She loved him like he was
The last man on earth,
Gave him everything she ever had;
He'd break her spirit down
Then come lovin' up on her
Give a little, then take it back.

She'd tell him about her dreams,
He'd just shoot 'em down
Lord, he loved to make her cry
"You're crazy for believin'
You'll ever leave the ground"
He said, "only angels know how to fly"

And with a broken wing
She still sings;
She keeps an eye on the sky
With a broken wing
She carries her dreams
Man, you ought to see her fly!

Happy First Birthday, Breanna!!

I don't know if Amanda and Clayton read my blog but today is their daughter's first birthday!! Here's a recent photo of the little scamp!! Okay, I know, neither of them are looking at the camera!! LOL! But it's one of the best ones I could find on their photos...


Well, my trip to court has been canceled. I went to work today to talk to my supervisor about the trip arrangements and to listen to the tape. There was some discussion about why I was being subpoenaed as it seemed to us that the PSAP 911 operator, not me, should be the one going to court. We answer 911s but only the ones that are directed to the police. There are PSAPs (Primary Service Answering Points) all over the province that take all 911 calls. They ask if you want fire, ambulance or police. If you say "police", then they transfer the calls to us and they come in on our 911 lines. If there's an accident or assault or something like that - something that requires two or three of the services, they take the details for fire & ambulance and then (in a perfect world) put the caller through to us. Don't get me started on PSAP operators - lol. It's not a pretty picture. Let's just say that this one goofed up a bit and the court wants to know why. The good news is that it wasn't me that messed up (this time, anyway....) and so I wasn't needed. The Crown told the detachment involved that they wanted the 911 operator, so they automatically presumed that was me....

Anyway, long story to say my trip's been canceled and that's all good. I'm looking forward to my last day off tomorrow, then back to work. Today I had a good long chat with Mandy on MSN - it's always good to catch her online. Ooops, that reminds me, I'm supposed to email her a recipe - better do that right after this.

In the afternoon, after talking to her, I knitted some more - still working on Isabella's blanket. Then I need to start a blanket for Kellen and a quilt for Isabella as well.... Not to mention some slippers for Kristy's friend who's going to Tibet! Boy, those slippers are going all around the world!

I'm all done the "Christy" series - I'd forgotten how it ends! LOL! Talk about leaving you hanging....arrrrrggggghhhhh.... Who did she end up marrying? The preacher, David, or the doctor, Neil?? I've moved on to season two of "Touched By An Angel". The first few seasons of that show were sooo good and I'd forgotten a lot of the episodes.

I also had my first cleansing day yesterday and it went fine - nothing to report. I felt fine, was a bit hungry but it was totally manageable. Now I'm back into the daily routine of two meal replacements and one healthy meal. Boy, that one meal sure tastes good!! But I'm trying to avoid salt and sugar (yes, and Splenda!!), so that I can, during this month, get my taste buds back to appreciating food that isn't sweet or salty. I also looked into organic foods today at Safeway and was pleasantly surprised! There's quite an assortment coming out - even organic skim milk and yogurt. Safeway themselves have quite a big selection of foods called O (for organic). Yup, I'm becoming "one of those"! But, you know what? I think I'm going to try to do all I can to eliminate the chemicals and toxins out of my diet, and see if this has any affect on my angioedema and other swellings/hives that I get on a regular basis. You never know! I do believe that they are caused by something in my food or environment and, in my dreams, that's what I'm hoping and praying for.....

I feel like I'm the only one blogging...

...but that's okay! Today is cool and overcast and I got home at 7:00 and went to bed. Oh, first I called the constable that's going to the trial with me on Thursday and we discussed the case, airfare, accommodation, etc.... I have to go to work tomorrow and listen to the tape as it happened May 2006, and I've long forgotten the incident. Hope I did a good job - lol - would hate to sound stupid in the courtroom... I can hear the lawyer now..."Just what did you mean by that remark, Mrs. Barto?" Ha ha. I must admit I'm looking forward to the trip - to see how the courtroom politics work and to meet some friends that I haven't seen for awhile. I'm hoping to squeeze in some ride-a-long time as well, if possible....

