Can You Plug In My Truck?

So today I had the task to plug in the new truck. It was a lovely -36 morning, and when I tried to start my deer hunter she won't go for me! Two vehicles to plug in today. So here is how the morning went:

Step one: unlock vehicles, easy!

Step two: brush 3 weeks of snow off tall truck. Not so easy! Needed to pop the hood!! It went as well as I had hoped.

Step three: Pop hood! Very simple.

Step four: Grab block heater cord and plug in. Easy enough in theory. Upon opening the hood I am daunted with the task of actually finding the block heater. I have no idea what a block heater even looks like. My dad usually has the cord out for me and I just plug in. So I start looking for a cord that has the pronged ended (with a cover on it), and well I went from side to side, looking all around and nothing!

Step five: Call Dad! Have him give me the side to which I should be looking for the block heater. He also tells me it is flat and should be near the something? I don't think I was listening very well.

Step six: Go back to the -33 weather and look under the hood again. Still nothing.

Step seven: Refer to own vehicle to see exactly what I'm looking for. Pop my hood, see that my cord is nicely out in the open from last winter season, take note that it is a cord that is wrapped in black ribbed plastic, check. Plug in my vehicle.

Step eight: Back to truck hood, look for black plastic wrapped wire. Looking and see that all the wires are in fact wrapped with this black plastic. Back to drawing board.

Step nine: Call J and tell him I can't find the cord!! He says he will google it and see if anyone else can tell him where the cord should be located.

Step ten: Have some breakfast, warm up and wait to go back our for round four.

Step eleven: Look online at the pictures of other trucks and in most of them I can't even see the cord. Not looking hopeful for me actually finding cord.

Step twelve: Return to truck and look all around, including getting on the ground and looking up! Still nothing, where can this cord seriously be hiding out!!

Step thirteen: Lovely neighbour sees that I am looking under the hood, asks "she won't start", I say "I'm not sure, just looking for the block heater cord actually". He then begins the search I've been at all morning and is successful in finding the black plastic wrapped cord with a RED plug!! If someone had told me to look for something RED I'm sure I could have found it! So cord and plug now found!

Step fourteen: Plug in the truck and go back inside and be warm!

What I have learned from this: Sometimes you need a new eye to find what you are looking for! -36 my vehicle doesn't like to start, unless plugged in! I do not know what a block heater looks like!

It will be nice to have J back tomorrow, so that he can deal with the cold weather and well he owes me for finally plugging in his truck.

Pulling an "Irene"

So way back when, while I was in my first year of grad school bliss, living with Whoolie and Megubber in our sweet townhouse with Pumpkin Jack and Lucile the bunny.... My parents came to visit us, I forget the occasion, it may have been for my birthday or just because they love me. Anyways, we always got spoiled, we would get to go out to Red Lobster for dinner and then they would always make us a super good meal. So our special meal was roast beef with all the fixings including Yorkshire pudding!! My mom started the Yorkshire pudding early, she thought that if it was pulsed by the blender every 30 minutes they would turn out just perfect! So W and M were on strict orders while we went out shopping to pulse the Yorkshire pudding every thirty minutes. I think this was what we were looking forward to most, fluffy Yorkshire pudding, filled with gravy! When it finally came to be the Yorkshire puddings time in the oven, we all watched with anticipation as she got the pan ready with hot oil and did one final pulse of the blender and well all she had to do was take the blender pitcher and pour the flour, egg and milk goodness and 15 minutes later it would have been perfect!! Well as one may expect with my mom, it doesn't always go as planned. Now I'm fairly certain that I have seen her use the blender many times while growing up but never had I actually seen what was about to happen ever happen, nor do I think M or W!! I do not know exactly how she managed to do this but instead of giving a little twist and removing the pitcher off the base, she somehow managed to actually pull the pitcher apart (like one would do to clean it AFTER one is done with the blender!) and well all the hard work of pulsing every thirty minutes was all over the blender base, the counter top, running down the cupboards onto the floor!! We all just sort of sat there like "no that did not just happen!" I don't think there were any words for the incident, other than to start laughing, it was truly a funny moment, one that I doubt we will ever forget.

So now each time I make Yorkshire pudding i think of the time my mom managed to make one huge mess!!

What I would like to call "pulling an Irene".

