Whitney's Couch

I think that this is the one that she decided on. I'm sure she'll correct me if I'm wrong. She got it in chocolate brown faux suade type fabric. However she asked for velvet, but I kinda like the suade. You should have seen the look on her face when Nana started to eat a crumbley shortbread cookie whilst sitting on the coach! Priceless.


Actually it is this couch but in the fabric of the one above.

Movies

I just finished watching an inconvient truth by Al Gore. I have to say that I was more than a little disappointed. The documentary spent too much time explaining the effects of global warming and not enough time spent educating the viewers on how the average person can make changes. There were some tips that were mixed in with the credits, but lots of people don't sit through credits. It didn't blow my socks off, most of the info I already knew.

The next movie I watched was Pirates of the Carribean 2. I had seen it in the theatre with Sarah in the summer. But we sat by the exit and tons of people came in late and were coming and going so I didn't really concentrate on the movie. The theatre was almost full, and the people that came late couldn't find a seat, so they stood in the aisle beside me for a good chunk of the movie.

What movie should be next? Any suggestions? Not being in school is killing me! I am sooo bored.

Christmas Day

Last year I started a food drive at work. (Just for the co-workers) Last year I collected some food, but not a lot. This year I pamphleted the lunch room and harrassed my co-workers. I even talked my boss into donating all our damaged products to the food bank. This is how full it was a week ago. It's hard to tell, but this box is really big. This is about 2 apple boxes full!

Whitney and I spent Xmas day at Nana's cooking her a dinner. It was not a very relaxing day! Nana's stove is at least 40 years old and is gas. So we had to get Nana to teach us how to turn it on.


Because Nana is blind, she hasn't used her oven in a long time. We didn't realize how long until smoke started pouring out of the oven! Nana figured it had been about 5 years since she had turned it on. As a result the smoke detector went off every 5 minutes for the entire day. The stove vents into the kitchen instead of up and out of the house like they do today.



While cooking, a stellers jay came to the window sill, before I could grab my camera she had moved from the ledge to the pear tree.


We managed to cook a feast for 8. However there was only 3 of us, so Whitney and I packed up some TV dinners for Nana, and gave the rest away to homeless people downtown.

Boxing Day

Boxing Day morning, time to start cooking, but first we had to dress up. That's me posing with my new whisk.



And Whit ready to mash up a storm


Dad, Judy, Nana and Rod came over for appies, and presents.

New socks for dad.


A Cd of old french cafe music and a book about France and wine. Apparently they are planning on going to france this year?

Happy whatever

Yup it's almost Christmas. Ahh... the joy of standing in cashier line-ups. Hope everyone has an excellent holiday, check back in a few days for Christmas pics.

New Years Resolutions

I don't believe in them. Resolutions are just goals without a plan. And that's why they fail.

However Barb recently told me what her's is. It's a good one. I think that often people set up unrealistic goals for themselves and fail to really consider the steps needed to reach their goal. Because of this, resolutions fail and then you feel badly about yourself. Barb's is good because it is realistic and it only requires a small life change.

Resolutions shouldn't be something that you do once a year. For a couple of reasons, first procrastinating making a change until the new year doesn't help you and might actually contribute to it failing. Second, resolutions are made to be broken- if you always make a resolution and you always fail, then what makes this year's resolution different from every other? Finally, if we only examine our lives once a year and make resolutions that are gauranteed to fail, then are we really making any progress in our lives?

So these are Hilary's 10 tips to change:
1) Don't think of it as a resolution, think of it as a goal. You will be more likely to succeed
2) Don't wait for the New Year. Don't use a date on a calendar as your motivation. The motivation should come from within you.
3) Think small. Making a goal of losing 5 pounds is a much better goal than making a goal of 100 pounds
4) Sit down and write out a plan. Writting it down will help you focus and stay on task. How are you going to do this? Is it realistic?
5) What's the time frame? You will have greater success at a 6 week goal than at a 6 month goal
6) Ask for help. If others are involved and supporting you, you will be more likely to succeed in your goal
7) Reassess your goal at least once half way through. If you see that you goal isn't attainable, then it is probably too big. Break it up into smaller parts and continue. Maybe your goal is too big and you can't even start. Instead of having a goal to go to the gym 6 days a week. Maybe your first goal needs to be really small, like setting up an appointment with a trainer.
8) Don't beat yourself up if you don't complete you goal. Even making a small change will make you feel good about yourself. Remember to think small
9) Give yourself credit for your accomplishments. Give yourself a treat.
10) Make a new small goal when you have completed your goal

