The first of thirty

Okay, so I'm going to blog everyday for the month of April. This shouldn't be too hard as I've been building up material during the month of March. Yes, that's exactly why I haven't been posting!!! :o)

So get ready for a some 'karen' this month.

BTW this is not an April Fools Day joke.
I'm serious, I'm going to blog everyday.
Everyday.
Seriously!

Adjective

Busy
1) Engaged in activity, as work; occupied.
2) Sustaining much activity.
3) Meddlesome.
4) Being in use, as a telephone line.
5) Cluttered with detail to the point of being distracting.

I thought we could all learn something while I apologize to my 6+ readers for not posting in weeks. I use to do a 'blog-a-day' in March, but this is the anti March because...

1) I don't have much spare time this March.
2) It's beautiful outside, not usual for March.
3) Not much interesting has happened. Well, actually, that's the same.

A quick catch-up in case I don't blog again until April..
1) I got a new job.
2) Spring Fever has hit me hard with this beautiful weather.
3) My house is a mess-in-progress because of #1 and #2.

The 'job' part of my life is all consuming. Preparing my resume, worrying about phone interviews, worrying about interviews, negotiating the job offer, worrying about leaving, outlining duties for a new person (not hired yet), starting new job (soon) and clothes shopping.

It's been a big mental workout for me to accept change as a positive and not an unknown prepare for the worst negative. Successful people embrace change and I've been preparing myself along the way to make the transistion smoother.

My 2010 motto is in full force right now.
Be strong, check.
Forgive yourself, working on it.
Move on, looking forward to it.

Hope March has been/will be good to you all.

2010

Okay, I'm back at it. Happy New Year, I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as much as I did.

So 2010, what are we going to do with you? Currently I feel a little overwhelmed with the possibilities that are before us. I think a weekend of list making is in order!

We made a list last weekend of work we want to do around the house. A Wish List really. We kept ourselves grounded as RJ kept repeating "We can't get all of this done this year." Very true but it's nice to have a physical list to refer to, not something rattling up in my head, something I can hold and cross things off of when we are done (that's really the most exciting thing about making a list making right?).

Here's to Wish Lists and all we can accomplish in 2010.

I will be posting a compilation of 2009 moments. I've enjoyed reviewing all the photos from this year and remembering what a year it was.

Tangents

It's been a little crazy here. I'm not sure why everything is going off in all directions. I have a fondness for tangents but seriously, they have to stop and let me catch my breath.

My knee is just plain annoying. I'm in physio now but it feels like it's going to get worse before it gets better. Luckily I'm not in the Jingle Bell 5K like last year.

So it's now December and I'm hoping to blog every day because there is a lot going on and I want to capture all of it as it whizzes by.

Hope you're all ready for what's ahead this month in your part of the world. I'm definitely using the motto "Keep Calm and Carry On" more and more these days.

Is Spurtsiness a word?

This blogging thing is funny. Sometimes there is so much to say and I don't post. Other times there is nothing to say and I can post twice a day! I don't know where my 'blog-spurtsiness' comes from but some weeks I just don't have it. The words fumble out of my fingers, nothing sounds or looks right so I skip the publish button. Besides who wants to know what I'm reading or watching or doing?? Oh yeah, I do. This blog is meant to be a reflection of our life. So technically I want to know. It's good to get perspective some times.
Hope you're all enjoying the ends of summer.
What are your three wishes? That's right I put a $1 in there for each of you.

Lurking

Look what I found lurking under the edge of my keyboard.

It must have escaped from yesterday’s “will this Monday ever end 3pm sugar rush”.

I've figured out why I'm not blogging regularly. Answer: I'm not downloading my pictures every day! (due to technical difficulties with the new camera and work computer). And without pictures I can't write good. They are the equivalent to my 'hand gestures' when I speak.

At lunch I got a inexpensive card reader and.... BHAM!.... I'm back baby!! No lets get a little sugar rush goin' and catch-up on the last 6 weeks!

Are you back yet?

Yup. I'm here and things are looking up. I took a break from everything this weekend and it helped restore my energy and kick start my 'to-do' momentum. I'm back on track, still busy but the blogging will carry on.

