I have to get my ass in gear! Geeze! I've gotten into such a bad habit of just wasting my whole weekend doing nothing! Then I go back to work, and the house is blech, and it's so stupid! Like right now, I'm sitting on my bed, doing my paid assignments, including one about used cisco??!! and watching the "Real Housewives of Orange County". We're going out to dinner, and then to the Oilers game, so I best start busting my buns.

Jay and Sarah are going to be listing their 2 condos for sale right away, and tentatively will be moving to the farm, May 1. They've already been scoping out possible sites to build their house on, as they don't want to be in the same yard that the folks are on. They have a good idea of what they want in terms of a house, but the one thing they know that they are going to have is a home theater room. With surround sound, theater seats, and popcorn machines. They're going to put it to great use, as they are movie fanatics, and there is not a lot of night life out on the farm!

Ever since we got married (nearly 30 years ago), when and if, we drink wine, we always enjoyed a glass of white wine. Lately however, actually, ever since Sarah's wedding, hubby has discovered a real love for red wine. One thing I don't own are some nice red wine glasses. I have some very cheap ones, but I'd like to get some nice Riedel wine glasses.

I turn 50, 2 months from yesterday. Obviously, I am thinking long and hard about what I want to "request" from hubby for my birthday! I want to make sure I make a good choice for a suggestion. Initially I asked for a DSL camera. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that I'd probably never take the time to learn to use it properly! But... it would be nice if and when we ever have grandchildren. I have also had my eye on gold watches, as all mine are broken...if you can imagine!

I've been seeing a lot of ads on TV, and especially on the shopping channel for directbuy. It's a members only show room, where you can go and buy at wholesale prices, anything and everything you need to refurbish your house. Everything from light fixtures, tile, flooring, cupboards and counter tops to furniture. The price savings are said to be amazing! I think if we ever renovate, I'm going to look into getting a membership!

I'm doing some browsing for hubby. He wants me to find the best price on some HDMI cables. Interesting since I don't even know what they are, what they're used for, what they look like, or where I can find them, I best get surfing! You never know what you're going to find out or learn, while surfing the net!

I've been surfing around, looking at Coaster furniture and miscellaneous furniture sites, because Ben and Jess are moving to Kelowna in just over a month. They have been warned that it may cost a small fortune to rent a truck to move their furniture down there. Since the furniture is all quite used, they're trying to decide if it's going to be worth the expense. Hubby will look into the cost of renting a big truck.

Over the years, we have discussed owning our own business. We've never been quite sure what type of a business we would go into, but we used to like the idea of being our own bosses, and building something from the ground up. We even looked into business funding, but inevitably decided against it, as it just seemed like it would be too much of a time commitment with raising a family.

I never knew you could get custom grilles for your vehicle, but apparently you can! I looked up my vehicle, and the custom grille for it, is gorgeous! You can check out what's available for your car, like this billet grille. I just think they're super sharp, and would really give your vehicle a unique look!

We don't have a desktop computer anymore. We each have a laptop and a mobile router now. We love it!! Hubby can sit in his "man chair" and do work from the office in front of his big screen TV with the fire blazing and a puppy or two at his feet. I can relax up on my bed and work on my websites, or surf and answer emails. Quite the life!

A lady I worked with for about 10 years retired several years ago when she was 52. Since then, she's been acting as an online futures broker. Buying and selling stocks. She makes a far better income now, working in her jammies than she did before she retired. Good for her, I say!

We came "this" close to making Las Vegas hotel reservations. We had talked quite a bit about going to Vegas for my 50th birthday. Thought that would be as good an excuse as anything to get away. After further discussion, we decided we'd hold out for a winter vacation to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary instead! After this winter, it makes perfect sense to get away to a warm spot next winter!

A fellow blogger, named Jill from Chimommy and her family are moving any day now, as they retire from the military. I wonder if they hired a New York Moving Company to help them! I don't envy them! A cross country move with 2 kids, and 3 pets. I wish them all the best for a good, problem, free move, as I know their last move was anything BUT that!

