a very quick update...

At the moment I have no internet connection. That I blame my wonderful man for, because he never did tell me the password after he set up the new wireless… I have tried over and over and over again, to call him tonight. However, someone went for a “nap” after work and I think that this nap has turned in to an all nighter… so no wireless internet for me. Not like it’s a matter of life or death, seeing as we’ve had this wireless for at least a month now and today is the first time I’ve actually went to get online with it. (using my own computer)

Any way, back to where I was going with at the beginning, I have no internet connection, so I have no idea where I left off last… I think it was in june. So I’m going to recap the past two months of july and august. (oh right, forgot to mention that it currently is September 6th 2010)

July- first weekend- can’t remember
2nd weekend- family weekend at grandmas
3rd week- Janelle and Jamie were here
4th weekend- horse retreat with wild deuce
5th weekend- oh wait, I believe that means its august…

August- long weekend- can’t remember, think I just stayed home because paul had got home from working away all of july
2nd weekend- at the farm
3rd week- in Ontario for Rob and Josees’ wedding
4th weekend- Friday pauls gone away to work again but then no, they’re just tricking, they’re going on Monday instead. So we miss out on our planned road trip to Banff and the fireworks… ARGH. More to come on this later…maybe, if I ever get back to it…

Ok…so to start this off to say the least, I am very well accomplished at not following through with things. I keep saying over and over that I need to update more often, but like many others out there, “life” gets in the way. But really that is just an excuse and it would be more accurate to say that I let life get in the way. I take the blame, 100%. In all honesty the only reason I am even writing now is because ONE person gave me a polite little reminder that “hey, there is ONE person in the world who reads this every now and again. So UPDATE please!”

Now I know I’m not one to strive for world happiness, or peace and yada yada yada. Not saying that I’m against the idea, just know that I as one entity can’t make the difference. But what I can do, is make one person happy because I updated my blog and who am I to deny happiness?? thats right, i'm not capable of such things. So Cayley, this is for you. You better be happy now. J if you’re not, well… lie to me and let me think you are anyway. Because as we just established you are my purpose for writing this, and without you, well there goes the purpose, which means adios outlet of meandering thoughts and daft musings.

So Paul has been gone to work for 7 days now. It might as well be 80 by how long ago it feels that he left. I can’t help but wonder why the fact that when you’re together time flies but when you’re apart it seems to drag on forever… It makes me think of when you’re going on a trip and you’re so excited to get there and it takes forever…. And ever and ever. But then on the way home, when it’s the exact same amount of time and you aren’t excited whatsoever to be going home, it seems to take ¼ the amount of time it took going the opposite direction. What does this mean? I don’t know. That’s just what it reminds me of…. And it sucks. :(

Cookies and Starbucks

Today was an interesting day. I had a good 11 hours sleep. Woke up, went in to the office for a little bit, worked out and then came home. All this was done in a normal happy attitude and mood. It was like there was an invisible mood changing field I walked through when I came in the front door. Suddenly life seemed far less cheery and enjoyable. It was much more dark and cloudy with a thunder storm building. More accurately would be it was as if there was a massive black cloud that blanketed as far as the eye could see, one so dark you can only sit and wait for the thunder and lightening to begin. But for some reason it never does. It stays black and moves over and surrounds and finally rains and rains and rains. So it’s gloomy and miserable. And you don’t even get a thunder and lightening show out of it. So disappointing. You feel like a child, (a heck, not even a child, I still get this feeling…) who got a new toy. This isn’t any ordinary toy, no, it’s the coolest and most fun toy there is.Its a rocket you get to launch into the sky over and over. (by the way, there is an iron man rocket that does just this. BEST TOY EVERY!) But you can only play with that toy outside, and mother nature just isn’t cooperating. You have to stay inside because there is a massive dark cloud looming. So mom says you can’t go out. You can’t go play with your new because she doesn’t want you to get electrocuted. However, after waiting and waiting and waiting there is no lightening. There is no thunder. But then it downpours. Forever. How disappointing. You sit staring out the window gloomily and for that short while it seems like life will never get better. That’s how I felt this afternoon. However, I had no reason as to why. It was sunny, it was Sunday, I had absolutely no obligation to be anywhere or do anything. Why did it suck so much??!?!?! So, I dealt with it like I always do. By removing myself from the outside world and curling up in bed with a movie. 2 hours later this didn’t solve my problem. So I went to step two. Starbucks and cookies. I dragged my ass out of the house and went and got a grande skinny soy hazelnut latte and chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, I am now feeling decent again and I’m even writing. Now whether it was the sunshine, the movement of the short walk there, the getting out of the house or the items themselves, all I can say is … Coffee and cookies work miracles. J

i'm bbbbaaaccckkkk.... again.

