My Grandpa...

Herman Schul
September 19, 1916 ~ November 30, 2009

My Grandpa was so many things …


He was a handy man… Always busy fixing and building whether its shelves for grandma, working in the basement or in the garage. He built the family home in Waterloo.

He was a gardener… he and Grandma had gardens full of Roses, Vegetables, and Fruit. I can’t recall the number of varieties of apples he grew on one tree but I can remember how good they tasted.

He was a fisherman… He taught each of us how to bait a hook with a worm, how to put the bobber on, the difference between a cat fish and a perch and when it was time to reel the fish in.

He loved nature, camping and traveling. He could identify many birds, fish and animals and had a profound respect for their surroundings.

He was in the War… I know this but I never heard him tell any stories about the War; so I can only imagine his memories were too painful to speak about.

He could speak German… and loved every opportunity to do so.

He had an incredible memory. I remember one of the last visits I had with him before our move to Alberta and the conversation turned to property taxes and he could recall how much property taxes they paid on “the farm” after the cottage was built.

He was a good friend to many people from many different places. I know this because I have met so many of them through the years and they always had wonderful things to say about him.

He liked to have a drink now and then. He liked to spike the punch at Christmas and quietly guide those that were old enough to the glasses that contained the spirits.

He was a very proud family man. He loved to spend time with his family, and rarely missed a reunion. I always felt his pride in his family.

But most of all, what I will always remember about my grandpa is his sense of humour and his laugh. He loved to hear a good joke and he loved to tell a good joke. I loved to hear his laughter. It was a high pitched “hee hee” kind of laugh… I love his laugh. I can still hear his laugh. And, if you knew him, I bet you can too.

A good day... finally!

Today, my friends, was a good day.   Not an average day... not an okay day... a GOOD day!   Let me tell you why!

I got everything done on my "to do" list at work.   That never happens!    I am a list person (I dont think that is a secret) so every day I make a list of what I must finish that day and what I would like to work on.   Today, the stars aligned and the list was ticked off - task at a time... till it was all done!  

You might think that was enough!   but no... more to come!    Today Roxy brought home her report card.   While she has always earned good grades I was a bit worried this year.   Grade six is tough, and they really start pushing them to spread thier wings so they are ready for Jr High.   Add to that and she is on two Cheer teams (training 10 hours a week), responsible for Casey and her training and chores.    I really was not anticipating the report card she brought home... all A's.   She is very proud of her accomplishments and the comments that her teachers and the principal made and is now focused on keeping the grades up.    We couldn't be any more proud!

But it doesn't stop there!    Today is Wednesday... which means my new favourite shows are on!   And although I had to tape them (busy driving Roxy around) I now have the new episode of Glee. Dragon's Den and Criminal Minds on my PVR.     Have you watched Glee?   It has everything you want in a TV show... teenage drama, music, dancing, sarcasm, comedy and cheerleading.  All wrapped into one little hour of fun.   If you haven't seen it, I strongly suggest you catch an episode!

So there you have it... the only thing that could have possible made this day better was to come home and find that the Laundry & Cleaning fairy had been here for a visit.   But at the end of the day, it doesn't get any better than this my friends!    Oh, and can you believe this?   two posts in two days?   Things are looking up!

catch up! Again!

Hello Readers!   It has been far too long since I last posted... I will try to keep updating more frequently!   Work just seems to be getting in the way... pesky career!  

Here are some pictures from Halloween at our house! 

Miss Casey in her costume!   She was the cutest pumpkin ever!

The girls on the front porch!

Its hard to see but Reg and Roxy attempted to do a Labrador sillouette on the pumpkin... it looked much better in person, the picture doesn't capture it well.

aw!  a girl and her puppy!

Our schedule continues to be busy... here are some highlights of the upcoming weeks!

This weekend is "light up Okotoks" Roxy and I went last year and had a great time!   Basically it is a kick off to the Christmas season.   It is on Friday night and takes over downtown Okotoks.   All retailers stay open late and have 'freebies' to give out (Hot Chocolate and Cookies are the most common).   There are open fires on the street to keep everyone warm, Christmas music playing, live Reindeer and horse drawn wagon rides and closes out with a huge fireworks display.   Santa makes an appearance but Roxy is clearly too cool to stand in line to sit on his lap... but, on Saturday at the leash free park there will be pictures for pets with Santa - so we may get a picture with Santa afterall!   

