Styling the water pipes

While I wasn't aware that water pipes had hair, let alone needed to be styled irst thing in the morning in the coldest day of the year, so far... I did happen to have an extra hair dryer that I don't care too much about.

I woke up, a little over an hour ago, to LOUD, SCARY banging noises coming from the general area of my bedroom closet. (Right next to the bedroom closet is the hot water tank).

Chris and his Dad were outside (poor frozen guys) trying to figure out which pipes were frozen...

Then they came and got a hair dryer from me to try to thaw the pipes, which we still don't know which ones are frozen... so it was little better than futile.

As a result of waking up earlier than expected (by about 4 hours) and the sheer way I woke up, I am not feeling well. The jolt of adrenaline from being semi terrified is making me feel sick, and plus lack of sleep with the pills I am taking (prescribed...) I feel really sick.

I think it's either time to switch pills, or actively work on coming off of them. The side effects are getting noticeable more often. Or maybe I am just screwing up my sleep patterns too much...

Either way, not feeling well for no reason that you can really deal with, SUCKS.

And that's me today.

Plus the way I woke up has gotten me so tensed I keep clenching my jaw... not only does that hurt but I am getting a head ache. No matter how much I try to relax and focus on not clenching, it ends up happening.

Meh. Such is life.

So, yeah... That's me today. How are you? How freaking cold is it where you are?

If you say anything warmer than -20 (ahem, CELSIUS), I may not be held responsible for my own actions (jealousy, envy...)

It got to -33 ish Celsius, which is... hold on... about -27.4 Fahrenheit.

Which doesn't seem so bad.


Here's the last nine hours, according to the weather network.

What does "dew point" mean? Cause those numbers aren't friendly, either...

I want to hibernate. I am all for snow, and wintry driving conditions, and starting your car to warm up a few minutes before you leave the house, and I can deal with the lower fuel mileage, but this is ridiculous.

I can't remember the last time I experienced temperatures that felt this cold... (Meaning of course that it may have been colder, but that I probably wasn't outside for it).

And everyone was saying it would be a mild winter. Yeah, in California...

I have to go, and try to sleep some more, I am feeling worse.

So, yeah.

Anybody got any ideas on how to fix frozen water pipes that you don't know where the problem is?

(I forgot to mention, we have heat wrap around most of the pipes, and it's been plugged in since the beginning of winter... So the whole freezing thing is a bit of a piss off)

:) Blaine

Homesick at 1 a.m.

I have been sitting up, listening to random ring tunes on Rogers.ca, and because Chris mentioned I could make my own ring tunes, I have been fooling around with that idea... so far so good. It's easy! (If your phone has the capabilities to add data from a computer... other wise, don't know how)

But anyway, just listening to music, and thinking about what ring tones to use/make for some family members has made me homesick.

I basically try to avoid thinking about home (that's why I never call, sorry) because it makes me feel homesick and lonely. I am truly glad to hear a familiar voice whenever you guys call, and please don't get worried, I am fine...

Just felt like writing about it, is all.

I can't wait to see my big sisters new house, and wish I could have helped her move. I can't wait to just hang out with my whole family again, just be in the same house again. It's only Nov. 25, and I can't wait for Christmas now.

With all of the positive things that have come of our moving to Hinton, including a new friendship and 'niece', I knew that above all, I would miss my family. Just like I did in Edmonton. I just keep underestimating how bad it is until it gets here, you know? I catch a glimpse of a picture from Home and I feel a jerk in my heart...

Is it bad that I block out thoughts of home so that I won't get upset? Now that I think about it, it sure sounds bad...

Oh, well, whatever gets you through, right?

Fair warning: Just like Thanksgiving, when I come home for Christmas, I know I will cry. Not because I am upset or anything, just happy to be home. So bring an extra shirt.

:)

Love you all, and miss you terribly. Can't wait to see you at Christmas!

xoxoxo (x a lot more)

Blaine

Behind with the blogging

I have thought about blogging a few times this past week, but keep forgetting about it, or don't have the time... (rather, don't make the time)

Umm... let's see, what's happened since I last 'blogged'...

- Quit working at the source... got a different job with more hours, and better pay... oh, and it's nowhere near as stressful...
- started working at IGA (privately owned- there's 13 in alberta owed by the same company, one of the founders is Chris's best friends grandfather)
- Chris got an interview with CN (YAY!!!) He had it today, and we won't know for a few days if they are going to hire him or not... (5 people in the tests and went for interview, and there were 3 positions)

ummmm... can't remember much else...

oh, I upgraded my cell phone... and got a new one in the mail (the one in the picture is white, mine is black)

ummm... not much else is new... have a headache, so going to go now... will (*hopefully*) update more later!