So it has been a while since the last entry. Only about 2 months… I’m not even going to make a comment about falling off the wagon other than the fact that I’m a professional. My list of things that I’ve fallen away from is large… abs competition…bootcamp… daily dysfunctions… blog in general… writing… courses… health kicks…exercise… and many many more. It would appear many things are started and never finished and I know I’m not the only one who has that problem. So here I am, sitting in front of the computer once more. Hitting the rusty keyboard keys and stretching my fingers as they slowly pick up speed and fall back into their usually quick and nimble typing ways. Ok, I admit, that may be a little too embellished for the not so graceful pounding of keys that I do.

Back to more important things however, that being that I have now decided I am no longer going to give myself missions such as the examples given above. Kind of like the same idea I have about new years resolutions. Everyday is the right day to make a change or do something different. There is no reason to wait for that one day a year to make a resolution. The only catch being, I am not making resolutions. I am just going to keep working day by day one step at a time to do the things I enjoy and live my life. Without feeling bad that I haven’t blogged in a while, I’m not going to beat myself up because I lost the abs I had worked so hard for, and I will not hold it against me that I have not done all the things I said I would do. This I can accept and will take on because even though I didn’t do the things I said I would, I know I was doing much more fun, adventurous and exciting things. Things that I would have missed out on or not had the pleasure of experiencing if I was exercising as much as I was, writing all the time, and blogging every night.

There. That being said, I make no promises on when this will be updated again. If you’re that interested, just keep checking back. J and if you are that fascinated and do keep checking back, then thank you for being so enthralled with my blog. I really don’t think I’m that interesting. However, you, obviously do, or you’re obviously very bored. Either way, thank you.

Paul

Just because he said not to write about him. Thats like when a horse runs away from you when you go to catch one. Thats a volunteer right there! But now that i've got it going my mind is blanking. Not sure if thats because I have absolutely nothing to write about him, which can't be true. but because I just can't think of it right now... on the spot. Damn it. Will have to get back to this one later...

What the h - e double hockey sticks...????

For the past week, I've been getting brainwave and have had moments where i feel inspired to write a blog post. But haven't had the time or am at an impractical location to do so at the time. So now... when I have the morning off.... I have lots of time to spend catching up on my blog. Can I think of anything? NO. Can I find one tiny bit of inspiration? NO. WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?

And it doesn't even stay directly blog related. I have had so many things i've been thinking I want or need to get done. Now I have a day to do it and I can't find any motivation what so ever, or else i find excuses not to. Go out to work on leather, its too cold. Think about cleanign my jeep, i'd rather not. Catch up on my blog, I can't think of anything to write about. do some scrapbooking, that takes effort. Watch a movie, I don't want to pick one. WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?!?

What is wrong with me? I'm really open to any diagnosis anyone has to offer... other than insanity, because I already know that one! haha

dysfunction of today...

dysfunctions....

back in the saddle again... the blog saddle... guess that would be more like back in the office chair then...

So… it may have been a while since my last post. I am now back in the saddle, back on the wagon… whatever you want to call it. The point is, I’m back! For now… we’ll see how long it takes until I fall off once again… time will tell. Shall I start taking bets? Go ahead and place your wagers. I will now be moonlighting as a bookie.

What has happened since my last post…. Well to start off with, I went to Saskatchewan, got in to some major shenanigans that can only be accomplished in saskatchewan with Weston. Had a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of city and work. To the nice wide open flat space of nothing aka. Saskatchewan. That was fun.

Then… it was easter. Easter was good. Spent an extra day and a half in the city than what was originally planned. I blame it all on work. Yes. It was definitely works fault. There was no other cause for my delay of departure….. …. So what, if I may be in denial. So be it…. Went to rimbey on Saturday, then rocky Saturday night and Sunday. Nice time spent with the family.

The three weeks between easter and now have been spent working, working, working, working, working, and working. Did I mention working!? Saturdays as well. Yippee. Woohoo. How exhilarating.

Oh wait, I almost lied. Did manage to get out to the ranch a few weekends back. Nice whirlwind trip with Paul. And kip and al and joel. Managed to get in a nice beer ride and a bit of relaxation. But not much.

That now brings us to today. Today is…. Well its been ok. Things are looking up. Obviously they must be because I’m back on the blog!

daily disfunction #1

each page also has a quote...