Saturday night we are going over to a friends' house for dinner - not sure what I am going to take... I am thinking of making my traditional batch of Nuts and Bolts early just so I have something to take... hmmm... Ideas anyone?

Sunday is the usual Cheer marathon practice (4 hours) but I think I might sneak out and head to the Christmas Market at Spruce Meadows.   I went last year but didnt have enough time to really spend and enjoy it - it is absolutely HUGE.    I am not sure if you have heard or not... but New Moon is in the theatre this weekend.   Roxy and I are dying to see it!   I refuse to go on opening night but think on Sunday we may go after cheer is over. 

The following weekend is also a busy weekend for us...

On Saturday Roxy will be in the Grey Cup Parade (check your local listings; I have heard that it will be televised Nationally) and look for the Calgary Pythons.   We are hoping that it wont be too freezing cold!

At night we all are going to the Grey Cup Festival Concert - there are 5 Canadian bands playing and Great Big Sea is the headliner.    It will be an awesome night for sure.   Calgary loves their team and with any luck they will be playing in the Grey Cup at home.  

Sunday will be the standard Cheer practice and I think will be the start of baking for the Holiday's for me.   I want to get it all done before the first weekend in December.    I am not sure if I can be that efficient!

Well that about sums up life here in the wild west for this week.   I will try to get posting more frequently, perhaps I can sneak one in from work?   Hmmmm....

take care everyone!

Catch up...

I read many blogs... and some of them are simply amazing!   I think the one thing I aspire to the most is to update the blog more often, daily even, if I could! But this week, it just wasn't happening! So here is a quick update to bring y'all up to speed!

Thanksgiving Weekend... was awesome (except for the snow). I settled on making Ham for dinner. I picked up a spiral cut honey ham instead of the usual small black forest ham. I spent the extra money thinking that the spiral cut will make for nice leftovers - and I was right! Reg has enjoyed many ham sammies this week! I had enough left to freeze 5 bundles. Good eats! Instead of making scalloped potatoes I opted for hashbrown casserole... note - here in the west they refer to it as "Schwartz's Potatoes"... regardless it is a fav in our house! In a weak moment I was talked into a can of pie filling to make Raspberry Pie... but changed my mind when it came time to make it and went for a Sour Cream Apple Pie instead. I am glad I did! It was yummy! BTW - pie filling is not cheap here! I shelled out $6.59 for that can of pie filling! I won’t do that again! We didn't do much on the weekend, lots of TV watching and keeping warm inside the house. I did some scrapbooking and cleaning... the usual weekend activities for me!

Roxy ... has been SICK SICK SICK! It all started on Sunday. She complained that her chest hurt (and no, not from growing boobies I was told). I figured since it was choreography practice they wouldn't do much stunting or real physical stuff - but I was wrong. She finished the four hours in complete pain.... and pretty much went to bed right after we got home. By the sounds of it she had a doozy of a chest cold. She slept nearly all day Sunday and Monday. Tuesday morning came and she was no better. I couldn't believe how much she was sleeping! I called the health line and was told it could be a cold or flu or H1N1. Hmmm... that was reassuring!  They said there really wasn't any reason to go to a walk in clinic or the Doctor because she is 'healthy' they wont test her for H1N1 anyway... so just 'treat the symptoms'. So since then she has been taking night time cold stuff and it makes her sleep but she is now starting to feel a bit better. Of course she has multiple cold sores and described it to me as "some sort of ugly". Because this week’s practices are choreography she had to go into cheer... I hope she didn’t infect too many other kids! She wanted me to get her homework from school so she can do it on the weekend so I think things are looking up!

