Sandra

Happy 1st Birthday ODIN!

2007-04-17T12:57:00.000-04:00

Odin's 1 today. Here is a picture of him having fun in the backyard.

This past year has been great with Odin. He still thinks he's a small puppy because he always has to lay with either Jer or I on the couch, but he doesn't really fit.

WINNER!!!

2007-02-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

Jeremy and I bought the loveseat to our couch and chair last week. Leons was having a promotion where you can win up to $150 off your purchase just by mini-putting. Well, we didn't win the $150 off, but we were entered into a couple of draws (to win a trip to Hawaii, a Samsung stereo, or a microwave). And they pulled my name to win the Samsun Stereo. It's not a trip to Hawaii, but it's better than a kick in the ass. So, I'm hoping to sell it.

Here is what it looks like:

Samsung HT-Q40 Home Theatre 5.1 Channel

Specifications:
Amplifier total output power: 800 Watt
Connections type: Headphones, USB, Audio line-in, Composite video output, Component video output, SPDIF input
Media format: CD, DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-Audio
Supported digital audio standards: MP3, WMA
Additional features: Parental lock, JPEG photo playback, Progressive scanning, USB direct input

Retail Value: $299.99

Part 3,764,849 of 3,764, 849: Completed

2007-02-26T15:03:00.000-05:00

I finally wrote my psychology test today, so hopefully I won’t be declared as crazy! It didn’t take long (about 1 hour) to take the test and I should find out by the end of the week if I’m crazy or not. Since the end of November 2006, I’ve been filling out applications, questionnaires, and references; getting high school and college transcripts; meeting with Inspectors; and doing testing. All for what? A job with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Station. I’ve been given another start date of March 12, 2007, since they wouldn’t let me start until I took this test.

My job description will basically be doing the back log of events (typing the events from the day; the officers record their events and I listen and type them) and doing 9-1-1 dispatch. The pay is great and the job is only part-time, and there is a likely chance of moving around.

Wish me luck!

Happy 27th Birthday Bryan!

2007-02-08T12:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday To You!
Happy Birthday To You!
Happy Birthday To Bryan!
Happy Birthday To You!

It's not a Westie...

2007-02-07T12:37:00.000-05:00

But she's still very cute. Her name is Hailey Day. She was born on November 27, 2006 and she's a Border Terrier. My parents decided that they should get another dog because they (mainly my mom) is lonely without Boomer around.

Here is a couple of pictures of her.

David & Mara Stadnik - The Whole Story

2007-02-06T23:46:00.000-05:00

Friday Night
Heather, Bryan, Jeremy and I left at 5:00 to drive to MIdhurst to stay with family...but while trying to drive through Perry Sound area, we decided that we should pull off the road and stay at a "lovely" Travelodge. I use the word lovely loosely...as it was the sketchiest Travelodge that I've seen. I'm even comparing this room to the Travelodge that Chrissy and I stayed at last October. The door number was painted onto a circular saw blade; sleeping on the beds was like sleeping on a cardboard box filled with concrete; the smell was less than desireable and the bathroom wasn't the cleanest bathroom I've seen. We did however have a Don Cherry's restaurant in the hotel. I do believe that if Don Cherry were to ever see this place, he would be offended. The weather was extremely bad that at one point we were driving behind two cars about 10 feet away (double highway, we thought), NOPE...it was a transport about 2 feet infront of the car. It was a smart idea to pull off when we did, as the weather did not let up until the next afternoon.

Saturday
We drove the rest (about two hours) to Midhurst to meet up with my parents and Chrissy. The weather was still bad, but we drove behind a sand truck so that we were actually able to see the road. After getting away from the Perry Sound area, the drive was clear and sunny.

The wedding was at a upscale ski resort, I know this because the price of 3 beer from the hotel lobby cost $19.96 (without tip). The wedding party was huge...5 girls, 5 guys, a flower girl, a ring bearer (Gavin, who was the cutest of them all), and 4 other girls... Mara and David looked amazing. The dinner consisted of soup, salad, prime rib, potatoes, and chocolate mousse.

Sunday
The drive home Sunday wasn't better than the drive on Friday (or Saturday). The wind was blowing, the temperature was freezing the tire tracks on the highway, the snow was falling...in some parts it was a complete whiteout. Here is a couple of pictures that I took from the backseat of the car.

All in all it was a great wedding for David and Mara and I wish them the best of luck in their future together.

David & Mara Stadnik

2007-02-03T20:23:00.000-05:00

David & Mara got married today in Orangeville, Ontario. Congratulations to them! Here is a picture of Mara and David Stadnik, Stephen (Little Stephen or Miserable), Heather, Chrissy and I. I'll add more once I fix them up.

Don't Heather, Chrissy and I look like sisters? We all wore black to the wedding, and NOT on purpose.

The Past Month...

2007-01-29T15:00:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't updated my blog in a long time. I do apologize for that. I've been very busy. I will try and update more, but I won't guaranteed anything. :)

Christmas came and went...I'm glad it's over. I'm not a huge fan of it, and I'm thinking that it's because I work part-time in retail. Jeremy bought me my Canon DVD100 digital camcorder that I've wanted since it came out, but soon realized that I had to return it because of my iMac (it won't accept the miniDVDs). But, I exchanged it for the Canon ZR500 which is exactly the same except that it requires a cassette instead of a DVD.

New Years Eve was spent at Luke's house. Everyone had a great time and nothing got broken (nothing that I know of at least). Jeannette and I each made three different kinds of jell-o shooters, they were fantastic, but I would have to say that the cherry flavor was one of my favorites. I brought my video camera and I am hoping that I can get the DVDs onto my computer (some how...but don't know yet). But, if you haven't seen this...here is the video of Belly's night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3viUpD8NyE).

I started a new job. No, it's not at the Police Station. I have been helping Heather out at Keyman. They needed someone only temporarily, so I've been working there. I'm still amazed at how much stuff we sold on the sidewalk tables!!!

The Police Station application process is still in progress. I have passed everything so far, but I need to complete a medical and psychology tests. I should be starting in the middle of February.

Phase I: Completed & Passed

2006-12-17T23:16:00.000-05:00

About a month and a half ago, I applied for a job at the Sault Ste. Marie Police Station. I received a call from them at the beginning of December to complete Phase I of their hiring process. Phase I consists of a typing test (which you have to type faster than 35 wpm) and a test on their dispatch software.