Miss everybody (I am homesick again already....)

Love ya lots

Blaine

What's a Meme? This is a Meme...

1. What is your craft, & how long have you been doing it? I guess I would say that my craft is taking pictures. I have been doing it since approximately October 10, 2004, which is the date I got my digital camera. Since then, I've just been taking more and more pictures.

2. Are you a vegan, vegetarian, veg-curious, veg-friendly or other? I guess I would say that I am veg-friendly. There are certainly a lot of veggies I like, but there's probably more that I either just don't like, or will only eat a certain way. (Like green/red/yellow/orange peppers... either cut up in small pieces and cooked or cooked thoroughly in a sauce- stirfry... And only like tomatoes in sauce. Not fresh. Ever.)

3. What is your favorite color(s)? Do you particularly dislike a color(s)? Oooh... good one... I LOVE a darkish sage color, kind of in between sage and a light forest green, and I adore Navy Blue. I also like every color that I see day to day in Nature... as I could easily prove by showing you some pictures... Earth tones are my newest favorites... yummy browns and tans...

4. Do you have any allergies (such as pets, foods or cigarette smoke?) Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You either must be joking or really don't know me. I am allergic to just about everything under the sun now. It started out small: cats, rabbits, bigger dogs. Now I am allergic to almost all animals, and can't even be around cats for 10 minutes (and I am on a daily antihistamine) without my throat swelling up. My allergies also trigger my athsma, which has continually gotten worse since I was diagnosed in my teens.

My allergy list has grown to also contain some sort of seafood (they weren't overly specific when I went for the allergy test, so I just avoid all of it - I also don't like it) and trees. I am certain that mold is on the list, too, and most other things like strong perfumes - read ' teenage girls' - and smoke, etc. also aggravate me. I'm not sure that I can even stop taking my antihistamines over the winter months anymore. Last time I tried was 2 1/2 years ago...

5. Do you have any companion animals? If so, names and types? Well, Pookie was one of them, and since she passed, I am certain she is still here. She was a Poodle/Terrier/Cocker Spaniel Mix. One of the most polite and mild mannered dogs I have ever met. (Unless she's around a young child- she had always been uneasy around them, since she was a puppy and was bombarded with not-so-great attention from a toddler.) And she is always great company. Her son, Patches, who is now 6 1/2 years old, lives with my parents, but I still call him my dog, too. He is super cute, and puts up with my camera. A lot. I have hundreds of pictures of him, if not thousands.

6. Do you collect anything? Pictures. Old money, funny money. (Funny Money referring to strange and exotic coins or bills from other countries. Years ago, I even collected U.S. Quarters when I came across them because they were so foreign to me.

7. Do you have a favorite vegan food, snack or dish? If no fav that's vegan (for those who aren't vegan), what's your favorite food? Uhhh... Err... I can't think right now. There's too many to list. I love a great chicken caesar salad. Chicken Souvlaki, with warm pita bread and tzatziki sauce. Ribeye steak BBQ'd to rare or medium rare with Montreal steal spice on it. Potatoes. (You name it, potato wise, I probably like it. (Lately been eating a lot of the packaged scalloped type... Yum!) Sorbet... I have been making my own here at home, and Oh. My. God. Strawberry and Peach are so far in my 'fighting for #1' list. Want to try Banana Sorbet, so I can mix it with strawberry... or orange... or pineapple...

8. What tools/supplies/accessories for your craft(s) are you wishing you had but don't? Also, what do you have TOO many of? (basically a wish and anti-wish list) I am hoping to someday be able to buy a more professional camera... Probably with help from my sister... She took the 2 year course... I'd also need more memory cards if I was to buy a better camera... and probably batteries/battery pack. Oh, and photo paper and ink... or whatever else. Too many of? Does that happen?

9. What type of handmade item would tickle your fancy? What don't you like? (Keep in mind this swap is open to all types of crafters.)

The kind of handmade item that tickles my fancy is paintings... I like them much better when I know the artist. How do you get into painting when you know nothing of the materials? I think I would like anything homemade if it was made for me, because someone took the time to make it for me. One of my most treasured items is a handmade journal I got for Christmas from my Mom, who got my Auntie to make. It rocks.

