MONDAY, MONDAY

Malcolm and Patrick - Morris Stampede July 2010

(I was going through my memory cards from the summer to prepare the pics I want printed and found all kinds of pics we took but didn't really take the time to look at. Don't the boys look thrilled? It's around 40 degrees outside and we just arrived - they know its going to be a long hot day...but we had fun and we saw a rodeo...we'd never done that before and it was fun.)

It's Monday morning and the sun is shining and its going up to 21 degrees today! Woot! Woot! AWESOME!!

I am beginning my 30 days free at Curves this morning with my sister-in-law Chrissy. She has already started her 30 days...I have been supporting hubby in his quest to have some vacay in his vacation. So today he is back to work and I am heading to Curves. I am taking a litre of water and a hand towel since I am going to be a puddle by the end of this...not pretty folks...I am not one of those gals who perspires all delicately without even turning pink. Nope...I will sweat like I've been dunked in a pool of water and my face will be all red and blotchy as will my neck and upper chest. Oh yes..SEXY with a capital SSSSSSSSSSS!!

Once Chrissy drops me off after Curves I have a plethora of things I could do...but what will I choose? Laundry? Read a book. Dusting upstairs and down? Read a book. Tidy the living room and get it moved around and ready to take all of the furnishings from the master bedroom when we paint? Read a book. Go outside and decorate for fall? Read a book. Work on the garage? Read a book. Tidy the kitchen? Read a book....sensing a trend here? Hmmm...wonder what will win out??

So Fall has come in like a lamb...not good. In Manitoba that means we will have snow by Halloween..leaves a person with such dilemmas...Halloween decorating or skip that and just get the dang Christmas decorations outside so that we don't freeze our bazumba's off doing it after Halloween. Decisions, decisions.

Well, since my sister-in-law is not going to be here until closer to 11 now, I guess I will go and get some laundry done and have some yogurt. I don't like eating a meal before working out..makes me feel kinda sick and since it's been a LONG time since I last worked out...I'm gonna feel sick anyway. So, yogurt will do.

Have a great Monday everyone. Thanks for stopping by Marlene.

Hugz

Sunshine :~D

Rail Fan Day in Manitoba

TRAIN DAY IN MANITOBA

We had a lovely time today rail fanning here in Manitoba. We caught a train early on and followed it as it did it's business dropping off cars along it's route to Souris, MB - now a side bar to my friends in PEI...Souris in Manitoba is not pronounced the same as it is in PEI...here in Manitoba it's pronounced 'Sorris'.

We found a train! This is Robbie speaking to the Engineer finding out where they were heading today...and the chase begins.



We had lovely weather today. The sun was shining all the way to a community called Glenborough and then we ran into cloud and there was a very big potential for rain, so we decided to turn around and head for the sun again.

Robbie all in "photographer mode" right on the track...'cause the train was stopped'


We managed to catch another train on the way home and then we lost the light so there was no reason to follow the trains anymore. We drove to Portage la Prairie where we had supper at a local restaurant called Bill's Sticky Fingers...where we had ribs...yum!

I like this one...'cause I really like the bell on the train...I think it's a girl thing.



Here are some pics I took today. Robbie's are much more professional as he knows how to set up a shot and his camera is the Cadillac of camera's and can balance light and such...but all that said...my pics turned out just fine and I had fun taking them..that's all that matters right?

Here are a few more that I took...the first one is the train as it is going by:

This one was taken in front of an old grain elevator that is on a back road behind the new elevator. I liked the hydrant as a splash of colour in the weeds:

Here is the old elevator

This is a shot of the "new" elevator in the distance behind the old one:

Here's the train coming around a corner at a level crossing. I managed to get a shot with the engineer, the lights and the tail of the train visible as the train curved around the corner...I like this one...whaddya think?

Here are a couple of the elevators we saw today:

This one was taken through the car window as we drove along beside the train...cool huh?

And now for some pics taken just because they were purdy:

This is a panoramic shot 'right' of a lovely look off we discovered today - the one below is a panoramic shot 'left' taken at the same spot:

The quintessential Mid-West photograph...Robbie got out of the car and laid down in the field and took photographs - I did not - I took this one from the car window:
and the final shot...Robbie doing what Robbie likes best...taking pictures!

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. We had a fun time taking them today.

Hugz,

Sunshine :^D

Wednesday

Hello all...or at least...Hello Marlene...I know you are reading my blog 'cause you left a comment or two or more! LOL! I know I have been away for a while from blog land and people forget to pop by to check out what's going on when there hasn't been anything worth while to look at for ages...as has been my case.

Hubby and I went to North Dakota on Monday and Tuesday and came back to Winnipeg on Wednesday morning. I had a telephone job interview on Wednesday morning so we had to be home for that or we would have stayed longer.

We had a great time. We shopped and did some sight seeing along the way. Hubby is an avid 'rail fan' so we did some train watching and taking of pictures along the way as well. It's an interesting hobby, as we manage to see the good, bad and ugly of every place we visit by going to look for trains. The "industrial" sections of most cities is rather rugged to say the least and can be on the wrong side of the tracks - no pun intended.