Reg... is working hard like usual. Last week he was offered a new job (for the same company) as Superintendent. This is the job he really wants to have! Problem is... it was in Regina. He politely declined (thank GOD) because we are finally settling in here and really; who wants to live in Regina? It was certainly good to be asked. To think that they feel he can handle that role. If only one of the Superintendents from Calgary wanted it... then he could have taken that position! And we can stay right here where we are! On another note he had a CT scan scheduled for this week on his ankle/foot to find out what was missed on the x-rays that were taken. He is still in plenty of pain and has very little range of motion with his foot. He went into the Hospital and was waiting for them to inject the dye (some sort of a special CT scan?) when the technician noticed that the things the Dr wanted to be imaged wouldn't be able to see using this test? Um... what? She asked him why his Dr didn't want him to have a MRI... and the answer to that was simply that the CT scan wait is only 1-2 months and the MRI wait was 9 months! I guess she went over to the MRI lab and found out they had appts for that day! What luck! He had to wait 4 hours until the appt time, but he did get the MRI done and he didn’t have to have the dye injection! So whatever issues are in his foot they will know for sure using the MRI. Even though he feels he had to waste a half day of work I am happy they got the test done! Now he just was to wait until the end of the month to see the sports Dr again.

Casey.... is good. She is starting to develop a real personality. Mostly she is good but has her bratty moments! I hope this wont last forever... just for a little while! Her new favourite game is to find a washroom door that is open... go in.... find the end of the toilet paper... get it firmly in her mouth... and then... (and here is the really fun part) RUN as far and as fast as she can until someone catches her. So far she has wasted at least two rolls of TP. At this point in all the washrooms the toilet paper roll is now stored on the back of the tank, where she can't reach it. Someday it might make it back onto the holder on the wall. Her housebreaking is getting better. She will have a few good days in a row now. We signed her up for Puppy Training and she starts her first class on Saturday. At the same school we also go to "puppy playtime" which is basically a puppy safe play group. The puppies must be under 20 weeks (they enter adolescence at that age) and she is in the large breed room. She looks SO SMALL compared to the other puppies but I guess they have a lot that are 18 weeks old right now. She is super shy too (Reg calls her Chicken). The first week she didn't leave my lap except to visit some other humans. She wanted nothing to do with the other puppies. This week was better; she left my lap a few times but came back when another puppy was being too aggressive with her. It is fun to just watch the puppies play together. In two weeks at puppy playtime they have a "Halloween howl"... prizes for puppy costumes, extra special treats, they will play bobbing for wieners (I am not making that up) and find the hidden cookie. Sounds like I should take my camera! I am excited for Roxy and Casey to start the real 'training' tomorrow! She knows 'sit' and sometimes 'leave it' and Reg is working on 'shake a paw'. So far she is proving to be pretty smart!

Me... Not a lot going on... except, work is crazy - Thanksgiving, getting ready for Christmas, new phone systems may or may not go in before Christmas. Lots for me to do. I am trying to get more scrap booking done and want to start on the Christmas shopping soon. I will be super busy all of December so I am thinking this needs to be done for my own sanity by mid November. I do have a bit of an announcement... although some of you may already know... my friends (the best in the world!) are throwing me a birthday party. Since I live here - and they live there - they have all chipped in for me to fly back to Kitchener on my Birthday weekend! So, this does mean you are invited to my party on December 12th! Save the Date!!! It will also mean that all Christmas presents won’t need to be shipped! YEAH for saving money!   I will send more details when I have them. But have to say YEAH! I am very excited and humbled that they would do this for me. I was really thinking of just ignoring my Bday again, but they had other ideas!

This weekend we don't have too much planned.   I am doing more work in the office (secret craft room) and Roxy has some cleaning to do!   The Pythons Family day is on Saturday and I am not too sure if we will attend or not.   It is at the Calgary Corn maze... this may come as a suprise to you but I am not much of a fan of corn mazes!   Although I have a superior sense of direction (Reg disagrees) I get so frustrated when I am in a corn maze (without GPS) and apparently it is huge.   Plus, Roxy is still feeling yucky so we might have to take a knee on this event.   It would be a good photo opportunity ... wherever cheerleaders go they end up stunting (like in a Movie Theatre or a Shopping Mall for example) so would probably get some pictures!   The weather is doing a complete turnaround!   It has been cold (high of -6 most days) and snowy for the last week or so.   But today it turned around.   I hear it should be 17 tomorrow, so at least the weather will be nice if we do go!   I hear Ontario is getting the cold and snow next.   I hope everyone manages to stay warm and cozy this weekend! 

