I Was Challenged

to answer the following....

1. What is your occupation? Handy Dart driver/Group Home worker (both currently on hold)

2. What color is your underwear? gotta look...black

3. What are you listening to right now? Judge Judy givin' somebody the works

4. What was the last thing you ate? turkey and ham on a bun

5. Do you wish on stars? no

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? yellow

7. How is the weather right now? cloudy

8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? the vet's office

9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? most definitely!

10. How old are you today? 48

11. Favorite drink? depends on time of day...definitely coffee in the a.m.

12. Favorite sport to watch? home improvement

13. Have you ever dyed your hair? for years

14. Do you wear contacts or glasses? glasses

15. Favorite food? Mexican.

16. What was the last movie you watched? The Guardian

17. Favorite day of the year? my birthday

18. What do you do to vent anger? throw pillows

19. What was your favorite toy as a child? an easter bunny my dad gave me one year that had big feet and no matter how you threw it , it landed on its feet.

20. Hugs or kisses? Depends on the hugger and depends on the kisser

Mickey's Had An Accident

I was sitting in the office reading blogs, emails, you know the usual computer stuff when I heard a giant crash across the hall. I went into the master bedroom to find the kittens (innocent looking as always) staring up at me as if to say "he did it". A vase had knocked over Mickey and Mickey hit the CD player. Poor Mickey. He's going to have to get a new career now that he doesn't have ears. Maybe a Michael Jackson impersonator?

Happy Hallowe'en

As a kid Hallowe'en was very exciting...we got to go around the neighborhood screaming "trick or treat" and got pillow cases full of candy. I grew up not eating any kind of junk food or candy so for me it was a really big deal. Boy did it make me hyper. One day a year I o'd on candy and it was fun! I was bouncing off the walls and had a hard time sleeping until all of the candy was gone.

Here's to happy trick or treating everywhere. Stay safe.

Moral: Women are tough. Don’t mess with them.

FBI Job Opening

The FBI had an opening for an assassin. After all the background checks, interviews and testing were done, there were 3 finalists. Two men and a woman. For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun. “We must know that you will follow your instructions no matter what the circumstances. Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair.. Kill Her!”

The man said, “You can’t be serious. I could never shoot my wife.” The agent said, “Then you’re not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home.”

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes. The man came out with tears in his eyes, ” I tried, but I can’t kill my wife.” The agent said, “You don’t have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.”

Finally, it was the woman’s turn. She was given the same instruction, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman, wiping the sweat from her brow. “The gun is loaded with blanks,” she said, “I had to beat him to death with the chair.”

Moral: Women are tough. Don’t mess with them.

I'm Baaaaccckkk!!!

We had a great weekend away from it all.........Maggie enjoyed her stay with Moses and Christine, behaved herself and was happy to see us. The boys loved their 'other home' so much they could have cared less if we came to pick them up...awww...but once they were home they looked around and said, 'oh ya, we remember this place, hey there's our stuff!' and curled up by the fire and went to sleep.
So, back to us. We left on Friday afternoon and after being grilled at the border about the truck (is it yours, who pimped your ride, where'd you get such a sweet truck, can I have a truck like yours, wow, you've got a sweet ride) ok, those weren't all accurate but we knew the guy liked the truck just by the way he asked for the keys and checked it out.
Then we headed for Tulalip. It's beautiful. Stunning. We didn't spend a dime. Nope, not us. We just went up to the Guest Services and asked for our hotel coupon. First we had to fill out a VIP Rewards app so we could get a card and free keychain and then we got our Fun book. Once we got our book we were out of there and headed for our hotel.
After we checked in we asked if there was a good Mexican restaurant close by. We were given directions and guess what? It was the same one we had eaten in last year heading back from Oregon. Good food, worth going back for.
We spent the evening surveying the bargoons at Wally's world. Got me some new Levi's and other stuff, good prices.
The hotel had a pool and hot tub so we enjoyed an hour or so just relaxing there before heading to our room.
Saturday we headed south to check out new boots for the boot lady. We found her a pair of beauts in Redmond at a good price so she's happy. New boots always makes her smile.
We went to the Outlet Mall after that and spent some quality time at a few of our fave stores.
We ate at the same restaurant again and enjoyed watching what seemed to be a fashion show for a junior formal, based on the number of pimply faced boys and shy giggly girls all dressed in clothes they didn't look too comfortable in. That was fun.
We spent some more time in the pool and hot tub and watched a special on the Dixie Chicks before falling asleep.
Great breakfast this morning at the place where they do breakfast best in my opinion, yum, can you say grand slam omelette, oh ya, it was good.
No problems crossing the border, picked up the kids, picked up some dinner and here we are, ready to start another week. It was nice to get away and always nice to get home.

