Merry Christmas!

I will probably will be away from the computer for awhile (spending time with family).  Wanted to wish anyone who reads this a very safe and Merry Christmas filled with love ones.

A Busy Weekend

We had the kids (our niece and nephew) over for a sleepover Saturday and Sunday night.  We had a wonderful time, we were very busy (we are not used to that kind of busy).  Murray and Terry worked on the flooring in the basement (thanks for all your help Terry and Jeanette for helping around the house).  A musical evening a the church, thank you for the invitation Granma and Papa.  Oh and Happy Belated Birthday to my brother-in-law Jason.  You know we love you!  Here are a few pictures to sum up our weekend.

Such a cute face!

The men hard at work

I love this picture, what angels!

Only one more sleep until my sister and her boyfriend come for Christmas...I am so excited!
Happy Monday.

Poll Results

Unofficial Plebiscite
Results by Percentage:

• 
  

  
  
  NO - Approximately 85 per cent




• 
  

  
  
  YES - Approximately 15 per cent

Voter
turnout was approximately 23 per cent.

Just in case you were wondering.

Light Monday Humor

I was dropping by a few of the blogs I frequent and came across this on Lowell and Julie's blog.

From Reader's Digest

Some famous Christmas carols, as heard by kids:

"On the first day of Christmas, my tulip gave to me..."
"He's making a list, chicken and rice..."
"Noel, Noel, Barney's the king of Israel..."
"In the meadow we can build a snowman, and pretend that he is sparse and brown..."
"Oh, what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hey..."

Then I realized that I don't really know the words to one of the carols

'In the meadow we can build a snowman,'...Then what?

Please leave a comment if you can help me out.

Put up the Christmas lights yesterday.  What was suppose to be a quick job took us all day.  We were outside 7 hours and made frequent trips to the hardware store. 

Lesson Learned:  Do not by cheap lights from Walmart, when only half of the string will light up you will spend hours trying to fix it, get fed up, and end up buying different lights at the Hardware store.

Oh well, we had a lot of fun and got lots of fresh air. Here is a picture of Murray PRETENDING he is falling off the ladder while putting up the lights.

Happy Monday Everyone!

'In the meadow we can build a snowman,... that is going to bug me all day

Proposed Recreation Facility In Leduc County...

If you are a resident of Leduc County please read the following:
(Warning: If you are not this post will bore you).

Leduc County , in partnership with the City of Leduc, is planning to build a new regional recreation and fitness centre.  On December 14, 2006 Leduc County residents will vote in a plebiscite to decide if this recreation centre will be built.

Things that will be included in the purposed recreation facility:

• Twin indoor arenas



• Leisure indoor skating rink



• Twin multipurpose field houses for activities such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and lawn bowling.



• Fitness and wellness facilities for workouts



• Leisure aquatic centre including child's play area, hot tub, saunas, and steam rooms



• Indoor jogging and walking track



• Children's play rooms and party rooms, meeting rooms, and food and beverage services



• Retail space for lease to private sector businesses such as food services, skate sharpening, physiotherapy, etc.

A final location for this facility has not yet been identified but both the County and City and Leduc agree that a site along the Nisku-Leduc corridor, near the city of Leduc/Leduc County boundary is the preferred location.

I agree that our County needs a recreational facility to support the population growth in our area and increasing demands for recreation, fitness and wellness.  The region currently has no large indoor soccer facility, no large indoor gymnasium facility outside of the school system, and the current indoor ice surfaces are increasingly stressed to meet community needs.  In many instances, County and regional families are forced to drive to other communities to participate in these recreation activities.

If you are interested in more information please check out http://www.leduc-county.com/.

If you are a resident of Leduc County please take the time to vote on December 14th!

A Confession...

I am a Christmas Freak!!!

