Project Complete!

December 31, 2009 – Day 365!!!

I finished up the puzzle I started late on December 26th today. I can’t take all the credit though. Ken, who admits he doesn’t have any patience to do a puzzle, helped me. He put together 4 or 5 pieces of the puzzle. :-)

I love the picture on this puzzle; I would love to live there - if I didn't work in the concrete jungle.

And this is it – my 365th photo of 365…the last day of Project 365! When I began this project one year ago, I was apprehensive about taking it on because I wasn’t sure that I could take a picture a day, every single day for an entire year. But it’s thrilling to have completed this project! I don’t have a desire to quit yet though, so I’m going to try doing it for another year.

The Cookbook

December 30, 2009 – Day 364

About 2 ½ years ago, I decided to type out my favourite recipes so I could pass them down to my children and grandchildren. That was the beginning of a once-in-a-lifetime project and little did I know that it would take me so long to complete! I spent countless hours typing and proofreading my work.

I’ve enjoyed cooking, baking and trying new recipes since I was a teenager so I have accumulated many favourites over the years. Once in a while I would put this project aside because it seemed like an enormous undertaking that may never be finished, or I’d simply lose interest in typing recipes – but I always kept coming back to it because I never lost the desire to pass along a copy of my favourite recipes.

After more than two years, I finally finished typing every single one of my favourite recipes! Once I reached that goal, I decided it would be great to include any others that my kids may wish to include – and I’m glad I asked because a couple of them did have recipes to contribute. Once I added their recipes, I then thought it would be interesting to include favourites from other family members as well, and I began to collect and type up recipes from aunts and cousins.

As I continued to collect recipes from my family members and add new favourites when I would try a new recipe that was fabulous, I realized that this was a project that could very well never have an “end”. So early this year, I set a goal to finish the collection of recipes in time to give to my kids for Christmas gifts this year and that’s what I’ve done.

Although this cookbook is finished, Christine is going to take over and start a new cookbook of our future favourites! I will submit to her any new recipes I try that I would consider a new favourite or any recipes I collect from family members.

I had planned to print a copy of the cookbook for each of my children, put the pages in plastic sleeves and add them to a binder; however, my sister Darlene had a much better idea. She went to Staples not more than a couple weeks before Christmas to see how much it would cost to have the cookbook printed and coil bound. Each was only $32 and change to be printed on cardstock – and could be done in time for Christmas! Darlene ordered four cookbooks for herself and I asked her to order five for me (one for each of my kids and one for myself). It turned out that Staples made an error on the first printing. Instead of printing the heading pages single-sided, they double-sided everything other than the first page of the cookbook. They redid the job as we originally requested it be done and we still had the cookbooks in time for Christmas! My sisters Marilyn and Cathy and my aunt Joan bought the first set of misprinted cookbooks at cost – I guess they didn’t mind some of the headings being on the left hand side of the pages.

Including the index and category heading pages, the cookbook is 271 pages long and is about 1 ¾” thick after being printed and bound. Creating this cookbook truly was a labor of love and feels thrilling to have it done and see it in “print”!

Puzzle Mania

December 29, 2009 – Day 363

Adam, Michael, Christine and Ian worked on a puzzle on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I love doing puzzles but, even though my kids took turns helping me in the kitchen, I didn’t get a chance to participate because I was busy preparing a bounty of snacks on Christmas Eve and a turkey dinner with all the trimmings on Christmas Day.

However, on Boxing Day, Christine brought out a box of ten puzzles that she received as a gift from Claire (Ashley’s step mom). Ian, Christine and I each chose a puzzle. Christine chose a 750 piece puzzle (the mailboxes); Ian chose a 500 piece puzzle (the waterfall) and I chose a 750 piece puzzle (the barn/farm house), and we began putting our puzzle pieces together. It was shortly after midnight when we got started: I didn’t get much done because I went to bed around 1:00 a.m., Christine turned in around 3:00 a.m., but Ian was up until 5:20 a.m. – just to finish his puzzle!

Ian started – and finished – a second 500 piece puzzle (the wolf) the next day!

Christine had breakfast plans with friends this morning so she let Ashley take over her puzzle after she left. Ashley was sure she’d be able to finish before it was time for them to leave for home early this afternoon but in the end she ran out of time and had to ask Ian to help her with the last 20 pieces or so. They (barely) finished the puzzle before they had to pick up Christine and head for home! Ian and Ashley gave me a couple minutes to take a picture of the puzzle once it was finished (which wasn’t the picture I chose for P365 because the puzzles Ian had put together had already been taken apart and packed away in Ziploc bags) – then they proceeded to take it apart, pack it up with the others and take it home with them (all of which I took pictures of)!

