Yup! We have added a new member to our family. We have decided to keep Skeeter. Originally we were only going to foster him till we found a good home for him. The last 2 weeks we have had to go thru a lot with him. The pills he has been on have made him loose control of his bladder. He pee’s without even realizing he is doing it. At least we havent had poop accidents. He let’s us know when he needs to go out for that business.

I honestly didnt think I would get attached to the little guy. I wanted a different breed. But he is so good. So quiet and well behaved. He loves to cuddle and doesnt care if he is in the middle of playing. He will stop and cuddle with you. He is great in the car. Sits in the back seat and goes to sleep. I think in time he will grow into a great dog. He is well on his way already. The best part about him is that he is happy. Just wants to please you and tries so hard to be good.

SO, to my family… Dont worry, he will not be coming into your homes unless you say its ok. He will be with us most of the time and when visiting he can stay in the car. This will be done until we know that he can be trusted at home with the cats. Might take a few months. Also we want to make sure he is completely housebroken before he gets to go visiting in other homes. He is very close and we will find out better when he is done his last pill on Tuesday. One good thing about him being part grey hound, he doesnt seem to have a very strong doggy odor. As for shedding, it’s hardly noticeable now that he isnt afraid and shaking like the first couple weeks. With regular brushing it’s kept to a minimum.

Now to find the right name for him…..hmmmmm

Today I am feeling not so bad. Just my eyes feel sore. Which is one of the things I must deal with daily. I am lucky that since this happened 10 years ago it has improved to where I can handle my daily aches and pains most of the time. It would just be so nice to be pain free, even if it’s just for one day a month. I have forgotten what its like to have no pain. I even feel the pain when I sleep. I guess this is what I have to live with. We all have problems.

Anyways, there is so much that I have changed in my life. I no long am that rebel I was most of my life. I would have to say that I am a completely different person compared to what I was before. I believe it does make a difference who your friends are (even though I never believed it) and how you choose to live your life. I never thought I would live any kind of a healthy lifestyle. I am trying. Temptation is always lurking in the fridge, the liquor cabinet and the snack cupboard. So glad I quit smoking and dont have that urge.

Then there is religion. This is the big obstacle in my life. Ever since I can remember God has been a HUGE factor in my life. As a child I had to go to Sunday school. Then as I got older church services were added. Every Sunday morning was about 3 hours at church. At 10 I remember our Sunday school teacher scaring us into becoming a Christian. I recall running home and going into my bedroom, locking my door and praying for God to keep me from burning in Hell. I asked him to save me.

I was about 12 when I finally told mom that I didn’t want to go anymore. Dad wasnt going to let that happen. At 13 I rebelled….loudly! I was done following them to church. I didnt see the point in going just to see what everybody was wearing. It was like a fashion show. Who had the best dress and who wore the latest shoes. I just didnt understand any of it. When the Pastor talked, I heard blah blah blah. He could have been speaking English, but I didnt catch a word of it. I stopped going the Sunday after Grandma died. I figured she wasnt going anymore then I wasnt either. (i know its a dumb reason. hey I was a kid!)

Since then I have been fighting, well not fighting but disagreeing with my family, mostly with Mom and Dad about coming back to the church. Over the next 27 years I only attended Christmas eve services and even then missed that for a few years. Then when Dad got sick and he was nearing the end, He started to preach again. He said I needed to be ready for when my time comes. I politely listened and agreed with him. It was a hard thing to do. Religion was one of the biggest wedges between him and I. On his death bed, he couldnt talk anymore, but he still knew what we said. The day before he died I went to see him. He was sleeping. He woke up and looked at me and smiled. At that moment I felt it. I felt the need to tell him that I would see him again. I told him “Dont worry Dad, I’ll see you in heaven. I’m coming there too”. I saw his faded blue eyes lighten up for just that moment and tears start to flow. I hugged him one last time and felt his love. He then looked at Mom pleading for her to come closer. We all hugged for just a moment and then we parted. It was my last moments with him.

It will be 2 years this June that he is gone. I know that I said I would go back , but I have found that I cant go back to that old style religion that the family grew up with. I have recently realized that I am not a Mennonite. This might seem weird to some of the family. I mean, how can I just say that? Well, it wasnt an easy decision. Now that I have let it come out completely, I feel a huge burden lifted. It felt like that first time I sunk my toes into the warm soft white sand of Playa del Carmen’s beach. I felt peace in my heart.