Just came home from dropping off all 'the kids' so we can go away for the weekend. I feel like an empty nester with no 4 legged children around. Back on Sunday night. Have a good weekend everybody.

The Whole Kitten'kaboodle

Aren't these the most angelic little things you've ever seen? Don't be fooled people. Beneath those cherubic little bundles of fur lies the hearts of tigers and lions waiting to attack their humans in the night. Trust me, I'm one of them. I was attacked in the early morning hours. It was still dark outside yet these two somehow thought it was high noon and time for a brawl. On top of my blankets. Ouch.
Maggie just looked up at me as if to say "well you brought them home" and rolled her eyes.
The kittens are going for their first overnight visit this weekend. Hopefully they'll behave themselves and we won't find them sitting on the doorstep waiting for a ride home when we go to pick them up on Sunday night.

If I Got a Tattoo

this is what I'd want. not sure where it would go, i'm saving the ankle for my palm tree i'm going to get whenever my friend barb and i get around to it.

This Is Not My Dog OFF COURSE!!!

Dinner Cruise

Here are some photos from Saturday night's cruise.

First the Limo arrived, much to the excitement of Diana's Mom and Dad who didn't know there was a "stretch car" arriving for us.

Diana and Sheila

Chris and Me

Yawn....It's Monday

It's Monday morning and I'm feeling very sleepy. I think I need another day to the weekend, it just seemed too short.

Saturday we helped a friend get some doors home to her place for her home renovations. She's been doing a lot of work around her house and making it look nice. She's trying to rent out the upstairs and she'll live downstairs. So far the only person seriously interested was somebody from another country who was going to send her a large cheque for rent and deposit and then she was to send the remainder of the $ back to him. hmmmm....doesn't he know that scam's been around awhile?

Saturday evening we went on a boat cruise celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and the sale of a house. It was a fabulous night. First we were picked up by limousine and treated like royalty. We arrived in style. The boat was launched by Granville Island and we had photos taken with the Lion's Gate bridge in the background. I didn't take the digital camera so I'll have to wait and post pics later. The cruise was 3 hours (can you hear the Gilligan's Island song now) and dinner was served on board. Fog rolled in and we couldn't see a lot once it got dark but it was a beautiful evening out and much wine was drank and good times were had.

Yesterday Chris did a "sit around in your pj's all day and watch football" kind of day. I did some Christmas shopping and bought nothing. Arrrggghhhhh. Hopefully I'll find some nice things to buy this weekend when we go to Seattle.

Have a great day........time to go to the gym.

It's Wednesday, What Else is New

So here it is , Wednesday again! I'm not sure where the time goes. Even when you're not working....but still busy going to the gym every day for 4 hours. I see the same group of people everyday and some of them I'm not really crazy about. One lady does nothing else but whine. I have a low tolerance for whiners. According to her, nobody there knows anything. She appears to be all knowledge about everything. The whole world revolves around her. I want to pop her but that probably wouldn't go over well.
Some of the other people can't read the signs that are posted everywhere saying no cell phones allowed in the clinic. They lay on their mats yapping on their phones while halfheartedly doing their exercises.
Chris and I went for a special dinner out tonight. We had a wonderful meal, specialty coffees and desserts. Yum! It's fun to have a treat once in awhile.
So...here's to the rest of the week. We're going on a boat cruise on Saturday so I'm looking forward to that. The next weekend we're going Christmas shopping in Seattle....can you say yippee!!!

Have a Nice Day

Yesterday I went to the Dentist and had a tooth pulled. Today I'm going to have a filling.
So go ahead...relax, have a nice day!!!

Albino Deer

(In response to my post about No Hunting someone sent me this, a much kinder and gentler response to finding a deer for sure)

"A very eventful day around here... A once in many lifetimes experience!

Mark saw this lil' feller run out in front of a car, thought it was a lost baby goat. Stopped to get it, and WOW. A real Albino Whitetail Deer. Just hours old, but doing fine. No Momma deer around.

Another car nearly hit it in front of Mark...Well,, he is THE neatest thing any of us ever saw. And such a 'freak of nature', that only 1 in more than a million are even born. He took his bottle of food, followed us around the house, doing
great. So, we called the Zoo & Fossil Rim, who were both interested, but we're going to send him to a Rehab farm. Maybe he will make it in captivity somewhere and be appreciated. So rare... Sure wanted to keep him tho. but, not the thing to do. And not LEGAL either ; But, here's a pic to show ya. He was snow white, pink eyes, ears, nose and hooves. Kids called him POWDER.