I don’t have my puzzle finished but Christine let me keep it here to finish. Once I’m done, I’ll take a picture, then take it apart to give back to Christine next time I see her.

It’s always so much fun to have my children, in-law children, and grandchildren come to visit but I feel overwhelming sadness and anxiety when it’s time to say goodbye. Even though Christine and her family only live 3 hours away, I had to choke back tears and fight a panic attack when they left today. I immediately turned my focus to cleaning house and went out to get a few groceries to keep myself from losing control of my emotions.

Girls' Night

December 28, 2009 – Day 362

Christine, Ashley, Hope and I had a fun evening together tonight. We used the hand and foot moisturizer treatments that Christine and I bought at XS Cargo on Boxing Day; gave each other back and foot massages and talked about saving our money to go to a spa together one day, and maybe on a trip together to New York City when Ashley graduates in 2 ½ years. We also talked about yoga, being healthier – and shared our excitement about starting Superfoods 365 on January 1st.

Project 365 wasn’t my idea. I think the originator’s site is this one: http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/ but Superfoods 365 is an idea I came up with based on the 365-day goal. We’ll simply add nutrient dense foods to our diet each day. Dr. Steven Pratt and Dr. Oz have lists of superfoods and I’ve compiled a list for us to use based mainly on their lists. Each of us will decide how many superfoods from the list to add to our diet each day (without obligation to change anything else about the way we eat) but I think the four of us have decided to add 5 superfoods per day. We can have more whenever we want, but not less.

Sleeping Beauties

December 27, 2009 – Day 361

Christine, Ian and Austin sleep in our guest room when they come to visit. Ashley and Hope either sleep on a queen size air mattress or on the couches in our bonus room. On this visit the girls have been sleeping on the couches. I snuck in this morning and took a few pictures of the girls while they slept. The noise of my camera and the light from the flash woke Ashley up but Hope continued to sleep – although she later told me she was dreaming that I was taking pictures.

Boxing Day Shopping

December 26, 2009 – Day 360

I usually stay clear of stores on Boxing Day but this year I went out and even had fun shopping with Christine and Ian for a few hours.

Ian wandered off to the electronics section while Christine and I were shopping at London Drugs. When we finished our shopping, we found Ian playing the Xbox 360 NHL 2K10 hockey game. He was quite happy to let us know that his team (Calgary Flames) beat the Edmonton Oilers 9-5.

If I could post more pictures for Project 365, I’d photograph the purchases I made today but since I limit myself to one picture a day for this project, I’ll just write about them, more for my own record than because I think anyone is actually interested. :-)

London Drugs had a beautiful set of cutlery (for eight settings) on sale for $24.99 from $60.00 so I bought the last three sets that were on the shelf, ten boxes of icicles at 60% off the regular price of $1.49 each, a green olive oil bottle for $1.99 that was marked down from $9.99 and a package of 12 AA batteries for $6.99. I also bought myself a new shiny purple metallic pen with my name on it at London Drugs but it wasn’t on sale. I paid $5.99 for it. At XS Cargo I bought the Guitar Hero Aerosmith game for PS2, that comes with 2 guitars, for $29.99, a set of Revlon hot rollers for $10.00, a hand moisturizing kit and a foot moisturizing kit for $3.99 each. At Michael’s I bought two rolls of wrapping paper; both were 60% off the regular price of $10.00 each.

Christmas Day

December 25, 2009 – Day 359

This is the group of us that spent Christmas Day together this year. Back row: me, Michael, Adam, Ian and Hope. Front row: Ken, Little Bear, Christine and Austin. Travis and his family went to Amanda’s mom and dad’s (in Grande Prairie) for Christmas and Ashley was at her dad’s.

We had a wonderful day together.

Tim Tam Slam

December 24, 2009 – Day 358

Christine and Ian introduced us to the Tim Tam Slam tonight. Ian demonstrated as Christine explained, then we all gave it a try. To enjoy a Tim Tam Slam: bite off diagonal corners of Tim Tam cookies and suck coffee through one of the bitten ends. The cookie melts from the inside out and you quickly eat it before it dissolves completely. Fun! The Tim Tam Slam is an Australian tradition.