I woke up at noon, showered, and just got dressed, when Floyd came home from church. I'm on day three of my Isagenix and feeling good. I felt terrible the first day - don't know what that was all about - maybe just the change in diet. Tomorrow is the first cleansing day...ha ha. Yeah, I gotta admit, I'm still skeptical, but, having bought the products, figure I've got nothing to lose. I've been googling a lot about the company and have not come up with much bad about it. Two well-known people who are really sold on it are Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup author) - he's even written "Chicken Soup for the Healthy Soul" with stories about people whose health has been bettered by the product. And the other is John Gray, author of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus". Apparently, he, too, has written a book about Isagenix entitled "The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Solution". But it is so hard with food. I know we were talking to Tom and Tanya about it last time we were in Lethbridge - you try to eat healthy and avoid all the pesticides, toxins and chemicals that we all know our foods are laced with, but how can you avoid it altogether? And how do I know that all the products I'm using right now are "organic". You just have to end up taking peoples' word for it, I guess - either the store's word or the company's word. Apart from having a degree in chemistry yourself... So, I've decided to give it a try and trust the Lord that it's okay for my body. Anything's got to be better than eating the fatty, processed foods in the restaurants and stores, I think...

Floyd and I called Bryan before lunch - we haven't talked for soooo long!! We all agreed that we should be talking once a month, not once every 3-4 months. We talked for an hour and didn't even touch on his news, so him and Sal are going to call back tonight to continue the call. It sure was good to talk to him though...

After "lunch" (LOL), I went downstairs and finished Mandy's Chilean wedding scrapbook! Yaaaay!! I'm really happy with it - I sure hope her and Jorge are... I've done both of their ceremonies now, so it's time to get another scrapbooking project. I think I'm going to do our trip to Minnesota last year. If you look at the Photo Challenge Blog link, you'll see a sample of some of the pages from the album.

I then came upstairs, took some photos for the Photo Challenge, posted them and wrote on here. Now I'm going to watch some more "Christy" - I don't think I have many episodes left. I might knit but I'm feeling pretty tired, so I'm thinking that my eyes might close for a bit as well......

Survived the night....

Last night wasn't bad at all, for a Friday. It was steady but not insane as it does get in the summertime. But, mind you, it is still June and the kids are still in school... Next month will be a whole other story, I'm sure.

I slept until noon then did some crocheting and watched more of the Christy series - I sure am enjoying it. I was going to do some scrapbooking but think I'll save that for tomorrow when I'm all done my shifts.

I got to work tonight to find out I've been subpoenaed to appear in court for three days this coming week! Sweet! I've never been before and it'll give me a chance to see how our justice system works. I'm not sure I should be putting more details on here, so if you want to know more, call me or drop me an email... I get to fly on the force plane, so that'll be an adventure as well... Having said that, the whole thing could be cancelled but I kinda hope it won't be - even though I will miss my honeybun...

Day One on a new adventure!

Yup, I'm trying something new... Don't laugh. I've felt like I was ready for a change - I've been doing Weight Watchers for awhile now and have just kinda come to a stand-still and felt I needed something to give me a jump start to get back on track. Through a few friends of mine, I've discovered Isagenix. Ever heard of it? It's an interesting product that you use for cleansing your body of all the toxins that we take in on a daily basis and also use as a meal replacement for one or two meals a day. I could go on and on about it - especially this morning as Floyd and I went an info meeting on it last night. There were three couples from our church there. I'll tell you, hearing their own health stories regarding this product was enough to make me want to try it for 30 days. If it doesn't do anything for me, then I have only lost the money for one month. If it lives up to only a fraction of the claims I've heard and read, I'll be happy. And it's not just the weight loss for me, it's also all the other health benefits that people who use it talk about. Wanna know more? Here's my website (yup, you read it right - membership gives you a free website!!).
http://wbarto.isagenix.com The reason for the website is because, as you'll see if you hunt around on there, this can also be a big moneymaker if you become sold on the product. I'm not even thinking of going there because right now I just want to see if the product stands up to it's claims. If it does, for me, then I'll have no problem telling people about it and we'll go from there....

Fun with KB

Okay...before I start with our day, I just want to clarify for (especially) Tanya and Mandy, who might be feeling (as per their comments!) that they were "out of the loop" as far as my hip is concerned. FYI...I didn't tell anyone - LOL! Yeah, I know, I know, like mother, like daughter (do you remember your Grandmother?? Ha ha). I fear I'm going to be like her in that respect - sorry in advance! I actually blogged about it and then told Dad and Kristy because I figured they'd read it on my blog anyway. Talk about denial, eh??

