Good Gosh!

Ok, seriously! I really need to post something worthwhile soon! Right now I'm posting just so there's a post :) And if I don't get going, I'm going to be late for work;can't have that! I have a bit of exciting news to post about, but that'll have to wait until later...and really, it's just a BIT..nothing to get worked up about ;)
Ciao for now!

~K~

For Mom

Hi mommy! We got your message! Don't worry, we're ALIVE!!! We've been busy like bees, but we'll update soon!! Golden was good to us though we almost got stuck another day...thank goodness there was another road out!
Alrighty faithful readers..we'll be back!

~K~

And Away We Go!

We're off to Golden for the weekend...and we're pretty sure we can make it there. We weren't so sure until 4 o'clock when we finally checked the road report. The reason for our concern was because there have been two highway closures in the last couple days because of mud slides and rock slides on the Trans-canada JUST before Golden. Anyway...we're going as soon as our last passenger gets here...Duane just said he hates waiting around. I was home REALLY early from work today, so we could've left about an hour ago if we would've known I'd be that early. Matt had to come all the way from Lethbridge first, so he probably couldn't get here any sooner anyway.
I wanted to apologize for my lack of blogging. I've been addicted to Facebook since I joined. I have been spending EVERY spare minute loading pictures and adding new things to my page, so I haven't bothered blogging 'cause most people who read the blog are also on Facebook. Today I spent my 5 hour break...yes, the WHOLE thing...on Facebook playing with pictures. Sick.
I think I need to pry myself away from the computer for now and go wait with the rest of them.
~K~

So funny!

All you Abby-ites...check this out!! Found it on Facebook :) Yes, I caved and joined in on the new craze.

~K~


You know you're from Abbotsford when...

1. Everything can be normal until you are infested with the deep scent of curry.
2. You find out Abbotsford has the worst property crime in the country... usually by experiencing it.
3. You aren't sure whether marijuana is legal or not.
4. You think that you've grown up in India
5. Everyone in West Abbotsford knows how to swear in Punjabi and everyone in East Abbotsford knows how to swear in Korean. 씨발!
6. You see a gas station on every corner.
7. You see a church on every corner.
8. You see a grow-op on every corner.
9. Five degrees is really cold and twenty is really hot.
10. Going to the only mall is really boring and stupid.
11. Rain is a part of daily life.
12. Berries are the best thing from Abbotsford.
13. You live right outside the barrier of "Greater Vancouver"
14. You live in the crappiest metropolitan area in the country.
15. Street names aren't numbers, but names of birds, mountains and everything that starts with "Mc/Mac"
16. You don't think seven hockey arenas is enough.
17. Your mayor is an octagenarian.
18. You know when the Diwali festival is.
19. You know when the Berry Festival is.
20. School is cancelled when there is only 10 centimeters of snow.
21. You've grown accustomed to the smell of cow manure in the morning. *deep inhale* ahhhhhhh!
22. Going to Vancouver is a long day trip.
23. You use the Trans-Canada highway to get around
24. It takes 10 years to plan and build a hospital, and your council wants to complete all Plan A projects in just over a year.
25. Someone asks you where you're from, and you answer, "Vancouver."
26. You tell someone you're from Abbotsford and they ask, "Where?"
27. Bowling is the highlight of your day.
28. Blueridge is the hot nightspot.
29. You know what the "big orange bubble" is
30. You know how to spell and pronounce "Trethewey"
31. You know where Hedley came from and are ashamed of it.
32. You don't need Playland, because we have the Agrifair.
33. You've noticed our 'water tower' is really a cheese tower.
34. You pretend to like everyone because you know that once you graduate, you're outta here.
35. You spend way too many nights hanging out in the 7-11 parking lot
36. You know what the 'mechanical vacuum gorillas' are.
37. You know that Wonderland is not a place in Ontario
38. You sit on a bench which is actually a paint palette, farm machinery or a creepy guy.
39. You've never been on public transit until you move to Vancouver.
40. You know that, despite what the sign says, the name of our club is Shitty Limits.
41. Tim Hortons.
42. You miss seeing the mountains after moving away
43. You can't wait to move somewhere else.
44. The flea-market is a must-go-to-event on Sunday... after everyone goes to church of course
45. You have been part of the glory days partying up on Sandy Hill before there were houses there
46. Castle Fun Park (Wonderland) is the "choice" site for drug deals and criminal activity
47. The street chosen to host our biggest hotel development plan is known as "Hooker Ave"
48. You see ten people that you know walking two blocks to a convenience store
49. A "fair fight" consists of you eating the boots of 20 of the toughest people in existence.
50. You realize the automall is bigger than the actual mall.
51. You hate Chilliwack. I mean the Chillbillies.
52. You develop asthma.
53. You are the drainage center for all of Washington and Vancouver's pollution.
54. You get excited when 10 cm of snow is forecasted, since school might be cancelled.
55. Your school board is retarded because they made decisions about opening school before it has started snowing.
56. Your city was the murder capital and bible belt of Canada.
57. You don't get excited about Christmas lights anymore because people keep them up all year round.
58. Selling crack is a rewarding and prosperous career.
59. You can't help but notice the odd piece of clothing on your cab driver's head. If you ever take a cab.
60. The flea-market is a must-go-to-event on Sunday... after everyone goes to church of course.
61. Someone tell you what their religion is, you usually have to ask them to repeat themselves.
62. School lockdowns and school vandalism are no longer a reason to gossip. Days where nothing happens however...
63. You've seen all the signs, yet you still have NO idea what "PLAN B" is...
64. You know that the 'Grand' cinema is not so grand...
65. The banning of firecrackers/fireworks only increases sales
66. It takes moving to Ontario to appreciate Abbotsford
67. Castle Fun Park will ALWAYS be Wonderland...
68. You have two movie theaters in your town yet you still go to Mission or Langley to catch a flick.
69. Going into town means going into an actual town ie. Vancouver. Nobody even bothers to mention that they're going to Sevenoaks anymore, it sucks too much

