good night's sleep so I'm not crabby when I make the website. I want it to be pretty and crabbiness is seemily a damper on my creativity.

On a brighter note I had the pleasure of visiting my family this weekend and my neice taught me how to sign the alphabet. Wow!! I can still remember if today. One of the girls in her class is deaf so the students are learning to sign to communicate. I think it is fabulous. Hopefully next time she can teach me some signs for phrases. I remember some of my friends teaching their kids to sign before they could talk so they could communicate. I think it is fabulous!

=) TTFN

Nicole's First Blog

At the enthusiastic encouragement of my out-of-town friends, I have been forced to create a blog. To date I've chickened out of three attempts, hee hee, but now in all it's subdued glory, I present my first entry. You are welcome =)

Surprisingly I created my first webpage today too. Still needs pictures, but it has a wonderful Shakespeare quote on it... from the tutorial... thank you NVu and Christopher Heng at thesitewizard.com. Now to get a web mapserver up and running =)

Cheers for now!