Poor Kiwi

The night before last we put Kiwi in her kennel for the night and usually she settles right in but that night she seemed restless. We could hear her tags jingling from the bedroom so finally I went to check on her. From what I could see it looked like she had just pushed her blanket to the front of her kennel. I figured I would straighten it out for her and when I grabbed it it was wet. I thought, oh no, she peed in her kennel, she hasn't done that since she was just a wee pup. Then I looked a little closer and thought maybe she had had diarrhea, but on closer inspection it was her half digested supper. I let her out of the kennel to clean it up and she proceeded to throw up on the kitchen floor two more times. I figured I shouldn't just put her back in her bed for the night if she was going to be throwing up so I locked her in the bathroom. When I got up in the morning she had thrown up two more times during the night. I hoped she was okay, but as the day progressed she seemed fine. She was playful, she ate some food, she went to the bathroom (outside), she seemed fine. We were just baffled as to what may have caused this. After talking to some clients at work they all figured she had gotten into chocolate somewhere. I just had no idea how she would have done that. Last night she was whining at the couch the way she does when one of her toys gets under too far for her to reach. I pulled the couch out to get it for her and found the culprit. Sometime since we got back from Swift Current she had chewed and eaten part of a tennis ball. In her first pile of throw up there had been some little black bits of something and I wondered what she had eaten, but didn't think much of it until I saw this ball that was half missing. She is pretty good about not tearing toys apart but we know now for sure that she is not allowed to have tennis balls unsupervised!

I would like to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but I just don't know if I have it in me to sit through a 166 minute long movie. It has been a while since there have been any movies I would like to see, but this one seems quite unique, I just didn't realize that it is almost 3 hours long! I think the last time I saw a movie that long was Lord of the Rings. I did get a free movie pass for Christmas from one of my coworkers, I might just have to go see it!

Christmas 'n Stuff

It has come and gone for another year, Christmas that is. Always so much build up to it and now as an adult it's just not that exciting. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy it, but Christmas is for kids. It's fun to watch the little ones get so excited about opening presents and playing with each toy like it's the greatest one of all. It was a good Christmas. We decided a couple of months ago that it wouldn't be too bad to host my family this year. It just happened to be everyone's year to be home, so we had 16 adults and 4 children (under the age of 5) in our house. I think my biggest concern leading up to that day was cooking the turkey. I wanted to make sure it went into the oven early enough that it would be done on time, but not so early that it would be cooked way too soon and be dry. We cooked a 19.5lb turkey (stuffed) and it was done in 4 1/2 hours. Take note! I know every oven is different and I think different turkeys cook differently depending on water content and whatnot. From what I had read 4 1/2 to 3/4 would be enough for a 20lb stuffed turkey. But a lot of people I talked to kept saying 20 minutes per pound. Which worked out to more like 7 hours. Finally I figured I would put it in by 11am and hope that it would be done by 4:30pm, and it was done when we checked it at 3:30pm. We put it back in on low heat and surprisingly it didn't even dry out too much. Everyone seemed to like my stuffing too :) After a good visit and a quick cleanup we were off to Swift Current the next morning. We had a nice visit there and were filled with lots of tasty foods. I think my favorite gift that I received for Christmas was a new wallet. I first saw this brand of wallets when we were on holidays in Calgary in the summer. I hummed and hawed over them and decided I didn't need it. Then when we went to Dutch Growers I saw them there but again decided I didn't need it, though I really liked them. Then somehow my mother-in-law managed to find one in Swift Current and got it for me. I think it's very cute and it is big enough to fit all my cards and stuff in it, but it's slimmer and actually fits in my purse better than my old one. I got other things, but I think that was the neatest gift for me. :) If you would like to see some pictures from our Christmas, Jay has posted some on his blog.

