Amberism

Happy Halloween

Happy early Halloween, since I won't be near a computer when the actual day rolls around!

And to follow in the creepy theme, I've discovered a disadvantage to island living. Bugs. I'm not a big fan of bugs, or rodents, or anything with any sort of "ew" factor. I can live quite happily with bugs, as long as the bugs don't touch me and preferably if they remain somewhere I can't see them.

After adjusting myself to accept that spiders here are far bigger than a spider needs to be I came across the next step in my BC bug reality. Ticks. That's right, ticks. Vegas had a tick behind his ear this week. After a good while discussing what the bump on his head was we came to the conclusion that it must be a tick. Then we spent some time wigging out because, ew, a tick was having a feast of my dog's blood.

After a little research on ticks that was contradictary we decided that the best thing to do was to drop by the vet. The vet took care of the nasty little bugger in about a nano-second and filled us in on some tick need to know information. For instance, you don't burn out a tick because you're more likely to burn the creature the tick is feasting on than anything else. You just take some tweezers, get as close to the head as you can, and pull the thing out. The head won't migrate into the host and cause an infection or multiply or anything. It'll just scab up and fall off.

I was also happy to realize that ticks are not as common in our neck of the woods as I was led to believe. There are "pockets" of ticks on the island, but my backyard isn't one of those pockets, and for that I give a prayer of thanks. Unfortunately, ticks aren't really seasonally here, more of a year-round sort of bug.

At any rate, I get to join the masses of other dog owners who have to check their pooch for these nasty creepy-crawlies. Yee-haw.

Happy Birthday!

A very huge happy birthday to the very talented and marvelous Candi! Have a wonderful day, I ban all working - it is your birthday afterall. A day of rest is in order! ;)

However, according to my Canadian Horoscope rest really isn't in the picture for you. Silly stars.

Happy Birthday: So many things are happening this year. You will have to hang on and do your best in order to accomplish the most. This won't be a year of rest, but can be progressive if you don't procrastinate or let others slow you down. Your numbers are 10, 13, 17, 22, 35, 48

:(

ah, the internet. Oh how I've missed thee...

We moved into the house - it's a mess but I've made a significant dent in the packing the last couple of evenings. It was just Steve and I (every single person we know out here was apparently very busy this weekend and unable to help) so I'm seriously proud to still be able to walk. I'm not a tough girl, actually I'm incredibly weak, and so the fact that there are two couches and a treadmill currently sitting in my house is virtually heroic if you ask me. Of course, I did drop my end of the treadmill, but still, the thing is heavy. All in all I think I did all right.

Then Steve had to promptly turn around Sunday night and head to Vancouver for two nights to attend a conference about bridges and leave me in the mess of boxes and paper and furniture stacked up in the gargage. You can imagine how happy that made me, but he had to go so what do you do? Some how it always feels like I do an awfully lot of packing and unpacking all by myself though.

Now the evil corporate types are making Steve stay in Vancouver another night. Something about some fabrication shop they want him to go to or look at or somesuch. The bottom line is he's gone another night and I'm cranky about it.

And I'm awfully tired. I haven't had a decent night sleep in a few days since the animals are attempting to re-adjust to their new surroundings and all that jazz and it's creepy staying in the country all by yourself. It's dark. I'm talking pitch-black dark. Every scary movie I've ever seen seems to have come to the forefront of my mind the minute the sun starts to set. Creepy. Thank god I have a dog and even if he's the wimpiest dog that ever did live; he's got a mean bark. I figure the monsters in the woods are sufficiently scared of that bark and will stay clear of the house.

Picture Peek #1

I didn't forget, I just took awhile to get organized.

Fearthainn asked for

1. The pup

He's incredibly difficult to take a picture of, this is the best I could do. He's gotten really BIG. And he's still annoying as all hell. But you gotta love him ;).

2. My current sleeping arrangements

I made the bed special for this photograph. It's as awful to sleep on this bed and in this room as it looks.

3. The view from our bedroom

This is, without a doubt, the best part of living here. It's really a beautiful spot.