He was SO small. That is my shoe lying beside him... WOW..how cool is that??

Pass this around, a lot of folks have never and will probably never see even another picture of an Albino deer fawn......"

For Lovers of Words

FOR LEXICOLOGISTS (LOVERS OF WORDS):

1. A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.
..............................................
2. A will is a dead giveaway.
..............................................
3. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
..............................................
4. A backward poet writes inverse.
..............................................
5. In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.
..............................................
6. A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
..............................................
7. If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
..............................................
8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
..............................................
9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
..............................................
10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
..............................................
11. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
..............................................
12. A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
..............................................
13. You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
..............................................
14. Local Area Network in Australia : The LAN down under.
..............................................
15. He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
..............................................
16. A calendar's days are numbered.
..............................................
17. A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.
..............................................
18. A boiled egg is hard to beat.
..............................................
19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
..............................................
20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.
..............................................
21.A short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium atlarge.
..............................................
22. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
..............................................
23. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
..............................................
24. If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine .
..............................................
25. When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
..............................................
26. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
..............................................
27. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
..............................................
28. Acupuncture: a jab well done.

No Hunting

I don't normally write opinionated pieces on my blog. I usually save my blog for the mundane things in life and write nothing to rile up anybody who comes across my blog. But I'm upset. I just came across someone else's blog who was BRAGGING about the deer their family was killing. And, if that's not bad enough, showing photos of it on their blog. I'm appalled. Grossed out. It sickens me that people find that to be sport. I know we all have our opinions and I respect that but come on people, bragging? Not in my house. Not on my blog.

The Exercise Queen

I have never been known as someone who frequents a gym. In fact, I avoid them with a passion. My impression of gyms is that they are full of perfect little people with perfect little bodies who politely dab their foreheads with perfect little towels that match their perfect little gym outfits. When you're a big woman (not mentioning any names here) little perfect people are annoying. Big time. They get in your way at the mall when they're heading towards their little stores designed for people with petite bodies. They need to get out of my way while I'm heading to the Vertically Gifted and Horizontally Advantaged store. But enough about that...
For the past week and a half I have been to the GYM (cough, cough, sputter) for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. That's right people, of course it's required but I'm actually enjoying it. Some of the people are annoying and I have my own little names for them but I try to stay focussed and set my sights on the goal set before me. I also receive Physio 2x a week while in the Program. Just for the record, it's not one of THOSE Gyms, it's actually a Rehab place but...not so bad.

Whistler Mountaineer

This past Sunday our family went on a train trip to Whistler on the Whistler Mountaineer. It was something my mom wanted for her birthday so that's what my brother Ralph and I gave her. It was a great day!

Ralph picked up Mom and Paul and I met them along the way and we headed to North Vancouver to catch the train. It was pouring rain as we headed out but once we got past West Vancouver the sun broke through and it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day.

It's been years since my Mom had been in Whistler so Ralph and her took off for a tour around town once we got there.

Paul's not as quick on his feet and I'm not up to doing a lot of walking yet so Paul and I went for lunch and it was fabulous.

On the train we were visited by a bear! Of course my mom couldn't resist a photo op. My brother also told everyone it was her 100th Birthday instead of her 80th so she could be told how good she looks, you gotta love my bro. He also told people we were her grandchildren. We're always good for a laugh.

The scenery is breath taking and has to be seen to be believed. We live in such a beautiful province. It was a great day and I'm glad we all had such a good time.

Sometimes....

This is what I felt like when I got up this morning. I'm off to the Gym now for my exercises and physio. Hopefully this day will turn out better than how it started.

Ocean View

Another perfectly good view of the ocean ruined by man.

Stay Free

My mother taught me to read when I was four years old (her first mistake).

One day, I was in the bathroom and noticed one of the cabinet doors was ajar. I read the box in the cabinet. I then asked my mother why she was keeping 'napkin (Stayfree pads) in the bathroom. Didn't they belong in the kitchen?

Not wanting to burden me with unnecessary facts, she told me that those were for "special occasions" (her second mistake).

Now fast forward a few months....It's Thanksgiving Day, and my folks are leaving to pick up my uncle and his wife for dinner. Mom had assignments for all of us while they were gone. Mine was to set the table.

