Holiday Pictionary

I have a few other doozies, but this was particularly blog-worthy....

Cousin Trevor draws a "new born" for the word "new"....

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So this is Christmas

Delayed flights, terrible weather and dangerous driving conditions aside, Christmas remains my favourite holiday.

At 27, I still love presents, but the time I spend with my family brings far more happiness than any gift ever could. I know some people dread spending time exorbinant amounts of time with their families, but not me! We can all relate to those moments where we want to strangle someone close to us, and I'm not denying those exist in the Lundquist-Valihora family circles, but for the most part, we all get along.

This year, Mom, Dad and Kelsey made the trek to Calgary to spend the holiday with me and Brody in our new home. With three dogs (Atlas, Rocky and Barkley), and seven adults in one house, chaos is sure to ensue, but I just thank the sweet lord no kids are running around! Could you imagine?

With Brody being a slave to the retail world, I'm glad to have my family to keep me occupied over the next little while.

Tonight we'll open our obligatory Christmas pyjamas from Mom, leave the cookies and milk for Santa and wait for the sugarplum fairies to arrive. Then, like a four-year-old, I'll wake everyone up at around 7 a.m. My sister particularly likes being jarred awake by moi...especially when I make her get out of bed and then sit and wait to open her stocking. I don't allow a single gift to be opened until we're all gathered around the living room, the prepared-in-advance breakfast in the oven, coffees (or Bailey's hot chocolates) in hand.

My aunt and uncle in Didsbury have invited us out for Christmas dinner, so we'll head out there for the afternoon and spend the night. Unfortunately, Brody will have to drive back to Calgary since he's expected to be at work at around 3:45 A.M. Aaah....the joys of the electronics retail world.

All in all, it is sure to be a memorable Christmas season.

I hope the time you spend with your family is happy, healthy, and full of laughter.

All the best for a Merry Christmas a very happy new year.

Lanette

U-haul is going down...

Some of you have heard about my horrendous U-haul experience from earlier this month. For those of you who haven't, the story is recapped below in my responses to the four-question customer satisfaction survey I received once my reservation was finally closed last week.

Prepare yourself for a rant, and read on:

I rated my overall experience as "poor" and the truck as "good". Following are my responses to the two open-ended questions they asked. Bad idea, U-haul!

I know these responses aren't going to help; they probably won't even be read. But, I must say, writing this helped lower my blood pressure after a few very intense phone calls.


1. Tell others about your experience.

I've had pretty bad U-haul experiences in the past, but this one takes the cake. I reserved a 14' truck one and a half months in advance to ensure I would have a truck when my boyfriend FLEW to Fort McMurray from Calgary to move our belongings back down to Calgary.
Two days before my rental was scheduled, I received a nice call from U-haul confirming the reservation. I was told that there was no 14' truck available, so they were providing us with a 17' truck for the same price. Well, not ideal, but fine.

We arrived at the pick-up location when it opened at 9 a.m. only to have the guy tell us "there was no truck for us" and he had "no idea why they would tell you we had a truck". Apparently, the trucks out in the yard were only to be used for in-town moves and there was no truck available for a long distance move. NOT ACCEPTABLE! Both my boyfriend and I had taken the day off of work and he had FLOWN from Calgary specifically for this. Both of us had to be back at work the next day and he had no other way of getting back to Calgary. The guy working at the location called the regional office and discovered there was a TWENTY SIX foot truck coming in, but he "had no idea when it would arrive". The plan was to load all of our items into the truck by noon and then have my boyfriend drive back to Calgary that night. Because of U-haul's terrible service and unreliable reservation system, my boyfriend had to take an ADDITIONAL day off work because we weren't able to pick up the truck until 4 p.m. Again, not acceptable.
We were also told they did not have a dolly for us, even though we'd reserved it along with 10 moving blankets.

When we finally finished loading our items, it was 7 p.m and far too late to be driving back to Calgary.

The next day, my boyfriend drove the truck back to Calgary, we unloaded the items at our house and returned the truck to the Barlow Trail location (the main U-haul location on Meridian Road NE) at 8 p.m. on December 4 (one day EARLIER than required). The next day at 6 p.m. I received a call from another u-haul location wondering where our truck was because apparently it was supposed to be dropped off at his location. I have no idea how this happened since we ALWAYS drop trucks off at the Meridian Road/Barlow Trail location.

Then, THIRTEEN DAYS after we had dropped off the truck, I receive a call from U-haul. They ask me where the truck is because "they don't have it and it's 10 days over due". I have no f*cking clue where your god damn truck is! I dropped it off thirteen days ago and followed your process (drop off the truck, lock the doors, drop the keys in the 'key drop' slot in the side of your building).

The girl from the regional office explains that the location doesn't have the truck, so I explain exactly where we left it (right down to the parking lot stall). She says someone will call me back today or tomorrow.

I decided to do my own investigation and called the Barlow Trail location myself. After being placed on hold for 13.5 minutes, I hung up and called back. Luckily, this time I was rewarded! A lovely girl named Stephanie called and managed to stay on the phone long enough to work through the issue. It turns out the truck wasn't properly returned to their system and it had been rented out and was now in GRANDE PRAIRIE. Thank you Stephanie for solving my problem.

Thank you, U-haul, for providing me with enough content to fill a blog post about your terrible service and thank you for providing me reason to never rent from you again.

2. What can we do to improve for the next customer?

Overhaul your processes and systems and start focusing on customer service - from the top of your organization, down to the bottom. There are surely good, smart people who work for you. Put their brains in one room and start coming up with ideas about how you can perform a massive overhaul of your service delivery model.

Transit?

I think this was probably one of the first buses every built. Don't you?

Aah...nothing but the best in ol' FM!

Xoxo

Ps- I get to go to Calgary today and will be there 'til the 5th! Yayyyy.
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Hair dye gone wrong

More on this tomorrow, but this is a box dye job gone wrong.

I now have red roots and brown hair. Great.
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The tickle trunk?

No, it's not from the tickle trunk, its from Le Chateau and this is Kelsey demonstrating her need to be very selective about the hats she chooses to put on her head.

She looks like a sparkley mushroom in this one.

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Playing dress up

Aren't these the worst sun glasses ever? No one would look good in these dandies.

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The good ol' days

It seems like only yesterday when my little sister was two years old and dressed as Pippi Longstocking for Halloween.

Today she's all grown up and turning into a fabulous woman.

We both have the same destination in mind, we've just chosen different paths.

I've seen her turn over new leaves since she's been here and I couldn't be more proud.

You're gonna make it after all, sissy.

xoxo

Writer's block

Sometimes I want to blog, but the words just don't come. Unfortunately, I can't use the excuse that I "write for a living" because Meghan and Nick keep their blogs alive and well and both of them are trained journalists.

I also want to write about interesting new topics, but I have come to realize that the monotony of daily life is much easier for a few reasons: 1. My family reads this thing. 2. My co-workers may read this thing. 3. I am a libra and find it difficult to have a strong opinion about anything.

I've heard the quote 'If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything', but I don't necessarily think that applies to me. I do have beliefs, but they are the kind of beliefs that aren't steadfast. I can always see the other side, I always believe there are exceptions.

Take these as a sample:

Capital punishment? It has its place...if you can prove without a doubt you have the right person.
Abortion? Tough one. When I was 15, and 16 and 17, and 18...I was like "no way, no abortions".....buuuuut, then things change. Again, I think they have their place, but not as birth control.
Euthenasia? Agree. This one I'm not as "iffy" on.
Politics? Well, I'm kind of a barely left of centre kinda gal...

Even though I may not have "stab your eyes out if you disagree" opinions about things, I am still reasonably educated enough to banter back and forth on any one of the above if I had to.

And, for those of you who read this thing, that's not a challenge, so eff off.