I can't even control myself.  On Sunday night we put up our Christmas decorations (yes that means the sanding is done but I will get to that). Murray will tell you how stupid giddy I was about it all.  Truly I am 25 going on 3 when it comes to Christmas.  We are 5 days into December and already Murray says he is sick of the one Christmas CD I have because I keep playing it over and over.  Maybe I should ask Santa for some variety in the Christmas music department.  Anyone have a good suggestion?

My friend Krista posted about the perfect Christmas tree.  I have to tell you that is what I was aiming for this year, thought I might  even achieve it seeing as though we do not have children.  We do however have 2 cats.  Apparently, they love Christmas just as much as I do because of all the shinny decorations they can play with.  Every night we go to bed the tree looks nice, when we wake up the poor tree looks like it has been through a war.  It may sound crazy but I think this is kind of funny .  For the month of December I put the decorations on the tree and the cats take them right back off.

Too Funny.  Have a good day.

A Sad Day...

Well not really sad but...

Murray and I decided it was time to take down the wedding photos.  After Rory's Baptism Sandra took some really great family pics of Murray's side of the family.  Unfortunately, to make room for the new pics we had to take down some of the older pics (like our wedding photos).  Although we framed our very favorite one and still have that one up.  I guess it just means that we are no longer newly weds.  Hence the sad day.  On the bright side the new photos do look good on the wall.  Thanks Sandra!

Here is our favorite wedding photo (another Sandra pic)

Not sure if you can see this all that well but I love this pic it is just so us.

Have a good weekend.

Something funny...

The joys of living in a small town...when it is stupid cold outside you can wear your snow pants to the grocery store and no one cares!  (Like I did yesterday).

Enjoy your day.

Brrrrrr...

Wow, is it ever cold here!  Michael and Katie you were lucky to leave when you did.  It's currently -23 Celsius (-34 with the wind chill). That's -29 in degrees Fahrenheit for all the Americans who read my blog.  All I know is that it is bone chilling cold!

Haven't started to decorate for Christmas yet, we are waiting until we are completely finished sanding in the basement because the drywall dust gets everywhere.  I did manage to put up a little Christmas cheer however, a new tea pot that Murray bought for me while we were in Jasper.  I think it is just so cute.

Have a good Monday and try to stay warm!

The Buchan's in Jasper...

I know I haven't posted in awhile, with family visiting it has been quite a busy week.  Here are a few highlights from the visit.

You can check out more here

Stamp Camp

Two posts in one day WOW!

I just had to share the things that we made at Stamp Camp on Saturday.  Marnie (my Stampin' Up consultant, now neighbour and friend) hosted a Stamp Camp with 5 different Christmas projects to make.  Each were so creative and unique I just had to share them.  Sorry for ruining the surprize for those of you who might be getting them for Christmas.

We covered a regular notebook, and an unused paint can, plus made a little tote with a matching card.

This was so neat a little matchbook with a matching candle.  The candle was so easy to make.

I am thinking the candle would make great wedding favors Ms. Adair!

Like I said, I just had to share.

Ramblings...

Took the cats to the vet today.  All good news.  They are at perfect weights and their teeth are wonderful.  Yeah! 

We worked like mad on the basement this weekend we were hoping to get to the point where we could start to prime the walls but we still have a little sanding to do yet yuck:( sanding truely is the worst part. 

Only 5 more days until Michael and Katie come!

Murr the Mud Man!

The Colour Test

RED
1. Closest red thing to you: one wall in my office
2. Last thing to make you angry: smashing the sugar bowl on the floor
3. Do you have a temper: I would say no, other might say yes                                 4. Are you a fan of romance: yes

ORANGE
1. Closest orange thing to you: cover of a book, I really had to search there is not much orange in my house
2. Do you like to burn things:Love to burn candles!  I am a Partylite addict                 3. Dress up for Halloween: yes I love it!
4. Are you usually a warm-hearted person: very much so.
5. Do you have anything against redheaded people: no, some of my most favorite people are red-heads.
6. Are you usually full of energy: I can be but I am better at relaxing

