shoe porn

Reader's of my other blog might remember this pretty pointsettia that Bill was given by his work. I love it and found it thoughtful, but I also worried that he might have gotten it in place of a Christmas bonus. With the uncertainty facing lots of local companies, it wouldn't have been a shock! We just hoped for the best, because we had to finish Christmas shopping and catch up the utilities.
One morning, about a week later, Bill calls to say that he'd gotten his bonus, and it's enough to cover everything.

Including a pair of red patent peeptoes, which I found for $30. Man I love shoes.

It's amost 10:00 pm Alberta time, so I think that Bill and I are going to watch a movie. Happy New Year! May 2009 be a little kinder to all of us.

lost pics

At this point, I'm just searching through my pic files on the new computer. I hate to say how many pics I lost at journalspace - people had been telling me for years to use my account at photobucket. It was much too easy keeping them in my gallery at JS, so now they're pretty much gone.
Hopefully, I will find a few more when I go to the old comp.
What's everyone doing tonight?

sad ending

killer whale sculpture, inner harbour, Victoria BC

I think I am still in shock over the loss of journalspace! I am really going to miss it. I've been there since June of 2004, and it helped me get through a long distance relationship (an uncertain one!) with Bill. I spent a lot of lonely hours at journalspace, but I met a lot of wonderful people.
I always paid for pro-access, even when I was broke. I found it fascinating to follow the statistics, and that is something I definitely miss here. The homepage was a constant source of entertainment, but also showed how much JSers cared about one another. The games, the meme's - I hope a lot of this stuff continues amongst those of us who are starting over.
And I want to thank everyone that ever stopped by my old place. You made it a great experience.

my refridgerator

First of all, it's very clean because Bill went through it yesterday, throwing out all the leftovers we weren't going to use and wiping it all down. I love it when men clean - it's very sexy!

Here's what's left:

apples and oranges - it doesn't matter to anyone else, but for Em - if it is not taken out of the plastic bag and placed in a bowl or my fruit container, it doesn't get eaten. I'm not sure if it's laziness or some kind of value placement, but she won't eat it.

eggs - we go through a lot of eggs! My favourite breakfast at the moment is a toasted egg sandwhich. Here's the recipe:

two slices multi-grain bread

one or two eggs, basted medium

one slice medium or sharp cheddar cheese

mayo and salt & pepper to taste

bleak

The weather isn't too cold but it sure is bleak. This is what -13°C (8°F) and partly cloudy looks like! We'll be going out after lunch, but otherwise the morning will be spent around the house drinking mocha java and catching up with all the JS refugees.
I have ideas for so many posts, but with JS down, the urge to get them done just isn't there as much as it usually is. Some of them are meme's that I know some others would do, some have to do with shoe porn (my favourite) and others are just thoughts about the past and how I'm trying to deal with it.
More than ever, this past two weeks has shown me how important JS has become. I had a huge support system there, and while I am enjoying myself here at Blogspot, I still find myself wondering every day - will anyone see these posts?
On that note, I would like to thank everyone that have been stopping by. It's been so nice to have Netmale, Scott and Kelly, Maggie, Westy, Burstmode, Roux and all the others around, to make this crash a little easier.
Now I'm off to read a few blogs and check out Westy's forum.
Happy Monday ♥

comfy

I love getting PJ's and slippers, and these ones are very comfy! Emily got me the PJ bottoms and Bill got me the slippers. The colours worked out great considering neither knew of the other and I just happen to have three tank tops that will match so it's all good.
Today has been considerably lazy. I'm still wearing the PJ's in the pic and the only thing I've done is make a roast beef dinner and start a book called The Shack. It's awesome so far.
Tomorrow Bill has off but I have to go into my office for a little while, and I also have some banking to do. Hopefully we'll also get a chance to visit the farm, since we didn't go today.

red and gold

This is the garnet necklace that Bill got me for Christmas. I've been wearing it for the last few days and I love it more and more each day. The garnet is teardrop shaped and set in a fairly substantial setting, so even if it rolls over you just see the pretty designs in the back.

I'm such a sentimental person that jewelry is an excellent gift for me. It's something you can keep forever.