Ice Tower

Last winter we noticed 'ice trees' growing between our house and our neighbours house. We realized that they formed because of the condensation dripping from the exhaust pipes from ours and our neighbour's garage heaters. This year when we built a fence we did what we could with the little bit of space that we have available, but our exhaust pipe drips directly on top of the fence. The neighbours drips just beside it on the sidewalk. We noticed an ice buildup on the fence but assumed that since there is almost always hot air blowing out of the pipe that it would never freeze right to the pipe. On Sunday when I was out shovelling I noticed that it had indeed frozen right to the pipe. It was one solid mass of ice. I chipped away at it for a while with a shovel then followed Jason's smart advice to try a hammer. That worked much quicker and I was able to break off a chunk of ice about three times as big as the one in the picture. However, there was still a plug of ice right in the pipe that I couldn't chip off. My first thought was to try a hairdrier. We don't have a heat gun or torch with which to melt it. The blow drier was all but useless because they suck in the outside air and warm it a few degrees which was still below freezing and not able to melt the ice. Jason finally suggested trying to pour hot water down the pipe to melt the snow. I felt rather silly getting up on a ladder with a kettle full of hot water to pour down there but it worked. I was finally able to chip the ice out of the pipe. Now we know that we have to keep an eye on it. The picture above was taken today, Wednesday, only three days after I got rid of the last chunk of ice. I hope these cold temperatures take a hike! I am glad to hear that the forecast is calling for -2C in Swift Current on Saturday. That will be our southern destination holiday for this winter. In the mean time I will take out my aggressions on the ice tower next to our house every couple of days :)

Crazy News

I was just reading an article on the CBC news website that said that Burger King is coming out with a men's body spray. It is called Flame and (in their words) combines the scent of seduction with a hint of flame broiled meat. Now, call me crazy but what woman in her right mind would find that sexy? It should be a body spray for women (not that any of us would wear it). At least that way it would be the men attracted to women who smell like meat and not other guys that smell like meat :P

Another story that caught my attention was from Milan. The authorities there seized 40kg of contraband beluga caviar. Not knowing what they should do with it, someone suggested donating it to local charities and homeless shelters. So this Christmas the homeless are going to be eating two to four times the amount of high quality caviar that chefs typically serve to wealthy diners. I think that's great!

T - minus one week

It's hard to believe Christmas is only a week away! I still don't feel overly Christmasy. I have done all the typical activities that usually help get me feeling Christmasy. These things include going to the Festival of Trees, The Enchanted Forest, baking, decorating the house, watching the movie Elf, getting together with friends, to name a few. I guess we will get together with family next Monday then again on Christmas day and then on Boxing Day. Maybe that will make it feel more Christmasy.

We had an awesome supper out Monday night at The Granary with Karen and Levi. Arleen and Arlen were supposed to join us but both of their cars died on them so unfortunately it was supper for four instead of six. It was a great yummy supper and the company was great too!

Then Tuesday at work my coworkers and I exchanged gifts and had some Christmas goodies. Last night was our small group Christmas get together. Again, lots of good food. I had a bit of a tummy ache last night. I really need to learn to pace myself. Or be hypnotized into not liking sweets....that might be an option.

This weekend is fairly low key. I get to go for a massage that I feel like I desperately need. I have had a busy last couple of months at work and I feel overdue for a massage. I hope it's good...it's with a person I have never been to. Monday we are heading over to mom and dad's for Chinese food supper and our family gift exchange. After that, one more day of work then it's Christmas eve!

In the mean time I guess I have to clean the house since we are hosting Christmas dinner this year (14 adults and 4 children). We will need to get some groceries and I will need to figure out which stuffing recipe I would like to use this year. Growing up we never had home made stuffing. When we went to gramma and grampa's in Calgary gramma would make it, but otherwise it was always stovetop stuffing with our turkey dinner. I like stovetop but home made is SO good, mmm!

Jeans

A little over a year ago I found a great pair of jeans at Mark's Work Wearhouse. They are Levi's and after being worn for a year they are starting to show some signs of wear. They are the most comfy jeans I may have ever found. I really wish I would have bought about five pairs of them when I found these ones. Last time I checked MWW they did not have the same style of Levi's. These jeans are just the perfect fit. They are boot cut, and they have a lower waist, but not ultra low rise so my bum hangs out. I have bought jeans since and they are okay, but they just aren't these jeans.....So don't mind me if I wear these ultra comfy jeans in place of dressier pants because they are just too comfy!

Perspective

I think it's crazy that I just looked at the weather forecast for the next few days and thought to myself that -20 on Wednesday sounds pretty warm. It's only been 2 days of -45 windchills, but it is already wearing on me. I have hardly left the house since Friday evening. I have a feeling that I might have a lot of cancellations/no shows this week. Seems no one else wants to venture out either.

Have a holly jolly Christmas

I have made some pretty great strides this week toward being ready for Christmas. I am now completely done my shopping (including a birthday present for my sister AND my mom) and done wrapping all the presents. I am a little disappointed that we can't (or I am afraid to) put our presents under our tree this year. Thankfully Kiwi has not eaten the tree or knocked it down. She does go sniff and sometimes taste different ornaments but she hasn't pulled any off. I have a feeling that she would be interested in eating the paper off of the presents if we left her alone with them.

