Really it doesn't look too bad eh?
Thankfully our insurance covers all of the damage - we don't even have to pay the deductible as the accident was not our fault. Which is good... more money for Christmas shopping!!! 30.11.08
Car pictures
As promised, here are the pictures of the damage the Semi did to our car...
Really it doesn't look too bad eh?
Thankfully our insurance covers all of the damage - we don't even have to pay the deductible as the accident was not our fault. Which is good... more money for Christmas shopping!!!
Really it doesn't look too bad eh? Thankfully our insurance covers all of the damage - we don't even have to pay the deductible as the accident was not our fault. Which is good... more money for Christmas shopping!!! 
29.11.08
Mini VSN Update
So I did get recognized for one of my creations for the mini VSN... I got a Standing Ovation for this card...
How super exciting is that!!! I really didn't think that one of my cards would have been good enough for that!!! I did get a lot of great comments about this card on SplitCoastStampers though.
17.11.08
pictures coming soon
I will be adding pictures of the car and also of the awesome cards I made during the VSN weekend which was a lot of fun!
Surreal...
Surreal…
Streaking red lights filled my vision, time slowed, I remember letting out a little scream and then we were spinning into the ditch and I managed to stop the car. It really did feel like we’d been spinning for a few minutes when in reality only a few seconds had passed. My hands were still on the steering wheel and I think I had both feet on the brake pedal. The first words out of Chris were ‘honey, you handled that so well!’, then I broke down and started sobbing and I asked for the puppy – poor Gizmo was just shaking, I held him and cried and tried to calm both of us down while Chris checked the car – there was only a little damage to the back panel and a little bit on the door, tires were fine. We called the RCMP and reported the accident. The Semi didn’t stop, and no one else stopped either…
We were so very lucky that there were no injuries and that our car was driveable… it could have gone so badly… But when I think about how many almost accidents I’ve had in the last couple of days I think it was in the plan for me to be in an accident – now hopefully I won’t have too many more!
Streaking red lights filled my vision, time slowed, I remember letting out a little scream and then we were spinning into the ditch and I managed to stop the car. It really did feel like we’d been spinning for a few minutes when in reality only a few seconds had passed. My hands were still on the steering wheel and I think I had both feet on the brake pedal. The first words out of Chris were ‘honey, you handled that so well!’, then I broke down and started sobbing and I asked for the puppy – poor Gizmo was just shaking, I held him and cried and tried to calm both of us down while Chris checked the car – there was only a little damage to the back panel and a little bit on the door, tires were fine. We called the RCMP and reported the accident. The Semi didn’t stop, and no one else stopped either…
We were so very lucky that there were no injuries and that our car was driveable… it could have gone so badly… But when I think about how many almost accidents I’ve had in the last couple of days I think it was in the plan for me to be in an accident – now hopefully I won’t have too many more!
Disaster Strikes
Disaster Strikes…
Now I am a new driver, I’ve only been driving since August of this year… That said… I am a very GOOD driver – seriously, ask anyone who’s been in the car with me… They’ll tell you the same thing! I was in the right hand lane going 115 and I saw a Semi coming up pretty fast on my left hand side looked like he was going to pass us pretty quickly. He (and I don’t mean to be sexist as I don’t know what gender the driver was) was beside us and travelling faster than we were, then suddenly my window was filled with amber flashing light and BAM we were spinning.
Now I am a new driver, I’ve only been driving since August of this year… That said… I am a very GOOD driver – seriously, ask anyone who’s been in the car with me… They’ll tell you the same thing! I was in the right hand lane going 115 and I saw a Semi coming up pretty fast on my left hand side looked like he was going to pass us pretty quickly. He (and I don’t mean to be sexist as I don’t know what gender the driver was) was beside us and travelling faster than we were, then suddenly my window was filled with amber flashing light and BAM we were spinning.
Calamity Ensues...
Calamity ensues…
We’re passing Leduc when Chris says to me that he thinks he’s forgotten to pack the food box that I stayed up to pack last night… I ask if he packed the cooler and he says yes. I pull onto a range road so he can double check if the much needed box has been packed… It hasn’t… If I was mad before I was spitting mad now… If we were to go home and back it would add at least an hour to an already delayed trip, but I needed the stuff in that box!!! We went to the Safeway in Leduc – I was soooooo angry that we had to buy all of those groceries again that I couldn’t even look at Chris – I tried to remember everything I had put in the box as we were going down the aisles and then I remembered the muffins I had struggled so hard to make just perfectly the night before… I only just barely contained my tears – I’m not a very good baker, especially when it comes to muffins, and the ones I had made last night had been PERFECT! I told Chris to call my sister and let her know what happened and to apologize for the additional delay in my getting there… When we got to the till I pulled out my wallet and prepared to pay for the groceries but Chris wouldn’t let me pay, he said that it was his fault that we had to buy them again so he would pay for it. I took some Advil for the head splitting stress headache I was getting and we continued towards Red Deer and Linden beyond.