I won't lie. I was nervous. I wasn't nervous about taking the test, but I was nervous about not passing the test...apparently it was suppose to be really hard. I felt that if I didn't do well, that my uncle (whom is the Inspector at the Police Station) would see me differently. While taking the test on Wednesday, I was confident that I would do well. Typing is second nature to me, and I figured that the dispatch software couldn't be too difficult. I passed the typing test with a typing speed of 60 wpm and 59 wpm (two five minute tests) and went onto the dispatch test. Before starting the test, I was talking with the administrator of thest test and she indicated that it was actually very hard and that no one does very well. So, I began...after half way through the test, the administrator came to me and told me that I was doing very well and that she was impressed with how easy I found it.

A day or so later, she called and told me that I passed the test and I am to take an aptitude test next Wednesday. Woo Hoo!!! The job will only be part-time, but it pays well. It pays almost double what I was making full-time.

Also, there is only 9 days left until Christmas is over!!! I'm super excited...Then everything can get back to normal.

Goodbye SSMIC

2006-12-13T23:12:00.000-05:00

After a year and a half at the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, my contract is complete. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun working there. But it's time to move on to bigger and better things...and hopefully better paying. One website that I helped out with is the SSMIC Portal (http://portal.ssmic.com). It is a website that has a bunch of maps for Sault Ste. Marie (for example: bus routes, address locators, etc.) and I would highly suggest that everyone check it out. It's very helpful.

This One's For Jeannette

2006-12-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

I saw this and thought that you would like to see it. :)

I just wish that the leotards that gave you permiwedggies were back in style!

Random Prize Winner!!!!

2006-11-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

Update: Odin won a $50 gift certificate to Y.I.P.S.

Odin has won the random prize at Crossfire Digital. I'm not entirely sure what he's won, but I would guess that it's a gift certificate to Y.I.P's. Woo Hoo!

24 - 20 For The Steelers!

2006-11-21T17:02:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was the football game that Jeremy and Anthony have been looking forward to since September (for Jeremy’s birthday, I bought him 2 tickets to see the Cleveland Browns play the Pittsburgh Steelers). The weekend started with Jeremy and Anthony having a contest to see who could keep their arm outside the car the longest.

When we arrived in Cleveland, we checked into our hotel and were pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. Here are a couple pictures.

In our hotel room there was a CD which had soothing sounds and it told us how to relax. There was also a small bag which contained ear plugs, eye mask, room spray, and a drape clip. The bathroom was huge and had the regular bottles of shampoo and conditioner, but it also had mouth wash, shower caps, and body lotion.

We made our way to the Hard Rock Café in Tower City for dinner. The food was good and the drinks were even better. Here are a couple of pictures from the Hard Rock Café.

Sunday morning, everyone headed to Tower City again so that Jeannette and I could shop and Anthony and Jeremy could look in the sports stores for any Steelers memorabilia. At around 11:00 a.m. the boys went back to the hotel to have some beer before the game while Jeannette and I continued to shop.

After Jeannette and I finished our shopping we returned to the hotel room to watch the rest of the game. Shortly after the end of the game, Jeremy and Anthony came into the room and started to tell us events that happened at the game. Here is a couple of pictures from the game.

Monday morning started with us getting up and out of the hotel around 7:00 a.m. We started on our way and we spotted an IHOP so we decided to get breakfast. I ordered a cinnamon raisin waffle filled with cream cheese and topped with blueberry and whipped topping. Yummmm!!! Anthony had a blast with all the different syrups for his pancakes.

After breakfast we made our way to Cabela’s and then off to Birch Run. Jeannette and I had a great time. We spent way too much money and filled my car to the top. The rest of the ride home wasn’t very fun, but well worth it.

The entire weekend was a blast and new year we’ll plan to go see the Packers, which is Anthony’s favorite team.

VOTE FOR ODIN

2006-11-16T10:48:00.000-05:00

Jeremy and I have entered Odin in a contest on the Cross Fire Digital website. The pet that gets the most votes gets a photo shoot with their pet with Cross Fire Digital and second place is $50 Gift Certificate to Yips. We submitted a picture of Odin playing with Skeezie (his "pink dog" toy).

Vote for him daily!!!

GIS Day!!!

2006-11-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

Today, I hosted a GIS (Geographic Information System) Day for 190 highschools students in the Algoma region. Some students slept through the day's activities, some students listened, but for the most part most students became more familiar with what GIS is.

A couple news articles about the GIS day.
soonews.ca (with video)
sootoday.com

Cleveland Rocks!

2006-11-13T15:32:00.000-05:00

Seeing as I'm going to Cleveland this weekend I decided to post this...

Hopefully, I'll be able to run and dance down this street with Jeannette while the boys are watching their football game.

JOKE:

2006-11-02T09:03:00.000-05:00

Q: How many times will Odin eat a J-Cloth and throw it up?

A: 3 (so far) at least I think...I've lost count.

Yes, it happened again. I don't know how. I don't know when, but he got another one. After the second J-Cloth made its appearance, I decided to stop using them and to get rid of the rest of the package. Smart? Well, I thought so, but apparently not as smart as Odin.

When will he ever learn???

Second Annual Halloween Bash

2006-11-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the latest of this post, I've been busy with work and haven't had a chance to update my blog.

This past weekend was the Second Annual Halloween Bash at Jeannette & Anthony’s place. It was a good time, even though I wasn’t drinking (stupid early work meeting). Jeremy and I dressed up as corpse bride and groom. Jeremy actually dressed up as a creature from Cedar Point’s Halloweekends, (Back Story: This creature scared Jeannette out of the park area and then found her later and scared her again) but looked like a corpse groom. Here is a picture of us.

There was lots of good food, snacks and drinks. My favorite were the jell-o shooters (Goulish Grape, Fresh Blood, Bat Puree, and Peach Puss).

Jeannette and Anthony dressed up as a devil and a vampire. And I would like to mention that Jeannette actually stayed in costume until midnight. I was quite impressed. Eventhough, I'm sure she would have rather changed into something more comfortable, she looked awesome. Bryan attended and took a massive amount of pictures (about 310 to be exact) and was dressed up as a cowboy with a horse. Heather spent a whooping $5.99 on her costume of a bear...only she couldn't find any ears so Chrissy (the 80's rock star) said she was a "B" because she didn't have any "ear"s. (Get it...drunk people, where do they come up with these things?). Michelle came as a pumpkin which was a very cute costume considering she said she doesn't fit into any costumes. I know for a fact that she would have definitly would have fit into Luke's costume, but probably wouldn't look as cute a Luke did (sorry Michelle). I've attached some pictures from the night on the bottom of the entry, if you want to see a few of Bryan's pictures goto www.flashthecat.com.

Toronto, Cyndi and The Facts of Life

2006-10-16T15:43:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, Chrissy and I drove down to Toronto. We left on Friday while it was storming. It was an awful drive; it started out hailing, and then turned to rain, sleet, and snow. We also experienced thick fog and high winds. We did make it in about 7.5 hours which is expected.