Ashley

December 23, 2009 – Day 357

Christine, Ian and the kids arrived today! Ashley is leaving for her dad’s tomorrow to spend Christmas with him so I wanted to get a picture of her before she left. She’ll return on the evening of Boxing Day.

Wrapping Gifts

December 22, 2009 – Day 356

I usually take vacation time to have the week before Christmas off work so that I have time to prepare for the big day but this year I took the week after Christmas off instead. I thought it would be nice to have time to relax after Christmas but having had to work this week has really made my days hectic. I had errands to run tonight and last-minute groceries to buy before Ian and Christine arrive tomorrow. I also started wrapping my gifts before heading to bed around midnight.

Santa

December 21, 2009 – Day 355

I like a well-made Santa. This is the face of one I own; he stands about 18” high.

Christmas Music

December 20, 2009 – Day 354

Adam came over for a visit today and brought one of his guitars with him. He was practicing some Christmas songs that he and Michael are learning.

I used to want to learn how to play the guitar and even took lessons but it just never “clicked” for me but I’m thrilled that Adam, Michael and my granddaughter Ashley play. I love guitar music and Adam did a great job of the Christmas songs he was playing today.

Christmas Baking

December 19, 2009 – Day 353

I got a little more baking done for the freezer today – a dozen banana chocolate chip muffins and a batch of (33) Old Fashioned Raisin Cookies. I used the recipe I got from my friend Jen earlier this year for the cookies.

Glow Domes!

December 18, 2009 – Day 352

Before I even left the house this morning, I phoned around to see if any stores had the Glow Dome in stock, or got any in with their overnight shipments. I wasn’t surprised when every place I called said “no”, “no” and “no”. I was disappointed but not surprised after my luck, or lack of it, yesterday. I asked the person who took my call at one of the Toys R Us stores that I phoned if they had an Easy Bake oven and they were sold out of that as well. I was beginning to wonder if an Easy Bake oven was going to be as difficult to find as the Glow Dome!

I went to several stores and all I found was a spoon rest, salt and pepper grinder, a couple candles and a frame for myself :-) before I ended up at Superstore to do my grocery shopping. When I got to the store, I headed straight for the toy department just to check if they might have the Glow Dome in stock but I didn’t see any on the shelves. Before leaving the toys to shop for groceries, I saw a girl stocking shelves and asked her if they had the Glow Dome in stock (in case I overlooked it). No, she didn’t think so but remembered that she may have seen “something”. She hurried a couple aisles over and down to a stack of unopened cardboard boxes of toys. As she rummaged through the boxes I was thinking, “Oh please, please, please” but no luck. “Hang on” she said as she rushed away, down another aisle and around another corner to a second stack of unopened boxes. It took me a couple minutes but I caught up to her and watched as she rummaged through that stack as well. Nothing, nothing, nothing – but then she found the box she was looking for and pulled it out from the stack. She sliced it open with her exacto knife and showed me, as if revealing a newborn baby, or should I say babies – it was twins – two brand new packages of GLOW DOMES in all their glory!! I was ecstatic and took them both! Even though Christine found me a Glow Dome at the Walmart in Cold Lake last night, I was sure someone else could use one – and after the stark realization of how difficult it was to find a Glow Dome in Edmonton, I just couldn’t leave the second one behind.

It turned out well because Travis and Amanda want to buy the extra one for someone else they’re buying for!

Great marketing Crayola!

Barbie

December 17, 2009 – Day 351

At Christmas time I only buy a gift for my 6 grandchildren and give my two youngest boys money (and will until they are married). Ken and I don’t usually bother with gifts for one another but this year I found a couple small things that I picked up for him. And this year I have even less shopping than usual to do because I’m only buying gifts for 4 of my grandchildren; instead of buying for Ashley and Hope, we’ll give them money to put towards a Christian concert (YC) they want to go to in the spring.

Christine usually helps me buy the gifts for my grandchildren but she wasn’t in Edmonton to help me this year and I’m kicking myself for leaving this so long – but I did go to a few stores after work tonight. I was in search of two Crayola Glow Domes, one for Hannah and one for Faith but the stores I went to were completely sold out. One of the stores I stopped at was Toys R Us and even though I wasn’t looking for Barbie products, it’s my favourite aisle in any toy store so I took a quick look at all the beautiful Barbies that I would have loved to own when I was a child.

When I got home I phoned several stores to see if anyone might have the Glow Domes in stock but every place I phoned was sold out. The guy I spoke to at Walmart in St. Albert said they did receive a shipment of 150 but sold every one of them in two days!