So the other week I was making some Christmas inspired cupcakes, one giant cupcake and some mini ones and 6 regular sized cupcakes. All was going as planned, I didn't make these ones from scratch like I would normally, so I bought two cake mix boxes to ensure I would have enough batter to fill my giant cupcake pan. I had way more than enough, so i made the little ones and still had more to make 6 regular sized ones. I dyed the batter red, which turned out to be more pink but still sort of red, then I dyed my icing green, the colours of Christmas! All went well, giant one came out beautiful, the mini's were doing good too, and then when it was finally time to get my regular sized ones in the hot oven, in there nice little cupcake liners, looking yummy.... I open the oven and with my other hand I had the raw cupcakes and I'm leaning into the oven to put them on the rack and then something horrible happens. I am not even sure how I managed to do this, I guess I am my mothers daughter, but somehow I managed to dump the cupcakes and the liners into the oven. So now I'm standing with the oven open, my cupcakes tin is now empty and my batter is now on the door, sliding into the drawer and on the floor of the 350 degree oven! Pretty much dumbstruck, what am I to do? How do you wipe down a hot oven and get my cupcakes back? I ended up using my oven mitts and whatever cloths I had close by and get most of the batter out, and managed not burn the dogs that were now coming over to see what the commotion was all about. It was a mess I was not expecting that is for sure, and ended up having to vacuum out the oven to get all the burnt cupcake out. I had just pulled an Irene, lucky for me though the only witnesses were Lily and Dexter!

What do you want for Christmas?

I used to always ask for a BMW and a black lab puppy for Christmas. Now that we had a BMW I no longer feel the need for one and we have two dogs now, so I think a third would just be too much! So now I need a new wish list of things that I probably won't actually get this year but maybe next year....

1. A big shiny diamond
2. Trip to Ireland
3. A weekly house cleaner!
4. Steamed buns (i know a little strange)

One Year

It has been a whole year since I dropped off Zoe in Jasper with my Dad, little did I know that it would be my last time seeing her. We had a fairly uneventful trip, stopped at a rest stop to let her pee and there was a deer in the ditch as we pulled up and she got crazy excited. I had to make sure i had her leash on before I let her out or she would have taken off into the bush, and well she tried to drag me out there. She had a good doggie run with Nugget and Missy at the airport, it was a little chilly. And then my final good bye and telling her to be a good puppy in Jasper.

I still miss her.

Having a bad driving month?

What is going on with my driving?

I sort of backed into a parked car, my neighbours car to boot, one evening. To make it worse, J saw the whole thing go down, he was standing on the lawn, there was a little miscommunication of hand signals. I had backed up and was thinking that should be good, then i see J moving his hands in which i understand to be back up more! So I am like okay, I guess I can go a little further, to which he says I stepped on it and I end up gently nudging the cars bumper with mine. J says my vehicle was on top of the cars bumper! And that it wasn't a gentle nudge at all. Turns out J was actually signalling stop, stop, not go a little further! No damage to deer hunter but I had to knock on the neighbours door and tell them I backed into their parked car. How embarrassing. No damage to their car that wasn't already there I guess. So all is well in the little back up accident.

We have been battling with sewer construction on one of the main roads to get home since August, which has meant leaving earlier for work so I can get there on time. It also means that I get to zig zag my way to and from work each day, four times a day! I used to drive down town on main street, but within minutes of getting behind the wheel and driving through 5 or 6 four way stops, I'm ready to start driving up the side walk taking out pedestrians as I go or start ramming the vehicle in front of me, as they don't understand how a four way stop works. And then there is the people that jay walk instead of walking a few extra feet to the cross walk and make the cars wait. And if I decide to be brave and try to make it though the construction zone... I am battling with a constant change in which land do i take, and then there is the big machinery and then the people that are supposed to be directing me to stop and go, most of which I think could use a refresher course. So really on any given day the way you drive will change at least once if not more!

So I bring you to my Thursday driving. I was coming home for lunch, it is usually fairly busy at this time, as everyone is going somewhere!

So I'm about 3/4 of the way home of my seven minute drive, and I come to an intersection that they are working on the railway crossing arms, the sewer and we are down to one lane each way. I just have to say there was a lot of things going on at that intersection. The sun was shining in my face. and the stupid rail people were testing the crossing arms, so that made the lights go to a four way flashing intersection but only for less than a minute and then back to the regular stop light procedure. When I had crossed the tracks my light was green but I guess the old dude driving the mini van hadn't realized that the four way was now controlled again and it was time to obey the red light rule was inching into the intersection like he owned the place. I mean while I was driving slowly trying to figure out if he was going to stop or if in fact he was going to make a break through the intersection. I had time to look to make sure his light was in fact red, and it was and mine was green. So the minivan driver actually pulls out into the intersection in front of me and makes a left hand turn. To make that an even busier intersection, we have been dealing with months of construction and just after the intersection it goes to one lane for me and you have to squeeze fairly close to the curb so you don't hurt any of the construction workers that are unable to direct traffic if their life depended on it, which i would say it kind of does! So as I'm driving fairly slowly, still confused as to what just happened with the mini van I guess I was a little to close to the curb with my passenger side wheel and gave it a little nudge as to say move over curb I'm coming through. I then felt like the idiot that couldn't drive to the construction workers that had witnessed the mini van event and now to the female driver that hits curbs. I then proceeded on my way home without any further incidents.

