J'aime Les Iles..

Yes!!! I got a puppy! J surprised me with a puppy over the weekend. I named her Lucy - she is a blue heeler/german shepherd cross and she is the most adorable :) I will not have a life for a while...J and I have been training her - we bombarded ourselves with puppy training vids and dog whisperer vids and I am amazingly surprised at how easy it is. So far, Lucy knows her little patch of grass in the backyard where she can go do her business, she has not done her business in the house at all yet..(hopefully, we won't have to go through that) She's been sleeping throughout the night without wining - we've started crate training her and as soon as she is done playing doing and her business outside, she'll have something to drink and we put her back in her crate with her toys, and her kong full of food. We crate her even while we're home that way, she can get used to going in there when we go to work. Today was her first day alone, and so far so good. I came home for lunch to let her out and play with her and when I walked in the door, she was crying, but for the most part, it seemed to have gone well. We'll see how she is when we get home. I've wanted a puppy for a long time and knew that they are a lot of work, but it sooo totally worth it. We just have to be consistent during her first year. I will put some photos up soon. Must get back to work.

Tootles

It's Friday!!

I get excited about little things - I think I am the only person I know that does. I remember one year for xmas, I asked J for a vacuum cleaner - like, who seriously would ask for a vacuum for xmas? you guessed it... me! So, he bought me the vacuum cleaner and as soon as I opened it, I put it together and started vacuuming!! I remember being really excited about trying it out! am I silly or what.. I am just exciteable (sp?) I guess.

Game night tonight with J - we've been addicted to the game "dance, dance, revolution" on our wii. It's the only one game that I can kick J's ass in and he constantly tries to beat me, but he hasn't yet. Let's see what happens tonight.

Not much else happening tonight, I am going to take J out for dinner tonight and he doesnt know it yet - (its a surprise, just because) I think we talked about seeing a movie tomorrow too, but not too sure. We shall see what kind of trouble we get into over the weekend! tee hee.....

Ohh.. I posted some photos on my picasa, go here to view them:


http://picasaweb.google.com/cindyzed

Ayez un grand vendredi!

I am tired of the cold and the snow. I've had enough...Although, my backyard looks like a mini winter wonderland! and it's soo pretty! I just can't wait for when I don't have to deal with brushing the snow off my car, dealing with bad winter drivers, and the yukky sand strewn roads that hurt my car!!!! (sound bitter?) nah, just want it to be Spring already.

I am in love with "The Fray" actually I am in love with the song "Look after you" it is such a lovely song. The lyrics are soo powerful to me, it reminds of one of my long distance relationships. (I've only had a couple of those thank god!) Come to think of it, long distance relationships weren't really that hard for me... I survived, I kept myself busy, I kept my sanity. I do not miss dating at all. Although, I have a few single friends that I do envy - in terms of being able to only think about themselves rather than someone else. Not to say that I am selfish. Sometimes, I guess, we all miss something from our singlehood life. I remember when my Friday nights as a singleton, was spent talking on the phone and finishing a whole bottle of red wine by the end of the night, staying up into the wee hours of the morning - having friends over and just fooling around, going for long drives just by myself when I couldn't sleep or if I was bored. I could do all these things now being married, but things are obviously different. I do believe that once you're married, things are not what you'd hope - like a fairy tale and all those dreamy thoughts you have - people do change, and you find out things about your partner that you never knew - (eg. J loves to leave his dirty clothes on the floor) no matter how many times you talk to him about putting them in the hamper which I put beside his bed!!! I also learned that you definitely have to learn to give and take - very important. I think for J and I, we have learned how to work together instead of working against each other (this is where the give and take part comes in) There are things about me that J can't stand I know that... and there are things that J does that I can't stand (a few, not a lot) But I love him regardless...

I must get back to work - but I don't feel like it :(

The sun is shining now - the snow is melting as I write. Is Spring here yet?

