Scrapbook vacation

Yup.  That's right. Scrapbook & vacation in the same title. I've been on holidays all week and have spent a decent portion of my time at Minerva hall playing with paper and relaxing. Today is our last full day here - day five!  Tomorrow evening we will finally pack up our stuff. It's been nice in many ways.  Other than scrapbooking, there are family meals together, cousins playing together, a few card games in the evenings and air conditioning. I think I will miss the air conditioning the most.  

I certainly haven't cranked out as many pages as I could have - sleeping in and not get in here until after 1 most days didn't help, but I've done at least a dozen pages in the last 5 days so I'm happy.  

Not a bad way to spend a few holiday days. Sure do wish I didn't have to go back to work Monday though.

There are no do-overs

But honestly..... That's one vacation I do not want to repeat.

Went back to work today, feeling almost 100%. Almost.

And today didn't really suck, if ya don't count the fact that it wasn't spent at home chillin.

I did enjoy my last day off so maybe that helped prepare me for having to go back to work this morning. Em and I spent the day together. Too bad we couldn't convince the guys to get the heck out of our hair for a few hours but we worked around them. We spent the entire morning watching Gilmore Girls and we pulled out the folding table, set it up in the living room and played with paper all day. Well, mostly I played with paper (4 pages done and a whole lot of long-lost supplies sorted and even used). I feel bad that Em just couldn't get into it which is usually my issue, not hers. I think maybe her very sore tail bone had something to do with it. Poor girl slipped on ice and fell a couple weeks ago and is still hurting.

I still have 2 days available from my 2012 holidays to use up before the end is April so I foresee an extra long weekend or two in my near future.

Maybe that is the way my holidays are meant to be spent.

~Kirsten

My Spring Stay-cation

AKA

My Pity Party

So my holidays, the 6 days of freedom that I'd booked off work, that I'd been looking forward to so much. It sucked!!!

Since early December, we've been insanely short staffed and I'd waited and waited to take the last of my 2012 holidays until things had sort of settled down. I was so exhausted, and so excited and so ready to just chill at home. I had nothing special planned. Just take care of some things I've been too tired to do lately. I had a mental list of some much needed spring cleaning mixed with some reading, maybe some knitting and definitely some scrapbooking.

How much of that got done?

None. Nothing. Not a damn thing.

Between sick kids and sick me.... My stay-cation has been a big bust. And now, still feeling weak from being sick ( how can I be tired.... I spent 36 hrs straight in bed) I'm working on all the laundry from the massive puke fest this week has been and having myself a little pity party!

Hugs.
~Kirsten

I Can Blog from MY PHONE?!?!?

How sweet is that and how did I not know this before?!?

The trick of course was remembering my username and password, which becomes especially tricky when you've changed Internet providers and set up new emails a couple times in the last few years. But I figured it all out and here I am blogging from my phone.

No excuses now, not to update the old blog on a regular basis.... aside from lack of blog worthy content, but I'm sure I will be able to come up with stuff occasionally.

So, setting myself up to blog on my phone takes care of one thing off my "things to do while on holidays" list and since I'm on a roll with that list (and nobody is currently puking) I'm going to go tackle some more of my list while I have a chance.

Hugs
~Kirsten

Heat Wave

Hot I don't mind.  Hot and Humid.  Oh the humidity!  Not a fan.

Have you ever noticed, that no matter what time of year it is....the most uncomfortable weather forecasts start with the words......"feels like".    In the winter the windchill makes the temperatures 'feel like' they are even colder than the actual temp.  Same thing in the summer.   The temperature right now  28....but it "feels like" 34.  At it's hottest today it "felt like" 38!  Baby...that felt like Hell.

One bonus to working all weekend......I spent the majority of the last few days inside an almost cool building and for the most part was quite comfortable.

I did not get a sunburn, except oddly I did burn my neck a little driving home yesterday with the sun beating down on me through the window.  Emily & Owen DID get burnt on Sunday after spending the day at the parade, park, beach and at Aunty Sue's.  Both have learned that a) you need to reapply sunscreen b) you need to apply sunscreen if you change into a tank top or take your shirt off to swim and c) when you put sunscreen on.....do both sides.  Owen's front was well protected but his back - not so much....but the white on red outline of his fingers where he got a little sunscreen around the back is pretty artistic.     If I could find the batteries  I bought for my camera I'd take a picture.  :0)

Some people argue that summer is so short what's the point of buying an air conditioner that you only need for such a little bit of time.

