Day 367 - Hello Home & Laundry!

Wow. That was one comfy bed. A great mattress & a fabulous duvet. It was like a little taste of heaven. Can you tell I'm sleep deprived? How do these Mom's do it? Ugh. I'm exhausted & I don't even have a kid!  Let alone 2 or 3 of them!

This morning we had a delicious breakfast of bacon & pancakes, along with toasted walnut tea (two thumbs up!). We packed up our things, helped tidy up the house & away we went!

Thankfully the roads were clear all the way home. Much to our surprise, there was hardly a speck of snow when we pulled into the yard! I was expecting a good six inches!

I am absolutely exhausted, as for the rest of the afternoon until the wee hours of the morning, I unpacked, cleaned, tidied & did laundry. (And now I'm trying to catch up on 2 weeks of missed blogging!)

The dogs are happy to be home & so am I, even if I have to jet back into the city tomorrow for my acupuncture appointment. I'm actually looking forward to a few down days to recover from chemo & from trucking all over the place!

I did my neupogen shot tonight. I think I nicked a blood vessel or something, as blood came gushing out when I withdrew the needle & my leg hurt like the dickens after I was done. Whoopsy. I know, I know. Jaco was busy, so I did it myself.

Jaco is peacefully sleeping while I type this in the light of the laptop screen. I think I'll join him, as you don't really need to know how many missing socks I have, nor which items I most likely shrunk (either from the dryer or too much ice cream!). Lekker slaap & see you tomorrow!!!

xxxxMaria

Day 217 - Running Around In The Snow

Okay, so last night I fell asleep to the sound of rain. I love to hear the rain & have a nice cool room while I'm snuggled deep under the covers. I have a window right next to the bed, so I opened it up a little bit & listened to the drops come splashing down. 


I woke up to the sound of rain & admired at how green everything looked. I love the miracle of Spring & how quickly things transform. Sadly, my admiration turned to disbelief as I looked out the window a few hours later & saw the rain transforming to SNOW! Ugh! Seriously? Yup.


It snowed all afternoon & through the night. Blah. So not excited about that! Mom & I went to town for the late afternoon & luckily it was only raining in the city. I managed to tick all the things off my list (on my handy iPod!). I picked up my engagement ring, as the stone was loose & luckily it was just a prong & not a chipped stone! Gasp! They polished it up & it looks brand spankin' new! Feels like I'm newly engaged again!! :o) 


I stopped at the bank & the teller was so sweet! We visited about wigs & weaves & she's going to include me in her prayers. How thoughtful! I told her I'm going to come back & show off some of my wigs... :o) I haven't been banking at the TD very long, but they are so friendly! I have yet to have a negative experience there! And they're open late & on Saturdays!!! Is there any question I've found a good bank? Especially after the CIBC omitted a digit on my cheque! Ha ha... That will keep my chuckling for a long time!


Next stop - Chinook. (For those of you reading from overseas, it's actually pronounced 'Shin-ook' (ook as in hook)) (It's a warm dry wind that blows down the east side of the Rocky Mountains during winter months.) If you're lucky, it melts MOST of the snow & then refreezes as slippery ice & then it snows again, leaving parking lots & streets a disaster to navigate! One of Calgary's bigger malls is called Chinook Centre. I popped into SportChek to see what kind of stuff they had for the World Cup. It's in South Africa this year & I thought I could find Jaco something with the South African flag on it. All they had was a t-shirt in a hideous shade of yellow. Never mind. Their flag is really pretty...

I was returning a luggage weigh scale that I used once in Mexico & then it broke. The lady wouldn't give me a refund & offered me a credit. I told her I had great luggage & enough handbags & wallets to last a lifetime. (Don't tell Jaco the handbag thing - a gal can NEVER have too many!) :o)  Mom had went to a restaurant to order some supper to go. I left the shop without my refund or credit & also forgot my keys there! I found Mom sitting at Starbucks. The restaurant was closed for renovations! Doh! I realized the keys were missing about now. We walked all the way to the other end of the mall & sure enough, there they were. As we left the shop, Mom pointed out the kiosk outside. They sold wigs. I told Mom, 'Nah, they're not my style & they are fake & they are expensive.' She said, 'No, come here. Look.' She pointed to the name of the kiosk - Oceana. Hah! Imagine that! We made our way back to the car & left the city.