I had a very good weekend! J and I raked about 10 bags of leaves on Sunday and pulled out our tomatoes from the garden and all my snapdragons. The backyard looks great and ready for the first snow fall. I don't know why but I am excited about winter! I am looking forward to the the first snow fall and cuddling on those warm, wintery nights. ( i sound like a freaking commercial now)

I am feeling kinda under the weather today. I left work early yesterday afternoon, as I had a light fever. It all started last friday, my throat started to hurt and I felt something coming on, so I medicated right away and on Saturday, I was feeling not too bad and all through Sunday too. It hit me yesterday morning and got worst towards the afternoon, so I went home, slept and had some noodle soup and went to bed. I feel sooo much better this morning! I hope that this all goes away before we leave for Edmonton. I can't wait to see mommygirl's girls and C!!! I am soo excited!

Anyway, gotta go!

C

I am sooo happy its freaking Friday!!! This day could not come any sooner for me.

I am at work right now. I've had a very uneventful morning so far. I've completely finished my morning routine, which usually consists of, turning my pc on, reading the news on cbc.ca and canoe.ca. I then check for any new listings that are new on the market and start emailing/calling clients to let them know, and then, I have my coffee break with my "dynamic trio" girls. After the morning break, I usually either have to type up contracts both for listings and sales normally, I have to go out somewhere (picking up stuff at the land titles ofc, dropping of contracts at other real estate offices etc) and then I go for lunch. Today, there is nothing new! no new listings, no phone calls, I've only received a few phone calls from my boss and thats it so far. So suffice to say, I've been really bored. I am looking for things to do!!! I hate not being busy. It throws everything off. I should be thankful for this break, but really, I thrive on stress and busyness (sp?). I tend to work well under those 2 conditions. There's a lot of us out there who do I am sure!

No big plans for the weekend, except the pumpkin patch outing. Some of the girls are getting together go out for drinks and appies and I think I might join them. Otherwise, I think I am going to get the rest of the painting done and do some much needed cleaning that involves taking the vacuum out and dusting everything.

It's cold here today -3 this morning with frost everywhere, but it's sunny. I love the sunshine. It just makes everything smile!

Wanna see where I usually journal from? (check below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beachesbrew/1762948223/

This is a picture of me this morning! in the sunshine!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beachesbrew/1762882741/

Happy Friday!

Love,
me

I wish that I could blog everyday, I really do. I like reading other blogs/journals and say my peace, but when it comes to my own blog, I just don't have the energy! (that is when procrastination sets in) Is it because my life is boring? far from it let me tell you....I am just really freaking busy these days and been sort of down in the last couple of weeks, but I got up, I dusted myself and went on with life leaving all the negative energy behind. In the last week, I have learned more about what I am willing to tolerate and it feels amazing. I think for the most part, I just needed to set some boundaries for myself and I am definitely on my way.

J and I had a fantastic weekend. We lounged, shopped, ate sushi, played carnival on the WII ( I LOVE THE WII), did some chores (laundry, dishes etc) and overall, had a very relaxing weekend! Next weekend we are going to Pete Murray's Corn Farm in Chase to pick up a pumpkin. I am soo excited! We haven't done this since we moved here 4 years ago. J and I usually drove down to Lockport in MB to pick them and I miss that. The drive to Lockport at this time of the year is just so pretty with all the fall colors.

There are a lot of things I miss about Winnipeg, as crazy as that sounds. I miss the Folk Fest, the Fringe, going to see plays, going to see Holly Cole for her Xmas concert every year, and many more... I suppose that is the sacrifice in living in such a small city of 88,000 people in Kamloops. One awesome thing in this small city is that everyone knows everyone in one capacity or the other. J bugs me all the time because whenever we are out somewhere, I always bump into people I know through work (you meet tonnes of people in Real Estate) and he teases me about my "boyfriends" on the side! LOL! gotta love him! I am glad that we can joke about things like that. He is the best husband that anyone can ask for! I love my life with him :)

Anyway, enough rambling on.... I have to get back to work....

Love,
me

I am feeling blah today. I feel like I have lost faith in people who I thought was dear to me. It was hard to type that sentence because I am such a positive person. People that know me can attest to the fact that I always look at the glass half full. Lately, I just feel that people use me and when they have what they want, they dump me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any expectations with anything, but it is just sooo disappointing because I am a “giver” and never a “taker”. I have a lot of really good friends with whom I share, give and laugh with, and right now, this is what is keeping me going. I have come to the conclusion that these are the only type of friends I will keep from now on. I guess it took me a while to learn this lesson, but I am glad I finally have.

