ice festival

So. We went and checked out the local ice sculpture competition this past weekend. The weather was so warm, the poor sculpture-ists(?), who have come from all over the world to compete in this, had to drastically change some of their original sculpture plans because pieces would not stick together. With temperatures above zero for most of last week, some took to wrapping their works in progress with cardboard and placing dry ice above the enclosures just to maintain what they had done to that point. The time lines were extended into the over night periods just to give them a chance to salvage some design. I would say they managed pretty well.

Here is a shot of the ice maze from far away, to the left is the 'castle'

And here I am at the entrance to the ice maze.

This is what it looked like inside the maze

A cool close up of an ice block with lights inside.

Just one of the many amazing sculptures in the competition

A shot of artists working hard after dark trying to salvage design.


Me again, sitting at an ice table waiting for someone to join me.

I found it amazing that the glass I was holding as well as the dishes on the table were actually glass.

First Time

I’ve never had a flu shot in my life.

I feel like crap now…get this, I have flu like symptoms suddenly.
I voluntarily gave myself and my family the flu. My body aches, my skin is starting to hurt and I feel the dull throb of a headache coming on.
I am starting to get pretty tired, although that might be the spaghetti we had at lunch.
What if I get short of breath? OMG….
Why did we have to get this stupid shot?
Check it out…I am even extra whiny. Go figure.


It was a pretty funny experience. I even got pictures of the kids before and during their shots. I was quite surprised by the different reactions. I will have to post them another time.



Just when you think you know someone and how they will and can handle certain situations, they throw you a curve ball and show you a little something you didn't expect.

We saw strength and confidence crumble, we saw fear and weakness make way for pride and a new maturity.

ahh life.

Expect the unexpected.

Randomness

~took a walk yesterday at lunch with my Husband. The day was beautiful and it was so great to get out and move and breath. We were walking along the side walk on Gateway Blvd when we heard the skidding of tires from brakes that had just been laid on hard. It all happened instantly of course. As we turn our heads in panic we saw/heard (I saw, Terry heard) an SUV from the inside lane turning into a little black truck in the lane directly to our right. Hearts racing we find ourselves staring into the face of a stunned bearded man asking us if we saw what happened. "No" Terry said seemingly with out thought " We were to busy watching our lives flash before our eyes" Thank you Mr. Snow bank. You saved us. How instantly our lives could have been different. How a moment by one person two lanes over with other thoughts on his mind could instantly have sent us along a new path. Yikes.


~Taking the kids and us in for H1N1 shots tonight. This has been a long decision making process to get here. So many ups and downs and pros and cons. Who's right? Who's crazy when it comes to what is the best thing to do for our family. We decided we are healthy, logical people who can take care of ourselves and fight off this silly bug. So here we are, tonight, the five of us, going in voluntarily to be immunized. (maybe not all of us voluntarily) We want so bad to take our little gang to Mexico next winter and the more I thought about the kids in a different country the more I realize that we will need all the help we can get to ensure nothing gets in the way of our good times.

~One of Tayler's teammates hit the ice pretty hard at their tournament this weekend, which is not unusual, it happens all the time. The girls at this age are getting pretty aggressive considering ringette is a non-contact sport. Turns out this girl has a pretty bad concussion. She looked pretty messed up after the game so they took her to the hospital. Of course we all know the risks and do our best to take the necessary precautions but you can't seem to protect against it all. Or can we? Looking into this concussion thing a bit more I was surprised to learn that the younger you are the easier it is to get a concussion and the longer it is to recover from it. It is usually the other way around, you know the saying, they're young and resilient..they'll bounce back quickly. Not so much in the case of our brain apparently. One small detail that could have helped prevent this, a mouth guard. Seems like a no brainer doesn't? Some times we tend to over look to obvious.

~I have a semi-informal meeting coming up today or tomorrow with my two bosses. I guess they are giving us a chance to vent. It's like a review but this time we are supposed to be reviewing the company and where we see ourselves in it in the future. I have had so many speeches prepared in my head. I won't, of course, bore you with them but I am weighing heavily towards the speech where I air my laundry. Really let them know how I feel about the moral and negativity around us daily here. I will go in armed with the raw truth and hope for a better, clearer future here at the big 'W'. But I won't really. I am stronger in my confidence and am going to go in and express some concerns and give some suggestions for changes but in reality money talks...at least for now. In the mean time I will keep the day dreams alive.