Anyway...back to yesterday. Kristy and I packed a lot into our day - and now her and Bob are off to BC, so I guess I'll blog about it because she probably won't be on the internet for awhile.

First of all we went to my eye consultation at Lazik. We had quite a wait (as expected) but finally got in to see, first of all, a lady who tested my eyes and took pics of them to see if I was a candidate physically for the surgery. When I read one line on the chart, she was amazed because she'd never seen anyone be able to read that line correctly before!! Score! Anyway, we then went in to the doctor who told me that the surgery was not for me. Did I hear sighs of relief from Tan and Mandy?? Yeah, apparently I'm nearsighted which means that my eyes focus perfectly about 3-5 feet from my face which is why I don't need glasses for work. I need them (right now) for far distance (reading small street signs, etc) and extreme closeup. I don't need them for reading either. He said that the surgery they do would correct my distance vision perfectly (sweet) but it will make my 3-5 range blurry, meaning that I would then need glasses for reading and for work (not so sweet!!). I thanked him profusely for telling me the honest truth, because I would have not been happy to come out of the surgery requiring glasses for closeup and not for distance! I also asked him if I should be wearing my glasses all the time and he said "no"! I was surprised because I'd been told I should but he said that's a myth - you should only wear your glasses when you need them. "So," he told me, "if you only need them for distance and night vision, then that's the only time you should be wearing them". He also said that not wearing them does not strain the eyes - that, too, is a myth. So, I came out of his office really happy because I found out that I only need wear my glasses when I need to - not all the time. And no surgery, no cost - perfect....

After that, we grabbed a Starbuck's and went to Nola's. She streaked and cut Kristy's hair while we talked and caught up on family news. Jorge, she told us she still laughs every time she remembers what you said about needing a haircut because of your toque!! LOL! She sends her love to everyone - Floyd, Tanya, Tom, Mandy and Jorge.

We were out of Nola's by about 2:30 and had an appointment at Spasation in Londonderry Mall for 4. So we wandered around the mall for awhile, went to Dollarama and Coles, then went in for our massages....mmmmm..... We were in the same room - and had a good laugh as we undressed and scooted under the covers!! LOL! It was so nice and relaxing. Dimmed lights, relaxing music...just incredible. And we had the hour-long one so we were like noodles when we were done, we were so relaxed! Afterwards we went to Orange Julius to get a couple of "pick-me-up" drinks then headed to the LRT station on the north end. We put our purses in the trunk of the car, took out what we needed (little bit of cash) and headed into the station. We were just entering when KB asked if I had the tickets! LOL! Oh, riiiiight....that's what was in our purses!! Ha ha. We were so glad we'd realized it before we'd gone much further! We went back, grabbed them, got on the LRT and headed to Rexall Place. When we got there, we got in line because KB wanted to get a t-shirt then we headed in to find our seats. There was some chick playing for the first half hour whom we didn't know - sorry whoever you were....LOL. Then Faith and Tim both came on and sung a couple of songs together. Then it was Faith by herself for about an hour and then Tim by himself for about the same amount of time. Then, of course, they were together for the ending half hour or so. No cameras allowed in the performance - right, what a joke! And no one said anything about cell phones!! Remember in the olden days when people held up cigarette lighters? Well, now it's cell phones! Photos being taken everywhere and there were lots of cameras as well. Our seats were really good and we could have gotten some really good photos but then we were also glad we didn't have the worry of them and could just sit back and relax.

I don't know what Faith and Tim believe but their concert was very well done - nothing immodest or off-color. Faith sung a beautiful haunting rendition of "It Is Well With My Soul" that impressed and surprised us. Apparently it surprised the audience as well as no one (except KB and I) knew the words to sing along! Then, we also noticed towards the end of the show, when Tim had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, that he had a big (about 6-7" long) tattoo of the Christian fish logo on his inner upper arm. So it really stood out when he put his arms up in the air. Anyone know if they profess to be Christians? I know that they have 3 little ones together and (I believe) a good marriage. It's gotta help singing love songs with (and to) your wife (or husband) when you're on the road, rather than to some other singer....

