Hey guys!

Just on a quick break at work, here… where I’m working a half day, and then heading out for a long weekend adventure at noon. I’m so looking forward to it!

We’re heading into the BC interior (nope, not to our place in Radium, but rather Fairmont down the road, where James & Erin have a place) to enjoy some much anticipated long-weekend-relaxation. We really enjoy hanging out with those two – they are some of our favourite people, in fact… So, I have no doubt that we’ll have a blast enjoying the quiet and sun in their beautiful neck of the woods.

If I have data access, I’ll update the blog over the weekend. If not, I hope you have a fantastic weekend, too!

YOUR TURN! What are your big plans for this long weekend?

I got an early birthday present from my hubby!

Last week, I was being silly, and I posted on Facebook that I really wanted a particular poker table, and posted a link to said table with the post. I didn’t expect Barry to actually order it… LOL!

But, he did – just in time for my poker-themed birthday party coming up on the 9th. That was so thoughtful of him!

We’ve got the perfect place for a new poker table in the bar area of our home, just outside the home theatre doorway… Of course, we’ve got a beer fridge just footsteps away, and a place to mount a tv (we did once have a tv there, but have since moved it upstairs). It’s the perfect poker space in our home!

I can’t wait.

It should have arrived today, but it looks like it might be tomorrow now.

So… who wants to come out and play some poker?

I’ve been thinking about doing this post for a while now, and it’s finally time! I wanted to tell you about the community of Seton that is blossoming right across the street from our home in Auburn Bay. It’s pretty exciting! The “South Health Campus” (aka the new hospital in Calgary) will be opening it’s first phase in about a month’s time, and ground has now broken on a number of retail areas of the new neighbourhood, just steps from our home.

I’m so excited about the possibilities that this new community offers the residents of Auburn Bay, especially those right across the street from the new hospital like our home is. Several major retail outlets have already signed on to move into Seton, including BMO Bank of Montreal (can you guess which branch I’m hoping to build my career in?) and that’s so exciting!

Here’s a map of the new community… Our home is literally right across the road from the top centre of the map:

Here’s a flyover to give you a better idea of what’s percolating nearby… To put this in context, the large building that is highlighted in blue is the new hospital, and we’re right across the road from that.

And, one more interesting video from before our home was actually built (yet, it almost looks like our home is featured – one of the houses looks identical to ours – colour and all – as they round the first corner of the main gate… we back onto the main boulevard here in Auburn Bay). We live about a block from the lake, which Barry and I definitely need to use more! (ps: have I mentioned I love our street? We have the most awesome neighbours!!)

So. Much. Potential! It’s worth all this dust currently being pushed around, for the final features of the Seton Community only steps from our home.

YOUR TURN: Would you buy a home based on potential neighbourhood features, years away?

I decided a little levity today would be welcome… It seems like a workday Tuesday after much of last week off is a hurdle better overcome with some giggles:

Ways To Have Fun in the Workplace

• Page yourself over the intercom. Don’t disguise your voice.
• Find out where your boss shops and buy exactly the same outfits Wear them one day after your boss does. This is especially effective if your boss is of a different gender than you.
• Make up nicknames for all your coworkers and refer to them only by these names. “That’s a good point, Sparky.” “No, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to disagree with you there, Cha-Cha.”
• Send e-mail to the rest of the company telling them exactly what you’re doing. For example: “If anyone needs me, I’ll be on the roof.”
• Hi-Lite your shoes. Tell people you haven’t lost them as much since you did this.
• Hang mosquito netting around your cubicle. When you emerge to get coffee or a printout or whatever, slap yourself randomly the whole way.
• Put a chair facing a printer. Sit there all day and tell people you’re waiting for your security documents.
• Every time someone asks you to do something, anything, ask them if they want fries with that.
• Send e-mail back and forth to yourself engaging yourself in an intellectual debate. Forward the mail to one of your colleagues and ask her to settle the disagreement.
• Put your office’s Iron Mountain bin on your desk. Label it “IN” or “INBOX.” This is especially good if you are out of the office on vacation.
• Feign an unnatural and hysterical fear of staplers and / or clients.
• Send e-mail messages saying there’s free pizza or donuts or cake in the lunchroom. When people drift back to work complaining that they found none, lean back, pat your stomach and say, “oh you’ve got to be faster than that.”
• Put decaf in the coffeemaker for three weeks. Once everyone has withdrawn from caffeine addiction, switch to espresso.