Pretty Flakes!!

While Duane was gone, we had a bit of snow again. I really have this thing with flakes. I love them! They're so intricate and individual. Beautiful, really. It's pretty amazing to me how they're ALL DIFFERENT! Not one is the same. I was heading out to my lunch shift and had a few flakes fall on my coat and I had the camera, so I took some pictures :)
I thought I'd share a couple with you all!
*You'll have to click on them to see the actual detail*(sorry for the blurry-ness...it's kinda hard to get detail without getting really close)

What a guy!

Duane returned from his week-long escape to sunny San Jose on Wednesday afternoon. That afternoon I had left the car at home and walked to work thinking, "If I leave the car here, maybe he'll pick me up at 5." Wrong. Sadly, he wasn't there when I leapt off my bus at the end of the work-day. I had pretty much expected him to read my mind and be there. I set myself up for disappointment. I sulked home, trudging up a slippery, muddy back alley hill/mud bog with a throbbing headache. I think that is thanks to the current chinook winds we've recently had...they seem to cause headaches in quite a few people I know. Back to my point.
I made it home in just over 10 minutes...a little longer than the usual 7...and noticed that the car was backed into the driveway; that wasn't how I left it! Duane's been out. I figured he'd gone to drop off all the gear from the trip back to the office. I slowly climbed the 6 or 7 steps to the front door and flopped inside expecting Duane to come a-runnin'. Nope. I stood there for a minute or two and said, "hello?" in a meek, sickly way, and finally he came! I actually DID feel sickly; headachy and lightheaded actually. I welcomed him home and suggested that we BBQ for dinner because it was so nice outside. Apparently he'd already thought of that...he'd gone out and bought STEAKS for dinner!! He mashed up potatoes and cooked up veggies and he even decorated the table so nicely!! What a guy! He gets home from a long trip and cooks up this big, fantastic-tasting dinner! For me!! I think I pretty much love him! *giggle*

Here's the sight I came home to!

For dessert, he had a yummy peach-raspberry pie warming in the oven!

