I've spent the last two weeks taking programming courses downtown at CDI. While the novelty likely wears off pretty fast to the people who work there, I thought it was great using the pedways to go from building to building and people watching on Stephen Ave. I also highly recommend doing your Christmas shopping downtown. While it might be a pain having to pay for parking it's also much less stressful than fighting your way through the crowds at the mall.

Chris finished a cake decorating course she was taking. As you can see from the picture she's quite good at it. And Michael and I had the unfortunate task of having to eat her creations...

Chuck and Tracy had their annual tree decorating party. Lots of people were there and as always it was a blast. It was also painfully obvious that everyone is growing up as there was a plethora of little people running around. Thankfully Lisa and Brian were also there so Chris and I didn't feel totally out of place by not having any kids. Maybe next year we'll bring our cats.

Speaking of which, we were at Petland and found some kitty Christmas attire which we couldn't resist getting. As you can see JC and Mindy were pretty much in hell...

This past Tuesday we went up to Stettler with Kim and Hailey for Chris' Grandma's funeral. Chris and I went to the viewing and saw Grandma one last time. Looking at her I thought about the first time I saw my own Grandmother in a coffin. Then and now I kept thinking that it didn't seem real. Like someone was playing a joke. It's a very weird experience looking at a dead person.

Kim and Chris read the eulogy which was very nice, and they did a great job. Grandma would have been proud of them. The flowers were lovely, lots of people were there, and we all shed a few tears. Alpha and Nancy also came which was very much appreciated. As funerals go, it was pretty good....I finally got to 'meet' Chris' real parents as Grandma was buried at the same cemetery. Unfortunately it was bitterly cold that morning so we didn't stay long.

Speaking of Alpha, I see that he hasn't updated his site in almost a month. Perhaps he's come to realize how much work is involved in maintaining a personal website?

On Friday I took Chris to the Mongolie Grill for a surprise birthday dinner. But it wasn't much of a surprise as being the clever girl that she is, she had figured out something was up. The usual gang was there and we had a yummy meal and afterwards went to the Vicious Circle for some even yummier Martinis. All in all it was a very fun night.

Right now our lives are touched with sorrow as Chris' grandmother passed away a few days ago. While I'm sad that she's gone, I'm also thankful for having known her. My fondest memory of her was when she came with us to one of the monthly dinners. After the meal we went to a lounge and she joined us in a few drinks and entertained us with stories of days gone by. She was definitely the hit of the evening.

Having lost my grandparents a few years ago I know the pain Chris is going through, yet at the same time I feel completely useless. While I'm there to comfort her and I try to be supportive I wish I could do more for her.

It's late and I'm tired. Hopefully next time I'll have more upbeat news.

We had our semi-annual? Halloween Bash on Saturday and had a blast. Items of special note were Jim and Karen playing some trickery on us by telling us they'd be away and then surprising us by showing up, Jesse and her friend driving in all the way from Regina, and Tracy being the life of the party. I was also really impressed by the creativity and effort that went into all the costumes. A big thank you to everyone who came! We put a lot of time, effort, and money into this one night. We're extremely lucky to be able to share it with such a great group of friends.

Prior to the party we had a pumpkin carving day. The idea being that everyone could get together, hang out, and create some pumpkin masterpieces. It was the first time that I have used a pattern and I was quite impressed by how it turned out. Pictures of both events can be found here.

Finally, some sad news as I found out my Aunt Ede died this afternoon. I have very happy memories spending time with her when I was younger. She was a person who always had an energy and enthusiasm to her. My thoughts are with Trevor and the rest of the family.

So what do people do when the weather is crappy? They go on a cruise! Ok, we're not actually going until May, but at least we can think warm, cruisey thoughts while we're huddled together for warmth.

The ship we're going on is the Carnival Valor which is currently being constructed. Details on her sister ship, the Conquest, can be found here.

As I said, we're going in May for 7 days with Alpha & Nancy and Kim & Hailey. I can't remember all the destinations, but two of them are the Cayman Islands and Belize. My last trip on a big boat was the ferry between England and Ireland when I was 18. I remember feeling like crap. Hopefully if I keep myself hydrated with lots of those fancy drinks with the little umbrellas in them I'll be ok.