I can now move ahead. I am not fighting that battle anymore. I can find what I really need and I think  I have found it. I am finding my true religion.

It’s been a very long road and that road has had some big pot holes and lots of rocks. Seems the road is changing. No longer the pot holes, and the rocks have turned to gravel. I hope that one day it will be that soft white sand I long for. When that day comes I know I will be at peace with the Sun shining down on me.

To be continued…….

So what am I doing on my special day? Gregg and I are going to have our morning coffee as usual, and then get ready to go over to Mom’s. Pick her up and head to the border. We are going to stop off at Wal-mart and meet up with Mom’s sister Susi for a coffee. After wards we will get back on the road and drive down to Bellis Fair Mall where I will be buying my present. I have been needing new runners and I have decided that I want the Skechers Shape-ups. I hope they help with my back pain and my sore heels when I walk. I sure want to be able to go out walking and not have to stop after 15 minutes from the pain. Its so frustrating to try and get in shape and not have good shoes.

I also need jeans. Since I finally am at my goal weight I need some jeans that I dont have to keep pulling up or have to wear a belt. Plus I dont want stretchy jeans. I cant find any that are normal jeans around here unless they are flared, low riders and cost way too much and I dont do the skinny jean, I just dont like them. I like a boot cut or straight leg and long. At least a 34 inseam. Most are 32 and that is too short for me. But why do jeans have to have lycra in them? I want regular old school jeans…lol

Well maybe I’ll find them at the Mall. After the shopping is done we are going to take mom for some real Mexican food. Gregg and I have both been craving Tacos el Pastor. I want Mom to try them too. I think she will enjoy them.

Well, going to go start dinner. Its House and heroes tonight.

So if you know of anyone that needs some photo work done send them to me!

Buddingleaves.com

So, Last week I took on a project that I thought would be easy. Well, it was easy but very time consuming. I was going through my google reader and checking on some of the craft bloggers I read daily, and I saw something that I thought would make a great party favor for all the women that came to the birthday lunch we had planned.

I was on the Coterie Blog and saw this post and loved the idea. So I made a list of all I would need and headed out to get the supplies. Instead of Banana bread I did cake mixes. My list was simple.

• 35 4 inch pots
• 8 cake mixes
• ribbons
• sparkly things

Sounds easy right? Not so! I had to find the pots. Gregg came with me and we went to Wal-Mart and found 16 there. Then it was over to Home Depot, they had none. Then we drove to Rona and got all we needed. After that it was off to the Dollar store for ribbons and decorations. And finally to Save-on Foods to get the cake mixes and eggs and oil and powdered sugar.

I started with washing all the pots. I ran them through the dishwasher. The next morning I decided that I would white-wash them all. I found some white paint and watered it down and gave them all one coat. They dried and got another coat. That took up most of the day. At about 3pm I started with the decorations. I finished 27 pots by 7pm.

The next day I started with the baking. I did a test run to see how many pots I would need per cake mix. 4 pots worked well. The baking went pretty good. I only messed up on one pot. Each set of 4 pots baked at 350 c for 35 minutes. Then I pulled them out and put in the next 4pots. While those were baking I removed the cakes out of the pots and let them cool. I washed the 4 pots and started over.

I then took the cooled cakes and put them into the decorated pots and labels them on the bottom so I knew what flavor it was. I kept rotating between the 2 batches of 4 pots I was using to bake with. All together it took me 6 hours to finish all the baking.

I took a break, had some dinner and a shower. I then started on the icing. That took another 2 hours to do. Then I realized I still needed to get a layered salad ready for the party. I thought my night would never end!

I finally finished them all. 32 pots decorated and ready to go. In the end it was all worth it. Everyone loved their potted cakes.

There was a ton of yummy foods to eat. My sister made 2 different fruit punches. We ordered a birthday cake from my Niece’s friend that makes special cakes. We got her to put a big ring on top with all of us 5 kid’s birth stones. Mom didn’t really see the cake until we pointed it out after she has opened the box with the gold family ring we got her as her present. She was so happy I thought she might even cry.

At about 3pm almost all the ladies had left. Then the family started to show up for the BBQ. We all relaxed and a good time as a family. We all laughed and enjoyed the rest of Mom’s day.