So that said, my goal is to learn how to drive. Because of the graduated licencing, my goal is actually longerterm. I graduate in 5 or 6 months, I would like to be well on my way by then.
So here are my steps so far
1) find a driving school. I'm price checking right now
2) budget for how I will pay for lessons
3) study for and take the learners test
4) set up the driving school lessons, which includes making time to do it

This is as far as I am planning at the moment, already this is a big goal.

Africa

This is a picture from Sarah and Ryan's blog. Ryan took this picture playing with a lion cub. Why isn't a baby lion called a kitten? Anyways, these pictures blow my mind. I used to love to watch the nature shows on PBS and read National Geographic. Even though I know that these animals actually exist, they don't really seem real. I think that zebras are as real to me as the T-Rex in Jurasic Park is. I'm reading I Dreamed of Africa right now. It is the true story of a woman who moved to Africa after the death of her husband and started an animal reserve for Rhinos. The book is good, I've never cried so much reading a book! Don't watch the movie, it doesn't capture the characters well.

treats

Christmas time means lots of baking and fall canning.

Apple pie filling


This one exploded in the canner. Luckily I heard it and took it out before it made a mess


And butter tarts. If you are thinking that some of these are too full, you'd be right! They overflowed.


I think that gingerbread is next

I'm pretty sure this is a scam

I keep getting stragne phone calls. They are all recordings that say I need to press a series of buttons. Some of them have been from "Credit Services" regarding my card, please press 1. Or congratulations you have won a cruise, please press 9 to collect your prize. I think I have had 4 or 5 phone calls. Since I have call display I have saved 3 of the numbers. I belive that if you are trying to scam people you should have your phone number blasted across the internet.

307-764-8790 is a number from Powell, Wisconsin
1-559-212-3005 is a number from Hanford, CA
307-764-8788 is also from Powell Wisconsin


After searching 559-212-3005 I found that they run lots of scams. But the one they use the most is credit card services and basically they will give you a low interest card if you give them all of your information. SCAM

This lead me to a great site http://whocalled.us/lookup People post the numbers of annoying or unwanted callers and the reaason why they were calling.

LED's part 3

I decided to undecorate my tree and refund the lights I bought at The Bay. But before I do...

On the box it shows the energy savings. We have all been a little mislead.

Traditional outdoor christmas lights (you know the larger glass bulbs?) running 600 lights for 6 hours a day cost $31.30 a month.

600 traditional minilights run for 6 hours a day for a month costs $6.00

And 600 mini LED lights run for 6 hours a day cost 45cents a month.

My tree has 70 lights on it, so it was costing me 70 cents a month. But now with LED's I am spending 5.25 cents a month. Not exactly the huge savings I was expecting. But I think that the reduced fire risk is worth something.

studying for exams and procrastinating

The last of the snow pics. I don't remember why, but I was up at 5 am taking pictures. The view from my front door. I didn't realize, but my neighbour is standing in her kitchen looking at me.


Salem's foot prints along the balcony rail






I met up with Whitney on Sunday, we looked at couches, Army and Navy and did a little christmas shopping on Columbia street. Little did we know that it was also the Santa Claus parade. Not a problem, we went to the Boathouse and ate some appies and had a bottle of yummy wine.

So this has been a big week in the book biz. Not for sales though....This week I sold a book to someone who lived 2 blocks away from me, strange I think. But unfortunately I had to refund the purchase. It was my first refund ever- a pretty good track record. I have managed to keep my 100% customer approval rating, total bonus. And today I actually signed up with Canada Post as a business. If I get one of their credit cards and ship online (which I normally do anyways) I get an 8% discount. But the real bonus is that my credit card will have my business name on it Salem Books.

