Ugh. I am all full of stress, and regret, and a little bit on anxiety. I'm glad this is my last day for the week, so then I'll have the whole weekend to recharge my batteries.

I've uploaded all my picture to Flickr from the past two weeks, as well as done some of the items on my to do list, but still have plenty on there. Am desperately trying to figure out what I want to do on it, and what I can just schuck. AM OH SO Tired. I.NEED.SLEEP.

Lots of stuff running through my mind...lots of stuff to blog about, but maybe it's best that I proccess it fully before I let 'er rip.

Busy...and so Visual!

I've been having an interesting week or so since my last post. Busy as all get out.

Living in the backwoods makes for extremely long days in town when we have other things on our agendas.

Tuesdays and Thursday we do Softball w/D, and now Mondays we stay in to do Cub Scouts w/D. All of H's activities take place while I'm working btw, and that means, with one vehicle, and me needing it for work, that I have to schedule my home visits around their schedule, to allow them the easiest possible day without the least amount of wandering as I can.

Sometimes this really gets on my nerves, sometimes I can just deal with it, and consider myself grateful that we have a working vehicle.

Busy Busy...feel like my feet barely touch the ground and then I just keep running.

I love my job...and I'm hoping Mr can find something soon.

We've now got a collection of photos from home of different animals that have visited our home. A black bear, a Marten, various birds and squirrels, as well as a fox. All makes life so much fun.

I wish I could blog more, maybe next time...

I Kick Ass.

Amber,

Congratulations on your successful completion of AECE172 Aboriginal Health Safety and Nutrition. You have worked dilligently to improve your understanding of Health Safety and Nutrition and as such, have achieved the course objectives. I wish you all the best in your future studies.

83% B+

It wasn't the A I had hoped to pass with, but damned fine lookin to me anyways! I'm proud that I did not let life get in the way.

Am considering my next step. I believe my plan will be to finish my Early Childhood Educator Certification, and then from there carry on to become a Nurse. Don't know what kind yet, but that's my plan.

Now cross your fingers for me...hopefully I can find the funding to do so!

Big FInes

I'm visiting Gramma's today (and yesterday).

I'm still on my spring high. I have an overwhelming positive feeling combined with the urge to clean, sort through, and organize everything in sight.

I re-organized my filing cabinet and files at work. Now I can open the filing cabinet and actually see what it is I'm looking for. Now I can find my clients' phone numbers when I open their files. I feel wonderful for that, as it can cut down on the time my Community Nurse Consult (the other half of my program) has to dig through everything.

I got home for the weekend, and I dug out all of the warm season clothing bins (because it hit 25 here this week! :oO ) and started sorting through all of the winter clothin to put away clothes for next season, what to put into donations, and what needs mending/altering. I did that in the kids' room yesterday, and today I did mine. I also managed to re-arrange some furniture, and clean my house from top to bottom with Mr's help. What a fantastic feeling that is.

Yesterday we decided to come and visit Gramma, and have been having a wonderful time of it. Gramma's been keeping my plants here for my garden, and I'm hoping to take them home this trip, so that I can start my garden, but we shall see what happens.

Today we took the kids to the sandbar and jumped in the dunes of sand for over two hours. It was a fantasticly relaxing time.

I'm going on about how positive I'm feeling, because I don't understand it.

I guess our new little town of Clearwater does this thing every one or two years where they invite a vast number (50+) of RCMP into the town to do a three day bust of everyone for everything, but specifically looking for drug runners who cmmonly take the hwy through our town to the next province over.
We got caught doing something illegal (no, nothing sexual), and received a very large fine for doing naughty action.
After mulling over this for a few days or so, we decided to switch my cell to a local number (up until now, it had been running with a Kelowna number in case Immigration needed to contact us), and while he was on the phone with them, Mr asked them for our current account balance. Apparently I've been sorely mistaken in thinking that I was still on an unlimited plan, and now I have caused us to have an outrageous bill. *sigh*
I won't give any details on how much everything will cost, but it will require some strategic planning on our part to take care of.
After all of that, I'm still feeling rather positive. I just don't understand why. I guess it could be considered a good thing that I am not letting it get the better of me. Either that or I'm completely in denial.
We shall see...

It's Over.