This may be the first time I've ever had a blog post about something other than daily life.

Yay me.

"Barkley, the white-nosed basset....."

Barkley likes the snow!

He's so cute sometimes...

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Home sweet home

It's official. Brodie and I own our very first detached home. It doesn't have a white picket fence, and there aren't 2.5 kids living in it (though he does have two roommates....), but it's lovely and suburban and scary and great and I'm happy that I once again have a place to call my own. From the pictures above, you will also notice Barkley is settling in nicely, as well. He even has a buddy, Atlas, who belongs to Brodie's roommate Candice. Atlas weighs about 7 pounds I suspect, which is nearly 1/10 of Barkley. Somehow, they still manage to wrestle safely.

I flew in from Fort McMurray on Wednesday morning while Brodie left the great white north in our U-haul. No, I didn't fly because I didn't want to drive in a U-haul with Brodie for eight straight hours; I had meetings here in Calgary on Wednesday and Thursday, so work required me to travel via plane.

After spending Wednesday night downtown in a hotel and then working all day Thursday, I was really looking forward to finally stepping foot inside our new house. That is, until I remembered all the work I had to do. Thursday evening a friend of Brodie's popped over to help him unload the truck. It took less than an hour and with all my traffic control, I managed to get them to drop the boxes in the right places, which made unpacking a bit easier.

Friday morning Brodie left for Edmonton to help open a new 60,000 square foot ginormous store and I got up to tackle the house. There were boxes everywhere, but I managed to work my way through them, one at a time. I also tried to make sure I put away everything I unpacked from a box. It's funny how being away from your own personal household possessions for six months helps you decide what's necessary and what's not. As a result of all the unpacking, I have another large box to drop off at the Salvation Army tomorrow.

Today I spent the morning doing much of the same as Friday - unpacking, setting up an office area in the unfinished basement and making notes of things I needed to pick up.

After two days of hard, steady work, the place is finally starting to resemble a home. Our home.

I can't wait until you can all come over for a little house warming get together. Check out the pics of our new place here (more decorating to come...).

PS - once again, please ignore the terribly-decorated Christmas tree above (and in the post below). Brodie has informed me he'll "fix it when he gets home".

Ciao bellas.

oxo

World's worst Christmas tree decorator..

Now I know why Brodie does the tree every year. So much for my surprise!!
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The u-haul

Good thing I didn't go to the U-haul place alone. I may have been chopped into tiny pieces and stuffed in one of the zillion cars they have parked behind this classy joint.

Can you believe this is the site of the U-haul business??? Oh wait, its Fort McMurray, of course you can.
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Last one I promise...

One more classic quote from K-lunk:

While we were watching the countdown to "Britney: For the Record", the video for "Hit me Baby One More Time" came on and this came out of Kelsey's mouth:

"I remember thinking 'I need to get some track pants and a sports bra...and some boobs' when this video came out."

High Maintenance Sissy

I am happy to report to everyone that Kelsey is still her same old self, despite some of the crap she's been feeding you on her blog. Take this conversation for example:

Kelsey: I've changed my mind for a stocking stuffer (for all you readers, her previous requests were three different CDs)
Me: Oh yeah?
Kelsey: Yup. I would prefer a MacBook.....I'll have to get a bigger stocking, but I'm sure we can arrange that.

One MacBook coming up, sissy!

PS - just kidding about the "crap she's been feeding you" part. She's making some pretty incredible progress, in various areas.

xoxo

Hearting moving

Wow, I just looooove moving. NOT.

I know...who says "not"these days?

Brodie is coming to pick up all our wordly possessions here on Tuesday and will tranport them via uhaul to Calgary on Wednesday.

We get the keys to our new house tomorrow!! Yayayaya. I so wish I could be there, but sadly I am hibernating in fort Mcmurray until Wednesday, when I fly to Calgary for work. It works out perfectly becauseim going to stay there until Monday. This way I can play director and make sure everything goes where it needs to and not just where Brodie thinks it should go! Haha. Just kidding. Love ya brod...

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Shoot me an e-mail

For those of you who received the e-mail notification that I'd posted an even better revenge-getting photo of my sis, she signed in to my account and deleted it.

Just send me an e-mail if you'd like to be privy to this fantastic shot. Trust me, it's worth it. Think face masks and towel turbans.

Lanette

Revenge is sweet

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-----Original Message-----
From: lanettel@telus.net

Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 03:34:17
To: <sun2sands@blogger.com>
Subject: Revenge is sweet

I just needed to get this piece of revenge after my sister's "Lanette Raging" facebook pic a couple weeks ago.

This was taken at 7:10 a.m. last Sunday, post-bash.

Love you Kels! oxo
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Weekends...

The last two weekends have been fun for me, but not so fun for my poor liver. My liver, during its 27 year life span, has rarely been put to the test. And I like it that way. Unfortunately, since my sister's arrival in September, putting this vital organ through all kinds of demanding agility tests has become somewhat of a regular occurrence. Well, at least for the last two weekends.

Last Saturday we hosted a CFL Western Division Final party. With two other invitees. It got ugly. The game started at 2:30 and at 6:11 p.m. Kelsey and Mike found themselves in the liquor store purchasing some more entertainment juice.

Yesterday I thought we'd have a few people over for dinner (pork tenderloin, roasted carrots, cauliflower, dinner rolls, salad and crab cakes, in case you were curious), so Kristen, Mike, Jesse and Dan came over at 7. Dinner turned into Drink Fest.

Using the amount of time I've spent on this couch today as my only point of reference, I seriously advise against drinking a mudslide conconction, two glasses of red wine and then vodka & OJs. Leg wrestling competitions, an unfinished game of Scene It, bathtub naps and kinder surprises are only some of last night's memories. The others are stowed away in some foggy area of my brain.

Well, it's been awhile since I've blogged an actual update, so I thought I'd toss this one out there.

Miss you all. xo

PS - We learned yesterday that we will soon be homeless, so if anyone knows someone who's looking for two fantastic sisters to be their roommates, please pass along our names.

Broadway

I have always wanted to go to Broadway. While not musically talented myself, I love being able to see people on stage belting it out for a huge audience that soaks up every minute of it.

The shows I want to see? Rent...Annie...the Lion King...Grease...Momma Mia...

That's my one minute of writing for today....

One minute writer

I stumbled upon a pretty cool blog today called "The One Minute Writer". As you'll see, every day they post a new theme and encourage bloggers to write for one minute. I think it's a great way to start blogging more, and considering I was struggling with the lack of insightful information on this little ol' blog of mine, I also figured it would help infuse some interesting content. I could be dead wrong. Or, I could be write. Let's hope it's the latter. I know. Terrible pun. Anyways...

Habit

I probably have several habits that others would like me to change. Over the years I've chewed my fingernails, but as long as I keep 'em painted and lookin' pretty, this doesn't usually seem to be a problem for me. One bad habit that remains is picking away at my poor cuticles. A bad cuticle can go a long way in making one's nails/hands look like they've gone through a food processor. Not a nice picture.

Okay, time's up...

Escape to the City

I recently spent a week in Calgary with the loves of my life - my pup, Barkley, and my bf Brody. The weather was fantastic and Barks and I spent a good amount of time hiking in the hills of Bowmont park. I took my camera along on our Sunday trek and was able to capture some pretty good shots. A good camera can make a poor photographer shine. I heart my camera.
A walk in the park + Brod http://www.flickr.com/photos/lanettelundquist/sets/72157609088323758/

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Sunday, November 9, 2008. A fall hike in Bowmont Park, Calgary, AB.
A selection of things from the set


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Another train ride

Today as I ride on the train en route to a manicure and pedicure, I am thinking of only one thing: why haven't they found a cure for tuberculosis?