To that I say......the snow blower hasn't been out of the garage more than half a dozen times in the last few years.    I think that makes my point!

I do  believe there might be a window a/c unit around here somewhere.  Unfortunately this house (and when I say this house....imagine I say it through gritted teeth as though expressing great loathing) does not have windows that support the necessary features required to install a window a/c unit.  

At this point I'm willing to take a chain saw to a wall and cut a damn hole for the a/c to fit through.   Now if only I had a chain saw.   Maybe a snowblower would work?  I know we have one of those just sitting around not earning it's keep.

For now, I sit here.  Melting into a puddle.  Too hot to move.  Think I'll go stand in a cool shower for 10 mins then try to get some sleep. 

~K.

So I've Fallen In Love

With a zippy little thing.

She's brand spanking new.

All shiney and black.

Took her for a test drive and absolutely fell in love.

I spend on average 15 hours a week in my van.

I really don't mind commuting at all but this little beauty would make it a lot sweeter.....especially when it comes to fuel consumption.

Al asked if I wanted to go in and talk to Carla to see what it would take to make her mine.

I said NO (and pouted a little) and we gave back the keys and left (and I pouted a little more).

I'm currently working without a contract and until I've got a new contract (a healthy raise would be sweet too), I am not going to make a major purchase like a new car.......but oh how I'd have loved to take her home with me.

Hopefully soon.  Maybe by the end of the summer.


edit to add:  She was sold the next day.  But that's okay because when the time is right they will find me another one and bring it in for me.  Maybe a colour other than black?   Any suggestions.  What's a cool colour?

School is.....

Out for Summer.

For some it is out forever (or at least for now, maybe, hopefully)

& for others....they have a wee bit of work to do over the summer so that when they go back on Sept. 5th they will hopefully stand a chance (especially with the teacher he got).

Then there is the one who wishes it was September already so she could have her new clarinet and for her school and reading and learning are just a way of life (she's all mine - that one.  ALL mine!)

Summer is....

Officially here!

More-so for some than others.

4 out of 6 of us are employed full time.

1 works monday to friday (whoohoo for her....and transportation has been arranged for the summer) and most of the time I work Monday to Friday but do work one weekend out of every three and have a couple days off during the week instead....like today....which was awesome since it was the last day of school!

Others work shift work, chaotic, ever changing shifts that makes planning activities in advance a little difficult.

Hopefully the youngest members of this family enjoy their summer and while they will be on their own a wee bit over the coming weeks, I hope I can schedule in quite a bit of fun for them around everyone elses schedules.

We are working on a list of approved activities that do not entirely revolve around the tv, ipod, xbox and laptop as well as a list of Don'ts.

We are also working on a Summer Bucket List of activities both big and small that we would all like to participate in (some of them might even involve all 6 of us....at the same time....which tends to be rare and hard to accomplish but hopefullly do-able)

We're already off to a good start. Aarica met a "friend" in town tonight and hung out at the bandstand watching a local band while Em and O and I went to see Brave at the movie theatre.   Afterward Al and Ty and Aarica met us outside the theatre with Cooper and we went for icecream and a walk. 

Definately a wonderful way to start the summer!   So let the games begin!!!! Summer has begun.


~K

What A Difference A Year Makes

Here I sit.....infront of my laptop wondering what to write about. I miss writing and if I wrote on this blog everytime I thought about writing on it.....you'd have a lot more to read......and I'd probably find this easier to write, since practice usually makes things easier.

It's been quite a year. I could ramble on about each event endlessly....cuz I'm talented like that, but I won't. What I thought I'd do is make a list....cuz there is beauty in a nice list.