We’re passing Leduc when Chris says to me that he thinks he’s forgotten to pack the food box that I stayed up to pack last night… I ask if he packed the cooler and he says yes. I pull onto a range road so he can double check if the much needed box has been packed… It hasn’t… If I was mad before I was spitting mad now… If we were to go home and back it would add at least an hour to an already delayed trip, but I needed the stuff in that box!!! We went to the Safeway in Leduc – I was soooooo angry that we had to buy all of those groceries again that I couldn’t even look at Chris – I tried to remember everything I had put in the box as we were going down the aisles and then I remembered the muffins I had struggled so hard to make just perfectly the night before… I only just barely contained my tears – I’m not a very good baker, especially when it comes to muffins, and the ones I had made last night had been PERFECT! I told Chris to call my sister and let her know what happened and to apologize for the additional delay in my getting there… When we got to the till I pulled out my wallet and prepared to pay for the groceries but Chris wouldn’t let me pay, he said that it was his fault that we had to buy them again so he would pay for it. I took some Advil for the head splitting stress headache I was getting and we continued towards Red Deer and Linden beyond.
Tragedy Strikes...
Tragedy Strikes…
We almost get into an accident while driving to the conference… a jerk in a black BMW almost rear ended us (apparently he or she didn’t like that I was doing the speed limit) and then almost sideswiped us as they passed us – and then had the gumption to give me the finger…
The conference was pretty good – and I had no trouble staying awake with only having had a little over 3 hours of sleep… I told Chris to pick me up at 3:30 and we could leave straight from the conference and maybe make it to Linden a little earlier that I had told my sister I would arrive. The conference ended a little after 3, so I stood outside with a co-worker and chatted for awhile… I looked at my watch and it was about ten minutes past when Chris said he’d be there and those of you who know my husband know that ten minutes late is in his mind actually five minutes early… LOL but my cell phone was dead and thankfully my co-worker offered me the use of his phone because I didn’t have change for the pay phone. The news was not good – Chris was still playing Tetris with all of the stuff that needed to go into the car and hadn’t even left the house yet… he promised to pick me up in 45 minutes… I thought to myself 4:30 is still when I would have been able to leave if I had been in the office today so that should be ok. My co-worker offered to wait with me for half an hour… 4:20 came and my co-worker had to leave but I figured it would only be another ten minutes and I still had a Steven King book to read in my purse (Duma Key – it’s a skeeery book once you reach the halfway point). I read for about 10 minutes looking out the front door every 5 minutes… He was LATE… LATER and LATEST!!!! It was about 4:30PM when I decided I would take a little walk outside – we were at a golf course and it had a really pretty pond that had a good view of the road. I watched some otter-type critters swim and dive and by about quarter to five my hands were freezing and I was getting very MAAAAAAAAAD!! Chris finally showed up at 5:15 and said the puppy needed to pee… Luckily for us, right next to the golf course was a dog park – where for the first time Gizmo lifted a leg to pee instead of crouching.
We almost get into an accident while driving to the conference… a jerk in a black BMW almost rear ended us (apparently he or she didn’t like that I was doing the speed limit) and then almost sideswiped us as they passed us – and then had the gumption to give me the finger…
The conference was pretty good – and I had no trouble staying awake with only having had a little over 3 hours of sleep… I told Chris to pick me up at 3:30 and we could leave straight from the conference and maybe make it to Linden a little earlier that I had told my sister I would arrive. The conference ended a little after 3, so I stood outside with a co-worker and chatted for awhile… I looked at my watch and it was about ten minutes past when Chris said he’d be there and those of you who know my husband know that ten minutes late is in his mind actually five minutes early… LOL but my cell phone was dead and thankfully my co-worker offered me the use of his phone because I didn’t have change for the pay phone. The news was not good – Chris was still playing Tetris with all of the stuff that needed to go into the car and hadn’t even left the house yet… he promised to pick me up in 45 minutes… I thought to myself 4:30 is still when I would have been able to leave if I had been in the office today so that should be ok. My co-worker offered to wait with me for half an hour… 4:20 came and my co-worker had to leave but I figured it would only be another ten minutes and I still had a Steven King book to read in my purse (Duma Key – it’s a skeeery book once you reach the halfway point). I read for about 10 minutes looking out the front door every 5 minutes… He was LATE… LATER and LATEST!!!! It was about 4:30PM when I decided I would take a little walk outside – we were at a golf course and it had a really pretty pond that had a good view of the road. I watched some otter-type critters swim and dive and by about quarter to five my hands were freezing and I was getting very MAAAAAAAAAD!! Chris finally showed up at 5:15 and said the puppy needed to pee… Luckily for us, right next to the golf course was a dog park – where for the first time Gizmo lifted a leg to pee instead of crouching.