Just wanted to get this off my chest.

We are all moved in to the new house! Things are going well. Still a few things left to organize, otherwise, everything seems to be falling into place. J and I are painting our master bedroom over the long weekend. We chose this gorgeous golden yellow color that will brighten things up. Our bedroom furniture is unfinished pine that we got at Ikea and we are going to be staining it an expresso color to contrast the golden yellow. We are also putting down laminate flooring that we are getting at such a good price (57 cents per sqft. thanks to Home Hardware for the employee discount) I am so excited to see how it’s going to turn out. We’ve decided do our reno’s room by room otherwise, I can see us both getting frustrated and broke. The house is really starting to feel like our own. The days that go by only confirms that we have chosen the right home for the both of us. Yesterday, we went for a walk around Mac Park and walked for about an hour. It was a nice walk around the park which is only a 2 min walk from our house. There were a lot of geese around yesterday afternoon and beavers too! It was awesome  (will post photos of it when I can)

Fish for dinner tonight and I am cooking. I am going to tackle one of mom’s recipes. That is it for my little update, until next time…..

Love to all!

I am back at work today. I wish I had a couple of more days.

J and I did a lot of packing over the weekend. All we have left to pack is my clothes, kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff and just the odd thing here and there. For the most part, we are pretty much done :) It feels really good to be ahead this time. This will be the 6th time that I am moving in my lifetime and you'd think that I'd be a pro by now right? but no, procrastination usually got the better of me, but not this time :)

Today, I have a tonne of work waiting for me. I have to pick up more boxes, change our address and get some groceries. Maybe drop off some stuff at goodwill if time permits. Anyway, must go before I lose my good spirits in tackling these things ahead of me....

Later!

Cindster.

I can't believe I haven't been here in a while. I was just reading my entries and the last time I wrote, we were moving in to our condo and now we are moving again... yes, you heard me!

J and I have been thinking about buying a house this summer. Our condo was just getting a little too small for our liking. It also got to the point where we didn't feel like it was our home. We've had a couple of incidents with the caretaker and her power struggles and unfair treatment of the other residents, that we could not take it anymore. I did make a written complaint about her and hopefully something WILL be done. Although, this is not the only reason why we decided to look for a house. J really wanted to have his photography studio and I wanted a yard where I can have a garden and not have neighbours share a common wall with us. So, we decided to start our search in the last week of July and found this beautiful house on the North end of the city. It's your ordinary bungalow with an oversized 1 car garage and huge flat yard and a beautiful garden with a peach tree, a cherry tree, a raspberry bush and so much more. The current owner has been living there for the last 18 years and she really did a phenomenal job with the garden and the house too! The house is very clean and she really kept up with the maintenance. J loves the yard and he is very happy about having his own garage where he can build me stuff (so he says!) I actually bought him a shirt the other day that said " I'd rather be in my garage" LOL! he loved it. I am very excited to move in to the new house. We take possession September 14. I am just really glad everything worked out this time around. Our condo sold in just less than a day, which made it easier for us to get this new house. Not much else new, just looking forward to the move.

I must get back to work!

Thank goodness it's the long weekend :)

So, we bought a condo! we move in 2 weeks so suffice to say, things have beem somewhat hectic. On top of all of this, I have been working non-stop for 20 days. This is my first weekend off in a while, but I have to spend it packing :) but its all good, I am really looking forward to moving. We bought a condo unit that has been completely renovated, along with the entire building. We get new laminate flooring, new doors, new cabinet doors and countertops, just to name a few. We have a better view of the north side of the city as we are on the very top floor and the best part is we are far away from the highway traffic noise, yipee! it doesn't really take much to make me happy :) We close on the condo on Dec 1, but we are allowed to move in earlier...(the perks of working for a realtor) This will be first place that J and will both own and it's very exciting. We decided to buy the place as an investment property in the future. We figure, we would live in it for a while, buy a house that we really like and rent this condo out. The new place is very close to the university which makes it very easy to rent out. If anything, I think it will appreciate in value. The other few good things about the new place is that it has an exercise room with all brand new equipment and a games room. I think I will be more motivated to work out now that I don't have to get into a car and drive to the gym! SO yeah, that my great news!