I've missed not documenting our little life. When I was feeling burnt out nothing seemed important enough to blog but after some catching up with friends and some good ol' fashioned rest I'm now only slightly crispy around the edges and see that there was a lot of good fun last month that needs to be recorded.

Looking forward to June and all that's coming my way.

We interrupt this life .....

That's been my life these past two weeks. Oh hell, for all of May! June looks more calming. A little sigh of relief escapes me when a I think of June. Ah, June.

Looks like the last few outdoor/garden things aren't going to make our May deadline (rain in the forecast) but I think that's a good sign for us to slow down and take a day to relax.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Back to your regularly scheduled blogging on Monday.

Too Quick

2 long weekends + 1 short week = a BIG time crunch.
Too much going on, no time to report.
Back to normal this weekend?
Okay Monday, who am I kidding.
Being realistic.... 2nd week of June! :o)
Back with lots of pictures and updates.
Monday I promise.
Take Care.

It got away

This week got away from me. Kinda like this guy.It's another to-do list weekend. We are getting a lot done but will not meet the 2-4 long weekend deadline (which I knew deep down inside). But we are on target for the end of May. Go Team!


The weather will play a huge factor this weekend. It's suppose to rain (maybe snow !?*#!?). Instead of the deck railing we may have to switch to painting the living room. We'll see. We don't mind getting wet but I don't think we should use our drill in the rain. Something about that screams 'not safe' to me.


I'll have a lot of catch-up posts next week. I've been taking pictures with the 2nd new Canon and I like it. (Can you sense the hesitation?) There is very little post processing (colour, contract, sharpness - all good) but I'm having some issues. I'm changing settings and forgetting to change them back. I took a bunch of photos on ISO 1600 because I forgot to reset it after I was done. I wondered why they looked so fuzzy. User issues. I'll get over it soon. I hope.

Have a great weekend!

Not connecting

**Update** Thanks for the tip Mary, I will try a card reader. Luckily our home PC finds and reads the card. I don't want to mess with my work PC so I'll track down that reader.I'm way behind in posting because I'm having problems downloading the photos from my 2nd new camera. It's a Canon and for some reason I can't get the photos off it without installing the software. Normally the memory card acts like a flash drive when I hook it up to my computer. Not so this time. We'll at least not that I can figure out on my lunch. Maybe it's my PC maybe the software, maybe the user!!! But like Bauer, I'm a little pouty about it right now.

Thursday...c'est what?

I can't believe that it's Thursday already. Here's a brief catch-up on what's been happening and what's on for the weekend (because I'm pretty sure I won't get a chance to post tomorrow)

1 ~ Planning the design and cost of the railing for our deck.
2 ~ Planning the stone walls for the gardens and getting soil. (Need to take before pictures. I'm expecting a big change by the end of the summer)
3 ~ Going to see Sunshine Cleaning tonight with a friend.
4 ~ Eating prepared meals and feeling a little guilty about it (further explanation later)
5 ~ Exchanging the camera I bought 2 weeks ago for something else. I just don't love it.
6 ~ Going to the Wings of Paradise butterfly museum for a visit before we book our corporate Kid's Christmas Party. That's right, Christmas party. We pick out the toys in 2 weeks. We are very proactive.
7 ~ The Waterloo Region Police bike auction on Saturday.
8 ~ Catching up on past due blog post.

A quick Bauer picture. Look at the longing in his eyes as he waits for us to return from our errands.
What are y'all up to? Have a great (and sunny, yes!) weekend!

Draft folder

Well, it's been a 'cheese on fiber' week around here, so my big posting plans were put on the back burner. I wanted to complete selected unfinished posts from 2008. I had 41 posts in the Draft Folder. For some that's not too bad, however I only published 100 posts in 2008!

My life is not that exciting so at least 1/2 of those posts can be deleted. But I do want to complete the important ones because I am going to download my posts into a book. And being who I am I need them to be in chronological order, so I back dated them.

Here are a few that I finished this week. The others are longer and require more time and additional photos. Maybe that's why I didn't finish them in the first place!!!

