Any bridge builders out there?

I have to fix a bridge.... I'm not sure how yet. I know I can look it up online, or get a book or whatever, but if there are any bridge builders out there who know a thing or two and would LOVE to pass on some wisdom, just let me know.
It can't be that hard... right???

The bridge in question. (Apparently beavers stole the other half).

Ahhhhhh, the snow

In the midst of moving some things out to the new house we decided to take a break for some fun. Nyla and I explored a good chunk of the farm, and also had a great attempt at tobogganing. Unfortunately the snow was too deep, but we still enjoyed playing around.

Next week we officially move. We'll be without internet for a couple of weeks while we wait for some dude to come out and do a site survey. Apparently if they can see the tower we can get wireless out there... otherwise its the dreaded dial up.

We have a new number already. We never seem to be able to catch the 'post office' open (Its actually just someone's house) so we don't have a new mailing address yet. I'll be sending out an email with the new info before we go. I love village life :)


Trying to make a snow angel...

Nyla the great explorer.



Nyla's Aunty Ashley got her this little duck in the bunny suit. It quacks a crazy little song... she loves it.

While I was packing Nyla discovered an old pillow of mine. I've had this thing for YEARS! It's a massive king sized, down pillow that she has now claimed as her own big body pillow. She lays on it, stretches out and goes 'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh'. What a cutie :) Anyway, you can see a corner of it in the pic.

My two cents

We watched 'The Golden Compass' tonight. Now, I know this movie (and book the movie is based on), has received a lot of bad press due to the 'religious' undertones. I've heard people call it 'poison for children' and have gone as far as to say that it is used to brainwash children in order to keep them from believing in God.
These kinds of claims drive me up the wall.

I haven't read the books, (Philip Pullman is the author) but I do plan to. I don't care that he is an athiest, I don't care if his beliefs, or lack there of are present in his novels. We all have a choice to look for the 'good' or 'evil' in everything. I can't believe that watching this movie or reading this book would shake someones faith to the point where they feel it must be boycotted in order to save the minds of our children. PLEEEEASE!

It might comfort some people to hide in a bubble of their spirituality but what does that REALLY accomplish? We can hide from things that scare us, or challenge us, or we can deal with them. What does it teach children when we bury our heads in the sand when we think something is scary, or we don't agree with or understand it? Why not teach our children to use their brains to tell the difference between fantasy and reality? Why not give our kids the tools they need to weigh what they see, hear, experience etc so they can work through what they believe?
If its important to believe in God, I happen to think think its important to know why and what we believe. Hiding teaches us nothing.
Just because someone points at something and calls it 'bad' it doesn't make it true.

In my opinion, this is just another movie about the ever present battle between good and evil... not that different from the Chronicles of Narnia, or The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (I personally wouldn't watch any of them with young children because they all have scary bits that are just too much for little ones). I really enjoyed it. I found it very interesting and entertaining.

My opinions are never popular so I don't doubt that a lot of you will disagree with me. I'm ok with that. One great thing about growing up is that I've realized that I can believe what I believe and let you believe what you believe. We don't have to agree on everything in order to be friends.

That's my rant for today... now its time for bed :) Goodnight all.

Here's a short clip so you know what I'm talking about if you've never heard of this movie...

Joni is a super hero

I need to say a big thanks to Joni for hearing my lament of no cardamom and being kind enough to rectify that for me.
Ever since reading Christy's post about chai I've been dying for some. I can't find cardamom anywhere around here, and I can't make it without cardamom... so I was bummed.
Now super Joni made my day. THANK YOU! You truly rock the jukebox!

Moving day is approaching (22nd). I'm still incredibly excited, but did find out that highspeed is not available out there.
We're looking into some other options, but if we decide to just go back to dial up the blog will be exploded into nothingness because nothing ever works right with dial up. In that case, I guess we'll have to go back to regular phone communication (and we all know how great I am at keeping in touch...).
So once I email our new number, feel free to call for updates if you haven't heard from us in ages. I promise to try hard to be better at keeping in touch... really, I'm telling the truth... REALLY!

