New Game!

So, my husband has been playing this computer game for like 3 days straight now... I'm feelin' a little neglected... So I ask him "what's the big deal with this game?"

Mind you, we were supposed to have a HUGE Canada Day BBQ tomorrow, and I was supposed to make my Canada Flag Cake, but that's not happening anymore, because 1) I'm too stressed out to handle his mom coming over and seeing our pig-sty of a house 2) I'm still a little sick from 3 weeks ago and 3) My husband's back went out 2 weeks ago, and what needs to be done is taking boxes upstairs, and since I have hideous asthma, I can only take up a box every 10 minutes. lol

So anyway, the BBQ is off, and both of us have been playing this game, him for 3-4 days, me... just over one.

It's at http://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/game.asp Here's a picture of my current game:


See, the section on the left is the game board, and these little "attack guys" come from the top and the left. (On the easy game, they only come from the left). Their object is to get to the other side. (Same reason the chicken crossed the road.) Your object is to stop them, basically shoot them down. You can make a maze with the guns, and the different weapons on the right.

The thing is, unless you're playing a "fun" game, with unlimited money, its super hard. The cheapest gun is 5 "gold", and they don't do too much damage, unless you click on them and hit U (for upgrade) which also costs "money". For a beginner, I'd suggest playing in "Fun" mode with 10,000 gold, that way you can get a feel for the game, and kick some butt.

That's how I started last night, and then I tried the easy level, beat that, and now I'm working on Medium, and I have yet to even come close to beating that level. I will say though, its an excellent waste of time.

All this in a week before my lesson tomorrow, girls camp, and my trip to the states to get my car. (Tentatively planned for after girls camp, once I get the 2 letters from my mom, which she sent off on Thursday.) I'm so not getting anything done, anytime soon. :)

Reading Record!

I can't believe it. I've actually finished the book. I started it at 5pm yesterday, its now 2:45pm, and I'm done. I actually slept last night too, what... 8 hours? AND we watched a movie last night too.

I don't think I ever even read a babysitter's club book that fast. I had all of them. up to like 61? and the first 7 "super special" books too. I loved reading those, and I loved buying them with my allowance or babysitting money.

Anyway, I'll be off to the post office (which is conveniently right next to the library) in about an hour, and I'll be getting me another one of these books. :)

Seriously, I can not believe I finished that whole thing in less than a day - (not including sleep...maybe half a day even)! :-o

Reading

Ok, so basically everyone I know loves to read. Me? not so much. Yes, my mom was a librarian, yes, we each had our own book bins we'd put our borrowed treasures in for the week, yes, I was read to as a child, yes... I actually DO know HOW to read English... (stupid immigration people...) But I don't usually get that much enjoyment from just picking up a random book and reading it.

I love me some John Grisham books, and I've read nearly everything he's put out (Currently finishing up his first work of non-fiction "The Innocent Man", I didn't think I'd like it because it's real, but it is quite intriguing.)

Anyway, I usually don't venture that far away from Mr. Grisham. 4-6 months or so ago, I borrowed the Bridget Jones Diary books, which were very easy to read, and quite enjoyable too.

Yesterday I needed some ME time, so I went to the library in hopes of finding either Lipstick Jungle or 4 Blondes, both by Candace Bushnell. And I'm kinda glad they weren't there. So I trudged over to my typical spot over in "GRI" section for a good 'ol John Grisham book, didn't find any I hadn't read, and my eyes wandered a few shelves to the right, and I came across some fun looking books.

Yesterday I discovered (yeah, like I'm Christopher Columbus here...) the Sisterchick books by Robin Jones Gunn. I picked up Sisterchicks do the Hula! The cover is cheese-a-rific, but I picked it up and started reading it in a little corner of the library. Before I knew it, I was on chapter 8, and had read like 80 pages! (This is so not a typical Shelley thing!) I do NOT read and read and read, nor do I love it usually.


I kept reading it. I couldn't put it down, but it was like 6:15pm and I figured I should get home. (I got to the library at 5 or so). I read another chapter on the way home, like those book nerds walking and reading, totally oblivious to everything around them? Yeah, that was me yesterday. I don't live that far from the library, but by the time I had gotten home, I'd finished another chapter! I got a blanket and pillow and set it up on the lawn in the backyard, and kept reading till sunset (9:30pm).

I also read after dinner too, before I fell asleep. And I read some more when I got up. I honestly think I'll finish this book today, which is a world record for me. I only have 5 chapters left... That should take like an hour. It's an odd thing, that a books makes me feel so thankful for all of my blessings, AND makes me homesick all in the same package. Love this book!

You serious readers out there are probably getting a major giggle out of me and this book. It's only 278 pages, and is spaced how I used to space my term papers in college (for maximum pages), but the depth of these books are so much more.

I'm assuming Robin Jones Gunn is a Christian, it'd be hard to write books like these and not be. There's a character in this book named Hope, she sees God's creation in everything, and takes the time to say thank you to Him for it. It's really opened my eyes today to start thinking and feeling like that. I'm just as grateful as she is, why shouldn't I tell Him that? He, apparently, would LOVE hearing that.