We headed towards Longview. Tonight was Fawna's evening with some spiritual speakers from Australia. Of course we arrived late. I wasn't sure where exactly it was & I phoned Fawna's house to see if her husband was home & could tell us where to go. Her daughter answered the phone & I nearly bust a gut from laughing. Here's a recap of the conversation:
'Hello?'
'Hi, Fawna?'
'No, she's not here.'
'Oh, is your Dad there?'
'No, he's with my Mom.'
'Oh. We're supposed to be going to the event your Mom has arranged this evening, but I'm not sure of the location. Do you know where it is?'
Okay, this is the one that got me. In a totally posh British accent, she says:
'I'm not sure of the specific location of the exact event you are referring to.'
Are you kidding me?? I'm sure she's only about 8 or 10 years old!!! Too funny!


Anyhow, we found the place & of course, we were only 40 minutes late. The couple that were speaking were most talking about the Course In Miracles & how it had changed their life. The wife had just wrote a book & the husband did most of the talking. He was quite entertaining! We finished up about 2230 (!) & then headed home.


Before we left, we let the dogs out for a wee. While they were sniffing around, I hear this REALLY LOUD 'CRACK'! behind me. I turn around to see that someone has just SMASHED into my car!!! Oh no!!!! Poor Contemplate!!! I go over to inspect the damage & sure enough there is a big dent in the back bumper & there were bits of shattered plastic lying on top of the bumper from the license plate area. The trunk was also open. I tried to close it. Nope. Again. Nope. Again. Repeat 60 times. Nope. Oh dear. I know it gives me hassle from time to time, but NEVER this much!!! Finally it closes. The lady gives me her address & phone number & I am to call her with the cost of repairing the damages.


We drive home. It's a freaking blizzard. The slush is lying on the road & splashes up over the car, pulling it all over the road & making visibility zero. Add in the falling snow & the visibility is less than zero. (Negative visibility?) We drove about 60km/h the whole way home. I chatted with Jaco for a large chunk of it.


I just don't think he gets it. I tell him it's snowing (on the 27th of May) & he says, 'Oh, cool. That must be beautiful. You must enjoy it!' Are you kidding me? Does he have any idea how stressful driving in this 'stuff' is?!? Pretty? It's dark out & you can't see a bloody thing!!! And this is why I don't want to live in Canada!!!! I'll take an Australian dust storm any day!!!! And the debate goes on...


We arrived home about midnight, with a fair bit of organizing to do before the 0530 wake up call for tomorrow... Wish me luck, it's going to be a short sleep! xxxxx


Maria & Valentina

Oh so pretty.

Blah.

Not cool for the end of May!

Day 199 - Mother's Day... Awhhhhh!

We're not talking a lot of sleep here folks. My mother decided to pull an all-nighter yesterday. Her favourite Uncle sadly passed away & she didn't want to miss the funeral. This meant driving to central Saskatchewan & back in the same day. Yup. 1100+kms. She arrived home at 0430, expecting to leave for Wainwright at 0900. 

I didn't want to wake her, as I knew what a full day & night's drive is like & what you feel like after it's finally over with. But, come 1230, I figured I better wake her up if we were going to go at all. 

In true Mom fashion, she freaked out at the time & quickly got ready. I, on the other hand, was not so speedy. Hey, I was up half the night worrying about her! We left at nearly 1500, just as the snow began to fall. We had hail, rain, sun & snow within the first 20 minutes of driving. She wanted to turn around & go another time, I insisted we go. 

Where were we going? What's so special about Wainwright? Isn't today Mother's Day? Precisely! We were going to get a sister for Valentina! This one would be Mom's dog! Double the trouble, double the fun! 