My disfunctions...

So when I was taking a mental break this afternoon and wandering around chapters with my starbucks (mmmmm starbucks...) I found a notebook that was made for recording and writing down your daily disfunctions. Now because I usually have ALOT of those, I thought it would be quite suiting for me and slightly humorous. So, I got it. Now, my brilliant idea is to try and document atleast one disfunction a day and then post it on my blog. I know thats not going to happen every day, but hopefully I can get a few a week... here's hoping...

new tunes for the playlist...

ok, so it's been a while since i've suggested some good songs...

heres what I can think of off the top of my head right now...

Chris young- Center of my World
LOVE THIS SONG!

Daughtry- Tennessee line
Vince Gill background vocals, how can you go wrong!?

Tanya Tucker- If your heart ain't busy tonight
so maybe its not "new" so to speak, but Tanya Tucker is always good. Regardless.

Blake Shelton- Good at startin' fires

Brooks & Dunn- Lucky me, Lonely You
I like what this song has to say... ;) and its just a fun and catchy tune!

Laura Bell Bundy- Giddy on up
It just makes me laugh... haha

Reba McEntire & Vince Gill- the heart won't lie
another oldie, but two fantastic voices! and great lyrics....

A miserable little pile of secrets.

surprise surprise, another post about men. Surprising eh?! I know, I think about this often. You know what they say about men thinking about sex so much daily, well this must be about the equal for me thinking about men. It happens. Alot, everyday. Now, why? i'm not sure. I just do. Maybe because i'm fascinated by the different mind frame and wiring in their brain compared to ours. I know one will never truly understand it, however I enjoy coming up with theories and ideas. It's amusing and it gives me something to do. I appologize in advance to any man that ends up with me. As he will be meticulously observed, reported on and studied. So, to my future man, be prepared. But then again, if he can handle it and deal with it he's the kind I want to stick around!

So this weekend, I found myself pondering this once again...

What is a man? what is the true definition? So in my quest to find an answer, my obvious first step was to check the dictionary. In this day and age of technology when I say dictionary I mean dictionary.com. Why would I get up from my beautiful spot on the deck, in the sun, and trudge upstairs tog et a book when I can get the answer just as quickly with a few less physically demanding key strokes and finger movements.

Well. Dicitonary.com defines as follows:

Man
an adult male person, as distinguished from a boy or woman.

Now I believe that is an acceptable technical definition of what a man is physically. However, there is much more to what makes a man a man than the physical appearance. Yes, a man is distinguished from a boy physically, however in some cases they are still mentally on the same level as boys. Could that possibly be why women find themselves referring to males of all ages as boys at some time or another? Coincidence? I think not. I much prefer the urbandictionary.com top definiton of "man" which is:

Man
"A miserable little pile of secrets."

ahh yes, thats much better.

However, I only say that because one will never be able to fully understand another human being on this earth 100%. We are all wired differently and programmed to be unique. Come to think of it, I'd rather men be piles of secrets than open books that come with a table of content and user guide. That would not be interesting or exciting at all.

FYI: For all my cynicism in my writing, i'm really not that way in reality. (usually... I have my moments... but don't we all?)

I'm going to share MY definition of a man. And that is this:

An overall genuine caring adult male who has and understands the meaning of integrity, ambition and consideration. He accepts and understands others as well as himself and isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in or for people or causes etc. he cares about. Treats all people fairly and shows some chivalry.

Now, I could go on and on, however that is the basics of what a man is to me. Of course tall, dark and handsome would help as well... but the superficial isn't as important as the profound. Every woman will have their slightly own definition that works for them. and thats a good thing. because if we didn't, we'd all be vying for the same men in this world!



as Tim Redmond said it best...

" There are many things that will catch my eye. But there are only a few that catch my heart. It is those I consider to pursue."

You have great pheromones.

So when out with friends a while back we were talking about men (surprise surprise!) and attraction etc. One is telling stories about her travels and how she was attracted to one guy in particular. She goes, "he wasn't exactly great looking. he was an cocky ass and just not a winner." " however there was something that still made me attracted to him." So she then explains how she chalked it up to him having great pheromones. (for those of you who were too effected by pheromones in highschool and don't remember biology class, pheromones are this: a chemical secreted by animal that influences the behaviour or development of others of the same species, often functioning as an attractant of the opposite sex.)