YELLOW
1.Closet yellow thing: pencil
2. The happiest time[s] of your life: My wedding day
3. Favorite holiday: christmas, hands down
4. Are you a coward: Yes. and as I get older it is getting worse.
5. Do you burn or tan: I tan extremely well

GREEN
1. Closest green thing to you?: highlighter
2. Do you care about the environment: YES
3. Are you jealous of anyone right now: not really
4. Are you a lucky person: not in Vegas I wasn't, in life I do well
5. Do you always want what you cant have: saddly yes
6. Do you like being outdoors: yes, I enjoy it more though when it is warm outside       7. Are you Irish: no, english

BLUE
1. Closest blue thing to you : Notebook
2. Are you good at calming people down: not really
3. Do you like the sea: I like the beach does that count?                                         4. What was the last thing that made you cry: Lately anything.  Most recently, a song on the radio
5. Are you a logical thinker: yes
6. Can you sleep easily: yes.  Anytime anywhere.  Its a talent.

PURPLE
1. Last purple thing you saw: The curtains in my spare bedroom
2. Like being treated to expensive things: yes.
3. Do you like mysterious things: I love surprizes
4. Favorite type of chocolate: minty chocolate                                                       5. Ever met anyone in royalty: no
6. Are you creative: I love to create things.  Scrapbooking, cards, craft projects, meals, baking you name it.

PINK
1. Closest pink thing to you: my sweater
2. Do you like sweet things: too much!
3. Like play-fighting: no
4. Are you sensitive: yes, to some things
5. Do you like music: All different kinds, but I am mostly a country girl

WHITE
1. Closest white thing to you: computer paper
2. Would you say you're innocent: yes to some degree but totally not naive
3. Good at keeping the peace: yes but I injure my tongue sometimes
4. How do you imagine your wedding: had it and it was perfect
5. Do you like to play in the snow:Yes! I love to shovel snow, make snowmen, snowshoe race and sled.
6. Are you afraid of going to the doctors or dentist: No.  I love my doctor and my dentist is a very good friend of mine so I always look forward to seeing her.

BLACK
1. Closest black thing to you: The phone
2. Ever enjoy hurting people: no?
3. Are you sophisticated or silly: I don't know really
4. Would you like to go to space: no, doesn't interest me at all.
5. Do you have a lot of secrets: no, I try to live an honest life
6. What is your favorite color: I love all colours
7. Does the color you wear affect your mood: yes, definately

It's Finally Finished!

The desk that we have been sanding, staining, varnishing, and building for what seems like forever is now finished.  It's not perfect so don't look to carefully, but it turned out great. 

Now that our side project is complete, we can focus on completing the basement.  We us luck.

Have a good day.

The power of words...

 

Surfing around on a few blog's this morning and came across this quote on Open Source Photo.  Kind of appropriate for Murray and I as we struggle to finish my desk and start to work on the basement, which seems like an ever growing project.  The power of words right...we will finish the desk and it will be great.  We will complete the basement! 

Thank you to Mitch who was a big help sanding this weekend.  Thank you also to Jeanette  who swooped in on Sunday and really got me moving on the staining of the desk (all that experience painting your bathroom is making you a great painter).  We are so much closer to finishing the desk now.  Thank you to Terry for helping Murray get started on the drywalling.  We feel more confident now.

Have you ever?

Have you ever taken on a project that seemed easy and like a good idea at the time but after you were a little ways in it gets a whole lot bigger and way more time consuming? 

For example we wanted a desk for our bedroom...great!  We will go to Ikea and buy one.  Wait... the desk we want is the wrong color.  Oh thats simple we will buy it anyway, sand it down and stain it to match the other furniture in our room.  This is going to be easy...(famous last words)...

Three weeks later, we are behind in our basement renos and can't park in the garage because we have been sanding this stupid Ikea desk every night for 2 hours.  The desk has 40 piece, I swear, and each piece takes at least an hour to sand.  Then I was told after we were done sanding we will have to put a pre-stain on it so the stain goes on even, and then stain, and then put a clear coat on after.  If that weren't enough after its all stained and ready to go we will have to put the stupid desk together (and it is Ikea after all).   Who's big idea was this anyway...oh yeah... mine ;)

I just know it is going to be great when we are all finished.  Nothing worth having comes easy right?