We were out of there about 11 and home by 11:45. It was a good day and we'd had a lot of fun together. The day was topped by a beautiful thunderstorm that the three of us laid on our bed to watch out the bay windows. The lightning lit up the sky, the thunder boomed and it poured! Absolutely breath-taking! Madison, however, spent the night in the basement! LOL! Poor thing.....

Two questions and a sentence....

...that's what the doctor gave me today! Question 1: "How old are you?" Question 2: "Did you play sports as a teen?" and the sentence (in both meanings: as a statement and as a pronouncement - LOL): "You have moderate to severe arthritis in your right hip". Oh. Riiiight. But I should fill you in on what led up to this visit...

Last week I was going down the stairs at work and when I got to the last step (thank you, Lord!), I found myself in a face-plant position on the floor! "Well," I thought to myself, "that was kind of interesting!" No pain, no build-up, no warning, just face-plant! Then the next day, I was going down the stairs at home and half way down, same thing, but this time I was able to lean against the wall to steady myself so I didn't fall. By now I'm thinkin', "This can't be good....in fact, this could be downright hazardous to my health!!" LOL. You think?? Now a strange sense of denial came over me when this happened - maybe it's similar to what people do when they have chest pains and don't tell anyone. You think it can't be happening to you. But it was. The strange thing is that, while my hip has been aching, and I knew there must be some arthritis in it, I have no discomfort walking or going up stairs. So, anyway...a date with the surgeon is on the horizon for me (probably a couple of months) but my doctor said they probably won't do a replacement because I'm too young (nice to still be able to say I'm too young for something - LOL!!). Replacements only usually last 10-15 years, so they like to wait until you're older to do them.

Meanwhile, Floyd's forcing me into an alcoholic lifestyle because he read that alcohol reduces the risk of arthritis! So, bottom's up, everyone! Mogen David and Late Harvest are soon to be regular items on my daily ration - too heck with food!

Oh, and a thought for those of you with children still at home: you might want to consider their future before you get them too involved in sports as teens! Doctor said my hip was a classic example of someone who'd been active as a teen....hmmmm......

Up the hill and back again...

...that's what last night felt for Kristy and I! I spent the day scrapbooking, which I'm enjoying so much and find so relaxing. Then, talking to Kristy during the day, I found out that she had one more day of holiday leave so we discussed her taking today off. She emailed me and said that, if she could get it off, would I come down and get her? I told her that I'd be there with bells on!! So, she got it off!

Cynthia and Samantha came over about 3:45 - Sam's mouth is still really sore from surgery (removal of wisdom teeth) and she sat on the couch and looked at her new camera while Cynthia and I talked downstairs. Yeah, it was a heavy discussion but we won't go there on here - just keep the family in your prayers. At 5:00, they left and I hit the highway to pick up Kristy. I'd sewn bells on the toes of my slippers so that I wouldn't have lied to her - LOL!! The drive was beautiful, as it was stormy and the sky was incredible. I kept the speed down because I know they've got checkstops all over now and I didn't want to have to explain the pixie slippers!! I pulled into Blackfalds about 6:30, we packed her stuff in the car, Bob rolled his eyes at his dorky mother-in-law prancing about the house to the tinkling of bells, and we headed back home. But first we took a quick detour to (a) return a video, (b) see the beautiful house of friends they know, and (c) grab supper to go from McD's. We then finished going out on Hwy 2a and got on the main QE 2, only to get a call from Bob telling us that if we wanted to go to the concert on Wednesday, we'd better get right back home. Yes, the tickets were still sitting on the fridge back home! LOL! Fortunately, due to the three stops we'd made, we weren't that far out of the town, but it was still quite a ride back....and back again... Ha ha - talk about deja vu!!

We pulled into Edmonton about 9. Floyd was at practice, so we put on Little House (she's working her way through the series) and I knitted. We tried to hook her laptop up to our internet but neither of us could remember how to do it. We went on Facebook for a little while and she showed me some people on there that I know. We got to bed about 11:30, I think.

Now today we have the whole day - and tomorrow as well!! I don't know what we're gonna do, but I'll keep you posted!!

Thoughts on truth and lies....or....John 8:31 revisited...