Christine and Ian were in Walmart in Cold Lake tonight and found one Glow Dome so they picked it up for me. If I don’t find another one for Hannah, I may look for an Easy Bake oven for her because that’s something else she’d like to have.
I did find gifts for Austin and Owen tonight though so that felt good.

Team Photo

December 16, 2009 – Day 350

Each year after our Christmas potluck at work I like to get a picture of our team. Everyone is used to me bringing in my camera and they willingly let me line them up for what reminds me of a school “class” photo. My team co-workers are all good sports; some even “know” their places and get in formation before I even start posing them. We always have a few good laughs while setting up and taking the pictures. I also bring my camera to work whenever we’re doing anything out of the ordinary and print off some of the pictures which I keep in an album at work. It’s interesting to look back to see the changes that have taken place over the years: people come and go - and we all change as time passes.

The women from left to right are: me, Sherri, Sheila, Brenda, Holly, Shirley and Apryl. The guys from left to right are: James, Dale, Jim and Shaun. There is usually a person or two that is unable to attend the potluck and this year was no exception; Stacey, Lana and Ellen are missing from the team photo today.

Perogies to Go

December 15, 2009 – Day 349

Perogies to Go

When I got home from work today, I spent a couple hours in the kitchen getting ready for our team’s Christmas potluck at work tomorrow. I cooked (from my freezer) 50 perogies – Ken got three of them and looks are deceiving but there are 47 in this bag. I also chopped and sautéed an onion and fried a pound of bacon, which I whirred into bits in the food processor. Then I had to clean up the big mess I made. I took one of my crock pots in to work today which I’ll use to heat the perogies and I won’t have so much to carry on the bus tomorrow.

I’m exhausted tonight and ready for bed early.

Cookie Dough

December 14, 2009 – Day 348

I’m not planning to do a whole lot of baking for Christmas but I do want to do some. I started today by baking a batch of 56 good-sized chocolate chip cookies. I took quite a few pictures of the process from beginning to end but I kind of like this one of the cookie dough.

Homemade Perogies - the Finals!

December 13, 2009 – Day 347

I made 132 potato/cottage cheese filled perogies today - and I’m very happy to say that (unless something unexpected comes up) this is the last batch I’ll have to make until sometime next year!

A Favourite

December 12, 2009 – Day 346

About ten years ago Ken and I saw this nativity set displayed in the window of a quaint little shop on (or just off) Whyte Avenue. I loved it the moment I saw it so we went in to have a closer look. The set in the window was the last one and even though it was $150 (which was a lot for us at the time), we bought it. It represents what Christmas is really all about to me – and it’s one of my favourite things.

The Annual Physical

December 11, 2009 – Day 345

I had an appointment to see my doctor this morning - time once again for my annual physical checkup. I went out in last Friday’s snowstorm to get my routine blood and urine tests done in preparation for today’s visit.

The bad news is that my cholesterol is up again. Blech. It was much better when I last had it tested in 2006 but I really haven’t been eating healthy so it shouldn’t be a surprise to me. However, I thought the salmon oil (omega 3) pills I’ve been taking faithfully every day would negate the effects of my unhealthy diet. I was wrong. But I have started making some changes: I’ve been riding my bike (3-5 times/week) for exactly a month now and I’ve also started eating healthier. A few of us (family and co-workers) are going to do a super foods 365 project that I came up with after having completed almost a year of Project 365 with my photos. Essentially, it’s a commitment to add nutrient dense foods to our diet for an entire year. The list of daily choices I created is mostly based on Dr. Steven Pratt’s and Dr. Oz’s lists of super foods. My doctor was very excited about our project and she wants me to come back at the end of April so she can monitor my progress. Eventually I know she’s going to want to put me on meds if I can’t get my cholesterol under control on my own – and I don’t want that.

On a positive note, the worst part of the annual physical checkup for women didn’t happen for me today! My doctor said that “we” (I think she made reference to doctors in Alberta) are only going to do pap tests once every three years for women who have had normal test results in the past! I had one last year so I won’t have to go through that again for another two years.

More of Christmas from Work

December 10, 2009 – Day 344

Another picture from work today; this one captures a co-worker’s decorated station. Sherri went all out with Christmas decorations and I hope she wins the first place prize in the individual category for her effort. As another co-worker said, “It looks like a winter wonderland”!

Decorating the Office

December 9, 2009 – Day 343

We put up our Christmas decorations at work this morning. The tree goes in our small boardroom but we also decorate the walls on both sides of the hallways. It all looks so pretty but since I’m limited to only one picture per day for Project 365, I chose this one of Lana and Apryl (two of our lawyers) decorating the tree. James brought in donuts and the mood was festive. What a fun morning to be at work!