We were on a mission to find new bed linens and curtains for our master bedroom. We found the linens - unfortunately, the curtains were all made to order and we hesitated to invest in them and then have to be available to go and pick them up when they are complete. When you live outside of the country it just doesn't seem right to order something to have to go back and get...does that make sense?

The same thing happened with a ring I was totally in love with at JC Penny. I fell totally in love with it online and went directly to the jewelry case to have a look when we got there. It clearly stated that the ring was available up to a size 10 - OK - I have big fingers..and I take a size 10...so totally excited when I saw it and it was stunning! ***sigh*** not only not available right away in a 10 but had to sent away somewhere to be sized and couldn't be shipped to Canada...they ship everything else to Canada from JC Penny but not jewelry. So...no stunning ring for me. ***pout*** It really was beautiful. :^(

Back to the linen set we purchased. Now....I am something of a sheet snob...OK...I am a sheet whore! I embrace it and am proud of it. I like nothing less than a 300 thread count sheet and prefer nothing less than a 500 thread count sheet. So, here we are in bedding stores and department stores where the prices are ranging for bedding sets between $300 and $800...the bed in a bag sets...around $400 include the comforter, bed skirt, shams, sheets and in some cases accent pillows...the sheets....200 THREAD COUNT!!! Come on people! What the hell??!! Why on God Green Earth would I pay $400 for a set that includes BURLAP SHEETS??!!! Have a little pride! Have a little respect for the consumer who is supposed to by your product??~~ I don't give a rats hairy behind if the set was designed by Chaps - if the sheets you are including are 200 thread count you can give the set to the dogs to sleep in, I'm not buying it!!!

We looked in every store, no matter how high end and they all managed to sneak those cheap ass sheets into the set = the highest thread count we saw in a bed in a bag was 250 thread count. EEWWEEE!!! No way!

So we settled on a comforter set without sheets. It's lovely. Very elegant and rich in appearance. The set was originally $300 and it was on sale at JC Penny for $119 - SOLD~! we purchased coordinating throw pillows in cream and red and now have to find red sheets and curtains to coordinate as well as a throw blanket of some sort to finish it off. So the hunt begins. That's half the fun and of course seeing how much I can save at the same time is the other half. Wish me luck.

On another note...I mentioned that I was laid off on September 13th. I have had one job interview, a pre-screening and got a message this morning to call another prospective employer to arrange an interview. I guess you could say things are going well on that end. Again, wish me luck I not only make the right choice but find the "right fit"...of course my last job felt like the right fit and look what happened there? My ass still stings from the boot print left behind by the 'thanks we'll keep in touch'! **That was a little snarky wasn't it? Oops. Sometimes that just sneaks out.***

Well, I must finish this and compose myself to call back the employer looking for an interview. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugz,

Sunshine ;^D

Robbie's Trip to Newfoundland...

THE VIEW LOOKING DOWN ON ST. JOHN'S HARBOUR FROM SIGNAL HILL, NL SEPT 8, 2010

The harbour plays host to multiple cruise ships a day. The locals like to watch the tourists try to ride their "cruise line" supplied bicycles up Signal Hill...the smart ones are the ones pushing their bikes up the hill!

The road leading up Signal Hill, St. John's airport is in the back...look for the red lights in the background...precision approach path indicators (PAPI's)

The entrance to St. John's harbour...known as "The Gut"

This is the Cabot Tower - where Marconi made his first transatlantic high frequency radio communication.

Another view of the cruise ship in dock.

St. John's Harbour under cloudy skies.

Hope you enjoyed the pretty pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sunshine :~D

TO MAKE YOU ALL LAUGH

Tell me these don't make you laugh out loud in an empty room!! Thanks to my good friend Lil for my laugh of the day!!


Sunshine:~D

Friday is Finally Here...

Well it's been a tumultuous week to say the least. I got laid off and got depressed and lost lots of sleep and now its the weekend...hubby is taking next week off so we can paint our master bedroom...can I even begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to this little barrel of fun??!!

Don't get me wrong, it totally needs to be painted. The previous owners of this house had very little taste in design and unfortunately our bedroom is a disaster. We go in there to sleep and not to spend time enjoying the ambiance that's for sure! We have light butterscotch on the upper walls and ceiling, a horrid butterscotch textured sponge painted "baby poop" goo on the lower walls and all of that has been nicely sliced in two by wall paper border of the Navajo variety...and hey lets do the en suite the same way just to be fastidious about the whole dang design nightmare!! Oh yeah! It's gotto go!

THE LOVELY BEDROOM (BEFORE)

THE DEVINE EN-SUITE (BEFORE)

Now those of you who know me, know this...I don't like to venture into painting a room until I have all of my ducks in a row..colours, fabrics, linen's, furniture, light fixtures...when I change a room, I change a room! It's a total make over! Am I ready for this make over? No way! I just got laid off! How am I going to afford all the "stuff" that's required for a total room makeover/?!!