This got me thinking, if I actually register as a business, could I write off Salem's food and cat litter as she is my business partner? She smells the books for me (if the book is smelly I don't sell it), and she also tests the stickiness of the packing tape. I wish I had a picture of the day she got super-sticky packing tape on her whiskers and I had to cut ALL of her whiskers off. But that was before my digital camera days.

Maybe it's cuz I'm blonde

So I travelled all over town looking for white LED lights for my tree. Finally found some, I paid a little more than I wanted to, but that's ok. Tonight I decided to set up my tree. I work my way down to the bottom box and see 2 small boxes. what's that? OH! It's the LED lights I bought at Shoppers last year on clearence. argh! Now what do I do? un-decorate my tree and try to return the lights at the Bay or what?

How frustrating

Well since no one seems to want to play along...

Sarah and Micah had suggested that I check out Gravity Pope for cute gum boots. I did check it out. Unfortunately after seeing the prices I sprayed a mouthful of coffee against my computer screen!

These lovely slippers are on sale! Only $79.99!!!!!!!!!!!!

Light it up

Nothing like snow to get you in the spirit. Yesterday I celebrated the school closure by starting my Christmas shopping. I went to Ikea to get new curtains. Check, got em and love em. As usual I saw so many things that I just needed. I was very strong and didn't buy anything for myself.

Next is a trip to the giant box store without a soul to return the curtains I bought from them. Which brings me to my next public service announcement:

Switch to the new LED christmas lights. Every year we hear about the poor family whose house burnt down a few days before Christmas. Traditional Chirstmas lights heat up and can light your tree on fire. LED's don't get hot, so they're safer. But the real selling point is that they use much less energy. Traditional lights are huge electricity gobblers. So LED's are cheaper to run and are safer. I plan on making the switch. The giant store without a soul has 12 foot lengths for under $7. That's the cheapest I've seen so far. Unfortunatley last time I was there, they were sold out.

Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The University is: Closed
University Roads: SNOW(beware of possible ice)
Adjacent Roads: Use extreme caution
Classes are: CANCELLED (All Classes)
The Library is: CLOSED
The Daycare is: CLOSED
Translink Buses are: DELAYED
Exams are: POSTPONED

IT'S SNOWING

ALERT!

SNOW FLAKES HAVE BEEN SPOTTED IN MY 'HOOD!

ALERT!

Yesterday's balcony pic:



Update: 24 hours later and it is still snowing. Please tell the president of SFU to cancel classes. Doesn't he know that I have an exam tomorrow? I am seriously praying that class is canceled.

This is the view from my balcony:

I can waste time like no other

Here's some worthless information for you.
Sarah and Ryan are moving to South Africa for 2 months. - Ok that info isn't useless.
But did you know that they are currently 10 251.14 Km from home? In one week they will be 16 431.63 Km away.

That's really far away.

In fact, if you were to start digging a hole through the centre of the earth, you would not be digging to China. You would actually pop out just east of Africa in the ocean. Don't believe me? check it out at http://digholes.com/

So Sarah and Ryan will be almost as far away from home as it is possible to be (on earth.)

It might also be good to know that Cape Town is 10 hours ahead of Vancouver.

Let's play a game

Below is a picture of a slipper. Please guess the retail price of this slipper. Check back in a few days to find out where you can get it, and for how much.

It's raining it's pouring I have to boil my water

Too bad I left my umbrella in my co-workers car on Sunday. This has been the worst week to not have an umbrella



I am seriously thinking about getting gum-boots. I think these are super cute. But they probably don't come in adult sizes.

Clothing Swap

And then there was the clothing swap!

Sarah in a Golden Girls inspired sheer shrug. I think she dug through the discard pile and took this one home with her.


Lila and Sarah managed to fit in these fat pants. I think we should email Jenny Craig!

Halloween

I went over to Shannon's this year to hand out candy. It was much more fun than sitting at home waiting for the few kids that bother climbing my stairs. There was even dry ice and a remote control fart machine!

I was the only one dressed up, I forced Sarah and Shannon to put ears on.


Shannon is the pumpkin master! I'm sure that she took some sort of advanced carving class.