* i was off work for a month following surgery...and during this time decided to go back to school
* emily broke her arm
* i started my med lab assistant training and commuted into the city early every morning....and I don't 'do' mornings.
* we got a new puppy - a not so little 3ish month old American Bull/Boxer cross with one blue eye, one brown eye and two ears that do not hear that has grown into a not at all little one year old pup with an appetite for destruction
* tyler broke his arm (almost exactly 6 months after emily)
* i went completely out of my comfort zone and left my family for an entire month during my clinical practicum in Thompson.
* i loved almost every single minute of "single life", living on my own for the first time ever for that month.
* i totally completely absolutely loved every single minute of the time i spent working at Thompson General Hospital.
* al & i decided this spring that financially we'd hit the end of being able to salvage all we'd built the past 15yrs and we got ourselves a legal trustee and are working through the steps of bankrupcy and moving forward.
* emily & 3 other girls from our bowling centre qualified for the provincial bowling team and represented Manitoba at Nationals in Regina....and placed 3rd!!!!
* tyler attended a hockey officials training camp for a week in June and received an offical NHL jersey from one of the officials for his dedication and attitude (he got hurt the first day and sucked it up the rest of the week without giving up)
* aarica graduated from highschool....looked so beautiful in her gown.....and took her brother with her to the grad party after the ceremony & dinner.....and they stayed out all night and had a blast!
* i quit my job at Sobeys and went across the street to work with Al & Ty at Macs.
* i wrote....AND PASSED....the national certification exam and am officially a certified med lab assistant....whoohoooo!!!!
* we experienced the most amazing summer weather wise this year and even though i spent a lot of it working, at least i was inside an air conditioned store....it was a good summer
* ty got himself a car...and all the joys car ownership brings
* ty's still convinced he can pull the money together for another trip to europe next year.....i'm not as convinced but hope he can because warsaw/poland and tours of WWII concentration camps would be an intense, amazing experience for him.
* even though the weather was amazing....our pool got set up be never filled with water
* all the kids...aarica included, are back in school..
* i'm networking, sending out resumes and hoping to find work in a hospital soon.

So there ya have some of the highlights of the past 12 months. We've survived one heck of a year and I'm looking forward to what the next few months have in store for us....except the winter part. I could do without that. We've registered for a few activities to keep us busy (but not too busy) and are trying to get back into the routine of school and activities....and one of the 'activities' I'm hoping to work into a routine is blogging on a regular basis...and this includes reading a few of my old favs too.



~K

Huh - She was right (she usually is)

Received a text message tonight that said....reading your blog. you've actually written something.

And while I didn't doubt that she was right (as I've said...she usually is - it's kind of annoying sometimes but don't tell her I told you) I couldn't for the life of me remember what the latest episode of rambling was about so I just took her word for it (because again, she usually is right)

Once I got home from my 2nd trip to the city today I put aside my desire for sleep to just have a peek at the old blog.

Sure enough, she was right. I have written something lately. (and it's a heck of a lot more recent than the last post on her own neglected blog....I'm just saying).

And now that my curiosity has been satisfied, it is time for sleep. My very last early morning commute into the city (for school anyway) is tomorrow.

LAST DAY!!!!! Whooohoooo! I've been dreaming of this day for many weeks and am so glad it is finally here. I've enjoyed school but it's been a love/hate relationship for the past few months so I'm definately doing a happy dance now that it's done.

Night all. Love and Hugs heading your way. Oh and say HI in the comments if you do stop by so I know you've been around.

Oh Ya....I have a blog.

How could I forget about something that was a daily experience once upon a time. Things do have a way of changing and rearranging what we do on a daily basis don't they.

Never have I been more aware of how quickly things can change than I have been lately. I find myself thinking about this alot actually. Like, how can I commit to doing something or being somewhere 6 months or 3 months or even 3 weeks from now because really, I have no way of knowing what change could be just around the corner.

I keep meaning to update all the little and not so little changes that have happened but who am I kidding - I'll never get around to telling the whole story. I barely remember it.

I think last August was the last BIG change-maker or at least what happened in August started the ball rolling. It could stop rolling anytime. I'm tired of chasing it.

About mid august I got sick. I'd had a cold/fever/flu and a few days later I noticed my face was swelling. There was an infection inside my right cheek and it just wouldn't go away. After a few days of trips to the ER for IV antibiotics it was actually getting worse and I ended up with the most disgusting and painful abcess on my face and after a CT scan I ended up in surgery to have it removed (and after years of recurring sinus infections, I have not had one since....even though the docs swear it was not from my sinuses) Anyway, after surgery, I was off work for about a month while the hole in my face healed and boy did I enjoy that time off. It really made me wish I didn't have to go back to work and I started thinking about what I wanted to 'do'.....you know, like what do I want to be when I grow up kind of stuff.

I'd had an idea in my mind about just this sort of question for about a year but it meant going back to school and at the time, with taking care of mom and with just trying to get my world put all back together after loosing the business it was something that I didn't think was possible.