Anyway, its kind of like hot tea for the soul. ;) I will definitely be finishing this up today, and getting another sisterchick adventure book today.

Funny thing though, there's a little sticker on the spine that says "Inspirational" on it. I didn't realize that meant that it was religious... (I don't think a non-Christian would be as enthused in this book as I am). BUT... If you are... and you haven't read these books yet, I highly recommend them. They're a super simple read (hey, if I can do it in a day, y'all could finish them in an hour!)


I'm excited for the next one! And maybe I'll read her whole Glenbrooke series too!

I can't believe I'm actually excited about a book! The last time that happened was probably when I was like 5 and read a book by myself for the first time. lol! Its quite obvious that I recommend these books, and I can't wait to read the rest. :)

Immigration update

So, this morning I wake up to an email from my mom. She says I got two letters from the Canadian Consulate General's office in Buffalo. Two? I think... Two is not good news.

The first one, though, was good news. My application has been given a file number. (yay!) Which means I'm now "in process". My application has not yet been accepted, but basically, they've cashed my check, and have put my name in with the thousands (millions?) of others they have to process. And now it is just a waiting "game", here's how long they figure I'll be waiting.

30% of cases finalized in: 18 mo. (Dec 2008)
50% of cases finalized in: 21 mo. (Mar 2009)
70% of cases finalized in: 25 mo. (July 2009)
80% of cases finalized in: 31 mo. (Jan 2010) yikes!

Now, as soon as mom forwards me up these two letters, I should definitely be allowed into Canada legally, WITH my car *yay!* as long as it has insurance, i'm good to go.

There was some "bad" news though. Apparently from the information I gave them (letters, transcripts (from my edumacation in hawaii mind you...) etc) they don't feel that I've proved my proficiency level in English, (and I'm sure if they read this blog, they'd KNOW for certain I am not proficient in English. lol) So, to prove my literacy/proficiency in the English language, I'm required to take an international English proficiency test, which is going to cost me like $300 bucks. not fun. At least though, the library has books I can use to study with, so that should be somewhat helpful. Oh, and I have 120 days in wish to complete this, and send it in. Why can't they just say 6 months?

~

We'll be singing "O, Canada" in church on sunday... I'll probably cry again like I did last year...

Anyway, this is somewhat good news. Now I just take my english test, and wait. :)

hurrah!

Kill me now? please?

I thought yesterday was plain awful!

Today is even worse. Sorry I don't have much else to post except the weather. I'm so boring! I already took a shower, and I need another one before I go out at 4 to do the shipping... Then I'll probably take another one before our YW activity at 7...

The only good thing about all this, is that I'm able to dry the clothes on the clothes line. I'll go see if I can take a picture... And maybe get one of my tomatoes... IF my batteries charged properly. It's quite windy outside, but inside this house is pure misery. Lots hotter than the 102.2° it claims to "feel" like outside.

Added at 2:26pm:
I took pictures! Yay for charged batteries!



This is my garden fairy. She and Bat Girl are watching over my tomatoes so they grow ok.



My happy little tomatoes! You can see bat girl in this one if you click it for the bigger picture.



Lovely picture of our backyard. Off to the left garden area is where the lonely basil plant is, by all the butterfly thingies (hey, they came with the house... might as well use them!). My sheets are almost dry. They're blowing like a hurricane out there. It's expected to rain this evening, so I should get them inside soonly. You can also see the shed, and my tomatoes again. :)



This pic is for my mom, she's always curious about what my house/yard etc looks like. This is the back yard. I'm afraid to post a picture of the front because our front door is badly chipping off, and looks like white trash people live here... but our landlord won't let us paint it (I guess he likes being trailer trash... Speaking of, I should take a picture of HIS trailer. he IS so white trash, its not even funny.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the mini tour of my backyard. :) May the garden fairy grant you a happy garden wish! (I just really hope she doesn't let my tomatoes die in this heat!)

Added at 3:10pm
Holy moly. It just started thundering and lightening-ing 20 minutes ago. Thankfully my sheets were dry (that was fast!) and I got them in before that. Our neighbor leaves hers up all day while she's at work, so now hers are all soaked again. Too bad, so sad. Anyway, here's a new picture from the back door... Everything is soaked!



The stupid weather network hasn't updated their weather yet... so I can't post that its all rainy and thunderstormy... It's just evil humid now. Totally evil. *sigh*

Yay! Sunset!

The sun has FINALLY gone down, and its FINALLY starting to cool off a little. I think I still need my third shower, but it is getting cooler, and that is something to be grateful for.

See:


YAY! I think I might go sit outside and drink my ice water for a moment.

Today is also Andrew (my big brother) and Amy's 11th Anniversary. They have 4 beautiful children, and I love and miss them a lot. :) Congrats guys!
:-D

So Hot!

No... not me. I'm talking about the weather! It's so hot, its h.o.t.T!

Ok, so I know I like to complain if it drops below 70°, but now I'm complaining because its hotter than Hawaii (which at the most is 88° + humidity).


For you silly Americans, here's the translation of that "feels like" temperature of 37 Celcius. ;)


Thanks to my handy dandy Opera conversion widgit, I get to see how hot it really is outside.