Chaos...
Chaos…
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was going to Linden this weekend to participate in a Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) at my sister’s house with my mom, sister, Yvonne, Cobi and Joni. Chris would be going on to Calgary with Gizmo to spend the weekend with his parents.
The fun all started on Thursday night as I was heading to pick up a craft order we were almost T-boned by this truck who was trying to see past a mini-van – luckily I was able to swerve into an unoccupied lane. Until 8 PM we were rushing around to get groceries, buy my sisters birthday gift and get home so I could prepare all of the things I needed to bring for the weekend. The VSN weekend was going to be a potluck weekend so when I got home I put my pumpkin in the oven to roast – I was making my (now famous) creamy pumpkin soup! And then the phone rang… it was our friend Chris A. who told us that the flat screen TV we wanted was on sale at Future Shop and that the sale was ending TONIGHT and if we wanted the TV he could pick us up in his van and take us there! We thought for about a minute and decided that yes we could afford the TV – I left my pumpkin roasting in the oven and we all went to Future Shop… It only took an hour or so, and we came home with a BIG 40” flat screen TV! I told my Chris that it was his Christmas present… and Birthday present… and Anniversary present… for the next 2 years!!! LOL!
My pumpkin was ready (more than ready) when we got home and I quickly made my pumpkin soup and put the meatloaf for dinner in the oven (it was already 10PM but we were hungry and I didn’t want to refreeze the ground turkey) I made gorgeous looking muffins (a small feat for me) and some awesome coleslaw to take with us for VSN. By now it was after 11 and we sat down for a quick dinner… Chris stayed up until 2AM packing his stuff for the trip and trying to find and download music for my sister’s birthday present – we got her a new CD/Cassette player with MP3 capabilities and I wanted to give her a CD that had the songs that were #1 on the Billboard on her birth date on various years throughout the years.
While Chris was busy trying to find and download music I was madly trying to make packing decisions for what craft stuff to bring down for VSN… Those who know me and have been in my house know that I have A LOT of craft stuff!! Narrowing it down and then packing it up was a huge challenge… I ended up packing a large suitcase, a duffel bag and a smallish flat Rubbermaid container with Craft stuff… By now it was almost 3AM, Chris had gone to bed at 2… I moved on to packing the food in the kitchen and making a list of stuff that Chris would have to pack into the cooler the next afternoon.
By the time I was finished it was almost 4AM and the front entrance way was filled with suitcases, containers, computer bags etc… I sank into bed and didn’t wake up until almost 7:30 the next morning – luckily I was going to a conference that day and it didn’t start until 9!!
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was going to Linden this weekend to participate in a Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) at my sister’s house with my mom, sister, Yvonne, Cobi and Joni. Chris would be going on to Calgary with Gizmo to spend the weekend with his parents.
The fun all started on Thursday night as I was heading to pick up a craft order we were almost T-boned by this truck who was trying to see past a mini-van – luckily I was able to swerve into an unoccupied lane. Until 8 PM we were rushing around to get groceries, buy my sisters birthday gift and get home so I could prepare all of the things I needed to bring for the weekend. The VSN weekend was going to be a potluck weekend so when I got home I put my pumpkin in the oven to roast – I was making my (now famous) creamy pumpkin soup! And then the phone rang… it was our friend Chris A. who told us that the flat screen TV we wanted was on sale at Future Shop and that the sale was ending TONIGHT and if we wanted the TV he could pick us up in his van and take us there! We thought for about a minute and decided that yes we could afford the TV – I left my pumpkin roasting in the oven and we all went to Future Shop… It only took an hour or so, and we came home with a BIG 40” flat screen TV! I told my Chris that it was his Christmas present… and Birthday present… and Anniversary present… for the next 2 years!!! LOL!