Roxie, the lady I bought Valentina from, has had severe health issues for the past while & didn't have the energy to get rid of the pups, which were a whoopsie in any case. She had a female pup that she wanted to give to Mom awhile back, but Mom wasn't sure. Apparently she knew how bad I wanted her to have the pup, so she said yes. She decided to surprise me & tell me the news when I arrived home.

I was excited to meet the little pooch! She was going to be a lot of work, as she is nearly 6 months old & hasn't had any obedience training. Adding to the fact that she would soon be leaving her 'nest' & joining a home with a new dog, a giant cat & 2 women! She was in for a real culture shock! 

Thankfully the weather improved shortly after we left. The clouds were threatening, but we drove out of anything wet! The #2 hwy was a zoo! It was packed! I was happy to pull off at Wetaskiwin & head east. The traffic was much gentler - to say the least! 

Previously Mom had chosen Annie as a name for the dog. I talked to hear about it & we decided that Annie wasn't such a suitable name. Her niece had a dog by the same name, as does my friend, Roxy, who visits often. I could see the ensuing confusion. So we discussed name after name after name. I went through the Spanish & Italian words on my iTouch. Sadly they were mostly words for eating out & shopping, so that didn't help much! I forgot the Afrikaans dictionary at home, but even if I had brought it with, I wouldn't have known how to pronounce it in any case! We scanned the Atlas on the iPod... nothing. Finally I said, 'How about Ocean?' Mom said, in an unconvincing, 'Yeah'. Then I thought of a ship I once knew, 'How about Oceana?' Then Mom has her 'Anna' namesake & it's a funky name to boot! 'Yeah!' Mom liked it! 

Okay. Done! Oceana it is. We were about 3 kms out of Wainwright at this point! Uh-oh! She needs a middle name! Quick! Come up with something! Well, it's May, Mother's Day, how about 'Oceana May'? I can hear your eyes rolling... But it suits her! Just put on your best southern drawl & you've got the name down pat! :o)

We didn't get to Roxie's until 2000. Cohby answered the door & I could hear heaps of barking going on. Their GIANT Retriever, Lucky, was barking away. Cohby put Lucky into his kennel, but Lucky's head was sticking out the top! As Lucky barked away, I thought I'll just take Valentina over & he can meet her. I've never seen a Retriever tap dance! His feet were going a million miles a minute, clicking away on the kennel floor - it was priceless! Cohby then decided to put Lucky outside, but that was no small task! Lucky pretty much dragged Cohby out the door! He is a big dog! I think both Mom & I couldn't have handled him as well as Cohby did! Well done!

And then there was Oceana. Roxie brought her out & she wanted nothing to do with us. She played with Valentina & ran to Cohby & Roxie, but not Mom, nor I. We were there for an hour or so, visiting & just spending time with Oceana. Pretty soon it was time to go, so Mom scooped up Oceana & she clung to Mom like she'd known her all her life. And that was it. They were bonded!

I'm pretty sure Cohby was sad to see the puppy go, as I don't think the mother is having any more, but I told him to be sure & visit this summer. The dogs will be waiting for him! I'll be waiting for him & Roxie! :o) I know they'll remember him!

We stopped at Boston Pizza for a quick take away bite & then it was back on the road again. Traffic was much lighter this hour of the day & we took a new trail across the north end of Calgary - Stony Trail. It was super quick & easy to get from North Deerfoot to Hwy #1. Perfect! We got home about 0300. I was beat. A headache was settling in as we arrived home, so here's hoping it's gone tomorrow... I'm about done with headaches!

Sleep well! Valentina is snoring as I type! xxxx

Maria, Valentina, Nonna & Introducing... Oceana May

Good afternoon, this is your 1230 wake up...

Okay, I'm actually speechless at what to write for this one. Insert what you will...

Roxie, Cohby, Valentina & Oceana. She's much friendlier than she looks in this photo! :o) Valentina still has her pretty face!

