Ghost's First Day!

I would like to introduce everyone to the latest addition to Nathan and my family.

This is Ghost.

We picked her up last night from the Cochrane shelter. She's about a year and a half old and pretty darn sweet. The best guess of the shelter is that she's a Husky cross with a Border Collie. She's absolutely precious and we are so happy!

The car ride home was a little scary for her. She was panting and very fidgety. When we got home, we let her have a good sniff around the house and she seemed pretty excited. And then she figured out that she had TOYS!! She had to give them all a good try and then when Nathan took her bed out of it's bag, she had to give that a good drag around the kitchen too. She wasn't too sure about the furnace kicking in. And the holes in the floor that blow hot air? That was pretty scary too. She slept pretty good last night. She spent the first part of it on the landing upstairs and then when Nathan got up to go to the bathroom around 1am, she came into the bedroom and slept on her bed. We didn't hear much from her until it was time to get up, but of course I was in hyper-awareness mode, so I didn't sleep so well.

This morning, I got up to take her out for a potty break and darn it, she wouldn't go. We were out for about 20 minutes and still nothing. She had gone when we left the shelter at 7pm the night before, but hadn't since then, so I knew she MUST have to go. But I gave up too early I guess. As soon as we got back in the door, she promptly peed on the carpet. Oh well. That was as much my fault as hers. I think the outside was still too new for her and she wasn't comfortable. I guess I can take it as a compliment that she finds our house secure enough to pee in? So I took her back out and walked up and down one little section of sidewalk by our mailbox until she did both of her businesses.

When Nathan left this morning, that upset her a bit. She whined and was a little jittery. My goal was to have a low key, quiet morning, since she'll be by herself both tomorrow and Friday morning. I read my book and she played a bit and then napped. Around 11:30, I thought I'd let her have a sniff around the backyard while I shoveled a path to the park pad. She was a little uncertain at first and kept standing by the gate where Nathan had left from. After a bit she started to poke around and then started running around like a maniac. Up and down the stairs, back and forth from the compost bin to the front gate. She's pretty fearless too, she jumped off the top step of the deck to the ground multiple times! Then we went inside and she looked at me like I was crazy. Why aren't we playing outside? So I had some lunch and then decided to take her out for her first walk. It wasn't long (half an hour), since it's still pretty cold out. When we got home, she stood at the door and whined again, like she needed to go out. Here's my inexperience coming into play. She'd gone pee but not poo. So we went out again and sure enough, she needed to go.

Now, we're home again, and she's having a little snooze as I write this. It'll certainly take some getting used to on all our parts, but I think everything will work out good. She seems pretty happy and is eating and playing. One thing I discovered we need to practice at: wiping her feet when she comes in! Anyway, here's a little video of her playing with her toy. There's not much playing (usually she's whipping the thing back and forth, trying to kill the squeaker, I'm sure), but it'll give you an idea of what she's like.

Channelling My Inner Rabbit...

I think today I must be channelling my inner rabbit. For no reason at all, on the bus this morning my nose got all tingly and then it started twitching. Kind of like how your eye spontaneously twitches sometimes..... except it was my nose. Perhaps it's a sign. Like I should change the colour of my hair or eat more vegetables or chew on wood more often. Okay, maybe not wood. But the others maybe. Or it could just be some crazy unpredictable muscle thing.

Is it possible?

Today's post is all about things that you might wonder are possible.

#1 Is it possible to give yourself a paper cut with tin foil?

Answer: YES!!! And darn it, it hurts like hell. Much worse than a paper cut. Good thing I've recently had a tetanus shot.

#2 Is it possible to create art unintentionally, while doing the most mundane of activities?

Answer: YES!!

This is my soap art. I was cleaning the bathroom and noticed that our soap dispenser was running low. I fetched the new refill bottle that I had bought. It was clear hand soap. The soap in the dispenser was cream. I thought "whatever, I''m too lazy to clean out the last bit of cream soap. We'll just mix them together." And VOILA!! Soap art. It has since completely mixed together into sort of a hazy clear mess, but it's just soap!