10. Is there anything else you would like your pal to know about you? Uh... I swear I am not clumsy, I just hurt myself lots... I love animals, just can't really be with them. :( My idea of a great day is one where I spend a lot fo time with nature, either just driving and looking at it, or taking pictures... (of course).

And I'd also like my pal to know that I love them very much! (And miss them, too!)

:) T.A.K.

My Boo

My Boo. With her baby. I miss her. She must miss me, too, because she comes to visit.

:)

T.A.K.

Huh

I am Creative. I do creative things. I just don't say so. I don't think I have either

a) anything good to say or
b) anybody who cares

to bother to write very often.

I express most of my creative energy taking pictures, mostly of nature, in and around Hinton.

I also cook. I have begun to play around with some other things, and my most recent accomplishment was a scrapbook I made for my sister and brother in law for their wedding. At first I didn't think that my sister liked it, but I now realize that that is so not true.

I recently moved to a town about 6 hours away from my family, and my best friend lives in a city 3 hours away but is always busy working or sleeping.

Not only am I in a new place, which I do love, but I also feel super lonely.

Thankfully, my 'sister-in-common-law' is great, and since she is a SAHM with a 6 1/2 month old, she is just as grateful as I am to get out of the house, or just have the company of a friend.

I don't know what else to say. I probably won't update this again for a while, since Ivew recently become kind of turned off of the idea.

Me.

I don't normally do this

This post is going to be a little different.

I was reading my Hometown's newspaper online, and clicked on the Opinion section. If you want to know what I read, here it is.

Here's part of what I would like to respond. (Highly recommend reading the article before reading this... might not make sense if you read this first.)

I was contemplating sending this to them, but I know it would be edited and lose some of it's meaning.

Re: ‘War on Tobacco’ Editorial by Chris Miller, Oct. 24, 2006

By any chance, are you a smoker, Chris Miller?

In our society, people should be allowed to go out to a restaurant without having to suffer through breathing in a cloud of poison. While I believe that everybody has a right to smoke, if they so choose, why does it then mean that smokers have the right to decide that everybody else around them has to breathe in deadly toxins?

Yes, I’ve heard the ‘if you don’t like it, leave’, but where is the fairness in that? Are you saying that people who don’t want to be exposed to unnecessary toxins should stay at home? Well, how am I supposed to do anything?

If things hadn’t progressed the way it has, there would probably be smoking in grocery stores, drug stores, hospitals… Then what? Am I supposed to just deal with it or leave?

The issue of smoking has been around for years, and isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. There is no clear answer, because smokers and non-smokers have very differing points of views. Everybody’s rights are being infringed upon because of this issue, and the lines become grayed as a result.

Not all oil patch workers smoke. Not every non-smoker has an issue with smokers. And no, smoking bans don’t affect the tobacco companies. It just makes life a little better for those of us who don’t choose to poison ourselves daily, the slowest suicide besides living. If you really want to smoke, then do it by yourself. Poison yourself. Kill yourself. Leave my lungs and health out of it.

Other I’d like to add…

Whatever people choose to do in the privacy of their own homes, is up to them.

What people choose to do when they are affecting other people, is not always up to them.

Deal with it.

(Maybe the Gov't of Canada needs to sit up and realize that the cost of health care is as a result of people not taking care of themselves. Maybe they should refuse to pay for services that are needed as a result of people smoking, overeating, doing illegal drugs. If people can take the responsibility of choosing to do things that harm them, maybe they should deal with the consequences, too. If you smoke, and get lung cancer as a direct result, maybe you should pay for the surgeries, and chemo...)

I think people these days just don't take responsibility for their choices anymore. People drink and drive, and expect to get a light sentence. They abuse other people, and expect to be out of jail in a few years.

I think there is something seriously wrong with people, and health care systems, and everything else.

I am getting exhausted just thinking about all this crap I want to say.

So, this is my response to the issue that the Cold Lake Sun's Editor has chosen to bring up. I don't mind if people want to leave comments, but keep it tactful please.

To anyone out there in my famly and friends who smoke, or whatever else, I am not attacking you. This is my general opinion.

Anyway, I never thought I'd be posting anything like this, or posting a disclaimer to hopefully prevent anyone from being offended by a post like this.

Sigh. This is the kind of crap that makes me depressed about the world we live in.