Saturday morning, Chris Defazio, Chrissy and I started off at Cosco. I bought 2 cookbooks, 3 shirts, cleaning supplies, and cereal; and spent $200. I also bought DVD which was the first and second seasons of The Facts of Life. I saw it and started to remember episodes and characters. I haven’t thought of that show in years and it started to come back like I had seen it yesterday. After Cosco, we made our way over to a mall and shopped. I bought a couple sweaters. On the way back to Chris’ apartment we stopped at a winery and I bought a bottle of Strawberry wine and a bottle of Mango wine. I’m sure that Jeannette, Rosie and I will enjoy them.

Saturday night, Chris Defazio, Katie Anderson-Defazio, Chrissy and I headed to Orillia to check into our hotel, and then off to Casinorama to see Cyndi Lauper. Chrissy bought her, Katie and me t-shirts. The concert started at 9:00 and while we were waiting Ian and his friend sat beside us. They were a bit too excited to see her. The had already watched the concert the night before and knew exactly what she was going to do. They moved to the aisle to get closer to her and when Ian touched her hand he picked up his cell phone, called someone and with much more excitement said “Oh My God…Cyndi touched my hand!” They were fun to talk with though.

A couple of videos from the concert.

Odin…When Will You Ever Learn

2006-10-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

A couple of days ago, Odin decided that he wanted to eat another J-Cloth. I don’t know when he ate, or how he got it, but he got sick and it appeared this morning in his kennel. So to keep track he’s eaten 2 J-Cloths and an SOS pad (unused). He’s also tried to eat a scrub brush (but the handle got in his way). I don’t know what it is about these cleaning supplies that he likes so much, but I thought that he would learn.

We weighed him a couple of weeks ago and he's about 45 pounds. Within the next couple of months, he'll be getting neutered. He's growing up so fast!

Anyways, he’s still a cute puppy. Here’s a picture of him from this past weekend. Bryan took it with his new Nikon D80 camera. I took the picture from his website http://www.flashthecat.com.

Vacation Plans 2006 - 2007

2006-10-04T13:10:00.000-04:00

Cleveland (November 2006)
I decided to let Jeremy invite Anthony and Jeannette to Cleveland with us. I did this for a couple of reasons…1. Jeremy really wanted to bring Anthony to the Cleveland Browns/Pittsburgh Steelers football game. And he kind of made me feel guilty about going and not really enjoying football. 2. I felt even guiltier when Anthony didn’t want to go to the Green Bay Packers game because it was too expensive (the Cleveland Brown/Pittsburgh Steelers game wouldn’t be too expensive since I bought the tickets and the four of us would share the expense of the hotel and gas).
This way I’ll also get to go shopping with Jeannette.

Cuba (March/April 2007)
Heather, Bryan, Lisa, Karl, Jeremy and I have decided to take a trip to Cayo Coco, Cuba. It’ll be about $1400 for 1 week all-inclusive at a 5-star resort. I’m not sure of all the details, but I’ll update my blog when I do find them out.

Cedar Point (Spring/Summer 2007)
As per usual, Jeannette, Anthony, Heather, Bryan, Jeremy and I will be taking a trip to Cedar Point. The only difference this year is that we’ve decided to only go for 1 day (instead of 2 days), but we’ll be buying the VIP pass for $350 each. With this pass, we’ll get:

Admission to Cedar Point
Exclusive parking
Exclusive front-of-the-line ride access (we don’t have to wait in the long lines, we’ll go through the exit door of each ride)
Priority restaurant seating
Priority live shows seating
7 complimentary on-ride photos (where available)
Personal Cedar Point escort

This will be great because the new ride (Maverick) will be opening and we’ll be able to ride as many times as we want. I’m hoping that the Famous Dave’s restaurant will be a restaurant allowed for priority seating, otherwise it’ll be approximately 2 hour wait.

Snowshoe Camp (August 2007)
Heather, Bryan, Jeremy and I have rented a cottage for a week. Its $770 to rent the cottage for the week; $200 each plus food and drinks. My parents, Shelley & Aaron & family, my cousin and his family will be there, so it should be a lot of fun.

My Soon To Be New iMac

2006-09-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

The time has come. I think I have decided to finally buy a Mac desktop. I’ve had my PC for about 5 years and it is still a great computer, except that it’s slow; too slow for me. If I remember correctly, it is an AMD Athlon 1.2, has over 1 GB of RAM, a Dual-layer DVD burner, and 70 GB of hard drive space (10 GB is a removable hard drive).

The one that I want….

2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM
500 GB Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 256 MB SDRAM
and….24-inch widescreen display with built-in iSight Camera

The price is only $3089.00 which is actually cheaper than my PC (when it was bought 5 years ago).

The Amazing Spider-Man

2006-09-12T12:41:00.000-04:00

A couple of years ago, I purchased a couple of Spider-Man comic books. I recently found them (when I moved) and am not quite sure what to do with them. Here is the information...

Title: #3 "...To Become An Avenger!"

Date: No Month 1966

Near Mint Value: $115.00

Title: #26 "The Man In The Crime-Masters Mask!"

Date: July 1965

Near Mint Value: $475.00

In the past two years since I bought them, the value of "...To Become An Avenger!" has gone down from $1250.00 and the value of "The Man In The Crime-Masters Mask!" has gone down from $1500.00. I am sure that the value of these comic books will increase over the next couple of years. I'm not sure if I should keep them or try and sell them to make my money back. My other option is to continue collecting the comic books and hope that someday I can have a nice collection (which doesn't really interest me).

What should I do?

Site Update

2006-09-11T14:45:00.000-04:00

I finally decided that I would post a picture of myself instead of seeing that "Missing Picture" icon. So...here it is. I took it from Jes' site from Carrie and James' wedding on Saturday. Hopefully she (or Curt) won't mind.

Project 2007 = MAVERICK

2006-09-07T18:32:00.000-04:00

The Old West Was Never This Wild!

Maverick is Cedar Point's newest roller coaster! It will travel over 4,450 feet of steel tubular track. From the top (105 feet high), the ride will drop 100 feet at a 95 degree angle. The ride will include 3 inversions and a second launch while going through a dark tunnel. The ride has an average speed of 70 mph!

Some fun facts:

Maverick is the third most expensive roller coaster at Cedar Point ($21 million).
Maverick is situated on 5.5 acres of land in Frontiertown.
Maverick’s queue line utilizes the former White Water Landing’s loading/unloading station.
Maverick is the fourth longest coaster at Cedar Point.
Each piece of Maverick’s track weighs about one and a half tons.
Maverick features 10 banked turns from 62 to 92 degrees.

