One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..It read:"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."Sincerely,Mrs. Nat King Cole.

Wow! Last winter I had a break down. The weather was -35 with the wind chill. I was quite up set. My only choice was to start walking. Lucky I had a warm winter jacket on. So I set the flashers on my car and then started to walk through the snow. It was bitterly cold. I wasn't very far in my trek and a car passed by and then slowed to a stop. Then I could see the car backing up. I was aprehensive. What if this person just wanted to steal my purse and kick me to the curb. The person behind the wheel was a young man maybe my son's age. He asked if he could help. I asked him if he had a cell phone. He did not. He said he could give me a lift to the nearest service station. That was great. He had been just shopping for some fish for his fish tank and asked me to hold his bag of fish. I was so overwhelmed and grateful. I could not beleive that any one would want to stop out of the goodnes of there hearts to help a stranded driver. I've heard many stories that have not gone so well. But this young man drove me to the station so I could get help for my car. I thanked him for being a good sumaritan. I did not get his address or number. I'm sorry that I didn't. But I prayed that God would bless him for his kindness. I hope that this fine young man received a blessing for what he did for me that day. It's sad that we can't trust just any body. But on this occassion it worked out just as it did for Mrs. Nat King Cole.

Today , I had the most amazing day. I went to my dear friend La's house. She is from Laos. This is not her, but she showed me a picture of her and her husband in the same wedding dress. La is a wonderful gracious woman. She was the one that was in the car accident that I wrote about before Christmas. She's been off work for about 4 months and now she is back and well. I missed her when she was off work and am so thankful she is back. Today she invited me and another co worker to her home to teach us how to make spring rolls. It was so much fun, We made them, cooked them and then ate them. She also made us shanghai noddles. Laotion people cook with spice, and the noodles were quite spicy but good. The spring rolls were yummy. La's sisters and sister inlaw came over too and we enjoyed visiting and sipping on wine and getting to know each other better. Then the gals took us down stairs to sing Karaoke from Laos. It was fun. Before we knew it was 7:00 P.M. and all the husbands started to come in. Next thing I know we are invited for supper. They call it hot pot. Very popular in Laos and Thailand. It's a big electric fry pan in the middle of the table and you cook, thin slices of beef , squid, mushrooms, onion, and on other plates there is bean sprouts, tomatoes, lettuce, rice noddles, and rice wrappers. You can put all or some of the cooked or fresh food in the wrapper and then dip it in a really nice dipping sauce. Yummy. The only thing that I was uncomfortable about is that when all the husbands came everyone started talking in Laotion but me and my friend Malik . It was strange. As we are eating around the table , men and women are all talking and laughing. I did not know if they were talking about us or not. I could see that Malik was very uncomfortable so she excused herself. I ate then I excused myself and we left shortly after that. For the most part the day was fantastic. I want to ccok like this for my family sometime. We like to try different foods.

The following came from an anonymous Mother in Austin, Texas...
Things I've learned from my Boys (honest and not kidding): 1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq.ft.house 4 inches deep.
2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite. 3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can,to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.
8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.
11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12.) Super glue is forever.
13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15.) VCR's do not eject "PB &J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.
Hey Peggy does any of this sound familiar? How hilarious. Yikes

Such wise words! Mom (Grandma) always said this to me, you need your sisters or a daughter. Not that your son or brothers won't be there for you, it just isn't the same. SISTERS -A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter. "Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass." They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that "Sisters" also means your girlfriends, your daughters, and other women relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do." "What a funny piece of advice!" the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup. Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile! But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life. After 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned: a.. Times passes b.. Life happens c.. Distance separates d.. Children grow up e.. Love waxes and wanes f.. Hearts break g.. Careers end . h.. Jobs come and go i.. Parents die j.. Colleagues forget favors k.. Men don't call when they say they will . BUT Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A Sister is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk it for yourself, your Sisters will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out. My mother, daughter, grandmothers, aunts, and "girlfriends" bless my life! Also cousins, and sisters inlaw. The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need ach other. Every day, we need each other still.

Okay people I have a confession to make. I'm a true Corrie fan. I watch Coronation Street every night, and if I can't watch live then I record it. I should have been born a Brit. I love the drama, I love the accents, I love the humour. It's superb in my books. But people I'm having withdrawls. I love the Olympics, but for a week now I have not been able to watch. Coronation Street is aired on CBC and that is the Olympics coverage. I still have to wait another week til I get my fix. I will survive, I'm sure. Oh how I miss the Duckworths, Barlows, Shelley and ( not Charlie, hate him) Steve ( okay even Tracey) and all the rest of the Corrie crew. Come next monday night you can be sure to find me tucked in front of the tellie watching my fave show, besides Gilmore girls of course. Gilmore girls is on tonight so that will help get me through. Cheers people.