I'm sure we've all had that experience atleast once, where you just can't understand or figure out why you are attracted to someone. Because when you think about it, it logically makes no sense whatsoever. But yet, you are. I know i've been there. Now, I have a line to explain it to myself and remove any question on why. Good pheromones. I want everyone to use this line on someone of the opposite sex next time you're out and about whether you're actually trolling or not, go up to someone and exclaim "Wow! you have great pheromones!"

Its a new experiment. see what happens. if you do actually do this, I would love to hear how it went... haha

"hoarding" and other adventures of this weekend...

so... where to begin...!?

saturday afternoon I headed out to rocky. Got in just in time to saddle up my horse and get in on the ride that was just about to head out. Terri, Scott, Heidi and Blaine were all gearing up to go out. We did a nice afternoon ride in the sun, took some good pictures and of course fooled around a lot... After this mild ride we headed back, changed some horses around and headed out again. For more fun and games. AFter this one was break for dinner.
Dinner time also meant we must have a drink. Afterall what is a nice steak dinner without wine or rum or something right? Then came the Dragon Juice. Oh my. Thats all I have to say for that. It was now 8 pm and Heidi and I decided it was time to go snowboaring. We later dubbed this "hoarding" because it was snowboarding behind the horse. After multiple bails and almost getting run over by blaine and billy (billy is a horse) I managed to survive the board. Heidi's turn! She did quite well also. However, because we switched, I then rode Gracie who heidi had been on. I was her 4th ride (that means her 4th ride ever....) But with snowboard boots on, you can't get your feet in the stirrups. So I had no stirrups, no stearing (she's still green!) and no brakes... uh oh. to top it off I was the one wtih the bottle. So needless to say I drank alllloooottt of dragon juice and fairly quickly because i needed my hands! (which was a miracle to say I stayed on the whole time from the amount of booze I drank whilst riding gracie...) but I survived to ride again and more....! After a quick warm up we headed out at 11pm for our moonlight ride. I rode cash. What a fabulous horse! I love him, especially after all the shenanigans he put up with that night. We were out for 3 hours, getting back in to the house at 2am. However, for the amount of time we were out we really didn't make it too far at all... funny how that works... Possibly the booze to blame... :) oh well. it was fun! I managed to stay on... for the most part. However I did have a couple accidental dismounts from my pony. But nothing too serious...

sunday was spent partially recovering from a really sore body. But not a hangover! yeay! Terri, Scott and I sat out on the deck in the sun for quite a while. With a beer or two of course! We then managed to get motivated and headed out for a quick ride to shoot some promo video. Scott had to head out, so Terri and I went on a little adventure down the road. We paraded a ways down the highway and then down a side road. Had some cross country exploration. Trying to find gates in the fences to get home without having to go back the long way! but we succeeded eventually. Needless to say, hot tub and early to bed on sunday...

All in all good weekend. Got all 4 horses rode. No major injuries. and most importantly lots ots of fun was had by all!

I have a few pictures. Will post more and possibly a video or two when I get them from scott and Terri!

shiny pennies and magpie syndrome

I'm trying to understand the cliche that every woman wants man that will write her poems, save kittens, and other cheesy crap like that. Sorry, but thats not what is going to catch my attention. I just can't get into the whole metro, super sensitive, tight pants, long hair, manscaping stuff. I'm sorry (Actually, no, i'm not even going to appologize for this. so no, i'm not sorry) but I want a man. As the song says: "these days theres dudes getting facials, manicured, waxed and botoxed, with deep spray on tans and creamy lotiony hands, you can't grip a tackle box." That is true. I agree.

I read an article that was talking about constant visual stimulation that men deal with of seeing attractive women all the time. It compared this by saying " it's like every good looking guy you saw was also writing you a poem while saving injured kittens on his motorcycle." Maybe i'm thinking too much into this. But if Isaw a guy writing a poem, and saving injured kittens on his motorcycle, I would think "wow, he's cute. but obviously stupid." one just can't think that would be possible without endangering something. Not saying that theres anything wrong with motorcycles, bikes are good. They are fun, and they show a side of adventure. Saving injured kittens, well that is just expected of any normal human being in my mind, if a kitten is injured, one will save it if it can be done safely. Obviously. Doing so wont' win you any extra brownie points, its a given act of humanity. Poems? well poems.... you know my thoughts on that. enough said. So long story short, the comparison did not work in my mind, however I have thought of a beter way to explain it for my mind. that being:

imagine every good looking man you saw had a five o'clock shadow, was wearing a black stetson, and driving a black ford f-350 crew cab diesel.

superficial? maybe. constant visual stimulation? Absolutely.
too many shiny pennies. I suffer from Magpie syndrome.

vulgar cheap appreciation

So reading this piece on why men supposedly are so interested in women and why they look at everyone thats marginally good looking or above. Also talks about the thoughts that could, should or do go through their minds.

