Happy Friday

I am off to Victoria today. I go see the neurologist, maybe I will get some answers...but I won't hold my breath. With Spring break starting next week, youngest daughter is coming over for a visit for a few days, so on our way back from Victoria we will stop at the ferry to pick her up. It's going to be a busy weekend as my niece and her family will be coming on Sunday and spending a couple of days which will be absolutely lovely. So If I am not around very much you will know why.

So with that being said, I will leave you with a few photos, hope you enjoy them.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and remember to smile at someone, who knows you may be their ray of sunshine for the day...but most of all be good to yourself....cheers!

Humour Thursday

Well it's Thursday so here is some humour for today.............

This is the greatest application ....what a guy!!! He should live to be a really old fella with that attitude!

This is an actual job application that a 75 year old senior citizen submitted to Walmart in Arkansas .
They hired him because he was so funny.....

NAME: Kenneth Way (Grumpy Old Bastard)

SEX: Not lately, but I am looking for the right woman (or at least one who
will cooperate)

DESIRED POSITION: Company's President or Vice President. But seriously, whatever's available . If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn't be applying here in the first place

DESIRED SALARY: $185,000 a year plus stock options and a Michael Ovitz style severance package. If that's not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION: Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD: Target for middle management hostility.

PREVIOUS SALARY: A lot less than I'm worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT : My incredible collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.

REASON FOR LEAVING: It sucked.

HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK: Any.

PREFERRED HOURS: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS?: Yes, but they're better suited to a more intimate environment .

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER?: If I had one, would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP
TO 50 lbs.?:Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR?: I think the more appropriate question here would be 'Do you have a car that runs?'

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION?: I may already be a winner of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, so they tell me.

DO YOU SMOKE?: On the job - no!
On my breaks - yes!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?: Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb sexy blonde supermodel who thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I'd like to be doing that now.

NEAREST RELATIVE....7 miles

DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR
KNOWLEDGE?: Oh yes, absolutely.


***Old People Rock***
Hope you all have a great Thursday!!!!

Do you know someone like this....

Since I have been off work with my shoulder injury, I have had a little more time on my hands. As a result I have tried to make dinners at our house a little more exciting. I don't know about you but I get a little tired of shake'n bake chicken, pasta and the likes. My recipe books have been getting some use. The other night was no exception. I was looking through a cook book my in laws got me for Christmas, called Cooking with BC Wine. It's a great cook book as it not only gives you great recipes for cooking with wines but it also highlights wineries throughout the province. Anyhow, the other night I decided I was going to make Chardonnay Pork Chops. It was a recipe that featured BC chardonnay. It was rich and robust. To compliment the pork chops I decided to make oven roasted rosemary potato's using fresh rosemary from my garden and baked spaghetti squash. It turned out really very nice and hubby said he enjoyed.

Here's the funny part. My hubby loves spicy food. The spicier the better. He also loves his fresh ground black pepper. We have one of those pepper mills that is put to good use. Anyhow, as I always do I put out the dinner leaving the condiments on the counter for him to add as he sees fit. What I find interesting is that he hasn't tasted the food yet and there he is smothering it with pepper. It makes me wonder how does he know what the meal is to taste like if he covers it all in pepper? How does one know how the dish is to truly taste if you don't taste it before you add all the pepper? I really don't know if he does this out of habit or if it is that he truly just loves his pepper and can't eat a meal unless the food is covered with it.

As I mentioned earlier he is a man who loves his spicy food. I could never cook anything spicy enough for him because then no one else would be able to eat it, so I opt to make food with a little zing and I leave out all the hot sauces and chili peppers and let him go at it.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook for my hubby he loves everything I make and is appreciative, but it just struck me the other night how he must have pepper on everything...to me it just spoils the original intent of the flavours you were meant to experience.

So do you have someone in your life like that?

I haven't been able to get out and run like I have wanted, due to my shoulder/back injury and as a result I have had to use my stepper instead. On Sunday I thought I would go out and see if I could do a run. As I started out and I was trying to be optimistic about being able to at least make it to my favorite spot and back, but my back started hurting almost immediately. As I got more into the run it seemed to ease off. I got to my spot and I was feeling ok so I set another landmark....I made it there, still feeling ok....I set another landmark before I knew it I had surpassed what I thought I would be able to do, I decided it was time to turn around and head back. I was almost back when I felt the ache in my hips and knees and my toes going numb(not good and I seem to experience that more these days) but I had to finish it....I did.....I wasn't sure how far I had run....my pedometer told me I ran 10 kms. I was a happy camper.