Bored = MEME

This one has been floating around for a while too. If I've done it, it's bolded. Of course, I've added my two cents to a few of them too! ;)

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (well, from the safety of the beach).
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa – ok, not exactly. I was there; it’s closed now though so you can’t do it anymore!
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg – do glaciers count?! I’ve tobogganed down a glacier in the middle of summer.
20. Slept under the stars - in Africa no less!
21. Changed a baby’s diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon – my sister has been up, I was sick that day :(.
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne – you want to know what’s really sad? I was by myself (well, on the phone talking to an ex-friend)
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - I was hung-over though, so I feel justified.
31. Asked out a stranger - he shot me down. Ass.
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favourite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip – well, it wasn’t midnight – it wasn’t even especially dark. Steve has though, ask him about it ;)
38. Taken an ice cold bath – if you’re pasty, this is the answer to your sunburn pain.
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar – in San Francisco, interesting story, maybe I’ll tell it someday.
40. Seen a total eclipse – and my Mommy made this pinhole camera deal, it was a whole ‘event’. I remember Mom telling me this was a memorable moment :)!
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days– you’ve been to university, you’ve done this.
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - ah, the wonders of alcohol…
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors – depends what you mean by ancestors. Haven’t been to Isle of Skye but I’ve been to the town my Grandma was born, but my Grandma is still alive so I don’t think that counts so much.
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment - I do a lot of bitching because, well, I can mainly, but I gotta tell you, I live a really nice life now, I am happy. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself.
48. Had two hard drives for your computer.
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts – never.
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country – Italy! And Greece!
55. Watched wild whales – one of the most amazing experiences of my life was when Steve and I walked to Cape Scott on Vancouver Island and there was a Grey Whale feeding in the bay.
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice – did you know you can only bring 20 cds into Mexico? Neither did we. We lied (I wasn’t going to jail in mexico for having 40 cds on my person!)
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye – no, but I think we should all do this at least once!
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theatre
80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it– I met the man I am going to marry, so why regret it?!
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog – I moved the blog :).
83. Dropped Windows in favour of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken - meet Steven :)
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honour of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married – ask me in two months! ;)
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy – I have no idea. Somehow, I doubt it. I'm not an especially passionate person
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office – I’m actually a little surprised that I haven’t. I had a phase where this would have been right up my alley. Now? I don’t think so…unless you count the home office.
97. Gone without food for 5 days – I did a cleanse once for shits and giggles.
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest – many, many times! ~proud~
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River – where’s the Snake River? I rafted the Zambezi which is the highest ranked rapids you can run commercially. I think that’s more impressive.
104. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105. Got flowers for no reason – but not often enough! There can never be enough flower-receiving!
106. Masturbated in a public place – uh, ew
107. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas – Vegas, Baby, Vegas!
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand – this is probably too much information. That said, I'm 30 and just getting married now and have never been especially, uh, pure shall we say?
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off – also TMI
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favourite childhood toy
128. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country - explain exotic. I've done a bike tour in Austria. It wasn't overnight or anything, just through the mountain to a pub. Then we had beer and biked back.
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person – not the congress person, I live in Canada, but I’ve written my parliament dude before. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about me.
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. …more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge – I’ve driven it, never walked it. Meant to, but we didn’t get a chance.
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived.
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray – in Mexico, eh or Belize. I think it was in Belize.
145. Broken someone’s heart – not something I’m proud of either.
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job – from Staples if you can believe that.
48. Won money on a T.V. game show - I've won money. I've won a tv. Never been on a game show though.
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle – well, I didn’t actually drive it, but I’ve been a passenger once or twice!
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol - again in Vegas. Honestly what did we do without Vegas?
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild – I didn’t gather them, but my stepdad is known for gathering them and we eat them without being the wiser.
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train – I’m wondering why this is unusual – if you’re on an overnight trip with your own room, well, why wouldn’t you have some nookie?
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon – almost anyway.
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours – if you’ve ever had the flu, then you’ve done this!
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states – I’ve visited a lot, but I’ve never counted. I doubt its 51 though.
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground – hehehe, not really, but I’ve been to a Mayan ruin with the man I love so that’s close to the same thing.
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them.- But not because I needed them, just because I could.
183. …and gotten 86'd from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch - this depends what you consider "art" though. I taught myself a few crafts.
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – considering I’m a vegetarian this is shocking. I’ve killed and gutted a fish.
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions.
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language – I had a tour guide in Greece that I didn’t ask for, but he hung around anyway and spent a lot of time trying to kiss me.
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair – well, a craft fair…
196: Dyed your hair – I added highlights, does that count?
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

Happy Birthday Mommy!!