So i'm wondering, why is it such a big conversation topic about how men objectify women? What about the other way around? It's not like it doesn't happen. Or is it just me? I will up front and openly admit I objectify men. I like men. I enjoy a good looking man. I can be slightly vulgar when I talk about them. But then again after the amount of times men have looked at my boobs and not at my eyes, or used some disgusting cheesy line instead of just saying hello and shaking my hand, do I not deserve it? I believe so, after all the amounts of crap I have put up with from guys, drunk and sober. I feel I have the right to admire them from a distance with vulgar cheap appreciation when I want to. The tables do turn. After all, if they realy can't deal with it, then they can grow up or atleast get over it.

Things that are getting beter part 3

so a while back I started a list of things that were getting better. I have decided to continue adding to this list randomly. here are some new entries!

1) my abs. umm hello, ab competition = working my ass off and getting rock hard abs. Need I say more!?

2) My "dating" (ick!) theories. Theories are made to be improved and topped. So I am constantly improving and re working and adding to my oh so correct dating hypothesis (thats sarcasm by the way). I mean come on, the whole no expectations thing is dreadfully brilliant. :)

3) Tim McGraw- Ok, I only thought to write this one because "southern voice" just came on. However, it is true. After the past few records, the newest relase by Tim "Southern Voice" Is actually a much better record again. Definitely a great improvement. Of course this is all in my own opinion. But if you don't know for yourself... trust me... way better!

hmmm thats all I have for now!

Count Down begins!

the countdown to the big gyspy adventure has begun! approximately 189 days until departure! wooohoooo!!!! seems so far away still.. but still so excited already! Mega pumped up about this journey. It consists of 10000Km of road tripping over approximately a 6 week time period. Lots of camping, driving, exploring and fun fun fun!

tentative travel map is...:
south to three forks,montana (see Nate), east to hamilton, ON (see Jel and Jame!) then south through kentucky to nashville! (1 week in nashville! wooohooo!!!), then on to memphis, across arkansas, oklahoma to amarillo texas. Then up through colorado, a few stops in wyoming (cheyenne and jackson hole), then back up to thre forks Montana (visit Nate once more) and then home!

I get lost in daydreams just thinking, typing, talking about it. It fills me with joy and excitement. Like a kid on christmas morning... :) yeay for adventures!

Nate you are awesome.

CONGRATULATIONS NATE!
this is your public acknowledgement from me because I know you read my blog. and you were bugging me because it was neglected. So in order to make it not so neglected anymore, I decided to do a blog for you. So there. :)

You are superb and ridiculously talented.
I think mom is just as excited for you if not more than I am. lol. her words tonight were " I just can't believe how excited I am for Nate. I'm SOOOO excited for him! And I barely know him!"
Anyway, needless to say we are very pumped for you.

for those of you thinking "who the hell is Nate?" this is Nate...he is my friend.

(on the right, me on the left, duh.)

I heart Chris

So, I figured it was about time to remind you all how freakishly obessed (kidding!) I am with Chris and Jake. Mmm. Yes, I feel that I can refer to them by first name because they are part of my every day. Ok ok, for those of you that haven't figured this out yet, that is Chris young and Jake Owen. I love the music. And listen to it often. Never fails to put a smile on my face. Besides, how can it not with voices like that! :) So after needing new ring tones I decided what better than to get. Only problem is I don't want to answer the phone when it rings. I have let the odd call go to voice mail so I don't have to stop the song... oh well. I confess, I may not be away from the phone or purposely screening your call, i just want to listen to my music... sorry! :)

expectations & standards continued....

ok, so this time I have the computer plugged in, so no possible dead battery to worry about! I know, I am s-m-r-t. :) no comments necessary! :)

now where did I leave off...?...

right, the definition of expectations.

On to Standards

Standards:
a) a rule or principle that is used for basis of judgement
b) an average or normal requirement, quality, quantity, level etc.
c) a requirement of moral conduct

I always say don't have expectations. Without expectations you can't be disappointed. If you have no pre thought ideas of what might happen or what should, could, would etc. then there is no reason to have any disappointments. Because there is nothing to be disappointed about. Maybe that was a little redundant. Makes sense to me. If it doesn't to you, well.... ummm... too bad!