It is only the middle of November and I'm pretty sure I still have a lot more of curb hitting or car nudging a head of me.... But I will try to keep it to a minimum.

My Two Little Monsters

The joys of having a pet!! For me there are so many reasons. I love their ability to make a bad day turn into a better day. Makes you feel safe when you are alone, someone to cuddle with on the couch and enjoy a glass of wine with. Puppies are the best, I love the smell of puppy, even their breath, they all smell the same, it is probably a lot like how human babies smell. I've had my fair share of puppies growing up and now we have two of our very own. Lily and Dexter and our beloved Zoe who passed away all too soon. They can bring huge happiness and break your heart all at the same time.

Baby Zoe

Zoe's story although short was great. She was our first baby, our first golden. She had many nick names, all that rhymed with Zoe of course, and then she had other nick names like Betty from the Golden Girls. She had many great adventures, got to travel across the prairies and meet lots of people and dogs. She loved to sleep on the bed with us, we pretty much ate dog hair for 2 years. She had a thing for chasing her tail, I don't know why it bothered her so much but it did. She once actually peed on our friends bed, and his brand new 800 thread count sheets!! To this day we still talk of this moment and who is to blame for it, hint it was not me, but her other owner.... Zoe had a thing about other animals, she was very excited when she would meet up with her best friend Ellie, or if there was a cow or horse in a field that would make her go a little nutty. The best was when she would get super excited anytime time any animal would come on the TV!! She would run off the couch or her doggie bed and go right up to the TV, wagging her tail and doing her silly growl wanting the TV to come out and play with her. She was pretty much born to play and love. She also had a favorite commercial, it was one for Ronald McDonald house and this bald boy would come on and sing the song my favorite things. She would actually run from whatever room she was in and come and wag her tail at the TV, she really loved that little boy! It was so sweet.

Baby Lily and Moon

Then came Lily, to help fill the missing part in our hearts and lives. She arrived on a cold December night from Ontario. She was exactly what we needed. She was a beautiful, loving golden retriever. Her famous story is that she arrived on a plane with a baby tiger!! Like seriously, a baby tiger! They were side by side in their kennels of equal size, but the tiger was off to the Valley Zoo and our little time traveler was off to our house of love. She was nameless for a few days, and then we finally agreed on Lily. A few weeks later it became more fitting, as she could be our Tiger Lily!! What does Lily love to do? Well Lily's thing is that she pretty much needs to have something in her mouth, from hands, to arms, to slippers, to one of her many stuffies. She is a true retriever, her life goal is to retrieve things for us, even when we don't really want them. New rule is no stuffies outside, as I'm a little tired of washing all of them. Lily's new goal; how to sneak stuffies outside without being caught! Generally I'm totally on top of it, as it is pretty hard to conceal a giant pink pig in her mouth while walking by me to go outside, but sometimes she catches me at a moment where I'm not watching and a stuffie makes it past my guard. She is also a little nutty with lights from laser pointers and flashlights! And did i mention she loves water (parents should watch their bathtubs full of water, as she will just hop right in!), she really makes her breed proud! She may be a show dog, but she is the dog that loves to get dirty, wet and have a great time playing. She is our little angel.

We have always wanted a second dog, and well I knew it wasn't going to be my black lab, as we have a lot of hair to manage with our baby golden child. So we have been looking at a low shedding, medium sized dog, that would be a good match to our Lily. We liked a few different breeds, but were set on the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, for their temperament, their low shedding and size. Now just finding one....