I hope you're having a wonderful day! I wish I was there to bring you a Tim Horton's coffee to celebrate! Love you! :)

I'm very, very sleepy today. And I'm starting to stress, just a teeny-tiny bit, about this wedding business. I have a lot to do and it's a little daunting. What is super annoying to me is that if I lived in my house these last few weeks, I'd be way ahead of the game, but living out of a suitcase on an air mattress in a house without a table - well, things aren't getting done. That, and not having my car so I'm not free to just go and get what I want, when I want it. How do couples share cars? I gotta tell you, I'm not the sharing type. I'm looking forward to getting my car back in working order so I'm free once again and not tied to Steve's schedule. I love the man, but like I said, I don't share well.

I should explain, the car runs, it's that the tail lights are sitting in the back of the truck and not so much attached to the car. Some kids in Spruce Grove busted them and until recently they were taped with red duck tape. Apparently, in BC, the redneck way isn't looked upon fondly. So we've spent a great deal of time attempting to track down tail light assemblies but of course, stripped the car before we actually found the assemblies so in the meantime I'm car-less and grumpy about it.

It might not be so bad but Steve is in sailing classes which means on Wednesdays I have to drive to Errington, let the dog out, have dinner, turn around and drive back to Nanaimo to pick him up. I can't hang around town because we have a dog that needs to pee and receive love and play ball. You know how it is when you're a dog, you sort of depend on your people to take care of you. It's a lot of driving and really doesn't bode well with my princess like ways. Not that I mind picking Steve up but it's such an incredible waste of my time and gas when there is a perfectly good vehicle just sitting there and he could just drive himself and I could do other things. Then on Sundays he sails out of Ladysmith. Well, Ladysmith is an hour from where we live so driving there to drop him off and pick him up is FOUR hours of driving. I've only done that once, and I don't intend to do it again.

I think it surprises Steve that I get so irritated about such things. He simply doesn't mind driving where I get to a point where I want to rip my eyeballs out I find it so annoying. Especially the time that is a-wasting. I don't mind the commute to and from work at all, it's beautiful and takes the same time it would take if I lived in Calgary unless you lived across the street from where you work. It's the extra driving that gets to me. I prefer to minimize time spent in the car and maximize time spent doing things I enjoy. Efficiency, that's what I'm about. Where as Steve would drive to Errington, hang out for a while, drive back to Nanaimo and pick something up, then drive back to Errington. Me? We pick up whatever it is we need before we leave Nanaimo even if it means we don't get home until 7:00. I don't drive back, I stay home.

Picture Peek

Copied from Miss. Munin, but it sounds fun and I want to do it too.

Think of 3 pictures you’d like to see. Things around my house, or whatever… something I can take a picture of easily and I'll post the pictures! If I can’t, or won’t, take a picture of something you’ve requested, I’ll let you know.

Girl Stuff

If you're a boy, you probably don't wanna keep reading. You've been duly warned.

I'm a severe-headache sufferer, like millions of other people. You can call it a migraine (it classifies) but they are the only headaches I've ever known so I just call it a headache. I've blamed them on everything imaginable, from Calgary Chinooks to annoying people talking to me. I've never really kept track of the triggers or the regularity of the headaches, not even after I mentioned to my doctor years and years ago that I suffered from regular headaches and she insisted I stop taking birth control pills because headaches + birth control = bad news.

Now that I've been chemical-free for several years (I can't take any sort of oral contraceptive without getting more frequent headaches than usual and being an awful cranky sort-of-person) and with my sister going to the doctor for her own headache woes I started paying more attention to my own headaches and I came to a realization - I get the same brutal, two-day, nausea inducing headache every month the first two days of my menstrual cycle.

I figured this out a few months ago and it took a few happenings for me to finally make an effort to keep track. The first, a friend said "you always have a headache" and I started thinking that I don't always have headache, I just have a sort of regular headache routine. I almost always get a headache just before a Chinook would sweep into Calgary but if that was the only trigger I would have stopped getting headaches in Spruce Grove and I didn't. I stopped getting as many headaches, but I was still regularly getting headaches.