Puppy Kindergarten... can you imagine?

Because we don't want our puppy Casey to turn out like this...

... we need to sign her up for Puppy Kindergarten... and SOON!

Problem is ... when?   Roxy is her "handler" so she needs to be available to take her to class... and since Roxy is busy-busy-busy... it limits where and when you can take a class.   I think we may have found one that fits our schedule.  It is called "Sit Happens" so at least we know they have a sense of humour!    The other problem is that they are also the most expensive place in the City!   I didn't realize that we should have been saving for Casey's education!   But it must be done... my feet can't take much more abuse!

The weekend flew by!   Friday night was the Cheer Parent's Team first practice... much to my delight we didn't really practice!    Looks like we might even have a few "dads" on the team this year!    Sadly, Reg says his ankle is too sore for him to participate.   On Saturday I did some minor housecleaning (I say minor because I can't really tell what I cleaned!) and then in the afternoon I took a scrapbooking class!  I LOVE IT!   I have definitely found my new hobby!   I will post some pictures when I have enough done to show everyone.   I love it just as much as I did folk art painting... except the results are much faster with scrapbooking.   Instant rewards!   YEAH!    We also started the process of turning the Guest Room into the Office (AKA the craft room) but before I get to settled in I want to re-organize the files and stuff.  So it really wont see any action for a week or two.   But it is a start regardless!   Reg and I moved the bed out and the desk in... so the rest is mostly up to me and I will work at my own pace from here in.    On Sunday Roxy had her 4 hours of Cheer Practice and I went for Breakie with a couple of other cheer moms.   After practice Roxy and I hit the Mall to find that special something for my super special niece!    I can't beleive Miss Iris will be a whole ONE year old!   Wow how time flies!   I am sure that is what Anesa is saying to herself, I can just imagine how hard it is for her to go back to work!    I remember clearly when I went back to work... and Roxy didn't make it any easier for me either!   I fully expected her to cry and reach for me when I dropped her off at the sitter's.   But no, in typically Roxy fashion, she happily went to the sitter and didn't give me another thought.   All day I wondered if she was crying or looking for me... but no, she was happy and content.   *sigh* and so began her independence!  

Next weekend is Thanksgiving.  It has come out of nowhere this year.   But the snow on the ground this weekend means there is no more denying that Fall is here and Winter is on the way.   I have sought out requests from Reg and Roxy on the Thanksgiving Dinner menu... one wants Ham and the other Turkey.   Argh... I was thinking Schnitzel!   I am so hungry for an Oktoberfest meal... I wish Concordia Club or Kennedy's could ship dinners.   I think I will opt for the Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, it is the easiest for me to make that's for sure!

Well, it is past my bedtime... and since work is super busy this week I can't nap during the daytime (LOL).   Hope you are all enjoying your week!  

Camping and a flying trampoline.....

We had a wonderful time camping in Kananaskis Country!   Only an hour away from home and we are in a remote paradise!    This creek is a few minute walk from our campsite...  you can walk along side it (or in it) forever!  I think it is Etherington Creek.

Casey had her first exposure to water... it was VERY cold... she kept lifting up one paw at a time out of the water.  

We camped with the Spooner Family - they have two little girls that fully enjoyed the creek!

After our big walk in the creek we started dinner over the fire.    Chilli is the perfect meal for mountain camping!  I pre-cooked the meat and had all the veggies chopped... just had to put it all together and let it cook.   It was fantastic!

I have to say, Reg loves it here.   He seems so at home in the mountains...

Casey fully enjoyed her first camping experience.  She had a virtual buffet of snacks right there on the ground, available whenever she wants!   Sunflower seeds, pine needles, pine cones, and sticks!  What more could a puppy want?   She slept a lot on Sunday... so the whole nature thing must have been overwhelming.  

