The disappointment of my week:

Last night my best friend Marsha called me and said (in a very sad voice) that she would not be able to come visit me next week. She was supposed to fly down next Thursday and keep me occupied while my wonderful husband is in Charlotte, North Carolina for a week. Turns out she is pretty much hand-cuffed to her job (much against her will, I assure you) and she is being held captive until January. But, the good news is, I'll get to see her then!!! What can be much more exciting than seeing a great friend after a year and a half of not seeing each other?!

Marsha, I miss you. I was looking forward to showing you my hair (and having you tell me that it looks wonderful, even though it desperately needs a trim and the roots re-done). I was looking forward to playing Canasta with seven decks (even though some people consider that cheating...it's just higher points!). I was looking forward to curling up in blankets and talking like old times (though now we both have boys and don't have to wonder who we'll eventually end up with). I was looking forward to showing you my house and my life here in Manitoba and seeing pictures of your house, and cat, and nephews and life. Hmmm...*sigh*

I like friends. Friends really are wonderful.

This is a genuine ticket for the Grey Cup.

That's right. Who doesn't like to sit outside in sub-zero weather, waving arms and signs and banners, and screaming on the top of their lungs for a couple hours (all the while catching a cold that your loving spouse will have to nurse you through)? Sounds like fun, right? I think I'll pass. But Nathan? He's the lucky one from our family to be going to watch the Grey Cup this year.

I got a phone call at work today from my excited husband letting me know that he was, in fact, going to the Grey Cup. I mustered up all the excitement I could and celebrated with him for a few minutes until we hung up. See, I'm delighted that my husband can go and share this experience of a lifetime with a good friend (who won the tickets, by the way...$275 is a bit rich for our blood!), but I'm equally delighted that he doesn't want me to go with him. He's convinced himself that because he's on the west side of the field, he won't get the wind. Sure, that's a plus, because the wind here in Manitoba could kill you (quite literally) but I'm the realist who's thinking, yeah, but it's still November!

While Nathan is out freezing his butt off, I'm going to enjoy my Sunday evening at home, curled up in a blanket with Lennox, watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition and re-runs of Alf. Sounds like a great time.

I'm actually looking forward to the Grey Cup this year.

The diary of my 14 year old self...

Lately I've been reading through my diary from when I was 14 (grade 9 -year 2000). --yeah, that's right, I'm young. Anyway, I have been reading it and typing it all out onto my computer these past few days (because my dream has always been to someday have it published) and I've come across some funny things, and some things that I can't believe I had to deal with when I was just 14. I wrote alot about our rabbits and I never realized that I was one of those teenagers that was obsessed with animals. Those kids are always kinda socially challenged, aren't they? I guess not always, but didn't I have better things to do than spend hours on end in the rabbit cage trying to trap and catch baby bunnies when I was 14??? I also wrote about some of the things that Andrew would do to me and how I could't stand it. The funniest thing was when he put Goldie (our old, stinky, overweight Cocker Spaniel) in my room and closed the door and she was trapped there for over four hours and my room reeked so that I couldn't sleep or even be in there. I was so mad at him! What are 12 year old brothers for though, right? Another pretty funny thing was that every time I babysat, I would write down how much money I made and I would get so excited about getting even just 10 or 20 dollars! Kinda reminds me how I should still be thankful for the little things too and not just get excited about the big things. The small things are just as great! So yeah, that's what I've been doing lately. It's been fun, and I've been learning ALOT about why I am the way I am now because of things that happened then. It's been fun. I'm only halfway through my grade 9 one though...there's still six more years to go!

Holidays

This week has been a week of long walks on the beach, beautiful sunsets over the ocean and smells of salt water gently drifting over us as we lay in our hammock (which was right in front of our ocean front cabin). I love holidays, don't you?

Well, I suppose now is the time to tell you that the whole sunset, ocean thing was just a wild, expensive daydream. In reality, this week of holidays consisted of Nathan working at least 8 hours a day on his Colossians class that he'll be teaching later this month. I spent Monday working around the house and the rest of the week playing with Lennox (who is getting quite large, by the way), reading my newest Real Simple magazine which came in the mail this week, and watching whatever happened to be on tv at any given time. Of course this was mixed with the occasional housework, but for me, it was truly a vacation!

Nathan and I also had some good time together though. (We couldn't be off for a week and not spend some quality time together!) Last night was pizza and a movie night (that's right, I found a pizza that I actually get cravings for! -Chicken Chef Pepperoni and Bacon) and today we're doing some Christmas/grocery shopping in Winkler. Throughout the week we also had some wonderfully romantic walks, though instead of walking along white sand beaches, we walked along white snowy roads. On one hand comparable, on the other hand, not the same at all.

So that was our week. Next week it's back to work for both of us. Nathan at the office again (which will probably feel like a break after the week he's had) and me back to answering phones.

Maybe next winter I'll be reporting about a tropical getaway...