Goodby 2008

Twice now I have had wonderful, insightful posts reflecting on the past year. And twice this laptop which is possessed has deleted it on me. This thing hates me. I'll make a post tomorrow from the big computer, but I couldn't let the year roll over without a post dated today. So, here's hoping you and yours are safe, warm and happy. See ya in 2009.

Christmas portraits

I finally got around to taking the boys' christmas pictures yesterday. I normally would have done this before christmas and sent them home with the christmas cards, but the end of November and beginning of December were so crazy with 2 road trips to Saskatoon and 1 to Prince Albert it never happened. I am holding back the "good picture" as I have sent this off to be printed and sent home to grandparents. But I couldn't resist posting a little "sneak peek" of the pictures that made the "cutting room floor" so to speak. I can't believe how grown up these two look! (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my new camera???)

Me and my guys

A rare look behind the camera.

This is now the boys and I spent the afternoon. This game started with Colby and I, and then I was quickly pushed out of the way by Joey. It is not often that these two play together so I quickly grabbed the camera. This game went from the traditional tabletop hockey to "Smash the player while colby moves it". Joey was laughing so hard he fell over. Of course, like it always does, playing turned to fighting which ended up with me being the referee. For the full story in pictures check it out here.

Merry Christmas from Ile a la Crosse

Listening to Gramma read "T'was the night before Christmas, a tradition started when they were all babies.

The casualities of christmas packages at the hands of children.

Joey's new housecoat from Gramma.

Daddy's case of Red Bull with a tag that says "I'm sure you need this"

Stocking fun.

A rare picture of them together.

The rest of the pictures can be seen here.

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you.

She's here!!!

Well, SHE's not here, but little Ezri made her grand appearance this afternoon at 5 PM Ontario time. Although I haven`t talked to Jen (I would if I had a contact number) I hear through the grapevine that both Mom, Baby and Daddy are all happy and well. Although Jen and I have technically never met, we have had many, many coffees together and I feel like I know her better than people I see everyday. We are all thrilled that everyone is safe and sound, and her hubby Nathan arrived from Nunavut just 13 hours before she was born! We`re all waiting for pictures!

Merry Christmas Eve!

More to follow when I can get the two of them to sit still together long enough. I posted more pictures here.

I love you Trudie!

This is by far the best thing I received in the mail in a long time. I read Trudie's blog daily, she's listed on the side as Teepee's blog. She's a fantastic lady in Sweden who posts some amazing pictures on her blog. She started posting wildlife pictures, specifically of a species of bird called Tit. As you can imagine, I had a great time with this. Well, much to my surprise I found a package from her in the mail yesterday with this inside: (Take a look at the tag)

It's good to be back!

When I first moved to this community, I was very hesitant to let people know that I did photography. There was already someone here in town who did "home photography", and since she was the 2nd person I met when I moved here I didn't want to interfere with that. I was approached about a month ago by the Friendship Centre to do family portraits. This was a service that the Friendship Centre was offering their staff members at no cost. (The Friendship Centre paid me by the hour). I borrowed a backdrop and stand from Sasha, who had first been approached by the Friendship Centre and referred them to me for this. (She is a good friend of mine and an amazing person). Anyways, I took 10-15 family portraits that night, just a quick 1-2 poses per family. Word quickly got out that I also did portraits, and now that Sasha has decided to take the winter off and not do ANY pictures my phone has ringing! I had my first session yesterday, with 2 booked for Monday and one referral already from the one I did yesterday. In preparation for this and in celebration of the fact that I am keeping my job until June, I splurged and bought my own backdrop stand and backdrop.

Aren't these two just the cutest couple ever? They've been together 5 years.

20/20

Greetings everyone! Thanks for all the birthday wishes. The last 3 days have been a mix of guilt and excitement. As you know, I had my Lasik surgery on Monday. After about 2 hours I was not sure about the whole thing. There were drops, burning, more drops, an odd piece of plastic to cover your eye while you sleep that looks like the lens from racquetball goggles. They sent along a roll of medical tape to tape them to your eyes. I looked at it and thought, "Like THAT is going to stay on my face all night!" So, I Mcgyvered a pair of glasses out of the tape and the two lenses. I know of a few people who have had this done, none of them have been able to go from driving with glasses to driving without in less than 24 hrs. The whole experience was nerve racking and surreal. While waiting for the surgery which takes a total of 10 mins start to finish, actual surgery time though is about 3 minutes per eye, the rest of the time is the surgeon talking to you and some prep, I was talking with another patient who was next in line. The surgeon came out of the room scrolling through his Black Berry. I looked over to the 19year old girl who was nervous beyond belief and say, "Oh great, we have a surgeon who has to get his directions off the Internet for how to operate the laser!" She looks at me and I can tell that I didn't help her at all, although she did laugh. To top things off I overheard him booking plane tickets. So I thought I should let the girl know that our surgeon is booking a fast get away after the 10 botched surgeries that he's done this afternoon. I don't think that helped either. After arriving back at the hotel, I found it very hard to focus with my eyes being so sensitive to light, they were burning and watering like crazy. I was beginning to second guess my decision. After a 2 hour nap, I was feeling better and in the morning I couldn't believe that I could see about 90%. By the time I got to the clinic for my follow up I was feeling even better. Everything went well, he told me I had 20/20 vision and that it would only get better as the month went on. WOW. That was the surreal part. If anyone is thinking of having this done, DO IT. Make the time, save the money, they will even finance it. I went with the Zyoptic laser which is the best out there at the moment. By going with that one, if I regress at all, I will be covered for the rest of my life and they will do the surgery again for free! If anyone has any questions, let me know! It has been one of the best decisions of my life.

