right on the verge of...

i am starting to get that feeling.

it is late, i am realizing that there are just a few days left in this month, my stomach starts to get twisty and turny, i glance over at the "ACCOMPLISH" note pad sitting on my bedside table, {resolutions!!!}, 3 more days, {hey, you need to start thinking of the new year... RESOLUTIONS}, get you thinking cap on {helloooo, rrrreeeessssoooluttttiiionnnnssssss}

i pulled out the 2 sheets of loose paper from my journal. the resolution lists i wrote from the last 2 years. in 2008 i made 31, in 2009 i made 5. i am not going to tell you how many were accomplished on those lists because it really doesn't matter. what does matter is that i made them. you can't move forward, become better, fly higher if you don't have something set in your sights.

today is eli's baptism. it will be one of the highlights of my life. he is a smart, good, tender child. he understands what he is doing and the responsibilities he is about the take on. he is ready and i am thrilled for him.

i am off. need to prepare for the day and the new year. YES!

things we have been up to lately {in picture form}...

c.j.'s 36th birthday {ida chewing on carrots}

putting up the most gaudy tree on the block {must re-decorate before christmas gets here}
beatles rock band
ALOT of beatles rock band
bathing this little lady

dahl's 5th birthday

best long-haired christmas song ever...

yo

i am stealing internet capabilities, while c.j. is out of the house, it still doesn't work in my office...shhh

official update:  

we are in the house.  the house is not put away yet.  we have had construction guys come back to do "touch-ups" in the basement.  we still don't have a stove {long story short: after the 4th visit from the installer, the bertazzoni that we purchased does not work, they are shipping a new one from vancouver which means another week without a stove}.  our goal is to have the house put away by saturday.  it is still wicked cold.  idas food trial today was officially cancelled at about 10:30 this morning as they blew through her veins in both hands and both feet trying to get an IV going.  luck of the draw, i guess.  it is december 15th??? i thought it was the 10th today, i am not in touch...  eli had an amazing christmas concert last friday.  it was like going to a broadway show, very impressive.  pictures are on the way, but just not right now.  it is still a gong show here. holy cats! i need to get our christmas cards in the mail.

out.

almost there

i am packing our stuff up in the basement. the basement we moved into in july. we have split the family up between 2 bedrooms, sometimes sleeping in one room in the bed, sometimes in the other room on the floor, clothes tucked in all kinds of places, sharing a bathroom, just kind of shacking up. as a disclaimer, mom and dads basement is hardly a basement. we have been very comfortable here, but of course, we haven't been "settled" for some time now.

the only things we brought here were our clothes and paperwork/files. i think that everything we brought here has multiplied by at least 10.

today is the final "push to be completely moved-sleeping in our own house-in our assigned rooms-flushing our own toilet day."

it will be nice to be settled again.

i just put ida down for a nap. she is a month away from being 1. when we moved here to calgary, eli was 6 months old and we lived here at my mom and dads while we determined where to live and build a home. i am so very grateful for the kindness and generosity that mom and dad have shown us over the last 6 months and over the last 8 years. they are the first to help in any way, shape or form. that is a huge blessing in my life and i want to say thank you, thank you, thank you....

...SO, as our parting gift and token of our appreciation, i have hidden 8 stinky diapers {like easter eggs} around the basement for you to sniff out. one of them has a $200 gift card to "The Keg", so make sure you carefully and thoroughly open and check each and every one before you throw them out. you guys are good, so i know you will find them with ease. you better hurry, company is coming on friday {hi stacey!}...

studio move WITH pictures, ohh ahh...

ida + i waiting in the car for eli
the view from the drivers seat
sleepin' lady
move: done. c.j. and dad were cold, wet, hungry and tired. {notice the red cheeks on c.j.}

last year, around this time, c.j. was in the process of moving his studio from the arbour residence to a echoy 2000 sq/ft bay way across town {visit the february 2009 archives, you'll find it there}. it was a really big job. lots of equipment, lots of junk to de-junk out of the arbour basement. it was a scene. the day they moved it was freezing, absolutely freezing.

today c.j. is moving his studio. again. this time from that cold, echoy bay across town into our warm, cozy, new house. they are putting the finishing touches on his studio space in the basement as i type {i will post some pics as soon as the floor has cured so i can walk on it}. oddly enough, c.j. chose today to move. this week the weather has been lovely, today Environment Canada has issued a storm watch for alberta. how ironic. when i was getting eli ready this morning i opened the door to assess the weather outside and it was cold and the wind was howling. i am pretty sure he won't be going out for recess and lunch today. and c.j., we still haven't found our winter coats, so he left this morning with a hoodie and a puffy vest from my dad. no touque. no mitts. {note to c.j.: dude! dress for the weather!}

all i could do is wish him "good luck" as he walked out the door. i may find him like han solo, frozen in carbonite, but more like a popsicle, just, frozen...

now... i need to get ready and go clean that house so we can move in.

the drywall dust is EVERYWHERE!

UPDATE: the weather outside is a hilariously wicked bad blizzard. i just talked to c.j., they are creeping along the highway, about 10 feet visibility, blowing snow, big drifts, wind shield wipers that don't work and semi's rolled over in the ditches. i hope they make it. i better suit up, i need to get out there and fetch eli from the bus stop. wish us luck!

p.s. i went to the house to clean it and almost fell over by the toxic soup that is going on in the air right now. the sealant that is on the cement floors is curing and the place smells like a paint can. will have to wait till tomorrow. rats.

feeling much better today, later flu

one of the greats.

new to you

ida and c.j. installing the dryer
wheat, it works!
pears, works too!
found the winter head gear
carrots are coming along, more on the tray than in her mouth however...

check out the size difference of eli and kids in his class
eli + the mounties at the remembrance day ceremony

i believe i have the flu. again. this time it is a different flu. more like the stomach cramps, body aches, fever, etc type flu. i haven't felt this junkie since... the last time i had the chesty, fevery, coughy, H1N1 type flu, what 3 weeks ago? ah well.

i finally downloaded some pictures tonight i thought i would post.

we are about 75% in our house. we have been waiting for the basement to be finished so that c.j. could move his studio in. looks like he is doing that tomorrow, so maybe by the weekend we will be completely moved over. i have not been there in a couple of days, but apparently the entire interior of the house is COVERED in drywall dust from the construction in the basement. what a nasty job to try to clean up.

i need to lay down. more soon.