Singin', Dancing', Wigglin'

The dry weather is coming to an end. Supposed to warm up and wet up for the rest of the week. Tomorrow morning, I'm picking up some odds and ends from clothing stores, working a little bit, then singing some songs with the Naden band! Well... technically a piano player FROM the band, but I gave him a list of songs, and we're going to see which ones we like. The songs I chose are:

Think (Aretha Franklin)

My Own Way To Rock (Burton Cummings)

Good Mother (Jann Arden)

Gimme Some Lovin' (Spencer Davis Group)

Doin' It Right (Powder Blues Band)

Alright, Okay, You Win (Peggy Lee)

Smooth (Santana/Rob Thomas)
ETA: Rythm of My Heart (Rod Stewart)

Now... I've never actually SUNG any of these songs. Ever. So it will be interesting to see if I can pull them off. I had never even heard of Alright, Okay, but it seems like a fun song to try.

After that, I'm picking up my Mother-In-Law at the airport, dropping her off, then hitting Costco for the stuff we need before I leave.

Today's photos: Photo 1: This is the view from our main lounge at work. This is why we have a summer full of wedding receptions.

Photo 2: The girls are GLUED to the Wiggles. And they do all the dances, songs, and have such a great time with them. And the Captain is pretty good with that Feathersword too, I must say!

Wednesday - Hump Day?

Well today was productive. Mostly. I managed to complete and pass one course, and not complete and fail another test. I'll retry tomorrow. I wrote letters, emails, and FINALLY met with the Naden Band guy to choose some songs for my 'gig' with them. I narrowed down a hundred or so to about 8. He can choose from there.

Today's photos. The first is the traffic line as I'm waiting (through 3 lights) to turn onto the highway to go get Greta from Daycare:

The line up behind me was just starting to grow, and by the time I was near the front of the line, it was even longer than the line in front of me is in this photo.

Photo two: I'm doing a Mary Kay Glamour Night with a new customer tonight! Here's my stuff:

It's chockers full of cool cosmetics and cleansers and samples... I love this stuff! I was never a girlie-girl, but I really believe in the product.

So... why do we call it Hump Day when most of us get laid on Fridays?

Another Crummy Day in Paradise

This is why we live here. Our weather's included in the mortgage payments. This is the left half of the lookout I pass every day:

And this is the right half:

The sun was shining in the distance, but it didn't turn out well on this camera.

Work and Play

Interesting Monday. Took me 30 minutes to catch up on work emails, then I got changed into my uniform.

I called a couple people back (turns out the woman at the play area we rented in December for the Kid's Christmas party is the wife of a bass player friend, who's band played our wedding reception! HA! Small world or what!?), and then gave a quick briefing to some new technicians at the Fleet School.

Then raced into town for a chiro visit. Okay, raced is a slight exaggeration: crawled painfully along in 2nd gear is more like it. There was construction from one end of town (where I started), all the way INTO town. And then four blocks later, there was a police roadblock for the funeral procession for Lt Nuttall, so I had to detour around that (not a big problem though) before arriving 15 minutes late.

After that, I had a splendid lunch with Sailor's 2nd cousin - a lovely girl! Haven't seen her in 8 years, since her mother's wedding. She loves the Island (as well she should), and she and her boyfriend leave tomorrow, driving home to Edmonton. Ick.

I returned to work for an hour or so, then drove around the gym's parking lot 4 times before someone else took the spot I was waiting for, and then went to my mandatory work-out session, where I sweated for my holiday sins. I left, got my friend V, showed her where Greta goes to preschool (for when Sailor's on duty next week, and she may end up picking up Ray from her school and dropping her at the preschool for our sitter, who, btw, is an ANGEL), and then dropped HER at home, and FINALLY came home.

So... up at 5, out the door around 6:35 (with Greta), home by 5pm. Long. Days.

Photo 1 is the view I have of my office while at my desk:

Yes, it's blue. Walls, ceiling - blue. Not my first choice, but I like blue, so I'm okay with it. The boxes you see are boxes of miniature statues, having to do with the Homecoming Statue Project. We sell the minis to people who want them ($135 a pop), and for this year only, are giving them away to retiring Naval members as a parting gift (as long as they have 20+ years in the "mob"). We've hired a decorator too, but she's starting downstairs first. The speaker in the corner is GREAT... too bad the air vent fan is RIGHT.ABOVE.MY.HEAD where I sit... so I hear pretty much nothing on the radio unless it's up to 11. Which means I can't hear the phone ring. And speaking of the phone... the 3 button is sticky, so dialing out sucks.

Photo 2 is of the girl's Christmas presents from their Godmother:

The mosaic box is for Ray, the Tinkerbell is for Greta. I did the front and one side of the box, with some help from Greta. She really understood the concept of which coloured piece goes on which numbered square. I was so impressed! Ray has done about 1/4 of the top so far. She's doing really well with it.

And yes, those are her slippers on the table. Greta's, not Tink's.

