January 31 -- Say Cheese!

When I went over to Nyk's today, Chaeli passed out the headbands and asked her dad to take a picture. Aren't we cute!?

January 30 -- Yoga!

Today I tried yoga for the very first time and I loved it! I feel so zen and relaxed, ahhh. Orange is trying out my new mat and DVD. He loves a little zen, too.

January 29 -- A gift of tea!

Mr X has some very sweet Filipino friends at work, and they often give him little treats (last week they gave him a lovely bag of homemade spring rolls!). This tea is supposed to be pretty much magical -- I think it will cure just about anything that ails ye!

January 28 -- Pretty snow!

I took this picture in the backyard tonight -- one of our flowerpots that didn't get cleaned out in the fall. The snow makes everything so pretty!

January 27 -- About town

I missed a couple of days in there because I really, truly don't have a lot going on these days! Oh well -- I refuse to beat myself up about it, hah.

Here's a couple of pictures Mr X and I took as we were driving around a bit yesterday. One is a picture of the Shelter where Nyckee works -- we stopped in to see a couple of new dogs that just came in. So cute! The other one is one of about 5 or 6 snow sculptures that were made, I believe, in honour of the torch run a couple of weeks ago. They are in front of the Allen Sapp art gallery and they all have a First Nations flavour. We had gorgeous weather all month, so they have melted a bit, but they are still so pretty!

January 24 -- Family time

We had the kids and wee ones over last night for dinner. Chaeli and Carson had SO much fun playing on their little chair with Auntie Mitchie!

January 23 -- Going for a run

I took the dogs out for a run at the edge of town today because it was beautiful outside and, well, because they needed a run. Here's Puddy after he found a pile of snow to run through.

January 22 -- The orange sweater

I went to grab a sweater tonight and was surprised to see an orange sweater that I didn't recognize. Oops, it's a cat! (Don't judge me because my cupboard is messy. It's part of my charm.)

January 21 -- Ice fishing

Mr X took this picture for me today for my picture of the day! Of course, I wasn't there, it being a Thursday. He's been taking the dogs out to Murray Lake this week in the mornings (he's working nights) and Charlotte just loves it. Puddy stays in the truck like a girl most of the time because he doesn't like cold (never mind that it's not even cold -- it was about -3 today).

January 20 -- Warm winter's night

The balmy weather continues. I just took Charlotte out for her last pit stop of the night, and it's not only warm out but the sky is giving off a lot of light, too. I almost felt like having a campout. Instead, I took a picture of the trees in front of our house. It doesn't show how cool and spooky it looks out there, because my camera cost less than $200, so you'll have to trust me: It looks really cool and spooky out there.

January 19 -- Little Bear

Mitchie and I went to the movies tonight (Lovely Bones), but before we left we had to get an up-to-date picture of Willow (aka Little Bear, aka Sasha Fierce!). She's doing very well and she is just about the cutest little munchkin ever.

January 18th -- Dinner!

When I have nothing interesting to post, I shall post food. This was my dinner tonight -- Greek Avgolemono Soup. Saute some leeks, carrots, onion, add tiny pieces of pasta (in lieu of orzo, which I do not have) and vegetable stock, carefully mix in an egg and lemon juice, top off with oregano and parsley. Add cheese toast and a glass of wine and it's dinner! It was really yummy!

January 18 -- Bonus pic. ..Remember when?

This is when Carson was a newborn, December, 2007. It's amazing how much they have changed already! Chaeli's adorable outfit was from Cousin Mandy!

January 17 -- Berries

Our neighbour's tree overhangs into our yard. There was some beautiful hoarfrost on these berries a couple of days ago, but it melted off before I could get a picture. This morning it was about -8, so I caught them frozen, anyway. It has been ridiculously beautiful this month so far -- and February is just a week and a bit away. What a lovely winter -- and we deserve it after last winter!

January 16 -- Chaeli

Chaeli stayed over tonight and played lots of computer games. That's the big thing now and, sadly, it seems to have replaced painting. Here she is in full concentration.

January 15 -- Willow comes to visit

We are fostering a sick little puppy for the shelter for awhile -- she just arrived today. I don't know how people can dump little puppies, especially in the winter, but thank goodness someone found her in time to give her a chance. She's a sweetheart!

January 14 -- Double the trouble...

...double the fun! Orange cats have always been my favorite because they are especially chatty and interactive, not to mention very handsome. I am lucky enough to have two orange cats, and here they are enjoying their breakfast this morning. On the left, Orange; on the right, Weezie-bag.

January 13 -- Looking back

Bluesky, Alberta, circa 1965. I'm the little girl closest to the center of the pictures. How far we've come.

January 12 -- The Torch Run

The Torch Run went right by my office, so I took my camera to work so I could get a picture of the torch run for my blog entry today. I'm not a big Olympics fan (and even less of a torch fan) and I feel like a bit of a groupie posting this, but, hey: It's something I saw today and that's what this is all about, right?

