Thank you Berta for you help!!DUH.......Can't see the forest through the trees!! I was so busy looking down at the bottom of the screen (keyboard shortcuts) that I forgot to look up.

Geez, how do I survive out in the wild?

Oh, and thanks Steven for the pics! Really great to put faces to names. Are you and your brother twins? You guys look a lot alike. I can't wait to me you guys this summer. Do you think you will all be able to come down? Do you have any other brothers or sisters, or just the one?

I meant to e-mail you back, but then my computer started acting funny and I got to deleting temp files and then, one thing led to another....
I can't access my hotmail account from work, but I can access my blog. So, hi there!

CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF MY FONT??

OK, here is a fun experiment to entertain us all (can you tell I am bored?). I thought I would post some questions and family/friends can log on and add a comment to give us their answers. This way we can all get to know each other better and maybe have a few laughs at the same time.

1-What is something that you do in your spare time or are good at, that not many people know about (gotta be honest..haha)?

2-If you were stranded on an island and could only have 2 music CDs and 2 books, what would you bring?

3-When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up? When you were a teenager what did you hope to be when you grew up?

4-What is a habit you have (good, bad, or just weird) that you normally don't like people to know about?

5- If there was one place in the world you could visit, where would that be?

6- What is your favorite sport to watch? Favorite to play?

7- What are some of your favorite TV shows?

Does anyone have any pics of Nan MacAulay (my Dad's mom) when she was younger? I have only ever seen her as a senior. Or, any pics of Dad's dad? I have a photocopy of one with him in uniform, but that it is.

I'd also love to see any childhood pics of Joe, Henry, Paul, David, Betty, Brenda & Ann. Oh hell, I love to look at family pictures, regardless of who it is. Who am I kidding?

Which reminds me, I noticed a link to a blog Life in the Middle of Nowhere. Is that a blog for Steven, David's son? Or is it another Steve?

I enjoyed looking at all the old pics on the other blogs that I decided to post a few of my own.

It is funny how I had this idea of Joe in my head (top pic) for years after I saw this picture until I seen him again when he came to visit the last time. Then to see this big guy with muscles, tatts and a bald head, I was so surprised!!! It was not what I was expecting at all!

He looks so meek and a quiet type of person in this picture, then I met him and he was so forward and friendly with so much personality. I was really just shocked. Now, Berta was just as I pictured her in my head.

I guess it just proves you really can't tell what someone is like just by a photo.

Here is one of Uncle Ron and Dad when he got sick. Boy, was he ever happy to have visitors!

Maybe I am just a little depressed, just thinking about this, but it is weird how I remember Dad saying to me one day how he knew he must be dying because everyone was coming to say goodbye.I was forcing back tears and there he was was smiling at me, happy as a clam. Telling me about how happy he was to see everyone... and then something about Joe and a wooden butler, which I don't think I will ever figure out...but was he ever happy at that time. It was very weird.

Does anyone know of any good jobs around Saint John? Anything? I've checked the all the job banks and nothing stands out. I am kinda screwed because even though I grew up in Saint John and graduated with a 96% average from college, I can't find a good job in my field in my own city just because I don't speak French. All the government jobs require you to speak fluent French. Anytime I see a posting for an Executive Assistant, Office Manager, or Event Co-ordinator they are all for French speaking people only. Or they are term positions and I can't do anymore terms. I've had enough.

Today was a really bad day at work, that is all I am going to say about that, besides that I am really disappointed with my job right now.

I guess I thought this place would be more than just another call center. That it was a more traditional, old school type of place, where if I worked my ass off someone would notice and maybe, eventually, I could work my way up.

I worked while others played video games, read books, gabbed on the phone or to each other. I worked hard and stayed until it was done. I did extra, took extra care and did it faster than expected. I took initiative and created projects in my down time to benefit the office. All for nothing.