#3 Is it possible to move 15 tons of gravel without lifting a finger?

Answer: YES!!! A million times over, YES!!

Nathan needed to fill in the train bed with gravel to provide a stable, non-organic layer for the tracks. Soil will of course go on top where we need to grow things, but the gravel was the big part. Dad had seen the Rocky Mountain Slinger trucks driving around and looked into it for us. Basically it's a big dump truck with a conveyor belt. I love it! 15 tons of gravel placed that we would otherwise have had to shovel, wheel barrow full after wheel barrow full, day after day, for weeks, all done within about a half hour. Definitely worth the $500. My muscles should send them a thank you card....

#4 Is it possible to be doing such an in depth blog post in the middle of the day on a Thursday?

Yes, if you happen to be at home and not work. As pretty much all the world knows, I have been completely stressed out at work for the past month or so. Things have finally slowed down a bit, enough that I can hear myself think. But of course, this is when my immune system tends to crash and I started feeling like I was getting a cold yesterday. Not bad, just a twinge in my throat and a tickle in my nose and an ache in my head. I felt worse this morning when I woke up, so I decided to make a preemptive strike and stay home. I slept till 11am and when I got up I felt much better. No twinge, no tickle, no ache. Maybe it was all in my head. Who knows? I will still try and have a relaxing day, drinking lots of fluids, eating good-for-me food and working on keeping the yoga-feeling from last night going.

And lastly, a big thank you to everyone that has put up with me this past month and offered sympathy and suggestions. You know who you are. And the biggest thanks goes to my wonderful husband who has put up with my weeping and freaking out more often than anyone else. I'm so lucky! Love to all.

Someone's been sitting in my chair....

So someone's been sitting in my seat at work. I know who it is too. But he's new, so I shouldn't get all cranky at him. BUT.... he ate my pistachios and left some of the shells in the bag to make it still look full. And my keyboard had gooey marks on some of the keys. Argh. The big, bad, Sheila-bear is going to get angry soon. I'll be the first to admit, I'm very territorial about my space. Especially my space at work, since it's such a small area that I can call my own. And for heaven's sake - eating my snacks?!?!? Where have all the manners gone?

The best pick-me-up in a long time

So guess what I saw while surfing Amazon earlier this week? Guess, guess guess!!!

The first 2 seasons of Perfect Strangers has been released on DVD! Finally! I've been checking and checking for years now, signing petitions, etc. and now it's finally here! I loved this show when I was a kid. Larry and Balki are just hilarious! Now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy! Do you remember the episode with Larry and Balki trying on downhill ski equipment in their apartment? Soo funny! I think I see an Amazon order in my near future....

And I needed the pick me up. The last 2 weeks have been perfectly dreadful at work. I'm exhausted, not getting anything done and barely managing to not kill certain shoe-collecting members of the staff. I am debating taking a Tom Sawyer day tomorrow, but I don't know. In the past day and half, I've actually started to accomplish some things and I'd like to keep going while I'm on a roll. We'll see I guess. But a day at home, with sleep-ins and baking cookies sounds heavenly... I put it off and decide later.

Things hockey announcers shouldn't say...

1. Squirt (as in "the puck squirts free")
2. PeePee (as in "the Flames are going on the PP")
3. Bangs (as in "so-and-so bangs so-and-so in the corner. Hard")
4. Goes down on (as in "goes down on a shot from the point)

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I was feeling a bit silly while destressing (bad day at work yesterday) and watching the hockey game. I'm sure there's more things that we came up with, but I can't remember anymore. Ahh... Nothing like sleepiness, de-grouchifying and a little alcohol to make pretty much anything hilarious.

Great City

So I have recently re-discovered one of the things that makes Calgary a great city to live and work in.