New Look

2006-09-07T11:52:00.000-04:00

I figured it was about time to update my blog and change the look of it. I'm still playing around with some things, so it may change a little bit within the next couple of days. The one thing I am hoping to change is to get rid of the black line around the images/photos. I've tried to get rid of it, but can't figure it out. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

Let me know what you think of the new design.

Happy Birthday!

2006-09-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy 26th Birthday Jeremy!

This picture is from Snowshoe Camp in July when Jer caught his big bass.

I do have to say... I'm the greatest girlfriend of all. For Jer's birthday, I bought him 2 tickets to see the Pittsburgh Steelers play at the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland. The game is on November 19th at 1:00 PM.

Oh yeah...Jeremy figured out what I bought him about a month (or more) before his birthday. I gave him 2 - 3 clues because he's like a child and wanted to know :0). I told him that it's not something he can have, and that we have to go and get it (he wanted to book time off and I couldn't let him). Next time, I'm telling him clues that will just confuse him.

Goodbye Snoopy!

2006-08-31T09:39:00.000-04:00

Odin first met Snoopy when I brought home Boomer's old toys. I put the toys in my closet in a bag when Odin came in and took Snoopy without me noticing. I figured he would be really upset with me if I took Snoopy away from him. So there was a bond from the moment Odin laid eyes on him. Odin would play with him every night. He would pick him up by the ear and throw him around the room or he would get us to throw him. It was one of the only toys that we could give to stop barking.

While cleaning the bedroom yesterday, Jeremy and I noticed that we hadn’t seen or heard Odin in about 15 minutes so I decided to go and check on him. He was in the living room destroying his Snoopy. He pulled the stuffing out and spread it around the living room. He took the ball that Snoopy was holding and held it in his mouth and tried to run with it.

He likes to take shoes and pull the laces out. He'll bit the laces and try and throw the shoe, but it usually kicks him in the head. He also likes to play with ice cubes. He'll kick them around the kitchen then eat it when it gets small enough.

Odin’s been pretty good about not destroying things around the house…well except for my glasses. He's 4 ½ months old so i'm sure that more will be destroyed.

GO HOUNDS!

2006-08-25T11:27:00.000-04:00

The snow is coming, which means hockey season is right around the corner. The 2006 season of OHL hockey begins in early October. The home games of the season will be held in the new Steelback Sports & Entertainment Centre.

How would you like to attend the first game of the Soo Greyhounds against the Sudbury Wolves on October 11, 2006? This game will most likely be very busy as it will be the first home game of the season. Ticket sales for this game go on sale September 18th to the general public. I have access to as many tickets as people need through someone I work with. Tickets are $15.50 (adult), $12.50 (senior) and $9.00 (child) each. Let me know how many you would like and get me the money ASAP. You will have your ticket(s) before the general public is sold tickets.

Bring extra money to the game to purchase “Chuck-A-Puck” to help a local Ringette team.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game....

2006-08-18T15:50:00.000-04:00

This past Wednesday most of us from the Innovation Centre went to Anna McCrea field and played baseball. We met at the field at about 2:30 PM and played until about 4:00 PM. Only one major injury occurred when Joanne swung the bat (for the first time) and popped her shoulder out. The only other injury was when Gerry rolled his ankle or something. I didn’t really see it. Joanne was out for the rest of the game so she decided to lay down and rest her shoulder.

When I was up at bat I hit the ball (to the outfield) every time!!! It may have just been because it’s a public school playground and the “outfield” is about 30-40 feet from home plate…but I actually think it was because of my awesome skills at hitting the ball. I figured I would have been better at catching the ball than at hitting the ball, but I was wrong. I seem to think that if I stand in the field that the ball will miraculously just come to me and I won’t have to move. Well, it didn’t. I could have sat on the bench and probably would have been more help. I also tend to squeal when the ball comes close to me. It’s like I try and scare the ball away from me.

Here are some pictures of everyone playing baseball.

When baseball was done, everyone came by my place for a barbeque and pool party. Everyone brought something to share. Chocolate cake, taco dip (because I made it), and a pasta salad were amongst the favorites.

And by the way...I got paid to do this!

Happy Birthday!

2006-08-08T14:13:00.000-04:00

To my big brother Kevin.

The Sartor Family Reunion 2006

2006-08-07T11:54:00.000-04:00

It began Friday evening with the Soo Locks Boat Tours. I met many of Jeremy’s relatives that I’ve never met before, I also saw relatives that I have met on a couple of occasions. When the boat tour was done, may of us decided to go to Docks for a couple of drinks.

Saturday, everyone went to Third Line West for the Sartor Olympics, food and drinks. A family photo of everyone that was in attendance was taken. Jeremy’s cousin (Alex) approves of me, which is great because she doesn’t approve of a lot of people. Everyone talked, laughed and reminiscence about the past. I heard stories about different people in the family. I saw pictures of Jeremy’s relatives when they were younger. Saturday evening, Jeremy, BJ, Krista (their cousin), Brian (family friend) and I went to the John Rhodes and watched Tyler Belanger play football with the Steelers.

Sunday afternoon, everyone went to Ryan Belanger’s house for swimming, volleyball, horseshoes and leftovers. We brought Odin and introduced him to relatives and cousins. He was a very good dog the entire day. He entertained people by showing his newly learned tricks (shake a paw, up pretty) and by playing and chasing ice cubes.

The next reunion is scheduled for 2008.

I'm Free!!!

2006-07-29T09:10:00.000-04:00

Today is going to be my last vaccination at the veterinarian’s office. My mom and dad said then I can go to the park and play with the other dogs. Hopefully, I’ll see another Boxer dog to play with.

The doctor said that I’m 27.4 pounds. I can’t believe I’m getting so big! I’m learning lots too. I can now sit, and shake a paw but I still like to chew everything…

Mr. & Mrs. Bryan O'Toole

2006-07-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

The wedding for Heather and Bryan was Saturday July 22, 2006. My brother and his wife, Elizabeth, flew in from Kansas; Shelley and Aaron drove up from Windsor and everyone was home on the Friday night. Saturday morning the bridesmaids (Shauna, Kristin, Megan, Chrissy and I), the Bride (Heather) all got up early and headed to Paradise Hair to get our hair done. It took just over 4 hours to get our hair done, but it was worth it. Everyone looked great.

The wedding was at 1:00PM and it started to drizzle as we were getting into the vehicles to head to the church. It stopped raining during the ceremony which was good. My niece Gabriella (the flower girl) was in a decorated wagon and was pulled by her brother Henry (the ring bearer). We were afraid that she was going to cry the entire way, but “Blankie” came and settled her down. She didn’t cry, but just sat there and looked cute sitting with her blankie. After the ceremony, Jim (the photographer) took some pictures of the wedding party and families at the church. The wedding party then went to Strathclair Field and had some wedding photos done on a baseball field. We then went to Hiawatha Park and had the rest of the photos taken.