Thankfully the weekend was free from snow.  It was very cold Saturday night and Sunday morning.  Our kettle full of water was frozen solid in the morning when we woke up!    This camping trip is our last for 2009.. and wrapped up a wonderful summer of camping.   Now, we just need to get the trailer cleaned out and ready for storage for the winter!   Not sure where we will store it just yet.  We may keep it in the back yard (where the trampoline is) and store the trampoline on the side of the house.  

Today when Roxy came home from school I got a very urgent phone call... the trampoline was no longer in our yard... in fact, it was three houses away marooned on a fence!   I guess the winds picked up here this afternoon and the trampoline went flying.   The sides (mesh sides that keep Roxy IN the trampoline enclosure) did not survive the flight... the rest of the trampoline (the important parts) are just fine... and thankfully, so is our neighbours' houses and fence!    Way too much excitement for a Monday night...

I realized when I arrived at work this morning that it is now less than 3 months until Christmas.   I can't believe that the year has gone by so quickly.   I wanted to make some Christmas gifts this year so I think I had better get my but into gear!   Which brings me to my next thought... has everyone made a list? 

First full day of fall... really?

So, yesterday was the first FULL day of Fall, and here in Calgary it was the hottest day of 2009 at 33 degrees. I have never really enjoyed the Fall Season, and last year I didn’t really notice that fall was here until we went to Ontario for Thanksgiving weekend. WOW what a difference! The fall colours here consist of green (evergreens), brown and yellow. Vibrant orange and red in the foliage does not exist! So... it got me to thinking... how is a person to know when fall is if there isn’t the usual colour signs to remind you? The weather here is absolutely no help... it has been mid to high 20's for weeks! In the last four weeks I think there has only been one day of rain (and it was only a few hours of rain). This too is vastly different from an Ontario Fall. The part of fall that I really miss is the small town fairs - especially the New Hamburg Fall Fair. Here, instead of agricultural fairs there are Horse Shows and Rodeos!

I decided to take a good look around and see if I can find some ways to tell that Fall has arrived... I am writing them down so I will know next year :)


1. Starbucks is pushing the uber-delicious pumpkin spice latte (and pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin spice scones and pumpkin spice cake)!!! YUMMY!
2. The new season of all my favourite shows are starting. Oh, and brand new shows are always previewed in the fall.
3. Kids are all back to school. Yay!
4. When I ask "what do you guys want for dinner" instead of Steak or Chicken on the BBQ I am now taking requests for homemade mac and cheese, pasta casseroles, shepherds pie and apple crisp. Fall = Comfort Food!
5. All the school supplies are now sold out and have been replaced with Halloween candy at Wal Mart. {if you can't bear to think about Christmas DON'T go into a Hallmark Store! The ornaments and decorations are out!}
6. The commercials are starting to advertise toys and video games and movies
7. The mountains are becoming more and more white (so WHY are we camping in the mountains this weekend???)
8. I find myself driving (on auto pilot) to and from Cheer practice. Roxy was asked to be on both Youth and Junior Cheer teams which means double the training for her (double the driving for me). She now trains Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and four hours on Sundays. If we aren't home we are at the gym...
9. The crop farmers at home grow many different crops... here there is only one crop... WHEAT. And I can see why. The sunny and dry fall weather is just perfect for it; they are just finishing up the final crop harvests now. So passing a few tractors on the road is definitely a good sign of fall.
10. Hockey – Football – Nascar Chase for the cup. Need I say more?



This weekend we are off to the mountains for camping.  I am not sure why we are heading west… Maybe Reg doesn’t remember what happened last time we camped in the mountains in September???? Anyway, I am looking forward to it. Just going to make sure we are prepared this time! So the parka’s, hats and mitts will be packed!  Furnace WORKS and we are fully stocked with warm sleeping bags and hot chocolate.  Bring on the Snow! We are all pretty excited for Casey's first camping trip so should be a great weekend! We are camping with Al and his family so will have lots of kiddies around to play with the puppy! I decided this was a good weekend for campfire chilli so at least the cooking will be easy! I am going to take my camera and work on taking some shots of ‘nature’. I will post pictures when we come back! I will also get some pictures of Casey posted. It is amazing how much she has grown in the last few weeks! Today is her second set of vaccination shots so I am feeling very sad for her… hope it goes okay.