In other news, J and I have been extremely busy besides all the packing that is going on. We are immersed in a couple of things during the week. We are currently going through this marriage course through our church, its nothing ground breaking or anything, and no we are not having problems, but I suppose its more about enhancing your marriage. It has been very interesting thus far. Lately, it seems that at the end of the week, we are just both burnt out, but we still manage to spend time together which is great. Nothing much else is new, we had our first snow fall last Friday and then for the rest of the weekend it was warm, 18 degrees all weekend. All the snow melted within 24 hours and for the rest of the week, it's been cloudy, rainy and sunshiney all at the same time. I am so glad I live in BC. I don't miss the cold Manitoba winters, but I do miss snow, silly as that sounds. So, that is all for now.... Have a good day everybody!

C

So, our car is back in the shop for the second time this month... What a headache..We should just get a new car already.... but.. a house is more important than a car, so it's going to have to wait, but its just really frustrating. Just when you think you are getting ahead... On the other hand, we are both well, except J has a sore throat. He had just finished recovering from a sore knee and back and know he has a sore throat, poor guy. I have been super busy at work. We will be listing a whole bunch of new townhouses straight from a developer, so I have been prepping for that. Real estate usually is not this busy this time of the year, but not for us this year, I am anticipating that the next few months will be out of the norm, which is good for me. On the plus side, the new development site is not even a block from where we live, and while we are selling it, I get to work in one of the display suites which is a hop, skip and a jump and I am home! so that's super sweet! So, yeah, no big plans for the weekend, since we are car-less :( but, I've got tonnes of FUN stuff to do like cleaning, laundry, ya know, fun stuff. Oh, and of course take care of my J.

My hello's to all!

C

I can't believe it's been almost a week of no posting for me..... Been busy lately...Good news is, I got my first raise at work yesterday after only about a month of working. I was really surprised, because we said we would review in 3 months, but he said that, so far, I have exceeded his expectations, and that I deserved this raise. No complaints here of course. I just really appreciate it. He is an awesome boss. There are a few assistants jealous of my job because he happens to be known as Mr. Nice Guy in the office. It's definitely a huge change from my last employer. I actually look forward to going to work rather than dreading it. The receptionist made a comment the other day that I seem much happier lately and boy is that ever the TRUTH. I could not be thankful enough to have this opportunity.

Well, no big plans for the weekend, getting a haircut tomorrow and I think we are heading out for drinks Saturday night and church on Sunday and maybe some hiking? we will see. We've gone to the gym every single day this week, except for today and I am really sore from the lunges (did I even spell that right??) The most important thing is that we made it 4 days in a row! Pat on the back for us! Oh, and J's birthday is next Wednesday! he is turning the Big 35. We planned to go out for a dinner and a movie. It's been a while since we've seen a movie, I think the last one we saw was Click - with Adam Sandler, t'was a good movie in my personal opinion, but then again, I love Adam Sandler..he is the funniest human being on this earth.

I will end it here. Have a good weekend everyone! I will post some pictures from Mabel Lake tomorrow.

Love,
C

I am sooo excited….. I just found out that we are heading out to Mabel Lake this weekend to camp. We are leaving Friday night and coming back to the city on Sunday. I am soo hoping that it will be nice this weekend. I am really looking forward to it. We were supposed to be going to the Remax picnic and I found out today that there will be no hot air balloon ride this year, which is ok because we are heading out to Mabel Lake anyway. So, that is the big news of today.

On the other hand, I accomplished a lot at work today, we have a new listing for a 2.8 million dollar home, so I had fun creating the brochure. I didn’t get to leave the office today for any kind of adventures which was a really nice change. I actually had time to do everything that was on my “to do” list, so Yey for me! That’s all the update for now… I am currently waiting for my dear husband to come pick me up so we can head to the gym!

Tootles!

I am back.....from a very, very very, long hiatus. I really missed writing about nothing, everything, and just being able to write what's in this head of mine. So here I am... older and wiser and once again ready to face the online WORLD (sounds a little corny huh?) Looking forward to meeting, re-meeting new and old faces on here!

Love,
C.