I can't say I am proud of many things in my life. I mean, I can't say I am proud of my kids, because I don't have any yet. I can't say I am proud of my nice home, cause it is a junker. I can't say I am proud of my education, because I didn't graduate from University...I don't have a degree. But one thing I can say I am proud of at the end of the day when I lay in bed at night, is that I worked hard and gave it my all. I am a very loyal person and I like to be loyal to my company, but companies these days do not care. I am just another number. Another number in another call center, just like the last. It really SUCKS!!

So, if anyone hears through the grapevine that any good jobs are around, could you maybe give me the heads up? Thanks a bunch!

After digging myself out, I took Daisy out to play in the snow. Funny what a difference a day makes. We were just at Rockwood Park two days ago and there was no snow at all.

I got Mom moved. We started before the storm hit and finished with the visibility almost zero. She is in there now and seems to be in a good mood today (self medicated I am sure). I have to go out and buy her a stool to get up on the bed, it is too high, even for me. She's never slept in a queen size bed before, so she thought that was a little weird.

I woke up today to see, not just a mess outside, but a mess inside as well. I had brought a little box back to the house with me that Mom didn't use, cause I have to organize my spare bedroom and it was a nice size to fit on the closet shelf. Well as I slept apparently Daisy got bored waiting for me to play with her and made her own fun. She found that box in the hall and thought I brought it home just for her. She tore it to shreds, got out a bunch of her toys and bones, and then tore the stuffing out of her Wuzzle. What a mess, but I couldn't be mad at her. She didn't hurt anything of mine, besides the box, and she didn't wake me up so all I could do was laugh, take a pic to share and clean it up.

I have been watching the weather and we are supposed to get a snow storm tomorrow, which is moving day for Mom (unless they change their minds again). Lots of fun.

I noticed some new templates as I checked out everyone's blogs and they looked so nice that I decided to give mine a face lift as well. Still pink, but just a bit different. I didn't like the little dog counter so I was glad to change that...even if it took me four tries...because it reminded me of the old video games, like Pac Man. Not that they weren't fun and all, but it looked so old. I am very happy with the new one, nice and simple.

I've been doing the Slim Fast shakes for breakfast and lunch, then supper and fruit or something light for a snack but the weight is coming off so slowly! I think I am going to attempt the low carb diet again. Maybe this time I will be able to stick with it. I am also going to get back into doing weights. It really seems to boost my metabolism and firms things up in the right places.

Hi Jennie! Are you enjoying the blog? Happy Birthday!!

I am trying to plan my vacation time around Henry's wedding so I get to go to the wedding plus maybe get a little visiting time in as well. Problem is that it is our busy time at work, so it could be hard.

What I am wondering is what kind of plans everyone has around that time. I think Les you said you and the gang were flying into Halifax on the morning of Aug 8th and leaving the evening of Aug 16th. Is that correct and, if so, what are your plans? Are you planning to spend a few nights in Halifax when you arrive, or are you going straight to Newcastle? Maybe you haven't planned that far ahead yet. I can only get a couple of days off (if I am lucky) so I want to make sure I get to visit with everyone. Are your parents and Heather travelling with you?

Monica, are you and the family just going to Newcastle the day of the wedding, or are you planning to go up a few days ahead? Is Amy planning to travel with you?

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for a cheap place to stay in Newcastle? Maybe one that allows pets, cause I have no idea what we are going to do with Daisy at this point. We may be able to find a sitter for her ---Shelley, you may be getting a phone call :).

I've got to pick my vacation time for the year this week, so any info would be appreciated.

Moving day has been delayed for a week, or so we were told today. So, no move, but I do have a house full of boys tonight. No, it is not like it sounds. Paul is having his friends over for a Super Bowl party. We'll see how it goes....