Ahhhhhhhhh

December 8, 2009 – Day 342

So after going on about the blanket I came home with from the party on Saturday, I thought I would show it to you (front side and back). It would be great if our technology was advanced enough to allow me to capture a rub and feel picture but you’ll have to take my word that it is as soft and cozy as I imagine a fluffy white cloud of lamb’s wool would be intermingled with love in tangible form - and it’s the newest addition to my list of favourite things!

The book is another that my coworker-bookworm friend Stacey loaned me to read. It’s interesting but nothing like “The Book of Negroes”, which is the last book Stacey loaned me. That book captured my heart and soul from beginning to end and I’d have to say it is one of the all-time greatest books I’ve read in my lifetime. I’d highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading.

Homemade Perogies IV

December 7, 2009 – Day 341

Today was another perogie making day. I made 132 cheddar perogies and they all went straight to the freezer. For the last few years I’ve been cooking my perogies before freezing them but I find that the perogies are more soft and fragile than I’d like them to be when I cook them before freezing so today I went back to my “old” way of freezing them without cooking them first.

So I have 156 perogies in the freezer. I need 3 dozen for a woman at work; she’s going to make me a pine bough centerpiece in exchange. I need about 3 dozen for our team’s potluck at work next week and the rest will be for Christmas dinner and the days that follow. Christine, Ian and the kids will be here for about a week so it’ll be nice to have lots on hand. I still want to make one batch of cottage cheese perogies sometime before Christmas.

Our power went out for two hours this afternoon; it delayed my progress but the job eventually got done.

Little Bear likes to sleep in the kitchen when I’m busy in there so I’m including him in this shot today and I’ll also include my busy-messy kitchen in the background just to make this a little different from the other perogie-making pictures I’ve taken recently.

The Pook Toque

December 6, 2009 – Day 340

The gift I took to the party was a Pook Toque. It wasn’t the hit I was hoping it would be with the kids (kids meaning up to about 30 years old). Marg was the first to choose the gift from the pile and unwrap it; she's 86 years old and I knew it wouldn’t be her style. I hoped someone would steal it from her but nobody did. Not right away anyway. When I had a chance to pick a new gift or take from someone, I took the toque from Marg so she would have another opportunity to choose something she liked. In the end Christine ended up with the toque and she gave it to Ashley. It “grew” on Ashley and today she had a lot of fun trying the different styles with it. This style is called the Shrek. My favourite is the Princess Leia; you can see it here: http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/00039/purchase25lf1_39261gm-a.jpg

December 8th: I should add that Stephen liked the toque but he didn't get a chance to steal it during the course of the evening.

Family Christmas Party 2009

December 5, 2009 – Day 339

Our third annual family Christmas party took place at my nephew Shayne and his wife Sandy’s home tonight. Shayne and Sandy go all out at Christmas time; their home was beautifully decorated – inside and out. Outdoor decorations included a Christmas arbor decorated with plastic candies, Christmas bells, greenery, and lights – with a nutcracker standing guard on each side. Garland wound with multi colored lights outlined the garage door and was finished off with red velvet bows. A row of individually decorated mini trees lined the sidewalk to the house; and even the front doormat was a snowflake design. The interior included six elaborately decorated trees, 2 lit-up villages, a nutcracker that was about 6’ tall and three TVs (including Shayne’s 92” screen) with images of logs burning on a fire! The tables and place settings were extravagant with burgundy silky cloth tablecloths, large square plates and white cloth napkins folded to perfection. Above all, the mood was festive and fun!

Each person (or family) attending brought along a dish to contribute to a potluck dinner and the combined efforts were a feast for both eyes and palette! Appetizers, main course dishes and desserts – each category was overflowing in abundance.

After dinner we had a Chinese gift exchange. Gifts were chosen from the pile (according to the number each person drew from a hat), traded and re-traded amongst the group. The gift I opened was a soft cozy blanket that feels like love in physical form but it wasn’t mine for long before it was taken from me by my sister Darlene and traded a couple more times during the game. Once the game was over and all the trading was complete, a few of us did some “black market” trading of our own – and I ended up with the blanket that I became so attached to in the few minutes that it originally belonged to me.