I wish...

I wish…
We would win the lottery.   Just enough to live comfortably (not lavishly… just comfortably) and enough to fly all of our family all out for a visit.

I wish....
I had more time... time to do all the things I want to, not just the things I have to.

I wish...
Cleaning fairies would show up when I go to bed at night and are finished when I get up in the morning, and once a week they bring the laundry fairies.

I wish...
Cheer practice was closer to home so I didn’t spend so much time driving back and forth.

I wish...
I would lose 50 pounds and still be able to eat whatever I want.

I wish...
Roxy would slow down on the growing up, I am not ready yet.

I wish...
The basement would be finished without Reg killing himself working so hard on it.

I wish...
I had enough vacation time to allow us to see family and friends AND go somewhere warm (guess I would also need enough money).

I wish...
Casey would magically become house trained, and learn that she shouldn’t chew carpet, furniture, laptops, electrical outlets, feet and the bongo drums.

I wish...
People would stop being rude to each other, what ever happened to the Golden Rule?

But most of all, I wish that someone finds a cure for cancer.

I love LONG weekends!

I think all weekends should be long ones!   I never seem to get enough done on a regular weekend... it's almost as if by Sunday afternoon I am just getting the list of must do's completed and then realize I don't have time for the things I'd like to do!   So when a long weekend rolls around I always look forward to getting around to the things I'd like to do!    We had a big decision to make for our weekend plans too... should we go camping (we had to deal with snow last Labour Day weekend camping...hmmm)?   Or stick around and get stuff done around the house?  Or be Okotokian's and participate in the weekend of fun here?   What to choose???  What to choose???   Well, here is how the weekend played out...

Friday night - Reg and I went to the Okotoks Pro Rodeo with James, Janet and Michael.   It was my first rodeo and I had a good time.   I have to say there were plenty of cowboys to keep the ladies occupied!   And I'm sure the boys had plenty of Rodeo Queens to look at!   My favourite event was the 'wild horse race' which is basically a race between 5 teams of 4 men trying to saddle and ride a wild horse.   They also run a wild pony race with kids!  So funny to watch!    Roxy decided to forgo the rodeo and stay home with her puppy.   I must say she is taking excellent care of Casey!   She is really taking this seriously and has done a fantastic job so far.   We are very proud of her!

Saturday - I decided to sign up for a course on using my camera so I could move away from relying on the automatic settings.   It was a great learning experience!   I want to learn so much more and will have to put it all to practice.    When I came back from Calgary we met James, Janet and Michael downtown Okotoks at the Chilli Cook-off.   Its a pretty cool set up that they have...  local ranchers supply the meat for the contestants and then to taste the chilli you pay a $5 donation and then you can cast your vote on your favourite.   All the funds raised goes towards a local charity.   The boys are convinced that we should enter next year.   If you ask me, I'd rather just taste the chilli!   We took Casey with us and she sure had her share of attention.   Lucky Reg was surrounded by the Rodeo Queens gushing over Casey!   The day was absolutely gorgeous!   So we all decided to spend the rest of the afternoon on the rooftop patio at Rylie's Cattle Barn.   It's a pretty neat place to enjoy a cool beverage on a hot and sunny day!  

Sunday - Janet makes horse blankets as a home business and was asked to make the blankets for the Canadian National Equestrian Team.   These blankets will only be worn when they are representing Canada... which will mean they will parade them in the Olympics!!!!  OMG!!!  She was honoured to make them and I am honoured to know her!   Before she delivered them however she wanted to take some pictures of them.. so naturally we went over to their place to take pictures too!   Roxy also had to opportunity to take a quick ride on Boots (Janet's show horse) and enjoyed every minute of it!   Here are some pictures...

Boots posing as a Canadian Equestrian Team Member!  

He really was not impressed with the photo shoot at all.

Roxy enjoying a ride on Boots!

On Sunday night we sat down and watched the race... Junior had a good run going but didn't finish well.  It was a decent enough race though and worth the watch.  

