Home Sweet Home.

After a very long train ride, I arrive to the most beautiful sunny evening. It was balmy and warm, and no one was there to meet me. :(
The train arrived early! So I started walking towards my sister's house and spotted a pay phone on main street. I called my dad, who came and picked up me. (I could have made it to my sisters in about the same amount of time)
My little niece is so grown up! I was so excited to see everyone, I was mobbed at the door by 4 or 5 siblings. Oh I here my little birdy, to be continued

Safe and sound.

 I made it to Camp Sagitawa!
It is so good to be here and back on BC soil.
  I spent the night with a dear friend Henny last night and she made me a lovely lunch for my long bus ride, out to Chetwynd.
  I've been helping with wedding prep all day and I am ready to drop.

(Sorry to everyone who was subjected to errors in the last 24 hours when trying to access my blog)

I'm leaving on a jet plane.

By the time you read this I will be BC bound!!!
  When I came out East I booked my ticket with RBC Avion points, so I had a return ticket to use up.
Turns out now is a great time!
My best est friend from Camp Sagitawa is getting married this weekend. So I'm going to stop in there and then proceed to the little hamlet I used to call home.

I'm just hoping that the Husband and Daxter can handle living together for almost two weeks. Without me to mediate or feed them, or clean up after them. Should be interesting :) I know the Husband can handle the cleaning and feeding when he wants too.

He did his first load of laundry in the history of our washer and dryer on Sunday. At 2am! I had to smile when he asked me if he could. My only thought was hopefully the upstairs people won't hear it.

Back to my trip. I will be home for almost a week. Then's back to Prince George and then flying home from there because I was able to book free VIARail train rides :)

Now I just have to decided what I am bring back with me. Maybe the crock pot, our silverware set. All my summer clothes.
Oh yeah, did I mention that we aren't moving back to B.C. this summer as we thought? Back to Plan A. Pay of debt and then move back.
  It's growing on me out here. I miss my family and friends a lot, and my car. But a city is a city. Plus we both have decent jobs.

So I should have lots to post about in the coming weeks. At least lots of photos. I will probably be offline until at least Tuesday night. Unless I snag a computer along the way.
You can be praying for me, because I'm not quite sure, how I am making all my connections or where I am staying in Prince George, but I have contacts. So hopefully I have it all sorted by the time I need to sleep.
I am arriving in P.G. around 3 pm, and I think I am taking a bus to Camp the next morning, (my other option is arrive at 4am, No thanks) Then I will get to help with wedding prep and all that lovely stuff. Hang out with new/old friends for the weekend and watch a miracle happen :) More about that later.

how (not) to do your taxes 101

• Check the mail for the third week in a row waiting for the Husband's T4's
  
• Get excited because Revenue Canada has mailed something to the Husband.
• Get home from the gym, open the mail, become frustrated because it's not T4's but be happy because it is money!
• Search email at least 3 times and check 2 other email address for login information.
• Play soothing music on Itunes.
  
• Request UID from QuickTax
•  Read a few pages in: Does my head look big in this? by Randa Abdel-Fattah while waiting for Quick Tax to load the first UID.
• Updated info, find out this is not the correct UID.
• Boil water for tea, eat a bun made by the pastor from the leftovers they dropped off.
• Login on 2nd UID, read a few more pages, Aha, this is the correct UID.
• Start writing a blog post while waiting for the UID to import last year's information.
• Pick out tea bag while waiting for pages to load.
• Figure out what determines where your permanent residence is.
• Retreive steeped tea
• Finally get to enter your T4's.
  
• Make piles of paper for the cat to lie on.
• Enter 2 T4's
• Start e-mail to MIL,
  
• Enter 2 other T4's and keep going till you hit the donations screen
  
• Look up a movie
• Moving expenses? Where are my Canada Post receipts.
  
• Look for receipts for shipping my belongings.
• Program times out. UGH
  
• Logged back in, back to the donations screen.
• Move cat off of donation papers for the tenth time.
  
• Enter all the donation information again
  
• Find out Terrace isn't listed in the Zone A 0r B for remote-ness, so no money back for that.
  
• Warning says to transfer my donations to next year because I didn't make enough for the amount I donated.
  
• Another warning - You haven't entered Spouse's info.
• Give up for the day after twittering about it.
• Receive an inquiry from Quick Tax on Twitter, reply to it and never hear anything back.
  
• Receive Husband's T4's the next day,
• Put it off until you have 3-4 hours
• Figure out how to do both of your returns at the same time.
• Husbands offers to spend $50 on your for doing his taxes too.
  