Day 197 - The Journey Home

Forgive me if I'm not too excited to be coming home. I'm leaving my husband, getting off a luxury cruise ship, leaving the warm weather of the Caribbean & heading home to snow & 6 months of chemo. Yay.


I was up early & in the shower before Jaco was up. That's a rarity! I had to disembark by 0915. Luckily they were running behind, so it actually gave Jaco & I a chance to say goodbye. We hugged & hugged & kissed & kissed & hugged some more. It was awful. I'm getting really tired of saying goodbye. I have such a wonderful husband & all I ever seem to do is say goodbye to him. What's that about? 


After he left, I called the photo lab. Galina, AKA Gorjus Galina, was embarking today. I met Galina on the Star in South America. She is a STUNNING lass from Bulgaria & her personality matches her smile. To my happiness, she came to the dining room where I was waiting to leave & we had a quick visit before I had to go. It was wonderful to see her! My heart was a little happier after having just said goodbye to Jaco. 


But soon enough, it was time to go. Ronel came to my rescue & helped me with my luggage straight through to the taxi cab's door. What a sweetheart. Ronel is the Medical Steward who also helps keep the cabin neat & tidy! Luckily we were swept through a quick line. Sometimes it pays to be Canadian in a slew of British passengers! :o)


And then I was off. I had a bit of a wait in the airport, but thankfully it wasn't long before the Westjet folks showed up to take away my luggage. I visited with a Surgeon from Toronto who specializes in retina surgeries. Wow! While I was visiting with him, I spotted my friends from Pennsylvania from the ship! We said our farewells & I lugged my stuff onto the scale. I was 1/2 a lb under on one case & spot on the money on the other. That's 25 lbs over spot on the money... $50. Told ya. :o)


Luggage free, I grabbed some lunch & ate outside. The bench I sat on was concrete & it was so hot from the sun, I had to put my scarf under my butt because it was actually causing me pain - it was that hot! I took Valentina down one level & let her roam around on a grassy patch so she could get a bit of exercise & have a potty break before the flights. 


I then came inside to call Jaco. Today was his big day at the fertility clinic. I was so nervous he wouldn't make it to his appointment in time & the chances of ever having a mini-wee running around one day would be shot. Thankfully he was there & everything was in order. He said the people were really nice & he was enjoying the medical/scientific side of things. 


During my flight, I ended up sitting next to a lady from Ontario. She was heading home to celebrate her parents 65th wedding anniversary! She is a semi-retired events planner, so she had organized a big To-Do for them. The local newspaper & TV crews were going to stop by & an Italian radio station was going to do an interview. The were Italian - I knew I liked her from the beginning! How fun!


Westjet had told me I would sit behind the bulkhead with Valentina, but when I checked in online, I had no idea where the bulkhead was, so I just picked a seat. When I boarded, I went to the seat I had selected & got settled. (row 22) I had no sooner settled in when the Attendant came by & told me they had a seat for me in the front. Sigh. Okay. I haul my stuff all the way to the front of the plane. I was grateful for the seat, but would have appreciated being told a little sooner! Oh well. I'll know to ask for the next flight.


Next flight. Nope. Sorry. Dogs are in rows 21 & 22. I asked if that was where they put service dogs. She told me to wait until everyone had boarded & then we'd see if there were any bulkhead seats available. Luckily there was a lady who couldn't use the arm tray in the front, so she gladly took my seat in row 18. That left me in the front. But then the Attendants said I couldn't sit there with my dog. I explained that I had done so on the previous flight & I had been told I would have a bulkhead seat on both flights. They said 'All dogs are in rows 21 & 22'. I said, 'Even Service Dogs?' & showed them Valentina's card. It was like I'd slapped them across the face. They instantly apologized & said, 'Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, yes, this is where you sit.' Done. Thank you very much.


While I was in TO, I asked at information if there was a spot for dogs to relieve themselves. No. NO?! What do you mean, no? Is there seriously no grass anywhere at the Toronto airport? No. Now that is a crying shame. I'm sure I'm not the only person to travel through Toronto with a dog! Hmpf. Shows how much they know. I walk out the arrivals door & lo & behold... Across the road is a nice chunk of grass, trees, & shrubs. No where to go, huh? Yeesh. I had a notion to leave them a 'donation', but I didn't! I did, however, let them know where it was located when I came back inside! They didn't look overly impressed. 