My pumpkin was ready (more than ready) when we got home and I quickly made my pumpkin soup and put the meatloaf for dinner in the oven (it was already 10PM but we were hungry and I didn’t want to refreeze the ground turkey) I made gorgeous looking muffins (a small feat for me) and some awesome coleslaw to take with us for VSN. By now it was after 11 and we sat down for a quick dinner… Chris stayed up until 2AM packing his stuff for the trip and trying to find and download music for my sister’s birthday present – we got her a new CD/Cassette player with MP3 capabilities and I wanted to give her a CD that had the songs that were #1 on the Billboard on her birth date on various years throughout the years.
While Chris was busy trying to find and download music I was madly trying to make packing decisions for what craft stuff to bring down for VSN… Those who know me and have been in my house know that I have A LOT of craft stuff!! Narrowing it down and then packing it up was a huge challenge… I ended up packing a large suitcase, a duffel bag and a smallish flat Rubbermaid container with Craft stuff… By now it was almost 3AM, Chris had gone to bed at 2… I moved on to packing the food in the kitchen and making a list of stuff that Chris would have to pack into the cooler the next afternoon.
By the time I was finished it was almost 4AM and the front entrance way was filled with suitcases, containers, computer bags etc… I sank into bed and didn’t wake up until almost 7:30 the next morning – luckily I was going to a conference that day and it didn’t start until 9!!
2.11.08
Leek Soup Adventure
So I've been on kind of a health kick lately... I'm trying to get rid of some weight. I'm trying to make it a lifestyle change instead of a Diet (I think that 4 letter word is worse than a lot of swear words out there!).
Anyway I've been trying my hand at soup making! I've made a really good brocolli cheddar one and an incredible pumpkin soup so far.
Today's soup is going to be Leek soup... I've NEVER used leeks in anything... but I've seen them around at the store and at the farmer's market too... they look like huge green onions...
I talked to my (AWESOME) mom about how to make it and what ingredients I should use... she always gives super supper advice... (lol)
So today at lunch I made leek soup!! It turned out really well, so here is the recipe I created!!
Ingredients:
3 large leeks chopped (use only the white and light green)
1 small onion chopped
2 tbsp butter (or oil or margarine)
6 small-medium potatoes peeled and diced (small chunks)
340 grams frozen cauliflower (microwave for 3-4 minutes)
2- tetrapacks (900 ml each) reduced sodium chicken stock
1 tsp sage
1 tbsp garlic (dehydrated)
1 tbsp red onion (dehydrated)
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup 18% cream (could reduce this to 2% milk or increase it to heavy cream depending on taste)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Directions:
Cook cauliflower and put into food processor, add some chicken stock and puree, set this mixture aside. Boil diced potatoes in small amount of water (just enough to cover them), drain and set aside. Pour remaining stock into large pot or stockpot and heat to almost boiling, add spices. Saute onions in 1 tbsp of butter until softened (remove before they carmalize) and add to pot. Saute leeks in remaining butter until softened (do not let them brown) and add to pot. Add cauliflower mixture and stir. Let the soup boil for 20-30 minutes. Use hand blender or food processor to puree soup mixture until no lumps remain. Taste soup and add any salt and pepper as needed. Add cream and puree for another minute. Taste soup and make any additions of salt/pepper. Add diced potatoes and simmer soup for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
(70 calories per 1 cup serving)
1.11.08
New Lease and vet visit
So today was a busy morning... we got up early to clean the house as our Landlady was dropping by to renew our lease and do an inspection. I actually cleaned my craft room ... I know mom... a total shocker... I have carpet in there!!!! Can you believe it?? Anyway Chris did a great job cleaning too... I'm so luck to have such a wonderful husband!!
We renewed our lease and she didn't even raise the rent on us!!! How totally awesome is that?? She met Gizmo and loves him too... he was pretty stoked about her too!!
We had a vet appointment for Gizmo to get his shots at noon, which we barely made because our landlady likes to chat... but Gizmo is in perfect puppy health... he weighs 4.5 Kilo's and has good lean physique... Our vet was impressed I think! I was a super happy puppy mama!! He was such a good boy - although he did give me the most comical look when she took his temperature... it was like... 'HEY! Why are you letting her do THAT?????' He was even good for the vaccine for kennel cough which gets sprayed up the nose....
