Gold Wrapping Paper

The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her five year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and then said, "This is for you, Momma."

The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner, "Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package?

She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full."

The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept the gold box by her bed for all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

Weeks just seem to Fly on by...

Wow, a whole week has gone by already since my last post. Sorry to those of you who are checking in on us!

Last week Twylla and I went to see the movie Pursuit of Happyness, it was really good! We had planned to go for lunch or have lunch at the movie. We went to Best Buy first, then figured we would just eat something at the theatre. All we could get at the theatre was popcorn, nachos and such. I thought that New York Fries, Pizza Hut, and Burger King would be opened, but they weren't so we settled for Nacho's!

On Saturday I spent the day with Tracy. At night my friend Connie came over for a short visit. I was very happy to see her again. Steven also came over in the evening. We watched The Breakup and in the early morning a few more of our friends stopped by. We watched another movie and finally by 4 in the morning everyone was gone or in bed sleeping.

On Sunday Dan and I went for breakfast at Sun Valley...we still love that place! After lunch a had a nap, trying to catch up on my sleep. We went to the Olive Garden for supper with Mom and Sam. It was awesome as usual!

Grandma had surgery on Monday. She is doing good. I went to visit yesterday and will probably stop by again today. Auntie Anne stayed with us last night. That was special. This morning we went to Smitty's for breakfast! Yummy!

Last night Auntie Anne and I went shopping. I got the last of the stuff I need to finish Dan's quilt. I'm so excited and a little overwhelmed about completing this project. Wish me luck!

Finally...new blinds, new shelves...

Well, as you can see my photography skills are not improving much. Karyn will probably have quite the laugh. Anyway, we can't all be great at the same things.

Yesterday afternoon City mom came over and we started installing blinds. We did the spareroom first because we will be having guests overnight. Previous guests had to endure the "no blind" privacy of this room. The first installation went fairly smoothly. Only a few errors...but no big troubles. We also put frosty finish on the bathroom windows; now we can pee in private. Our neighbors bathroom window is right across from ours, so as you can imagine being without blinds was a little tricky!!

Tracy came over after she was finished working. City mom and Tracy fixed a boo-boo while I cooked supper. I couldn't bear to watch! City mom went to pick up Jeff, then we all ate supper together. After supper we had 2 more blinds to install and 2 shelves.

City mom and Jeff installed the hardware for the blinds. Tracy did an excellent job of cutting the blinds to fit perfectly in our bedroom. She has awesome patience! Next City mom and Jeff put up shelves in the "other" spareroom. Now I finally have a place for teddybears.

Below is a picture of the frosty covered window in the bathroom. They frames still need to be varnished...that's why there is green tape around the window.
This is one of the new bedroom blinds. See how beautiful they are. Thanks City mom, Tracy and Jeff for all the help.

This is one of the shelves that was put up last night. There is one more just like this one to the right of the Cat in the Hat!! It is also filled with teddybears.

So, we still need to install 2 more blinds, 1 more shelf and cover 2 more "frosty" windows. That was a busy day...the rest will have to wait!

Today has been a more restful day. I have big plans for tomorrow tho'. Finish the bathroom floor joint. Tape/nail down the cable cord. It seems to be going wild when it is not secured to the floor. The oven needs to be cleaned...and on it goes. Owning a house is such a priviledge, but there's always so much to do.

The Amazing HANK FM

Finally, the photo I've been trying to get. It looks alittle orange cause I didn't use a flash. Anyway, here it is. This is what Harley likes to do whenever we're on the computer.

Dan recently updated me on the latest "real" country station...HANK FM! And I love it! I've been enjoying it ever since; in the car and listening live. Check it out if you have a chance.

Keira and I just had a wonderful dinner with the Mulaire family. Dan couldn't make it cause he was working again. It was a birthday party for Uncle Marc and cousin Marcel. Good company and awesome food! I had veal, poutine and the the best lemon pie ever.

Dan and I tried Longhorns for brunch this morning...it was okay, but we won't be going there again. It was very expensive and quite small. I mean if you're going to have a buffet, it needs to be worth it. Back to Sun Valley I guess, we absolutely love the real eggs, real mashed potatoes and the price is much lower!

Late night thoughts

Still up, just browsing the web...it's getting late and I should be heading for bed. Sometimes it is so hard to get to sleep tho'. I lie awake and think...and pray...and think and pray again. I usually settle down enough to sleep eventually. Sometimes life's bumps become overwhelming...enough to knock you to your knees! "When you've been knocked to your knees...you're in a perfect position to pray". Have a great sleep all!