On this flight, I sat next to a man whose eyes didn't really stay together & he prayed out loud the entire time they were doing the safety announcements & the Captain was speaking. I was slightly nervous. I was listening for the words, 'Allah, Allah, Allah', but didn't hear them. He went to sleep after his prayers were over. I'm typing this after I've landed, so nothing horrible happened, but it was creepy nonetheless! 


Naturally, Mom was late picking me up, but when she did arrive, oh boy! Valentina was pretty excited to see her! She went crazy! She whined most of the way home & didn't want to sit on my lap, only Nonna's lap! 


I was horrified to see snow on the ground. It made me want to cry. Oh please, send me back to the land of heat & sunshine. I could feel the vitamin D deficiency settling in already! I prayed that it would be melting & gone by morning!


What a day. I'm home, safe & sound & I suppose that's all that matters. 


xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Maria & Valentina

Ronel has a 3 month old baby back home. That he's NEVER EVEN SEEN! :o( 45 days to go!

Contemplate is frozen!

to.snow.es

NeverLate made it through the snow!

Nonna & Valentina

Just a little unpacking & rearranging to do!

Out for the count!

Day 158 - Holy Cow! What A Day!

Phew! Today was a LONG day! I had planned on heading out early, but as usual, the morning got away from me... Then dear ol' Contemplate wouldn't start! My last day to drive my lovely car for many months to come & it was no go. Mom was already gone with NeverLate, so I was left with the truck. I don't mind driving the truck, but it's a gas hog & a bit of a tank to drive in the city. Regardless, I headed out around 1100 for Cochrane.


First up was the TD bank for the $25 Barbados Import Permit. $25 Barbados dollars is equal to about $13 Canadian. It cost $50 (!) to post to Barbados. Ouch! 


I stopped in to see Jenn on her first day of her new job. She looked like a supermodel!!! Wow!!! I couldn't help but stare! She is such a beautiful woman! With those big eyes & perfect smile, no wonder Mike was so swiftly enamoured with this gorgeous Canadian gal! :o) I hope the job goes well for her.


I will admit. Today was a weepy day. I cried on my way to Cochrane, I cried on my way to Calgary & I cried on my way home from the city. I cried at songs on the radio, I cried when  I couldn't find the courts office... Yeah, I was a bit of a wreck. I'm sad to be leaving all my friends & Mom & happy to be leaving to get healthy. I'm sad I'm not already healthy, I miss my husband & I'm sad we're not already living somewhere together... And pretty much anything else made me cry.


I stopped at GAP Adventures to say goodbye to Michael - he was busy as usual! Then it was downtown to sort out the speeding ticket I got in September. I was caught doing 102 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. I was 3 hours late leaving for the wedding weekend, with a million things on my mind. It is my first speeding ticket in Alberta. Grrr. Anyhow, it had gone to trial so I had to see a Prosecutor about it. I phoned & was given the wrong directions. I went to 5 different places & couldn't find the right floor when I finally found the right building. Needless to say, I was getting close to losing it! I ended up having to buy a Jugo Juice just to get more change & pay for parking. My luck I'd get a parking ticket while paying for my speeding ticket! Hmpf!


The Prosecutor was actually human! He was very much unlike the Judge I visited in January - thank goodness! He reduced my ticket & I received 2 demerits instead of 3. 


I motored over to Meyers Norris Penny with minutes to spare on the parking meter. I paid my last payment & hugged my Bankruptcy Consultant goodbye. I was very excited to have made my last payment... Just another 3 weeks of receipts to submit & I am free & clear! Yahoo!