As I was doing my cool down I looked out at the beach and what should I see but this gorgeous heron...having my camera in my truck I crossed to the street to take a picture....I got a couple. It was standing perfectly still so I went to see if I could got get a closer shot...so I climbed down the embankment and slowly made my way towards the heron. I guess at one point I must have gotten to close as it flew off...but only a few yards away....I made my way a little closer....here are some of the shots I got.....

If you click on the picture you can get an enlarged version of the photo. Hubby and I have appointments on Wednesday so I won't be around much, so here's hoping you have a great

day!!!

Well it's Tuesday so that must mean it's Heads or Tails Tuesday. This week Skittle has chosen the theme to be GREEN. In light of St. Patrick's Day being just around the corner what a perfect time to celebrate green. It just so happens that hubby and I will be having a St. Patrick's Day dinner party and so I have gone out and bought decorations....so for green this week I will share with you the decorations I have bought for the party.....

There is another little something I would like to share with you and it to has a lot of green in it. Last week I went and got something I have wanted for a very long time, and I think it is perfect for the theme and for St. Patrick's day, as well as in keeping with my Irish heritage.

It's my tattoo....yup....it is the Celtic symbol for Motherhood...the three coloured dots represents the birthstone of each of my children....The tattoo is a heart within a heart...I had opted to have one of the hearts green..again to follow along the lines of my Irish heritage...the tattoo is only a week old so I am still getting use to it..it's not the greatest picture...I didn't realize what ugly feet I had until I started taking photos of my tattoo....so that is my Green.

Anyhow, if you would like to join in on the fun, please check out Skittle's Placefor all the instructions...hope you play along.

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

This weeks theme is "Different"....different as in... you say Tomato I say Tamato.....or different as in black and white.....or Ying and Yang......I had to do some digging....here are somethings that I thought were different.....Spending the night in the outdoors or....... on a yacht with your very own helicopter(this was in Victoria harbour last May)....or

Enjoying the beauty of winter......or....the anticipation of Spring

Whatever your "Different" is, I hope there is a balance.....Happy hunting all!

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out tnchick for all of the instructions.

Setting Goals...........

I had the wonderful pleasure of my eldest daughter staying with me this past week. Eldest daughter is going through some transitions in her life and was feeling she needed some guidance and grounding. She loves to come here and get away from the city. Here she feels she can just relax, regroup and contemplate her future.

Well she did a lot of chilling, but I wasn't going to let an opportunity to help her focus on her future pass her by. Most of you know I am a goal orientated person and list maker. I personally have found that by putting things in writing makes them more concrete, tangible and achievable. That is what I was hoping it would do for my daughter. Before she arrived we had discussed that it would be a good idea if we looked at goals, what she wanted and where she saw herself in the future. In order to achieve this she knew I expected her to do some homework.

So the other morning after making her a latte, I asked her to sit down in the living room and asked her to do some brainstorming, to freely write down where she saw herself in 6 months,a year and in five years. After her brainstorming, I had her to do another exercise. I had made up sheets for her to complete. On these sheets I had put headings; Attitude, Artistic, Education, Family, Financial, Physical, Pleasure and Public Service. I asked her to take her brainstorming ideas and fit them into each of these categories. Of course we discussed each and every topic and how she saw herself achieving what she was putting down. I think it is vitally important when setting goals to not only look at education, career and financial, we are more than that. There is an artistic side to everyone and for some that might be exactly where they need or want to be. Our attitudes influence where we see ourselves. So I had her look at her mindset, and had her write down if there was any part of her mindset holding her back and if so, I asked her to set a goal to improve her behaviour.

Of course there is no purpose of sitting down and writing goals if they are unrealistic. So when she was doing this I also asked her to keep in mind are these goals measurable, attainable and realistic. How will she determine if she has reached her goal?

Before she had started this exercise I had also given her some articles to read that I thought might be helpful it getting her focused....I came across this site that gave quotes about goal setting....this quote just seemed so appropriate at the time.....