The amazing swelling face...

So, apparently its common to devolp allergies when you're an adult... WHO KNEW! Not me that's for sure.
Last night my bro's girlfriend (Ashley) was over. We had dinner and were happily munching on some strawberries when all of a sudden my scalp started itching. I didn't think much of it... it was weird but not alarming. Then my neck was really itchy and my lips felt funny. I went to the bathroom and freaked the hell out of myself when I looked in the mirror. My face and neck were insane... (apparently Ashley didn't notice that my face had swollen to ginormous proportions because she was sitting beside me and we were watching T.V). I was about as sexy as Will Smith in the picture below.

I called the Nurses line, and of course they told me to call 911... Well, by the time we got to the hospital my throat was closing and I was trying to rip my skin off it was soooo bloody itchy. It was kind of funny now that I look back on it. It reminded me of a Monty Python doctor sketch... maybe it was just because I was in a panic, but it seemed like a freaking nut house. Ashley was holding my hands trying to keep me from ripping my skin off and I was swearing like a sailor at everyone. Then of course they tell you that they're going to shove needles into your butt cheek... so I stood up and bared my arse for the world to see (nothing new for me I guess) and because I was still panicking I set off the heart rate alarm. If you ever want a lot of attention at a hospital, set off the heart rate alarm.

Anyway, I left drugged up. Slept like a log for HOURS and am completely fine. Its probably the stuff they spray on the strawberries (just another reason to go completely organic). I'm not going to eat strawberries again unless they come from my own garden. Too bad, I love strawberries...

The morals of this story?? First, when they tell you to call 911 listen to them. Second, that spray stuff is evil. It doesn't come off with normal washing. I'd suggest firebombing your fruit to clean it from now on if you don't buy organic. :)

Evil Bastards.........

Moving???

So, we're supposed to be moving very soon... VEEERRRY soon. I meant to get some packing done today, but instead Nyla and I decided we needed to have some fun. She loves to play with my hair - put clips in it etc. I help her get stuff into hers and she instantly starts tugging them out.
You can't see my amazing hairdo in this shot, but you can see part of hers. What a cutie.


And I guess she did help us pack a bit :)

Grrrrrrrrrrr

This is the kind of night where I want to curl up with one of my all time favorite movies and enjoy a nice quiet(ish) evening... there's only one problem... all of my 'all time favorite movies' have magically disappeared. I'm not sure how it happened. I don't watch movies often so it could have been ages since I actually had them.
H'mmm foggy memories are coming back... I know where a couple of them are, but if anybody out there has my copy of 'This is my Father', please send it back to me. I'm having a hell of a time finding a new one.

Anyway, just because I miss them, here are a few of my favorites (this list is mostly chick flicks because that's what I feel like watching right now).
Not many people share my taste in movies, and I get a LOT of flack for 'Hideous Kinky' - even though it really is a great one. Totally not hideous OR kinky...
Now that I started this I can think of at least 5 more I reeeeaaaally like.
H'mmmm..... It's too hard to pick favorites because there are favorites in every genre. Now I'm babbling... OY! Can you tell I'm procrastinating? I'm supposed to be packing.


This Is My Father

Anne of Green Gables

Any of the 'Lethal Weapon' movies



Chocolat




Hideous Kinky



Sense and Sensibility

How I'm staying sane(ish)