• Get stuck on screen asking for actual education receipt. 
• Go take a long bath and worry about it when it's 8 am in BC again

Saturdate

We had big plans to go to Labels and then to Value Village and Avalon Software and to Chapters and maybe a movie.
 But first we had to catch a bus, we missed the first one we wanted because the Husband needed to run and pick up his new to him Ipod, which means I get his handy me down 1gb nano (my phone has a 2 gb card, but Telus hates me)
  So we start making the ten min hike to the bus stop, and we spot it waiting.So we both start running, and I start to die half way, because I suck at running. The Husband makes it to the back of the bus as it pulls away. Which really makes me mad, like the bus driver was watching or something. The part that irks me the most is that not even 5 mins before I seen another bus stop, when he noticed this little old lady running after it. I was blown away, and then to have our bus just take off like that.. GRRR. So we decided to skip the Village Mall and go straight to V.V.   We made it there about an hour later (buses take forever here)
I was primarily looking for knitting needles and other crafting things. At first I was totally bummed out, but then I found two bins hiding under old duvets. I scored this: for all about 6.50!  I also found two huge mens sweaters that I am going to take a part and re knit. Husband found lots of shirts, and I snagged a few books :) In total we spent 70.01.
After that we made a pit stop at Chapters so I could get a Chai Latte, and then made our way to the mall to get food.
but we made it to the bank, and spent most of our lovely saturday in V.V.
   Then we went to the mall for food and perused a few shoe stores, and catch a cab home, which was over 17 dollars, so we decided the bus it is.. But I am getting a montly pass because I hate scrounging for change everytime I want to go somewhere.  Plus I just did my taxes and you can claim your passes on there. Which is always a bonus.
I do have photos but I must run, so I might upload them later.

Make-Do Mondays

Creator of Make-Do Monday's

When I look around our little nest, most everything is make do to the point where I feel like I am complaining in my head every time I start to write this post. Which is absurd, because we have been given so much and I very grateful.

 One of the items I found in laundry room was a small shelf, I knew it was there, holding empty boxes and lace curtains.  But I didn't realize it was part of an entertainment center with adjustable shelves. So I moved dragged it crossed the hallway, and it became my new clothes catch all dresser. I've wanted one for months. Good things happen when you try and fix your dryer :)

 No photos yet because the husband is sleeping.

Easter Sunday

Coming to the old rugged cross, a burden of offense on my heart.

Wanting to take part in the bread and wine,
but knowing until matters are presented to the offended, my guilt will not depart.

Please do not mistake my lack of participation for a lack of knowledge or care.

With these actions, I choose now to fully face,
the burden that He chose to bear.

My choices have left lasting marks on life,
which mirror the scars He has on His hands and feet.

So thankful I can lay my sins at the foot of the wonderful cross,
that His choices mean I am never to walk in defeat.

He took on the unimaginable, walked among the dead, forsaking His Father's face.

Cleansing the past, present, and future,
removing what divided me from forgiveness,
creating everyone an everlasting place.

From Drop Box

*written from the burden on my heart while quietly preparing my heart for worship, on Good Friday
*Photo: Daxter with my forever lilies

blessed weekend

We watched this movie at church today, and I loved it! http://blessedchristianman.blogspot.com/2009/04/its-only-friday-sundays-coming.html

My prayers were answered today, I don't want to go into details on here. Some of you know, and most of you will find out eventually.

a deluge of thoughts

 http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/

No, they are starting to escape me. Or maybe that's just my self-labeled A.D.D. kicking in. 
so here we go in point form

• I want to take an English course, because I want to learn more about this lovely language that I speak and write in. To know that I am writing properly, because I write like my father. Short and to the point. Abrupt and with poor grammar. It keeps me from sharing my thoughts because I doubt myself. I wonder if I am funny, entertaining and though provoking, or if my words betray my lack of education.
• I need to set up boundaries in my brain for this blog. (I might be repeating myself) But I want to know clearly what I can talk about here and what I can't. 
• I need to start a knitting project that I can finish and be proud of. Also I would love to take a class or learn from someone.
• I know I said in my another post that I am very short sighted. Let me revise that I am stuck in a temporary mindset. Like living on the East Coast is just for a short time. So I don't spend the time getting to know people here, because we will be leaving eventually, I can be miserable because of it, and many things suffer including career, further education, and financial stability.
  