I'm pretty sure the man across from me is infecting me at this very moment.

Have I mentioned I love public transit?
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I now clearly remember why I hate public transit, specifically, the C-train.

After walking out of the downtown shopping centre following a Banana Republic escapade, I located the nearest platform and walked down the street to jump on the train. Little did I remember that I exited the building on the opposite side than I entered, hence turning myself around.

Of course, I didn't pay attention to which train I was hopping on because in Calgary, they get me to the same destination........that is, if get on one heading in the RIGHT direction. So, as the train takes off, I brace myself and wait for the brief ride home. Zoooooommmm......"Hmmmm" I say to myself as the scenery looks different than I expected. Sure enough, on comes the annoying lady over the PA to tell me the next stop is Centre St station. Ugh!!!!!

So, off I stepped as my eyes darted around for the closest northbound platform.

Oh how I'm dreading my eventual return to the land of public transit where the deepest conversations revolve around 15 year old boyfriends and "too much hairspray in my bangs".........
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If I could be anything...

Over the course of my mid-length life I have considered a number of careers--everything from waitress (at the age of four or five) to teacher (seven, eight and nine) to lawyer (ten, eleven, twelve)...to sports broadcaster (thirteen, fourteen, fifteen) before finally landing on what I really wanted to do: PR/Communications. At least, I HOPE that's what I want to do.

After taking a career aptitude test at 16, I was forced to choose between nut sorting, mattress making (yes, I'm serious...don't ask) and PR. I knew nothing about public relations at the tim, but after reading up on it, I decided it was the career for me - lots of writing, project managing, etc. etc. etc. Today, I work in employee communications, although my job seems to be turning into more of a change management role. I find my work interesting enough

But, in the back of my mind, there is always a little piece of me that wishes I could do something different. Something where the words I would write could inspire people to think, act or feel differently. Never have I been more interested in speech writing than during this U.S. election.

Every time I hear a speech, even outside of this crazy political race, I find myself focused on the words, the rhythmic patterns, the use of alliteration. The delivery.

After hearing John McCain's concession speech last night, I couldn't wait to hear Obama's victory speech. Unfortunately, my glass of red wine put me to sleep before the new president took the stage, but I googled his speech today and was able to read through the transcript. It was incredible.

Both of the speeches delivered last night were heartfelt, gracious and exceptionally inspiring.

I have a lot of respect for political speechwriters and I think McCain and Obama have two of the best.

Perhaps one day more will come of this crazy dream of mine.

You never know who-or what-lurks behind the shower curtain

Living with your sis later in life reveals some quirks you never knew existed. Take this for example:

I've heard Kelsey get up from bed after she's gone to bed and until last night, I didn't understand why I always heard the shower curtain get pulled back. In fact, I didn't realize it happened every time she gets up to pee in the middle of the night until she told me last night that she pulls it back to make sure no one's hiding in the tub!

Love you Kels!!

Hahaha
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Purity balls

Now, to the dirty mind, "Purity Balls" might sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but you are not far off if that's where your mind went. A purity ball still falls under the umbrella of sexual topics, if only for the fact that it has to do with virginity.

That's right. A Purity Ball is held for a daughter to basically give her "purity" to her father for protection. Or, at least I think that's how it goes. It also involves the signing of a document and the exchange of some sort of a ring.

Tonight I caught the last 10 minutes or so of a semi-disturbing, yet fascinating show on television dedicated to this odd-ball ritual.

While I have the utmost respect for those who decide to save it for marriage, celebrating this decision in what must be a painfully awkward ceremony (especially for those girls who have probably already crossed the virginity bridge), is a little over the top. It gets even creepier when you hear the dads professing their fatherly devotion and then start discussing the evil creatures lurking in the shadows waiting to steal their daughter's innocence. Whoa! Wouldn't you love to be one of the boyfriends? Yikes.

Anyway, I say to each her own, but I think spending time with your dad out on the baseball diamond or at the hockey game can often accomplish nearly the same thing...

PS - Mom, don't print this one off and "share it around the office". Thanks.

Week 6

Clearly I have work to do.

Competitive? Who? Me? Never...

Those of you who know me, likely know I'm pretty competitive. I hate to lose...(but don't worry, I'm not a pouter...like some people I know). So, not only do I hate to lose, I hate to lose for the simple reason that people just seem to not care about the game. That drives me really crazy. Well, tonight, I drove myself crazy.

I lost at squash. Terribly. The fact Kelsey is beating me consistently now is starting to get to me.

I definitely need to get to the bottom of this.

Grrr....

Dino-dog

This is Barkley's buddy Tyson all dressed up as a dinosaur for tonights halloween party...

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PTO line-ups

While I love PTOs, the one downside is that if you hope to do any type of business in town on a PTO, you better set aside a good amount of time for doing so. I am writing this from the ScotiaBank, where I've been for 10 minutes and am still 20 people back from being served. Oh Fort McMurray, how I love thee.
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100 things

Tomorrow is a PTO (I heart PTOs), so I'm staying up later than usual. Bored out of my mind because Kelsey went to bed and there's nothing interesting on TV, I found insipration on the ol' Internet and decided to take a stab at coming up with the famouse "100 things about me" list. Here goes nothing:

1. I am boring, but I encourage you to read the next 99 things about me. I think I’m boring because I haven’t done a lot of things people my age should have done. Like smoke weed. Or even a cigarette for that matter.
2. I broke my curfew about three times when I was a teenager. And when I did, I always told my mom about it.
3. I love my mom. Like a lot.
4. I love my sister. Tons.
5. I love my dad. So so much.
6. I hope I did enough “boy” things to make my dad feel like he didn’t miss out.
7. After hugging my grandparents and saying hello, the first thing I do when I board their houseboat is head for the back deck to start fishing.
8. I love baseball.
9. When I was 12 I would make my own score sheets on lined paper and keep score of the Blue Jays game for my dad so that I could tell him about every play when he got home from work. He always thanked me—even though TSN SportsDesk did my job at 11 p.m. every night.
10. With the exception of Catcher, I’ve played every infield position as a fast pitch player.
11. I hate the outfield.
12. I enjoy feeling needed.
13. I need feedback on everything…work, clothes, hair, etc.
14. I have too much gray hair for someone who is 27.
15. My birthday is on October 11.
16. I was born on my parent’s anniversary.
17. With my grandmother’s help, my sister and I threw my parents a fantastic surprise 25th anniversary party two years ago.
18. I miss the Okanagan.
19. The town I grew up in had one stop light.
20. Six of my 27 years were spent in a logging camp in northern B.C.
21. I took my first steps on the dance floor of a bar in Hyder, Alaska
22. My 8th birthday present was a red and white Yamaha 50 cc dirt bike
23. I used to ride the motor bike track backwards to avoid going up the steep hill at the beginning
24. I am a huge chicken who hates taking risks.
25. But, I have a fairly aggressive investment style.
26. I’m pretty good with my money, but I could be better
27. I’m more like the ant, than the grasshopper.
28. I love teaching grasshoppers. My sister is a grasshopper.
29. I wish I could be more like my sister.
30. I already regret not having more “fun” in my life.
31. I don’t know what to do to infuse more “fun” in my life
32. I love shopping.
33. The best things to shop for are clothes and shoes. And house stuff. And make up.
34. I used to make pretty decent money selling Mary Kay.
35. I have an entrepreneurial spirit, but love the comfort of a “regular job”
36. I work as a Communications Advisor
37. If I won the lottery I’d still work, but I’d work for a not-for-profit organization. Or I’d start one.
38. If I ever started a not-for-profit, I would have a hard time choosing what cause to support.
39. I worked at the Project 118 Youth Ranch—a healing place for at-risk female youth—for nearly two years
40. I feel best when I feel like I have made a difference…in my own life, in someone else’s life
41. I have decided the best way to decide where to donate money is to support the causes my friends and family support.
42. I hope my writing this doesn’t result in a sudden influx of donation requests.
43. I feel bad for bartering and when I go to garage sales, I often try to offer more than the asking price.
44. I like going to garage sales.
45. I have never purchased anything very useful or valuable at a garage sale.
46. After holding my own garage sale last year, I realized one man’s junk truly is another man’s treasure. A forest-green heart-shaped pillow with a ruffle around it? Really, lady? You wanted that? What did you do with it?
47. I have never forgotten the phrase my grandmother shared with me when I was probably 10 years old: “If you watch your pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves”
48. I admire my grandparents for their hard work.
49. Every job my grandma ever had, she created herself. She owned a beauty parlor, a sewing shop, a kitchen and bunkhouse operation and a restaurant
50. I don’t really have any favourite restaurants. Except McDonald’s J
51. I will try different foods, but don’t really like a lot of different foods.
52. I think ethnic food is weird and not tasty. African? Indian? Thai? Sorry. I just can’t do it.
53. I love steak. Especially when I can dip it in sour cream.
54. I think sour cream is the perfect condiment.
55. I also love sour candy. Well, any candy really.
56. If you see me at the airport, ask to see my carry on. There will always find candy.
57. I have traveled, domestically, a lot…for work and for pleasure.
58. I’ve been to Disneyland twice and Disney World once.
59. The only place outside of North America that I’ve ever been is the Dominican Republic.
60. My boyfriend has also never traveled outside of North America, except for to the Dominican.
61. My boyfriend’s name is Brodie (born Brody). When we met, I couldn’t have imagined meeting someone more like my dad.
62. I love Brodie’s family like my own family.
63. I hope one day his four nephews become my four nephews
64. Although I have a wedding file with magazine tear outs, I am scared to be married.
65. I’m even more terrified to have kids.
66. I lose everything.
67. I am scared I would misplace my children.
68. I have a word document saved on my computer with potential names for my daughter(s)
69. I will share those names with anyone who is really interested
70. No one ever spells my name right.
71. When I meet new people and shake their hands, I always have to repeat my name.
72. I am far more comfortable around older people than I am around people my own age
73. I am thankful for the people I’ve met since moving to Fort McMurray
74. I don’t think Fort McMurray is as bad as people say it is. I try to make the best of it.
75. I have taken an interest in photography since I moved here.
76. I’m not that great at it, but I like learning about it
77. I love to read. I love self-help books, fiction, biographies, you name it.
78. I don’t know anyone who buys more magazines than I do.
79. If there was one talent I wish I could have, it would be interior decorating.
80. I know I am so terrible at singing that I don’t even bother wishing I could sing.
81. I love to sing.
82. Country dominates my playlists, but I like a lot of different music.
83. I played the piano when I was little, but wasn’t that great.
84. I was also not that great at figure skating, but loved it.
85. If there was one thing I wish I could do every single day, it would be golf.
86. I love playing golf with Brodie. As long as he isn’t pouting.
87. I had two goals this year: break 50 on a nine-hold round and 100 on an 18-hole round. I accomplished one of two.
88. I’m pretty good at setting goals. Or, at least keeping goals in mind and working toward them, either consciously or subconsciously.
89. Getting a “B” in high school almost reduced me to tears, even though I was the only one who was disappointed.
90. I went to a hockey game with my friend, Dana, the night before my Math 12 provincial exam.
91. The Math 12 provincial exam is the only test I’ve ever failed. I got 49%.
92. I only buy 6/49 tickets when the jackpots are really big and the odds of winning are pretty much impossible.
93. I like to gamble and play online poker for real money when I’m bored.
94. The most I’ve ever won playing poker is $72.
95. I don’t have an addictive personality. Unless we’re talking about candy.
96. I have a basset hound named Barkley who likes red Swedish Berries.
97. There are few things in my life I wish were different.
98. But, it still bugs me that I wish these few things were different
99. In my heart, I am content. I think.
100. I can't believe I made it to 100.

xoxo

Lanette

Chocolate banana

On the way home from squash tonight:

Kels: Last week I had one of those pieces of chocolate and then I ate a banana. Later on, I burped and it was like chocolate banana. Yum!

Lanette: (hysterical, but disgusted, laughter).

No words

The graph speaks for itself.

Before the final blow is delivered

Kelsey covering her peepers as she waits for the third and final out that would dash her World Series dreams.
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As the Bo Sox go down.

Kelsey's reaction to out #2 in the top of the 9th in the ALCS.
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Finally a post

I have been reluctant to post lately since I don't have the best news to report when it comes to the Biggest Loser contest. The time since my birthday hasn't been so hot for me. I haven't figured out if it was my birthday or the giant bag of Tootsie Roll halloween candy I bought three weeks early that has led to my recent demise.

We have another weigh in on Tuesday and I'm once again expecting less than stellar results, but after this week, it's balls to the wall, baby. Yikes....is it okay if I say that?

For your viewing pleasure (and laughter) here are the results from week four:

I also wanted to share the above photo of Brodie and I together on my birthday because we never have photos taken of us together, let alone half decent ones.

And, I will end this post now as Kelsey and I are wrapped up in Game 7 between the Bo' Sox and the Rays.

Memorable quote:

Kelsey (after an intense game of squash): I hate sweating.

Me: Really? I don't mind it.

Kelsey: Ugh. It's disgusting. Your ass cheeks get slippery and when I sweat, I don't want any part of my body to touch any part of my body.

Safeway rant

Look at the following images and tell me: which one does not belong???










If you picked the shopping cart, then you win. If you picked the shopping cart, you are also likely to find yourself out of place in the "Self Check-Out" line at Safeway if you have a cart and everyone else around you has a basket. You would especially realize you were out of place if your shopping cart was filled with over $200 worth of groceries and everyone else's baskets were filled with a maximum of about 15 items.

If you did not pick the shopping cart out of the above string of images, then let me teach you a little lesson my friend. If you are at the grocery store and standing in a line that includes nothing but baskets, you should look around for the lines where people have carts. You clearly do not belong in the self-check out line.

This is especially true if there are only THREE self-checkout stands.

Tonight at Safeway I encountered this very situation. Two of the three stands were occupied by "cart people" while the rest of us had baskets. Actually, I had so few items that I didn't even need a basket. The other issue with this situation was that one of the "cart people" didn't even know how to quickly operate the self-checkout.

So, if this post has prevented even one person from standing in the self-checkout line with a cart full of groceries, the world has become a better, more pleasant place and I consider my work done.

A fantastic weekend

Good friends, good family and good times - that's how I'd describe this past weekend.

Brodie flew up from Calgary on Friday at 6 o'clock. Kels and I picked him up and we all decided we' d have a low-key night. We picked up "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", made a healthy dinner of extra lean turkey meat balls, broccoli and whole wheat rolls and just lounged around for the evening.

Saturday was my birthday, and anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE birthdays (not just myown, either...). I love unwrapping gifts, I love surprises, and I love sharing them with people who are close to me. Yup, birthdays were made for people like me.

Clothes, books and some cash (along with the Little Mermaid DVD) made their way into my life this year. While these were great, the best part of my birthday was having Brodie and Kelsey here with me. The three of us have played squash together, cooked a couple of meals (including some of the side dishes for last night's Thanksgiving dinner), and just hung out. Saturday we planned to have dinner with my friends Kristen, Mike and Jesse. The lounge at Earl's was the meeting place and after dropping a pretty penny on several drinks and a delicious meal, we decided to head back to Chez Lundquist for a little game Kelsey introduced us to: Bullshit Pyramid. Well, it got pretty messy, but it was also pretty hilarious. There are several photos from this grand night, and I'm sure they'll make their way to Facebook or Kelsey's blog soon.