As it were, I did a little research this morning and it turns out that many women suffer from menstrual-induced migraines. These migraines are usually non-aura, meaning that they don't mess with your vision but the pounding head and nausea is in line with your usual migraine that we all know and love. These headaches occur because just before your cycle starts you experience a drop in estrogen levels. That drop causes headaches in an awful lot of women. We girls really do have to suffer don’t we? I've been lucky in that I'm not a really a PMS sufferer (I get mild symptoms, but nothing severe) so I guess you win some, you lose some.

I figure I have two options here. One, drink myself into oblivion before my monthly cycle so if I have to suffer hang-over like symptoms I might as well be hung-over and enjoy getting to the pain. Or two, see about getting some hormone replacement therapy to reduce the occurrence of headaches or figure out if a change in diet or exercise will help somehow (Can exercise decrease the drop in estrogen? Somehow I doubt it.). When we get settled into our routine here I’ll make a trip to the doctor and see what I can do about it all. The thought of being almost headache free is a very joyous one indeed.

Anyway, if you’re a headache sufferer and never really paid attention to the regularity of your headaches, I thought you’d find this interesting and it might prompt you to start a migraine/headache journal and see if the headaches are just another annoyance to add to the list associated with being a girl.

If you're curious, here are some links to sites where I got my information from

The Medical Reporter
Woman's Diagnostic Cyber

We're going home for the holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian Friends!

And Happy Early Birthday to Miss. Fearthainn!

And the most exciting news yet - congratulations to the birth of the newest baby to my little family of friends! Benjamin arrived, healthy and happy! He's 8 lbs 12 oz (dear god! does that seem big to anyone else?) and Mom (my best pal, Michelle) is very tired. I'm seeing him this weekend and if Mom gives the ok, I'll post a cute baby pic.

Now that I've overloaded you on clipart - gotta go catch a plane! hee!

Dear Lord

So, remember that little 'issue' I was having with the buyers of my old house?

Right. When I received that letter about paying for something I didn't do, I was a little, uh, miffed, and fired off a not-too-friendly letter to my lawyer basically saying no but I was a bit sarcastic about it.

Well my lawyer takes my email, and re-types it (doesn't copy and paste it, RE-TYPES it, with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors that weren't in MY copy) and sends it directly to the buyers lawyer as if it were my words. And they were, but my words were spelled correctly and in a slightly different order.

Way to piss off an already pissed off group of people there dude. Isn't the whole point of having a lawyer to keep the emotions to a minimum in the dealings? That's what you pay them for!

In all fairness, I think my lawyer is as annoyed with this extra work like I'm annoyed with the accusation and as far as I know I'm not going to be charged. Really they have no claim, it's just something you can try to do and maybe if the other party feels guilty they'll pay. I don't feel guilty since I did nothing wrong, so I'm not paying.

Watch, with my luck lately, these people will actually take me to court.

Mount St. Helens

ok, I think this is incredibly cool that she's blowing steam. I hope she erupts! I remember the eruption from 1980 (eh, 1980? I can't be bothered to check my facts), ash actually fell in Winnipeg and it was all grey and cloudy and we had to stay inside. Although looking at a map of the US, I'm wondering if my little kid memory is really all that accurate, she doesn't seem close enough to drop ash in Winnipeg. I'll have to double check with my Mommy. Or Uncle Rick? Is it true?

And here's a fun link from Fear's friend - Volcano Cam. Gotta love the fly bit ;).

The Most Boring Meeting EVAR

and I'm sitting in it.

As you can tell, I'm paying very close attention. I need to watch my back though, check out what the stars are saying

"Although things are good, someone is lurking in the background waiting to take you down. Gravitate toward the positive and stop the negative before it has a chance to take over. 2 stars "

Egads. Take me down. That sounds pretty horrendous. I have visions of fast cars and shoot outs.

The news of the day is the US Presidential Debate. Looks like John Kerry kicked ass (yee-haw!). I'd love to say that I checked it out but WE HAVE NO TV. Instead I watch Coyote Ugly and Gone in 60 Seconds and acted like a slob all evening since Steve went back to work.