I also got another type of Christmas 'baking' done. I made cuban lunches. I am really not sure why they are called that. My mom suggested that there used to be a chocolate bar named that, so maybe that explains it. They are little chocolates with crushed peanuts and crushed ripple chips in them. They are so good and I it is a good thing that I managed to put most of them in the freezer downstairs or I would have eaten more than I already have! I wouldn't mind possibly making some shortbread yet, but we will see. I already have nut bars, ginger snaps and some jam jams, and now cuban lunches. That should be enough for any entertaining that we do this Christmas season.

I am looking forward to gatherings in the next couple of weeks. Next Monday we are getting together for supper with Karen, Levi, Arleen and Arlen and going to The Granary. Mmmm, I think I might have steak. Then next Wednesday is our small group's Christmas hang out/eat/play games evening. Then on Monday the 22nd my family is getting together for a supper for my mom's birthday and we might exchange gifts from our family draw because sometimes Christmas can be hectic enough without having to do that on the 25th as well. It really is starting to feel more Christmasy around here with all the snow we have gotten lately too. However, I am NOT looking forward to the deep freeze we are headed into tomorrow :P

Get Smart

I watched Get Smart last night. I used to watch the reruns of the television version when I was a kid and overall I was not disappointed with the movie. I honestly expected even a little more cheesiness than was in the movie, but there was definitely enough cheese. The one thing that I sort of struggled with was the pairing of Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway as Maxwell Smart and Agent 99. They both played their rolls well. I like Steve Carell a lot after getting into watching The Office and I think he was a great choice to play Maxwell Smart. I think the age difference between them just bugged me. Anne Hathaway is 26 years old and Steve Carell is 46 years old. Typically actors tend to play characters that are younger than them. Though we are never told how old either of the Get Smart characters are, they do allude to the fact that Agent 99 is older than she looks. I dunno, just sort of creeped me out to think of them as a couple.

Happy Birthday Poochie the Rockin' Dawg!

A few random thoughts

- I had one of my busiest weeks I have ever had this week. I saw 18 clients, which may not sound like much. There are some therapists that see 7 or 8 clients per day. With the way my body is feeling after this busy week, I think if I saw many more than this my arms might fall off.

- I checked out the store Bath Goddess this week. I have seen it a number of times in the past few months on my way to or from work and have wanted to stop in. I finally did and I think it is a super cool store. They sell all sorts of lotions/bath products/soaps/etc. The really neat thing is that they are all natural products and if you don't like any of their signature scents, they have a scent bar with over 200 scents and you can choose one or mix and match the scents to create your own completely custom made scent. They will then add that scent to any of their products and you have your very own custom product. They also said that you can buy one of their unscented products as a gift and give it to someone and they can come in and choose their own scent. I will definitely be back!

- I am done my Christmas shopping!

- I can't believe how cheap some people are. I had someone purchase a gift certificate from me this week then ask if they could have a receipt to claim it on their insurance. Hmmm...

- Our gate should be installed sometime within the next week or so. *crosses fingers* Finally Kiwi can run free!

- I ran into an ex-boyfriend's mom this week. She said to me, "So, are you still married?" Haha. Then she proceeded to tell me that both of her children had moved out now (they are 28 and 26ish, I think) and she said "it sucks". She was/is a very controlling person and I hope that her children are able to find some independence without her breathing down their backs 24/7.

- My inlaws were in town this week and my very thoughtful and kind mother-in-law did some Christmas baking for me. It is so appreciated :)

- I am starting to look forward to Christmas. I don't know if I have reached that really Christmasy mood that makes it so much fun. But I am getting there and it feels nice. I think last year I felt very 'bah humbug-ish' so this is a nice change.

- I am not sure we have enough chairs for 14 adults and 4 children at our family Christmas we are hosting. We may need to ask people to bring lawn chairs and their own place setting. Ha!

- Jay is a sweet, handsome, loving husband. I am so thankful to have such a good man :)

- I am looking forward to having supper out on the 15th with four good friends and my husband.

- I found the episode of The Office from last night hilarious. Such a great show! I was trying to figure out which episode was the one where Jim conditions Dwight to ask for a breath mint each time he restarts his computer. I will have to look it up. Update: Good ole Youtube, found the clip:



- This is my 700th post! Look at me go!

Jay and I both found this hilarious

see more pwn and owned pictures