Beautiful Orange Birthday Flowers

Karyn got me these beautiful ORANGE flowers for my birthday. They were brought to our table while we eating at the Olive Garden. I was so surprized I nearly cried. I really miss her. Some days, like the holidays are harder than others. Harley really enjoyed the flowers too.

So Far This Week...

Life has been quite busy lately. Between paying bills, going to appointments, scheduling new appointments, Dan's shiftwork schedule and my endless phonecalls to coordinate my return to work, as well as some shopping and socializing there hasn't been much home-time for either of us. Dan is enjoying his job and I'm waiting to get back to mine.

On Monday I got caught up in my puzzle again and went to bed quite late.

Tuesday I went to a movie with my cousins, Arden and Twylla. We also went to Wendy's for a fast supper and then to the hospital to see Meritt. He is so adorable!

On Wednesday I spent some time with Simone. We were so busy doing errands we forgot about picking up Dan from work and early dismissal at school for her kids. Everyone made it home okay tho'. Simone and I watched The Breakup at night. I really like that movie.

Today I had a beautiful sleep-in. In the afternoon I went out with City mom. I bought new blinds for our new(ish) windows...we actually got them installed last spring. I figure the neighbors have been enjoying "the view" long enough...so time to put up some blinds!!

I went for supper with my para's today. I can't wait to get back to school to see more of them. We went to Applebee's. I was awesome to visit with them. The food was great too! Dorothy brought a carrot cake for my birthday. It was yummy!

Tomorrow I have many more errands to get out of the way...Wal-mart, Petcetera, Dollarama. I will be taking Simone's kids to school as she starts her new job tomorrow. I really need to get an oil change, clean out the garbage from my back seat and wash my car. I have shelves to put up in the spareroom and blinds to install. Laundry to do and probably giving our whole house a good cleaning would be a great idea too. I want to sort through my clothes and get rid of some that needed to be gone a while ago. I found out about a freestore. I want to donate stuff to them. This way my stuff will be given to someone who needs it rather than sold to someone. Anyone interested in donating stuff let me know?!

Puzzles drive me CRAZY!

Here is a picture of our cat. Like I've said earlier...he always wants to be a part of the action. I tried to get a picture of him sitting on top of the monitor, but he wasn't very obedient and this is what I ended up with. He's obviously very tired of me chasing him with the camera or just NOT amused!

I did go see two movies on Monday night - Employee of the Month was so funny. I didn't really enjoy Stranger than Fiction. I may have just been sleepy though!

So...I've been super-occupied doing puzzles. I haven't really gone anywhere or talked to anyone lately. Just puzzles. I finished the 1500 piece puzzle yesterday, then started another one (my glow in the dark puzzle from Ellen). It's also finished now...I'm just waiting to check out the glow tonight! I plan to start another puzzle later this evening or first thing tomorrow.

I should explain the reason for all the puzzles. IT IS COLD OUTSIDE! If you live anywhere near Manitoba I'm sure you know that already. Friday it was minus 48 with the windchill. My car wouldn't even start. So I stayed home...and puzzled!

Another Year older!!

So it worked for Ellen, Tracy and Cheryl to go to Mongo's with me. It was so nice to sit down and have a long visit with them. Ellen is off on a sunny vacation tomorrow so I won't be able to see her for a while. I'll miss her! Tracy and City Mom are so busy working I don't see them very often.

On Saturday, while I was out with the girls Dan and Dave went shopping at Kildonan Place and bought me some beautiful B-day presents! Great choice guys! Now I'll be able to keep cooking!

Dan and I were supposed to go for supper; the place was to be a surprize for me. I figured he would take to me Olive Garden or our other "secret" dining spot. Well, he did take me to the Olive Garden eventually...first we went for a "scenic" drive through Winnipeg and finally ended up at Olive Garden. Dan had invited a bunch of our relatives to meet us there for a surprize party. I couldn't believe he had managed to contact everyone; I usually know everything that is going on!! JJ. When we got there the line-up to get in was crazy but luckily Auntie Anne had already put her name in for a table so we didn't have to wait very long. The meals were great as usual.

I sure missed Karyn tho. I had no one to be silly with. I'm sure dad was pleased the meal went off without a hitch. He usually has to deal with Karyn or myself doing something strange or silly. Karyn did send flowers for me...orange ones. They are so beautiful! Harley really enjoys them too. He's been smelling them, eating them, playing with them and posing with them.