Of course, yesterday was Thanksgiving and Kristen and Mike were gracious enough to invite us, and three others, over for dinner. Mike cooked up a delicious butterball and sweet potatoe pie, Kristen made their home look beautiful with tiger lillies and gourds, and Kels and I provided apple crips, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and cheese sauce. It was delicious and helped us forget that we weren't with the rest of our family on what is normally a grand occasion in the Lundquist/Valihora clans.

Today we're playing squash at 11:30 and then not sure what else the three of us will do.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with good food, good friends and good times.

#27

This was my card from Brodie. This child-liken card is pretty indicative of what was inside.....a card about farts. Of course, the punch line related to "old farts", but the rest of the card was about actual farts. Nice Brod. Love you too.......

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Go Blue Go!

I love the Canucks. I love 'em even more when they beat the Flames. Not because I don't like the Flames--I do--but because Brodie cheers for the Flames. And, he cheers even harder when they play the Canucks.

Last night's game was a fantastic first battle and I look forward to many more lopsided victories for the blue team.

I also love that it was Luc Bourdon night, but my favourite part of last night's game was this comment made by a Canucks fan on today's Globe & Mail story (it's the one at the very top...by kerry).

Two more sleeps!

It is only two more sleeps until Brodie arrives for one of the most important weekends of the year - MY BIRTHDAY!

Oh, he'll be here for Thanksgiving, too.

This will be the first time he's been up since I moved here in April, so I'm excited to show him our little place, go out for birthday dinner and just hang out. We're gonna watch movies, cook things for the fantastic Thanksgiving potluck we're going to at Kristen and Mike's and just enjoy each other's company. I'm excited.

This week is going by fairly quickly, mostly due to the insane amount of projects I'm working on at work. It's non-stop, but it makes the days fly by, so I like it.

Things at Chez Lundquist are also going well. Kels and I are doing lots of cooking together and we're playing squash about three or four days every week, so it's helping us lead the Biggest Loser competition. Kelsey has come out on top two out of the three weeks, but I took first place this week. I really need to start hitting the gym to do some strength training. Playing squash, and squash only, really isn't doing it for me. I like to get in there, do some work on the treadmill, lift some weights, etc. etc. etc. To me, that's working out. Plus, I like watching excess inches and pounds turn into muscle. Kelsey is so anti-gym it's crazy, but I'm convinced I can get her in there one of these days. One of the arguments that seems to be hitting home with her is that a pound of muscle burns a lot more calories than a pound of fat. I think if I just keep repeating that little factoid every so often, she'll cave and we'll be pumping iron in no time.

In other news, we have figured out our Christmas plans. I will be heading to Calgary and so will my family to spend Christmas in our new house! Kelsey will fly to Kelowna and then drive out to Calgary with Mom, Dad and Rocky (I know...long story) and then she's going to head to Vancouver on the 27th. Mom and Dad will stick around in Calgary until the 29th. It should be a great visit. It's sad that I won't be home in the Okanagan for a while, but oh well, I did get there a couple of times this summer.

Now, I must turn my attention back to the mindless television shows Kelsey makes me watch.

Hope you are all doing well. I miss you!

xoxo

Lanette

Week 3 results

We're three weeks in to our Biggest Loser: Sibling Rivalry.

This week, I take the gold medal. What's my winning strategy?

Here it is: one week have lots of cheat days, the next week, have no cheat days.

Keep it going kids, we're all heading in the right direction.

Not the biggest loser, again...

Well, I guess I've proven that having at least four cheat days in a week does not bode well for the waist line.

As you'll see from the results, my line is going in the wrong direction while everyone else's is heading the right way.

Oh well, my excuse is that I'm skinnier than those other two bi-otches, so weight loss doesn't come as easily. Sushi, a super soft taco, wine, jell-o shots and five mini cream cheese pastries have nothing to do with this week's results, I'm sure.

I Love Splurge Club

During the summer, I decided to try starting a Splurge Club. My original e-mail, sent to about six or seven girls, said we'd start it up once we had 8 or 10 women who wanted to join in on the fun. Well, it took about 48 hours before we had 20 girls who wanted to join. Apparently female companionship is seriously lacking around here.

It's been a long time in the making, but Friday marked our first get together. We had 15 women show up and three others who sent in their cash. This made the pot a total of $360, which we later decided to split between two winners so it didn't take so long for some girls to win. The lucky winners were Kelsey and Kristen, which was perfect since Kelsey needed some cash for work clothes and Kristen will be en route to NYC on Friday!

Because many of the girls didn't know one another, we decided to play a bit of an ice breaker. Everyone grabbed their purses, sat in a circle and had to pull out one item and tell the rest of the group why it was in there, or what it meant to them, etc.

You have no idea some of the things that chicks have rolling around in their purses! At first, everyone was like "I have nothing in my purse"...that is, until they started digging. We had someone with a barbecue-lighter-sized lighter which resembled a match stick, a tent card with the said girl's name on it that'd been in her purse for over a month, a wine cork, lipgloss and matching mirror designed for a key chain, a cork screw and socks. There were several other hilarious things (including an out-of-province, and therefore uncashable, winning scratch ticket), but the jell-o shots and wine have erased my memory.

Once splurge club had ended and the chickies were good and liquored, Kels and I went to bed and left the clean-up for the morning. Saturday meant we spent about five and a half hours shopping. I had no idea it was possible to spend that much time shopping in Fort McMurray, but we did it. Both Kels and I ended up with pretty good hauls. You can check out her post to see the amount of stuff she got with her bucks.

Next month's Splurge Club takes place at Chez Lanette&Kelsey on Halloween! Apparently the plan is to start here with drinks, pick a winner and then crash some big party that's already been planned.

The rest of the weekend has consisted of movie watching, lazing about and room cleaning. Thank goodness this week's a short one (have I mentioned I heart PTOs?), because I can hardly handle the five-day work weeks. Haha.

Adios amigos.

Lanette
PS - Per Kelsey's post, my four+ cheat days this week have definitely ruined my chances for coming out on top during Tuesday's Biggest Loser weigh in.

My first sushi boat experience

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Biggest Loser Results - Week 1

Today marks the end of week number one of the Kelsey, Lanette, Brody Biggest Loser competition.

Kelsey is leading the way with 2.35 percent of total body weight lost, but as you can see, all three trend lines are pointed in the right direction!

We're off to swimming....ttyl!

Bye bye cook, bye bye maid

This past week has been a bit sad for me. I officially lost my maid and my cook when my sister managed to land a job here in Fort McMurray. It took less than a week for her to become an office b*tch who gets paid pretty good money and gets a housing allowance. Upon hearing this, I began to ponder why I spent five years in school.....but that's a whole other story...and I'm not actually complaining, I have a pretty great job.

This weekend we've watched movies (Kelsey forced me into watching various seasons of The Office, promising I would become addicted, and I, in turn, chose a selection which received accolades at the Cannes Film Festival) and we've tried to stick to a healthy eating regime. I've had Kelsey going to AquaFit (Thursday) and playing squash. Yesterday she stammered: "this is the most vigorous activity I've done in a while....or ever."

I have one other funny Kelsey quote. We were discussing a particular wedding of an Enderby native who is a bit hippiesh. I'm looking at the photos and saying: Why are they all wearing scarves? Kelsey pipes up with her educated explanation: "Because! They're all a bunch of teapots". Now, this may not seem as funny to you as it is to me, but let me tell you, it was pretty hilarious at the time.

In other news, Brodie is going to head up to Fort McMurray for Thanksgiving and my birthday (side note: it's October 11 for those of you who are planning to send gifts). This will be fun - Kelsey and I are planning to prepare a lovely Thanksgiving dinner, complete with all the fixings.