BUT....with that time off post-surgery, I started again to explore this idea and then I was reading the newspaper one afternoon and came across an ad for a community college program offering training in exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I said to myself "self. you need to go there" and even though there were roadblocks along the way, I didn't get scared and bail. I jumped in with both feet and in mid October I started school.

Now THAT was a huge change and did it ever add to the chaos and confusion of our lives but it has been worth it, at least for the most part - there are some issues with school itself that make me question my decision of taking the course where I did but if I'd waited for an opportunity at another location I don't know that I would have actually done it.

So I am in the final stages of becoming a Medical Laboratory Assistant and I'm hoping in the very near future to be working in a lab as a phlebotomist.

And back in January, I jumped in with both feet again and said 'why not' when the opportunity to go north to Thompson for 4 weeks of clinical practicum was offered to me. There is also a good chance that once I am done school in the next 6 weeks that I will be heading back to Thompson for a 6 month term position - I would only commit to 6 months because if I've learned anything the last couple years it's that you never know what's around the corner.

In the mean time, I'm still working part time (very part time) and preparing to write the certification exam in mid June and after a month away from home I've adjusted to living with all these people again....boy was it nice living alone for 4 weeks.

There have also been a few very recent changes to our world but that's another chapter in the ever changing life of chaos and confusion and it's best covered in it's own post, for now I think I'll end this post and go finish up my homework.

Hugs to you all!

~K

Happy New-ish Year

Here we are, 10 days into the New Year and I'm just getting around to stopping by to ramble.

But hey. Nobody's really been stopping by to listen to me talk to myself lately anyway. Can't say that I blame ya. Words were few and far between in 2010.

How about a resolution that I ramble a little more often and you grab a coffee (Timmies xl triple/triple for me and whatever your pleasure is for you) and stop by once in a while. Sounds good huh. Thought you might agree.

I was just relaxing here at home tonight, making supper which - shocking as it might sound - is ready as soon as the rest of the family gets home from the arena and does not involve cereal or tv dinners. I actually cooked. And while waiting for my damn rice to barely cook in my not-awesome microwave that I can't figure out how to use properly I've been checking out the list of blogs I follow. The last couple months I've been going through one at a time and reading their archives to see what I missed last year. I missed alot from my own life nevermind what other people were doing.

We survived the holidays and the return to reality when school started back up last week. Everyone else adjusted better than I did. I was exhausted. I'd become quite happy with sleeping in and chillin at home thank you very much. Getting up early for the commute to school kicked my butt and I spent most of the weekend trying to catch up on some sleep. Still feel like I could use another 12hour nap to fully function but that won't happen anytime soon so I take what I can get.

I guess a smart(er) person would have taken advantage of a rare bit of quiet in the house and had a nap but I never said I was smart. The house is even more noisy lately with the addition of a puppy who's made it his personal mission to bark till my eardrums burst. What's he barking at? Who knows. Mostly our old dog who just won't play no matter how in-his-face Pup gets and usually at me when I've repeatedly confiscated whatever interesting treasure he's scrounged from around the house to chew on. It's awesome having a "toddler" in the house having temper tantrums again - not. Right now he's having a nap which I will probably regret later because a napping puppy only means one thing.....he's recharging his batteries so he can go all crazy and tear around the house like he's possessed, nipping and terrorizing everything in his path. Of course I'll probably also regret letting Owen fall asleep on the couch too but his rollercoaster fever is back for another loop through the amuseement park. Every 36 hours he seems to spike back up and not feel good. Wonder if him and I can both call in sick to school tomorrow? That would be cool. A chillin on the couch day.

So that's mostly what I'm up to at this moment in time. Think I'll read a few more blog pages and then go read a text book or work on some math questions or something. Reading blogs sounds like way more fun though.

I'll pop back in soon.

K

Six Months

is forever.

was just yesterday.

is just a dream.

is sometimes a nightmare.

has taught me so much.

has made me feel like I don't know enough.

has made me stronger (than I ever thought possible)

has brought me to my knees.

has made me laugh.

has definately made me cry.

is 184 days........and I've thought of YOU every single one of those days.

I love you and miss you mom.

~KJ

Might Just Be on a Roll Here

with a second blog post in one month.

I know it's not some great big accomplishment to most but for me.....it's huge.

