EEEEEEEEE!

Finally! I'm leaving for Penticton today for 5 days with Mare! We've been counting down for ages and this morning I will get on a bus (eww) and begin the trek to BC.
Yesterday I was looking over my bus itinerary (for the first time) and noticed a layover in Salmon Arm. From 1am to 6am. WHAT?! So I talked to Mare last night and she said she'd drive up to get me. Which means not only do I not have to sit in a bus station (widely recognized as the creepiest places in the world) for 5 hours trying to sleep, but I get to see Mare sooner (NO more sleeps)!!! AND we get to start our days of fun with a road trip! I'm so excited I could pee!
Can't wait to see you Mare!

A Happy Day!!

Today is a very very special day! It is the day that my dearest best friend Mare was born! She has been such a huge support to me in the short years that we've known each other, and is always there to make everyone she knows feel special. She will go out of her way to supply a hug, or a cup of tea, or flowers and cheesecake to a friend in need (usually me! haha!). I am so happy that she is here and that she makes the world that much brighter with her smile!

So, to Mare, my dearest best friend, Happy Birthday! I'm so happy you were born, and that you are part of my life! And I can't wait to see you in two more sleeps!
Click Here to Listen to the Greetings from the Morning shows in Swift!

The sacrificial blog

Since about grade 8, writing has been my venting session. I've always been able to throw whatever is bothering me onto a piece of paper and feel somewhat more at peace with it. That morphed from fun coloured pens and paper to improved typing skills and keeping an online diary, which then turned into one of millions of blogs on the www. I became a blogger in 2006 and it started out as a place to air my dirty laundry and vent a little and possibly be a little entertaining.

Now I've found that I have a few people reading it and I have to find different topics to jot down. The list of things that are "off limits" has expanded. It now includes things that I'm not prepared to talk about (even eluding to those things draws attention and awkward questions), work issues (of ALL kinds), friend issues (unless I want to run the risk of an untimely confrontation), relationship issues (it's just not nice to let everyone into a relationship, there are some things that must remain between two people alone).

I'm not complaining. I'm flattered that people find my blog interesting. It's a problem that comes about eventually for anyone who publishes to an on-line journal. There is no anonymity. The internet is accessible by everyone. It's a challenge.

As for those top secret scandalous secrets that my brain is swimming in? Well, they have their special place too; written in plain ink in my little red journal that stays tucked away in my underwear drawer.

I NEED...

A reverse alarm for Scoots:
If you can get them for SUV's and Minivans, why not my scooter? Even more useful, considering in order to back up I have to firmly plant my feet on the ground and push.

The unwashed masses

I have joined those masses in their filth and grossness. Ok, so it's not that bad yet, but I definitely feel disgusting. This morning at 3:30, I dragged my sorry ass out of bed and went to the bathroom for my morning routine. Upon turning on the shower, I noticed the water pressure was pretty much non-existent. It just sort of trickled out of the tap. Fearing the worst, I went to the rest of the taps in the house and discovered they too had no pressure. So I went downstairs, nervous at what I might find: water all over the floor, a smoking water heater, a burst pipe somewhere, a strange homeless man sulking in the corner, thirteen ghosts having a siesta (I have a strong imagination, especially at 3:35am). Thankfully, none of my worst nightmares were there. In fact, there was nothing out of place and not a drip to be found. So I did what any self-reliant independent young woman would do in this situation: I woke up my boyfriend. Brad obligingly got up and went downstairs to look for himself. Upon seeing exactly what I saw (nothing) he determined it was the city's fault. That might actually be true; they were digging three blocks down from our house yesterday, so it's totally plausible that something was damaged. We determined there wasn't a damned thing to be done about it, so I did exactly what I wanted to do when I had woken up 10 minutes before: I went back to bed for another 20 minutes of sleep and later washed in the sink as best I could, put on extra deodorant, a dash of perfume, and put my greasy hair up in a ponytail.
A good solid shower will be very very welcome later today.

Birthday Camping Extravaganza!

I think it's safe to say that this was the best birthday I've had in many years. Brad went out of his way to get everything organized and buy hundreds of dollars in groceries and supplies so that everyone would have an easy, stress-free weekend.

We were on the road just before 1 and got to Cypress to find the park filling up rapidly and a very poor selection of sites left. We went to the office and asked to book four sites in the tenting area. After ho-humming about where we wanted to go, we finally made our choice and tried to pay for all four sites. Apparently Cypress has a rule that they won't allow a site to be booked until the person who will be on that site is present. It was about 3:30 and we didn't know when everyone else would be coming out, so we were a little stressed. The girl "pencilled" us in, meaning they wouldn't tell people those sites were open, but if everything else filled up they would have to give the sites up. So Brad and I each got our own sites (two down, two to go) and went to set up. We spread our gear across the four sites to make them look occupied and settled down to wait for Rob and Bev to arrive. Nick and Kim would be coming a little later with Brett once everyone was off work. Luck was on our side and we managed to hang onto the sites until Rob and Bev made it (they each booked a site, sealing the deal).