The way to any girl's heart is through her stomach, right? ;)

~K~

Pictures from San Jose

As some of you already know, from reading Karyn's blog, I'm currently in San Jose as part of a trip for a library conference and a deployment at a library. It's been a long trip thus far and it's only been 3 days!

I left the house Thursday morning at about 4:15am and arrived in San Francisco at about 9:00am. From there I drove to San Jose and immediately went to work setting up an internet cafe for the PLA Spring Symposium. During the course of the day I ended up working about 14 hours and was exhausted by the end. Yesterday and today I was at the conference tending the internet cafe and networking with librarians starting at 7am. Yesterday I had to stay until 6pm, today I was done the internet cafe at 12:30 and then spent about an hour and a half tearing down and packing. By about 2:00pm I was done for the day and had a chance to go explore San Jose.

This city certainly offers a number of neat buildings to photograph. I was especially impressed by their City Hall as it has a glass dome surrounded by metal bars (see below). I really liked shooting reflections of buildings in windows and had some neat perspectives from those.


Tomorrow (today now I guess!) I'm off to Benicia to do my system installation and hopefully I'll have a chance to take some pictures there as well.

D

Random thoughts...or not thoughts so much...

Good gosh, I've been bad at blogging lately! There's so seriously nothing going on in my life that is WORTH blogging about. Or maybe there is, but it wouldn't make for a very interesting blog. I know these first few lines are reminiscent of one of my last posts, but hey, what can I do? We're not moving so I can't go on about that. I work the same job, with the same kids, every day all day. My evenings consist of eating and watching TV before I go to bed at 9. Surprisingly, I'm usually tired at that early hour. The kids wear me out...just from talking to me! Somewhat ridiculous, don't you think? This is a great illustration as to why I don't want to have kids right away! I'm tired after TALKING to them! I sure wouldn't be able to handle working and then coming home to my own and having to DO something with them! Kidding...I'm sure we'd work it out. :) I love little kiddies. OOOHHHH!!! Speaking of kiddies...my dear and wonderful friends Katie and her husband Allan, are having a baby in September!! WOOOHOOO!!! I'm pretty excited that Duane and I are going to be able to spend quality time with them, rebuilding our friendship that had kind of fizzled. And then we'll move. But I'm really glad that I'll be able to be here and watch her grow and learn to be an amazing mother! I know she and Allan will be FANTASTIC parents!
Ummmm...my driver was sick today...I really wanted to be more sick today so I didn't have to go to work. Unfortunately, when my regular driver is off, I have to train someone else and not focus on the kids. Yes drivers have mapbooks, but there are so many tricks to driving on Calgary's roads, that I feel the insatiable desire to tell them how to drive and which are the best roads to use at certain times of the day. Besides, if a driver goes "the wrong way", the kids absolutely freak out! They have no fear in telling the driver so, either. Then I pretty much don't need to bother. Except that I have the ability to explain, then, where the "right way" is.
Duane is gone for a week...or almost a week, to sunny San Jose, CA. Pretty much wish I were there. I'm absolutely tired of driving on the yucky, ice-packed sidestreets in this city. They're do-able, I guess. And since I have no other option, I guess I should deal with it.
Speaking of the car...I washed it today! It's blue again! We haven't washed it in, what, a month...almost two maybe?! There's no point when the roads are the way they are. Slush and muck. I figured since Duane's gone, it's the weekend, I won't be going too far....so it can jolly well sit in the driveway for a couple days and look pretty again. :)
Sunday afternoon will consist of joining my bro-in-law at Karen's orchestral performance at the Rosza Centre at the U of C. She plays flute, and I haven't had the opportunity to hear her stuff yet. Should be enjoyable!
Ok, this is seriously the most boring and random blog I've posted in awhile. I suppose it beats nothing though!
I'm gonna go eat my mac and cheese. I eat really healthy when Duane's gone :)
And I'll probably end up having a movie marathon night...alone...since I don't have to go to bed!! Alone...yup, fun.

~K~