I boogied through the rest of the afternoon trying to get the rest of my to-do list accomplished. Community Natural Foods, then I tried to get a roll of slide film cross-processed. I was rejected at Vistek, Costco & Black's. I'll just take it to California with me & have it done there. I stopped at PetSmart, the Luggage Shop, Chapters, Jugo Juice (again), and then I stopped at Mom2's. She'd been away all weekend & I was quite worried, as I didn't know she was gone & I couldn't get ahold of her! She hadn't checked her email recently, so she didn't know I was leaving - for 4 months! 


It was nearly 2000 & I was pretty pooped. I decided to pick up some veggies for Mom & head home. Hungry as a horse, I decided to have some sushi. I chose a chai tea & sushi over a burger & fries. I thought that was a wise choice! Sushi Ginza was delish!


It had been quite windy all day & I swear in a matter of minutes, the temperature dropped by 10 degrees! It was freezing cold!!! Yuck! Of course, I arrived home to find a lovely blanket of fresh snow! Oh the joys of living in the mountains! 


Tomorrow it the last chance to pack & hit the skies enroute for health & happiness... Sleep well & I'll see you soon! 
xxxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Jenn on her first day!

Yahoo! Last payment!

Great Sushi!

Great service!

Great times!

Day 118 - Update Coming!

Exhausted. Not Packed. Sick as a dog. Will write more. Off to Mexico. xxxx Maria & Valentina


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


Today was packing day. I didn't know if I'd ever see the end! I woke up to a Winter Wonderland & was instantly grateful that I'd been to town the day before. I had a brief Skype chat with Talia, Nico's girlfriend, who is now lonely & stuck on the ship without her boyfriend. Nico was sent home to South Africa to heal & their future lies slightly uncertain, with regards to what will happen when Nico is fit to work again. Same ship, different ships, Manager position or back to Assistant. Nico has been Assistant Manager for 5 years now. More than long enough to justify a Manager position! 


Anyhow, to the packing slog it is... I wanted to use my carry-on & my smaller bag. Right. Valentina's stuff alone filled the bigger bag! Such a tiny creature & so much stuff! Mom later rummaged through it & eliminated a few toys. I went through it again & managed to put her stuff into the carry-on bag. 


My stuff, on the other hand, was another story. It was difficult to pick out clothing. Nothing fits, as I'm still 'Little Miss Pudge'. Surprisingly, I didn't pack that much clothing. (Yes, it's true!) Once I started adding toiletries, hair dryer, flat iron, & the supplements. Oh the supplements! That is pretty much a bag in itself! I asked Mom if she'd be willing to take a 2nd bag for me, but no was the answer. Whatever shall I do? Hmm... I know! I will put the carry on bag inside the other BIGGER bag! Ha! Problem solved! Now I have space around the edges for all my supplements & as I use them up, I'll have room for the new ones I'll get while I'm down there! Genius! Well, almost. Now both bags are huge & heavy! Oh well... I'll worry about it when I'm at the airport!


Exhausted from a day of packing & organizing & sorting & shuffling, I crashed about 2330. Tomorrow is a big day. Doctor's appointments & acupuncture & another Yuen treatment, prayers & then the night at Lawrence's so he could take us to the airport in the morning.


Wish me luck, I'm sure I'll need it. Sleep well & see you soon!!! 
Maria & Valentina
xxxxx

Ol' Man Winter ain't gone yet!

It's so pretty! (from inside the house!)

Day 116 - Shake Your Groove Thang...

Hello everyone!


I hope this finds you well & enjoying your Tuesday morning. It was Family Day today in Alberta, so hopefully those of you celebrating it, were able to spend some quality time with your families!


I spent it with part of my family. Adios, Valentina & Mom. I woke up with what I like to call my Phone Sex Voice. My throat was nice & raspy & there were a few rumblings from my chest. I am guessing this is a chest cold & not a sinus cold, as my sinuses are fine! I've never had a chest cold, so this is something new. Again! Anyhow, after my mid-afternoon walk, I'd progressed, or regressed, depending on how you look at it, from my Phone Sex Voice to my Puberty Voice. I think I would rather have just lost my voice!