Today is her actual birthday. So I called her to wish her a happy day. She is having some friends over for coffee and to eat some more of that yummy cake.

What else? Survivor started last week and so did Amazing Race. Both are shows that Gregg and I watch together. We like to pick apart the shows and say that we could do better…lol. I have other shows I watch while Gregg does his homework. Lost is back on too so I’ve been watching it. Waiting for Prison Break to start in April.

I did hear a rumor… Dippy might be moving soon. I can only hope and pray that it really is true and will happen before summer is here. Supposedly, he has been approved for a mortgage and is looking for a place in Chilliwack. If this is true, I hope that they sell the condo to some nice older people with no kids.

Oh,  Matthew and Bree have moved into their new condo and they have invited us for dinner this Sunday. This will be a first. I’ve offered to bring dessert, just have to figure out what to make. I’m looking at low calorie recipes today.

Well, that’s whats happening around here.

We don’t have many plans. We have the dinner at Mom’s on the 20th to celebrate living in Canada for 40 years. Then on the 21st we are all invited to go to my brother and his wife’s baptism in Vancouver. Which we will be attending as long as I feel good and there is no snow. Then we have Christmas dinner at my Sister’s house on the 25th.

So really this year is a slow one. Usually half the family gets together on Christmas eve to go out for dinner and then go to church. I think this year might be the start of something new for Gregg and I. We really dont have any “traditions” of our own. Since we don’t have kids together and my boys are older and want to do their own thing. Gregg and I have talked about possibly doing something just for us. Sure anyone can come and join us. What is it that we want to do? Go see a Christmas movie.

LOL… yup I know it sounds weird. Seriously, I thought it was too. But have you noticed that there are new Christmas movies that come out on the the 24th and 25th? So why not go see one? If we aren’t snowed in and have nothing else to do then we might as well go have a good time.

Anyways, I crawled out of bed this morning to see if you all missed me. No, really! I know I miss all of you. I hate being away from my computer. The internet is kind of my life line to the world. I’m at home all the time since I don’t work and we only have one car. I don’t mind it. I like my home. I have gone as long as a month without ever leaving the condo. I really have no problem staying in my cozy home.

So, we had our yearly Christmas family dinner this past Sunday. It all went well. 39 people showed up. It would of been more but a few just couldn’t make it. It was really nice to see the family. There were some that were new this year and some that I hadn’t see in a long time. The food was yummy as always. I even tried out a new recipe and made the family my guinea pigs…hehehe

Mom and my cousin did well and held their heads up and spread the Christmas spirit through the family. I could see it wasn’t easy on them both without their husbands by their sides. It was still a happy time. We laughed and enjoyed the day. Even though I was sick and doped up on cold pills.

We got home just before 8pm and I climbed into bed for the night. I was done. Yesterday I was in bed all day. So today I am up, but not feeling much better. I think I will be heading to bed soon. If you don’t hear from me in a few days then I am probably still in bed sick. I’ll blog when I am feeling better.

Image via Wikipedia

Its time again for our annual family Christmas dinner. Every year my Mother’s side of the family gathers at the church gym to celebrate Christmas. Most of us don’t see each other through out the year and this gives us a Chance to catch up.

We all bring some food and have a meal together. The variety is amazing. A potluck is just that, who knows what will show up. We sit and chat and laugh and you can feel the Christmas spirit flowing through the room. The kids play in the gym as we adults sit in the kitchen. And Christmas isn’t Christmas until my Aunt walks in wearing her Christmas vest. Its always a happy time.

This year will be different. We will be gathering, but 2 people will be missing. Dad and Doug. I know that when I wake up on Sunday morning, my thoughts will be on Dad and how Mom will handle the day. She is a strong woman and I know that she will be putting on the smile and be full of Christmas spirit. I also know that deep down inside she will be aching. The first time is always the hardest.

I know my Cousin will have a hard time without her husband Doug there to enjoy this family time. Just like Mom, she is a strong woman and she will be ok too. The families will all be there to comfort both of them, just as we will all comfort each other on this day.

As Christmas is arriving, I know it will get harder day by day for Mom and all us kids. Dad’s Birthday is on Dec.25th. This will be a very sad day. Our first without Dad. I know we will cry that day, but we will also laugh and remember all the good times we had. Plus many more to come.