This blog post is even being brought to life on my ever-so-slow desktop while I sit in my very own kitchen. It's been a long wait but finally we are back online at home. I'd forgotten how annoying it is to hear kids bicker over who's turn it is on the computer - but it's worth it (most of the time) and I'm giving them a bit of leeway with 'free' time online but they'd better appreciate it now because they are going to have to start earning time soon enough. My plan is to feed their addiction into a frenzie and then, when I have them where I want them, I'll make 'em work for their fix. It may be the only way to get my house to not be the perfect candidate for one of those hoarding shows.

My plan does have a flaw or two though. The girls should be easy targets - they are both facebook junkies, so trading net time with them will be a piece of cake. The boys might take a little more work and I think I'll need to set up the 'new' computer and get it going so I can get the much coveted itunes up and running (our old computer just can't handle that kind of abuse). I'm avoiding this though. While I pride myself in being technically capable on most fronts, itunes and the kids ipods have proven to be my nemisis.

Getting the new computer going might be a good idea for more than just the itunes factor. I'm hoping that since it's faster and less overloaded (for lack of a better description) than our old one, it might just provide a less frusterating dial-up experience for everyone. Of course, I'm one of those hoping for improved internet use and if not, my laptop and I might just have to do a little more traveling into town for stuff like this because this dial-up stuff is brutal.

I really am out of practice with this and these first few posts will probably be quite dull. (are you bored yet?) I used to actually make little notes during the day when I thought of interesting things to write about or the kids did something totally bizzare that were worth sharing (or venting about). I'll have to start doing that again. Acutally, now that I think about it, for a short time after we lost our phone line I still wrote stuff and just filed in a folder on my computer because it helped me to just write about things but that didn't last long.

Have I mentioned how much I've missed this? How much I've miss you. You - ya, the 2 or 3 of you that actually used to stop by and read my rambling posts about the chaos and confusion that is my world. I just had a good idea for my next post - How my life wasn't full of enough chaos and confusion that I thought it would be a dandy idea to add to it and do something totally crazy like, oh i don't know, Go Back To School! Speaking of school. I have to get up early tomorrow for school so I think I should get to bed. I've missed the last 2 days because I wasn't feeling well - snort - well? that doesn't even begin to describe what I was and wasn't feeling - but that's another post all on it's own. The ongoing medical mischief I've been upto has it's own plot and characters. A story for yet another day.

G'night!
Hugs to you all

~K

Lets See If I Remember How To Do This

It's been awhile.

Bwahhhahahahah. Now there's an understatement if I've ever written one!

Awhile
According to dictionary.com is defined as an adverb meaning: for a short time or period.

So okay. It's been more than awhile. It's been ages. As in over a year people. That's like 'forever'! It really does seem like forever doesn't it and oh how I've missed this. Just sitting down with my rambling thoughts and letting them flow out my fingertips, across a keyboard and onto a screen.

So Hi. How are ya? What ya been up to?

I'm not so sure at this point I can even begin to express how I am and what I've been up to for the past 16months. Let's just say it's been long and eventful and maybe eventually I'll write about it (but certainly not sitting here in this very public coffee shop using their wi-fi and in plain view of people cuz really, nobody wants to see me cry and blubber and snot all over the place as I remember the things that have brought me to this point.)

Let's just start with the right here, right now and we can eventually work our way back over the past year slowly.

Right here. Right now.

It's 3pm and I've just finished eating a late lunch at a cozy little spot called Kaffe Haus or is it Hus. I dunno. I just know the cook's hot and the food rocks and oh ya....free wi-fi. I'm sitting at a table with my laptop in front of me just chillin and surfin the net....just for fun....cuz I can.

We are still landline-less at home, hence no internet at home but that drought is coming to an end very soon. The phoneline is being installed in 2 weeks and then I will be once again in the land of the 'connected'. Whooohoooo! I can't tell you how excited that makes me.

Wasting time and taking up space. Sounds like a darn fine way to spend a beautiful Friday afternoon (aside from having to dodge flying food the cook keeps tossing at me whenever I make a snooty comment at her while she's "working"). I'm taking a break this afternoon cuz I'm positive that by the time this weekend is over I'll be very thankful that I took a couple hours to just chill. There is much on the agenda for this weekend and I hope I get at least half of it accomplished.

At the top of the priority list is homework. Anatomy and Physiology is my main concern this weekend. I have a couple chapter assignments to finish, review and hand in Monday morning.....right before I write the exam on the first 6 chapters of my A&P text book. Oye! Grade 12 Biology class was a really, really (yes really) long time ago. I also have to work on a few assignments and complete the final exam project for my computer course and review for a test in my Intro to Medical Office Procedures course in the middle of the week. For those that don't already know or haven't clued in...I've finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up and I started school almost a month ago. We'll talk more about this another time.