• I need to get my taxes done.. and submit our benefits claims. This one is eating at me because I have to wait for Mr.Darcy's T4's and he's been getting the run around from Revenue Canada.  Plus I like to wait to have everything in my hand. Which leads me to some procrastinating. 
• I am blown away by all the comments on my TV post, Thank you everyone! I appreciate the feedback and interaction so much. It was one of those random thoughts and I didn't expect anyone to really respond and then there were 10 comments!
• I killed the plant in my header, (Le sigh) There isn't any direct sunlight in our dungeon, and then I forgot it outside and it went below zero.
• I need to take photos of my inner child paintings (you will understand when you see them)
  
• I can't decided if I want to find a loving home for Daxter here, or keep him.
  
• I am way to dependent on a the spell check
• It's light outside, so I am going to see what the weather is like!
  

Captioned

moar funny pictures
I captioned it myself :)

$5 and stretch

  So tonight as I lay in bed praying, thinking, and generally having epiphany's, I realize I had not eaten any protein today. So I'm not sure what to blame my wakefulness on hormones, lack of nutrition, not enough journal time but it's bring you this blog post.
  
We went down to the water front and I bought a large chai latte and it was over $5.  It has been such a long time since I indulged and let me tell you, it was wonderful. I still have the cup sitting here by my computer as a reminder of that lovely day.
But it also works against me because it makes me want another Starbucks Chai latte, but it also reminds of what else five bucks can buy; like dinner for the husband and me twice over. Protein shake from Booster Juice (a place I wanted to bring to my small home town, but that's another story)

 I've been reading a blog called $5 dinners, and  it has some great ideas. If you have car and buy things in bulk or on sale.
The one sale part I try and do. But I can only buy as much as we can carry, which frustrates me to no end.

If I was organized I would meal plan, and then go to Costco with friends. But I am finding though self-examination lying in bed that I am very short term minded.

I only like to plan for a few days. Anything pass that stressed me out. When I planning anything major my mind becomes focused on it and all my energy goes into preparing for that event/day. The part that stresses me out is when it's simple things like dentist appointments or even my next cleaning day, that shouldn't take up any head space.

I keep talking about a menu plan, but do you think I could get the mister to give me any ideas for what he would like?
  Example: I made potato & anise soup (supposed to be leeks not anise, but I suck at figuring out which vegetable should be under which sign. Brought it home, smelt it and told Mr.Darcy "this is not a leek, it smells like licorice", but I put it into the soup anyway)  I froze half of it, and tonight I made it because I was hungry after our routine 6 hour Sunday nap. His response "oh, I wanted mushroom soup, guess I didn't speak up in time" In the end though he did say it was really good.
So maybe I should stop focusing on trying to please him and just make what I feel like eating.  oh yes, to my point.

I admire my sister and my mother's way of being able to whip up a lovely balanced supper. I like to have variety when I eat, not eating the leftovers twice in a row, I like to think I lean towards a Macrobiotic diet.
Where as poor Mr. Darcy has special picky eating habits.

• All food is better cold
• Will eat the same thing for a week straight
• Needs/likes to eat singular foods as a meal
• Only eats 2 meals a day with lots of snacks
• Avoids gluten like an enemy
• Will always make veggie wraps if encouraged to cook.

 I find myself desiring to bake, to make sweet & sugary treats or breads. All things which my body does not need.
 It's difficult to apply the knowledge about food and healthy eating when you are hungry or rushed. or just plain lazy I now see why people eat out or purchased foods. Sometimes when I think about how living on take-out is a lifestyle it can blow my mind, because of my childhood. But all I have to do is look around my life and my history of weight gain and loss and I am instantly in the busy woman's shoes.

Oh how I day dream of the lazy days of house keeping and cooking with time left over for creating things. 

Perhaps I was born in the wrong era.

(My main problem being that I'm lazy) There I said it. Now I must work changing it.

New, New, New

So I've changed jobs at work. I no longer take phone calls and trouble shoot wireless internet. I now just verify to make sure people still need their technicians and either cancel the appointment or call the customer to see if they still need the appointment.
  It's very monotonous, but I am allowed to listen to music, which helps the time go by faster. I've been listening to John MacArthur.

 I almost miss taking phone calls, but it's only been 7 days (two weeks) of scrapping trucks.

In other news I am addicted to Mcleod's Daughters, I've started the 4th season now. The ending of the third made me bawl my eyes out.

Last week I went shopping and bought myself a Wii... Now I just need to find a Wii Fit. I had to pack it home because of the screwy bus schedule, and I was sore for 3 days afterward.  We've played some Mario smash brothers and I made my fingers numb, losing to the husband.


I am itching for some cookies.. So I think I shall sign off and make some. I am thinking oatmeal chocolate chip, or oatmeal raisin.