I've had a couple of hard days. Could be the pre menopause. Sorry all you men who read this. But it's a fact of life. The last couple of days I have been real hard on myself. I am very good at putting myself down. Today I was actually believing what I was saying to myself. It's so amazing that a positive word or negative word from someone can send a person right over the edge, or bring them up from the brink. This afternoon as I was working, someone approached me and he was so positive and kind and called me something very sweet. My whole day and out look changed in an instant. Instead of coming home and wanting cry about things, I am feeling very upbeat and positive. If someone had approached me at that time and said something totally negative , it would have been a whole different thing. Thank-you _ _ _ _ _ ! I don't want to say your name cuz I don't want to embarass you for being yourself. You know who you are. Keep on being the fantastic upbeat positive guy that you are. I appreciate it.

This is dedicated to all hard working tired moms every where.



In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd be a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hybernate. You get to sleep for 6 months. I could live with that.

Before you hybernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too. When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you are sleeping and wake up to partially grown, cute , cuddly cubs. I could definately live with that.

If you're a momma bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line you swat them too. I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate expects you to wake up growling. He expects that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.
Yup, gonna be a bear.

Abby Said Moo. I'm so excited. My little angel said moo on the phone to me, and nay. I called her again last night. My son was in the background prompting her. I could hear him say " Abby what does a cow say?" I waited and she said "mooo" Then he asked her "Abby what does a horse say?" Nest thing I heard was "naaaaaay" I was so excited and delighted. Maybe next time I call she will talk more and more. It sure made my night. She doesn't remember who the heck I am but in time maybe she will get used to my voice and recognize it.

Looking back on my last post about Valentines day, I felt the need to say more. I don't hate Valentines Day. I got a Valentine from my beautiful daughter and her hubby. It was a teddy bear with a photo in a frame of them. It was so nice. I'm all for chocolates, and flowers being sent. It's just that I read a post from someone that (maybe I misread) saying it was nice that it was valentines day cuz it was a chance to express your love to your special someone that you normally don't do. So that's why I posted the Love should be all year thing. Have a great day. Enjoy your candy, flowers and I will enjoy my bear and think of my kids every time I look at it, and feel the love.

I think it's so sad that people have to wait til Valentines Day to show love. I grew up in a family that always said I love you. I still do. If I'm talking to my children or parents, or sister,I say I love you. I think what if it was the last day to say it. Why should I wait a year to say or show I love you. I'm not totally knocking Valentines day but I do feel that it has gotten so comercial. I'm sure you love your husband, kids, family all year and not just on Valentines day. The way I look at it is Jesus is the greatest Valentine of all. Look at the LOVE he showed us. I don't try to dis Valentines Day. Maybe it's cuz I have not had a valentine in 12 years. Does this mean that I am not loved? I sure hope not.

Sweet sweet Abigail Olivia!

I talked to my sweet darlin on the phone last night. Of course at 13 months she had no idea who I was. She's too young to remember, me and how much I love her. So I decided to call her every so often and get her used to my voice. When I called, all she did was look at the phone and was silent. I'm sure she wondered who the heck was that woman talking out of a strange item. She could not see me but was prompted by mommy and daddy to say words that she would understand. Oh how I miss her. I will continue to call so she can get more used to my voice. She is coming to see us in march and she is bringing her mommy with her. I can't wait to see them. Love you Abby, Jen too. Jordan too. Miss you all.

What the Olympics is all about!

I don't know about you, but I love watching the Olympics. Not all sports are my favorites. But I like hearing about how hard these athletes work and how when they are awarded the medal, It makes the long road all that much sweeter. I was watching figure skating today. It was the pairs final skate. The Chinese couple on the left of this photo won silver. What is so amazing about this is, when the man threw the woman for a quadruple spin in the air, She fell hard. She did almost the splits and slapped her knees on the ice. She was obviously injured. Rules say that they have another chance to continue where the music left off at the time of the fall. The way it looked she was in no shape to continue. Even the announcers didn't think she would go for it. But after a few minutes of the medics checking her out, the couple decide to go for it. They went on to perform the rest of the program and won silver. I was crying. How brave. This to me is what the Olympics is all about. They got a standing ovasion from the whole crowd. At that moment it did not matter what country they were from, all flags were waving for this Chinese couple. It was so marvelous. Of course we all want to see our own countries do well, but I get such a lump in my throat to see such Peace. Wow. Way cool. Now that's good sportsmanship.

I miss then so much!


I have spent a lot of time lately, crying. I've not only had a bad time at work with supervisors that I don't trust, but I miss my kids so much. My little Abby is growing up so fast and I'm not there to watch her grow. Also I miss my boy! We have always been so close, it's just been so difficult for me to be so far away from him. He called me the other night , and it was so good to hear his voice. The distance in miles is so hard though. I know that he is doing good in Summerland. I know that , God is Blessing them where they are. It's just so hard to be so seperated by the miles. I am thankful my girl still living close by. I think I would be devestated if both my kids were living far from me. I'm just so sad right now!