After the vet we dropped Gizmo off at home and went out for lunch - I picked Red Robin's because I really wanted a GOOD hamburger - I got the bunless wonder (my name for it) its basically a salad with a hamburger patty on the top... it was good though!! Had a couple of Chris' french fries - so yummy!
Went to superstore to get some groceries... man was it packed!!! we only had a small basket so we went to the express line ... yeah thats an oxymoron!! But it was a really good oportunity to people watch - which I love to do!! Its amazing to me to see all of these different cultures and how they handle a common task like grocery shopping or standing in line...
We came home and I totally plan on spending the rest of the day just chilling!
We renewed our lease and she didn't even raise the rent on us!!! How totally awesome is that?? She met Gizmo and loves him too... he was pretty stoked about her too!!
We had a vet appointment for Gizmo to get his shots at noon, which we barely made because our landlady likes to chat... but Gizmo is in perfect puppy health... he weighs 4.5 Kilo's and has good lean physique... Our vet was impressed I think! I was a super happy puppy mama!! He was such a good boy - although he did give me the most comical look when she took his temperature... it was like... 'HEY! Why are you letting her do THAT?????' He was even good for the vaccine for kennel cough which gets sprayed up the nose....
After the vet we dropped Gizmo off at home and went out for lunch - I picked Red Robin's because I really wanted a GOOD hamburger - I got the bunless wonder (my name for it) its basically a salad with a hamburger patty on the top... it was good though!! Had a couple of Chris' french fries - so yummy!
Went to superstore to get some groceries... man was it packed!!! we only had a small basket so we went to the express line ... yeah thats an oxymoron!! But it was a really good oportunity to people watch - which I love to do!! Its amazing to me to see all of these different cultures and how they handle a common task like grocery shopping or standing in line...
We came home and I totally plan on spending the rest of the day just chilling!
Halloween
It was our first Halloween in the house (we've always been in appartment buildings before) and it was a real TREAT for me to be able to get dressed up (chris too) and hand out candies to all the cute little kids!
We did get some teenagers too - but almost all of them made at least some effort at a costume and were polite... a lot of them told me they liked my costume too!
Chris was a pirate and I was a witch - Chris looked really good in his costume - so handsome!! I made my costume a couple of years ago and really love wearing it - probably because it has lots of glittery bits to it!! I wore an auburn long wig with bangs and laughed when Gizmo started barking at me... well at least until I told him that he was a silly puppy - he realized it was me and started wagging his tail, but he was still growly barking too... and that made me laugh even more!!
We had about 80 kids come to our door and we ran out of candy at 9 - so we turned off the plastic pumpkins (great dollar store buy 2 years ago) and took them inside, turned out all of the lights and - at 9:30 went to bed... There was a loud party or something going on somewhere on our block but otherwise it was really quite nice.
I woke up the next morning , sort of expecting to find our house or car egged or TP'd but I was pleasantly surprized that everything was good.
Overall - I am super thrilled at the turnout and the fact that we had NO candy left over! A fact that is really good considering I am trying to get rid of my excess weight while trying to get pregnant too...
I'm looking forward to next year - maybe I'll have my own little bundle of joy to dress up as a pumpkin??
We did get some teenagers too - but almost all of them made at least some effort at a costume and were polite... a lot of them told me they liked my costume too!
Chris was a pirate and I was a witch - Chris looked really good in his costume - so handsome!! I made my costume a couple of years ago and really love wearing it - probably because it has lots of glittery bits to it!! I wore an auburn long wig with bangs and laughed when Gizmo started barking at me... well at least until I told him that he was a silly puppy - he realized it was me and started wagging his tail, but he was still growly barking too... and that made me laugh even more!!
We had about 80 kids come to our door and we ran out of candy at 9 - so we turned off the plastic pumpkins (great dollar store buy 2 years ago) and took them inside, turned out all of the lights and - at 9:30 went to bed... There was a loud party or something going on somewhere on our block but otherwise it was really quite nice.
I woke up the next morning , sort of expecting to find our house or car egged or TP'd but I was pleasantly surprized that everything was good.
Overall - I am super thrilled at the turnout and the fact that we had NO candy left over! A fact that is really good considering I am trying to get rid of my excess weight while trying to get pregnant too...
I'm looking forward to next year - maybe I'll have my own little bundle of joy to dress up as a pumpkin??
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