We're heading out to squash now, so I"ll leave you with this nice pic of Kels, blowing up her super fancy air bed (which is essentially two air beds in one and takes up about 90 percent of the floor space in her room).


Ciao bellas.

Lanette

Racking up the air miles

It seems like I've spent more of my time in airplanes and airports lately than I have at home or at work. At the end of August I flew to and from PEI with Brodie. Then, I spent a few days in Calgary before flying home to Fort McMurray. Three days later I was off to B.C. for a long awaited golf trip with some of my former co-workers and then I was back on a plane to Fort McMurray on Monday.

The last few weeks have been great, though. We saw lots of Brodie's family in PEI and spent lots of time playing cards, which I loved. The return to Calgary was less than fantastic since I had to spend the entire weekend moving Brodie from his place in the S.W. to his new rental place in the N.W. BUT, something great did come out of my time in Calgary: a new house! Brodie and I purchased a nice 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house in NW Calgary (close to Brodie's work and close to the new c-train station that should be operational by the end of the year). We fell in love with it and after seeing several less-than-stellar homes, we were ready to make an offer. We spent some time negotiating back and forth last Monday, but finally secured the house for a price we were happy with. Apparently it was a different story for the sellers. I guess they weren't too impressed with their realtor.

Anyhow, just a few days later, it was time for my trip back home to B.C. Our golf trip to the sunny south Okanagan was amazing. We couldn't have ordered weather like we had if we'd special-ordered it. The sun was shining and the clouds were non-existent. We played nine holes on Friday morning, 36 on Saturday and 18 on Sunday. Judy and I were the only ones to play 36, but with a course as beautiful as Nk'mip and the weather like it was, neither of us could pass up the opportunity.

Now, I'm back in FOrt McMurray and adjusting to life with my sis. So far, so good. Because she's unemployed, it's like having a maid. Supper is cooked when I get home and the house is in great shape. I wish I could pay her to stay unemployed. Unfortunately, I can't meet her demands.

Well, it's past my bedtime, so I better hit the sack. We've purchased Kelsey an air bed (the ULTIMATE air bed), so we are no longer drawing a line down the middle of my bed.

Ciao bellas.

Lanette

PEI 2008

IMG_0446
Originally uploaded by Lanette14

We're back from our trip to the east coast and can't wait to go back again. More details to come soon...for now, Brodie and I are occupying our time with the purchase of a new home in Calgary. Details to follow.

Rent...

For those of you who think "the cost of living can't be that bad"...here's a little sampling of rental ads:

http://ftmcmurray.en.craigslist.ca/apa/

Best marshmallow roasting stick ever

Best marshmallow roasting stick ever
Originally uploaded by Lanette14

Dan made this for me just in time to prevent a tantrum!
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BBQs, playoffs and good times

This weekend marked the end of baseball season. With winter set to start next month (or so I hear), it was time to wrap up four months of slo-pitch with the annual playoff weekend. We finished second in our division, so we had a fairly good shot going in. Unfortunately, we lost our first game on Friday night by one measly run. After the game, we decided to come back to my place (or Dan's place?) and drown our sorrows around the fire. The hilarious night consisted of a home-made marshmallow roasting stick (think kindling, zip ties and fork), Jesse wearing Lanette's sports bra, wild boar pepperoni and deer sausage, as well as a little fire-side wrestling.

It was back to the diamonds on Saturday where we managed to string together a couple of wins, which meant we played at 9 a.m. this morning. Last night it was the "now-annual ball team wrap up at Alex and Lori's house". She had thrown together quite a spread of food, but unfortunately, the festivities of the previous night seemed to have taken the wind out of everyone's sails. Apparently it was quite a bit more mellow than last year! Candice and I blended up some deeelicious daquiris with the booze Pat bought me for hitting a in-the-park home run (sans errors) this year and then we took it easy for the rest of the night.

Back at the diamonds this morning, we played an intense nail bitter against the Cannons that saw us come out on top by one run. Unfortunately, we couldn't carry our winning streak into the next game and ended up losing to the Dirty Mitts.

For your viewing pleasure I've uploaded some playoff weekend photos on to Flickr. Unfortunately, the brilliant idea to take photos didn't hit me until today, so I missed some fantastic opportunities on Friday and Saturday night.

I also must start keeping better notes about some of the hilarious quotes that result from our time as a group. It is non-stop laughter at the ball diamond and beyond.

Well, I'm staring to pack for PEI, so I better wrap this up. Stay tuned for some east coast updates in the next couple of weeks. We're off to the gentle island for a week, starting Thursday, and then I'll be in Calgary until the 8th. After that, I'm back to B.C. for the much-anticipated ladies golf weekend in the south Okanagan. I can hardly wait.

Once that's over, I'll be back in oil country to start a new chapter with my little sis, who will be my roommate starting September 11. It's a little scary, but I'm sure it'll work out.

Adios amigos.

Mrs. Michelle Cambell.

IMG_0279m
Originally uploaded by Lanette14

Here's our little Michelle, all growed up and married.

The Wedding

I am just home from a fantastic weekend (well, less than 48 hours, really) in B.C.

I headed home Friday afternoon, arrived in Kelowna in the evening, jetted to Kelowna for some last-minute wedding shopping (read: spree) and then drove to Enderby. The next day, I had a hair appointment in Winfield, and then it was back to Enderby for the big event.

And what was that big event, you ask? Michelle and Dave's wedding!

That's right, the two love birds tied the knot in a phenomenally beautiful ceremony and a fun-filled evening bash. You'll see photos up on Flickr soon, but I just wanted to tell everyone what a great time I had and how happy I am for miss Michelle. This girl has been dreaming about getting married since she came out of the womb I think, so I'm glad she's finally hitched and that she's found an amazing guy to be hitched to. You guys deserve every happiness that comes your way.

I also am grateful for a weekend filled with girlfriend reunions. I got to spend time with some of my closest old gal pals with whom I've certainly lost touch. I think it's safe to say we took the time to rekindle the flame. It was so nice to be around those crazies again. I miss them so much.

Well, now I must finish unpacking and get ready to upload some photos.

Once again - cheers to Dave and Michelle and huge hugs to all those girlies I can't wait to see again.

Muah!

Lanette

The Ft. McMurray IQ

Here's a snippet from a conversation I overheard on the bus this morning:

This guy was talking on his cell phone so obviously I only have one side of the convo:

Guy (talking about the person on the phone buying him something): I need a new watch.

- "Yeah I want to put it in my hard hat, so just something cheap"

- "I like digital, hey?"

- "I don't want to have to figure out what those hands say.....okay, this one's at the six, this one's at the 'thirty'---two. Okay, it's 6:32."

- "I just want to look at it and know, okay, it's 6:32"

The best part was that this guy was dead serious.

As I nearly laughed out loud, I reached for my BlackBerry so I could record this priceless demonstration of intelligence.

I thought we learned to tell time in grade two.

Welcome to Fort McMurray, everyone.

Age

5 p.m. today, the following occurs:

"Ding-dong"...goes the doorbell.

I run downstairs and cautiously open the door to a husky young guy with his back to the door. He turns around and the following conversation ensues:

Guy: "Hey! how are you?"

Me: "Umm...fine thanks. How are you?"

Guy: Good. Are you the queen of the castle?

Me (now realizing this is some kind of salesman): Uhh, I am for today, yeah.

Guy: Ahh, your parents aren't home?

Me: Um. I'm 26, I don't live with my parents.

Guy (now astonished): Oh wow. I'm sorry. You totally do not look 26.

The rest of the conversation eventually results in my declining his "free" carpet cleaning service after he quickly explains that he's paid out of the advertising budget for some steam cleaning company and that the "catch" is that they only do one room. Well, buddy, I rent, so no, you're not cleaning my carpets - despite your attempt at flattery.