January 11 -- Let's talk about the weather

It's so beautiful outside these days. Today it was melting, and it's still gorgeous tonight. The dogs were just out sniffing around in the backyard, enjoying being outside and not freezing. I think they discovered some yellow snow.

January 10 -- No pain no gain

This is my Torture Chamber downstairs. I love it, actually, once I'm down there. Also, I must give a shout-out to my fabulous sister, Donna, who is having a birthday today! I love you, Sistah!

January 9 -- Saskatoon

We went in to Saskatoon today for a bit of shopping. It's just over an hour away from where we live and it is the sweetest little city -- I love it. Here's a picture of downtown, on our way to Lululemon.

January 8 -- Newest one in the family

This is Wheezer, (Weaso, Weezie-Bag) our newest cat. He came to live with us in late November and we all love him. How could we not -- look at that face! :) The picture doesn't really do him justice -- he's huge, chatty, cuddly and SO handsome!

January 7 - - My day job

This is where I hang out when I'm not at home: My tiny but beautiful office!

January 6 -- Winter in Saskatch

Block Heater = not optional. It feels like absolute zero out there tonight.

January 5, 2010 -- Comfort food!

Cooking up my favorite comfort food -- spicy lentils with whole grain rice and tomatoes. Mr X won't eat it, but I love it more than anything. Yum -- leftovers all week!

January 4, 2010 -- Cozy Toesies

I got new slippies from my sweet mother-in-law for Christmas this weekend. My feet are so toasty. It makes me laugh to see my feet wearing pink -- I feel so girlie!

January 3 -- 2010: A skidoo ride

See that field on the other side of the river? I want to go there.

January 2, 2010 -- Going to White Fox

We pass a sled dog race on our way to White Fox. I tried to get a picture of the sled part, but they move so fast I'm lucky to have caught them at all.

2010 in Pictures

I'm going to try to keep a diary with pictures this year. There's an idea floating around (Project 365?) wherein one posts a pic on a blog every day of the year as a way of remembering the year. I don't think I'll manage to be disciplined enough to do it every day, but here's Day 1: I shall call it "Staying Home Today".

Party like it's 2010!

Another new year! Seems like as good a time as any to write something on here.

This has been a very good year -- enough fun little things to keep me amused, which is all I really ask for. Some highlights:

Mom's birthday in June -- spending a fun weekend with siblings, Aunties and Uncle and some cousins. Staying with Jo and Donna on our way out was especially awesome!

Back to Edmonton for Jo's birthday the following weekend.

Carlton Trail Jamboree in July with some of Mr X's family and Mitchie and Mark. The weather was awesome (a rarity this summer!) and the music was fun, but mostly it was great seeing Mr X's parents in a lazy, relaxed atmosphere for a change, and cooking fun stuff with Mitchie!

Camping a few times with Chaeli and our dogs. We didn't go far, but we discovered some really cool regional campgrounds nearby.

August was Uncle Bob's funeral. We lost a very special family patriarch, but his funeral was such a beautiful celebration and I'm so glad I was able to go. I have the best family and I'm slowly discovering branches of the family that I didn't know well enough growing up. It was also good to spend a bit of time with a few of my brothers again.

August also took Mitchie and me back to Alberta for an annual camping weekend with some special people. This might be the highlight of my 2009 summer -- it was so much fun!

September was my birthday -- a big one for me -- and I was appropriately spoiled! My sister Donna treated me to a Calgary dream weekend -- shopping (Brent supplied the funding for this as my birthday pressie!), lots of wine, amazing dining experiences, and a fancy car hauling us around town on our big night out. The only bad thing about it is that now I will want to do the same thing every year. :p

September also brought a bit of a career change for me. I moved over with one of the lawyers I have been with since 2000 to his new office on the 1st. It was a very good move for me -- even though I enjoyed my last office, this is just dreamy. It's nice to do some real estate, but lots of other things as well, even some bookkeeping. I love it.

Nyk changed careers in September, too, and is now the manager of the local animal shelter. It's been such a great experience for her so far. I hope she loves it enough to stay there for a long time, because we love helping her out from time to time with fun animal projects!

Mr X is working in town this year, too, which is a big change. It's been awesome having him around every day, and starting this week he now has every weekend off. Just like normal people, whoot!

Of course, the kids and grandkids are the highlight of my life and I am SO happy that we are all here. Michelle and I put lots of miles on her car again this year, making road trips to wherever, and I get to see lots of Nyk and the kids because they just live up the street. Heavenly!

Healthwise, we have all had a great year. I, of course, attribute my good health to my veggie diet, but we've all done well, for which I am so, so thankful.

I'm looking forward to seeing what is in store for us in 2010.