I'm too old for retail and making New Year's resolutions

Goldstream Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, BC

Today was such a long day. I had another shift at the clothing store, and I was reminded of why I'd like to make this life insurance career work out. Our servers went down around 10:30 am, and from then on we couldn't search our customer database, or accept gift cards or debit cards as payment. Any credit card transaction over $100 had to be called in manually for an authorization code, and lots of the promotions got kicked out of the system.
I was working with the whole management team (two assistants and the store manager) but they are stressed and overworked to begin with, and this made it worse. By the end of the day there was a communication issue between two of them and voices were raised, but eventually things were smoothed over. I was annoyed by the assistant who hovered over me, asking if I needed help. She thought I was moving slower than she and another cashier, but my sales were going out accurately and I didn't have to post void a thing, while the others were pissing off their customers by overcharging and holding up lines.
My customers were all very happy when they left, and that's what mattered to me. Besides, I am fast, and I know because I keyed more transactions, lol.
At the end of the shift, my manager asked me about New Year's resolutions. I don't like them, and don't really make any 'cause I could never keep them. Besides that, everything else changes priority from day to day based on what's up with my family or with work. The house is going to be important this year, I do know that. I want to reno the finished basement and build storage cupboards, change the flooring and make a bit of a workshop for Bill. Have a place to put his tools and our cleaning equipment. I think I'd like to put down a parking pad in the backyard, so that even if we have to wait on a garage, I can get the truck off the street.
Anyone going out on NYE? In a way, I miss dressing up and going out! Finding the perfect, sexy dancing shoes was always fun. Which reminds me! I need to take a pic of my new red shoes. They're hot.

Boxing Day

Here's a pic of Bill and I, taken a few years ago at a museum in Calgary. In a way, I miss those days! We were a little younger, and I had a good job as a clothing store manager, and whenever it was my turn to spend the weekend at his place, we'd go out dancing.

These days we're too tired to go dancing, and too broke! One day I'll bring in much more than I ever did before, but that takes a few years. Until then, we're both thankful that we don't need much and that we're happy spending the evenings together.

Christmas was lovely, but I have to work today so I'll write about it later. Happy Boxing Day!

lots to do yet

My feet look like Fred Flintstone feet this morning, lol. I was sitting on the chaise looking around at all that needs to be done - we need to sweep and wash the floors, Jamie has to take her birthday gifts downstairs. I already have a load of clothes in the washing machine and one in the dryer, so that takes care of the towels and my favourite jeans.

I have a few loaves of bead dough rising on the stove (I buy frozen) and when Bill gets home, I'll make him some http://www.recipezaar.com/Newfoundland-Toutons-136412. I think it's nice to have some Newfoundland traditions around Christmas time, because he must miss some of them. After that, I'll be making some food for this evening and finishing up the wrapping.

What is everyone else doing this evening?

minus 20 feels like spring

Here's Lola, yesterday while I was cleaning. Even though she has a doggy bed in my room and the living room, she'd rather lay on a blanket, or a pair of discarded jeans. I think she looks nervous here. She knows I'm going to make her move any minute now, lol.

Jamie is 20 today

Twenty years old!
On December 21, 1988 the Doc made me go to the hospital because my blood pressure was a little high, and the next morning they induced me. Jamie arrived at 6:19 that evening, weighing in at 6 lbs, 2 oz. I wanted to name her Madison, but since no one else liked it she went without a name for two full days before I decided on Jamie Lee.
I know she has doubts some days, but she really is the very first love of my life. I have always felt bonded to her, as though she can see into my soul. We are a lot alike, and growing more that way every day.
Happy Birthday, Honey!

suzy homemaker

Having a flat tire left me at home with nothing to do but clean, and I suppose it helped that JS was down as well. What you're seeing here is a chair that hasn't been empty since August!
I love the chair, but ever since I bought it I have realized that my house is just not big enough to hold it, and neither is my bedroom. I tend to throw stuff on it, like the things that need to be hand washed, or books I'm going to put away later, or things that need to be pressed.
I had to clean everything yesterday because I had to fit a table beside the bed, which I have needed badly ever since we got the king-sized bed. It's just so much easier because now I don't have to search for my glasses in the morning.
Let's see how long I can keep my side of the bed clean. It's going to take some discipline!

margaritaville

If Bill wasn't working today (and if I didn't have so much laundry) I would LOVE a trip to this little Mexican restaurant that serves the best margaritas.

michelangelo

I miss seeing lots of pics in my blog, so here's Jamie's Christmas stocking. She's had this Michelangelo Ninja Turtle since she was three or four years old. She's going to be twenty tomorrow! Where does the time go?

I miss JS a lot

It seems like the entire weekend has been a bust!
I came down with a cold yesterday morning, just an hour after arriving at the clothing store for work. While I was at work, I made the mistake of asking a girl, "when are you due?"
I am working pt at a plus-size store, and I have a 12 year history of working at plus-size clothing stores, so I know better. Still, when she said she wasn't pregnant, I was incredibly embarrassed. I held it in until she left but afterward it made me cry. I just hated the thought that I had hurt her feelings. I pictured her sitting in her car, crying because someone thought she was pregnant - and it made me feel terrible.
Later, when I was telling my boss about it, I got a little verklempt and she said, "boy, you really take your job seriously!" And it's true - I do. My job is to make women feel good about how they look in the right clothes, so it was a terrible faux pas to say that.
It was -30°C when I left the store and all the way home my truck pulled to the right, making me suspicious about how much air I had in my tires, but when I got home Bill was sleeping (he'd been on call all day) and this morning my suspicions were confirmed. The front passenger's side tire is flat as a pancake, and since Bill won't be home until suppertime, we'll all be stuck at home all day. With no Journalspace... *sigh*
Okay, I'm off to find more of my favourites! I miss you all so much.