Most people have air conditioning in almost 100 degree weather. not us. I've got to suffer through this with one ceiling fan, and a crappy stand fan we found in the trashola a year or so ago.

I think its time for some ice cream. *sigh*

Should I melt into a puddle, divide my belongings amongst yourselves. TOO HOT!

Tomato Plants!

I was evil yesterday, and against the wishes of my lovely husband, I bought two tomato plants. There's this Chinese variety store that I walk past practically EVERY DAY on my way home from the post office, and I've seen these tomato plants grow up from teeny babies to the size they are now... like 2 feet tall. Each plant was $1.50, and had four separate plants in it.

So, we planted them at around 6pm or so, and weren't finished till around 9 when the sun went down and it got "cold" (I'm assuming it was mid to upper 60's). But we got them all planted. They're not adjusting too well today, but they look better now than they did this morning when I may have over-watered them.

I'd take a picture but our batteries aren't holding a charge. I think I shall get new ones from Sam's club this summer when I'm in Utah. We've had the ones we have for a few years now, and I think we're due for a new batch. Or maybe a different charger (the newest one I got is stuck in Buffalo :'( ).

Anyway, no pics of my 'maters just yet. But My back is sore, and my arm is too, so all that hard work can't be wasted. Please pray for my lil' tomatoes, I really want them to live! :)

Oh, we planted some basil (pronounced bay-sul... not bas-ill) too. Our landlord had an extra plant, so he gave it to us.

We're planning on having a BIG Canada Day BBQ so hopefully I can kinda get this house somewhat cleaner... My mother in law is coming to visit. Apparently she has never EVER been to her son's home in the 15 years he's been on his own... So this is a big deal. I just hope she doesn't judge me or my dirty house. lol

Lots to do in less than a week... And 2 days after that is Girls' camp. Oh drama. Hopefully my sickness goes away completely and I'm better able to function. Pray for me (and my tomatoes).

Organized mess.

That's the story of my life.

It seems no matter where I live, or whom I live with, I live in an organized mess. I know where everything is, but it looks as if nothing could be found where I say the scissors are.

I need a serious overhaul of my "stuff" which is probably 90% trash. I want those TLC Clean Sweep guys to come to my house... The only problem with that, is that hubby is a pack rat (as am I), but he's in denial about his packratty status. Which makes organizing near impossible. (He claims it saves us money... I don't see how... the mess is literally making me sick.)

We also have two very VERY different ideas about cleaning. I prefer to go through every single box, have it organized, and know exactly what's in it, while the husband sees stuff not in a box, and wants to put it in a box and call it "clean". SO FRUSTRATING! We have a huge basement (however, unfinished) with NOTHING IN IT. Instead, my "office" is in our dining room (we have no table). I'm fine with that, but I can NOT keep a clean desk. I don't know what's wrong with me.

I cleaned it off the left side of my desk this morning, and almost immediately put papers on it. Now there's an empty ice cream bowl (yum!) tape, scissors, a bottle of water, stuff I should toss, my little notebook, AND hubby's slot machine (very cool)! Not to mention the right side of the desk. lol That's a big BIG mess.


I just need a system. A system that works for both of us. Any suggestions? (Suggestions by strangers are welcome!) I need help! (the more inexpensive, the better.) ;)

~

Added at 11:09pm:

OH MAN! I tried my way of organizing, going through papers, etc, and having a keep, and toss pile (none of which could have been sold, trust me), and I kind of got yelled at. Hubby said I was throwing out stuff that meant something to him.

He went through what I tossed out (in the recycle bin) and he pulled out MY 2005-2006 catalog for Ontario schools that I ordered (back when I wanted to take classes to become an esthetcian), and is obsolete (hullo! its 2007!). A new one can be gotten by calling some phone number. Why would he save that? It wasn't even his!

Man, no wonder we live in a sty. The boy saves stuff that isn't even his. Hunny, if you're reading this, I love you, but I'm sorry. The mess is killing me. :(

Taco Potatoes

At our final girls camp planning activity, we discussed the menu, and I learned a new "recipe" from the girls.

We're having Taco Potatoes for girls camp.

You take a baked potato, cut it so you can scrape the insides out (I'm picturing it like a bread bowl for soup... lop the top off, and scrape the innards out). Once the insides are scraped out, you treat it like a taco, meat, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, salsa (personally, that's the order it's meant to be in. Cheese on the meat so it melts). Then You just eat your taco potato, and then you can also eat your "mashed potato" innards on the side. It sounds super delish, and I can not wait to try it!

We're also having backpack chicken, as sugested by Sister Sylvester (from Boise). This sounds super scary to me (salmonala wise). You get hot, hot rocks from the fire, stuff it inside the chicken, wrap the chickent up in newspaper, and then towels, and stuff it all in a backpack... While its in there, its cooking, and you're supposed to go on a hike... and magically like 45 minutes or whatever later, your chicken is cooked and its allegedly supposed to be super yum, and falls right off the bone...

We have mac and cheese as a backup in case this "backpack chicken" doesn't pan out.

~

Turns out my burnt cookies weren't a waste, nor did they die. My husband's brother Christian came over today and they had an xbox day. He ate all the burnt cookies! lol I was *thisclose* to hucking them out! hah!