If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.
Yogi Berra

Goal setting was all very foreign to her but I commended her on sitting down and doing the exercise, and I told her that this was time well spent and an investment into her future.

As she did this exercise early on in her visit it gave us lots of opportunity to talk about the future and how she was going to go about achieving some of the goals she put down on paper. I reminded her that it's one thing to put it in writing it's another to take action. I suggested that she take the goals list and from that create a to do list and post it on her cork board....make little reminders to herself.....talk positive to herself.....I suggested she look for inspirational quotes that touched her and to post them where she would see them every day. Positive talk.

At the end of this week, I think we both benefited. It was a great exercise for me, it helped to remind me to stay focused, to keep pushing my envelope to not let fear hold me back...and that I must set an example.....The one thing I have always tried to instill in my girls is that life is a journey...even though we may not understand why we are at the place we are at right now, it is our journey and it is these experiences that make us who we are and where we venture and not be afraid about pushing the envelope.

~ Each day is a journey. Each day is a process~

Anne Wilson Schaef

Humour Thursday.....

The Redneck Mansion

Fishing Humour

After a day fishing in the ocean a fisherman is walking from the pier carrying two lobsters in a bucket. He is approached by the Game Warden who asks him for his fishing license.The fisherman turns to the warden, "I did not catch these lobsters, they are my pets. Everyday I come down to the water and whistle and these lobster jump out and I take them for a walk only to return them at the end of the day," he says.The warden, not believing him, reminds him that it is illegal to fish without a license.The fisherman turns to the warden and says, "If you don't believe me then watch," as he throws the lobsters back into the water.The warden says, "Now whistle to your lobsters and show me that they will come out of the water."The fisherman turns to the warden and says, "What lobsters?

Gives Window service a whole new meaning now doesn't it

Never under estimate a woman and her scooter!

Smiling is contagious, it's the one thing you won't mind catching!

Plans are meant to be changed......

Update....In yesterdays Heads or Tails the task was to write 7 consecutive things....well I chose to write about 7 things to put on my to do list for day....the problem with lists it that they force you to be accountable. It appears now that MistyDawn would like to know how I made out with my list.....

Well I have to admit I didn't get it all done......I ended up substituting a couple of things....so rather then go to the recycling depot I had to go to the post office and to the gas station to fill up the propane tank for the fork lift....and rather than get the water jugs filled I exercised.....it took longer than I thought to make room in the crawl space and I forgot how much stuff I had to move down there...it's an awkward spot to maneuver, I got the 6 chairs and table in and the Rubbermaid's..it was the TV that presented me the problem...again it's size and awkwardness that presented me with a bit of a challenge, but I managed.

Hubby was to go to Victoria today to do an install....so I figured that would be a great opportunity for eldest daughter and I to go shopping, and having to pass the recycling place I thought I would incorporate that into today's plan....then hubby tells me things have changed that the customer isn't ready for him in Victoria and then I remembered I have the window cleaner coming today......hmmm time to re-think my day. You know the best thing about plans and lists they can always be changed.....prepare for the unexpected, that's about the only thing that is ever for certain, the unexpected.

Hope you all have a grand day!!!

Heads or Tails Tuesday

Well it's that time of the week again folks....this week we are to pick "7" things from any category you would like......Well I am a list person.....and I LOVE to

scratch linesthrough my to do lists.... So here are "7" things on my TO DO List for today:

1. Practise the piano
2. Take the wood out of the back of my truck
3. Go to the recycling depot
4. Get refills for the water jugs
5. Clear out a spot in the crawl space to put eldest daughters furniture in there
6. Assist eldest daughter with her Goals list
7. Do a craft with eldest daughter

Looks like I might have myself a busy day.....I better get to it......have fun all!

Now if you would like to join in on the fun all you have to do is go over to Skittle's Place and get all of the instructions to play along...I hope you do!

Monday morning Birding....

Spring must be just around the corner. As I was sitting practising the piano this morning I looked out my window to see this:

I wasn't sure at first if I was looking at a House Finch or a Purple Finch. After looking in my bird books and Sibley's being the bird bible...and checking out the internet, it would appear that the bird on tip is the male Purple finch and the bird perched on the hands and the other at the back are the females....there was a high bird count this morning.....the quail were out as well.. California Quail male
In this picture we have the male purple finch and a Dark-eyed Junco(sparrow family)perched on the branch in the back.
Male and Female Purple Finch

Herring season just started. It only lasts for a few days..but while the herring are running the feeding for the birds is amazing, and it truly is a site to behold....