It's my 50th birthday at the end of April. So, hubby has been asking me what I want. We usually don't do too much for birthday gifts, but hubby just turned 50 in December, so I got him a beautiful leather man chair which he loves, so he wants to get me something nice. I've thought about a lot of different things. I looked at raymond weil watches, rings, necklaces, an things like that, and then I thought that what I really wanted was a good camera. Now, I'm not even so sure about that, because I don't know that I take enough pictures, or will take the time to learn to use it to it's full potential! I guess I have some time to think about it!

I sincerely wish the media would ignore Brittney so that she and her family could quietly work on getting the poor girl some mental health help. It's clear that she is suffering from some sort of mental illness. You have to wonder why her talent management team haven't tried to do something to stop her from destroying what was at one time a lucrative career!

When I was shopping for hubby's 50th birthday gift, I knew I wanted to get him some kind of "man chair". First, I looked at home theater seating, but quickly realized that our family room was far too small to accommodate such large furniture. Instead, I went with a really nice chocolate brown leather recliner. It is gorgeous, and incredibly comfy! Hubby loves it!

When Sarah was registering for University, she also looked into student loans, because she had to move out of town and attend a rural delivery program, rather than going to the university here in town because her grades weren't the best coming out of high school. Because she had slacked off, and "caused" this glitch, we told her we would pay her tuition and books, but she had to pay for room and board herself. She could not get a student loan, because WE made too much money. She had to take a student line of credit instead! Why should the bank "make us" pay all her education costs. Maybe we had never planned to pay for university?! Many of Sarah's friends did it all on their own, with no help from their folks. I don't see what we make, has to do with our daughter getting a loan. Hmmmph!

One thing that is on my wish list for the new year, is a memory foam mattress for our king sized bed. All the kids have them, and they absolutely swear by them. They love them! One thing I do know about them is that they don't smell good at all when they're first unwrapped, and they're quite hard to wrestle into the mattress cover!! I heard Ben had quite the adventure with that task!

I'm already "scheming" about what I want for my 50th birthday (gah) coming up in April. I'm torn between a Nikon D40, which was my first wish, and a pink Adidas golf bag. Hubby LOVES to golf, and we used to golf together before I had kids. Then it just wasn't in the budget anymore. He would be thrilled if I'd take it up again so we would have something to do together when we retire! I'm thinking I still am really lusting after the SLR though!

My hubby is great in most regards, but he is a garage SLOB! He will spend a whole day cleaning, and organizing it, and within a week, it's already starting to get messy. Every time he brings a tool into the house to fix something, it takes him a week to move it from the house back into the garage, and it just gets tossed on the workbench. Pretty soon, it's a whole pile of tools and junk laying there again! I seriously need to look into some tool storage for him that will actually work!

I don't really make resolutions, but I often think about changes for the better that I want to make. Obviously, I hope that for 2008 I can find it within myself to live a healthier lifestyle. I've gotten far too heavy, and don't get any intentional exercise whatsoever, and I pay for it with sore knees, hips and back. Another thing I'd like to do is read more, and take a step or 2 away from the computer and the TV. I always loved to read, but it seems the days of internet, and cable TV, have interfered with my love of books!

We didn't bother buying all the pets any Christmas gifts this year. They have so many toys right now, that it looks like we have babies around here again, with all the mess they leave strewn all over the family room! I did look longingly at the cat furniture, but then gave my head a shake, realizing that if I didn't cool it with the cat beds, etc, we were going to have to soon move out, and just let the animals take right over!!

Ben was lucky enough to get some cash for Christmas, so he is going to put it away, and keep saving until he decides if he's going to get some truck accessories for his little Ford Sporttrac, or get the Mac laptop he's been pining for for years! He currently has a tunneau cover on his truck, and he wants to swap it out to a cap on the box, so that the truck will be more useful when they move to B.C.

There are lots of bus tours that leave from our city, and drive down to Spokane, spend 12 hours there shopping, and then return home. Sounds like a great time to me! American prices are always much lower than ours, and now that our dollar is so much higher than it's been in years, it's the perfect time to go outlet shopping! I wonder if there's any American tax relief? At least they don't have the GST! I'm going to try and talk one of my girlfriends into going down one weekend!