Also, I'm still slightly sick, and my ear is still clogged. I'd say I'm running at about 90% of full capacity.

Dagnabbit!

I burnt the first batch of cookies. :(

This stupid gas oven is WAY too hot for its own good. I knew this already because this is not the first time I've tried baking in this house. Recipe calls for 350°F, so I put it at 350° thinking that's a good compromise.

NO!

After just 9 minutes, the darn cookies were burnt. Like, take the battery out of your smoke detector burnt. :( Even scraping the bottoms doesn't help. 12 dead cookies. *sheds tear* so sad.

SO, the next batch, I turn it down to 300°, and it works! Granted I have to leave them in for slightly longer than 9-11 minutes, but it works. Now I have some perfect cookies. :) I'm making one big one, that's the last of the dough, its about 3-4 inches across. I love doing that.

I still hate my oven though. (Thank heaven its a rented house, and the darn thing isn't mine. If it were, I'd have put a sledge hammer through it by now!)

Anyway. mmmmm Cookies!

PS, I'm also convinced that the Nestle Toll House recipe (even if you don't use NTH chocolate chips) is the best cookie recipe out there. It's super simple too.

The End.

I am the Procrastinator

Ok, so I've been sick since last Saturday (June 9th people). I'm sick of it. (literally). I haven't felt well enough to do the dishes, or anything else in this house (not like I do all that much around here anyway)... but now I have over a weeks' worth of dishes, and its hot and humid, and I got sun burnt yesterday (I was putting the finishing touches on our Girls Camp Castle/Mailbox for like 4 hours). I really honestly don't want to do the dishes... but I've procrastinated doing them for over a week.

NOW I want my kitchen back so I can make cookies! How's that for incentive? I just hope (REALLY hope) that I'll have the strength/motivation to make cookies once the dishes are done.

In other news, my cough is merely a dry cough now, still annoying and it wakes me up at night, but a dry cough isn't as bad as a gross cough is it? My ear is still plugged up, but it tried to pop yesterday. I just hope that pops too. I asked my Bishop for a blessing yesterday for my cough and other issues plaguing me (my jeep in buffalo, immigration etc). And I hope and pray that I'm able to do all I have to in order to receive the blessings that I need.

I'm just so sick of being sick (and not able to go to a Dr. too). So I'll be doing dishes for the next few hours (I'll be listening to music via my Creative Zen (cheaper than an iPod) ;) so I should be ok). Wish me luck, and pray for me if you wish. :)

Flight Plans

Mom just emailed me my flight information for David's wedding in August. Here they are:

Tuesday - 31 July 2007 Flight

Flight #: DL6241 Airline: Delta Air Lines Inc
OPERATED BY CHAUTAUQUA AIRLINES
Depart: 11:04 AM Airport: Buffalo Greater Buffalo Int'l Arpt
Buffalo, NY
USA
Arrive: 12:39 PM Airport: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Arpt
Terminal 3 Cincinnati, OH
USA
Aircraft: Emb145 Embraer Confirmation: 28E5T4
Seat: 15-A Mileage: 410
Class: Coach Travel Time: 1.35
Meal: None Stopovers: 0

Tuesday - 31 July 2007 Flight

Flight #: DL0049 Airline: Delta Air Lines Inc
Depart: 04:55 PM Airport: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Arpt
Terminal 3 Cincinnati, OH
USA
Arrive: 06:30 PM Airport: Salt Lake City Int'l Arpt
Terminal 2 Salt Lake City, UT
USA
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200/300 Confirmation: 28E5T4
Seat: 44-C Mileage: 1447
Class: Coach Travel Time: 3.35
Meal: None Stopovers: 0

Monday - 6 August 2007 Flight

Flight #: DL4002 Airline: Delta Air Lines Inc
OPERATED BY SKYWEST AIRLINES
Depart: 01:52 PM Airport: Salt Lake City Int'l Arpt
Terminal 2 Salt Lake City, UT
USA
Arrive: 05:27 PM Airport: Minneapolis St. Paul Int'l Arpt
Terminal L Minneapolis, MN
USA
Aircraft: CR9 Confirmation: 28E5T4
Seat: 16-B Mileage: 990
Class: COACH Travel Time: 2.35
Meal: None Stopovers: 0

Monday - 6 August 2007 Flight

Flight #: DL6778 Airline: Delta Air Lines Inc
OPERATED BY NORTHWEST AIRLINES
Depart: 06:45 PM Airport: Minneapolis St. Paul Int'l Arpt
Terminal L Minneapolis, MN
USA
Arrive: 09:39 PM Airport: Buffalo Greater Buffalo Int'l Arpt
Buffalo, NY
USA
Aircraft: Airbus A319 Confirmation: LZ2XOZ
Seat: 14-C Mileage: 733
Class: COACH Travel Time: 1.54
Meal: None Stopovers: 0


Which means I'll be in Utah for 6 days. Wedding is on the 3rd. So I can play probably Saturday. Maybe earlier? not sure what the schedule is... But I'll keep you updated with that too. :)

yuck!