Tomorrow is the big day. Mom is moving to Fort Howe Apartments, just for a couple of months. At least that is what we think now anyway. They are working on her elevator in her building and she would be trapped on the 4th floor for 2 months if she stayed. Problem is that they put her into a bachelor apartment, with the living room/eating area/bedroom just one room. I have to stay overnight with her for at least a week when she has her eye surgery in March and there is literally no where for me to sleep on the floor. It is a galley kitchen and the bathroom is so small she can’t even get her wheelchair in it. She will basically just come in the door and park her wheelchair and have to try to walk about the place by holding on to the furniture. It consists of a night table, bed, 1 dresser, small kitchen table & 2 chairs, sofa chair & tv. That is it. And I think we are going to have to take out the kitchen chairs to get her wheelchair in. Way fun.

It really isn't fair to her because meanwhile she is paying her rent for a one bedroom apartment and instead living in one room. No joke, I may have to sleep in the tub when I stay over. Oh well. I guess it could be worse. I may have to 'borrow' some of her painkillers just to walk if I end up in the tub, my back will be so bad. Speaking of tubs, I wonder how she will get in and out of that thing. It is level with the floor and their are no grip bars to get up with. So help me, if she falls, I will come down on that Killam Properties like a ton of bricks. They don't want to see me when I get upset.

We are currently working on our laundry room/half bathroom. As you will notice by the changing tree out the window, the seasons are changing, but it is still not finished.

This was a room I wallpapered because the walls underneath the old paper was so badly damaged. It looks pink here, but honestly, it is tan.

The whole place was really a dump when we bought it. I have never seen anything so dirty in my entire life. Now, lord knows I am no Martha Stewart, but this had cat puke left to dry onto the carpets. Even though we replaced the flooring, wainscotting and wallpaper, not to mention we also painted, I can still smell a hint of cat odor out there some days.

I really don't know why, but half the wainscotting was ripped off the walls in this room (as you can see). Why someone would take half of it off and leave it like that, I will never know. We got a plummer to install the laudry sink for us when we moved it. There was a toilet out there but no sink at all. I am sure they were not the kind of people who cared to wash their hands anyway.

She hated getting baths and would cry the whole time. Good thing she doesn't do that anymore. She doesn't need a bath very often these days....except, of course, when she rolls in animal do-do.


Playing in the snow.

Poor girl, she really misses her fireplace (so does mommy, Daisy). She used to love to dry off by the fire after a bath. What a cutie!

I came across these old pics of Daisy and since I didn't have any baby pictures of her on my blog I thought I would add some. I can't believe how little she was! This one is at the beach at the old house. We both miss that to.

Since it seems a lot of family and friends are doing home renovations lately, I thought I might share a tip, for those of you who don't know it already.

I mix equal parts warm water and liquid fabric softener in a spray bottle and spray it on the wallpaper first. I let it sit for a minute or two then it comes off much easier. You may want to score the wallpaper first. You can buy a little doohickey for that, but since I misplaced mine I have just been using the corner of a putty knife instead. Plus, I don't have to switch tools when I scrape.

Our last house had wallpaper in almost every room and wallpaper borders in every single room (and yes, even on top of the wallpaper) so we kinda became pros at removing it, covering it and panting it. I can now officially say I hate wallpaper. Funny, I still wallpapered the kitchen at the new place.

Well, it doesn't always look bad. We had wallpaper over old plaster in the old dining room and if we had stripped the 10 or so layers off, I think the walls would have came with it. So instead we primed it first with an adhesive primer and then painted over it. The wallpaper actually had a little texture to it so it really matched the kind of plantation style we were going for. I tried to find a picture where you could see the texture close-up but I coudn't find one. But here are some before and after shots just for fun.

Dining room before (in back ground) and after:

I know I look like crap and all, but give me some slack, it was moving day.

Here is main bathroom before and after. That took A LOT of elbow grease, let me tell you! The blue stuff on the bottom half of the walls was some kind of sticky wallpaper/cushion flooring stuff. Weird.

I tried to add more pics of different rooms but my computer will not cooperate.