Taken yesterday Bald Eagle on the waters edge Qualicum Beach

The Book Meme.....

I have been tagged by Josie for this meme, it's a book meme, and here are the rules:

Rules:
1. Grab the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
2. Open it to page 123.
3.Find the first 5 sentences and write them down.
4.Then invite 5 friends to do the same.

I am not an avid reader. Never have been. It wasn't that I didn't want to read, it was that reading did not come easy to me with my dyslexia.....I was always told I was lazy and didn't try....I so wanted to be able to devour books like my sisters...goodness my one sister could read a whole novel while having a bath....if they only knew how hard I tried. It was my sister Eileen who believed in me. She took the time to sit with me and teach me....she was a natural teacher, I guess that is why she ended up being a teacher and specialized teaching children with learning disabilities. As the years past I did start to read novels, mostly mystery. Again, it was my sister Eileen who introduced me to a wider variety of books, like The Bean Tree, Poison Wood Bible, Ruth, Anna's Daughters....such a plethora of books, all had such deep and personal meanings to them, they were all books she had read and felt I would enjoy....and indeed I did..the book I am reading now is one she gave me, it's called A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. I am only into the first few chapters but it is proving to be a great read...I just find it so very interesting that I decided to pick up this book and read it now...I have had this book for 5 years...it has sat on my book shelf all this time...I can remember when Eileen gave me this book , she told me I would really love it...little did I know then the impact it would have....as it turns out this book is about an older couple who sold their farm in the Shushwap and moved to Vancouver Island...where I live now....and it takes place in the community in which I work.....every place they mention in the book I am familiar with(now that I live on the Island)....had I read this book five years ago when it was given to me, I wonder if it would have had the same impact and appreciated it as much...it just so happens that this month will be 5 years since my dear sweet sister passed away....on the inside cover she had signed her name.....I love that.... I have always believed she is connecting with me in one way or another.....

So here is page 123.....

Karl took Augusta's hand and glanced at his father. "But just Sundays off. Or one day during the week. Surely one day a week." "one day you'll inherit this farm and you can run it as you please. but now it's my farm and I'll run it. If you don't like it you can go someplace else and get a job, but don't expect there to be a farm to come back to if you do. I can't run this farm by myself. It'll be in ruins if you leave."

Now here are the people I have tagged:

Jeni
Silverneurotic
akelamalu
Grandmocha
Minnesoablue

Hope you all are having a fantastic weekend!

P.S. Please don't feel pressured into doing this meme....do it if you have time and want to O.K. ~hugs~

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

This weeks theme is PARTY....oh my goodness I feel like I should be putting up banners...maybe I might...who doesn't like a good Party......growing up in a family of 12 children there was always a party, birthday parties, Halloween parties, Christmas parties, valentines parties, St. Paddy's day parties...you get the idea......we celebrated everything....oh the parties we use to have...and still do....... so when I started looking through old photos I noticed a theme..it would appear that I certainly liked parties from an early stage....I certainly liked to wear Party hats.....yes party hats....so here is my take on the theme of Party.......

The top one is me in my blue dress my fifth birthday Party.....the bottom one is me with some of my brothers and sisters...I am the little witch....notice the party hat......These silly ones are top, me and my eldest niece, we were boating and there was a theme for hats...and the bottom one..well that's me New Year's Party....notice the Party hat......Ok the top one...obviously a party...hence the Party hat...my mom helping me ...isn't she sweet...the bottom one was a lunch party for my mom's birthday....again...the Party hat....Oh and here we have the top one a baseball party...no ball cap...but a party hat made out of a pair of shorts....and the bottom one again a baseball function and hippie party....this time I used parts of nature to make up my hat......Top one is taken at a carnival party...hence the balloons...and the bottom one was taken at a Christmas Party.....oh I do love my hat's don't I......

So there you have it my take on the theme PARTY if you would like to join in on the fun please go over to thnchick and check out how to play.

Happy Hunting all!!