Wow! The afternoon has flown by and my kiddos will be home from school shortly so I should go home and be there when the get there. I'd say it's cuz I miss them terribly and hate that I don't see them in the morning because I've left for school before they even wake up, and that wouldn't be entirely wrong but honestly.....I just want to get home before they do so I can hide the controller for the tv and the playstation and the xbox and any other electronic form of entertainment because there are at few hundred loads of laundry to do and we've been eating off paperplates for a couple days and the place is starting to look like a frat house. So while I get cozy in my jammies and start studying, there are some much needed chores the kids need to help out with. Doesn't that all sound like FUN?

Gotta run
Love & Hugs
~K

Seriously?!? Here's a stock tip for ya!

Buy Stock In Benadryl!!!!

My family is single handedly raising the price of that stock I'm sure.


We are at 3 people and counting now who have had some mysterious rash and or hives in just over a month. 3 out of 6! Those odds aren't good....unless you are holding stock in Benadryl and then well, good for you and you can send me a bit of your profits.

June 25..... I wake up with a few hives, itch my way through the day as my hives spread to include a red 'heat rash' on the bottoms of my feet and by the morning of the 26th I'm swollen like a balloon with even more hives and swelling eyes, lips, ears and quite possibly my throat. An ER visit later I'm taking Benadryl, Prednisone and I'm a drooling lump on the couch till the next day.

July 25 (notice that....exactly one month later) Tyler's out with his aunt watching a parade, having a bbq in her yard and he starts itching. 3 hours later he's covered head to toe in a red rash. visit to the walk in clinic (just happened to see the same Dr I saw in the ER) later and he's taking Benadryl, Prednisone and he's a lump on the couch for a few hours and itchy for a few days but at least he wasn't glowing red.

July 28 Owen comes in from playing outside for supper and he's got the beginnings of hives on his face, neck and back. Liquid Benadryl into him and he's asleep for the evening an hour later (man that stuff rocks!) and he seems better the next day - a few stray hive spots but nothing he's itching and scratching over BUT...... July 30 Owen's covered in spots again.

WHAT THE HECK!!!!!


I'm finding it hard to think it's just coincidences that I have a sudden mystery allergy and a month later Ty gets a wicked rash and a few days later Owen's got a weird rash/hive thing going on. I just don't know what to think now....except to wonder who will be next.....and hope this isn't something viral and/or contagious.

For now it's just plain bizzare!

~K

Bet you can't guess what today was.

If you guessed....

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

my day off....then we have a winner!

Sorry. No prizes. Just the knowledge that you know me and have come to know that blog posts are rare unless I have a day off.

As 'days off' go this was no prize really. I'm just glad it's over because today's been hanging like dead weight for a week now, knowing that a) i wouldn't get to sleep in on my day off (still bitter about that) and b) Al and I were going into the city to see a bankrupcy trustee and get some edumacated (free) advice.

We ended up sleeping in actually or at least sleeping later than intended but got into the city and found the building - right downtown surrounded by one-way streets and precious little parking. I called the office about 5 after 10 to let them know that no, we weren't bailing on our appointment but we'd been driving round and round looking for a stupid parking spotfor 10 minutes and as soon as we found one we'd be there - only to be informed that while I'd written down 10am , our appointment wasn't until 10:30 so we were actually doing good on time. Bonus! Finally find a spot and decide to heck with street signs that said you could park there if you were visiting a specific place which shall remain nameless....because really, how would they know we weren't visiting 'there' and at that point Al was pretty pale from all the traffic and being so disoriented so I said to heck with it and we parked there.

Our appointment was uneventful. Learned a few key points about what's involved with bankrupcy and what our options are. Since the business has virtually nothing asset wise there's really no point in going the bankrupcy route since it's basically dead in the water already. Personally we could claim bankrupcy for the mountain of debt we've racked up while trying to keep the business going (stupid stupid stupid) and came to the conclusion that while we personally could 'benefit' from it from the standpoint of our families quality of life etc, it would screw over my mom who'd then be on the hook for a huge chunk of money since we both personally guaranteed the business overdraft. That is not even an option so........we have to suck it up and figure things out.