Dinner tasted good. It was soup, pasta, meat balls, roast beef, veggies, potatoes, and salad. I could hardly eat because my dress didn’t really allow me to sit and be comfortable.

After dinner, the speeches didn’t take too long. Chrissy and I wrote a poem together and everyone had a good laugh. Bryan’s parents found out a couple of interesting things that Bryan did when he was younger. Heather however wasn’t a hooligan as a child so nothing was said…

The dance was a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to get up and dance, even Tim. Well, Tim only danced because the DJ actually had the Ghostbusters Theme Song. Sunday was spent opening gifts and eating leftovers. It was an early night for everyone.

Here are some pictures of family and friends that were at the wedding.


Heather, Jeannette & Anthony	Jennie & Heather

Cameron & girlfriend	David & girlfriend, Stephen

Joe & Amy	Megan & Jay

Ryan & Stacey	Tim & Kristin

Aaron & Shelley	Elizabeth & Kevin

1 Year Together

2006-07-17T14:52:00.000-04:00

I just thought that everyone would like to know that today Jeremy and I have been together for 1 year. It feels much longer than that, but I'm assuming that that's only because we live together.

We are not really spending the day together. We are both at work all day. Tonight, I have to help Heather with wedding stuff and Jeremy has a birthday party for his cousin to go to. We've decided to forgo the present buying, but instead to buy something together for the house.

I would post a picture, but I just realized that I don't have a current one. I'll take one this evening and post it tomorrow.

**Update: The picture is from Heather & Bryan's wedding, but it's the most current picture I have.

Keith Urban Concert

2006-07-16T13:10:00.000-04:00

Friday was the Keith Urban concert across at Kewadin Casinos. BJ, Chrissy, Heather, Jeremy and I started out at about 5:30 PM on our side of the bridge; it took us about 45 minutes to get over. Chrissy took a picture of a transport driver that was merging into the bridge line traffic.

We made our way to the Casino where we spent $10 US to pay for parking at a local church. At around 8:00 PM the rain finally stopped, but it became very humid. We found Anthony and Jeannette getting purple bracelets to get into the concert. When we got into the concert area, we bought drinks and found our seats. Little Big Town started playing and the crowd started to cheer. They sang a couple of their songs, but also a couple of other songs. Keith Urban came out and performed many songs. He is an amazing guitar player. Half way through the concert, he called a woman up on stage, but the poor woman had a really hard time getting up there. She wasn’t the smallest of people, but eventually was able to get up on stage with a little help from Keith and a couple guys of security. She must have been really embarrassed; mind you she got to meet Keith Urban and I didn’t so I guess she probably doesn’t care that much.

Ryan, Tyler, and Justin all had second row seats, which meant they were on the big screens a couple of times.

After the show, Anthony, BJ, Chrissy, Jeremy and I went to the BackDoor. Everything was going fine until about 2:00AM when a huge fight broke out. The DJ (Jan the Man), the doorman (Bob), and a couple of bouncers tried to kick a guy out. Tables were over-turned, drinking glasses were broken, but Jeremy grabbed his drinks before they fell over (we wouldn’t want those 0.75 drinks to fall over).

It was a great night and Keith Urban puts on an excellent show.

Camping at Lafoe Creek

2006-07-11T10:41:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the camping trip to Lafoe Creek. It was my first time to experience this annual event but for others this has been happening for almost 10 years. Jer and I left Friday afternoon and got to the campsite around dinner time. We sat in the river for a couple of hours and waited for others to show up. After everyone showed up we made dinner which consisted of philly cheese steak sandwiches and baked potatoes.

Saturday morning Jeremy went fishing on Wakomata Lake with a couple of people. I didn’t go, I decided to stay back and sit in the river. Sherri and I sat in the river and waited until everyone came back from fishing. At that point they joined us. Later that night, Sherri got hit in the face with a firecracker. She's okay, she has a small burn mark on her face. Every year some apparently has to get hurt, this year was her turn.

Sunday morning everyone made “baglets”, which is an omelet in a bag. I was quite surprised, it tasted really good. Shortly after breakfast, I left because I wasn’t feeling well. I had sun/heat stroke from being in the sun all day Saturday. It is Tuesday and I am still burnt; my legs are so burnt that they are swollen. I can barely walk because of the pain. I don’t think I’ve ever been burnt this badly.

Other than being burnt, I had a great weekend at Lafoe Creek and can't wait until next year.

An Odin Update...

2006-07-10T10:57:00.000-04:00

He's 12 weeks old today. Here is a picture that I took last week.

Happy Canada Day at Snowshoe Camp

2006-07-03T11:42:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, Jeremy, Odin and I spent the day at Snowshoe Camp. It was raining most of the time so we didn’t get to do much, but it was still fun. I wasn’t really looking forward to the ride into camp because Odin still isn’t that fond of riding in the vehicle. We put a blanket down in the backseat for him to lay down on and sleep. That didn’t happen. It ended up that I had to sit in the backseat with him and hold his bone for him to chew on. He didn’t really cry, so he is getting better. He slept on Jer’s lap most of the way home and only a couple times did he try to climb onto me and look out the driver side window.

When we got to Snowshoe, I showed Heather where Boomer was buried and she put a headstone at his grave. Henry seems to understands what happened to Boomer and he knows where is “grabe” is. I was worried that he would start asking questions about Boomer and I wouldn’t be able to handle it. People from Warncliffe came into Snowshoe and a couple little boys came over to the trailer and asked where the little white dog was. They were obviously referring to Boomer; they remembered playing with him last year and wanted to play with him again. I’m glad that these kids remember Boomer; it shows how much he was loved and will be missed by everyone.

Jeremy did have a chance to go fishing with Chrissy at Slash Creek where Jeremy caught a 1.5 pound bass. This is his first nice sized bass caught in a long time. When we go camping this coming weekend, he wants to go back to same spot and hopefully catch some more. Prior to this fishing trip, Jeremy spent $99.01 at Canadian Tire on fishing stuff, but caught this bass on a hook and leach (worth about $10 for all hooks and leaches) so I guess that you don't really have to spend a lot of money on fishing tackle to get a nice sized bass. But I'm glad he caught it because it was really tasty and because he had fun catching it.

Caramel Latte Deluxe or Diet Coke?

2006-06-29T10:30:00.000-04:00

What qualifications would one need to work at a coffee place? Not much… You would think that if one works at a coffee place that they would know how to make a coffee drink.