Wish us luck.  I will keep you posted.

My wish for you...

Some things have changed dramatically in my life this past week and as I was praying for strength, God sent me this song over the radio.  It fits and has help me put words to some of things I am feeling.  I wanted to share it with you.

The song is 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts and it is very powerful.

"I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow.  And each road leads you were you want to go.  And if your faced with a choice and you have to choose.  I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.  And if one door opens to another door closed.  I hope you keep on walking till you find the window.  If its cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile.

I hope you never look back but you never forget all the ones who love you and the place you live.  I hope you always forgive and you never regret and you help somebody every chance you get.  You find God's grace in every mistake and always give more than you take.

But more than anything...more than anything...

My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to.  Your dreams stay big and your worries stay small.  You never need to carry more than you can hold.  While you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to, I hope you know somebody loves you and wants the same things too.

yeah this is my wish..."

I love you little brother, that will never change.

Weekend Report

One of my favorite things to do is have my niece and nephew sleepover.  On Saturday they did just that.  We made skeleton cookies, went for a walk to the playground, and they had a bubble bath in the soaker tub.  It was a lot of fun!  Thanks Michelle for bringing them over.

What a mess the cookies were but we had a lot of fun decorating them.

We also bought a new fire place and started on the basement.  All and all a very good weekend. 

A foggy Saturday...

I have my husband home for a Saturday!  Between work, hockey, and hunting he has been very busy lately and this is a big deal.  I have a lot of pictures and shelves around the house that need to go up.  We also have plans of running errands, researching a fireplace for the basement (if you have any suggestions where to get one in the area I would love to hear from you), and then some sanding and drywall taping so that we can finish our basement in time for Christmas (that is our goal).  We will see how it goes.

'the best laid plans of mice and men...'

Have a good day

Great News!

I was told I am allowed to spread the great news!  Kelly (my best friend) and Rene announced their engagement on the weekend!!!!!  They have told their families and most of their friends but they said that most people were not surprized when they heard the news.  Well, I think anyone who knows them, has seen how happy they are together.  If you have witnessed their happiness then it is no surprize that they have decided to spend the rest of their lives together!  Congratulations you two, we may not be all that surprized but we sure are happy for you both!

Aren't they just so cute?

Love ya Smelly!

Up in the Tree Stand...

The good thing about the long weekend was Murray had an extra day to go out hunting.  While up in his tree stand on Monday he took this picture of a coyote.  I thought it was pretty great.  He is definitely the photographer in our family.

Have a good day.

Thanksgiving Highlights

Thought I would share a few Thanksgiving highlights from the weekend.

At my families Thanksgiving Mom and Mitch were incharge of cooking the meal and it was their first time.  They did a great job!  Mitchell cooked the turkey to perfection and even made his own stuffing from scratch!  Awesome Mitch, we are all very proud of you.

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

Not so 'Baby' Beth

While my cousins were visiting from Dawson Creek this weekend, they asked if I could take some pictures of their daughter Beth.  Well I did, and after doing so, I have a new appreciation for photographers.  Samantha and I must have spent 30 minutes trying to coerce Beth to look at the camera but she wasn't having any of it.  Here's the product from the shoot.  Remember I never said I was good at this photography thing.

She was way happier in the bath that night.

Thanks Joel and Sam for the visit it was nice.

Black or Blue?

My sister gave me a generous gift certificate for my birthday and last week I thought I would use it to get myself a nice basic black suit.  After much shopping I found what I was looking for and near the end of last week I proudly wore my new black suit to school.  I few staff members at school commented on the new outfit and I was proud to tell them I had purchased my first black suit.  After hearing this statement, one of my friends on staff replys (bless her for her honesty), isn't the suit blue?  No I said its black... isn't it?  After much discussion and debating and then finally comparing the suit to another friends black pants sure enough the suit is dark navy blue.  Well darn...I guess I have purchased myself a nice basic BLUE suit.  Oh well, such is life.