I forgot! Fantastic news! My cousin's wife (who may as well be MY cousin, we just love each other to bits), had signed up about 4 or 5 years ago to sell Mary Kay under another lady. I told her that she should have signed up under me, as I was her consultant. Anyway, this other director led my cousin down a garden path, and she ended up getting into a LOT of debt (and because of other things too) over bad business advice. So, my cousin let her consultant-ship (?) lapse, and just today, resigned under ME! AND her friend is going to do the same thing this week! I'll have TWO consultants!! I need 24 to be a director, but I'm quite happy to have those two! And it doesn't matter they won't put in 'qualifying' orders - the first orders they put in will be activation orders, and that's just fine and dandy. It's so great to see my cousin start to earn money the proper Mary Kay way - this time around I'll be able to give her much better advice than this other lady did.

I also forgot to add this week's Flex (for those who are interested):

Mon: Work.

Tues: Greta to Daycare, work, tap class

Wed: Greta to Daycare, work, Mary Kay Glamour Class!

Thurs: Greta to Daycare, work.

Fri: Greta to Daycare, work.

Sat: Ray's dance class, groceries.

Sun: Church. laundry. finish packing.

Mon: Drop Greta to daycare, Ray onto bus, me to airport, Sailor back to the ship!

Last Day Before RTW

n the military, most things can be shortened to an acronym. For example, RTW - Return to Work. FIGMO - F&ck it, Got My Orders (I'm outta here!). It makes for interesting reading, especially when you read something NOT from the military and put in their meanings.

So I'm back to work tomorrow, after 3 weeks off. The time has gone quickly. Greta goes back to her preschool, but Ray has one more week off, with her Dad, as he doesn't go back til the 11th. I have to iron a set of uniform clothes today. I wonder how long I'll be putting THAT off.

My suitcase is already open and receiving clothes. Sailor commented on it. I don't like to pack last minute - I ALWAYS forget something.

Never fails. To avoid that, I put in stuff early. The weather's pretty mild here, so I'll pack all my heavy sweaters for the trip. And the winter uniform stuff like snow boots, heavy coat, toque.

Today I have two pictures for my Photo365:

Photo 1 is of the church I attend on a pretty regular basis. It's a little Anglican church, St John The Baptist. They have a new website if you're interested in checking

it out: http://www.stjohnscobblehill.ca/

It's a sweet church, very loving people. The rector is a huge U2 fan, and his wife is an amazing teacher who runs a very successful grief course. I took it and it really helped me deal with my father's passing.

Photo 2 is of the poinsettias that were purchased over the Christmas/ Advent season. The church does this each year, where parishioners can purchase a plant (or two, or four) and have it decorate the altar area over the season. These are just a few of the beautiful plants, more were in the back. We purchase d two this year: one in memory of Sailor's father and my father, and one in memory of my Aunt who passed away this year and her husband who passed away about 4 years ago. We purchase Easter lilies at Easter. The tapestry in the back was done by a lady in Alberta who had done one to celebrate the marriage of our Rector and his wife. His wife thought it'd be nice if parishioners got together to purchase more tapestries celebrating the church year. Together with another couple or two, we bought part of the Easter tapestry and the baptismal tapestry. Looking at the photo now... it looked better composed in my head.

It's great to see so many Project 365 blogs! It's a great way to peek into people's lives unobtrusively I think.

Days 1 and 2

I love taking photos. I'm not all that great at it (yet), but I love it. I still have to send off my broken 12mp Kodak for repair (procrastinate much? I was supposed to do that last month!), but in the meantime I'm using a 9mp Kodak. My goal is to purchase a Nikon DXXXX once I've finished my diploma as a graduation gift. At this rate... it'll be a D7000 or something because it's taking me ages to finish the damed courses!

ANYway... here's day 1 of the 365 photo project. Picture 1: Ray asleep on the sofa.

She was rather grumpy once we returned to the house after visiting some of Sailor's friends. She doesn't do well with interrupted naps.

And picture 2: Our neighbourhood on January 1st, 2010.

We had a wet, green Christmas this year. A pleasant change from the usual winter wonderland it's been in the past. That's our new car in the drive: a 2010 Indigo Blue Elantra vice the 2009 Grey Elantra. 5 speed. Needs a 6th, as the revs are really high when going 110+kph. Other than that, great car. We quite like it.

Day 2 Photo 1: Christmas Decorations in the bin:

This is the tree decoration bin. All the ornaments, lights, garland - all goes in here. The one behind is the house bin, and the third one, waaaay in the back, is for all the dining room decorations. The girls were a big help putting everything away. Until they lost interest and started racing around the house.

Day 2 Photo 2: Greta's Extreme Tv Watching:

She was asked to go outside so many times, but refuses to wear her warm boots. So no outside. Instead, she'll wear the helmet as she runs the trike inside, and then when she takes a break,

she'll stop, watch the tv, and just leave the helmet on.

She's always in dresses and tights. Such a little fashionista.

And there's the first two days done. Check out my friend's blogs for their projects this year.

New Year, New Things to Try

Many people make resolutions for the New Year - better health, diet, running, being nicer, etc. Me... I've tried all those, and what works for me is NOT making a resolution, but just deciding, on the spur of the moment to do it. That's how I quit smoking - well... I was double-dog-dared and did it, but I still quit smoking. That was April 24th, 2000, and I'm still smoke free.

Well, this year, I'm going to try something a little different. A photo a day: http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

I'm going to take a picture a day and post it at least once a week, with an accompanying story. Then I'll have a record of what my year was like. Should be interesting. To me at least - HA!

I'll post again this week, with pictures I've taken.