Have you ever had someone step into your life and speak truth into it? Truth that seems so clear once spoken, yet has been hidden by years of deception by the enemy? I've recently been given the gift of such a friend. I've only known her a matter of weeks but we clicked immediately upon meeting each other and our get-togethers are ones I look forward to with an incredible thirst (we're trying to meet regularly). There seem to be, in my life anyway, lies of the enemy that have lodged in my brain and he has so trained me, over the years, to speak them, that, now, he himself can sit back and watch me, like a trained parrot, recite them over and over to myself. Condemning lies, things that, according to Scripture, are not true, yet I have believed them as truth, because they are so familiar. And the familiar is safe. As freeing as the Truth is, it can be new ground and, as such, can be terribly scary and unknown at the same time. One feels the desire to leap for joy, yet the skepticism sets in and whispers caution - "don't celebrate too soon". But...

"I hear the voice of one crying, I hear the voice of one crying,
Prepare ye, prepare ye the way of the Lord.
I can hear the thunder in the distance,
It's like a train on the edge of the town.
I can feel the brooding of Your Spirit,
Lay your burdens down, lay your burdens down"

An area I've struggled with is the element of truth that Satan uses when he lies to us. Look at Eve - what did he tell her? Was it all lies? Or was there an element of truth in there? He said, "You will not die" - that was a truth, at least physically, they did not drop dead upon eating the fruit. We know, now, that God spoke of a Truth of an immediate spiritual death followed by a delayed physical one. And "if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil..." - also a "truth" - Adam and Eve did learn about good and evil from that second on. And so, as this relates to my life, I have insistently, for years, said to myself, "but that is true. It is a fact!" And so have not been able to release it because it is a "truth". Are you following me? I hope I'm making sense...

But I am discovering that there is a big difference between truth and God's Truth. Satan may speak truths (facts) but they are not the same as The Truth spoken by the Holy Spirit. And I am learning to recognize the difference more each day. And rebuking my parroting of his lies. Replacing his garbage facts with what God says in His Word. And it's incredible. Freeing. Now I am learning to say, in his ugly face, "Yes, that may be a fact of history, but it is not something I need to be dealing with now; not something that you can throw in my face, because God has said...."

"Then you will know the truth and the truth will make you free" - John 8:31

Scrappin' and Workin'

I don't really have much to report on the last couple of days. I've just finished my two night shifts - last night was insane. The 911s and complaints didn't stop - literally! At 6:15 when our relief came, the phones were all still lit up and the domestics/disputes/driving complaints were still rolling in - people, go to sleep already!!! Good grief. One woman screamed at me, "When people get together and drink, it's supposed to be a good time!!", I replied, "Ma'am, when people get together and drink - THIS happens!!!" Ha ha. To me the most frustrating calls are the abusive, "I-hate-the-police-but-get-them-over-here-right-now" calls - just screaming and swearing - no basic info like the 5 W's (who, what, where, when, why). Then there was the one 911 call - "My dog just came home with a hand in his mouth" - EEEEEEWWWWW...GROSS!!! Fortunately (I had to get the follow-up scoop on that one!!) it turned out to be a bear's paw. I'll tell you, if it wasn't for the ability to laugh about all this with the members and co-workers, we'd never be able to do this job. You sure need to keep your sense of humor. It just amazes me how many ways people find to mess up their lives. So sad. And, to clarify, when I speak of laughing - it's just that for every really serious and tragic call we take, we probably have 10-20 of the most ridiculous, insane complaints imaginable. Calls where you just put them on hold, laugh, shake your head, then go back to it - ha ha.... "Ma'am, have you been drinking tonight?" - "No, asoluty not. And I want to be amonomonus" Oh, riiiight... LOL.

But I'm off now and today is overcast, so I think I'm going to do some scrapbooking and watch I Love Lucy's. Tomorrow is Father's Day, so Floyd and I are going to go down to Kristy and Bob's for the afternoon after church.

That's all for now...more later....

Hi all - just to let you know I've finished updating "My Photos" - June 2007 album - with the photos from our Lethbridge trip....

Not much happen' here...

I don't have a lot to report - worked a dayshift today and it wasn't too bad. On my lunch break, a friend, Craig, picked me and we went to Moxie's. It's been a long time since we've gotten together and so it was really good to (finally!) ride in his 2006 Toyota Tacomba, and hear all about the new love of his life, Heidi. He's planning to pop the question this July and get married next July. He seems happy and I pray this is the right girl for him.