However, keeping in mind standards are different that expectations. As we just clarified by the definitions! I have many people say that you need to have expectations. I say no, you don't. You NEED to have standards. for example, here is a scenario:
You start dating a new person. Its going fine, but you don't have any expectations on where it is going to end up. You go with it day by day. Not working towards a goal of meeting their parents on day 179, getting engaged on day 674 and then getting married exactly 3.8 years after you met. No, you don't. You don't think about future. You keep your mind in the present. No expectations on where it will end up. Becuase heaven forbid that you don't get engaged until day 594 and then you break up on day 932 which is 2 days before the wedding on day 934, you won't be disappointed when those deadlines or goal dates go flying by. Because they were never set to begin with. How perfect!

However, you do have standards. Those being things like,
a) They are loyal to you
b) they are trustworthy
c) their moral standards are aligned with your moral standards
d) they are not a criminal
etc etc etc

makes sense, yes?

Take this tidbit of information and tuck it in the back of your mind. Keep it for when you need reminder of why one should live in the moment and day by day... especially when it comes to getting out there, meeting new people and especially (and i shudder when I say this word...) dating. (ick!)

expectations vs. standards

After going out with some friends the other night and talking alot about men and dating (one is starting in on the dating scene, after many years off of it). We had great discussions about it all. At one point, I was asked "How do you do it?" How do I do what? Turns out, how do I date and get to know so many guys. Well. firstly, I dont "date" I don't like the ideaology and expectations and whole idea of it. So I don't use that term. Kind of teh same reason I don't like valentines day...

anyway, my top 3 points of advice were:

1) be open, honest, and upfront
2) remember there are alot of great almosts out there.
3) have no expectations. without expectations you can't be disappointed.( however remember expectations and standards are 2 different things.)
without
so i'm going to elaborate on the 3rd point. Expecations vs. Standards. This being....

Expectation:
- the act or state of looking forward or anticipating
-something expected
(expected: to suppose, surmise, guess. To look forward to, to regard as likely to happen.)

ooops. computer battery is dieing. I will have to finish this later! lol

wisdom teeth... ick.

Sooo... february 9th i got all 4 of my wisdom teeth out. That was great fun. ha. But it did mean I got a week off from work! Bonus! Luckily it went well and I didn't need to take any of my pain meds. So I headed out to the farm on thursday for an extended weekend. I hid out with my chipmunk cheeks and played with the horses a bit, did some riding and work in the leather shop. It was fabulous!!! except the chipmunk cheeks and swelling made it difficult to eat... but minor price to pay for 5 days at the farm!

ashley and gump out for a ride on a beautiful day!

Cash and I going for a run!

terri and billy!

surfing...? or attempting to?

Abs competition...

ok, where to begin... once again I have slightly fallen off the wagon with the blog. But thats ok, I will just keep catching the next one that comes by....

Speaking of falling off the wagon, I have gotten myself into an abs contest. Now... not sure why. or how. actually, thats a lie. I do know how. It was my own brilliant idea, and I initiated it all. Why, i'm not sure. However it has started a very big quest to win on my side. So back to the wagon, I tend to fall off almost daily for the not eating chocolate and other crap part... I did well for the first week. Then I fell off, then I fell off again, and again. I do keep jumping back on, only to fall off again... oh well. As long as I don't give up right!? So I like food. and chocolate. I can't help it. As long as I keep it in moderation I will be ok. Weston did suggest that I just tie myself on to the wagon with a 60 foot rope, so then I could just drag along behind without being left completely when i fall off. I think its not a bad idea. however I wouldn't mind it being a shorter rope because a 60 footer would make corners kind of hard and possible painful... :)

So, the abs competition is this: it started back in january and was supposed to go for 6 weeks. However I was sick for the month of january and then had my wisdom teeth out at the beginning of february so I think it is going to be extended. The winner is the one with the most visible difference from beginning to end. So I, being a genius forgot to take a beginning picture... crap. oh well. I'm still going to win. Because I took a picture about 3 weeks in... here they are... me and my competition!

Me... 3 weeks into the comp. Turns out I reallly should have remembered to take a beginning pic because this is improvement. trust me...

my competition... I'm so going to win... :) lol...

oh yes, so minor detail I didn't mention, my competition is male. However, with the wording of it being " greatest visible difference" We stand equal chances. I may even have the upper hand... time will tell!

Weekend adventures...