When they returned, my uncle came in first and immediately burst into laughter. Next came his wife who gasped, then began giggling. Next came my father, who roared with laughter. Then came Mom, who almost died of embarrassment when she saw each place setting on the table with a "special occasion" napkin at each plate, with the fork carefully arranged on top. I had even tucked the little tail in so they didn't hang off the edge!!

My mother asked me why I used these and, of course, my response sent the other adults into further fits of laughter.

"But, Mom, you SAID they were for special occasions!!"

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection for me. I am truly blessed and very thankful for all that I have been given. There's so much to be thankful it's hard to know where to start but I will write a few thoughts.
First I'm thankful for being raised in a Christian home with parents that loved God and raised us as followers of Jesus Christ. It was a solid foundation on which to build lives. My parents were hard working immigrants from Holland and gave us all a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility and pride.
I'm thankful for where my life is today. I haven't always had an easy ride. But through it all God has been faithful. It's been almost 10 years since I had my breakdown which caused me to be incompacitated for almost 2 years, losing whatever material possessions I had and forcing me into bankruptcy.
I'm thankful for my home and with whom I live today. We're a peaceful fun loving family and it's a joy to come home every day. I'm thankful for a warm nice place to live, knowing that so many in our world don't have anything close to what I have. I never want to take it for granted and feel even more blessed having a second home to retreat to. A home in the country surrounded by God's magnificent beauty, a quiet place to rest and relax.

I'm thankful for my mom who's healthy and fit at 80. I'm thankful to have a step-father who loves me as his own daughter, who knows that I was loved very much by own father. I knew my father's love could never be replaced when he passed away but Paul has done an outstanding job of 'filling in the gap'. I'm thankful for the memory of my brother John and for the 3 beautiful children he raised. I'm thankful for my big brother Ralph who makes me laugh.
I'm thankful for friends and for what they add to my life. I always know who to call when I need a laugh, who's there for comfort when I need a shoulder to cry on, who to call for shopping advice, everyone has their role and I appreciate them all.
I thank God everyday for a new day. Sometimes I say "Good Morning Lord" and sometimes it's "Good Lord It's Morning" but it's always a good day when we put our hope and trust in Him,
Great is His Faithfulness.

My Brother John

This week I have been really missing my brother John. Sometimes it's a VW roaring by, or a convertible on a sunny day, a trip to White Rock, seeing a tall guy with long blonde hair, any of those things conjure up a memory of John.

My brother John passed away December 15/04. Hard to believe that it's been that long already when his memory still seems so recent. He was 51 years old. He had suffered with diabetes since he was 13 and all the related health problems attached to that disease. He had a kidney transplant when he was 40 that gave him many more years than anybody expected. It was his heart that failed him in the end. But thankfully he was at home when it happened and not on one of his crazy "adventures".

John lived his life with passion. He never did anything half ways. He loved God with all of his heart and desired to serve Him with everything he had. He loved his family - his wife who left him years ago because she couldn't deal with his illness, his 3 children and his beautiful granddaughter. He honored his mom with cards he gave to her expressing his thankfulness for his rich heritage in the Lord. He loved his older brother and me, his younger sister. He loved his church family who had given him so much as a shelter away from the storms of life. Who provided him with a safe place to stay when he needed it, when his health was precarious he often stayed in one of their rooms and enjoyed their kind hospitality. He loved his VW's and that whole community of whacky people that he hung out with, had coffee with and talked about VDubs with.

My brother was one of a kind. You never knew when he was going to show up looking for a meal, but at the same time offering to do whatever you needed around the house. He changed the oil in my car because "you'll get ripped off otherswise". He did a lot of stuff for me and things I really appreciated even more after I didn't have someone to do it anymore.

I miss his big voice, you had to hear it to believe it. Everyone always knew when John arrived, between his VW roaring in and his hearty "hello".

It's a bright sunny day out today and I think I'll go wash the car. Just because it's something John would do.

Take a moment today to tell someone you love them. John always treated everyone as if it was his last chance to see them. His last night on earth he spent having an early Christmas dinner with his kids so he could tell them just how much he loved them.

I miss you John.

Jesus Loves You

It's Friday and It's Fabulous

Chris got the truck back with a splash! It's beautiful. It's hard to see all the details but it really looks sharp and we're all happy about it. The truck's going in to another shop next week for some more stuff. So much fun!

The kittens are hilarious and we're very happy we got a pair of them. They keep each other amused and wear each other out. They also like to wake up the household at oh about 4 a.m. Sleep little kittens, sleep! No, they have completely different ideas. They're getting bigger by the minute and Maggie's taking it all in stride.