And then I read my Auntie's blogs, or look at pictures of my sweet little cousin painting, or Chris's niece, and I feel better.

:) Just had to get that out, I think.

TAK

"Laughing at the kid, I thought you were"

that's one of Chris' more recent 'Yoda-isms'.

It's hilarious when we catch them, but it's usually about once a week he talks in Yoda speak by accident.

(For those who don't know: Yoda is a character from Star Wars, and he talks kinda backwards. He is known worldwide for his speech behaviour, and commonly imitated by geeks and non-geeks alike. Also: he's not a human character, kind o a little green alien with big pointy ears.)

Chris doesn't do it on purpose, but I catch them, make fun of him (a little) and we both usually laugh our butts off about it.

Come to think of it, we laugh our butts off about a lot of stuff. We are really goofy people, when you get to know us. Consider yourselves warned for when you come to visit.

You are coming to visit, aren't you?
________________________________________

JOY AND MAT BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!! THE HOUSE THEY MADE AN OFFER ON HAS ACCEPTED IT!!!! IT'S HUGE, AND SHE PLANS TO HOST CHRISTMAS, IF SHE'S ALL SET UP TO!

Here's what I know about it:
- It is on approximately 24 acres of trees and a bit of wetland...

I will update more a little later!!!

Who wouldn't want $40 worth of red tacky stuff?

Me, probably. Unless it was cool red tacky stuff...

It would depend. If someone got me a $40 gift card from a store that had red tacky gift cards, see, now that would be alright.

Did you know that farming causes cancer?

What a load. Chemicals cause cancer. Environmental behaviour causes cancer. They are generalizing things WAY too much.

Oy. I totally lost my train of thought of the awesome post I was going to write.

I think I am going to go to bed, and read.

YES, READ!!! Yay!

Joy gave me a stack of books by an amazing author, Sophie Kinsella. I had already read her newest, "Domestic Goddess" and have now finished 2 more books since returning home from Cold Lake.

By the way, Joy, thank you so much for everything you gave me!! I have read lots and relaxed more since you gave me these books.

:)

Apparently, Sophie Kinsella has also written books under another name, and I have yet to remember her pen name, and look up the books.

:) I am happy. Yay!

Going to bed now.

Ow. Also: free hugs!

My arm hurts. Well, both of them.

I worked my butt off (not literally, thank goodness) today at work and in the process, I scratched (read: scraped pretty badly) my left arm. It is bruised along the scratch. I can't remember what I was doing when I did it, because I did enough other damage to other body parts today, that I only remember the most recent.

I gouged the inside of my right pinky. I scratched my other arm. More of a scratch, less of a bruised scrape than the first one.

I almost twisted my ankle when I was up on a ladder. (Thinking about not wearing my fantabulous chunky-heeled black shoes (kinda like boots...) to work anymore...)

The most recent injury of the day: walked to Chris's brother's new place tonight to visit, see the new house, and on the walk back, my shoes (Dr. Scholls, by the way) began to rub pretty fiercely against the back of my heel... My left foot now has an open sore, which by the way, Garnier Fruictus shampoo and open sores DO NOT MIX! OW! And the walk from our place to theirs is only 0.75 Km.

So... what's new?

Oh, I am going to Cold Lake this weekend. Friday morning, I am driving to Edmonton, and then whenever my brother and his roommate, and maybe Jare, are ready, we will be off to Cold Lake...

Monday morning, we will be returning. I have 4 days off, because my boss is understanding and laid back, almost to a fault.

Chris won't be able to join me on this trip because he has to work straight through. I am pretty sure his family is coming to visit, so at least he won't be alone or anything.
____________________________________________________

On another note, and completely out of nowhere, my aunty linked me to this video, which has had me thinking.

First of all, I don't hug anywhere near enough. I hope to change that. So, if you are reading this, feel free to request as many free hugs as you want. Just tell me the sign may be invisible, but you can still see it...

I had more, but while trying to spell check, I lost over 1/2 of my post. shitty kitty.

anyway.

basically here's what I said:
- free hugs link is cool.
- free hugs from me.
- my nails are really long. (white part is almost as long as the pink* part.)
*both times I typed 'pink' today, it first came out as 'oink'. Thus the reason for spell check.
- I need to go so I can straighten my hair, and cut/file my nails.

Gonna go now. Sorta depressed about the missing chunk of my post. I hate it when that happens.
(And, yes, I used the 'recover post' feature. It didn't bring back very much.)

:) TAK