Well, I'm breathing a sigh of relief, and chuckling about the whole matter. D visited the dentist, ans was told to "Get wiggling!"
The problem we thought we had, is actually being caused by two of his crowned teeth not falling out, and blocking the adult teeth beneath them. He is under strict instruction to start wiggling them until they fall out. Exactly the opposite of what we've instructed him to do, time and time again.
I'm happy to say that's it's been a very enjoyable visit. We did some shopping, visited friends, and had family over for a time. Today we bought a mattress...I'm so happy about that, I'm unsure how to say it exactly. Because of immigration laws, we were unable to bring up any of the mattresses for our bed (thankfully the kids already had good ones that we bought here in BC). In order to bring our bed set up though, Immigration required us to fumigate them and bring proof of this to the border when we crossed with it. Of course, by the time we found out about this, we had neither the funds, nor the time to do this. So...we left it in Washington w/MIL. There was a boxspring at the new house (as it used to be a B&B) and I just covered it with every blanket/comforter, and foam pad we owned to sleep on. While it's done the job for the past month, I'm ready to have a real bed.
Will be leaving this evening after dinner, which won't be too long from now...and hopefully the kids will sleep through. I'll probably be tired for work tomorrow, but I know I'll be able to catch up on sleep the rest of the week, as I'm finally finished my courses. The only thing left to do is an evaluation, and wrap-up discussions.
I keep looking in the mirror to see if I look different (other than the 10lbs I've managed to lose in the past month) because I can now consider myself educated, and tick off that box marked "Post Education"/"More than high school".
Yes, life is good...
It's going to be a busy week. D starts baseball tomorrow after school, and I have a meeting with the local MCFD (Ministry of Child & Family Development) ppl, then back to the usual. Next week I start in the Daycare, and after I get my license, I'll be moving on to two days per week. Hoping something of use opens up for Mr soon. Our first step once he gets working, is to get a second fuel-efficient vehicle. Being a one vehicle family is no longer an option, now that we live so far out. Here's to those brighter days.
The warmer weather is coming...and I'm hoping I won't see any more freak days like the one I seen on the way to work this past week....
I think all that time I spent in the depths of self pity have finally worked their way to a nice, bright shiny outlook. While we still stress about money, I'm not so concerned with the little things anymore, and that's huge. Maybe the long time coming has finally arrived.
I've got a job that I love, and the people that I work with are terrifically supportive. I work in an enjoyable atmosphere where i am well respected, and looked on as a positive addition to the community. I live in a beautiful home, where I feel comfortable (aside from the spiders coming out of the woodwork), and my family is back on it's way to functioning normally.
I'm working on enjoying the normalcy, instead of waiting for impending doom. That ability to relax and enjoy the smell of the fresh pine air, and the many bird songs floating in the windows...that's something I've waited years to do.
Maybe my turn for waiting in line is over.

Poor Lil Guy

My poor lil guy had a stomach flu for 5 days. 5 whole days of no appetite, and no energy. He didn't walk by himself, he didn't go potty by himself, he didn't feed himself. We spoon fed him, and carried him from place to place, and had the tvs set up just for him. This, unfortunately, meant a deprivation from socialization. Time out in the woods is good, but after a long weekend, we're ready for a regular routine of being in town around other folks. The added illness meant someone had to stay home with him until he felt well enough to come into town for the day.

He was running around, and asking for treats like ice cream today. Has his appetite back, but his tummy is still rumbly, so we're taking it easy on what we put into it. I felt so horrible for him, but as it was a flu, there was nothing we could do but administer Gravol & Tylenol to help him keep food down and sleep a little more comfortably.
We're back in Kelowna tonight. Arrived, went thrift shopping, and settled ourselves in. We'll be here until Monday night, as we've arranged for D to see his regular dentist (as he's still covered by mom's medical), to take a look at another possible extraction for one of his other crowns. *sigh* I'll admit that through that gloomy haze, I'm enjoying the super fast internet, and mindlessly flipping through the channels. I'm not enjoying the sounds of the traffic not too far away, and the noises from the neighbors. I don't miss city life in that way at all.
Uploading pictures here and there though, to flickr, facebook, and here. I'll get round to it all eventually.
I'm in my last week of my online course, so I need to get to that. Yay, in two week I'll have completed an online college level course. I kick ass.

Friday Fill-Ins #171

click the logo to play

And...here we go!

1. In 1992, I was 11 years old.

2. Tickling my kids always brings out laughter and smiles.

3. Do what you can,with what you have, where you are, and enjoy it while you can.

4. In a comfy, cozy bed with a huge comforter is where I'd like to be.

5. The trees and flowers are telling me that we are having some crazy weather.

6. The winter that was supposed to be an early spring that just keeps going on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to sleep early, tomorrow my plans include a nice drive down to Kelowna, and Sunday, I want to enjoy the big town, fast internet, and lots of channels on the tv!

Marten

I've been having some sleepless nights. H caught some sort of GI thing or a stomach flu, and has been miserable since Sunday eve. I didn't come in Monday as I took it as a holiday, then had to call off Tuesday because I was so dag blasted tired from being up every hour or so with H through the night. Lastnight he was feeling perky by the time I got home from work, but by the time bedtime hit he was so cranky it was nearly unbearable. I seriously just. want. sleep.

Caffeine is now my vice to make it through the day.