After supper mom, dad, Justin, Dave, Ray, Martha, and Kara came over for a visit. It was great. Dan, Dave, and Justin had even cleaned up the house for the company! Awesome. I really was the "Queen" for a day!

Yesterday (Sunday night) I started a new puzzle. It has 1500 pieces. I'm really excited about doing it but it was a little overwhelming to get going. I need Auntie Shirley here to help. I got so caught up working on the puzzle that I didn't get to bed until after 2 a.m. (I think).

I went to go see Dreamgirls last night. It was good. I plan to watch another movie tonight. I gotta use those coupons before they expire! I really want to see Employee of the Month and Stranger than Fiction.

Our Friday - Pizza and Movie Night!

As often happens in our lives...plans change. I didn't get to go to Mongo's with Ellen, but Keira and I went anyway. It was great! After lunch we went shopping for puzzles. I found some really great puzzles and can't wait to get started.

Dan and I went to Sears and found the pots I wanted. I absolutely love them! I actually managed to get Dan into the mall as well!

We did have pizza and a movie. We watched You, Me and Dupree. That is such a funny movie. It's about a newly wed couple who has his bestfriend move in with them. The stress level in the home increases and the friend causes them alot of grief. Kinda made us think about Dan, Dave and myself...lol!

So, today it's off to Mongo's again. This time with Tracy, Cheryl and Ellen. I'm very excited about tonight. Dan is taking me out for supper. YIPEEE!

Reindeer games...Christmas 2006

I spend most of the year thinking about the next Christmas coming up. I usually plan a game or two for our family gathering and try to make sure everyone is having some sort of silly fun.

I was looking through some Christmas pictures and came across this one. We played a reindeer game at the gathering this year. Here are 3 of my cousins posing as Reindeer...aren't they cute!

We always have so much fun playing games, exchanging gifts, visiting with relatives and of course eating way to much yummy food. Our family often says: "if we haven't had anything to eat for half an hour it's time to eat!" And so it goes...we eat, and eat and eat some more.

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating tonight and tomorrow!

Mongo's...yummy!

Harley's back on top of the monitor again. I really need to capture this unique blogging method in a photo. He usually does not stay long or pose well for pictures tho.

I forgot to mention yesterday that if any of you reading this have your own blog or know of any good blogs to check out please let me know.

I'm very excited about going for lunch today. I am going to Mongo's with my friend Ellen. As many of you already know Mongo's is my favorite place to eat. I suggest everyone checks it out sometime.

After work today, Dan and I are going to buy a new pot set. We will probably check out Sears as they have a big sale on right now. Wish us luck!

Tonight, Dave, our "son" will be home to celebrate my birthday. We are having our usual Friday night pizza and a movie night! Anyone have any great movie suggestions? Dave hasn't seen Grandma's Boy and since it's one of my top picks we might watch it with him.

Well, I have a busy day ahead of me so I had better get mobile soon. Have a great day!

Goodbye 2006, Hello to a new year!

I finally finished a 1000 piece puzzle that I began on Tuesday. I actually had completed a puzzle like it before...well almost. The last piece was missing so I returned it and got myself another. For those of you who know me well, probably agree that when I get started on puzzling nothing gets in my way...no sleeping, no eating, and no breaks. It's actually a bit out of control when I think about it. I guess it's my addiction!

Yes, this is my first post so I suppose I should write about something alittle more exciting. Well, I went on a date today...with my aunt and my cousin. We went out for lunch - to Moxie's and then to a movie. It was great! It was wonderful to have them drive all the way in to Winnipeg to celebrate my birthday with me.

Christmas this year was wonderful. We had many get-togethers to attend and saw family memebers that we don't often see throughout the year! The Harms' family met earlier in the year - Summer actually. The Reimer's met on January 1st/07. We had the Bourrier's over on Dec. 24th. On the 25th we went to our auntie Marie's (Mulaire's), then to the Cadotte's and finally met with the McArthur's at night. What a busy day! I also had supper with my birthmom - Joanne. I didn't see any of the Robson side of my family, altho I did talk to my sister Rhiannon this week. My sister Karyn called us at midnight, Dec. 31st, to wish us a Happy New Year!

I have to mention that the holidays were extra special for our family as a new baby was born. Meritt is so cute! He was born early, at 30 weeks, but is perfect in every way! Pray that he will continue to be healthy and to grow and that he will soon be able to go home with his mommy and daddy!