I know myself well enough to know that I'm not a city person... I'm not even a town person. I need trees, need nature, and I go MENTAL if I can't be surrounded by nature on a regular basis.
This summer was pretty insane due to many different issues, so we didn't get to do nearly as much hiking, camping etc as we wanted too... But I remember this one hike... I was so stressed out over things that were happening with my family. For me, being surrounded by trees is soooooo calming. I feel like I can breathe and relax... Its hard to explain unless you're the same kind of person, but I just remember stepping into a clearing and knowing that I needed to be there. Again, hard to explain, and it might sound like I'm a crazy hippie...
Now, I'm close to being at my breaking point again, and its sooo fricken freezing outside. I can't get out with Nyla because its just too cold. So I stay sane by looking at some of my favorite pictures.
I absolutely can't wait to move onto the farm. Its like a little magic kingdom... I can't wait to share pics :) We're going to be having a work bee to get the farm and gardens to where they can be used, so if anyone needs to take a 'vacation' this spring (ha ha, vacation as in... work your butt off) let me know!! I'll even cook (don't let that scare you away, I'm actually a very good cook now).

Anyway, I hope if you're needing a breather these pictures help a little bit.
I stole them all from the internet... I'm not this talented with a camera.

My dream house

Wow, haven't laughed this hard in ages...

I went to get Nyla out of her crib after she napped and this is how I found her. She's been peeling off her clothes for a little while, but trying to get them on again is definitely new. When I first saw her I laughed so hard... ah, this kid cracks me up.
I have no idea how she got this shirt... she somehow got her new rubber boot in there too. She's magic baby :)
I can't believe what a ham she is.


She also loves to hoard her soothers...


And drive around in boxes...


It seems like every day her personality bursts out a little bit more. What a wonderful little girl, I loooooove being her mom.

Well, its a miracle :)

My Dad can now enjoy listening to his mp3 player. He keeps muttering over and over, " I just can't believe they can fit so many songs into a contraption so tiny". I just say "Yeah, its nuts alright..."
Now I have hundreds of OLD country songs on my computer. I'm actually surprised that listening to some of them didn't make me want to scream... some of them actually brought back some vivid childhood memories.
One song I will always love is 'The Highwayman' sung by The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson).



Now, in other news, I'm looking for snowshoes that will fit a toddler. I found a pair that are cute, but not very practical. If anyone has found some that are good, please let me know where you tracked them down (Right now she's in a size 5 boot). We'll be using them a lot so I don't want to waste money on crapola. I guess I'm just looking for reviews if you have any.
Check out these cute ones :)They're super cheap, so if you have kiddos who'd love to make dinosaur tracks in the snow I'll pass on the link.



If you're looking for really good quality gear check out http://www.msrgear.com/index.asp
Sucks that the kids snowshoes are too big for Nyla :(

MEC has a really cute set of little cross country skiis that we're going to get for Nyla for next year. Have I mentioned that I'm freaking excited to be moving far out of town??
I have a feeling she's going to be stuck in the backpack til spring. Poor little girl, she loves to explore. Unfortunately the snow out there is as deep as she is tall.
Anyway, let me know if you've found any great gear for small, but determined toddlers :)

I'm humming the time warp song...

Yes, I know the colorful nature of this picture lends itself to something much more... cheerful :)

The fact is, today is the day I leave my 20's behind. I'm sad because I had so many memorable moments with many memorable people, and wish it was possible to re-live these great years I've had. I laughed more then I cried and when I look back I get that warm fuzzy feeling.

I made some huge mistakes, but was fortunate enough to never live through the fallout alone. I know that the same things I loved about my 20's are what will make my 30's just as great... all the people I've shared these moments with.
So a huge thank-you to all of you who have touched my life, made me laugh, made me cry, and everything in between.

I'm surrounded by people that I'm proud to know. When I really start to think about the people I call friends, I'm amazed. I know this is really mushy... and I'm not that great expressing the mushy stuff... I just hope that each of you who have touched my life know exactly how much you mean to me. Whether we talk all the time, or not at all, I'm so fortunate to have shared this journey with each of you.

Now, the next part of my journey includes a beautiful little girl who gives the most amazing hugs and kisses, and makes me laugh harder than anyone I've ever known...
It also includes a man who has faced a lot of challenges this year but even though he feels like crap most of the time, and is usually in a lot of pain he still lives every day to be the best Daddy he can be... even when its really hard.