Mom mashed my back with some peppermint oil & the muscles are just about back to normal, although now the skin is nicely burned. Ah well, win some lose some. By tomorrow morning it should be all good. Just so you know, I asked for the mashing. No pain, no gain.


A fairly uneventful day, I did actually get outside. I took the pooch for a walk, snapped a few happy ones while I was out & then came back to the house. I spent most of the evening trying to clean up the kitchen. Our septic tank isn't quite normal yet. We called for help, but never received a call back. Thanks! So hopefully we can make it through the night without the alarm going off! 


I have to share this little story about the septic tank alarm... Last summer when Jaco was visiting, Mom was away & we were sleeping in her bedroom. In the middle of the night, the septic alarm goes off. I knew the noise right away, but my poor foreign husband did not. He thought we were being robbed, broken into, vandalized... All of his limbs were moving simultaneously, as was the duvet once covering him, but he wasn't moving anywhere! It was priceless. I got up, turned off the alarm & told him to go back to bed. We'd worry about it in the morning. It was almost as humourous as imagining poor Gord in his electronically adjustable bed with it going completely haywire while he's in it. I know, it's cruel to laugh at someone else's misfortune, but there are times when it wouldn't matter if it were you or I in the scenario, we'd still be busting a gut laughing... Moving on...


I managed to get a few things on the Mexico To Do List checked off! I had planned on heading to town, but when I looked at the clock, it was already 1400. Then I remembered it was Family Day, so I ixnayed the trip to town. There's always tomorrow! 


I caught up with a few good girlfriends & I just have to say, I'm so blessed to have such wonderful friends whom I know support me. I love them all to pieces & how lonely life would be without them! Thank you for enriching my life! 


I have to put this out there & hopefully something good will come of it! A very dear friend of mine is in need of help. My best friend, Jenn, & her husband, Mike, recently moved back to Canada. Mike is from Texas & they had been living there. They moved back to Canada when Jenn's health insurance fell through & it would cost them $20,000 to have the planned Caesarean section Jenn needed. Adding to the mix that Mike had been laid off last March & was still unable to find work. 


Jenn safely had a beautiful baby girl in December & things were really looking up when Mike had a job offer to work close to Jenn's family in Southern Alberta. Unfortunately the company offering the job wasn't ambitious enough to properly fill out the paperwork & Mike came as close to being threatened with deportation. A long story longer, they are desperate to find work for Mike. As he doesn't have a work permit, there would be paper work involved, which is easily done, if you do it the right way the first time! (!!!!)


I'm asking, pleading, begging, if you know of anyone who is in need of a fantastic employee, please let them know! Mike is a wonderful man, a true Texas gentleman & wants desperately to be able to provide for his family. His work experience puts him in the line for Industrial Mechanical type work, but at this point, he is willing to do almost anything! He is a strong, intelligent & hard working fellow. If you know of anyone who needs any kind of help, please pass along the information! You'll be doing this family a great service! Jenn's baby is only 5 weeks old & it is nearing the point that she will be forced to return to work. Jenn also keeps a blog. Please feel free to send her a message if you know of anything! Thank you! Oh, prayers are good too!! :o) http://burnettbunchlife.blogspot.com


No news from Jaco yet. I hope the Air Hostesses weren't too cute. Perhaps he's traded me in. Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake? On Valentine's Day! Mile High Club! Ha! Horrible thought, but I'm laughing, as I know it would never happen. I'm the luckiest girl I know! Maybe if we're ever in the same postal code, I'll even get lucky! Ha! I must be feeling better, no clue where all this 'talk' is coming from!


Anyhow, I better call it quits for tonight. I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow! The city beckons me & I hope the roads are good! Sleep well & here's for exciting news tomorrow! 


Love & hugs,
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Walking down the road.

The Valentina's Day trees! Is this the official definition of a 'Tree Hugger'?

Okay, fine. So winter can be pretty.

One of my many winter pet peeves. Socks coming off when you take off your boots. Then you step in snow to get the other boot off. (I know, it's almost Mexico time!)