Once everyone was there we set up camp, and then went for a drive.

~
We had bushpies for supper. SOOOOO yummy. We also tried our hands at making dessert bushpies with creamcheese and pie filling. Super yummy too!
(The smoke and heat were blowing in my eyes so I couldn't see)~
Rob and Bev loved the bushpies!
~
Friday night we went to bed sometime around midnight. A couple of hours later the storm hit. The rain was just pouring down and there were great big crashes of thunder and lightning. I've never been tenting during a thunderstorm before. Definitely a cool experience.
Saturday morning, everyone chilled out around the fire, waiting for things to dry up a little.
~
This little butterfly was very friendly and seemed to like our cooler...maybe he was hoping for a beer.
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Things cleared up on Saturday and the sun came out, making for a beautiful day. We went for ice-cream and then went for a "hike" through the Valley of the Windfall.
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Cheesecake flavoured Ice Cream! Yummers!
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Nick found a "stick".
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The boys at the dock. Nick, Kim, Vince, and Brett all rented kayaks and yak boards and went for a paddle around the lake while Brad and I relaxed on the beach.
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Later back at the campsite, the boys decided to play beersbee...they drank a lot. This is the product of that drinking.
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Then at 10:30 the park put on Fireworks for my birthday! How nice of them! (Ok, maybe it was for Parks Weekend, but whatever)
~
Definitely a fantastic weekend! I was so happy that so many people came out! I totally gorged myself on the fantastic camp food and feel totally gross today, but it was well worth it!

So Long, 25!

It's official, I'm now closer to 30 than 20. But I'm strangely cool with that. Life is good.
This morning everyone at the station wished me a happy birthday. You can listen here.

Mare sent me some cash along with my birthday prezzies so I could get a piece of cheesecake and a tasty beverage from Urban Ground, which I seriously enjoyed this morning. (as you can clearly see from the picture to the left).

Ben and Brenda took me and Brad out for a birthday supper last night. We went to the Akropol where I was the odd one out and ordered a grilled halibut steak (everyone else had ribs). Delicious! They also gave me a bouquet of beautiful roses in a gorgeous variety of colours. Now I'm off home to get ready for camping ...but first to open my prezzies!

This birthday thing rocks!

For Your Enjoyment

David Sedaris...had me in tears!

Another Perfect Sunday

Yesterday morning Vassy sent me a text asking if I had plans for breakfast. We opted for BP's as it was a beautiful sunny day and they have a patio. While we sat and basked in the sun we decided it was definitely a beach day.

Before heading out to the Sask Landing, we stopped by Wal-Mart so I could grab an airmattress. Apparently summer is officially over at Wal-Mart as they have replaced their summer fun section with SCHOOL SUPPLIES!!!

Luckily Canadian Tire recognizes the sun was still shining and hot and beach season is really only beginning. I grabbed two air mattresses.

It's a good thing I'm a bit of a wind-bag!

The Landing was perfect. Sunny, not too busy, warm, the water was cool but not chilling. Vassy brought lots of trashy magazines and we relaxed and soaked up some sun. I didn't realize how much sun I soaked up though and my legs (particularly the upper thigh area) are an angry read color, reminiscent of a lobster. Sigh.

When we got back to town shortly after 5, Brad had gone grocery shopping, tidied the house, and had a huge supper ready to bbq for us! Vassy brought an amazing cherry-pie-cake for dessert (I over-ate at supper and had to have some later on as a bedtime snack), and we watched Miss Universe while we ate. I don't think I need to say anything else about THAT.

WTF?!

It all started off like any other evening. I was sitting in my favorite reading chair in the living room absorbed in my book while Brad was at ball. At about 7 oclock I saw a couple of flashes of lightning in the distance and thought to myself that I'd probably see a storm that night, but likely nothing big.

At about 8, the wind picked up and it started to rain. The lightning and thunder was intense. A few minutes later, the hail started. I watched out the window as the marble sized pellets struck the ground so hard they bounced almost 2 feet off grass and pavement. They were falling so fast all I could see was the bouncing, making it look like the ground was spitting them up.

Then it got louder, and the hail mixed with sheets of rain blown sideways in waves. The hail started to fall harder and all I could hear was the thunder of it beating sideways against our front window and the ugly tin awning over the kitchen window. Brad called to tell me that he was stopped under a tree to try to keep the truck from being too damaged by the hail. I couldn't hear him anymore though, the storm was howling so severely, and the hail was battering the house too strongly. I hung up just before the power went out and I moved Nibbler's cage from it's place by the front window, just in case the hail would shatter it. I stood in the middle of the living room and stared out the window, but the rain and hail were so thick I couldn't see across our little street.

That only lasted for a couple of minutes, though my ears felt like it had gone on for much longer.

The hail let up and a few minutes later Brad pulled up in the driveway and moved my flower pot out of the brunt of the rain. Unfortunately, the front garden couldn't be saved. (I'm hoping that the marigolds are sturdy enough to bounce back).