This year we are also celebrating 40 years in Canada. Mom told me the other day that she still has the bottles of wine from the airplane we were on when we arrived in Canada. I said that this is a good year to open them up. So we are getting together on Dec.20th to celebrate this day.

Mom is also doing a first without Dad this Christmas. She is heading south again. My parents had been snowbirds for about 15 years and gone south for the winter months. The last couple times my brother and his wife have been driving the motorhome since Dad couldn’t do it anymore. So this year the 3 of them are heading out on the 26th. I think it will be good for Mom.

So, as you can see, my mind is here and there today. I am feeling a bit blue. But I’m going to go dig out the tree and turn on some Christmas music and think happy thoughts. Life goes on and we start a new way of Christmas.

My day started off great. Had coffee with Gregg and then went to shower and there I thought about what to do for the day. I do a lot of my thinking in the shower. I got out and told Gregg I would love to hang out with Mom. He said sure. So I called Mom and asked if she would like to go to Ikea. Yup, and the plan was made.

We picked her up at 1pm and headed out. Ikea is about a 30 minute drive from home. We got there and I could see that Mom was excited. She hadn’t been to this big new Ikea. We started in the showroom area and followed the big blue arrows on the floor. Mom got a bit confused a few times as to what direction were headed, but I kept telling her “follow the blue arrows”.

I think she was a bit overwhelemed. There was so much to look at. Plus 100′s of people. Normally it would be me getting confused and dizzy. We both saw a couple items we wanted. She even picked up a mirror for her new condo.

We stopped at the cafeteria for a drink and to rest our feet. We then headed down to the checkout. We paid and got out of there. The three of us decided it was dinner time and off we drove to the Cactus Club 2 blocks down the road. When we got there they told us we would have to wait about 15 minutes. Instead Gregg saw a table open in the bar. Off we went!

It just so happened that it was Hockey night and the bar was very loud and full of people. It was a bit hard to talk. We each ordered a drink, yes, even Mom. and then ordered our food. It was all very good. We were there about an hour. Afterwards, we headed back to Mom’s place.

Once there, we relaxed and watched the DVD we brought over for her of all her slides we had scanned into my PC. I could see that it brought back a lot of memories for her and me too. Its not see to see Dad in them. It must be really hard for Mom to see her whole life with dad in those pictures. But she held it together and didn’t cry. We finally were ready to leave and had a group hug and said good night. It was just after 9pm when we got home. I was still feeling good.

I am so thankful that I had this day with Mom and Gregg. I don’t get many good days like that anymore.

Image by Grant MacDonald via Flickr

I’m a bit blah today. I’ve been sitting here trying to think of something to blog about and I keep coming up blank. So I guess I will babble a bit.

I think I am finally over the flu. Gregg is still coughing a little. We had my cousin Doug’s funeral yesterday. It was a beautiful service. Bagpipes and all. Every sad, but happy he is at peace and no more pain.

Oh, I got a Wii console for my birthday. Plus Wii Fit. I had been wanting one ever since I tried it at my brother’s house. I dropped hints for a month! LOL.. I guess Gregg finally got it for me so I would shut up. So now Gregg has figured out a way to get free games. Its great having a geeky hubby!  We played Wii Music last night and had a few good laughs.

What else? Oh yeah, at 1:30am Dippy came home and I guess he was drunk. He was yelling and punching walls and kicking what ever was in his way. We put up with it for about 20 minutes, but when I heard his girlfriend start saying “no! stop it!” I had enough and called the police. I will NOT put up with that type of shit. I can handle most of the other crap Dippy does, but not that.

Listening to him last night brought the memories rushing back. Its like reliving life with Bob. I hate it! I try so hard to not think about all that shit that happened with him and then Dippy has to bring it all back. I wish Dippy would move.

Anyways, Gregg and I finally got back to sleep after an hour or so. We had to let the police in. After they left it was quiet again and has been since. It wont be the end. Dippy will act up and he will get drunk and rip his place apart again. I wonder how many holes he has punched into the walls down there?

I am off to Wii. Have a new game to try!

After my morning coffee I was checking my emails. I signed up at a few sites the day before and was waiting to get email back. I got email from Red Robin‘s telling me to come get a free Birthday burger and Dairy Queen saying I can have a 16oz blizzard for free. So my lunch was planned!