This guy was hilarious. He sang to us for a while. He totally ad-libbed a song. Total band geek.


What a nice mask.

Lock up your marshmellows!

I was eatting a marshmellow when Salem caught a whiff. She just smelled it and went crazy. It was like the marshmellow was catnip. I though ok, you want this so bad? Take a sniff. To my surprise she took a bite! That's all she got was that one bite.

A week later I come home from the cruise to find ALL my cuboard doors open. I didn't really think anything of it until I found the marshmellow bag. She had climbed in the cuboard and shredded it. Most of the marshmellows along the edges had been chewed on. I don't think she ate too many though. Now I know why she had diarrhea! So from now on marshmellows must be stored securely! Look at her eyes in the second picture! She looks crazy

Katimavik

Micah and I are outraged about an email we received this week from Katimavik

"Last July, we were informed that the Treasury Board had approved funding only until August 2007, the end of our current program year. Due to the review of social programs initiated by the current government, we were further advised that a decision concerning our longer term status would only be communicated to us in January 2007. We have also been directed to cease any recruitment activities until further notice. "

Thank you Mr. Harper.

I personally believe that Katimavik is a valuable program. It would be a shame if the program was cancelled again. You know I'm all about the letter writting right? Sample form letters can be found at: http://www.fundingstatus.katimavik.org/support/index/ Almost 2000 letters have been sent in the last 4 days (mine waas letter #1638). Add your voice. I sent a letter to Mr.-hope-an-election-is-coming soon-Harper, Beverly Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women and my MP Dawn Black.

Please pass this info on to anyone you think may be interested.

LIMO

The limo picked us up at 4am. Dad and Judy surprised us with champagne and orange juice. However because our driver got lost on the way to pick us up, he was driving extra fast to get us to the airport on time. So as we try to wake up, Dad's trying to get us to pound the champagne
before we get to the airport.

Judy and Cory's partner Ryan


Cory, Judy's daughter

On the ship

Strangely enough my pics of the boat are far more interesting than the pics of the ports! Do you see the dolphins? The white bit just right of centre is a dolphin splashing back into the water. You will just have to take my word for it. I saw lots of Pelicans, Sea Lions, Dolphins, lots of Grey whales and 3 flying fish.



Linda Sutherland gave Sarah a gift certificate for the boat's casino. After losing on the 25 cent machines, Sarah spotted the 5 cent slots. We quickly won. I won 400 nickles 3 or 4 times. But of course I didn't walk out of there a winner.


The view looking down on the more expensive staterooms. We were on the top floor, there was no one looking down on us.







Sarah do you regret this shot? She thought it would be so funny to take pictures of herself in the bathroom. Alcohol was probably involved.

Puerto Vallarta

Hello Puerto Vallarta! A pirate ship AND a Walmart! Walmart was the first stop as Judy's luggage was lost.



We went to a corn tortilla shop. The best tortillas I have ever eatten! Here's dad grabbing some 2 Kg for the road.



A shot of the streets

Mazatlan

Me in Mazatlan. Sarah and I wandered all morning looking for something to do. All the restaurants, pubs and stores were closed. All the hotels were deserted. Huricane Paul was on it's way!



The seas were angry


Sarah and I decided to go back to the ship and try to get in at the spa. This the view from our balcony before the storm hit.


And this is about 30 minutes later. This isn't fog its rain. I have never seen anything like it.

Cabo

Our last port was Cabo- By far our best port.

We finally fit in some beach time. We hired a little glass bottom boat to take us out.

Judy's nephew Lee, Dad and Lee's mom Venita


Pelicans! They are so cute!


A rock that is supposed to look like the Baja


It was pretty rough out there. A few times I thought we might tip, especially when our tourguide started bailing water! This is the famous Cabo rock formation that probably has a name.


Seal Lions! Sunning themselves on the rocks


Leaveing Cabo- some random shots from the ship

Right in the middle of this shot is the beach-side bar that we hung out at and caught the glass bottomed boat and the water taxi home.


The waves splashing up on Divorce beach, the other side of the rocky island was nice and calm- it was called Lover's beach



Leaving port- check out the awesome beaches. I would definately come back to Cabo