Hi kids!

Hope everyone is doing great! It’s been super-duper crappy weather for the last couple days here in Calgary, but THAT’S OKAY! Barry and I are heading off to the land of sin and sun for a few days, and so this rain is perfect timing for us!

Besides, “Browngary” needs a little wet weather to green up our surroundings – After last weekend’s heat wave (and BEAUTIFUL, top-down weather for the trip back from Canmore after a weekend with the fun-loving gals!) it’s just a warm up for what’s ahead of us for weather in Las Vegas!

We’re planning on several poker tournaments, where I hope to win a couple again… (although I’d love to see Barry win, as he’s most certainly a better player than I!) And because our anniversary is during our trip, it will be marked by a helicopter ride into the Grand Canyon, where we land and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and a champagne picnic, before flying over the strip at sunset and topped off with a limo ride back to our hotel. Bliss! I’ve done the experience (most of it, anyhow, many years ago now… I’ll have to dig up a link if I wrote about it) but Barry has never experienced that, so I can’t wait to share it with him on our second anniversary.

Barry is forcing me to go shopping (yep, you read that right… I still hate shopping, and I don’t enjoy buying clothes when I’ve got 10 lbs to take back off!) but, alas, we are instituting a His-Day-Goes, Hers-Day-Goes, so, that’s one of the things he wants to do, and I’m not allowed to pout about it. I’ll keep you updated on how that side-trip goes

And, finally, I think we’ll see at least one show while we’re there, but seeing how it’s going to be a my-day-goes day that happens on, I’m going to wing it, and see what deals are on at Tickets4Tonight on the day of.

Oh, and speaking of Tickets4Tonight, we found an amazing steak deal the last few times we have been down, so we’ll be going back to Harrah’s for a nice dinner out at The Range (the two-for-one deal is purchased through one of the ticket wickets on the strip… great deal!).

YOUR TURN! What’s your favourite thing to do in Vegas?

Good afternoon everyone!

Tomorrow marks two years since we moved into our beautiful home in Auburn Bay… It’s been fairly easy acclimating to the Alberta way of life since we moved our home from Vancouver. I love our neighbourhood, neighbours and friends we’ve developed over the past couple of years, and I’m looking forward to growing our social circle in Calgary even further in the months and years ahead.

When I moved to Calgary, I considered myself a moderate, or “small C” conservative (ie: the BC Liberal Party fit many of my political views) however, with this new province comes quite a different political landscape, and I’ve found that I’ve become even more conservative in my politics since I’ve moved.

I can’t really put my finger on why that is, perhaps I’m just getting older, and more fiscally conservative in my thinking? I guess there’s a lot of reasons.

So, when I was faced with the upcoming election decision, I really considered only two parties… The PC, Progressive Conservative party, and the Wild Rose party. Not being a card-carrying member of either, I felt my mind was open to the possibility of voting either way, as they are both have conservative platforms.

But, there’s distinct differences in the two parties in my opinion, and I’ve definitely been swayed towards the Wild Rose for many reasons. (Although, if you’d asked me two years ago, I would have said PC all the way!)

Here’s a few reasons why the Wild Rose will get my vote:

• I like Danielle Smith. I think she’s well-spoken, and confident. I don’t like Alison Redford – her demeanor is shifty, and doesn’t inspire my confidence at all.
• On the topic of health care, I believe the Province needs to be far better able to handle the critical needs of their constituents – if the lines are too long, the health care system needs to provide another way to make sure patients are taken care of. Danielle Smith believes we should pay for private, or out-of-province care when this happens, and I’m wholly on board with this idea. Redford believes more clinics are needed – this does nothing to help the ailing surgical system, and cancer care waiting times. Not a fan of this idea at all.
• When it comes to social policy, I believe that Alison Redford is moving the PC party towards socialism rather than conservatism. An example? She believes the Welfare programs need a lot more money. Smith believes they need to be better managed. I agree with her.
• When it comes to environmental issues, Smith believes industry should be held more accountable to fixing their own problems, and Redford believes government should be more involved. I’m in favour of making industry pay, and not making the Province (and the people) pay the bill.
• One issue that I believe should not be a part of the Provincial policy is Federal law… The PCs believe the blood-alcohol limit for drivers should be changed from .08% to .05%. The Wild Rose does not. I strongly agree with the Wild Rose on this one. As much as I find drinking and driving appalling, changing the limit does absolutely nothing to remove problem drivers off the road. If the law needs to be changed, let the Federal government make that ruling for the whole country.
• And, finally, I agree with Danielle Smith’s position to rollback the 34% pay increase the PCs voted for in 2008 right after the last election. Redford, who is currently the highest paid Premier in Canada, refuses to consider doing this. Add onto that the crazy amount of pay the PCs enjoyed for rarely or never sitting on committees, of which only a portion was made to be paid back after political heat.