Baby Dexter

To the newest addition. Our wee Dexter, the crazy soft coated wheaten terrier/terror! I have never had a terrier type dog, my life was filled with black labs and dachshunds, and what they look like as puppies is what they will look like as adults. So I'm very excited to see how Dexie changes over the next year, from what I would consider a mutt from looking at him, to the wheat coloured terrier he will be. The first day I brought him home, I fell in love with his sweet face, and then as night fall came I was wondering what we had gotten into. I didn't remember this feeling with Zoe or Lily, but then they were the only child's at the time, now it is adjustment of not just me but also for Lily. Little Dexter is a sweetie, he is always happy when you come home, he is doing his wheaten greeting, and wagging his mini tail. He sleeps with his big sis, plays with her, climbs all over her and bites her to no end. And she just lets him do it, she is a great big sister to little Dex. From what i can tell so far, he loves to run! Full throttle down the stairs, and then into the backyard. He is a bit crazy... I can't wait to see more of his personality as he grows more.


The house has settled into its own type of craziness, the ups and downs of having two dogs. It is hard to feed them, Lily is so willing to give up her food, and Dexter is in there like a dirty rag. So Lily gets fed her meal in a separate room. Dexter waits at the door till she is done, then he goes in to clean up any chunks Lily doesn't eat. It is a challenge, but worth it. Puppies like to chew on people and well Lily is our sacrificial lamb, she takes one for the team and is the giant beautiful chew toy. Dexter is in love with her tail! Thank you Lily, my skin is safer with you around. Oh puppy teeth!

Did I mention that I'm the one that cleans up the poop in the backyard? It may sound unfair but I have managed to only mow the lawn like 6 times in my life and these times have happened in the last 4 years! So cleaning up a little poop is not too bad when I don't have to do some regular yard work! I have now noticed that the poop has doubled, if not tripled in our backyard! Strange how that happens when you get another dog? At least they are little ones.... for now at least, soon they will be Lily size. Tomorrow is poop scoop day, got to prepare before winter, as finding fall poops in the spring is not a fun time!

For now my two monsters are finally having a little sleepy time... let us hope tonight they sleep well! I miss full nights of uninterrupted dreamland.

When are you getting married?

This seems to be a question that when you reach a certain age, you have been dating the same person for said amount of time that people feel they need to ask you. And i used to answer: "when he asks me, whenever that is..... " I really cannot even count the amount of times this has been asked to me, and one would think it is awkward enough when you are alone and some stranger you barely knows asks you this dreaded question, but even more when you are standing with your partner in crime.

What does one say really?

I personally feel like just breaking down and crying and being like I have no angry word here clue!! Why must people try to put me into that box. Sure I really want to get married, i dream of the perfect wedding, the dress, the colours, the meal, the people, the first dance, the music, the location. But most importantly it is having that perfectly imperfect person standing at the alter waiting for me to walk down and meet him to say I will.

So I don't say anything, what am I to say? I feel it is the duty of him to propose this new union. Sure I can easily do it, I'm a new age girl, but I have this dream that it will be a perfect moment and then all questions will be suddenly answered. Pretty sure that doesn't actually happen. Rather one question multiples into a million new questions that you didn't even know existed. Now people want to know a date, where it is going to happen, and so on. And then when you finally clean up that mess, it starts again. So when are you having babies? The never ending questions.... and I so badly want to be in the middle of it all!

For now I will be in this phase of questions...I hope for not too much longer. It is a good thing I have this patient-ness about me. It is like ketchup, you have to wait for a good thing to happen, and it is not easy. You will have to overcome yourself, himself and others to get to where you want to be. It is something you can't just go into thinking there is an easy way in or out. The harder things are...the challenges you must see and get over....the better I think it will be for the outcome. Oh for an easy relationship!

Love is hard.

If it was easy it wouldn't mean nothing.....

Here but not there

Saturday's, what are they truly good for?

Well today, I got up early, as the two monsters, big and little wanted to go out and pee and poop (which i need to clean up, maybe Sunday). So i followed by making coffee and turning up the heat (I was awake before my furnace, also not a good sign). So while waiting for the house to warm I was in bed with one of my many pottery mugs, watching a little PVR. I decided to let the monsters on the bed with me, as they had been outside, doing their business. Turns out they were not finished and peed on my duvet!! And it wasn't the little monster, it was the big one. Not sure what she was thinking, and really, how did I miss this happening, I was laying right there! So needless to say, bed and coffee and PVR time was cut short and their rights to the bed were striped. On to the couch, with blue fuzzy blanket (i really want one of those snuggles? or whatever the blanket is called they always try to sell me on TV) and continue with my PVR, coffee and watching the monsters play on the living room floor. I make a little time for my best friend Whoolie in Japanland, the time difference makes us meet at either my wake up time/her bedtime time and vice versa. She may be over 7000km away from me (Google map says so) but she is the one person I talk to the most out of all my friends. I then eat my oatmeal crisp with raisins (as long as they are not warm/cooked, I'm good with them). Have my shower with my new shampoo by Cake beauty (smells like sweet Christmas time). Now comes the big decision: do I actually work on my thesis or do i find another way to procrastinate? So i take my duvet to the dry cleaners, its just down the street from us! I love our town, it has some neat stuff. At the cleaners I notice that the Pottery Place is open! So i jay walk and enter.