Ok, so maybe turning 30 isn't so bad. Just don't expect me to get all stuffy and boring!!!

Hugs to you all. You deserve it for putting up with me!
Mwah hahahahaaaahahaaa!

I was going to include a list of what I consider the highlights of the past decade, but I'm tired, and I'll probably forget way too many important things, so instead feel free to email me some of your favorites. We should take a tour down memory lane... probably not in the public comments though ;)

These cartoons are pretty great. There's a whole website of them www.toothpastefordinner.com

HEEEEELLLLLP!

This weekend I have to mentally and emotionally prepare for two different, but equally traumatic experiences... the first being........ teaching my Dad, who is 75, mostly deaf, has issues with concentration and has an intense dislike for new technology, how to use an mp3 player (don't ask me why he wants one... I don't know).
I'll pay someone to do this for me... really. Contact me, I pay well!

Yeah, that's right, we're moving again... wooo hoooo!

One great thing about living in a small town is the "its not what you know, its who you know" clause. Thanks to this, we have found an amazing place to live.

We went to look at the house today. It's about 30 KM out of town and pretty much in the middle of nowhere, (which is perfect for us. I hate being in town).
The house is on 25 acres, but the surrounding fields also belong to the landlord (no, we aren't buying because we aren't planning on being here much longer). There's a creek on the property that winds through the woods. The former owners built a little drawbridge over the creek so they could cut across to collect their mail. It's just really cute.
When you look out any window in the house all you see is trees and fields. I LOVE it. Even just being there today to look around did great things for my peace of mind.
The former owners were also part of the community garden tour, so the flower garden is INSANE! Its huge and elaborate with fish ponds and gazebos etc. I think Nyla and I will have a lot of fun playing around back there. It has been neglected since this new guy bought it a couple of years ago, so if anyone wants to come lend a hand feel free. There's lots of room for guests :)
The house itself is older, but really funky. There are lots of little hidey holes and interesting add ons. I think I would have found kindred spirits in the old owners. AND there's already a little workshop set up in the basement where I can do stained glass. It's just perfect.

I have never been so excited about moving somewhere. I didn't realize how much I missed living in the country.
Nyla and I will be there alone a lot, so I'm trying to convince Darryl we need a dog. It doesn't even have to be a big dog, just something to warn us if bears are going to come and bite us on the bum. So everyone should start mentioning to Darryl how wonderful dogs are!

( OH JOOOOONI!!!! I'm getting chickens :) Just a couple... and NOOOO roosters. You'll have to share all of your chicken wisdom with me ;)

This is a picture of one of the canola fields next door. I think its really pretty so I thought I'd share.



Darryl's mom sent an email with pictures of ice waves from antarctica. I guess its so cold that the water freezes the minute it comes in contact with the air. I thought the pictures were amazing, so I'll add a couple of them here too.






That's all the news for now. I'll update on Darryl next week because we'll have a bit more info.
I hope you're all enjoying this winter. If you don't live in the sub-arctic you should be very pleased with yourselves right now!

Nyla is a cool cat!

I know her hairdo is goofy, i do that to keep it out of her eyes while its growing.

One thing I really love about Nyla is her amazing coolness :) She has invented her own dance moves... hard to explain them, so I've been trying to catch her on video. No luck yet...
Her new favorite song is 'Immigrant Song' by Led Zeppelin.



I have the beginning of this song as the ringtone on my cell, so she gets pretty excited every time my phone rings. No matter where we go if she hears this song she'll completely throw herself into dance. This is no little rock back and forth dance... this is a full body dance :) it's almost like she does a bit of headbanging, and then scrunches up really small on the floor so she can jump up really high... then she starts stomping (I call this move 'happy feet') and stomps herself into a circle... My absolute favorite move is when she concentrates hard to keep her legs still and just dances with her top half. She waves her torso back and forth kind of like Stevie Wonder. This kid is amazingly cool:) I love that she has her own style already.
I REALLY wish I had a video of her. I'll add it when I finally get it.