In a vain attempt to thwart my constant coughing, I just now added boiling water to some pepper, honey, garlic, and mint leaves from the garden. I let it steep for 10 minutes (just like the website said to), and now I don't wanna drink it. :(

I guess I'm stuck coughing huh. :(

I was taking a nap from like 7-8:15 when I woke myself up because of a coughing fit. Now my chest hurts, and I really don't want to drink this yucky stuff I made. While my husband is trying to make me drink apple cider vinegar (we call it ACV in our house). Its like the worst of two evils... and honestly, I have no idea which one is worse! Ah man! :(

Wanna Date?

Ok, I personally never really knew what dates were good for when I was growing up, I know we put them and a TON of other stuff in our fruitcake our family made for Christmas... But really... what else are they good for?

WELL... I'll tell ya. I recently have been exposed to Date Squares, and they are AMAZING. I think its more of a Canadian or a Southern US type dessert, because I don't think I ever had them growing up. Pity I didn't, because they are AWESOME. Here's a recipe I've used. The best thing about it, is that it looks hard, but is SUPER easy. (Hey, I did it, and loved 'em, they can't be *that* hard!)



Canadian Date Squares

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 30-35 min
Bake: 350° F
Makes: 20 Servings

2 1/2 cups pitted dates
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups large flake oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup margarine
2 tbsp water


Chop dates then place in a medium saucepan with water. Simmer, uncovered, stirring until mixture is thick and just a few pieces of dates are visible, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Cool.

Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C) and lightly spray a 9-inch (23 cm) square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir flour with oats, sugar and baking soda until mixed. Using your fingers, mix in margarine and water until crumbly.

Press half the mixture on base of pan. Gently spread cooled date mixture over top. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture overtop, pressing gently. Bake until crumble is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.


~

In other news, I'm STILL sick. :( I don't think its terminal, however I really do hate this. My ear is slightly still plugged, although its trying to drain! But I think I should get some cough expectorant. My chest hurts from all the coughing.

We have a YW activity tomorrow, and I don't think I'm going to make it. :(

Go ahead, you deserve it!

Maybe... a year and a half ago, possibly more, I discovered that there are folks out there that make their own candles, and bath & body products. I just re-discovered mine from a recent delivery of my stuff from Buffalo, and I'm falling in love with my favorites all over again, and I just wanted to share.

In November or so of 2005, I discovered tarts. Some call them "wickless melts". They're like candles, but you don't have to burn a fire with them. You'll have to burn a tea light if you get the cheap tart warmer though. I personally prefer the electric tart warmers that have the little lightbulb to warm up your tarts. I ADORE my tart warmer, I just wish my husband would appreciate all I go through to make the house smell and feel more like a home. He calls it my smelly crap. Anyway, Here's my lovely tart warmer, I do highly suggest the electric ones. I got mine in shells, because hey... I likey the shells! But there are a TON to choose from.



I adore it. I highly suggest you get one if you don't already have one. They're totally safe if you follow the bulb-wattage instructions. The only thing I'd see a problem with, is with small children, and their curiosity, I wouldn't want any of them getting hurt, so make sure you put it up high where they can't get to it.

Anyway, here's a few of my favorite tart companies:
Whiff and Sniff Candles
Bizzy B's Candles
Hoffman's Candles Moslty I love this place for its $0.20 cent shipping.

Another thing I discovered maybe 14 months ago is handmade bath and body products. My all time favorite product is Bohemia Bath's Bath Whip. This stuff is TO DIE FOR. Its a thick but lightly whipped product that soaps up like body wash (well, it IS a body wash). But it is truly amazing. I love it in her Peppermint Patty scent. (I just used it an hour ago and I still adore it).

Here's a link to her Etsy store:
Bohemia Bath and Candle

I haven't tried her tarts yet, but her soaps are also amazing. She's very nature-conscious and so her products are made with the best ingredients around. So I would definitely recommend her products. I'd also recommend getting the sample sizes, that way you will have more scents to choose from. :) The Bath Whip is so luxurious it honestly feels like I'm breaking some law when I'm using it. (Especially the Peppermint Patty scent!)

I also like Bobe Bath products. Plus, she's Canadian. ;)

I love this stuff, and I know you will too.

Can't sleep

I'm bored as "heck" and I can't sleep. I got an earache today, at one point it was so painful I broke down into tears while my husband was hugging me. It's semi-ok now, but it still feels like its plugged.

Anyway, since I'm so bored, I'm just taking care of my fake fish.

I use the Opera browser, and they have a TON of widgets, and I love all the ones I have. I have one that tells me the weather, an HTML editor widgit, a conversion (temperature, metric, imperial, you name it!) widgit, and my favorite, the SimAquarium 2.0 widgit.

Here's a screenshot of my current fishie setup. If you click the link above, it explains it a little. I like the Rosy Barb fish. I gots lots of 'em.



This is what happens when you click that playboy bunny icon. It makes them breed like "bunnies"... get it?


Pretty cool huh.

Ok, so its not that cool. I'm just a bored, sick, dork. :)

I'll just go feed my fish now.