My little elf

Sexiest Santa ever

Santa arrived at the preschool today. The top picture is one of the teacher's newest daughter, who is only 2 weeks old. Joey in the middle didn't realize it was Daddy in that costume and was not scared at all. The bottom picture is my favorite. This little guy was telling Santa it couldn't be the "real" Santa, because the real Santa is at the North Pole. The kids loved him and not surprisingly, he was awesome!

Happy Birthday Rob

Unfortunately I don't have a recent picture, but I will soon. We had a great "mini holiday" and are now back and getting all ready for Christmas.

Happy birthday honey. Today you got the best gift of all, 20/20 vision. We love you very much!

Crazy coincidences

Megan and I put together a funny coincidence about our pasts. Which is funny, because technically we have never met in person. We realized through Facebook that we have mutual friends from our past, and both lived in Halifax at the same time. I'm sure we probably passed each other in the street. And then, 13 years later we end up living in the same city (well almost) at the top of the world, and again never met. It started when we found each other's blogs, and realized we were geographically close to one another. Even funnier, the funny newfoundlander that we met shortly after moving up there who drove the tractor trailer that delivered the Northern's supplies once a week was none other than her father in law. I actually ended up calling her last night to compare exactly who we knew and when we were there, to find out she started university in September of the year that Rob and I finished. So we missed each other by months at most. And then for her to become friends with the people that Rob and I were friends with is just too funny. For this story in pictures, check out Megan's blog.

The last pictures taken on my camera

These are a few pictures I took of a little boy across the street. Luckily the flash card was still on the computer desk. We have become friends with his parents and they were over visiting. I couldn't resist digging out the camera to capture this face. I can't wait to get the new camera to do it all over again.

Why we haven't really been posting

This is why the blog has been somewhat quiet over the past week. Rob and I are addicted to Ice Road Truckers. We bought the season set last year and just last week received Season 2. I have had it pre-ordered since the Spring. It's a 4 disc set and we are now through the first 2 discs. It's fantastic!

In other news, we have started to receive packages and christmas cards from home. We received 2 boxes from Mom and a box from Gramma Jeannine yesterday, along with a few cards. We have also had some great news from the insurance company who is handling the break-in claim. Everything is set to go and things should be replaced as soon as next week. I also have families booked to come to the house next week for family / christmas pictures, so I'm itching to get my hands on my new camera! I should have it by next Tuesday if all goes as planned. The preschool that I work at put a note on their December newsletter that I do photography and my phone has been ringing steady! Woo hoo!

Speaking of work, when I accepted this job in October there was a condition on my contract stating that it may only be until December, as I was covering a maternity leave. I found out 2 weeks ago that she was in fact coming back and my last day of work would be December 18. I was inwardly upset, but I knew this was a possibility. Well, I got a call the end of last week informing me that she will be taking a job in the elementary school and if I wanted to extend my contract at the preschool until June I could. Yee-freakin-ha! It was confirmed today and I sign the new contract tomorrow. I really love this job and love the women I work with. Who would have ever thought I would be a preschool teacher??

Sliding with Daddy

The "At Home" Workout

An update

Life is getting a little crazy here lately but now that I have a minute I thought I would update. We are now in the fun process of getting things organized with our home insurance to get our things replaced. As I'm sure you can appreciate, not an easy thing to do when you live 5 hours away from a major city. I'm also going through SERIOUS withdraw from my camera. This is the time I would be taking christmas pictures of the boys, and I've been approached by 3 different people asking me to do their christmas pictures. Grrr! Hopefully soon. I also found out some potentially great news tonight, but I can't let that secret out for the next couple of weeks. Nothing like a cliffhanger for ya! :) And these pictures were taken tonight. And yes, he is navigating with the mouse on the Kids CBC website. Seriously, who is this child???