I have more to update, but not the time to do it. I'll be back...

FINALLY PROOF!

I've been asking people for YEARS if they remember the craziest Muppet Show sketch in history...
Usually when I ask people look at me like I'm a crazy person... well NO MORE! I mentioned it to my brother a few days ago and JUST LIKE ME he was not only able to recall the sketch, but could still sing the song all these years later. This sketch was just that bizarre. So now I know I'm not crazy and actually found it on youtube.
So, now I'm going to share it with all of you who thought I was crazy. HA! Suckers!
Its not the best quality, but it will do.
And no, this is not my special one for Christy...

Now, tell me this isn't just a bit disturbing!!! No wonder it stayed with me all these years! Now, does anyone recall the tattoo lady song???

Quick update

I have to make this a quick one, so I'll leave out all the goofy details and just fill up the post with my wit and humor... OR, I'll add lots of pics of Nyla so people will stop sending me angry emails.

Christmas with Nyla was so fun. We put up the tree on christmas eve when she went to bed, so you can imagine how shocked she was in the morning. She had a lot of fun opening gifts and trying everything out.
I spent a good part of the day in the ER with my dad, but still managed to pull things off relatively smoothly (dinner was amazing... I AM a master chef!). Darryl's sister Laurie was here... I think she's the reason things went so smoothly so THANK YOU Laurie. You're a rock star! My bro Kevin and his girlfriend were here too, so we had a nice group for dinner.
We didn't get a family picture like I had planned because the day flew by so fast and before I realized it Nyla was in bed. I have some pics of Nyla in her Christmas dresses too. I'll add them later.





Nyla loves her Aunty Laurie. She calls her Gogaaaa (very cute). when she sees a picture of her and Laurie together she does her excited dance and screams 'GOGAAAAAAAAAAAAA' at the top of her lungs.
I played Nyla a video of her and Laurie together... I felt so bad, she was trying to get to the computer to give her Aunty Laurie a hug and broke down into tears when she realized she wasn't actually here. It broke my heart! It won't be tooooo long till we're back in the same area, so hopefully they can hang out lots.



H'mmm, what else.... My bro Kevin and his girlfriend are waiting not so patiently for their son to be born... we're all excited to meet this little dude.

Now, Darryls update. How blooody annoying can this get??? REALLY bloody annoying.
We're still no further ahead then we were a month ago. His tests show a really high level of tissue death, but they're not sure where its coming from. He does more tests toward the end of this month to check the levels again, and after that who the hell knows.
We've heard that its possibly cancer, but we just don't know where. So until I hear otherwise I'm choosing not to believe that. I have another appointment set up on Friday (i think), so I'm going to bust some heads until I get some answers... or I guess I can ask nicely...
I can't remember if I posted about his tard of a 'specialist', but that guy is an ass. We're still waiting to see where he'll have to go to see the next specialist (cross your fingers for Edmonton).
He's really tired and in constant pain, so I hope we can get some answers soon.

So, that's life in a nutshell. Nyla is growing like crazy. She learned how to take off all of her clothes, and is pretty darn proud of herself for it :) All of her teeth are in now so she's chomping away at anything she can.
I'm sure there's more, but I have a zillion things to do before I go to sleep so I better get shaking.

Why I love the muppet show

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years!

I don't have time to do a catch up post now. I'll do one soon I promise.
I wanted to do a quick one to let you all know that we're still alive and kicking.

Here's a quick video from the Muppet Show. This one is full of the weirdness that made the muppet show so great. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Soooooo excited!

We're not even close to being ready for Christmas... we haven't even put our tree up yet (ghasp!) I think since Nyla is so little I just want to keep things at a level where she can understand something great is about to happen. If we have all the decorating etc done reeeeally early, she'll just get used to it. This way she'll be completely blown away. (This is my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

I'm trying to decide if we should wait until Darryl's sister gets here so she can be part of the fun. I think leaving it to the 23rd is pushing it though.