My toe hurts :(

This morning... well, ok, it was nearly noon... I woke up from sleeping in WAY late (I'm still sick remember? I'm allowed to sleep in) at around 11:15 or so... got dressed, and found my husband talking to the landlord's son across the fence in the backyard.

I let him talk for a half hour or so... then I decide to go out and say good morning while it was still morning. I say hi to the various family members I hadn't met before (as they don't live there, they live with the landlord's ex-wife Elaine, whom my husband calls "Mama Bear")... Anyway, on my 2nd trip outside, (literally) I completely trip and cut my baby toe on a pitchfork. Granted it was proped against the wall next to the shovel (hubby has been fixing up our lawn and yard for entertaining for BBQs etc). It wasn't like right in the walk way, but it was there, I was barefoot (hey... I grew up in Hawaii, we no like shoes there), and because I am such a klutz, as I fear I always will be, I basically tripped over the pitchfork and I'm now missing the first layer of skin on my baby toe (left foot). Its about the size of a centimeter or so, but it stings like the devil!

So I'm still sick, and I think its getting worse... I seem to have a cough that wants to kick in, and its getting harder to breathe today. And now I'm limping because it hurts to walk on my left foot, because of my wee little baby toe. :(

To top it all off, I'm supposed to donate blood tomorrow, and that's so not happening. I still have to go purchase Badminton racquets before Wednesday night... (YW/YM activity night). Hopefully I can do that without harm or incident. Why am I so clumsy? What is wrong with me? I think one day I'll be able to laugh at all this... but I just hope I don't seriously hurt myself or someone else because of it. eek!

Time for bed.

Welcome Courtney Rose!

Apparently yesterday afternoon, a new addition to our ever-growing family was born (and I just found out an hour ago after talking to mom... I guess I should have read Amy's blog before just now?) Not sure why I'm the last to find out... BUT I have a new neice. :)

Paula (my sister) and Ben welcomed a 9 pound some odd ounce baby girl Courtney Rose into their family yesterday, June 10th. Grandma (my mom) said that Courtney's collar bone was broken, but apparently that's quite common for big babies. I don't know about the rest of you, but once the baby is 6 pounds, get it OUT of me! Like my neice Baby Ella (she's getting so big now!) last August, she was teeny tiny like 6 pounds and a few ounces, and I thought she was just the perfect size. :)

Kudos to you Paula! I don't know if I could do it! I didn't hear how many ounces mom said, I think I fainted when she said 9 lbs!

Anyway, I like how Andrew and Paula have both named their daughters with the middle name Rose. (Ella Rose and now Courtney Rose). Rose was the first name of our Great Grandma on my mom's side (Grandma Velda Palmer's) mother. I just adore that name. If I have ANY say whatsoever in the naming of my daughter (and oh MAN I had BETTER!) Her middle name will also be Rose. The hubby already picked out our future kids' first names (He likes Joshua and Kasia (kah-sh-uh but say it really fast) which means Katherine in Ukranian (i think) which is what his background is...) Anyway, I like Kasia Rose a LOT. Just the other day at our BBQ though, he said he didn't think girls should have middle names. :( I am GOING to fight for it though! And I also like Thomas for a middle name for Joshua. Thomas is the name of our great great great? grandfather also somewhere on my mother's side. But with our last name, it sounds quite regal and I like it a lot. :)

Anyway... Welcome Courtney! Sorry you broke your clavicle! We hope it heals quickly! Welcome to the world! :)

so sick

I feel so sick, and I don't feel like its going away anytime soon.

I started feeling it last night after our little BBQ, and I kept waking up during the night. I still felt awful this morning, but I still went to church and was able to teach the lesson just fine. :) (yay me!)

Here's a new pic of me from our bbq last night... I didn't look too sick, but that's because I'm slightly tan now. (Car wash burn turned into a nice tan) :) I still have the ugly sunglasses line mark though. lol Just ignore that... do check out my hair though, it's almost long enough to donate to either Locks of Love (in the states - 10 inches) (like my neice Brianna did) or the Angel Hair for Kids people (who require 12 inches) here in Canada... I'm not sure who the lucky ones are yet. There's an amazing lady in our ward here who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but she found a wig cheaper than it would be to make one out of my hair, which I offered to her... I just hope she recovers quickly and fully. She is an amazingly strong woman. (Pity her daughter in law doesn't quite see that. :( ) ANYWAY...

Here's me. :) Enjoy!

Canada Day

Ok, so Canada Day is July 1st, its comparable to the fourth of July. Parades, fireworks, the whole shebang! I just found this recipe and I would absolutely LOVE to make it and have it at a BBQ. I think people would be just SO impressed with it!

Here's the recipe!


Canadian Flag "Cake"

Prep: 15 min
Ready In: 4 hr 30 min
Serves: 12

Ingredients
1 pkg. (298 g) pound cake, cut into 10 slices
2 cups boiling water
2 pkg. (85 g each) JELL-O Strawberry Jelly Powder
3 cups ice cubes
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries, divided
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Directions

1 LINE bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cake slices; set aside.


2 STIR boiling water into combined dry jelly powders in large bowl at least 2 min. until jelly powder is completely dissolved. Add ice cubes; stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Stir in 1 cup of the strawberries. Spoon over cake slices. Refrigerate 15 min. Cover evenly with the whipped topping.