I went to Rome’s today (as I do everyday at the same time) and bought a caramel latte deluxe. I see the exact same people working and usually chit-chat with them. It’s fair enough to say that they know me and they know my order. This one employee almost always screws up my order. It has happened 2-3 times (only because she usually doesn’t make the coffee, but just works at the cash). Now it’s not that hard to make a caramel latte deluxe…

To make a caramel latte deluxe:

Get milk out of fridge.
Get caramel flavoring from top shelf.
Squirt caramel flavoring into paper cup (2 or 3 squirts).
Pour milk into paper cup (about half way).
Pour milk and caramel flavoring into silver heating cup thing.
Put under steamer and turn on.
Pour milk and flavoring until silver heating cup hot.
Empty espresso press into garbage.
Add 1 dose of espresso in to press and put on espresso machine.
Put paper cup under spout and turn on espresso machine.
When espresso done, pour warm milk/flavoring mix into paper cup with espresso.
Take whip cream out of fridge.
Spray whip cream around full paper cup.
Put plastic lid on paper cup.

This employee tends to forget the whole coffee part, so I get back to work and take a drink of my “caramel latte deluxe” and realize that it’s just warm milk and caramel flavoring. Gross!!! I bought it so I think that I should choke it down and drink it. But then I think that within 15 – 20 minutes I’ll be falling asleep at my desk. So I decide to forgo coffee thing today and drink Diet Coke. Yes, it’s 10:30 AM and I’m drinking Diet Coke.

15.6 LBS and Climbing

2006-06-28T14:34:00.000-04:00

Odin had his second immunization shot yesterday. Everything went well; he seems to like the blond Assistant that works there. He kept looking at her. There were other people in the waiting room, but Odin really didn't take notice to them. I think he has a crush! :) She weighed him and he's 15.6 lbs. He has doubled his weight since his last appointment a month ago. The vet said that he'll probably double his weight again by the time he's ready for his third shot (in a month). He'll probably be about 85 lbs - 100 lbs when he's fully grown.

First Time For Everything

2006-06-27T10:33:00.000-04:00

Anna (Jeremy's Mom) bought Odin some cookies while out west. They are not regular cookies, but they have been dipped into white chocolate (especially made for dogs). We decided to give one to him on Sunday. He really enjoyed the white chocolate part of the cookie, but I think that the cookie part was a little bit too big for him so it took him awhile to get through it.

Jeremy and I took Odin for his very first walk last night. We walked around the block. He got really distracted while on the walk. He would run to the end of the leash, then sit and look around, we would catch up and walk past him. He then just would sit there and look around; we had to keep calling him to come. When we got to our driveway, he sat down and refused to move. I'm hoping that it was just because he didn't know what was going on.

While I was unpacking my computer yesterday, I found the toothpaste and toothbrush for Odin. (I have no idea how it got there.) So, I put some toothpaste on the toothbrush and brushed his teeth. At first, he didn't know what was going on, but then realized that the toothpaste tasted good and wanted more when I was done.

Today is Odin's second immunization shot. We'll have to wait for one more month before he can get his third immunization shot. At that point, we can take him to the park and anywhere else where dogs are. Here is a picture of Odin that I took last week. He has grown a lot since his last immunization shot. It will be interesting to see how much he weighs now.

2006-06-18T09:40:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Hope you catch lots of fish while drinking Drambuie inside your fleese sleeping bag!

Love Sandra
xoxo

Happy Birthday to Us!

2006-06-17T09:01:00.000-04:00

Today, Jeremy and I hosted a house-warming/birthday party for Heather, Chrissy and I. It was a lot of fun. The weather was great, the pool was lagoon blue, the food was tasty and the drinks were cold. Everyone had a fun time.

Jeremy bought me a new bike. I haven't had one since mine was stolen in 8th grade. I haven't been able to use it yet, but I'm hoping that I can ride it to work this weekend or be able to take Odin for a run while I ride.

Chrissy bought me a necklace and Heather bought me a swim float for the pool as well as a Home Depot gift certificate. My parents gave me money in which I used to enhance my DVD collection. I bought "The O.C. Season 1" as well as "Grey's Anatomy Season 1". I do have to mention that Heather finally received her Boomer Blanket from Bryan. Bryan and I have been lying and scheming since Christmas about this blanket...as well as she is also going to be going to see Keith Urban with us on July 14th.

Jeannette made me (and Heather and Chrissy) a cake. Anthony and Jeannette cut the cake in half and put jam in the middle of it. It also had white frosting with sprinkles. It was very moist and lasted through the night...we can't say the same for the cake that I bought, which melted in a matter of minutes of being out of the freezer (I'm not even kidding).

I just realized that I didn't take any pictures that day. Bryan did so I'll have to get them from him before I post any pictures. Sorry.

Ode to Cedar Point

2006-06-09T15:29:00.000-04:00

Written By Jeannette Dugas

Our trip will begin with a run to the Force,
The shortest way there will be the right course.

Off to the Big Red, a good one at that,
A photo of all 6 for us to laugh at.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday & the riders scream,
If TTD is open, will it all be a dream?

Holy Fuck, Holy Fuck, Holy Fuck, as Jer would say,
Green Power Tower, Tony and Heather... "NO WAY!!"

The Wildcat took someone for quite a slide,
Which made for us a stinky ride.

Who will win now...red or blue,
Will J-Dogg's arms stay up? Will she follow through?

A Wicked Twist up to the sun,
Is sure to bring us a pile of fun.

Six inversion aboard the green beast,
Will the mighty gumwall be a great feast?

Five out of the six aboard the Falls,
The word is "wet", as Jeannet doesn't recall.

In the line at maXair a cool calm breeze,
The fried bus smell however, made us weak in the knees.

On board the Blue Streak will the rolling hills,
Our pain at the end will need some pills.

The wooden Mean Streak is sure to squeak,
The girls chests may be sore fore a week.

Then onto the Hawk, and into the sky,
Hoping its worth it, we can only try.

We'll eat at Dave's to finish our day,
When we're finished we'll waddle away.

Then home to the Breakers for some much needed rest,
With friends like this, this trip was the best!!!

Did You Know???

2006-06-07T10:58:00.000-04:00

In a typical season, Cedar Point guests will eat more than 190,000 pounds of hamburger patties, 91 miles of hot dogs (if laid end-to-end) and 595 tons of french fried potatoes.

I just wonder if this hot dog total includes the ever so popular corn dogs? What about the amount of cheese sauce that employees can put on the 595 tons of fries?

Guests will drink more than 802,000 gallons of Pepsi products and will consume more than 29,000 gallons of hand-scooped ice cream.

That's a lot of liquid, I wonder how many bathrooms there are in the park?

In 1890, a water toboggan was built so guests could slide down a ramp into the lake.