Nope, I've just decided we're going to get on it this weekend.

I love Christmas, but usually I'm pretty low key about presents. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to give and receive presents, but it's just not the big shebang for me. This year though, is different. I'm beyond excited... I'm all twitchy excited. I feel like a little kid. I am very happy to share the news that I am now (well, I guess soon to be since I'm not allowed to use it till after Christmas...) the proud owner of my very own little stained glass studio. Absolutely everything I need is just waiting for me to get my hot little hands on. So, guess what you'll all be getting NEXT year :)

We've had some fairly mild weather lately so Nyla and I have been able to get outside to play. She's so cute in her abominable snowbaby suit. She can barely walk when she's all dressed up, but she still has fun.



Freaking crazy about her sled. She screamed the whole time we were walking (fun scream not scared scream).



She loved it. She decided that snow is 'YUCKY' to eat though when she faceplanted :) She's the bee's knees.

I'm not going to update on Darryl right now. I just don't want to get into it all. If you want the latest info call me, or Diane (hope you don't mind Diane).

Oh, we aren't doing our fun Christmas cards this year. Time just got away on us! Sorry dudes!

That's all for now... I think.

Beautiful Kayla

My heart is breaking. Beautiful little Kayla passed away today. I'm sorry, I can't say more right now. I'll share the email I received. Please remember Julie and Jason - I can't imagine what they're going through right now.

At 2:53am on December 2, 2007 Miss Kayla Evelyn Weber went to dance in Heaven with our Dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Kayla was in her loving, beautiful parents arms with her friends, family and Doctors right by her precious side.
Not long before she passed I witnessed her open her stunning blue eyes one last time and look right into her Daddy's eyes.
All of our hearts are breaking and we are so thankful for the year with this child we never thought we would get.
Kayla has always been and was till the very end A FIGHTER! We are all better souls by having known Kayla! We will love deeper, laugh louder and dance longer just in honor of her.
God Bless you all! I wrap my arms around all of you as well...I know this hurts you as much as it does us.
Arrangements and further information will be provided at the soonest time possible.
In respect of their grieving...please contact me if you so shall need or wish.

Stew no more!

I'm sure as Nyla gets older I'll be seeing this look on her face more often :)

This is a NYLA ONLY update. She is no longer refusing to eat anything but stew... this deserves a huge HOOOOORAY because stew is no longer welcome in my home. If I never see stew again I'll be ok with it :) I've drawn the line in the sand... just TRY to cross it. It won't be pretty...
She all of a sudden became very curious and will try just about anything. She has only turned her nose up at bananas. She loves spicy or strong tasting foods. LOVES quesadillas with salsa, and was even excited about eating parmesan chicken that I had made. (Not the breaded kind...ewww). So things are good on that front.
She's growing so fast, and of course has a fierce mullet - but I can't decide if I should cut it or give it a chance to grow out. It seems like the top is starting to catch up a little bit... OY! Someone tell me if she starts looking like Billy-Ray Cyrus' lost twin. I view her with 'mommy eyes' so I might not be able to tell. I just don't want to cut it!
She was supposed to see a specialist about her hips, but at the visit with our family doctor before the appointment with the specialist, she (the doc) couldn't hear the click in her hips anymore. She said that's a really good sign, and although she still has too much flexibility she's not too concerned. When she's closer to 2 we'll get it looked at again just to make sure everything is really ok. It definitely doesn't slow her down at all. She spends most of the day running around the house... or we make up funny walks for eachother to try... so she's doing fine.
She's sleeping much better now too. She still wakes up at night, but nowhere near as often as she did before.

We're excited for christmas this year. I think she's going to go crazy for the lights and different fun activities we have planned. Darryl's sister Laurie is going to be here for Christmas so we're VERY excited about that.

Here are a couple of pictures of her first painting experience. I emailed them to most of the fam, but thought I'd post them here due to the extreme cuteness factor involved.