I'm now going to Physio/Gym 4 hours a day. It's pretty time consuming but I'm hoping to see some positive results.

Here's to having a great weekend everyone.

Thursday Thirteen

1. First of all, I think 13 are waaaay too many things to write about so this just might end up as Thursday Three or Thursday Ten.
2. Chris's truck is looking good...got the graphics and nerf boards on yesterday, still has to go in the shop next week to complete the "pimp my ride" process.
3. I started my Gym program this week and will be going 4 hours/day for 5day/s week for the next few weeks. Back to work date still unknown.
4. Kittens are growing - fast!
5. Kittens are crazzy - all the time but sooo much fun to watch. It's fun to see their little personalities emerging. One is definitely the leader and tells his brother what to do and how to do it.
6. Maggie is doing fabulous in her new big sister role. She doesn't chase them or torment them at all. Must be the lab in her and not the whippet.
7. The weather continues to be wonderful, warm sunny days without a jacket. Unbelievable for the first week of Oct.
8. I cried this morning because I missed my brother John. A lady at the Gym said she had a son who was a juvenile diabetic and he's doing great. He's also only 21. John did great at that age too. It's when the kidneys start to go there's problems.
9. I am so grateful for the blessings God has given me. I often don't feel that I'm thankful enough but I am so blessed with so much. I live with those I love, I hurt myself but get enough compensation to pay the bills, I have good friends and good health.
10. I'm hungry so I'm going to go eat. So much for 13. I'm going to end at 10.

A Princess? Me?

Chris and I have been watching this show called "American Princess". Basically, the premise is that a group of American girls between 18 and 30 applied to become the first American Princess. There's a cash prize involved as well as a real title as Princess of something or other British. It's a fun show to watch as they get put through their paces learning how to walk, how to talk, how to eat with the right fork, how to socialize as a "proper" young lady. You know, all that stuff that none of us do.
That led us to a conversation about princesses. Chris had picked up a book yesterday and read that "all girls dream of becoming princesses". hmmm, not in this household.
I told Chris I have never dreamt of becoming a princess. Neither has she, although she did add a comment "I have dreamt of being Queen though".
I don't know. Are we that different from all the other girls who dream of living in castles, whisked off by their Prince Charmings? Is it because we're just basic realists who know they'll never live in a castle because they'd worry about not making the mortgage payment? Who knows?
I read a lot of people's blogs, I find them interesting and one statement that stood out to me (I forget who writes these things) was that someone wrote "I prayed my whole life for a husband". She said as long as she could remember she had wanted to find a husband.
Well, I for one not only never wanted to be a Princess, I can't relate to that statement either.
For me, I'm happy living as a child of the King. Who could ask for anything more?

Daily Rules From God for 2006

Daily Rules from God for 2006

1. Wake Up !! Decide to have a good day. "Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up !! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance; but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. "He who guards his lips guards his soul." Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up!!... For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.. "Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up !!... To the Lord.
"I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Phillippians 4:13

6. Reach Up !!... For something higher. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, And He will direct your path."
Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up !!... Your Prayers.
"Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING."
Philippians 4:6

His Special Purpose

“Just think you’re not here by chance, but by God’s choosing. His hand formed you and made you the person you are. He compares you to no one else – you are one of a kind. You lack nothing that His grace can’t give you. He has allowed you to be here at this time in history to fulfill His special purpose for this generation.” Roy Lessin

You Too Can Quit Smoking

I am soooo glad I quit smoking...February 27, 2000. Just think of all the $$$ I've saved! Not to mention everything I own doesn't stink. My friend Barb sent me this in an email today...makes you think doesn't it? My dad was a heavy smoker and died of a massive heart attack at 65. So it hits close to home for me.

The Guardian

Last night we went to see the movie "The Guardian" with Kevin Kostner and Ashton Kucher. Great movie. I'd recommend it. Lots of water, some real life drama, some romance, and over all worthwhile going to see especially on the big screen.

Afterwards we went to a restaurant in Richmond which formerly served good food and had good service. Somehow both of those elements were missing last night. The food was cold, one person got served the wrong thing, food had to be re-heated, waiting forever for the bill to arrive. Too bad because it used to be a great place to eat and hang out with friends.

Chris is getting her ride "pimped" this week but you can read all about it over at her blog. Pretty exciting.

Got my hair cut this morning. It's so thick it has to be thinned out every 4 weeks but since I don't usually go that often I wake up looking like a rooster in the morning.

Have a great Sunday and know that God loves you very much. He made you just the way you are.