Way back when I was pregnant, the maternity clothes were all very loose and large! Pants always had elastic panels in them, and were very unattractive, so you always had to make sure that your top hung over that panel. Now, maternity clothing is much nicer! Women are proud to have tops that cling to their bumps, and I think it's so much better! Rather cute actually! It's not like we were fooling anyone back "then"! It just made us look larger than we were.

I'm nearly finished with my Christmas shopping! Thank goodness! Sarah and Jay mostly requested XBox 360 games for the new system that Jay just got for his birthday. We gave him Guitar Hero 3 for his birthday, and are giving him Guitar Hero 2 for Christmas, among other things. We are giving Ben and Jess a Nintendo Wii, and some games. All I've got left is to look at some gold chains, and choose one for my mother.

We just finished renovating the main upstairs bathroom. We didn't by any means do a full reno. We just did a quick spruce up. I painted the walls a milk chocolate colour, and replaced the mirror, light fixture and shower door. It looks a LOT better, but the vanity is not very lovely, and I should paint the trim out in white. Perhaps I'll get the energy to do that before Christmas. Sometime, likely in the summer, I'm going to tackle the ensuite. In there, though I plan to choose from all the fun makeup mirrors out there, and put one in the ensuite.

In getting ready for the 50th birthday party I hosted for my hubby last night, I went through my house from top to bottom, rearranging furniture, and rooms, renovating the bathroom, etc. The last room I did, was the upstairs loft, which has always been filled with office furniture. Now that we have laptops, having an office is totally unnecessary, so i turned it back into a sitting room, and we made great use of the space last night trying to fit over 30 people in the house!

We have belonged to the Alberta Motor Association for years! It's always paid for itself by towing us out of ditches, towing broken down vehicles to the garage, earning us reward points, getting us back into our cars when we lock ourselves (which happens far too often), or giving us a boost in the dead of winter, when a vehicle won't go. We also get free travel insurance through our membership. Very worthwhile!

A perfect holiday for me, would be a trip to this Colorado bed and breakfastat some point when the Avalanche have a couple of home games. I'd love to take in some hockey games in other cities, and Colorado has our beloved Ryan Smyth, and I could go cheer on the home town boy!

One thing I've never been into is corsets. My attraction for sexy clothing is directly proportional to my weight. Several years ago, I lost over 35 pounds, and was in the best shape of my life. At that time, I enjoyed wearing pretty things, such as under clothes, and night wear. At my current weight, there's not a single solitary item of clothing that could make this shape the least bit sexy!

I mentioned that I'm having a small surprise birthday party for my hubby who is turning 50 in a couple of weeks. I got new furniture for the living room, and bought him a great new recliner for the family room as his birthday gift. Now I need a new stereo cabinet so that I can move the sound system downstairs, without it looking like a cluttered old mess!

Hubby is a manager of a large grocery store. He's very well respected and good at his job, so he often gets sent out on special assignments. He really enjoys them, as it's a nice change and a break. Now he found out he has to go to a corporate performance management seminar! Sounds dry as dust to me!

When my Mom graduated from College as a nurse, about 52 years ago, my grandfather gave her a pearl necklace! That was an amazing gift considering the times, and economics. My Mom had always wanted me to wear it when I got married, but the dress I chose wasn't suited to pearls. So, when Sarah got married, my Mom offered them to her to wear. BUT my daughter absolutely hates pearls! She didn't want to hurt her grandmother's feelings, so she just told her that she'd already purchased a necklace and earrings to wear with her gown. Thankfully my Mom was fine with that, and didn't go all pushy on her!

We still have checking account , but I have to say, I maybe only write 1 check per month now. It seems with the use of automated bank machines, and cards, that there is rarely a time where you can only use a check. If I was better at keeping cash on hand, I'd get rid of them altogether.

If you stop and think about all the "crap" you get from companies in the form of advertising, I have to say that advertising pens are my favourite thing to get. You can never have too many pens, because you always lose them, and they're at least useful! I hate getting calendars, because I use a whiteboard calendar, so it's just a wast of paper for me to get a paper one. I hate fridge magnets, because they're tacky and useless, and I feel the same way about mugs or glasses with company logos engraved on them.