Have a good day.

A Happy 49 Years Together

Yesterday my family went out for supper to celebrate my Grandparent's 49th wedding anniversary.  Now, I didn't know them when they were first starting their lives together of course, but I would venture to say that they are just as in love, or maybe more, today than they were 49 years ago. I can't imagine that all 49 years were easy, in fact I know that they were not.  Raising three girls, balancing family and work, and still finding time to be with eachother did have its challenges, but my grandparents survived it all with faith and love.  They respect eachother deeply, trust eachother to no end, and to me are a shinning example of unconditional love.

Happy 49th Wedding Anniversary Gramma and Papa.  We love you.

P.S I would have had a picture to share except we forgot to put our memory card back into our camera, so sorry.

And to those who have visited this site and left comments thank you so much, your comments are so touching and they anyways brighten my day.

Riding in the Rain

I miss Marci :(

Well Curtis, Marci, and Nollie were out visiting this weekend and it was so great.  We chit-chatted tones and got all caught up!  Unfortunately, now that they are gone I have been feeling just a little sad.  I have found myself saying over and over the same sentence I said back in January when they first moved to Provost...I MISS MARCI!  Marci your a great friend and I am happy to have you.

Thanks for the great visit guys I really do wish you were closer but for now I will just look forward to November when it is our turn to go and see you.

What a Mess!

This is what it looks like when you accidentally drop 10 pounds of cat food down the stairs!

However, Felix and Layla were very happy!

P Cubed

As the outdoor soccer season finishes, basketball season begins.  I thought I would share a photo from our last soccer game this year.  Thanks girls it was a lot of fun!

The Big Two Five...

A week or so ago I had my 25th birthday.  It was great, my whole family went in on an amazing gift... a new mountain bike (organized by my husband).  Surprize! My first adult bike and it has been so fun!  Even though it was pouring with rain outside I just had to try it out.  I road my bike around the cresent with my neice and nephew as they shouted out with joy 'Chase me Auntie Jessica, Chase Me!"  What an amazing birthday memory.  Thank you everyone!

Normally birthdays come and go and I don't feel all that much different, however, this birthday (the 25th) felt different.  I had a chance to reflect back on my quarter of a century on this earth and although there are many times were I struggled and made mistakes, as a reflect now I feel overwhelmingly blessed.  I feel blessed to have met my soulmate so early in my life.  Blessed to be surrounded by our families because they support us and make us feel so loved.  Blessed for our good health. Blessed to have been able to achieve my goals, finish school, graduate from University, and  start a career that I love at a school I am thankful to teach at. Blessed to be living in this great country. Although I have struggled with my faith at times, I am in a place in my life now where I believe there must be a God, because for all the things that have gone wrong (or what I have thought to be wrong at the time) there has always been a larger plan revealed to me later and I am always truly thankful in the end.

  As I reflected on my 25 years there was two areas I felt I could improve on. My goal for the future and the next 25 years (God willing),is to focus on giving back.  More time spent with family and friends, more time giving back to our community, more volunteer work.  More time devoted to my faith and time spent at church and in prayer developing my spiritual self.

That's it from my corner of the world.

Enjoy your day!

P.S I will post a picture of the bike and us in the rain shortly.

The Tradition Continues...

As another member of our women's basketball team gets married we like to celebrate... well in the obvious ways, but also by getting a picture of everyone from the team who attened.  I can not tell you how many weddings and photos this has included over the years but it is a long running tradition.  Dave and Carloine's wedding was great, we had so much fun.  Caroline was such a beautiful bride.  We are really happy for you both.

Check out more photos here  

For those who are wondering the guy in the middle is Pat our coach. 

Tagged

OK I have been Tagged by Elizabeth, so I thought I'd come back and do it now.