The first roller coaster opened at Cedar Point in 1892. Named the Switchback Railway, this scream machine thrilled riders with its 25-foot-tall first hill and it reached the dizzying speed of ten miles an hour.

The most popular ride in 2005 was Cedar Point’s 205-foot-tall favorite, the Magnum XL-200 roller coaster. 1,888,539 riders challenged Magnum’s 5,106 feet of track.

Jeannette, Anthony, Heather, Bryan, Jeremy and I helped this total by riding this ride approximately 15 times each in 2 days last October!!!

About 99% of Cedar Point's employees have no idea was 12E stands for on the Disaster Transport Ride.

The theming of Disaster Transport was done by a design firm, not the ride manufacturer. The name of the man from the design firm who designed Disaster Transport’s theming is Eric. That’s where the “E” comes from. As it turns out, Disaster Transport was the 12th ride he designed. If you put them together...12E. The mystery is finally solved.

The Wildcat has been moved 3 times, it was first located by the Cedar Point Aquatic Stadium, then moved to the Disaster Transport location and finally moved to the present location. It wasn't disassembled, it was picked up by 3000+ employees and walked to it's locations.

The Mantis was originally called the Banshee. The name was changed because of the meaning. In the dictionary, a Banshee is a female Irish spirit who's wailing signifies a forthcoming death in the family.

On Thunder Canyon, all but 2 seats usually get soaked.

Interesting Information

The Cedars Employee Hotel (behind the Wildcat ride) will most likely be torn down to make room for a new ride!

Super Mario Bros.

2006-06-06T13:14:00.000-04:00

I saw this video on the youtube.com website and it brought back memories. I think I’m going to go home after work and dig out Jeremy’s Nintendo.

Enjoy!

Wedding Showers Bring May Flowers

2006-06-05T16:01:00.000-04:00

Or something like that.

Yesterday was Heather’s wedding shower. About 30 people showed up and crammed into my Mom’s living and dining room. Betty Stewart attended. She was another grandmother to Heather while she grew up. It was a hot but beautiful day. The food was plentiful and amazing. There was a Taco Dip, a Broccoli & Cheese dip, 6-layer Jell-o, a pasta salad, colourful sandwiches, cheese, meat and pickle trays, and a chocolate fountain with many different types of fruit.

Heather Coutu & Betty Stewart

A “Bryan” trivia game was played. Everyone had to guess how many questions Heather would answer correctly. Out of 26 questions, Heather got 10 correct. I guessed that she would get 19 correct and of course I was wrong. It would have been higher except Bryan was wrong on a couple of things, or Heather thought he was wrong. But it also would have been higher if she was able to consult me. I knew a couple of answers that Heather didn’t know…like his favorite meal is Kraft Dinner and his favorite breakfast food is French Toast.

Heather opened her gifts that she received…but won’t be allowed to use them until after the wedding. She is to keep the gifts at my parents’ house so that she doesn’t use them until after the wedding. I bought her (but I haven’t received it yet) a guest book, a guest book signing pen, and a cake serving set (knife and server)…but the knife is kind of pointless because they have cupcakes for their “wedding cake”. Chrissy bought her a gift certificate to Ocean Waves for a pedicure and manicure for the wedding day. We of course put the bows, and ribbons on her pink Sunday School hat that she had when she was little.

The only bridesmaid (besides Chrissy and I) that was able to make it to the shower was Kristin. Megan and Shauna both wanted to be there, but couldn’t make into town.

The only thing left is the BACHORLETTE PARTY! Chrissy and I will have to start to plan that. I wonder if the Back Door will have the “Italian Stallion” to dance for Heather like he did for Megan. I’ll have to look into that. I’ll keep you posted.

My mom (pink shirt), Bryan's Mom (brown shirt) and Kathy (white shirt) put the shower together.

"The Break-Up"

2006-06-05T15:41:00.000-04:00

A bunch of us went to Galaxy Cinemas on Saturday to see “The Break-Up”. The movie was alright. I would suggest renting the movie instead of spending the $10 admission to see it at the theatre. I thought that most of the funnier parts were shown on the previews.

Characters:
Gary (Vince Vaughn) is a selfish, overbearing loudmouth who works with his two brothers. He likes to spend his off hours hanging out with his buddies, watching sports and playing video games.

Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) is a more sensitive young woman who works as a dealer in an art gallery. She loves ballet and likes to have elegant dinners and spend time with her friends and family.

Plot:
After Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) calls it quits with her boyfriend Gary (Vince Vaughn) because she realizes that Gary has a lack of appreciation for her. However, they share a condo and both refuse to give it up. Taking the advice of their repsective friends and confidants (and a few total strangers), they both engage in mental warfare designed to force the other person to leave.

Notes: A complete surprise was to see Peter Billingsley (“Ralphie” from A Christmas Story) as Joey Lauren Adams’ husband. He also took part in producing the picture alongside Vince Vaughn.

Puppy Day...

2006-05-29T10:30:00.000-04:00

Was Friday!!! That’s right; Jeremy and I were able to pick up Odin on Friday. We have decided that Friday May 26th is Puppy Day.

As soon as we walked in the door, Odin walked right to his kennel and lay down.

Jeremy and I thought that we would be lucky and hopefully he will be sleeping all the time in his new kennel. But we were both wrong…the first night we hardly slept. Odin continuously cried and whined and got us up at 5:00 AM.

On Saturday night, he seemed a little better. He didn’t cry/whine as much but he got us up at around 7:00 AM. Last night, however, he started to cry, whine and howl at around 11:00 PM and carried on for about 20 minutes or so…then he was fine. He did however wake us up early, but Jeremy took him outside and dealt with him.

He’s been very good with the adjustment to our house. He’s become a little bit aggressive, but I think it’s because he hasn’t been getting enough exercise outside.

He is scheduled to see the vet at Northland Animal Clinic tomorrow to check for worms because we found out that one of his litter mates has them. I haven’t noticed anything different with him, but then again, I’ve only had him a couple of days. I’ll give an update when I hear from the vet.

Odin sleeping on his blanket in the living room at about 5:15 AM after getting me up at 5:00 AM…

Odin with a cookie in his mouth...he didn't seem too interested in it.

The Roller Coaster Capital of the World!!!

2006-05-25T14:14:00.000-04:00

On June 10th, 2006 (a mere 16 days away), Anthony, Jeannette, Heather, Bryan, Jeremy and I will be on our way to Cedar Point Amusement Park, The Roller Coaster Capital Of The World!

We will be staying at the Hotel Breakers which will allow us to sleep a little later since we are about a 2 minute walk to the Cedar Point entrance. This hotel was built in 1905 and still has the original lobby.