Just like Connie

Rob has his district manager in town for the next few days, and I've gone into what I call "Connie mode". Connie always had home made bread waiting whenever their district manager came into town. Now, I don't bake anything but banana bread and cookies, but I can made a mean supper. He's coming over tonight for supper and I'm just sitting here waiting for them to arrive. People have accused me of "sucking up" by doing this, but that's not it at all. I just know how much I would appreciate a home cooked meal after travelling for 2 days to get here, the last 5 of them driving up here. Maybe it's just the Newfoundlander in me, making sure everyone is well fed. But part of it is reputation for Rob. I would like for people to leave here with a good impression of not just the store, but of Rob. I would hope whoever comes to visit looks forward to coming back, even if it's for the great hospitality and a home cooked meal.

The past few days

The trip to Saskatoon has been overshadowed by the break in, but it was a good trip. We left for Saskatoon Tuesday morning at 5:30AM, as it is a 5-6 hour drive to Saskatoon, depending on the volume of deer on the road and required pee breaks. The drive was long but the kids were fabulous. We stayed at Motel 6 in Saskatoon, where the room was a bit on the small side but the kids loved the pool. Joey has no fear of water, and quickly let go of Rob completely to play in the water that was up to his neck. We figured as soon as he went under (which he did quite a few times) he would be scared and want to get out. Not this kid! We were all in bed by 8 PM and up the next morning by 6. We did lots of shopping at WalMart, and of course there were Tim Horton's runs. Conveniently there was a Tim Horton's in the parking lot of the hotel! SCORE!

I posted pictures on Facebook of both the break in and the trip. If you want to see the break in pictures, click HERE, and if you want to see the pictures of the trip, click here

CSI: Saskatchewan

I was afraid I would be off line longer than this but I have the most amazing husband who realized that without internet I would go completely batty. I love him so much. You'll understand why in a few minutes.

This week started out great. We left for Saskatoon Tuesday morning for a couple medical appointments and an overnight trip. We had a great time, enjoying the hotel and the pool. Joey and Colby loved playing in the pool with Rob, and of course pictures will follow shortly.

On our way back, we received a phone call from Rob's grocery manager that our house had been broken into. She received a call from one of the women I work with at the preschool wondering if we were back because our door was wide open. She came right down to the house and called the cops. We figure it was kids looking for money. They smashed our TV and computer monitor, ransacked the house, stole Colby's PS2 and all his games (but left the power supply and all the controllers), Rob's rifle (this is the heartbreaker for him as this was his grandfather's gun), my Canon Rebel, Colby's portable DVD player, (plus a lot of other stuff) and then left the fridge and freezer wide open, spoiling all our food. The worst part about it is that when we got back into town yesterday the cops couldn't let us in the house because they were waiting for the "crime scene specialists" to come in, and they wouldn't be here until today. It was heartbreaking to look at our house with a big wooden board across the door to keep it closed. I kept looking for Gil Grissom, and when the member showed up, that is what I nicknamed him.

I honestly had a hard time with it at first, not knowing what was taken or destroyed in the house. My mind kept going over what we had in the house, and it was things like the kids baby photo albums that were in drawers, the ENTIRE box of christmas gifts I have in my closet, our home movies, etc. They also completely ripped apart Rob's closet that we call "man land" which has his tools, etc. The contents of that closet were all over the kitchen floor. We figure they were looking for money. We have offered a reward for the return of Rob's gun. We have insurance to cover everything else, but it's just a royal pain in the ass. Luckily the community has been very supportive, everything from offering to help clean the house and cook to taking care of the boys while we cleaned up. I realize now it's just material stuff, stuff can all be replaced.

And to explain the first sentence. Since the laptop was stolen and the monitor was smashed, it meant we would have to wait for internet at home until we replaced the monitor. Honestly, the thought made me sick. I'll admit it. I'll stand up and scream "MY NAME IS TINA AND I'M ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET". My most amazing, fabulous husband came home tonight with a 19' flatscreen TV to use as a monitor until we get ours replaced, which is how I'm now telling you the story. I love my husband.

I LOVE these women!

I read a blog called Margaret and Helen, these are 2 senior citizen women who blog almost everyday. They remind so much of my grandmother, and Nan, Rob's grandmother. When I read this post this morning I nearly peed my pants. But they say everything I feel about this, just in a way only a grandmother would. The topic was Breastfeeding in Public, and I couldn't resist copying it here. The first entry was posted by Helen, who is 82. She also just posted a letter to her family about the rules for Thanksgiving dinner, which is worth the trip over there to read.