Basically at this point, we've borrowed money to keep the bank from sueing us for the overdraft money and we are just going to have to work, work, work and work somemore to come up with the monthly payment to the bank....ontop of all our personal bills too. We've basically given up on the truck. It's heading to collection at this point and we're looking at a few options to at least sell it cheap to one or two people just as a last ditch effort....and if not, then they can repossess it and I won't loose sleep over it. At least then I won't have to pay the insurance on the truck each month and that money can go to the bank. In hindsight, that's what we should have done in the first place and then we would have had money to make bank payments for 4-5months (stupid stupid stupid!!!)

Other than having to swallow my pride and borrow a huge chunk of money to keep the bank happy for a few more weeks and the little PARKING TICKET we got (stupid stupid stupid) the day wasn't too bad.

I decided if at all possible I was not being the chauffeur tonight so when Ty's done work at 9 he's hanging out at his aunts till Al's off work at midnight and I don't have to go pick either one of them up. Now THAT is a true day off in my books! I'm chilling at home, making supper and playing on the computer. I have some paperwork to sort and file and laundry to do but all that stuff isn't so bad when I don't have to go back and forth to town a couple times a night. If the kids would stop fighting it would be even better.....but I guess we can't have everything we want.

Oh and on a possitive note ----- Al got offered a job yesterday. He stopped to help a guy on the highway who was having vehicle trouble (right outfront of our house actually) and they got to talking and this guy offered Al a job. Nothing in stone at this point and it wouldn't start till September but he's excited at the prospect of making a whole lot more than minimum wage and it's Monday to Friday. It's giving us hope at getting out of this huge mess so right now we are clinging to this hope. He's going to give the guy a call next week and see just how serious the offer was and what the details are. Please let this be a serious offer and worth the commute.

And.....one last thing. Been taking lots of cute pics of cute kids. Here's one from our visit to flooded Moonlight Bay after the storm couple weeks ago.

Is the photo small for you? It looks tiny to me. Oh well. One kick at the cat with photos these days - I don't have the patience to reload it.

TTFN

~Kirsten

oh....and Carrie....since I seem to be able to find things in your house by proxy.....it's your turn. Do you know where the $50 Mark's WorkWarehouse gift card Al got as a thank you for being a YBC coach back in early May is? I can't find that darn thing anywhere and the guys desperately need work pants for work. Argh!

Before and After

She washed her hair last night and I detangled it one last time and braided it and this was what it looked like this morning.....big THICK braid down her back.

It took almost 2 hours to cut and I'm sure she's about 2.5 lbs lighter now.

And it's a super cute cut and suits her.

She's very happy and keeps twirling around and that grin hasn't left her face.

Totally worth the $20 (well....$15 but I said that wasn't enough for 2hours of detailed cutting and left the whole $20)

Well, more things to see and do today and poor Tyler got called into work so we have to go squeeze in some family time before then.

~K

So much for sleeping in

This morning's blog post brought to you by an early morning text message that cancelled my plan to sleep in and by sleep in I mean 8ish. I'd set my alarm for 8 with the option for an additional hour of hitting the snooze if I so desired in an effort to top up my sleep quota after the whopping 4 hours I got Sunday night. I guess 6 and a half is better than 4.

So I'm up. Don't have to be anywhere till 10 and the house is almost quiet.....Aarica has repeatedly asked the same questions (just cuz you rephrase it doesn't make it a different question) and I'm enjoying a pot of coffee and taking the photos from last week off my camera and going through my mental list of things I want to do over the next two days of freedom from beige pants, a white shirt and work. Oh the places we could go. Oh the things we could do. Oh the stuff that won't get done.

I'm torn. My house desperately needs my undivided attention BUT honestly.....3 days from now....the house will still be here and who am I kidding, even if I cleaned and organized like a mad woman for 2 days - in a week it's going to look just like it does now anyway. What won't be here 3 days from now is one very special lady who's in town from Hamilton for a visit so really....I'm not torn. Visiting with her as much as possible while I have the chance is definately going to take priority over cleaning the house.

Mmmmm Coffee!

Almost as good as the real, honest to goodness Timmies coffee I had yesterday. Yol drove into town yesterday morning and bless her, she brought a cuppa Timmies to me at work (we won't discuss that I cried or anything). How can I not want to spend as much time as possible with someone who knows exactly what I love.