Twenty-one family members attended the party. My son Travis, his family, my sister Marilyn, her guy Cleve and her daughter Amy were unable to make it. Ken and Barry both had to work so they were also missing from the party but everyone else was there. Because of the snow storm that we had on Friday, Ian and Christine were unsure whether they would make the three hour trip from Cold Lake and in fact hadn’t decided until about 11:15 Saturday morning that they would come down. It was wonderful that they were able to be there!

It was a magical night!

Snow Day!

December 4, 2009 – Day 338

Today was a snow day! It came down hard and fast all day long – creating a slippery mess of the roads. I had a 9:10 a.m. appointment to get some routine blood work done in advance of my annual physical next Friday and also wanted to replenish my supply of “superfoods” (veggies and such :-) so I dared to brave the storm.

While I was out, I came across this fender bender – and I bet there were many similar accidents on the slick city roads today.

Snowman Family

December 3, 2009 – Day 337

I don’t buy very many Christmas decorations anymore but when I saw this snowman family in the store a couple (or maybe a few now) years ago, I couldn’t resist buying them. I thought they were so cute – and I still think they’re so cute.

I Have a Gift for the Party Now!

December 2, 2009 – Day 336

Yahoo and hooray! I have a gift for the family Christmas party I’m going to on Saturday!

In the lunchroom at work today I spoke of the difficulty I’ve been having thinking of a gift to buy for the party. A coworker friend made a suggestion that I thought was perfect so I went out for a quick afternoon break to pick one up (thank you Laura)! I can’t show you or tell you what it is though because family members that will be at the party on Saturday visit my blog!

We each bring an anonymous gift; they are all placed in a pile and we draw numbers to pick a gift. The person who picked the number 1 begins by choosing a gift from the pile and opens it. Number 2 then chooses a gift. He or she will open it and either keep it or trade gifts with number 1. Number 3 opens a gift from the pile and either keeps the gift or exchanges with number 1 or 2 and so on. At the very end of the game, number 1 gets a chance to either keep his or her gift or trade with anyone in the room. I think it’s called a Chinese Gift Exchange – and it is so much FUN! I can’t wait! :-)

Colloidal Silver

December 1, 2009 – Day 335

Last week it looked like Little Bear’s ear infection was coming back; he was beginning to scratch and shake his head again. Rather than go back to the vet and pay at least another $183 for treatment, I thought I’d see if the health food store had anything that might help. The woman who helped me said that this is product, colloidal silver, is their best selling product. She said farmers come in and buy it all the time for their animals. And not only farmers but all kinds of people buy it – for all sorts of things. She told me about a time that her contact lens tore and scratched her eyeball. She put drops of this colloidal silver in her eye and it healed up before her doctor’s appointment rolled around. She also mentioned other uses for the product and I did some online research of my own. Although it doesn’t appear to be popular amongst the mainstream traditional health system, it seems like an amazing product – if it does even half of what people claim it does! Why haven’t I heard about colloidal silver before? Actually, I might have heard of it when I had post nasal drip that lasted for ten months (Dec 2007 - October 2008) and I was desperately looking for something to help me but I think a negative report I read about colloidal silver scared me off before I gave it a chance.

I’m curious to know if any of you have heard of colloidal silver. Do you use it? Or does someone you know use it? And if so, what do you (or they) use it for and do you (or they) have a success story?

It definitely seems to be helping Little Bear’s ears and it only cost $17 and change!

About halfway down this page http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/collsilver.htm there's a list of uses for colloidal silver (for both pets and people). Says it's good for things like clearing up diaper rash, acne, strep throat, cleaning cutting boards...and lots more.

Homemade Perogies III

November 30, 2009 – Day 334

I made another batch of cheddar cheese perogies today. I kept a few out for supper but the rest are in the freezer for a potluck our team is having at work on December 16th – and some towards Christmas dinner. I’ll still have to make at least one more batch to have enough for Christmas dinner though.

Oh Christmas Tree

November 29, 2009 – Day 333

Adam went to four or five stores yesterday looking for silver tinsel to finish off the tree but he had no luck; however, he stopped at London Drugs today and found some. Since it wasn’t easy to find, I asked him to buy 10 packages for me – which means I should have enough for next Christmas as well.

Adam brought the tinsel over this afternoon and I finished decorating the tree.

Up Goes the Tree

November 28, 2009 – Day 332

When Adam came over for coffee this morning, I convinced him to help me set up and decorate the tree. Other than the angel that Ken likes to put on the top of the tree, I usually decorate by myself – so it was great to have the help from Adam today.