We will be spending Saturday evening and all day Sunday at the park. We will hopefully get a photo of all six of us on a ride together. Last time, we rode the Magnum XL-200 until midnight and still couldn't get a good photo of everyone together. I'm really excited to ride the Top Thrill Dragster which was closed our last visit due to mechanical problems. The Top Thrill Dragster is one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world. It is 420 feet tall with a maximum speed of 120 mph (190 kmh) and is over in approximately 10 seconds. But well worth the wait in line.

I will also be looking forward to the new ride called the Skyhawk. It is the newest ride for Cedar Point. It is a simple concept...a kids swing, but it is much faster and hopefully much more fun! I will give the ride a rating once I have actually ridden the ride.

There have been rumors that Cedar Point will be selling their Thrill Ride “Demon Drop”. It was built in 1983 and it stimulates a freefall from the top of a 10-story building. I have never wanted the chance to ride the Demon Drop, but a lot of people say it's one to go on. The ride usually doesn't have a line up and it only takes 2.5 seconds, so maybe I'll consider it when we go. To me...the Demon Drop is similar to the Power Tower, but Power Tower is probably more of a smooth ride. Demon Drop doesn't take up much room but there has been talk of a mega coaster replacing it, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Thunder Boomer Coutu

2006-05-18T13:17:00.000-04:00

In Loving Memory
Of
Thunder Boomer Coutu
February 28, 1991 – May 17, 2006

Our beloved dog, trusted companion & best friend who will sorrowly missed, now peacefully at rest.

God couldn't have given us a more loving dog. We miss you with all of our hearts & will love you forever. Our best friend, our protector and now our guardian angel. But we are glad that he was with us; so full of life for 15 years.

My dad and I walked into the Northland Animal Hospital at 9:00 am. Boomer started to shake, just like always does when he goes to the vets. I held him in my arms, which comforted him. They called us into the examination room and I put Boomer down on the table. He climbed back up into my arms. He was scared. I held him until his heart stopped. My dad and I put him into the homemade box with one of his squeaky toys and he fit so perfectly. He looked comfortable for the first time since he started taking the Percocet pills. We put him into the vehicle and drove to Snowshoe Camp, which was one of Boomer's favourite places to be. My parents and I buried him beside the road that he ran on every time he was there. I'll be visiting him often as he was truly my best friend.

Goodbye Boomer Buddy, we'll miss you!!

Movin' On Up

2006-05-15T12:14:00.000-04:00

For the past couple of days I’ve had a song in my head… Movin’ on Up from The Jefferson’s TV show that aired from 1975 – 1985. I have this song in my head because I’ve started to move in with Jeremy. I’ve been changing the words to it while I sing it in my head…I can be such a dork sometimes!!!

We're Movin' on Up!
Movin' on Up!
To the east end!
Movin' on Up!
To a dee-luxe house in the sky, We're movin' on up!
Movin' on Up!
To the east end!
Movin' on Up!
We've finally got a piece of the pie!

His mom has moved most of her things to her parents’ house while I’ve been moving things from my parents’ house. It’s been almost 26 years, but I’m finally moving out. I’m the last one to move out of my parent’s house, but I think I’ll be missed the most ;). There is a reason why I’ve stayed home and it’s because of my dog Boomer, but lets face it, it was also because I didn’t have to pay rent.

I didn’t realize how much stuff I have until I started to pack it up. I came out with more than six suitcases of clothing. I even got rid of about 2 laundry baskets of clothing as well. The only thing that I would want in Jeremy’s house that it doesn’t have is a walk-in closet, but someone told me that the mall could be it. I tend to go shopping when I need something to wear, so I guess they were right. I have the biggest walk-in closet in town!!!

Jeremy and I will be having a house warming / pool (if it’s warm enough) / welcome Odin party at some point. I’ll keep everyone updated as I know more.

Congratulations to Matt and Kara Wilding

2006-05-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

May 13, 2006 was a neighborhood reunion at the Holiday Inn. I saw and was introduced to many families, couples that use to live in my neighborhood while growing up. I met up with Bob and Jill Nicolson, whom were a second family for me while growing up. We talked and reminisced about my past with their family. I remember spending days on end with them at their cottage on Lake Superior. Erin and I would dress up and put way too much makeup on just to walk to the end of their dock to see if would get anyone’s attention. What fun times.

Matt and Kara had a short ceremony at the Holiday Inn by the waterfront. Matt wore a white tux and Kara wore a simple white lacy wedding dress. They make a cute couple. They had black and blue pens that had their names on them which were very interesting. The centerpieces were simple but were truly unique. They had a square vase with white roses in it and a small glow stick in the water.

They only downfall of the evening was one of the bartenders. She was probably 70 years old and hardly got any of the drink orders correct. Heather tried to get Jeremy a drink...she ordered Bud Light....she got Budweizer. Chrissy tried to get Jeremy a drink...she ordered Bud Light...she got Budweizer. Jeremy ordered his own drink and after being asked for ID she repeated "Bud Light?" and handed him a Budweizer. I never thought, if we asked for a Budweizer, would we have gotten a Bud Light? Hmmm...

All in all, it was a fun evening with my family and friends. We took a couple of family photos so I’ll upload a couple of them when I get a chance.

Sir Odin Von Hamburglar

2006-05-10T14:43:00.000-04:00

Well, Jeremy and I took a big step in our relationship. We are getting a Boxer puppy. He was born on April 17, 2006 and we saw him at 2 days old. We had 2 puppies in mind, but one was chosen by another couple. So, we are getting the puppy on the left in the picture. He has a "tulip" (or an airplane, or a dollar sign) mark on his back. We were told yesterday that the other puppy is very whiney and is a bit bigger than our puppy. Jeremy was online as soon as we found out that we were going to get a puppy to research names. He found "Odin" which is a Norse mythology name for god of all gods. I liked it, but wanted to have a longer name, so he tought of Sir Odin Von Hamburglar and it's kind of stuck. Jeremy says that Odin will probably try and take at least one hamburger so the name will eventually fit him. I can't think of another name that I like so until I do, I'm sticking with his choice. Maybe it'll grow on me.

We went and saw Odin again yesterday, which is day 23. Odin was very sleepy but we managed to get him up to take a couple of pictures. Well, he was up until we were holding him then he went back to sleep. He's about double the size as he was at day 2 and his fur is a little bit lighter but otherewise no other changes. He was also the first puppy in the litter to start walking.

We should be able to take him home in about 3 weeks.

Ready, Set, Blog!!!

2006-05-10T14:35:00.000-04:00

I guess it's about time that I started my own Blog. I've been reading others and they are usually pretty interesting. I figured I would start since my life has been pretty busy lately and haven't talked to anyone lately except for my immediate family and Jeremy's family. So I will be trying to update this site a couple times a week to keep everyone updated...that is if you actually care. :)