I do have some items on my todo list today that must be taken care of such as an appointment at 10:30 and dealing with some financial stuff that's hit the fan, but for the most part I think spending time with Yol will be top priority. Everyone in our house today has the day off - a rare thing, so we are going to enjoy every minute of it.

I guess one way to start that would be to wake them all up but I'm enjoying the peace and quiet. I have to wake Emily up soon though. She's the subject of the 10:30 appointment this morning and is beyond excited. She's been wanting her hair cut for a couple months now and even though I'd promised that as soon as dancing was over (ya ya....I know that was way back at the beginning of May) that she could get it cut but aside from having the extra money to actually pay for a hair cut, I've also had some trouble scheduling an appointment on a day that I have off so here we are, nearing the end of July and she's finally getting it chopped off. I figure she's going to be a good 5lbs lighter this afternoon and while I'm going to miss all that beautiful hair


it's just too much for her to take care of herself because of the length and because of it has a unique quality that requires constant attention or all that curl becomes a mass of matted strands down her back no matter what we try to do to tame it.

I'm not going to miss the 40minutes it takes to detangle the mess that's for sure and I can't wait to see her with shorter hair. It's been almost 2 years since she's had it cut and it's going to be quite a change.



I guess it's time to wake her up. I've made my way through an entire pot of coffee and I'm ready to brave the chaos of the day.



I have more pictures to share from last week - like the kids playing in the park and our quick visit to water soaked Moonlight Bay but it took 20minutes to upload those two pictures so don't hold your breath waiting for more pictures - at least today. I don't have enough patience or time on my days off for that nonsense. Carrie you should be thankful for this. I was looking for pictures of Emily's last haircut and found one of the two of you together and you'd probably send me nasty text messages if I posted it.



I'll definately post a before and after of Em's haircut though.



Have a Beautiful Day!



~K

To make plans or not to make plans

for my precious day off tomorrow.

The kids and I had sort of informally made plans which basically means I may have mentioned an idea in passing thereby making it law-binding and written in stone and of course they remember the aforementioned 'idea' like their life depended on it. This humors me since their ability to remember to do their chores.....a thing that their life really does depend on (quality of life that is - how horrible it would be to live without tv) is less than stellar.

Anyway - last weekend I sort of mentioned that on my day off on Friday it would be fun to take a picnic lunch and go hang out at the beach for a couple hours. As the week progressed, I began easing in the possibility that the weather might not be that great and we might not be able to do this little beach play day afterall but we'd see how things went. It's been one heck of miserable week with high winds, low temperatures and lots of rain, the occasional thunder storm and did i mention high winds.

At this point I don't think our beach day will happen. Even though people keep telling me it's supposed to warm up and be half decent by tomorrow and throughout the weekend I don't believe it (I turned the furnace on tonight people! It's the middle of JULY and I turned the furnace on.) and even it if does warm up significantly, the water's still going to be cold plus.....and it's a big plus.....I don't think Moonlight Bay is going to exist tomorrow. Moonlight Bay is a small little secluded beach just outside of town that is THE beach spot around here. The winds have been so high and coming from just the right direction that the lake water levels are insane and I would bet that the beach is under a whole lot of water right now and for the next couple days for sure.

So instead of a beach picnic with my kids tomorrow, my only plan so far is a lunch date with Carrie (hey Carrie....what time and where?) unless things get crazy (er) at work and she can't get away.

Other than that I'm just going to wing it but I'm leaning towards a bit of cleaning -which I did alot of at work....not just cleaning up but deep in the corners cleaning (slow week) so since I'm on a roll I'm going to go with it. There's also that little thing called scrapbooking that I used to do and I want to clean up and organize my stuff so maybe, now that I'm not so darn exhausted at the end of the day, I might be able to play a little in the evenings once in awhile. *It could happen*


I might also play online a bit.....because.....whoohoo! I'm back online at home. Tech support and I had a little *discussion* and even though they insisted it was my computer with the issue, I'm magically back online 2 hours later so I think they must have pushed the right key or wiggled the right wire on their end cuz here I am.

But for now I'm outta here. Bed time. Zzzzzzzz


~K

I need tech support!!!!

*sigh*

I just can't like this situation at all.

I'm still offline and I have no clue what's wrong with my dial-up. Mice in the junction box again? I dunno. Going to try reinstalling my modem and if that doesn't work I guess I'll be calling the phone company. How long do you think I'll have to wait for that service call?

Anyway - miss you all.

~K