We picked out paint colours last night at Home Depot...personal reminder...buy stock in that dang store!!!! and picked out a chair rail molding for the room. So far so good. We already have a kick ass chandelier for the bedroom - we picked it up on sale a couple of years ago for just this purpose and we have a ceiling medallion also picked up a couple of years ago...now...do I want to paint the ceiling or go with a white ceiling...again those of you who have known me for a while know that I am not a fan of pop corn ceilings or white ceilings...a ceiling is a 5th wall and deserves colour...just what colour am I going to use here I wonder.

I know what's wrong. The lay-off has thrown my mojo in a barrel and attached a lid lined with lead!! I am hooped! To make matters worse I can't get my brain to slow down for two seconds to get some sleep. So I sat up all night and applied for job after job online. Fingers crossed someone wants to hire me.

Well, I will keep you posted on the bedroom progress and I will hunt up a pic of the room before we moved in to show you...horrid I tell you...absolutely horrid. Thanks for stopping by and reading my rants everyone.

This too shall pass...right???? RIGHT??? Hey!! I'm asking you a QUESTION here??!!!

Hugz

Sunshine :~D

How many hours are there in a day??

OK..so hubby was home with me yesterday and the day dragged a bit but was OK until we went to bed and my brain went to Warp Speed 5 and kept we awake until around 4:30AM this morning! OY!

Then I was pleasantly surprised to wake up at 9:00AM this morning. OK got some sleep. Now what to do today...oh yeah...no job. Hmmmm....breakfast it is! Now what to have...home made (by a lovely Amish woman) cinnamon swirl bread - toast) so breakfast is done...now what?? Alrighty then...read it is...so pulled up my newest (but not her most recent) Kay Scarpetta novel...and its a doozy..hard cover version...good workout on the arm muscles that's for sure.

Hmmm...I seem to have dozed off....must have been the toast...not the book...book is good. OK get your butt moving girlie...laundry...there's always laundry to do...put on a load take one out of the drier and put it away.

I know!! Called Tishie in PEI. Life is good.She is cooking up a storm and swatting at this years crop of fruit flies. Give her the piece of fruit in a cup with plastic wrap on top with holes punched in the plastic wrap trick...she doesn't have plastic wrap but will consider it. I HATE fruit flies. Once they start they don't stop...little bastards! Tishie has to go...what to do...Call Hubby and see how his day is going....his day is going well...he is tired...going to stop and talk to the pool people about draining the pool for winter...he had issues yesterday...needs some clarification.

So, its lunch time! What to have??? Soup it is...read a little more, change a load of laundry, check out Facebook...reply to a couple of posts...its now 1:45PM and I am wondering...could this dang day get any longer???

Hope you are all having a great day and I'm sure mine will improve...given time...I seem to have plenty of that on my hands right now...sigh... I think I am about to become a high maintenance gal!!

Sunshine ;^D

All Monday's Are NOT Created Equally

So I got up for work yesterday and put on my new and stylish hounds tooth jacket with the flashy purple flower on the lapel, added some cute bling and headed to work.

It all started out like the usual Monday. Answering e-mails, organizing the day's paperwork and having a cuppa java...then things got a little different.

I was called into my bosses office and asked about client calls and then she told that while this was really hard, she had to let me go..that it wasn't me, the income had dropped and she needed to cut costs...and that meant letting me go! She would give me 2 weeks severance and provide me with a glowing reference. She was sorry and I was sorry. I have been downsized due to the recession that we all like to think of as "over" here in Canada.

So now I begin applying for employment again. This time will be a little different since I now have a Winnipeg job to use on my resume. I applied for 4 jobs yesterday and will apply for more today. I have faith my previous boss will hold up her end of the deal and provide me with a glowing recommendation, which should help pave the way if I manage to get my way in to an interview.

I discovered quite some time ago, that job hunting in Winnipeg is a whole lot different from the other places in Canada I have applied for work. Unfortunately, the pool is huge here in Winnipeg and people with my qualifications are willing to work for so much less than their worth. The problem has been, and always will be that those qualities that make me stand out are difficult to quantify on a resume or cover letter. and so I begin again...fingers and toes crossed, hoping the fates of employment smile on me and my furlow in unemployment is short lived.

Until then, I am using a gift certificate I won at a Wedding Social this summer to join Curves for one month free. Then I am going to join the gym on the Base because it's time to stop fooling around and get fit.

I apologize for not blogging more in the recent past. I was sick for 7 weeks this summer...not inspiring stuff to blog about...mind you...if any of you own stock in Puff's Plus...you can thank me for single handedly raising the stock price this summer!!!

We had an awesome summer with our boys! They are such wonderful guys. We just like their company. When they go home, which they did, their absence is felt profoundly. Our new pool was a hit and while I wasn't able to enjoy it because of being sick, I did plop my sad self down in my lounge chair beside the pool each afternoon while the boys played and asked them to have mercy on their old mom and splash me every now and again.

So, if anyone out in blog land lives in Winnipeg and knows of a business or corporation looking for a kick ass Executive Administrator...I'm your gal!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugz,

Sunshine :^D