Christmas Shopping - not so much fun

November 27, 2009 – Day 331

Today I vividly remembered one thing I really don’t like about Christmas. It’s the shopping. Even though I don’t do much of it anymore, I dread what I do have to do. Christine and Ian, Travis and Amanda and Ken and I don’t bother with gifts or money anymore. That’s a new thing since last year and I love it. I give my youngest two boys money (and will until they’re married and settled down) and Christine usually helps me shop for my grandchildren. If she didn’t, I’d probably just give them money too. I don’t know what they’d do with money since they all already have all they could ever want – and more.

But I have to buy a gift from Ken and I each for the family Christmas party/gift exchange that’s coming up next weekend – so I went to several stores today to look for something. I didn’t find a single thing that I thought anyone would like.

After a couple hours, I could hardly force myself to put one foot in front of the next to go to yet another store. I was exhausted – partly from all the walking I’d already done, partly from not getting enough sleep last night and partly because I was starving. I was so frustrated that I just wanted to cry.

In the end, I thought maybe I’d buy a movie from either Ken or I so I hobbled (not literally but that’s how I was feeling) over to Best Buy to see what they had for movies. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I couldn’t even buy a movie because some of them are Blue Ray and some are not. I don’t know what Blue Ray is and and I don’t know who has Blue Ray – and who doesn’t, or if a Blue Ray movie would work in a non-Blue Ray machine or vice versa. Ugh!

So even after hours of shopping, I didn’t find a gift for either me or Ken to bring to the family Christmas party. I’m running out of time! What am I going to do?! I suppose we could each buy a gift card to some store but what fun is the party going to be if we all end up exchanging gift cards?!

Healthier Choices

November 26, 2009 – Day 330

My blood pressure has been borderline high and I’ve been on a diuretic for many years because of it. Earlier this year Jen forwarded me an e-mail about how beneficial bananas are for our health and it said (among other things) that a banana a day is good for controlling high blood pressure. Her dad’s doctor also suggested he eat a banana a day. So I started eating a banana – most days. I like bananas so that wasn’t difficult to do.

I have an appointment with my doctor for a physical in December so I started monitoring my bp (I have a machine at home) after several months of neglecting to do so. My doctor likes me to take a list of my numbers to her because I have “white coat syndrome” which is basically anxiety when visiting doctors and that causes my bp reading to always be high at her office. That’s why I bought my own machine. When I started monitoring my bp again a few weeks ago, I was happy to discover that my bp is lower than it’s been in a long time! Now I’m even more diligent about eating that banana every single day.

I’ve also been riding my bike faithfully since November 11th. My interest in making some healthy lifestyle changes brings me back to a book I bought about 5 years ago, after I saw the author on an Oprah show. Back then, I added most of the “superfoods” he recommends to my diet, I was riding my bike regularly – and I lost 30 pounds! Unfortunately I fell back into poor eating habits but I’m realizing now more than ever that healthy food is like good medicine. Maybe it’s because I just turned 50 or maybe it’s just that something has “clicked” but I really want to be healthier. I would like to lose a bunch of weight but for now I’m just going to focus on eating healthier and riding my bike at least 3 times a week.

Lunch at Ricky's

November 25, 2009 – Day 329

Jen and I went for lunch at Ricky’s downtown today.

Christmas Party Invitation

November 24, 2009 – Day 328

We received the invitation to the family Christmas party from Shayne and Sandy last week. This is the third party we’ve had: Christine and Ian hosted the first one in 2007, Darlene hosted the second one in 2008, Shayne and Sandy are hosting it this year and I’m hoping to have it at our place next year. It’s always a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to it but I still have to buy the gifts for the gift exchange though and I don’t have a clue what to pick!

Shayne and Sandy both say they’re not creative but I think they made beautiful invitations!

To protect Shayne and Sandy’s privacy, I’ve blocked some of the info on the invitation for this web version.

Homemade Perogies II

November 23, 2009 – Day 327

I usually make quite a few perogies at this time of year. Other than the three I ate for lunch today, the batch I made (about 70) went to the deepfreeze. They are especially for the third annual family Christmas party/gift exchange/potluck that is going to be held next month; Shayne and Sandy are hosting the party this year.

3D

November 22, 2009 – Day 326

I went to see “A Christmas Carol” with my sisters Darlene and Cathy and my nephew Stephen this afternoon. It was the first 3D movie I’ve been to in my life and discovered that you really do have to wear special glasses to watch the movie (I was never sure). It was quite a thrill to see things coming at you as if they were real and in parts of the movie, objects or people appear to be right in front of you; it felt as if you could reach out your hand and touch the thing or the person. I didn’t realize until Cathy told me after the movie that Jim Carey played several of the roles. I knew he played Scrooge - and he did an amazing job.

