New Tent Trailer, whee!

At long last, I got myself a tent trailer. I'm so excited!! 95 Dutchmen Duck, looks something like this:




I just borrowed this photo from the interwebs. Real pics to follow after this weekend's camping trip to Shuswap Lake Provincial Park in BC.

Holiday pictures

Sorry it took me so long! I'm just not very good at keeping this updated, it seems. Probably has something to do with my slow-as-molasses-in-January laptop.

Anyhoo, the cruise was great although it already seems like a million years ago... especially since we've had snow a few times since returning home. Yes, in late April and May! Boo. I really need to become a snowbird.

Here's a link to the photos - they go in order of our stops: Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos, and Bahamas. All were great except DR was nothing special - a bit too poor and run down for my liking. Lots of snorkeling on this trip and of course, lots of beer.

Enjoy!

The countdown continues...

In advance of our trip, we finally replaced our old camera. It was a decent point and shoot, lasted us almost 3 years, but finally had enough abuse.

So, we bought a virtually indestructible camera that is shockproof, waterproof and sandproof.



Along with a floating strap:

No more shitty disposable underwater cameras for me! It looks to have some pretty cool features I'm looking forward to testing out. I've also dug out my summer clothes and have everything set aside, ready to pack.

I do need some summer shoes but before boarding the ship we'll be hitting Sawgrass Mills, one of the largest outlet malls in Florida, so I'm sure I'll be able to score some deals there.

13 days and counting... eeeee!

Excitement!

In 26 odd days, I will be on this ship:



Going to these places:




Life is good.

Where have I been?

The million dollar question. I have been sitting here trying to think of what exactly I've been doing for the past 6 weeks, other than not updating my blog, that is. Nothing too substantial, really.

We got our front door and nearly all of our windows replaced in early January - it makes a huge difference. Our windows were 30 years old and some had condensation between the panes, so when it got cold they would frost over and you couldn't see out. Now they are all nice and new and crystal clear. Here's a few shots of the front window before/during/after:





Good thing it was 10 degrees that day! Actually, it hasn't been too cold here since the -25 snap of mid-December, seems as if the weather's been hovering around zero for weeks. Today it was beautiful and sunny, around 6 or 8 I'd guess? Fabulous. I'm hoping for an early spring but an early spring in Calgary means April... bleh.

School update: I finished another university course at the end of January and have taken the month of February off. Next up is Critical Thinking - the books have been taunting me from the corner of my desk all month - but I really need a break. Work is busier than usual and I am trying to beat the winter blahs by playing Wii and Bejeweled in my spare time and catching up on tv.

I finally replaced my old iPod nano with a new, beautiful iPod Touch - it's been less than a week and I am loving it.



So far I've downloaded apps to help me count calories, find the closest Starbucks, make decisions (Magic 8 Ball), find restaurants (and make reservations right from the iPod!), get recipes (both food and drink), convert units of measurement, and a bunch of other semi-useful and fun gadgety things. Plus it has all of my music on it and I can even text message for free, as long as there's some wi-fi to tap into.

That's all for now - in parting, here are a few belated Christmas shots of my favourite little elfs:

Is it really 2010??

Happy New Year! I was thinking about the past year and what's to come in this new year, new decade in fact... when I remembered that I posted an entry last year listing some New Year's Resolutions for 2009. The list:

• blog at least once a week. This year I had 34 posts, next year I'll have (at least) 52
• limit business travel to Vancouver only
  
• take a couple of nice holidays, thanks to my overtime and holidays that are being carried over
• really settle into this house. It's been a year and we've barely done anything - I am starting with the little spare room which will soon become my home office. Then there's some painting and minor repairs to do before we move to the big stuff which needs to be contracted out - windows, doors, fence, landscaping, oh my.
• start eating healthier and getting more exercise
• get going on my university courses!

Let's see.

• I made 26 blog entries in 2009 - so only 50% on that. That's still a passing grade, right?
  
• I travelled to Vancouver, indeedy I did. Last year I spent about 7 weeks in Vancouver - and made one extra stop in Victoria, which was nice. I also, sadly, had to go to Ottawa for 4 days in late October and I seem to recall a brief trip to Edmonton for a meeting. I am happily now on a business travel embargo until March 2010. Except for a day in Regina. Hmph.
  
• As for holidays, I went on the cruise in March, to Toronto in August, to Toronto and NYC in October, took a couple of road trips to Medicine Hat and went on a couple camping weekends very close to home. I'd say the cruise and NYC trip fulfill this one nicely.
  
• I finished my office (mostly anyway) and got the spare room fit for company. We have the windows and doors ordered, to be installed in January, and had the landscaping done in June. Never did get around to the fence, but that's tops on the list for 2010. We also got some new furniture and whipped the basement into shape. I'm so very pleased with our house now, I'll have to post some pictures, when it's clean, I mean. Ha.
  
• I think the healthy eating and exercise was probably the lowest on my list. I did go through a few healthy phases throughout the year, but considering that I've not used my gym membership since August (eep), I think I deserve a fail here. This year I got Wii Fit for Christmas so I'm hoping to get into a routine with that in January.
• On the university front, I completed almost 6 courses this year, of 13 total: Professional Ethics, Business Communications, Administrative Law, Canada's Legal System, Employment Law and am just wrapping up Administrative Principles. 7 more on tap for 2010 as it is my resolution to Finish These Effing Courses Already and attend graduation in June 2011 (it's only held once a year - but I will have until April 2011 to actually complete all coursework and still be able to grad in 2011). I started this degree at Ryerson in 2004 - I may just receive the award for longest undergraduate degree taken of all time.

So, that was 2009 in a nutshell. For 2010, I have the following goals:

• Finish university as mentioned.
• Become a little more financially responsible. I was tallying up all the money we've spent this past year between holidays and renos and the like and let's just say it was a spendy year. We paid in full and still saved a little, but overall 2009 was definitely the year of living large and consuming plenty. We've already declared January as No-Spend Month - we are buying essentials only and saving everything that's left to give 2010 a nice financial cushion. Of course, I've left myself a wee loophole as I will be able to spend a few gift cards I received for Christmas and my birthday so as not to go through complete shopping withdrawal. We also have lots of small projects and tasks around the house that need to get done so that's how we'll spend the month. That, and playing Wii.
• Buy a Tent Trailer. There, I said it. I have wanted one since we moved here and after 2 years of frigid mountain camping, I have the boy convinced. Just a wee second hand one that we can stow in the garage when not in use. I am hoping that this year, we can take some nice chunks of time in the summer and hopefully, we'll have some people come visit and we can tour around with them a bit (hint, hint).
• Get the fence done, maybe a few other small jobs around the house, but that will be about it. Unless, of course, the Home Renovation Tax Credit gets renewed... then we may look at a few other non-essential type renos.

So, the million dollar question is, is anyone still out there? Have you all abandoned me after 6 weeks without a new post? Drop me a line if you're still there, it helps me to stay motivated.

And I'll be back this week with a few Christmas photos, I promise.