3 REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until jelly is firm. Arrange remaining 2 cups strawberries over whipped topping to resemble the Canadian flag. Store in refrigerator.

Variation
You can also quick-set the jelly using frozen sliced strawberries. Dissolve the jelly powders in boiling water as directed. Stir in 1 cup each frozen strawberries and ice cubes. Stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Continue as directed, decorating with 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries.

Make Ahead
Using a toothpick, trace a maple leaf pattern on top of dessert. Place a strawberry slice on each leaf point, then fill in the leaf with remaining strawberries.

Nutritional Info
Serving Size = 1/12 th cake (183 g)

Calories 210
Total fat 7 g
Saturated fat 3.5 g
Cholesterol 15 mg
Sodium 160 mg
Carbohydrate 31 g
Dietary fibre 1.2 g
Protein 3 g
Vitamin A 2 %DV
Vitamin C 40 %DV
Calcium 2 %DV
Iron 4 %DV

Heck, even if you don't do the Canadian Flag with the strawberries, it's still a yummy dessert! :)

Stench no more!

Ok, so for the past month or so, I've been unhappy with my deodorant, so I figured I'd share here.

The last one I had purchased and was happy with was Secret Platinum in a lovely Gardenia scent. Loved it. It worked, AND it made me homesick, gotta love that (in a deodorant no less!)

Anyway... I ran out of that maybe a month and a half ago or so? not sure... but I went through a stupid phase where I tried other ones... Luckily 2 of the 3 others I tried were dollar store ones, and my MIL (mother in law) bought one of them for me... but I'm still upset at the other ones I wasted my money on, especially when I know secret platinum works for me.

The others I tried and hated, were the Dove cool moisture one... it made me smell like cucumbers and or melons... I hated it... and it didn't even work, so it was like BO/melons. not good. (dollar store purchase)

The other one I tried was Degree... Allegedly little black dress approved... Sure, it didn't leave a white residue, but the deodorant didn't work. Maybe I'm just way too stinky for this stuff? No idea. I don't think I ever had a stinkyness issue until recently... And its sooooooo annoying! (another dollar store purchase)

The third one I tried, and was COMPLETELY shocked about, was Mitchum! I'd tried it 7 years or so ago, and it was FINE! I could go 2 days without a shower and still smell FINE! This time around I was stinky within like 3 hours. TOTALLY SUCKY! I still have most of it... (because it was a full-size $4.99 stick). I'm angry at the Mitchum people, because it used to work for me.

I should have never left my lovely Secret. At least with Secret Platinum (I normally get the clear gel), I know the formula is the same, and will always work for me... And with their vast array of scents, I don't have to just be "shower fresh" or unscented all the time. Why did I ever switch? Again, I go back to my stupidity. It must be the reason. Never again shall I depart from Secret. Unless THAT stops working... Then I know I've got real issues, and should see a doctor. lol


Southern Peach... My current deodorant of choice.

Next, I'll probably try Tropical Tango, Arctic Apple, Brazilian Cherry, Eastern Lily, and Vanilla Chai... sounds way too yummy to be somethin' for your armpits. :)

The End. (of my stinky drama!) :)

Currency Exchange

If I were an American living in the states, I'd be SERIOUSLY concerned about our economy.

Since I'm an American living in Canada, making USD (eBay), I'm a little mad at the current financial situation of the US. Check this out.

1 USD = 1.06268 CAD / 1 CAD = 0.941021 USD

This was taken from xe.com just moments ago. It's the site that has all the currency conversions in the world... and then some.

When you look at it like this, its not that big of a deal... but at the ATM, when my US bank tells me I can take out $500 USD per day max (and my rent in Canada needs to be paid, so I'm going to take out as much as possible... here's what I get:

500.00 USD = 531.338 CAD

When I first moved here, December 5, 2003... It was like this:

1 USD = 1.30440 CAD / 1 CAD = 0.766640 USD

Which would mean my $500 USD limit at the ATM was at that time, equal to $652.20 I don't know about you... but $120 bucks loss is a BIG DEAL to me.

I REALLY really *REALLY* try not to be politicial... People who know me don't know how I vote, or whom I've voted for in the past... But this must be said... The current Economic situation of the United States of America is in DIRE need of an overhaul.

I honestly and truly feel that it is the fault of President Bush. Flame away.

Past presidencies and past wars have proven that the economy BOOMS while in a war... so why the HECK is the American dollar losing against EVERY OTHER CURRENCY out there?

Examples:
Australia Dollar today: 1.00 USD = 1.19466 AUD
Australia Dollar pre 9/11 (pre war 9/10/2001): 1.00 USD = 1.948314 AUD

Horrible aint it? Or am I crazy?

Oh, here's Canada's pre war conversion: 1.00 USD = 1.56477 CAD

Another Example:
United Kingdom Pounds today: 1.00 USD = 0.501741 GBP
United Kingdom Pounds pre 9/11: 1.00 USD = 0.68574 GBP

The conversion is getting smaller... Which is good for EVERY country except the US. What is going on here?