Hello!!!! Do I honestly look like I'm a teenager who lives with her parents? No! Although I thank the lord for looking younger than 26, I quickly attribute it to the fact that I have braces. This happens to me all the time at the liquor store now, too.

Just thought I'd share this comical story.

Lanette

More golf

Lots of golf played this past week, and this weekend. Tuesday was ladies night and then I played in a tournament on Friday. We captured second overall in the best ball tournament (with little to no contribution from yours truly), so we each came home with a Taylor Made hybrid 3 iron. You have to love these company tournaments.

Yesterday it poured all day long, so there was no chance to get out for the 10 a.m. round we had scheduled. Today I played with Kristen and her boyfriend Mike. The rain held off, save for a small shower here and there, and it turned out to be a pretty nice day on the course. It was not so nice on the score card, though.

I continue to pursue my goal of breaking 100 by the season's end. I did shoot 50 on nine holes on Tuesday, but still can't break the barrier. I'm going for sub-50 on nine and sub-100 on 18 this year. Today's round: 107. Yuck! The good news is that my driver seems to be working again.

I have nothing else exciting to report, but I do want to send along my sincere congratulations to Christine Hiebert and Asa Leishman who tied the knot yesterday at their home in Lumby. I miss you guys and can't wait to see the photos. I so wish I could have been there and hope you guys enjoy every happiness you deserve in the years to come.

Lanette

The links

This weekend was fantastic. You just can't beat two hot, sunny days on the golf course.

Saturday I played in the Girls Inc. fundraising tournament with some other girls from work. We had a great time, even if we did come in dead last. We could hardly believe we came last since two of us golf semi-regularly, but we got great prizes because of it. Plus, our raffle tickets paid off. I ended up leaving with a jacket (compliments of last place), gift certificates to The Keg and The Fish Place, a flash light, small clock, mug, balls, etc. etc. But who's really counting? It was all for a good cause :)

Sunday was the Employee Recreation Association golf tournament at the much nicer Fort McMurray Golf Club. It was my first time playing the course, but let me tell you, it's definitely worth the extra $12 to play there as opposed to Macdonald Island. The day was long, hot and humid, but it was fun nonetheless. Our team finished the day at -3, which was pretty good. Unfortunately, I had to leave as soon as the prize-giving started because I'd completely forgotten that I had a ball game at 8 p.m., so I'm not sure where we finished, but most of the teams we talked to were either -1 or even. I think the winning team was -7 or -9 or something like that.

So, back to baseball. Forgetting about the game meant I had to travel straight from the golf course to the ball diamond. Of course I only had my cleats glove in my ball bag in the vehicle so there I was, standing on third base, in my golf skirt. Nice, Lanette. Nice.

This week we're golfing another ladies night at Mac Island (last week I won a great pull over....so I'm looking forward to the prizes.haha). Ladies night is fun - $20 for the round of nine holes, $5 each for a cart, and you're set.

It's so nice to be hitting the links again. I'm trying to get in all the rounds I can before winter hits at the end of next month.

Post a comment and let me know what you're up to. Or, e-mail me at lanettel@telus.net. I miss you all.

Bisou Bisou,

Lanette

Yellow and blue make...

Yellow and blue make...
Originally uploaded by LipBomb

I have to share this with you...Brodie's brother in law is a fantastic amateur photographer. The stuff he comes up with is incredible...

Paranormal activity

Okay ladies and gents, anyone who knows me will know I am the biggest frigging scaredy cat when it comes to being home alone.

Well imagine moving into a house you don't know all that well. You would think you'd take extra care to lock the doors when you leave, right? Exactly!

I am certain I locked the door last night, even though when I got home from my ball game the door was unlocked. Hmm. Weird. In fact, I thought it was so weird that I told Kristen about it at work today.

So, today when I left the house to go golfing you think I would have taken extra caution to make sure I locked the door. Once again, I was certain I had.,..but, I get home and guess what? Door's unlocked. Very. Very. Strange. And Very. Very. Freaky.

Well, I just had to share my scary story with you all. I'm off to bed - keep your fingers crossed the monster doesn't come out of the basement.

Lanette

Moving Weekend

My calves ache. My shoulders are sore. I want just one more day off, for what good is a weekend if you spend it moving???

That's right. This weekend I left company housing and settled into my new home. Luckily, it's only a one-minute drive from the condo, so the two trips I had to make were nice and short. Friday was another glorious PTO and thank goodness, because the movers called and said they wanted to deliver first thing Friday morning instead of Saturday afternoon. This actually worked out a lot better because then I could spend Friday unpacking a little bit at the new place and packing up a bunch of stuff at the old place. I had everything moved out of the condo and quite a bit of stuff unpacked at the new place by Saturday afternoon.

Once my bedroom was set up and clothes were unpacked, I had to hop in the shower to get ready to volunteer at the "Big Spirit Music Festival". I don't normally volunteer for these types of events, but then again, I'm not usually living in a strange town by myself. I actually didn't think of this idea on my own, but my boss wanted to volunteer and asked me if I wanted to tag along. Those of you from Tolko would know that I am adept at performing CLMs, so I decided to say 'yes'. It actually turned out to be interesting and not all that tough. All I had to do was take peoples' tickets, so it was good. Plus, we got to listen to some good music. Theory of a Deadman and Collective Soul were two of the three performers. I can't remember the name of the first group...that should tell you something about the performance.

My first night in the house by myself went a-okay. At first, I thought I'd be nervous (I'm just like that, okay...), but I managed to not scare the bejeezus out of myself and slept throught he night (even though it was about 100 degrees in my room).

This morning I woke up, did some more unpacking, decided to hit up the driving range and then went for a quick shop at Superstore. The driving range was about 50/50...after the first half-bucket of balls, my swing came back and I was hitting some solid shots. Hopefully this translates into good things on the course come Tuesday's Ladies Night and my golf games on Saturday and Sunday next weekend.

Superstore was surprisingly un-busy which is extremely rare in Fort McMurray. Every day is crazy there and Sundays are usually TERRIBLE. Today, I got my stuff (including an oscillating cooling tower fan, a new dress and a t-shirt...oh SS how I've missed you), and walked right up to the check-out lady. She was as confused as I was about why it was so busy. The weather was amazing today, so that may have had something to do with it.

In other news, my new camera arrived yesterday! Yay! I purchased the Canon Rebel Xti from this nice fellow at Tolko who has decided to upgrade to the Canon 40D. So, it's not new (although you'd never know it), but it's new to me and it marks my entrance into the more sophisticated world of digital photography. I'm planning to take a course at the college some time soon so that I can put this fancy camera to some good use. You can all expect lots of pictures to be hitting the airwaves (e-waves?) in the near future. The original reason I started telling this story was to once again remind everyone about how difficult it can be living here. For the camera, I needed to pick up a Compac Flash memory card. First stop...SuperStore. Nadda. Second stop....Wal-Mart. Zilch. Third stop....Staples. S-O-L (well, except for a $130 8-gig beauty that holds like 8,000 images of the highest quality). Finally, on my fourth stop (The Source) I found exactly what I was looking for. You see people, this should have been easy. I should have walked into SuperStore, asked the person to sell me what I was looking for, and be done. Nope, not so easy here. The most difficult thing is trying to ask the young kids where you can find something. With such high turnover in this town, no one ever knows where anything is. And, because they don't want to admit they don't know where it is, they just tell you they don't have it. This is super frustrating when you know damn well the store has what you're looking for. That's today's Fort McMurray rant.

Whew, this has been a long post, so I think I'm going to finish setting up my new oscillating cooling tower fan (I love how fancy they can make a fan sound).

Hope the weather is as great where you are, as it is where I am.

Muah!