If I had a dime for every exposed breast I have seen recently, I’d have about a buck-fifty. And I don’t hang out at those nude beaches that have become so popular. What I am talking about here is public breast feeding. One of the women in my quilting group has three daughters. I can’t remember a time in recent memory when one of them wasn’t pregnant. The last time we were at her house, her youngest daughter was there with her three boys. So in the middle of quilting I look over and she’s sitting there fully exposed feeding the baby. In my day, you left the room and came back about 20 minutes later -often times wearing your blouse inside out by mistake. But times have changed so I just looked away. But then her four year old came into the room and said, “ChiChi Momma. ChiChi“ And I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes, but the four year old reached up and grabbed his momma’s ”ChiChi” and had himself a little milk with his cookies. Well you could have knocked me over with a feather. It seems that all three of her daughters are members of that La Leche group. Well, I don’t know how far this group is willing to take it, but if a child is old enough to ask for it, their too old to see it. And if a 4 year old ever grabs for one of my breasts their going to get their hand slapped. Now a 44 year old is another story but don’t tell Harold I said that. Breastfeeding is fine by me. But putting it out there for everyone to see is like chewing with your mouth open. It’s just not polite. And that’s all I have to say about that.

From Margaret

First of all Helen, what did my bird ever do to you? Believe it or not dear, I have to agree with you 100% on this one. I know they say breastfeeding is a natural bodily function, but so is a bowel movement. You don’t see people dropping their drawers and doing that in the middle of your living room, now do you? For goodness sakes Helen. Let me pick the topic next time. That’s it. I’m done.

Sheet titty!

This is the new word in my house. My wonderful, loving husband has certain obsessive compulsive characteristics. One is, what he calls "Sheet titties". Rob is one of those people who has to have the bottom sheet on the bed fitted perfectly on all the corners, or he can't sleep. It's beyond me how if the bottom corner is slightly untucked on MY side of the bed effects his sleeping, but somehow it does, according to him. This is a nightly thing with us, because in my mind as long as the sheet is on the bed and the corners are UNDER the mattress, they don't necessarily need to be stretched as far as they can go under the mattress so there are no wrinkles. The other night he yelled "SHEET TITTY" pointing at the slightly untucked corner of the sheet. I lost it. So now "sheet titty" is a new "Rob word". Right up there with "folderize", but that's another post.

Canadian Blog Awards

Well this little blog has been nominated for a Canadian Blog Award. We've been nominated for Best Family Blog. Voting begins tomorrow (Sunday). Just thought I'd let ya know. You can vote for us or any of the other blogs at Canadian Blog Awards 2008.

A change of pace

Although I love a good blog debate as much as the next person, it's time to have a change of direction here. The preschool I'm working at has provided me with a challenge that I'm asking your help with. We are doing christmas cards with the kids and I have been asked to find a verse / poem to go in the card. I've been surfing sites for the past few day and can't find anything I like. I want something from a preschoolers point of view to parents/ guardians. Does anyone either know of a site I can look at, or better yet, remember a card that was made for you from your little one that you just loved? I appreciate all your help.

To anonymous

Although I do appreciate that you have expressed your opinion, what I do not appreciate is that you are hiding behind "anonymous". I come from a family of hunters. I would eat wild meat over processed-bought-in-a-grocery store anyday. We also live in a rural area where meat is expensive and not always the best quality. My husband (well, both actually) is a hunter who hunts for the meat and not just the sport. All of the animal will be used, either by us or what we give to friends. Either leave your identity or don't comment. Any further anonymous comments will be deleted. - Tina

The Great White Hunter FINALLY gets his buck.

A Doe and Fawn that I had to take a picture of.

There is a story here. After 6 years, I FINALLY shot the second deer of my life. While I admit it wasn't as exciting as having a deer approach you while sitting in a stand but I was beside myself with excitement as we stalked across a clear cut trying to get in shooting range.

After Missing a doe a month ago, and another doe and buck this morning, we finally figured out that my rifle was not sighted in for 100yrds as I had thought. I used my partner's rifle and finally bagged my Buck. Not too big, a nice junior 8 pointer.

After we had him cleaned, I stood up and glanced behind me only to find my deer's twin, marching not even 30 yards away from us. My Partner grabbed the rifle and Bang! 2 deer cleaned and on the back of the truck in under an hour. A big thanks to the 3 guys from town that we met up with who helped us drag them the 3/4 of a mile to the truck.

I think that we have moved to the deer capitol of Canada. There is a group of Quebec hunters who found this place on google earth and decided to take a trip here. I guess they have to hunt out of province as the deer are Canadian and not Quebec'ers, so I guess there are no deer in Quebec.

Randoms from yesterday

Happy birthday Chenell ladies!

Two of my favorite little girls are turning 8 today. 8!! I can't believe it. I remember all to well when they were born and many hours spent at their house helping out their very tired mommy! And, of course, seeing as it is also their mommy's birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRA, REBECCA AND NICOLE! Wish we were there.

For Mom

That super cute little baby is me, and my mom is on the right. You can see the rest HERE

Playing around

I was asked to do some pictures here in town this week and a good friend of mine Sasha offered to let me use her backdrops for it. I love it! I SOO want one now! These were taken in my livingroom.