After work, I came home and went in my bedroom to knit and watch a movie while Floyd had his mens' group. I got quite a lot done but also spent a good deal of time untangling one of my balls of yarn...

I'm posting pics now on my photobucket - new album - June 2007. Hopefully I should get most of them uploaded before I go to bed.

Oh (exciting news...please don't faint family members that don't know - LOL!!), I also called today and made a consultation (ONLY a consultation!!) visit with the Lazik eye clinic. Blame KB, if you have to blame someone - ha ha - she made me do it!! No, just kidding...it was 100% my idea. I just want to see what they say and the visit IS free!! So, she's coming with me next week before we go and see....Tim McGraw!! Ha ha - don't remember if she's mentioned that on her blog or not, but she bought two tickets and Bob's not crazy about going, so she's gonna take me!! I haven't been to a concert in forever, so I'm excited.

Last thing of the day...couldn't resist this pic of Erilyn!! What a silly girl...I don't remember what it was she was upset about - a game, I think. Either that or just didn't want her photo taken!!

We just got back from four wonderful days in Lethbridge with Tanya, Tom and the children. It's always a relaxing time for us, when we basically have nothing more to do than spend time with them. I was hoping Tan would blog about it (LOL) so I wouldn't have to - how lazy can I get, eh?

I had fun with my camera - took lots of pics of the kids... I'll be posting them tomorrow night on my photobucket so you can see those. We celebrated Adriana's 10th birthday on Sunday afternoon with some friends invited over for the occasion. Our gift theme for her this year was 'horses' as she's really into them right now (she's taking riding lessons). She's taking the whole thing very seriously and studying to make sure she knows the answers to questions her teacher gives her. We were even able to pick up some boots for her, so all weekend she had to act the role of the "cool cowgirl"...
Amelie is talking so much now and so clear - but she still has some priceless 3yr-old pronunciations that are just "her" ('gink' of water...). She's bonded thoroughly with her Papa and Yammie and constantly asked to come back to our house with us for a sleepover. I had thought she was too young but I'm not so sure now. Maybe if we were closer... Six hours is a long way if she suddenly wants her Mum - LOL. Here she picked some flowers for Yammie....


Kellen is also talking much more - the words I heard the most were "no" (even when he meant 'yes') and "right there". In Costco, he suddenly saw a huge wooden playhouse and swing set for outdoors and got so excited. He kept pointing and saying, "Papa, right there!!". Ha ha, he knows who to ask. I am Papa as well to his little mind. But if someone asks him, "Where's Gram?", he'll look or go to me, but still calls me "Papa". To him, Floyd and I are just "the Papas" - LOL... He's such a handsome little lad (Ami calls him her "hancey man") and such a bundle of energy. He loves an audience and will throw himself all over the place if it gets a reaction! Here he is "playing" Nintendo....

Erilyn is just my little "Eri-bear". She continues to tug at my heart strings. I honestly don't know how Tan and Tom can discipline her (but I'm so glad they do). She wanted me to stay longer and started saying Sunday morning (we were due to leave Monday afternoon!), "Gram, I don't want you to leave tomorrow". Her little eyes filled up and I almost lost it. She's a precious jewel as are both her sisters. They get on so well together and have a strong love for each other. Here she is playing with a Pet Shop toy we got her (had to do a Toys 'R Us run...LOL)...


We four (Floyd, Tom, Tanya and I) had wonderful moments to talk (and play Carcassonne!) in the evenings when the kids were all tucked in. We stayed up too late but we don't get together that often, so it was worth it. Floyd and Tom spent early morning hours bonding while waiting in line for Robin Mark tickets on Saturday morning, and Tan and I had some good laughs while making a trial sling for little Isabella. We were following a pattern off the internet so weren't too sure on what we were doing, but were pleased with the end results!! We couldn't get either of the little ones to try it out (sigh...) but were able to find a doll who'd go along with it! What do you think??


We headed out Monday afternoon after lunching at Taco Bell (thought of you, KB!) - it was a tearful goodbye - I miss them all so much. I know we're close enough to drive down but it still seems a long way away...