Mr woke me up this morning to tell me that the Marten that's been around our house had been caught in the live trap we had set out for...I don't know what other animals, but certainly not it. Couldn'tve been in there too long because I had been listening to it scamper around all night, but boy oh boy it sure was mad! By the time I rolled out of bed to go and have a peek Mr was busy gathering tools to open the trap & set it free. The poor little guy was hissing and growling up a storm because it didn't like us so close, or being caged up. With a little bit of encouragement, and some common sense caution instruction, Mr managed to let the poor thing out. It scampered away to shake it off, then came back for the dead squirrel he had originally been looking for. Eventually, he was trying to get back into our attic from our porch like he usually does, but since it was snowing, he had a rather difficult time and kept slipping back down. He kept taking rest periods though where he would gnaw on the squirrel right in front of the window. Was interesting to watch. That being said, I was kind of worried about having to get D to the truck with me to drive into town to start our day, as I was unsure of how mad he was, or whether he would attack at the first presented opportunity. Mr walked us out and got us on our way without incident.

There was a white out on the way into town, and some parts of the road were completely covered with snow. If it hadn't been for the vehicle ahead of me, I may not have been able to see the road at all. Should be an interesting drive home.

Other than being ridiculously tired, I am also suffering from outside communication withdrawal. Maybe it's because we had a weekend of visitors, but I'm really missing the ability to mindlessly flip through the channels and complain about nothing interesting being on.

Hopefully I'm just suffering from a serious case of hormones, and I can find something to tide me over until it passes, because I am really against signing up for any contract to get satellite TV at our home.

Cross your fingers and hope Mr can get a job soon, because we just can't afford another month without. I really don't want to have to drain relatives again.

Easter & Pictures!

We are having a simply wonderful weekend. We started out with my MIL popping over on Friday afternoon. The kids went all hairy canary, as she was our first overnight visitor since my cousin & her friend joined us that first weekend up at the house. It wasn't too bad. Had leftovers for dinner, as I hadn't really thought about what to have for dinner.

Saturday we headed into town at the crack of dawn (also known as our usual departure time), and made it into Kamloops by 10am. We met at Denny's for breakfast...12 of us all together. My cousin & her friend, as well as her mother, my mom & stepdad, my Uncle, MIL, the kids, and Mr, and then my good friend & his g/f joined us. After breakfast, we headed to the arcade that D had wanted to go to. Us ladyfolk dropped off the guys, and then hit the grocery stores. It's amazing how much we, as a four person family, consume. Food, toiletries, snacks, items to get us through the weekend...plus the added punch of bear spray & pellets for our pellet gun.

I had phoned my mom in the middle of the week because I had remembered that the kids would want to do an Egg hunt over the weekend. Of course, my kids & nearly every single child in the world (or so it seems) would be wanted to do one as well...so, she bought the only plastic eggs available at the store. A box of 250 plastic eggs. When she arrived in Kamloops, she hit the Dollar Store with my Uncle, and then went to my cousin's house where they managed to stuff 136 of them before giving up for the night.

After we finished up in town, we headed for Gramma's, who made us a most scrumptous layout of home made chinese food. When we finally arrived home, we hung around, getting everyone comfortable with the lay of the place before heading to bed. When we woke up, I started on breakfast, while Mr hid all of the eggs outside. By the time it warmed up enough (did I mentioned it snowed up at our place lastnight?) to go outside with the kids, it also happened to warm up enough for the Martin/weasel to come out and start theiving the eggs Mr had placed outside.

The kids had overflowing buckets by the time we finished, but they had a fabulous time. We bummed around the house all afternoon until MIL & my Uncle's departure. Then we played with the kids a bit, and took our own seperate ways. The guys & H one way, mom, D & I to Gramma's. Uploading a few pictures for now. Tuesday I'll upload more from work, as their internet is faster.

Looking forward to one more night with my family, and then back tot he grind and day after day as usual. It's interesting to show them our lifestyle, as it involves so much nothingness, and togetherness, you can feel the akward vibes radiating because we don't employ conventional Sattelite or Cable tv, or even have our internet working yet. The anticipation of "What should we do now" is in the air, all around...Trying to adjust to the relaxing lifestyle we chose when we moved up here with those folks who we involved in our hustle & bustle back in town is a bit difficult, but we're managing...besides, it's only a weekend.

There was plenty we forgot to get while we were in town, but next time we'll be heading to Kelowna, instead of having them come up to our place. We'll get it then, I suppose.

Life is good...I hope your Easter was as great as ours was!

Headed 2 Kamloops 2day. Going to meet family, friends, and try to enjoy the day in town. I've got a post in drafts at home, waiting for my modem. I've got a few things on my mind. Feeling pensive. Touching on subjects I'd rather not consider in my studies & work right now. Save that for another post. Had a friendly visitor on our porch yesterday, always nice when mother nature rears her head in reminder. Pictures 2 follow. :o)