Tyler came up to visit this weekend. Friday night we just stayed home. Saturday however, he and I went to the mall. Yeay! Shopping. I managed to make him try on some clothes and he actually ended up buying 2 shirts (very nice ones too!), a pair of jeans, and a pair of shoes. All of which looked very good and not his usual style. But it looks good, and if you are going to spend your saturday evening in the casino, one should dress the part. What that part looks like, or how one should dress to go to the casino. well. I don't really know. That line just sounded right in my head, so deal with it.

Needless to say we went to the casino saturday night. But I'm getting ahead of myself. slightly. It was our staff christmas gathering that evening. So I managed to drag both tyler and jason out to it with us. We went to west ed and went mini golfing. Now, not just any mini golf, no, this was glow in the dark/black light mini golf. The boys did not share my enthusiasm and excitement on the way there. But believe me, it was fun. And I know they enjoyed themselves too. Ray, Tyler, Jason and I played together. Somehow, after kicking their asses the first 15 holes I still ended up tieing J with a whole 57. Tyler and Ray tied with 54. How did they win? I have no idea because I was doing sooo good. I even got the only whole in one in our group! How did I tie J, when he was doing sooo bad for most of the time? Well I blame that one on the scorekeeper as well as one who added the points at the end. It was him. So he MUST have made a mistake. Now if it was on purpose or a true mistake... guess I will never know. But I have an idea.......

After mini golf we went to the casino for dinner and to throw all our extra wads of cash around. (yah right!) After sneaking in through the back poker room (one of the girls didn't have ID on her because of recently renewing her licence) we made it upstairs to eat dinner. After dinner Tyler, J and I headed out and hit the slots. I managed to make 3.50 on my $10, which I then later lost anyway... :). Tyler made 9.50 on his $20 and J... well J lost his $10 right quickly. So he then stuck to beer fetching instead. After a bit of slots fun, we headed downstairs to learn how to play black jack stretch. It was fun. Turns out, they totally stack the cards for when they are teaching you. Because you do really good. and then you think that its really quite easy so must go try the real game. Well guess what. The real game IS NOT that easy. Damn it anyway. Ty and J managed to play a few rounds before losing out. Which given the fact that they only started with a few chips each (and no money out of their own pocket!) wasn't too bad.

My horse is getting tired...

So, I just had to share with everyone a new line that I heard this weekend which I highly enjoyed. I went grocery shopping on friday night. BBBuuutttt forgot to get the bacon for weekend breaky. oops. Mom, then began trying to bake muffins saturday morning and didn't have flower. So Ray gallantly ran off to the grocery store bright and early saturday morning to save mom from having to get presentable to go out. After doing a few other things that morning (not to mention the amount of stuff he does for us on other days too) we are discussing something else that was missed/or needed and he finally says "I'm sorry, but i'm not going out to get that. My horse is getting tired." at first I didn't understand. But after a minute of mulling it over in my head it clicked. From being the knight in shining armour running around, saving the damsels in distress (or was it that he just reallllyyy wanted muffins...?) his "white horse" was tired.

things that are getting better... pt 2

so here is the start of my own list...

1) Gypsy Adventures- They may not be happening at all right now, however they are still getting better because there is now a plan in the process. The next big adventure map is made and planning has begun. Only a matter of time before it commences…

2) Starbucks- Who am I kidding, It’s always good and pretty much impossible to get better. However, it seems to be that much more enjoyable lately. A hug in a cup.

3) City life – it will never match country or small town life at all. However when one has a job and actually works quite a bit you sometimes forget you’re in the city. That’s ok. I can deal with it.

4) No strings attached- who am I kidding, no strings attached is always good. But it gets better when it actually works for longer than 2 weeks! :)

5) Movies- finally there are some more new releases that are actually good and maybe worth seeing. Yeay!

Things that are getting better part 1

ok, so after a short hiatus, i'm back in the saddle... and Joelle would say, back on the horse known as my burrington breeze blog! So, Joelle, Ashley, this is for you! Thank you for pestering me to get updated! However, I have a lack of time this morning, so I will leave you with a teaser of whats to come...

while checking my emails this morning, I stumbled across one from oprah.com (yes, i'm on the mailing list. and i'm proud of it. It truly sends some fabulous stuff!) this mornings contained a list of 100 things that are getting better. So that inspired me to create my own list of things that are getting better. However you wil have to wait until later for my fabulous list. But I will share one of my favorite ones from oprahs list...

