Been Awhile....

It has been ages. Literally since I blogged. What's funny is that I'm too busy doing things that are worth blogging about to blog! And the fact that I only have 2 followers, one of them who I know. Maybe if I was more consistent with blogging I would have more.
I suppose I should start back in December and go from there.
Christmas was awesome this year! We did Christmas eve at Steve's parents house where we ate delicious food and watched Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. A classic which I hadn't seen before. Then we headed over to Christy and Gary's (Steve's sister and brother-in-law) to spend the night. Christy and I were up super late wrapping presents. The morning was fun because Steve's neices aged 8 and 12 are still in love with Christmas and getting presents etc. We had an amazing breakfast/brunch. Steve and I headed home around lunchtime to get all ready to go the ranch (Claire's place by Cochrane). There were about 25 of Steve's family members there for the huge turkey dinner that they put together. We were in charge of buns and cranberry. I made homemade cranberry so I was super proud to show it off!
Only days later we were on a plane to the Mayan Riviera Mexico for a week long rest and relaxation vacation. And that is exactly what it was. We had such a great time together and already can't wait to get away on our next trip!
We adopted another dog, "Wally" whom we affectionately call "Walter" or "Walty" He is just the sweetest, a japanese chin and daschund cross, he is now Alabama's best friend. They playfight all day and get into all sorts of mischeif including ripping open their food bag! Bad dogs! They are so well behaved together though so I can't complain too much. We would like to take them to some puppy classes to get them more well acquainted with other dogs as they both have their own style of reactive tendencies.
Back to work, and so busy! Another new analyzer at the lab so lots of calculations etc and getting that ready. Which I finally was just able to submit to the pathologist last week for review. Hopefully it will be ready to go early March! I can't wait!
We took a trip out to Kananaskis early February for a weekend getaway which was really nice. Gary, Christy, Maren and Cameron, Julie and Dan and Steve and I were all there. We hot-tubbed, watched tv, read our books, drank hot chocolate and hung out. Gary and the girls went skiing and snowboarding to take advantadge of the nice weather. Mostly the rest of us just ate and relaxed!
Last week I moved in with Steve, obviously a big step, but I'm really excited about it! We're so happy to be living together, it's so fun! We have spent the last couple of weeks getting organized and putting away things that we won't need for awhile (until we were to buy a house). Which may not be too far off since we would love to have a backyard for the dogs!

It's Been Awhile

A long while....

I haven't blogged all summer. Which means I was super busy? I was!

I may as well just pretend that I didn't even have a summer. A lot has happened however.

I met someone in early July, Steve. He is to say the very very least, amazing!
I started a new job in Didsbury...lab supervisor, what up!
I moved to Didsbury for said job, for at least 6 months (maybe more?) I don't even really know!
I went to Miami in August for training for my job, a new analyzer, fun!

That's pretty much up to date.

This week is going to be crazy, I work for three days and then Steve and I are flying off to Winnipeg! We're going to meet the new little gaffer in the family Kaelynne Elizabeth! Daughter to Tyler *my brother* and Gina (sister in law obviously!) Should be awesome. We're also celebrating my mom's *50th* birthday! Lucky her.

After Winnipeg, Steve will fly back to Calgary and i'll be flying to Rochester *barf* for work again. Another new analyzer. Should be a good learning experience though. These things are always good for continuing education credits!

That is the update, I may backdate a few posts and put up some pictures to sum this all up later on....

Baby Chickadees on the Farm!

On Sunday Erin and Jeff brought me out to Jeff's family's place by Longview, AB. His Mom is raising some baby chicks to be chickens for eating. I was just happy to hold them and feed them until one pooped on my hand. What can I say? I think he was a little bit frightened! They were so adorable with their little chirps, but those buggers are hard to catch! Here are some photos from the trip out:

The Most Delicious Candy in the Whole World!

Do you know what those are? Those my friend are PUNKYS! My absolute favourite candy in the whole entire world. I haven't been able to have any since...oh about 2001 (That was 9 years ago) and I still haven't been able to find a candy that I love as much as Punkys. Their made by the Wonka company and unfortunately I found out last night that they are discontinued. This breaks my heart. The last place I remember them being sold was at Carr's Confectionary on 4th avenue SW Moose Jaw. I used to go in there and buy like 3 boxes at a time. They would promptly be demolished by the time it took me to drive to the NW but it was totally worth it. I've looked all over the internet to see where I can buy a case and even emailed a few websites to see if they had any stashed away but no such luck. If I ever get my hands on these little gems in my lifetime i'll be the happiest person on Earth.

In other news, my teeth F$*%&$* hurt today! Mostly just the bottom ones in the front. It might be because they are no longer one in front of the other in an accordian like pattern, but they're all in a straight line. It makes me happy, but at the expense of my pain tolerance that's for sure. It's not like sharp jabbing pains, it's the constant dull pain of toothaches that gets me. Lucky for me I get to go to the dentist tomorrow and have them all cleaned up. I think it'll actually hurt more than usual because they'll have to work around the braces but I'll post on how it goes. I might even take a picture to document the progress of my teeth ( Even though Dad said it was gross and to never do it again). I'm at the 4 month mark already only 1 yr and 8 months to go. In other words....a lifetime. Feels that way anyway. But, it will be all worth it in the end when i have a super wicked smile and big slippery horseteeth! Yay!

Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and Fleurs.

Last week I flew to Winnipeg to meet up with my Mom and do a little road trip to Minneapolis to visit the Albertville Outlet Mall and the MOA (Mall of America!). The shopping was 'insano bananas' as I was constantly repeating on the weekend. The Outlet mall was much more impressive than the MOA, by a long shot because of all the sales! Mind you I did love Macy's they had so many pretty dresses and I was able to find a great pair of jeans there. Mom found a lot of stuff too while shopping, sandals, t-shirts, etc. I kind of blew the $400 limit out of the water unfortunately. But, it's nice to know its all bought and paid for and isn't sitting on my credit card! (thank God!)

I was only able to spend a little bit of time with Dad, Tyler, Gina and Grandma. But, since i'll be back at the end of June, it's ok. Gina looks so cute with her little baby bump! I'm really excited for them, and even though Gina doesn't seem to be enjoying pregnancy she'll enjoy being a mom!

Just before I left on the trip I joined a book club! It's my first time ever in a book club, i'm very excited about it. Our next meeting is June 22, and the chosen book was "The Cellist of Sarajevo" by Steven Galloway. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I finished the book within 2 days, which included me reading half the book aloud to Mom on the way home from Minneapolis. I liked it quite a bit and I can't wait to discuss it for book club. I also picked up 'The Alchemist' by Paul Coelho. It was AMAZING! I read it in about a day (most of it was at work today because it was so boring). Even though I have already read it, I hope that it's chosen for our book club sometime. I want as many people to read it as possible, it's sooo good! I'll be reccomending it to everyone for months to come!

Here are some pics from the week away:

Trying out the new Franco Sarto purse...looks like a match!

Flower browsing at the greenhouse:

NEW PAPER!

Uhm yeah I know, this is probably some of the cutest paper ever! I'll be taking it with me this weekend to Canmore to hopefully dolly it up into a nice scrapbook page or two....hopefully I get more than that accomplished this weekend! I just picked it up this afternoon at Scrapbooker's Paradise. They're no stranger to me sitting on their floor sifting through papers, but today I was especially lazy...no exhausted. It was my first day leaving the house since i've been sick. I had to get out and test the waters before I work tomorrow. I'm nervous for it to be busy and me not be able to keep up. But, i'll do my best and hope for the best. It will be nice to relax in Canmore this weekend, scrapbook and nap as I please.

I usually don't blog 2 days in a row, two weeks in a row, or two months in a row. (But, i'm getting better at it!) But, I was really excited about this paper, so I just had to mention it!

FML - I hate being sick!

So, the bucket I was vomiting in this week wasn't near as fancy as this one. But, I thought i'd class it up a little bit by posting a photo of a nice one, instead of the plastic urine hat/bucket I brought home from the hospital!
Still layed out on my couch for now 4 days, this "virus" really grabbed hold of me. What a perfect time to update the old blog, it's been like 4 weeks since I updated here! Last night was maybe one of the worst nights of all. Absolutely no sleep and nausea that I cannot even explain. At least the nights I spent in the hospital I was hooked up to beautiful saline and anti-nauseant meds via IV. I've never had an IV in my life until just the other day, now i've had 4. 2 of them blew (went interstitial or didn't stay in) and 2 were legit. Now my wrists are yellowy-green with bruises and 2 little poke holes in each one. Bummer.
I'm hungry...soooo hungry! There are so many things i'd love to eat right now that would upset my stomach a lot but I can't stop thinking about:
1. Coconut shrimp
2. Fettucine alfredo
3. Salad with cheese and lots of dressing
4. Macaroni and cheese
5. Hummus
6. BBQ potato chips (Old dutch only!)
7. Ice cream (vanilla bean)
8. Banana bread
9. Chicken Pot pie
10. BBQ ribs (don't hold back on the sauce)

I'm going to make it my goal to eat these things over the next 2 weeks once i'm feelin better. I friggin deserve it. I'm pretty sure i've lost at least 5 pounds...I want them back! Most of these items have been featured on episodes on the Food Network which i've been glued to for the last few days :) Worst channel ever to watch when your nauseous and hungry at the same time. Unfortunately i'll never again be able to eat BBQ Crispy Mini rice chips because that was the last thing I remember eating before getting sick.
In other news the Canmore scrapbook retreat is this weekend. I've been waiting months to go to this event. Unfortunately I think that my enthusiasm is tainted from being sick. I'm hoping to feel 100% by Thurs for my shift at the hospital. Even a strong 85% will do i'm sure :) At least it's a pretty relaxing weekend, I know I may not get many pages completed, but i'll try my best. I'll have to hit up the scrap store and walmart before I go to get some supplies for the event. Luckily because we're scrapping in the same hotel we stay at, it will be easy to take naps. (And not naps in my car this time, yay)
That's all for now, i'm actually exhausted from typing :( I've never felt so lame in my life.