The rules of the tag are: List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Dont forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

So I will Tag: Michelle G, Marci, Krista, Sandra, Vicki

Weird things about me:

1. I rarely see the ends of movies because I fall asleep, sometimes even in movie theatres...how? I don't know.

2. I could drink tea morning, noon, and night, and sometimes I do.

3. I can squirt milk out the corner of my eye, although I rarely do beacuse it hurts

4. I am very jelous of people who run long distances. I have always dreamed of running a marathon (and still do hope to at least do a 5k someday) but I actually hate running.  I have tried to pick it up as a hobbie but I find it so boring. 

5. I like popping zits (there I said it...are you happy?)

Fav Song

Well I have a new favorite song, its by Tim McGraw (surprize!).  Its the new one he just released, the first song that he has ever written and recorded.  It is on the soundtrack for the movie Flicka which is due out in theatres soon.  Anyway, the song is called 'My Little Girl'.  I love this song not because I am a father (ha ha I am not even a mother), but because it makes me think of my little sister.

"Beautiful baby from the outside in.

Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.

Go on take on this ol' world but to me you know you'll always be...  My Little Girl."

I love you Sam

Self Discovery

Well I have discovered something new about myself today. 

Without an oven-timer I am an extremely bad cook!  Those who know me, I think, would agree that generally I am a good cook.  The stove at our new house has some weird timer that I have not been able to figure out and since we have moved here I have burned, wrecked, and ruined more things that I have tried to cook than ever before.  Note to self: make it a priority to get a timer before husband divorces or starves (just joking).  Heading off to a friends wedding tonight hopefully I will get some pictures to post.

Have a good day.

Trip Pictures

Finished uploading some of the trip pictures. Check them out at http://sweetjb.typepad.com/photos/vegas/.

Enjoy.

New Quote

I am reading 'The Second Summer of the Sisterhood' by Ann Brashares and came across this quote.  I thought it fit my life at the moment.

"...You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

-E.L Doctorow

Oh I wanted to say that I also finished 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold on my trip and absolutely loved it, thank you for the recommendation Elizabeth.

What a week!

Murr and I came home from our vacation and hit the ground running as we like to say.  Neither of us were home before 8:30 any night this week (some times nine, ten, eleven... you get the picture).  Both busy at work.  I equate the first few weeks of school for a teacher to tax time for an accountant.  You have tight deadlines and everything comes at you all at once.

On the positive side I found the inspiration I was looking for this week...in the faces of my new grade one students of course.  As I was meeting them all for the first time I could see how nervous and excited they were for school and how eager and hopeful too.  It was so refreshing.  I thought to myself 'oh yeah this is why I love teaching.'  I can already tell it is going to be a great year.

Now do I spend the long weekend prepping and doing school work to take some of the pressure off for next week or do I spend it on the golf course?  That is the question.

Happy Long Weekend

It's Official...

The summer is over as I had my first day back at school today (kids come on Wednesday).  The beginning of the school year always gives me happy excited feelings for a new start but I am also feeling kind of sad because my summer of freedom is over.  No more get up and do whatever I feel like for the day, I actually have to get myself into a routine again.

Anybody have something inspiring for the start of the new school year that they would like to share?  I would be happy to hear from you.

Viva Las Vegas...

Well we are back from our trip and had the most amazing, fantastic, wonderful time!  I decided that the really special thing about a vacation (no matter where you go) is that it gives you the oppurtunity to step out of the everyday and enjoy some new expereinces. 

We were Vegas Virgins when we arrived early last week.  Didn't win any money though (like the hundreds of thousands of other people that go to Vegas we decided).  We drove to the Grand Canyon, expereinced the Hoover Dam.  Our final stop was Pheonix where we did some shopping and took in a Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Concert AWESOME!!!

Quickly here are a few photos, I will add more later...

Outside the Luxor Hotel

Murr and a Showgirl

Our attempt at artist photography.

What amazing chemistry they had...

Interested in more photos check here http://sweetjb.typepad.com/photos/vegas/.