24. Paint
Benjamin moores Natura line is eco friendly and stink free. Gorgeous, durable and low maintenance... maybe it's time Benjamin Moore started making a line of men.

come back soon for my awesome list... :)

This body is good at loving
and holding you through the night
but these feet will walk out
come morning light
these eyes see a different horizon
though they're under the same sky
when the time comes to go
don't bother asking why
great at loving
and even better at leavin'
theres lots of goodbyes left
for these lips to say
its only a matter of time
before you'll find a tear in your eye
from the dusty trail of goodbye
one day it'll catch up
and this heart will be gone
but until that time comes
it will keep moving on.

Boarding? Nope.... :(

On new years eve J asked if I wanted to go boarding in Jasper on sunday. YES! I did. I really really did want to. So the plan was made. Which for those of you that know me, I MADE A PLAN! I actually planned ahead. Ok, so maybe it was J who planned ahead. But still. I committed. I think the words out of his mouth were " Wow! I can't believe we actually have a plan here." But sadly the plan did not materialize. We had decided on going up saturday afternoon/evening in order to get an early start on the hill on sunday. However, I awoke saturday with my annual bout of strep. Brilliant. How wonderful. It sucks. So saturday was spent with mom and I on the couch watching movies. (she's sick with a bad cold too). Instead of driving to Jasper, J braved the elements at our house and came over to watch a few movies with me and allow me to wallow in self pity. He even brought popcicles and blizzards for my sore throat! How wonderful. Nothing like a diet of popsicles, fudgecicles, soup and water to sustain you for 3 + days... Sunday was the worst day of the strep. Couch and movies all day. I managed to pass out at 3pm, pretty much for the whole night. (other than a couple times getting up to get more drugs) and didn't get up again until 8am monday morning. It wasn't the best sleep. But it was a fantastic catch up of sleep lost over the few nights before. Today is monday... so far I have managed to be alive. I even ventured out of the house. (to get drugs from the dr!) and have eaten food again. (didn't eat a single thing yesterday). I'm not going in to work tonight (and most likely not tomorrow) to avoid spreading this horrid sickness to others. So I guess that means more couch surfing and movie watching by me. Maybe I will go make some pudding now.... mmmm pudding. Yes, I think that is what I will do. Cheers, til next time y'all! Stay Healthy!

New Years

well new years was interesting. But very low key. Like I usually am. I hope by now y'all don't expect anything exciting or crazy from me in terms of drunken escapades or new years type celebrations. I worked at the office accomplishing little tasks until 6:30 pm. When I then went up to St. Albert to Chris' place to visit him, mike, mark and Kristen. It was nice to see them. I enjoyed spending some of my new years eve with people I knew! After that at around 10 I headed back into edmonton to a friend of J's place. Turns out, I was way to sober for that party. The boys had a head start of a good few hours on me and that you could definitely tell. Needless to say, we were home by 11:30. And one of us doesn't really remember midnight... :) haha. New years day J and I went over to his friend Travis' and had a few coffee and baileys for breakfast. The four of us then decided to head to see sherlock holmes. The overall verdict was it's a good movie.

recap / update

So I realize that i'm long due for an entry. What a better way to spend my 3rd day on the could due to suffering from strep than update my blog a little. I'm sure I can manage that. Where to begin... hmmmm....

So christmas I got out of the city for a while. A whole four days. Which was fabulous. Headed to rocky on the evening of the 23rd. The 24th was spent in the shop finishing christmas presents. Nothing like procrastination and last minute... :) Christmas eve we went to McMeekins for the annual christmas eve gathering. This may be better known as the christmas eve pisser. Seeing as thats how things usually end up...

Christmas day I was *happily*(NOT!) awoken by dad and tyler jumping on my bed and cranking pretty woman as loud as possible beside my head. Now this was at 10:30 am. So fair enough, it was later in the morning. But I would have happily slept longer. And done without the Roy Orbison as the first thing I wake up to... Later in the afternoon we headed in to Red Deer to do the first of the family christmas things.

Boxing Day tyler and I headed over to grandmas in Rimbey. Did the whole family thing there again. Fun times. Nice to see everyone.

The 27th I spent at the ranch. Enjoying the outdoors and working in the shop. It was beautiful weather outside. That evening I headed in to town to see cayley and her family as it will be the last time I see them for a very long time. :( We had good fun finishing the keg of Toms homemade brew and playing games with everyone who came in.

The 28th, was back to the city and back to work... Oh, and pick up Ashley from the airport! She's home from mexico! Nothing like a flight that is supposed to get in at 9 and doesn't land until 10:30pm. Great fun. Especially when I have to open at 6 am the next morning! ick! oh well. Thankfully J came to the airport to get me so I could bring Ashley's car to her. Save her an extra hour or two of driving time.

and thats about it...