L

A few advantages

While it is terrible being away from the people you love the most, there are a few (though very few) advantages. Here are three:

1. I get to watch whatever movie I want. Over the last couple of months, my selections have included P.S. I Love You, Juno, and tonight's feature: Brokeback Mountain.

2. No one cares if I fall asleep in the beginning, middle or end of the aforementioned films.

3. I can leave the dishes piling up in the sink and I'm the only one I can get angry with.

Of course, none of these compare with being able to share your time with others, but they are small things that help me get through the long days by myself!

This week at work was really crazy, so I'm enjoying the weekend. I was up super early this morning and at the gym by 7:05. I came home, washed my piled-up dishes, vacuumed the floor, tidied the bathroom and got dressed. Then, I decided I hadn't seen Ron and Terri in a while, so I called them and took Subway over for lunch. We had a nice visit before I decided to hit up the buzzing, but not-so-big, Peter Pond Shopping Centre. To my delight, La Senza was having a big sale. Perfect timing, since I've been needing some new skivvies. So, three bras, five pairs of undies, a super-cute sleep tank/nighty, and $74 later, I was on my way home. A pretty nice haul if you ask me!

Dinner consisted of five sauteed scallops, whole wheat fusilli, six cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of three-cheese blend - deeelicious.

Now I find myself on the couch (after a little bit of online poker-playing) and ready to dive into Brokeback Mountain. I can't believe I haven't seen this movie yet.

Tomorrow I have to head into work in the early a.m. (think 6:30), make strawberry banana trifle, and then head to Kristen and Mike's for what is expected to be a lovely dinner. Because Dan and Julia are also coming, I get to play wheel #5. Oh well.....I'm over it.

I hope you are all having, or had, a fantastic weekend.

Bisou Bisou!

Lanette

"Have you theen my batheball?"

This is a better version of the photo below.

Thanks to Auntie Dani for providing the camera for this shot.

Thanks to Kyle for capturing this splended image so we may remember it for years (and weddings) to come.

July Long Weekend 2008 009

July Long Weekend 2008 009
Originally uploaded by Lanette14

A fine example of what happens at Funtastic. This is my little sissy.

July long weekend

The Lundquist's annual father/daughter bonding time took place last weekend in B.C. with the great Funtastic slo-pitch tournament. Since everyone who reads this thing is probably from the Okanagan, or participates in the tournament, I'm not going to explain Funtastic. As usual, we had a great time and this time we were pleasantly surprised by our team's record: we only lost one game (the final for second place). This is much better than our usual 5th place runner up finish. So, I left with a surprisingly-cute brown Funtastic zip-up hoodie in size 'S' instead of a XXL t-shirt. There's something to be said for winning. Oh, and the weather was absolutely amazing. It was 30+ every day (it reached 34 on Saturday....even though our vehicle was convinced it was 37 degrees outside).

Sadly, we had to leave the Okanagan on July 1 and make the trek back to Calgary. The traffic was pretty decent and after a quick stop in Banff to see Brodie's sister and brother-in-law, we were back in the big City by about 8:30.

The next day I had to make the dreaded drive from Calgary to Fort McMurray. I was pleased with the small amount of traffic that was on the road heading north from Edmonton. It's a good thing because Highway 63 is just as everyone describes it - crazily narrow. If you get behind a semi, you nearly have to put half your vehicle in the oncoming traffic to see around him. I can't believe people actually travel that road in the winter. While it's straight, it's very dangerous. There isn't one single passing lane for more than 300 kms. Sure, there are places where you can pass, but no actual third lane. Hopefully I wont' have to make that drive too often - and you definitely won't see me on that highway in the winter.

Since returning to Fort McMurray, it's been pretty boring around here. The weather has been stormy and rainy, which sucks because I finally got my golf clubs yesterday. Yay!!!

Well, I'm about to go make some lentil and barley soup. Sounds delicous doesn't? :)

Muah xoxo.

Lanette

I heart PTOs

Personal Time Off days are definitely one of the best perks about my job. Nearly every second week has a long weekend. How can you beat that? With seventeen of them, that's another three weeks off of work...even though you can't stack them. Anyhow, today is a PTO, so I slept in, went for a run and am now lounging on the couch watching Fashion Fridays on CityLine. The weather is absolutely gorgeous outside (in fact the temperature in my condo is currently a brisk 28.5 degrees Celsius). I am longing to be on the golf course, but without any wheels to get me there, and my clubs still in storage, this is a bit difficult.

ooh! From the front page of the Sports Section: I hit a home run at slo pitch last night! And no, Dad, there were no errors involved. And no, everyone else, it was not over the fence. I also got smoked with the ball as I was crossing the line at home plate....right between my shoulder and my back. Ouch. Today it's swollen and feels like a deep bruise. But, I will live.

Well, I should go shower and make some breakfast.

Bye for now.

Oh, P.s. - Brodie and I will be in B.C. from Friday, June 27 to Tuesday, July 1.

Rain, rain, go away!

Up until today, the weather in Fort McMurray has been beautiful. I can hardly say the same for Calgary where, for about 6 of the 7 days I was there, it poured rain!

I was in Calgary last week for an off-site meeting, a PTO a two-day training course. Brodie was also off on Friday, so we headed out for a round of 18 at Speargrass Golf Course, located southeast of the city. It was about 9 degrees when we set out, but since there was a rare break in the rain, we decided to take our chances. Well, the 9 degree weather continued and despite the fact that I was wearing a golf skort, we weren't letting anything stand between us and the golf course. After a bucket of balls at the range and the purchase of golf pants at the pro shop, we were on the first tee box. It took us 3 hrs and 30 minutes to finish 18 holes and luckily the massive storm that had originally started making its way for us was rerouted to the south. As soon as we finished, we packed up and drove back into the city. After about 2 minutes on the road, it started to pour. Whew - just in time! I shot a 102 and am still looking to break the 100 mark. I've shot 100s, 101s, 102s, 108s and more, but I still cannot bring myself to get under the 100 barrier. This year I'm doing it.

Friday afternoon we set out car shopping. We'd been up to the Country Hills Toyota dealership on Thursday evening, but after a little research on a used 2007 Rav4, we decided it was scarily underpriced and the fact that the salesman's first words to us about the vehicle were "You don't want this one, it's a lemon" (although 15 minutes later he said he talked to his manager and that one wasn't actually the lemon, it was a "white one they have that they're not allowed to sel", we decided to look elsewhere. Friday took us to Canyon Meadows Toyota where we were introduced to an excellent salesman - about our age, hilarious and super nice. Not once did we feel like we were being sold to. So, we bit the bullet and bought a 2008 Rav4 Sport in Alpine White. We looove it. It's got a sunroof and black leather heated seats - it will be fabulous for the scary Fort McMurray winter. I left it in Brodie's capable hands untilt he end of June when we'll drive it back to B.C. for Funtastic and then I'll bring it up here to the great white north. While I'm still coming to terms with dropping that kind of cash on a vehicle, I appreciate the fact that the insurance on this brand new 4 wheel drive, V6 vehicle is less than it was on my 2002 Ford Focus SE in B.C. It's true, B.C. really does stand for "Bring Cash". We left the dealership and were able to pick it up on Saturday. Reid went through all the stuff with me then sent me on my way with a Toyota beach bag and 12 Callaway golf balls. We also purchased a rubber liner for the back (to contain Barkley's hair) and sidestep boards so I have something to stand on when I'm scraping the roof off in the winter.

That's the biggest news I have so far. It was nice to be able to spend the week with Brodie and his roomies. It was also nice to go to dog training with Brodie and Barkley. We even took Brodie's roommate's dog, Tyson to training. He's an 11 mth old pitbull - cute as can friggin' be!

I think that's about it for now. Writing this is interfering with my online poker game!

ciao...