~Quick update on the New Years resolutions to this point...I have purchased some cute little cards for future mailings, none gone out yet but I have good intentions....My gas tank is at this moment down to the last few liters ( we took Terry's car to work today) so that is a fail but I have been paying attention to the gas pump # when I do make it there, kind of. That's a bit of a lie, I am cheating. I have been doing pay at the pump. It's so easy!...I haven't learned to cook anything new yet for dinner but I did notice we have this great little company in our town that lets you come in and put together ingredients for different meals and them take the meals home to freeze for future dinners. I may just look further into that one.... I have been to the gym quite a bit, six days in a row last week. I love it!! No running yet. I find I can't read the magazines that way, it's a work in progress....Going to more festivals, as soon as we have time for sure.

~Terry started the first of his many many courses he will be taking over the next three years in pursuit of his dream of breaking free from the chains of his dependency on the oil and gas industry and becoming the personal trainer he was always meant to be. Yup, he is chasing his dreams, following his bliss, taking the reins of his life and so on a so forth...you get the drift. I am so excited for him but will miss the free time we spend together, its a small sacrifice to make. I hope he finds what he is looking for at the end of this road. Either way, it will be an interesting journey....Giddy up. You can follow along with some of that journey here.

A weather report

Cloudy with sunny periods. 30 percent chance of showers late in the day. Wind southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light in the evening. High 7.


This is for Tuesday Jan.12.10 in Edmonton.


Chance of showers? Excuse me? We don't want showers in January. I think there has been a slight mix up in our order Mother Nature, I think maybe we got our weather mixed up with Florida or Omaha.

I can't believe how amazing it feels not to be cold.
Now all I have to do is get into my time machine and go back to invest in windsheild washer fluid.

A new energy

As we made our way back to the gym this new year, shaking off the tinsel and digging out the ol ankle socks, one can't help but feel a sense of relief. We are back to the old routine, back to what feels right and normal. But going back feels different, new some how. Feelings enter me of new possibilities and an openness to really step out and try something, to be SOMETHING this year.

So what happened between December 31,09 and January 1,10 besides a few ticking seconds that changed my out look and brought onto me this new feeling of beginning and desire to discover what and who I really am and could possibly be?

Good question.

It's like we were always waiting to get to somewhere or waiting for something to happen or perhaps waiting for something to pass. Maybe with a new year we just give our selves permission to go somewhere, to make something happen, to enjoy things as they pass by. I'm not really sure but it feels good.

I see in the gym so many new faces, the new years resolution of so many to change their lives and get healthy and make a change. I feel so excited when I see these people, we have all been there. Sadly so many will drop off in the next month and more so in two or three (allowing us open access once again to our favorite machines) but I hope not, I really hope they stick with it and really make room for this new beginning in their lives. I for one will be doing my part to make them feel welcome in our gym in hopes that it will help soften some of the intimidation that they feel in this strange new world.

Check out this blog I read today, it kind of sums things up.

Happy New You.

A simple list....

I never used to do New Years Resolutions. I wasn't very happy or positive for many years and pretty much figured I would fail anyway!

Well no more!!

I have come up with a few simple things I plan on adding to my life. Things I think will be helpful and give me more fulfillment, if I actually do them. I will!! yes....

1. Pay attention to the # on the gas pump I am at so I don't always have to point and try to describe my vehicle like an idiot. (this one is a carryover from last year, I feel good about it this time around)

2. Send more cards and/or letters in the mail. I feel strongly about this one. I really want to make good on it. It just feels so good receiving them I want to pay it forward...(please email me (again) your home address's..really)

3. Get to the gym more often. It just feels so good afterwards and I love it, I just have trouble taking my self there alone. I may even try a bit of running on the tread mill ( I hate cardio)

4. In addition to #1, try to fill my gas tank up before it is down to the final few liters. I am starting to wonder if I like the challenge.

5. Expand our dinner menu. Maybe take a cooking class.

6. Check out more festivals in our own city...we live in Festival City after all!

I know there are a couple of more things that came to mind but I didn't write them down so I don't remember..I will add that to next years list, writing things down that is! ha ha if I remember.


I look forward to this new decade.

Welcome 2010.....

Happy Birthday (one more time)

And for the final time this year I would like to say Happy Birthday to some one special.

Happy 12th Birthday Daniel

Birthday lunch at Montana`s

Nice horns.

My bithday boy....

The guys on the way to the fire works...hey b-day boy!

Love these lights....

The light show.

The fire works were great!


And Happy New Year to the rest of you `special` people in my life.

All the best to you in 2010.

May your hopes, your dreams and your wishes be fulfilled.

it was pretty cold out tonight!

I love you Terry.