I was walking downtown last week, last Thursday to be exact. Thursday was our big spring snow dump of about a 1/2m. I was walking through the +15s back from a meeting which is something I rarely do. It just takes far too long and I'm sure you walk twice as far. Anyway, I saw dozens of professionals wearing their dress pants, dress shoes, ties, and... Flames jerseys. Thursday was our second game of the playoffs. Now, not having worked in a downtown anywhere else, I can't really compare, but I think this is pretty cool. That professionals can wear a sports jersey to work and no one would say two peeps about "dress code". I think that's awesome. It also makes me feel like Calgary is more a community rather than a city of more than a million. It just seems a small town thing to me, supporting your team. Maybe that's just me. But anyway, yay for all the oil companies down here for letting their employees show their team spirit.

GO FLAMES GO!

Earth Hour

This Saturday March 29, 2008, from 8 – 9pm local time is Earth Hour. People and businesses are asked to turn off all lights and other non-essential electric appliances to bring attention to promote electricity conservation, awareness and lower carbon emissions.

So let's everybody have some fun in the dark this Saturday!

Yoga-ness

So last night in yoga I finally managed to bind one of the poses!

If you don't know yoga and have no idea what I'm talking about, that's okay. I can demonstrate next time I see you! This is a big thing for me as I haven't been able to do any of the binds yet. Yay me! Of course I can't remember what it was called (some insect I think) and there was no way in hell I could stand up with my arms wrapped around one thigh and behind my back, but hey! I could wrap my arms around one thigh!

Yay me!

Oogachaka....

Today I was officially Head Hunted.

An interesting experience all in all. I feel like a real professional now. =D The guy left a message on my phone at work wanting to talk about possibilities, etc. I called him back this afternoon. On my cell phone. Outside the building. Not that I'm interested in changing jobs, but it just didn't seem like a conversation to be having at my desk with all my co-workers eavesdropping.

Anyway, like I said, nothing came of it because I'm not interested in leaving ESA at the moment. Until they treat me like crap or an opportunity comes along that I'd be stupid to ignore, I'm happy to stay where I am. Kind of a bit of an ego boost for me though. Yay me! I'm professionally desirable!

New Furniture!

In my previous post I noted that I had completed my search for the perfect reading chair. And here it is!

Of course, we had to get the matching sofa too. So there's our new living room. They're really nice to sit in, feel nice and are just lovely. For some reason though, now the wall above the couch looks REALLY bare. Hmmm... Maybe time to move the family picture wall up on the to-do list.

In other news, I've posted some pictures in our Picasa album. There's some pics from our ice hike this winter with Mom and Dad and some from our little weekend getaway to Revelstoke.

Thoughts of the week....

In celebration of the Friday before a long weekend, here are some thoughts I've been pondering this week.

Hockey players get paid huge amounts of money. The justification is that their career length is not as long as the average joe, so they need to make more money in the short term to support them in their, ahem, old age. So if their careers are so short and can be even shorter when you factor in injuries, why don't they take advantage of all the safety equipment available to ensure they play longer and therefore make more money? This is of course brought on by Zednik getting his neck slashed by his teammate's skate and almost dying and the subsequent debate on whether neck guards should be mandatory. Players say they're uncomfortable, etc. Hmmm.... a little chafing on the neck or a severed artery... let me think. This also applies to full face cages. It seems to be you'd have to be pretty dumb to not want to protect yourself. The face cages impeding vision is just ridiculous too. I mean, if goalies can stop pucks hurtling at them from god knows which direction with full face cages on, surely a player can find the puck on the ice. Sheesh.

Why does everything have to go wrong at the same time? I've had a shitty week, with things going wrong left, right and centre. Thankfully, when everything came to a head yesterday I got to go to yoga class that night. I felt much better afterwards, much more zen. I'm trying to hold onto that this morning just to get me through the day. At least it's a short one. I think I'll go winter boot shopping before I go help my gimped husband pack up Teachers Convention.

I am a patient person, but I'm not THAT patient. I have discovered that while I like to teach people and help them solve problems I have no tolerance for people that are dumb as a post. I just can't teach someone that can't even think for themselves a little bit. If you've got some brain cells, some initiative and some willingness to learn, then come and see me. Otherwise, keep your dumb pea brains to yourself.