One more example... because I can...
Iraqui Dinars today: 1.00 USD = 1,257.50 IQD
Iraqui Dinars pre 9/11: 1.00 USD = 0.3109 IQD

Well, at least SOMEONE'S economy is flourishing... *sigh* I guess I just wish I were making my money in CAD... Any day now... It'll be passing up the USD.

Hopefully this post hasn't upset any of my lovely American friends or family (or random readers...) But I'm upset about the US economy, and SOMETHING needs to be done about it.

Baby Shower Madness!

Yesterday was Brandi's baby shower for Madison. It was a lot of fun, although I was helping out Linda (my Mother In Law (MIL)) the entire time and it wasn't much fun for ME... but I do hope everyone else had fun.

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment... or maybe just my enjoyment.


Belle helping Brandi with the presents. (Belle is my neice). Look at that little belly poking out. lol She's cute.


She got a TON of presents... Remind me to invite all of Brandi's friends to MY (eventual) baby showers! Man she really got a LOT of gifts.


Guess the baby food (without the labels) game. I actually think someone got all 8 of them right! Amazing.


Brandi, opening cards, presents, etc. I forgot to take a picture of the food, cake and all that, but it was QUITE a spread! If anyone went home hungry, it was their own fault! :)


Baby Madison. She has either a heat rash, or baby pimples... Brandi is taking her to the Doctor's today to find out... Poor thing, she cried and cried for ages during the shower, her other grandma (George's mother) and I took her out in the hall and we fanned her for a good 5 minutes to cool her down. She was absolutely burning up. The pimples or rash or whatever it was on her face got SO much darker, or a brighter pink/red when she was hot. We were able to cool her down a little. That girl just doesn't like wearing clothes! The same thing happened last Wednesday when I took her to the mall. She was WAY too hot, and wouldn't stop crying. I think I would have done much better with her at home, and NOT in the mall on a super hot day. Ah well, I'll be better next time!


The ever-embarassing ribbon hat. Hers turned out quite well, a family friend Shelley made it, and did a great job, considering she didn't have ANY tape! :) Good Job!


My neice Belle. She's Christian's (hubby's younger brother) daughter. She'll be 4 on September 19th.

The Shower was quite nice and I hope everyone had a good time. The hall we'd rented was WAY too hot, and everyone was fanning themselves, no wonder Madison had a cry-fest. :( Overall though, I think everyone had a lovely time. I'm glas its over though, I'd been helping my MIL with the food etc since like 9:30am, and we weren't out of the hall till 5:45pm or so. For my shower, we're just having a fruit tray, a vegie tray, a cheese tray, desserts and some concoxion of mormon punch. (sprite/ginger ale + rainbow sherbert in a punch bowl yum!) :)

One good thing though, I slept like a baby last night, from like 11:30 till 9:30 or so this morning. hehe!

BUSY weekend!

On Saturday, June 2nd, our lovely, wonderful, amazing Young Women held a car wash & BBW in the parking lot of our new building... stupid me got pictures of the car wash... but not the building! And I had my camera RIGHT THERE! doh!

Only four girls showed up, but that's alright. We made like 200 bucks AFTER costs etc were taken out. :-D AND that's sort of a "soft" profit margin, because enough bbq suplies were purchased for the car wash/bbq AND the big garage sale on the 16th or so of June in Dundas. So, after that point, and all of our supplies are used, we'll better know what our REAL profit is.

Granted, I believe the Church doesn't allow for Girls Camp fundraising, but alas, our Bishop said it was ok, and as far as we're concerned, that's all that matters.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the car wash.


Washin' a car.


The BBQ table. (Tide was on sale at the nearby grocery store... we weren't feeding it to people, don't worry.)


A few people who stopped by for the food and car wash. Sarah (YW President) is in Pink, and Lisa (1st counselor) is facing her in the dark blue shirt... you can't see her face.


This is the best picture I have of our building. lol It's prettier than that. Melanie is in green and her brother Joshua (in my old Primary class) is on the cooler. Missionaries etc are helping out in the background.


This is the second time Brother Seibert (hope I spelt that right) had a water-fight at our car wash. The first time, he brought his wife's car, and Lisa (his daughter) had a water fight with him. This time, he came back and had a water fight with Joshua. It seems good times were had by all. Oh, you can also kind of see the grocery store in the background. :)


I got oh SO sunburnt. Its better today, turning into a nice tan, but I had my sunglasses on, so I kind of have a bright red nose, and my skin is still lily white where my shades were. I'm totally gross in this picture, no clue why I'm posting it, but we worked our little butts off for that car wash, and it totally shows. I wasn't the only one with a little burn. Good times for all.

When I got home, the hubby had moved a TON of stuff around, and organized the shed, and basement, I was totally impressed. He even turned on the water to the outside, and is quite focused on getting green grass for the summer so we can host a few bbq's. :) He had the sprinklers on, and I went out to toss some trash out, and I saw a little red breasted robin hopping around in the sprinklers. It was adorable, so I ran to get the camera. You can barely see him, I tried to get closer, but he flew away. :( But he's in the upper right corner!



I think I'll start a new post for the baby shower I went to yesterday. :) This one is getting too long.