We went to Moxie’s for dinner afterward. Darlene generously paid for my meal for my birthday (which was yesterday).

I don’t go out like this very often so it was really a magical afternoon! Thanks for inviting me along Cathy. :-)

Fifty Years

November 21, 2009 – Day 325

I turned another year older today. I am now FIFTY years old! It’s hard for me to believe that the years go by so fast and here I am, almost old! I say almost because I don’t feel old, yet I know how old fifty is to someone in their teens, 20s or maybe even 30s. When you’re that young, it seems like you'll be young forever.

I have made mistakes along the way and I have regrets but I also have been richly blessed and have much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful husband, awesome children (including the in-law children) and grandchildren. We have a well-loved dog. I am in good health. I have a good paying secure job, and am able to work part time. I live in a house that I love. I have enough hobbies to keep me from being bored for the rest of my life. My dream of selling my graphic designs has become a reality. And hey, I don’t even have to dye my hair yet! I do have a small tuft of grey hair on each temple though and I imagine more will come in soon enough and when it gets noticeable, you can bet I will be dying it.

The real celebration for my milestone birthday was in July when my children, grandchildren, my niece Michelle, Ken and I camped in Cold Lake. Tonight was low-key; Ken and I watched a movie and ordered pizza. We were trying to figure out when the last time was that we ordered pizza and we’re sure it was over a year ago, so it was a real treat.

It was a good day and I’ll just keep on keeping on with a song in my heart and a spring in my step for as long as the good Lord sees fit.

Preparing for Christmas

November 20, 2009 – Day 324

My sister Darlene’s gorgeous Project 365 mall Christmas display of November 17th inspired me to go out and get a picture like that of my own. Well, the only real mall I was in today was Northwood and they are still putting their display together! I went ahead and took a picture though because this represents to me where most of us are at with Christmas – in preparation mode.

Photo Display

November 19, 2009 – Day 323

City Center (west) had a display of gorgeous photography featured today. I don’t know how long the display has been there or how long it’s going to continue but there were some awe-inspiring photos featured.

A Surprise

November 18, 2009 – Day 322

Adam phoned me last night to say he had a surprise to bring me. He’d spent the weekend in Grande Prairie so I thought it must be something from Travis and Amanda - and it was. Travis has been learning to bake cinnamon buns and pizza buns so I thought it might be something like that. I didn’t expect another rooster! :-) He’s a great looking rooster – and a big one! I’m not sure where I’m going to put him yet but he’ll eventually have a place to roost.

Lunchroom Group Potluck

November 17, 2009 – Day 321

This is the group (and me…behind the camera) that had the potluck lunch together at work today. Even though there are two floors of people who work for the department in our building alone, there are not many lunchroom regulars. Unfortunately a few of other lunchroom friends couldn’t make it to our lunch today. Laura was sick, Apryl brought food but I think she had a meeting to attend and I don’t know where Amanda was. Hopefully they can all make it next time because the food was excellent and it was fun - it was hard to get a picture with everyone smiling though!

Homemade Perogies

November 16, 2009 – Day 320

There is a regular group of us who eat together in the lunchroom at work and we decided to have a potluck tomorrow. I spent a few hours in the kitchen this afternoon making perogies for my contribution. I love potlucks, it’s fun to see what everyone comes up with and I enjoy sharing my food.

Bonus Room View - November

November 15, 2009 – Day 319

Even though Rabbit Hill has made enough snow for Ken to be out snowboarding today, we don’t have any snow at all in the city. He’s happy to have snow - and I’m happy to not have snow! I took this picture at 4:20 in the afternoon and it was already almost sunset.

Snowboarding Season Begins

November 14, 2009 – Day 318

Ken was surprised and thrilled to discover online this afternoon that Rabbit Hill has made enough snow to open for the season today. By the time he found out the hill was open, it was too late for him to go out today but he went through his snowboard gear and got his things ready to go out tomorrow – his first day of snowboarding this winter.

The Neighbour's Christmas Lights

November 13, 2009 – Day 317

Our neighbours straight across have started turning on their Christmas lights. They look so pretty and make the neighbourhood feel so Christmas-y.

For What Ails You

November 12, 2009 – Day 316

I wasn’t feeling well today and some of these products helped me get through the day.