Nathan and I have lived in our little house for almost 3 years. Looking back, we've done a lot in those three years. It never really seems like a lot at the time, but in retrospect, we've accomplished a lot of things. It's kind of amazing really. And this year we get to the fun things like contructing the model railroad and gardening. I can't wait for spring! But first, we must develop the basement!

I have concluded the search for the perfect reading chair. For a couple months now, Nathan and I have been visiting all manner of furniture stores from snooty to slummy, and I have found the perfect chair. It's the Archer Recliner from Ethan Allen. It's supportive, cushy, has a tall back for head support and of course, reclines. Perfect. We're going on Saturday to take one more look and then order it. And maybe a couch too....

Anyway, that's it for random thoughts. I'm alone for most of this long weekend as Nathan is going to the gift show in Edmonton on Sunday, back Tuesday. I plan to relax, work on the family tree, test drive some digital photo organizing software, nap, watch movies, and read.

Good song

So for Christmas my sister got me the new Bon Jovi cd. It's FANTASTIC!! Bon Jovi is one of those bands that I can buy a cd, completely unheard, and I won't be disappointed. This song is called "A Seat Next To You". It's my favourite of the ballads on the disc. But if you're looking for a new cd, buy Lost Highway. You won't be disappointed.

We live where?

This is what I don't get. Calgary has been experiencing a rather nasty cold snap. Fine. This is Canada in January. It's to be expected. What I don't get is that there are business people walking around downtown in thin coats, no hat, no gloves, no scarves, no boots. Are they insane????? When it's -50C with the windchill, I just don't care if I've got hat hair. Are these people so self conscious that they just can't bear to be seen in winter clothing? And these days winter clothing is cool. We have snowboarding to thank for that. I remember when I was a teenager, I wouldn't be caught dead in things like winter boots with my pants tucked in. But now I actually see teens wearing snow pants when it's cold out. So why can't adults (who are supposed to be much more secure and clever than teens) dress for the weather? WE LIVE IN CANADA!!!!! Sheesh.

Multi-topic post

I have been extremely neglect in my posting. Sorry. I just always seem to find something else that needs doing or that I want to do for myself. So here is my life since Christmas.


Christmas was good. Kind of odd, since it was the first one without Nathan's parents and sister. It was a little lonely at the Bell dinner, but I guess we managed. I got a whole 11 days off from work which was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed it.


New Year's Eve Nathan and I went to Mom and Dad's. We watched The Trailer Park Boys Movie and then had a marathon canasta tournament. At midnight, we would finish the hand and whoever was ahead won! Nathan and I were leading quite spectacularly all night and then Mom and Dad had a comeback and on the last hand they pulled ahead! Typical for the year really. We counted and I think Nathan and I won twice last year to Mom and Dad's 11 (or something like that, I can't remember the exact number). Lots of fun though!


January was really busy at work. I've got Chinook that I'm working on as well as little tenant stuff here and there. I still manage to not work too much overtime. I'm really not a big fan of overtime and avoid it at all costs. Our office is moving in May to a new building on 8th Street and 6th Ave SW. We're starting to attempt to clean up things as much as possible so we don't have to move boxes and boxes of paper. We'll see how well that goes, but regardless I'm looking forward to a new space. Then we won't have to resort to bunk desks!

Nathan and I went to Revelstoke at the end of the month, which was lovely. We both really like it there. It's on our list of places to retire. =D We went to the train museum and to Halcyon Hot Springs. Sadly, while we were there we found out that Nathan's Grandma Fahey had passed away. It wasn't wholely unexpected, but still a sad event. I will miss her dearly. She was always such a mischievious, loving lady.

As for future plan, Nathan and I are hoping to get the basement developed before spring. It won't be a lot of work, but it will take a certain amount of coordination. We want to get it done now, because as soon as it's warm enough we'll be in the backyard working on the flower beds and the garden railway. I can't wait! Playing in the dirt is the best!

As soon as I find a spare minute I will post some pictures on our Picasa site from our trip and such. And now, it's back to my regularly scheduled lunch break.