We stayed in the house until the rain let up and blue sky appeared as suddenly as it had gone. Then we went for a drive to survey the damage.

The wind had blown a few trees down, but mostly it had blown so many leaves off the branches that they had clogged the storm sewers, effectively flooding the streets. One person's shed was crumpled on a boulevard across the street from it's home, another resident lost their trampoline...who knows where that ended up! And the power was out for 2.5 hours. Our siding is dented, but the car and truck didn't get damaged at all. And thankfully, just before the storm hit, I had the forsight to run outside and cover up Scoots, so there was no damage there either.

City Crews clearing away the clogged stormdrains
~The South Side of the city. Where we stopped to take this picture the water was almost at the runningboards on the Escape.
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My poor little garden. :(
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~Jon Keen was out after the storm taking pictures as well. These ones came from him:

But it's all about making the best of a bad situation...apparently there were people tubing down Cheadle Street, and I saw at least a dozen people having a water fight in the puddles in parking lots.

Swift Current: Rock Capital of Saskatchewan

Ok, maybe not quite, but we did have the first big rock show to hit the city last night at the Credit Union Iplex! Default and Mobile came to town and lit it up! Me, A-van, Sean, Chance
~
The Breakfast Boys, Me, and the gusy from Mobile:
Jon, Frank Williamson (weird coincidence, I know), Mat Joly, Pierre-Marc Hamelin, Chance, and Me (huddling in the front, more or less throwing off the shot, haha!)
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Mobile on Stage
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Default on Stage
~

As old and lame as it makes me seem, I wore earplugs for the show. I learned a long time ago that having ringing ears from concerts is really crummy, so I started wearing earplugs to shows and I'll never go back! I could hear everything clearly with no nasty side effects. Lame? Maybe, but at least I can hear!

(That's for you Mum! See how I look after myself? haha!)

I Wish I Could Live at the Beach

I decided on Tuesday after a day at the Saskatchewan Landing that come hell or high water, we would be back there over the weekend for at least one day. Determination (and the strong will of an 8 year old) paid off and Brad, Brett, Broden and I headed out to the landing yesterday afternoon for some sun and beach time. Brad and I gave Broden the Cyclone for his birthday and Brett took a while to blow it up, and it didn't spin wildly like the box promised, but it was a good time, anyway.

Tidbit

When I was in elementary school we had a guest speaker come in to talk to the assembly. I can't remember who he was, or what the purpose of the talk was, but there was one part that has stuck with me. He said that when a person is walking down the street they do something predictable. When a person is approaching another person who is walking towards them, at 17 feet from the other person, they will look up and make eye contact. 17 feet. It's just something we're programmed to do. He told us to try it the next time we were approaching someone on the street. Well, I did. I became hyper sensitive to it, bordering on OCD. Since that day I have not been able to properly make eye contact on the street.

Frontier Days and Canada Day

Alright, it has been long enough and now it's time for a recap of the past few days.

Let's start with Frontier Days (remember, it's pronounced Frawn-teer, not Frun-teer). First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their valuable suggestions in dealing with the wonders of the fair and the multitudes of Carnies. As it was, we didn't have any problems, and I gorged myself on fair food anyway (whoops).
The weekend was absolutely beautiful, sunny, hot and wonderful. Brad and I went to Nick and Kim's to watch the parade. Darlene and her friend showed up, and Kim's family was there as well to take in the fun. It was great to just sit on the lawn and watch all of the floats go by. I'm such a sucker for parades! Afterwards we went for breakfast and then Brad, Kim, Brett and I headed down to the fair. We got bracelets for the rides ($37!!!) and I was determined to get my money's worth out of it!

We went on the Swings
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Brad fed the goats in the petting zoo
~ We went on the bumper cars (which I am officially too tall to ride, judging from the way my knees stuck out)
~Kim and I went on the Ferris Wheel
~It wouldn't be a fair without a ride on the merry go round
~

And then it was off to the saloon where we had a couple of drinks and Vanessa and I danced in the dirt with no shoes on.
~
Back to work on Monday and, since it was the night before a day off I wasn't worried about staying up way too late (who needs a regular sleep pattern anyway?), and so we went off to Clearwater Drive-In to see Ironman. I've gotta say, I love the drive in! The seats in the Escape were not terribly comfortable, it was really hot and humid in the truck and we had to open the windows which let in the hoards of mosquitoes which devoured my legs, so I covered them with a blanket and was way too hot. I was really really sleepy and had to force myself to stay awake. But despite all that, it was a lot of fun! Plus the popcorn kicked ass!
Yesterday was Canada Day and I was determined to do something fun, so Brad, Brett and I went for lunch and then headed off to the Saskatchewan Landing to play in the water and relax by the river. It was exactly what I felt like doing! I may have gotten an ever-so-slight-sunburn on my stomach and knees (of all places), but my legs actually look like they have a little color now, and I didn't burn too bad, so I'm happy!
The other great thing about a stat holiday is the short work week that's left. So glad it's Wednesday!