We got dressed and headed to Red Robin’s for lunch. I ordered a Guacamole burger with fries.

After that we drove down the road to Dairy Queen where I got a Fudge brownie cookie dough with Reese’s peanut butter cup blizzard.mmmmmm! We took our blizzards and headed back home. Gregg gobbled his up right a way. I still have half of mine in the freezer. I was stuffed from the burger. So I get to finish it today.

Its been fun blogging and I will keep on going. It would be nice to make money from this blog, lol, but its not likely. Anyways, over these last 2 years I have share a bit of stuff with you. As you know my Father dying this past June was a very big deal. I shared with you all my heart-broken feelings and I’m so glad I was able to blog about it. It truly did help me. I’m sure from time to time I will still blog about him as I miss him so very much.

You have all listened to me rant about doctors and treatments and aches and pains that I suffer with daily. I’m so thankful that you haven’t left … lol. I know there were times where it seemed endless with my complaining. I have been doing better.

I have added a few different pages to my blog and my IC page is still an on going project. I get visits to that page daily. I just hope that from my suffering with this condition others will get help with what I have learned over the years.

Well I just want you all to know that I thank you all for reading and commenting on my blog. I plan to do more in the future and I will be here for many more years.

Love you all!

Karin

Image by mbonocore via Flickr

As you can see, I’ve been doing some changes to my blog theme again. I really like this one. I think this one will be the one for some time. I like that I can put my own photos in the header. Yes, all the different headers are pictures Gregg and I took. At the moment they are all from your last trip to Playa del Carmen. They might change on special days.

Other news… Gregg is finally job hunting. He is out there spreading his resumes all over Abbotsford today. I hope that he gets a responds. I’ll let you know how it goes when things start to happen.

Tomorrow its ladies lunch once again. We are celebrating my Aunt Anny’s birthday. Its also my brother’s birthday, but he isnt invited. I think he would look a bit out of place at one of our hen parties…lol

Also, Heroes starts this evening which I have been waiting for. There are bunch of shows all starting this week. So I won’t be online in the evenings.:)

We had a great day. We left home and picked up Mom at noon and headed to the Tradex Center. Once there we found parking which was 3.00 on the way out later. We walked in and our sniffers were hit with all kinds of goodness.

As we came through the main gate we grabbed a bag for all our goodies. We started to walk around and looked at all the different cooking supplies and foods and drinks you could buy. There were lots of products to look at. Some stands had samples to taste.

After going through all the vendors we headed for the food and drink section. We had to buy tickets to use for buying samples. 2 tickets would get you an once of wine. 5-8 tickets would get you some type of food.

I found a beer I really liked. Its made from rice. It was very smooth and tasty. I will be picking some up soon.

Gregg watched Bob Blumer “the Surreal Gourmet” make grilled pizza. We both thought it was funny since we already do it at home on our bbq. Its one of the best ways to cook pizza.

I also found a new wine that I must try again. Its made by “Lotusland Vineyards” right here in Abbotsford! The wine is a new creation called “Ortega”. Its a white wine. It was so yummy I could drink it every day. I will put this on my Christmas list.

My Sister and her hubby showed up half way through the afternoon. When it was time to leave they took Mom with them and headed to my Niece’s place in Langley for a coffee. Gregg and I headed home.

Once we were home, I sorted out all the stuff in my goodie bag. Check out all the swag! Lots of cat food samples. Baby likes them, but Bunny thinks that Duck flavored food is not yummy. I got recipes and coupons and the V8 fusion plus the razors were being given away at the door as you left. I tried out the razor and must say I like it. It would be a good thing to take with for traveling.

So, all in all, I think it was a nice day. We all had a good time.

P.S. Sorry this is a week late. I was waiting for Gregg to edit the pictures.

We will be taking pictures and will blog all about it on Monday.

To Gregg,

There are many things I could say, but the only thing I really need to tell you is…. you complete me.

The smile on your face
When things don’t go your way
Your smile stays with me
As I start my day

The warmth in your heart
I feel it all the time
And knowing that the love in it
Truly is all mine

The loving words you speak
Make my problems disappear
You make me feel so good
I always want you near.

Happy Birthday My Love.

I hope that this day is filled with fun and happiness!