Monday - hmmm... we really didn't get much done this weekend did we?  LOL.    Well, it was time to get some stuff done around the house...  Reg continued to organize and clean the garage and I must say it is coming along nicely!   Roxy went to the movies with some friends and I did some baking and then went into work for a few hours.   It was a good end to a great long weekend.   Did we get many things crossed off on the LIST?   Heck no... but had a good weekend regardless.

Here are some pictures of Casey.   She had her first vet checkup on Thursday and is very healthy.   She is still learning the potty thing and I am sure it will take awhile.   Just need to be patient!  She also wants to eat everything she can get in her mouth.   I do mean everything... rocks, mulch, leaves, grass, feet, ankles, pants... everything.   She is now 8 weeks old!  Her personality is starting to develop and she can be really funny when she wants to be!   She can also be very, very sweet when she wants to be and that just makes your heart melt enough to forget the rest!    Our neighbours just adopted a golden retriever... and he is HUGE!   Casey tries to play with him but so far he really doesn't want to have anything to do with her.  Yesterday she was being her usual cute self and didn't realize he was lifting his leg for a pee and she was standing right in the line of fire!   Poor thing had to have a sponge bath! 

Casey playing with her favourite toys!

Nap Time!

So we start another week of work, cheer and school!   I wonder what this week will bring to us?   Hope you all enjoyed your long weekend, there simply isn't enough of them!

Our Newest Family Member

Roxy has been aching for a dog... and I mean ACHING.   To be honest, Reg and I have too.   So, we looked for a reputable breeder and found one pretty close to home.   We suprised Roxy with a visit to see the fresh puppies (about 3.5 weeks old) and decided to put a deposit down on a female yellow puppy.   The breeder lets them go home between 7 and 8 weeks old so it seemed like FOREVER until our girl would be old enough!   Roxy read anything and everything on raising and training a puppy.  We went shoping to buy the essentials to help our puppy make a smooth transition into our home.  We 'puppy - proofed' the house so our puppy would be safe.   And then we waited... and waited... and waited.    Finally, on Monday August 31st we were able to bring our puppy home!

So, without further delay let me introduce... Casey!

soo cute!   here are a few more....

sleeping puppies must be the cutest thing in the world!

uh oh!   that looks like Roxy's favourite flip flops!   Not a chew toy!

aw!  puppy paws!

So needless to say we are busy following the little monster around.  She chews anything she can get in her mouth.   That includes the lap top I am using right now!    So far things are going fairly well... except I think she thinks her name is NO!   Hopefully the furniture and flooring survive!

Back to School!

So, my baby started Grade Six on Monday *** GASP ***.  Can you believe it?   I am still struggling with it. We started the morning with a Mom-Daughter breakfast at Cora's and talked about Grade Six and what it means to her. Roxy is hoping that Grade Six is more challenging than Grade Five and hopes she gets more homework. This is the part of our conversation where my mind started to wander.... is she ours?  Perhaps there was a mix-up at the Hospital???   She is also excited that this will be her last year of Elementary School and is looking forward to the opportunities that being in the oldest grade will afford her.   She says "Did you know they let the kids in Grade Six work in the office?"   They can hone their customer service skills, telephone etiquette and leadership skills.  She is really hoping she is chosen to be an office helper!   There was also a lot of talk about what class she is in, are her buddies in the same class?   Did she get the teacher she wanted?   Well since today is Wednesday I can share the answer is NO.   Her friends are all in the other classes and she got a brand new teacher due to another Grade Six teacher going on Mat Leave. She was not at all impressed when I left school Monday morning but by Tuesday night she was happy with her teacher and her class.   I'm thinking this is a good thing!

Pretty grown up, huh.   She nixed the traditional backpack and instead chose a more grown up messenger bag.   Okay, confession time... This picture was not taken on the first day of school... I did take pictures on the first day but for some bizarre reason I had removed my memory card and had not put it back in the camera.  So needless to say I had to do a "re-shoot" of the first day of school pics on day 2.   She noted that her outfit was 'way cuter' on day one. She is still hoping for cooler weather to wear her new super cool clothes!   I am quite pleased that the Fall here tends to be dry and sunny.   The warm is a bonus!

