Finally, A New Floor!

For Christmas I got a new floor, and although it's been installed for about two weeks, I wanted to wait to post a picture until I found some blinds to cover our ugly old kitchen window. Due to the size of the window, I have been unsuccessful in Swift Current thus far finding anything even near the right size, so I give up. Sometime in the future, we plan on paiting the kitchen some shade of yellow to blend better with the floor and cabinets. Here are some pictures!

Before:



During:



After:

The Best $25 I Ever Spent...

A few months ago, I heard great things about a website that sells prescription glasses for cheap. Since I'd never bought a new pair of glasses since 2002 when I got my first pair, I decided it was time for an upgrade, and played around with the idea of ordering online. After finding a pair I liked, I placed my prescription order, and waited patiently for them to arrive. I was a little weary about them not using the right strength lenses, but a short 8 days later, my package had arrived from China! They turned out to be everything I wanted, and they only cost me $15.95 + $9.00 shipping. The only reason I had been putting off buying a new pair was because of how ridiculously expensive they are from the vision clinics in town. My first pair was $400 ten years ago, and although I've had the lenses changed to accommodate my brutal vision, I refused to pay for new frames since mine were still in good condition. Now that I've found Zenni Optical, I'm actually excited at the thought of getting new glasses on a regular basis, and it not being such a financial burden. I highly recommend checking it out! (www.zennioptical.com)
These are the ones I bought:

A Years Review...

Overall, 2010 was a good year, and it flew by relatively quickly. It's hard to recall 365 days worth of activity in a few moments time, but just like everyone in this world, my year had it's ups and downs, and I'm excited to start over fresh in 2011.

Here is my recap from the last 12 calendar months:

- January was busy with renovating our first home, and moving on the last day of the month.

- February was difficult, as one of Nick's family members had a serious medical emergency, and ended up passing at the end of the month. Many hours were spent at the hospital, with family members, and helping on farm.

- March, and April seemed to fly by as we finished settling in, unpacked, organized and arranged, and some time was spent adjusting to all our newly acquired extra space. Around this time, I also decided it was time to end my part time bookkeeping job I had a Smart Flowers.

- May, my parents celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary, so we kept busy with planning and arranging their big surprise. May was also the month we made the decision to put my kitty kitty Emma to rest, and as hard as it was at the time, it was the right thing to do. I miss her incredibly, and reflect back on pictures of the good times (I'm a creepy, crazy cat lady...I know).

- June was officially summer, and although we had our campsite set up since the first weekend in May, June was when we really started to spend lots of time out there.

- July and August were mainly spent at the lake with good friends, or in town doing yard work, and during that time we also attended a family reunion.

- September marks the month that Nick finally bought the quad he had been drooling over all summer, and he's spent a good portion of his time riding with buddies through the mud puddles or ripping around in the snow at the lake.

- October allowed us to experienced Halloween on a different level as we stayed home from the bar, and enjoyed having kids come to our door, which was something we never got to experience in our apartment. October was also the month in which I started working casually for the S.C. Bronco Hockey Club.

- November and December flew by in a hurry and we were fortunate enough to have multiple Christmas celebrations.

I believe 2011 will be a good year, and I look forward to what may be in store for Nick and I. Although we're only 11 days in, I already had to make a very difficult decision that would have affected the rest of my life. I don't ever really make resolutions per say, but I do make mental notes of things I'd like to happen in the coming year. This year, I'd like to be less of a homebody. I want to spend more time with the friends I've got, and make an effort to make new friends. I want to be less restricted financially. I want to blog more. Among many other things, I want to stay happy. I'm very happy with most aspects of my life right now, and because I refuse to settle in the areas I'm not happy with, I am currently working on changing those things for the better.

Since it's been almost a year from when I started blogging, I looked back and reviewed all my old posts, right back to post number one. Although my blog turned out nothing like I hoped it would, I enjoy sharing with the world the lame little details as to what is going on in my life (even if I only have 2 readers). I had hoped to share my thoughts and feelings and look back for reflection, but instead I've got a photo album of things from my day to day life. Like most things in this life, blogging hasn't turned out as I initially expected, but I'm OK with that.

Goodbye 2010 - Hello 2011!

Let There Be Light...

When we bought our house, we (mainly Nick) did a complete overhaul of our main floor, and once we moved in, we slowed down a bit inside and focused the majority of our energy on the yard and garden. As time went on, the small things we meant to do soon after settling in, moved to the bottom of our largely accumulating list of things to do. Finally, we crossed off an item that had been bothering me for some time. For the 12 months we've already been in our home, we've never had a light cover in our bedroom. We took off the ugly existing one when we re-stippled, and never bought a new one or put the old one back on. We simply had two bulbs protruding from the ceiling, covered in stipple, giving the room an extremely bright speckled hue. This year for Christmas, as part of our gift, my parents bought us a beautiful ceiling fan, and Nick put it up just after Christmas. It makes the room look so much better, and ads a nice touch. Although it's a bit darker than we are used to, I love it!

Finally, A Finished Project...

I've always found crocheting to be an enjoyable pastime, and recently I've been sitting down after supper with a hook and ball of yarn, determined to make something worth keeping. I've been able to crochet for a number of years now, but have never actually succeeded, as following patterns is not my forte. Up until this week, everything I finished was crooked, and to say the very least...heinous. Finally, I'm proud to present my first finished project, a toque and scarf for my friend Dalyn, to keep her warm as she does her paper route each week. Taadaa!

Birthday Weekend...

Yesterday was December 18, and that officially made me 23 years old! I try not to make a big deal out of my own birthday as it comes along every year, but with all honesty, I believe my birthday is extra special. That's because I share it with my Grandpa Dick. Every year we get together and do something small, whether it be have supper at my mom's house, or lunch at Tim Horton's, and it means alot to me. When I was younger we always shared a cake. As I made the pass from 22 to 23, and he from 81 to 82, I came to realize that he won't be around forever, and with his health in the poor shape it's in, its important for me to try and spend time with him more now than ever. Shortly after my wedding, he had a serious accident in his apartment, and after being hospitalized for a couple months he has never been the same. He is still stubborn as ever, and maintains his sense of humor, but as I know his time is limited, I try and let him make his own decisions and finish out the rest of his life as he wants to.....even if that means letting him stuff unwrapped donuts in his winter parka to take home for later :)



Throughout the day I was unnecessarily spoiled as usual. Nick let me sleep in and I woke up to coffee and a breakfast sandwich, my mom took me and my grandpa to Tim Horton's for lunch (as per his request, he wanted Chili) and she gave me a gift card which I used to purchase two tank tops and a pair of jeans. My grandma dropped a gift card in the mailbox while I was out, and Ben and Brenda stopped by in the afternoon with a card and gift as well. Nick took me for a delicious supper at the Akropol, and after that we went to the casino where we both came out winners. We finished off the evening watching my second favorite movie, Despicable Me, and heading to bed early. Today, was a pretty lazy day, although I accomplished all my housecleaning, tried out a new recipe for cinnamon buns, and visited with Darlene as she stopped over after work with a card and gift as well. All in all, I had a wonderful birthday as usual, and am grateful for the people in my life I get to share it with!

Happy Holidays...

Christmas is less than a month away, and for the first time ever, I actually got a head start on shopping! I set the tree up last night, and had 10 presents wrapped already to go under the tree! Happy Holidays!