When going through Claresholm, we called Clayton and Amanda to see if we could do coffee with them on the way back but when Clay answered his cell, he said he was playing golf in BC!! So, I guess that'll have to be for next time. Little Breanna will one this month!

So that's all for now...more to follow within the next couple of days. Like I said, I'll try and post pics tomorrow evening. I'm going out for lunch tomorrow with Craig (from Smoky) and then in the evening, I'm having supper out with the staff of New Beginnings, so I'm not sure when I'll be home...

I just wanted to take time to say "Happy Birthday" to our son-in-law, Jorge!! I don't know if we'll get to talk to you on the day (Saturday) because we're with Tanya and Tom and our day is going to be pretty busy! So, if we don't talk to you - have a wonderful day!!!!

We love you!

The making of a movie...

...still continues in West Edmonton Mall! I haven't watched much of the filming but I wanted you to see this beautiful "ice" structure they put up for it! Here's a couple of photos...more in "My Photos"...

An embarassing lunch hour....

..or lesson one in "Wendy's School of Humility".  LOL.  Yeah, here was my lunch break...  It was a beautiful day, so I thought I'd bring a change of clothes and walk for half an hour on my lunch.  I walked down to the locker rooms by the gym and changed into my tank top and capris.  Thankfully there is a quick exit door by the changing room because I didn't want to be seen.  For those that don't know, it's "business casual" for a dress code during the week here at K Div.  Anyway, I put my skirt and top into the locker, closed the door and, as soon as I heard the click of the lock, I knew ....."nnnnoooooooo...!!!"  There I stood, looking at the locked door and knew that, not only were all my decent clothes in there, but also my building pass and (you guessed it!) the key to my lock!!!  Arggghhh!  I thought two things: (a) I can't walk around this building dressed the way I am!!, and, (2) even if I did get outside, I wouldn't be able to get back in the building or comm center without my pass!!"  Remembering a circulating email about cutting locks off unused lockers, I walked down to the commissioners' office (trying to ignore the stares!) and asked how they planned to cut the locks off.  They handed me this huge tool - like big pliers, except about 3 feet long and 8 inches wide.  So I walked back to the locker rooms, soooo thankful that I'd opted for capris rather than shorts but still pretty self-conscious about my tank top, carrying this huge hunking weapon.  Yes, you can imagine the comments:  "What the...?", "Wow, there must be a story here...","Do I want to know...?"  LOL.  And all the sergeants, corporals, etc., etc. looking at me, mentally wondering when the dress code had been downgraded to...to...this!  Ha ha...  Yeah.  So, the lock melted like butter in the massive pliers and I pulled out my pass and key (which I didn't need anymore - LOL).  I then took it back to the office and headed for the nearest exit.  Sigh.  What a good way to waste my breaktime but I still had time for a half-hour walk during which I thanked (yes, thanked) the Lord for the experience.  I'm trying to remember that nothing comes my way without first passing through His hands, so instead of grumbling, I'm trying to find the good in everything that comes on my plate.  After all, it was kinda funny and gave my co-workers something to laugh about...in hindsight....

Work, other than that, was crazy.  I haven't been cursed at by so many people for a long time (I love my job, I love my job, I love my job....LOL).  And the complaints were so meaningless - well, except for a couple which were really serious - just stuff that I didn't even know how to start to dispatch without getting snickers on the other side of the radio from members who, I'm sure, must think we make this stuff up!!  People's lives are soooo messed up.  It's really sad...

Anyway, that's all for today.  I've got about an hour before bed, so I'm going to do some more knitting.  Then tomorrow, I hope to get back to scrapbooking during the day and nightshift in the evening.  Kristy, I'll be praying for you as you have your surgery at 1:30 tomorrow!!!  Love you!

Bound for a boycott!