I'm so thankful for the weekend. It has been such a stressful week at work for me. I'm just going to say it, I have such stupid supervisors. They have put me in a position so stressful that I am faced with no other choice but to take action to make things right. Things that are not my fault but yet I am suffering for the decsions that have been made by my supervisors. It looks like some people will be in real trouble. Not me though. I was wronged by my supervisors and now they have to face the conseqences for their actions. So I have to just keep on going along and I know things will get better. I hope. At least that has been told to me by some one who is representing me. He is standing up for me. Way cool. This guy is fantastic. He is taking my case and he is so professional and knows my rights. It's so good to have someone in my corner at work. For too long I have felt so alone at my job. I have felt like a robot that has been kicked around, stomped on beaten within an inch of my life. I know this is probably sounding so over the top and dramatic, but most of the way I ( and other co-workers) get treated is so unacceptable. So now the weekend is here and I'm going to try to forget about work and relax. Not so easy but I'm going to try. Cheers to the weekend.

What's that smell?




Tonight after work I was cleaning my apartment. It's been a long time since I gave it a thorough cleaning. I walked into my storage closet to get the vaccuum, and was assaulted by such an offensive smell. I thought maybe a diaper was left by accident from when Abby was here last.(2 months ago). Surely I would have smelled that long before now? I must find this terrible stench. I looked high and low on all the shelves. In the garbage can that I keep in my storage closet. Nothing. So I closed the door and continued to vaccuum. Before long I neede to tinkle. I walked into my bathroom and once again I was met with an overwhelning stench. I thought my neigbor had died or something. It was awful. I was almost gagging. My storage closet and my washroom are on the same wall as my neighbors. Man I really started to wonder if I should go check to see if she was still alive. I just saw her the other night. I thought to myself, how long does it take for a body to decompose. Maybe she died during the night and now is starting to stink real bad. I think I watch too much CSI. She must have been cooking cabbage or some veggie just as equally offensive to the nasal passages. I opened my window to try to air out my own place. The smell has since wafted up through the rafters. But if I smell this awful smell in the morning I think I will call the CSI. These are the small disadvantages of apartment life. Like when I first moved in here , the kids and I were convinced that my 75 yr old neighbor was smoking pot. It sure smelled of wackie tabackie. Not that I have smelled that in many, many , many years. But my ex used to indulge in a toke or 2. I have to confess that in my bad days I tried it. But I did not inhale. Sorry to disappoint family. I am a sinner saved by grace. Praise God. Nephews listening don't try this at home. It is not worth it. Momma and daddy might catch you. Just kidding. All kidding aside, it is not worth it. Now how did I get off on this topic? Oh ya. Smells shared by all apartments. some good, some bad. Oh the joys of apartment life. I really am happy here. I now have my lovely scented candles burning at it smells like rotten cabbage, dead body, and stawberry rhubarb candles. Oh heavenly.

Hey Tiffany how does this sound? Talk about artificial insemination. I'm sure that's not what you had in mind. Hee.
This is from a guy in New zealand. Wow. Not what you had in mind I'm sure.Hee Hee!
"Ok, so I just spent the morning helping a vet (and his lovely lady assistant) insert embryos through the sides of six cows, for anyone who doesn't know, this involves a ) shoving arm up cow (scooping excess faeces out of the way) and checking on which side the most fertile ovary is b) injecting cow in tail c) injecting cow in flank d) cutting (with a very cool gun like machine) a 5 inch slice in the cows flank e) washing arm and then pushing it through the side of the cow elbow deep, locating one arm of the uterus (looks a bit like a piece of intestin e) pulling that back so it is outside the cow and then injecting it with the embryo f) shoving uterus back inside cow g) clipping three large nail sized staples over the gaping wound, spraying it with iodine and then letting groggy cow out into the paddock where it stumbles and moans a bit."


How does that sound? Well I sure hope the human version is not so primal. ;)

Amen, Let's Eat!

Hey there family and fiends. Check out Jen's newest blog. She shares fun new recipes with us. Jen is an amazing cook. I keep saying that Jordan was a fussy eater when he was little but I'm thinking now that it was cuz I was a bad cook. I can cook but have not had the opportunity over the last while cuz I don't cook fancy for myself. I can't wait to try Jen's new recipes. Bon Appetit!

I'm a fan!

Let my introduce you to my beautiful girl Tiffany. I'm so proud of my Tiffy. I adore her! She is so mature, kind, accepting of others and is just a wonderful human being. She has a big heart, and is the apple of her grand fathers eye. She is the only granddaughter my parents have . ( except for Kelle girl , who has adopted Tiffs grandpa as her own) ( She is Tiffy's best freind) My girl always manages to cheer me up. She is a fantastic encourager. I know God has blessed her with the gift of encourgement. Tiffany has this gorgeous smile that makes me light up every time I see it. She called me up the other day and said"mom I miss you , let's get together." She wanted to spend time with me. I felt so privelaged that she would want to spend time with me. We went to BP and had a wonderful visit. I'm so thank-ful that God gave me my precious girl. I love you so much my Tiff. You're beautiful inside and out.

If people bought this , you could have snow cleared from your yard real quick. Hee. I thought it was cute . It's called a Saskatchewan Enterpreneur.

Semotinhg esle I funod itnretsnig.
I cdnuolt blviee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg.The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit aporbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter byistlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?