Back story: I have a lot of pottery. A few Christmas's ago I opened a gift which i thought was a digital photo frame but it was one place setting of pottery, one large dinner plate, pasta plate, dessert plate, bowl, mug and goblet. My first thought was this is the meanest gift ever, now i have to save my pennies to get the rest of my set!! Why would my parents be so mean to me. I was in shock, as I thought I would have to wait till I was married, which turns out is taking a very long time to actually happen.... Then they finally say something, the rest is upstairs in FOUR boxes!! Now I'm actually speechless, as well I have a setting for not just one or four people, but for eight people!! So needless to say I shouldn't go into pottery places, as i have my fair share of pottery goodness.

So I enter the Pottery place and it is filled with all these different potter's works! And they are beautiful. I am looking for my J's grandma's Christmas gift, she too wants to be like me and have a beautiful set of dishes. Not only are they beautiful, but also one of a kind, none of my dishes are the same, they are all unique, and fantastic. I don't want to say in front of the pottery, but I do have favorites, like the big mug with the ripples on the side or the giant wine goblet (enough for half a bottle of wine big!) and my fruit bowl, oh and also my triple glazed platter. But looking at all the other pottery out there and picking it up and admiring it, I felt like I was cheating on my pottery!! I was strong and didn't bring any home with me, but I know I will go back.

Continuing with my Saturday I go to the city next to my little town and check out my favorite clothing store (Pink Poire) and fall in love with jackets and sweaters! I come home with a sweet shirt in plum. Once again faced with my thesis, my best option is to avoid my red room and not let it know I'm actually home. Play with my two monsters and dress them in their Halloween costumes, Lily was a flower and Dexter a little clown!!

And then i proceed to post my new photo's to facebook to share with my friends. And this is how it is done Graduate Students, how to spend the day avoiding your thesis. I then write my second blog. Yay me! I also watched a little GA, saved it for a reward, not sure that I actually deserved it though.

I am now waiting for my lovely Whoolie to finish her international call and come talk to me.

But I also want to share with you how Google maps imagines me to get to her in Tokyo. I am going to get into my Deer Hunter, drive west to Northwake Way in Washington and then get this i am to Kayak across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii, then cross Hawaii and get back in my kayak and continue to japan (approximately 10000 km, as long as I don't get lost!) to Japan. Really it should be easy, I've kayaked once in my life and I had J to help me along the way, as my arms got a little sore! But a few thousand kilometers, pfff I could do that in my sleep. And then the directions go from English to Japanese (now I'm screwed, I don't know another language and i think i forgot my iPhone, which i don't actually have yet.). Google says I should make it there in about 35 days. Plan B, get on plane and let the pilot get me there. Spend a little money, get there faster and safer.

Well Sunday, let us see what you got in store for me.... maybe a trip to the new coffee place down the street, maybe I will sit and write. Let us hope for the later.

Number One

Wednesday-ness, the middle of the week, the start of a two week stint away from J, and two weeks with the two puppies alone.... and my first blog. Why? I like to procrastinate. I'm writing my master's thesis for Poultry Nutrition and Pathology, and it is pretty much the death of me. I know it is actually not as hard as I have made it out to be in my head, and if I could just sit down and write the 75 or so more pages I could be free. I like to set goals, but then I also seem to like to put them off and be like, tomorrow, yes tomorrow I will get that chapter done! Then tomorrow comes and goes and soon it has been way to long. So in two months, yes two, I will be done my thesis, it will be actually sooner rather than later.... Then I will know what it is like to be just a working girl, done with university (for a few years at least!!). It has been a long road, I've been in school since 1986. I took a little longer than the average good student to finish school, but at the end of it, i will have a lot of extra letters behind my name. My first thing I would really like to do when I'm finally done the thesis will be to lay in bed and read a book (and not feel guilty about it!). So back to procrastinating, well here I am when i could be doing some journal reading or some thesis writing, I'm writing in my blog. My poor thesis, I'm cheating on it. And it feels good. So today, I will not be writing, but mentally preparing for the battle.