Well, I guess I have to start somewhere...

I know I want to blog.. I have wanted to for awhile. And if you think about it, it makes sense for me to blog. I read so many awesome blogs and I know that I can do it too! The benefits are obvious... It will give our family and friends a look into our life here and keep everyone up to date with what is going on in the Cog's Family. Not to mention a creative outlet for me! SO, if it makes so much sense I must ask myself "why did I set up this blog months ago and have yet to write one measly little post?" I had good intentions and I still do! But... and its a big BUT... I don't want to start and then not keep it up. Add to that I don't want to write anything till the blog itself is *perfect*. How can I possibly publish an unpolished product? And what will I write about that people will acctually WANT to read? What if I am boring? What if nobody reads it? Unreasonable to expect perfection from the start? Yeah, I guess it is. I know on a cerebral level that there must be a 'start' to everything... and if you never ever start then you can't be successful! The other side of that is if I never start no one will know that I failed. What makes me so afraid to fail that I wont even start? I tend to think that I am a procrastinator (and maybe I am) but is it possible that I am afraid of failing more than my lack of motivation to get started? I am beginning to think it is possible...

Now that I really start on this journey of inner reflection... I realize that I am in serious jeopardy of not meeting my New Year's Resolutions! ***GASP*** It's nearly September! Yikes! So let me write here, for all the world to see (should they stumble across this tiny little, boring blog), the newly rejuvenated ...

New Year's Resolutions (version 2.0) 2009

1. Eat healthy and drink lots of water. Which for me means no chips or crap food that I seem to live off of. Way less sugar and processed foods! I need to choose multi-grain, whole grain, all natural foods and less processed the better. yuck.

2. Drink Less. Really this was a resolution... but at the time I wrote these we had just returned from Mexico. So I 'have' been drinking less than what I drank there! Does this mean this resolution might even be successful? OH MY!

3. Move more. hmmm... I really should start this one soon... Definitely before cheer starts or I may actually DIE.

4. Make a budget - easy, right? - and FOLLOW it. Yikes. Really need to get on this one.

5. Spend quality time with Reg and Roxy. Sounds easy right? Except that quality time does not mean watching Two and Half Men and eating Ice Cream. Snap!

6. Learn (I mean really learn) to use my awesome camera. I used to know SLR.. honest! It cant be that hard to learn again, right? Along with this is a need to better organize my digital photos... some on this laptop, some on the other, some printed, some still on the memory cards!

7. Start Scrapbooking. I really want to!!! I have bought SOOO much paper, tools, adhesives and trims and just plain stuff! (we can keep that from Reg, right?) Have I 'scrapped' one page? NOPE. Again, I think my fear that it wont be perfect is stopping me ... really must work on that! I used to be pretty creative and I think I can do it again... just need to get the first one done and then it will be easy-peasy, right?

8. Be more organized. When I think back to when I was say 25... and I compare the 'me of today' with the 'me of 25' I know I am way more organized than I was then. Like WAY more. So, if that is true then why is it I run out of Toilet Paper but have four bottles of mustard in the pantry?

9. Read more. This one I am definitely winning... I have read so much this year! Halfway thru the Shopaholic series and the Twilight Saga. Oh, and Dan Brown's new novel is in stores on September 15th! so ya, no need to focus on this one!

10. Live here... Alberta that is. Really LIVE here. That means a change in my thinking... I shouldn't call Ontario "Home" anymore. I can't whine to Reg that I have no friends or family here and how much I miss everyone. It means getting out and meeting people, making friends and really LIVING here. *sigh* this one might be the toughest one ever...

Hopefully, writing them down and 'publishing' them means that I have a higher degree of committment! I am beaming confidence here people!

Well, that's it for the first post. It's done and overwith. My blog 'virginity' is gone. It wasn't that hard. I think I can do this... I know I can. So now, unless I tell people about this little blog of mine, no one will ever, ever know about it! Hmmm... tempting! Ugh, and now I need to think about an exciting new topic for the next post!