The Uptown (April)

Signs of Maturity (April)


Garage Sale (May)


A Story in 3 Posts - The Beginning, The Middle and The End (October)

Christmas past

Bauer had his picture taken with Santa. All proceeds going to the Cambridge Humane Society. Neither look impressed, eh? Turkey Dinner #1 at Cam and Amy's. L to R - RJ, Moi, Brooke, Craig, Amy and CamOf course the boys had to pose with the Cheesebag Cup. Five fingers for the number of times they have won in a row. This five is for the number of times we had to shovel the driveway in one day.
My helpful elves during our Payne Christmas Dinner preparations. RJ watching Bauer and keeping him out of the way is actually the most helpful thing to do!

Turkey Dinner #2 L to R - Carolyn, Joanne (RJ's mom & sister) Us, the carrots and stuffing.

Turkey Dinner #3 Christmas Day at my parents. L to R - RJ, me, Aunt Di, Mom, Mel, James and Uncle Mike. Dad is taking the photo. And yes, the Christmas Cracker paper hats do make the moment.

July catch-up

I decided to take July off from posting. (this was decided late into the month.) It’s also starting to look like August is going the same way, and we can’t have that because my Mom and Uncle Donald are sitting at the cottage wondering where the posts are. And I don’t like to disappoint. So here is the catch up post from July. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, thank goodness I take photos, they help jog the mind.

1) I finished Harry Potter #7 in a week. If I wasn't at work or sleeping I was reading. It was good. I loved the ending especially Snape's memories. Always been a big fan of Snape and knew there had to be more to his back story.

2) RJ and Team Canada won their golf tourney. This year it was held in Montreal so it was the “Sac de Fromage”. Next year there will be a switch up of teams. No more 49th parallel diving the teams.

3) Found, tired and LOVE this recipe for a quick cheesecake desert. So many variations you could do. Differnet Oreo cookies, differnet toppings. And they are the perfect size! I'm getting addicted to this Kraft website.

Okay not as much to catch up on as I thought.

The RJ post

It's been a few weeks since I posted. A lot and not a lot has happened. Boy am I glad for pictures or else my memory would have been all "....uh, yeah, we did stuff, good stuff too! I just can't recall everything all the time! Gooooshhh!" But I don't have to be that way because I took pics! And now Mom, here is your long awaited up date. RJ and I went St. Jacobs to get new runners (the Mennonites didn't make them, Saucony did) and look Jen, the horses are friendly. We may have to go for a country horse-drawn tour when it gets warmer (it was cold then). It was the Elora Maple Syrup Festival that weekend and over 60,000 people crowded into the very small town. The overflow came to St. Jacobs, the next available tourist attraction and small town, Saturday morning, because you can only have so much syrup before the sugar high starts to hurt! Then it was Easter and yes I did put bunny ears on Bauer. Doesn't he look cute? and smiling too! We had dinner at Aunt Di and Uncle Mikes with the family. Good turkey and good times as always. Too short of a long weekend thought, as I was sick for two of the three days. Just a head cold but it hit at the right time and I was out of it. Thank goodness for DayQuil.

Easter weekend also meant The Master was on. RJ was extremely disappointed with the snow that came down all weekend. Here he and Bauer are cursing the weather. RJ just couldn't get into The Masters this year with it being so nice there and so snowy here.

So some people but Santa hats and bunny ears on their dog,. others put TML t-shirts on. We had the blue and white out, and the Gardens seat out and while they won the game they lost the season. Another year without the playoffs to watch. I think someone is answering my prayers! I also got video of RJ watching the Leafs play. Really just for my own amusement, I don't think he knows what a show he can put on.

Now we have reached the nap portion of our post. RJ and Bauer of course took their turns at their mid-day siestas, however Bauer did not hold RJ during his naps. Aaaawwwwhhhh..
Last weekend RJ got out and swung his home-brewed clubs for the first time and shot his second best round ever!!! An 82 for the golfers out there. He woke Cam up at the crack of 9am Sunday morning. He couldn't wait any longer. Like me at Christmas!

And finally, RJ had an 8K race last Saturday. He did well but his MP3 player died 1 minute before the race time (low battery unfortunately. He was ready to drive to Best buy and get the iPod asap).

That's all for now. I know that there wasn't a lot in there about me. I've been working really hard and doing some spring cleaning. Walking to prepare for the 1/2 marathon (21 K) Jen and I are doing mid-May in Mississauga. This is all in preparation for the 5 K swim we have in August. I know it's a little overkill in the training department, but go big or go home, right!

later