Okay, I don't like to talk bad about companies (Panago, Kristy?) but, boy, I sure had my fill of Japan Camera today!! I took over my jump drive with 150 photos on it. Asked for one copy of each. I didn't think that was a hard thing to ask...LOL. The guy told me they'd be ready in half an hour (sweet!), so Floyd and I went to run a few other errands in the mall while they were being done. We admired the new Christmas decorations that have been put up (yup, the movie is still being filmed...) - they're doing construction on a beautiful Ice-Palace-kinda-thing right now - where the fountains used to be in phase one. I don't know if it's gonna be a fancy Santa-house, but I think so, 'cause it's got a big canopy and throne inside... I will definitely take a pic and post it when it's done, 'cause it's gorgeous!! The photographer in me was already arranging the angle of the shoot - ha ha... Too bad they didn't do this much every year - LOL. I told Floyd that , by the time they're done, they might as well just leave everything up for Christmas! Anyway, we went to Sears where Floyd bought some dress pants, to Zellers, then we went back to pick up my photos (one hour later). Were they done? LOL - I don't think so... "Almost! come back in half an hour," he said. Riiiiight. We putzed around a bit more, bought a birthday gift for Adriana (who will be 10 tomorrow!!) and went back. He gave me my photos, I paid, we left. We stopped in the food court to get some lunch, and I thought I'd check out the photos. Nearly died when I saw that about 1/2 of them were printed all wrong!! Instead of the whole shot being on there, it would show about a quarter of the photo! Back I went, showed him and left him my drive again. He was going to use the bad ones to figure out which ones hadn't printed properly, and we went home. I kinda set myself up for that one, didn't I? LOL. One hour later, I get a phone call to say the pics are done, so I went over and....would you believe it?...there were about 10 duplicates and still missing about 20 photos. Sigh. I went behind the counter, up to the machine and pointed out exactly which ones I was missing. I'll tell you, I never lost my cool with these guys, in fact I think I did more apologizing than they did! I waited another 15-20 mins until my photos were churned out and I left. Talk about pet peeves...never a "sorry" crossed the lips of either the guys working. I mean, come on, what happened to good business sense? Mental note to me - Black Camera or McBains gets my business from now on.... (Do you want to know the end result? Yup, still short one photo, but I'll deal with that another day...)

Friday night (last night), I went with Cynthia to a Girls' Night Out, presented by ShineFM, a Christian radio station in northern Alberta. Check it out at http://www.gnolive.com/ We had a lot of fun and the church was packed - probably about 500 women, I would guess. There was worship, a guest singer (who also did a stand-up comedy routine) named Kelita. I'd never heard of her but she's from Alberta and sung a country hit, The Strong One, she'd had on CMT and I recognized the song when I heard it. If you're interested, her web site is http://www.kelita.com/ Then there was a speaker who talked about her mission life in Nepal and about "Joy-Busters" in our lives. I really enjoyed the whole night. There's one in Red Deer this coming Monday and Kristy's going to that - I hope I haven't spoiled it for you, KB!!

After that (9:30 p.m.), I went in to work from 10:00 till 2:00 a.m. as they were short-handed and that's not good on a Friday night. Yeah, it was nuts - I don't even know if they realized I was there! I just put in my 4 hours and left. Come to think of it, I didn't even take a break - LOL!!

This morning, I slept in till 10, then did stuff around the house until we went to the mall around noon. Tomorrow my plan is to start scrap-booking again - I can't wait. I have the whole day and should get a lot done. Speaking of getting something done, I have to finish this up because Kristy needs new dishcloths and I told her I'd knit her one or two tonight...as she's coming up tomorrow sometime. So, I'd better say "bye" and work on that....

An Adage Proved True!!

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks" - Well, today I proved it to be true!! Our old dog (Madison) showed me the meaning of the saying....

Three days ago I moved her food and water from behind the kitchen door (awkward place) to (what I believed to be) an easier place for her to access - top of the stairs. For those of you who don't know, this is where the cat food used to be, back when we had two cats. But I suddenly realized the other day that now the cats are gone (God rest their little souls), this would be an ideal spot for Maddie's food seeing as she's always waiting for us to close the door so she can get to it where it is now....

Well, that was three days ago. This morning, Floyd told me that she hasn't eaten since I'd moved it. I was like, "no way...". I decided that we would see who could be more stubborn and that it would be her that would cave before I would. Well, it wasn't. I had compassion on her and, about five minutes ago, I moved it back and, sure enough, she started to eat as if she was starved (which she probably was!!). What a dumb dog!!!! At least that's what I thought until I began to realize that for the first 10 years of her life, she was reprimanded and told *not* to eat the food that was there (because it was the cats'). LOL. So, I guess she figured she wasn't to eat anything that was put there. Good ole' Madison - not as dumb as she looks, is she???