We desperately need new luggage. I've been thinking of getting a Samsonite set, but before I do that, I might check with Sarah, as my brother had given her a set a year or so ago, and her and Jay got a really good set as a wedding gift off their registry. I think we got our luggage about 30 years ago for Christmas from my in-laws, and it wasn't a very good set even at the time!

You'd think that a company would do some market research before making certain decisions. The company that my husband works for is American owned. While that's all well and good, they're sometimes way off base when making certain decisions. For instance, in our province, we are undergoing a huge boom, and it's very difficult to find laborers. The market is extremely competitive. Therefore, the wage this company pays it's young part time staff, is way too low to be anywhere near competitive in this current economy! My husband's hiring requirement now, is, "If they've got a pulse, hire them!"

I grew up on a farm. I grew up with a love of animals! I also grew up with a love of horses! Fortunately for me, I was able to own a horse most of my impressionable years. I rode bareback for years. Eventually I had a bareback pad which was a small padded saddle with stirrups. From that, I graduated to a 100 year old war saddle. I was so proud of that saddle, and polished, and cleaned it, until it was unrecognizable. But, the one thing I never had, was horse riding apparel! The most I ever had, was cowboy boots!

We attended a baby shower at my girlfriend's brand new house. We hadn't seen it since it was finished. It was just absolutely gorgeous, but not in an ostentatious way. All very tasteful. Gorgeous rustic hardwoods throughout, a gourmet kitchen with some of the neatest extras! The property itself is full of natural bush and trees, and the house has tons of windows, overlooking a plexiglass deck, so the view is completely unobstructed. The whole basement is finished as well with a bar with river rock, a pool table and and exercise room. They even have one of those popcorn machines in their media room.

I HATE football! Especially NFL football. My husband loves it of course. I can't hardly stand to watch CFL much less that. In fact, don't tell my husband, but if someone gave me : Super Bowl tickets, I wouldn't even go! That's how disinterested iI am!

Our whole family are animal lovers. We have a pair of puppies, and 3 cats. Sarah has a cat, as do Ben and Jess. Christmas is coming, and it's always a little bit tricky to find gifts for all the kids that they're really going to love. This year has been very expensive, with Ben's tuition, Sarah's wedding, new shingles on the roof, and a new gas fireplace! I'm going to check out some animal jewelry and see if I get inspired by something there.

Last night hubby's dad called and suggested to him that they drive down to the USA to buy a new car. He's suggesting this of course, because with our dollar being at par for the first time in forever, the prices down there are MUCH more attractive than up here. Obviously the dealers up here are going to have to lower the prices to be competitive! Hubby has an old JEEP and he loves it, but he always said he wanted his next car to be a 300. He calls them gangsta cars. I could get him some Chrysler 300 accessory items to along with it!

Those of you who have never experienced it, don't know how "irritating" it is. Finding something that can only be found in the USA, ordering it, and then having to cough up a minimum $1.30 per dollar. Grrrr... most aggravating, but of course not enough to stop me from doing a large share of my shopping there. Now, I want to go down to Spokane for a week or so and rent Condo Hotels, and just spend a week or so, browsing the Outlet malls! We went years ago, but with the exchange rate, it didn't really save us much. Now it would!

I often spend time scoping out popular vacation spots, in thoughts of finding somewhere that I think we'd like to spend a few months of each year to escape the winter once we retire. Lately I've been looking at Las Vegas Real Estate. What a blast to live there for a couple months/year! I suppose it would grow old after a while, but it sure is fun to daydream about it! Think of the shows, the casinos, the hotels, the meals, the shopping! Hmmm good be a good time!

Since Sarah and Jay left immediately from their wedding for their honeymoon, they didn't open all their wedding gifts until 10 days after their wedding. Since they opened them down at the farm, I never did see many of their gifts, or find out too much of what they got. One thing I know they received from their registry was a set of Samsonite luggage! They were thrilled about that one! I have a feeling Sarah and Jay will have a lot of traveling in their future!

I'm so sorry that I've been very lax posting, but my daughter got married last Saturday, and needless to say, I've been CRAZY busy with all the preparations!

Welcome to my brand new domain. I plan on posting about great purchases, good stores, good deals, available coupons, and just wonderful products. Don't be surprised if many of them are PINK!