Yes… I’ve made up my mind.

YOUR TURN: Have you decided? Tell me why you made the decision you did?

Good morning all…

It’s currently 4:55am, and yes, I’ve been up all night with pain again. I just couldn’t stomach (no pun intended) the thought of going to the hospital last night. So, despite eating very carefully yesterday, my body is still punishing me.

I’ll be heading back to bed in a few minutes, but I thought I’d share something cool that is going on in my backyard right now – Live! with Kelly is taping four shows in Banff National Park – How cool is that?

For those readers that don’t know my neck of the woods, Banff and Canmore are just over an hour’s drive away from us. It’s beautiful there, and Barry and I hope to purchase a vacation home in Canmore one of these years.

Here’s why:

Isn’t it gorgeous? I’m so proud to be Canadian! We have a really spectacular place to live here. I’m off to try to get some sleep now…

YOUR TURN: Have you spent time in Banff or Canmore? Where did you stay?

Good morning guys… It was another sleepless night for me. I once again experienced a fairly severe gallbladder attack. I am totally at fault, I know, because yesterday I threw caution to the wind and had some high fat foods. That Ukrainian food was NOT worth the suffering later, trust me.

I’ve had probably seven (I believe) attacks in my lifetime now. I’ve had four in the past month or so — I think it’s time I made my way to the emergency room during my next attack. I’ve been told by doctors that gallbladder attacks and gallstones are difficult to diagnose unless you are having an attack. Which makes sense, I guess, because I’ve waited for months for an ultrasound appointment in the past, only to have the technician say that she saw a little enlargement of my gallbladder, and my liver seemed a little inflamed also, but they couldn’t specifically say that the gallbladder was infected, or the stones were causing the incessant pain over many hours of the attacks I’d had a month previously.

I was told to present myself at an ER during an attack, as it was the only way to truly know.

Awesome.

Except, I have an extremely busy job with many tasks that are time-sensitive, and choosing an attack-night to spend in the ER doesn’t really work for my schedule. And of course, it’s almost certainly not going to get me into surgery should I decide to have the gallbladder removed, any quicker.

And, of course, I feel bad for Barry, who’s kept up by my moaning, squirming, thrashing about in bed, and can’t really do anything to help me. He tries.

But, I’ve found a few things that do help me when I’m having an attack, so I thought I’d share them in case they might help you:

• as soon as I feel the pain coming on, despite how nauseated I am, I take 2 extra-strength ibruprophen — these tend to lessen the attack, and ease the pain somewhat
• I try to stay calm and breath through the pain (It actually does help, because when the pain gets severe in waves, I usually panic a bit)
• laying on my left side bundled tightly in a blanket in the fetal position helps
• having the tv on, even if I can’t really hear it properly, takes my mind off of the pain to a degree
• sometimes, walking up and down the stairs helps with the severity of some of the pain

From the reading I’ve done, my attacks are pretty typical:

• nausea (and sometimes vomiting)
• pain (shooting for me) from just under my ribcage on the right/middle side of my breastbone that takes my breath away
• pain between my shoulder blades
• belching
• fever and chills

I’m pretty much at the end of my rope with this. I’m now at work, and I’ve only had two hours of sleep. It’s going to be a difficult day concentrating, I’m certain.

YOUR TURN: Have you had gallbladder issues? Or, have you had the surgery to have it removed? If you did have it diagnosed, did you have to wait for a full-on attack to get it resolved? I’d love to hear from you.