Most people deal with the cold by turning on the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and watching television. Which is good as we got Digital Cable last week. On the whole I give it a thumbs up. I like the on-screen menu as I can search for shows and see what times they are on. I really like the being able to watch our favourite programs hours before they come on the regular cable.

Chris and I spent Thanksgiving with my parents in Sherwood Park and had a great time. My Mom put on a feast of Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes, Salad, Buns, and Pumpkin Pie. It was delicious!

Oh, and when we got there we were surprised to find that they got themselves a new puppy! Her name is Missy. She's gorgeous and at only six months she's already a handful. She's part Labrador and probably a bunch of other stuff as well. While I'm not much of a dog person I really like her.

Ruff! Grrrr! Bark!

This past weekend we went over to Alpha & Nancy's to break in Alpha's new custom built Poker table. But as neither Chris or I really know how to play Poker we ended up playing Blackjack instead. The drinks flowed, hilarity ensued, and overall I kicked ass - which is easy to do when you're betting with quarters :)

It's October, and that means it will soon be Halloween! Which is our favourite day of the year! Chris sent out an 'evite' to a swack of people inviting them to our party, so check your email and let us know if you'll be in on the fun. If for some reason you got missed please let us know and we'll send you the info - the more the merrier!

Lastly, the 2nd was the very last dinner party. For those unfamiliar with it, the whole concept was created by Tracy over two years ago. The idea was that a bunch of people would get together on the first Saturday of every month for dinner. On a rotating basis someone would be assigned a certain month and they were responsible for picking the restaurant and organizing things. Everyone would meet new people and get to sample different eating establishments. While I think it was a great idea, it eventually ran it's course and it was decided that this would be the final one. Kim organized it and we held it at our house. I want to thank everyone who attended over the past couple years and especially to Tracy for coming up with the concept. Rest in peace Monthly Dinner Party...

I had all week off and spent the time relaxing, puttering around the house and updating the website. It was a much needed break before entering the hectic last few months of the year. Hopefully the rest will help put my health issues behind me. After doing some experimenting and hard thinking I've come to the conclusion that I have to give up caffeine. For those who know me, I'd rather lose a limb than to give up coffee. Not that I was ever a heavy coffee drinker - during a typical work day I'd probably have the equivalent of 4 or 5 cups. But I've definitely found a correlation between my intake and how I feel. So for the past few weeks I've limited myself to either nothing or one cup at the most. And so far my heart issues have gone away.

A couple of weekends ago was Dennis and Fran's wedding. Congratulations to them! What's with everyone getting married? Apparently it's the thing to do. Later that night Alpha, Kim and I painted the town red. Alpha and I were pretty much blitzed. I have a vague recollection of running around naked...

You may have noticed the website was messed up for a day or so. What happened was I switched from FTP'ing my file updates to using Frontpage to publish the changes. Well once I made the switch my menu buttons got all frigged up. I mucked around with it for awhile trying to fix it - I tried calling Telus' technical support but they were useless. Finally I gave up and redesigned them from scratch. I hope you like the changes!

Peace out...

Chris' grandmother from Stettler dropped by unannounced and is staying with us all week. While we all love her, it's certain to be a stressful time. Lately I've begun to feel as if I'm surrounded by her family 24/7. Perhaps this feeling has been heightened as my parents are away down east for a few weeks. I've also been homesick for Edmonton lately. I was up there a few weeks ago on a course. As the place I was taking it was located across the street from the University hospital I got to wander around campus, eat at Hub mall, and stroll down Whyte Avenue. All of which left me with an acute sense of nostalgia.

Speaking of Edmonton, it was most enjoyable watching the Esks slaughter the Stamps in the Labour Day classic and in the return game. However, I was extremely pissed off that Calgary did everything they could to prevent Mike Pringle from achieving the CFL rushing record. He only had 2 yards to go and he'd break the 30 year old record held by the legendary George Reed - in Edmonton where he started his career, in front of 50,000 fans, his mother, his children, and in front of Mr. Reed himself. But no, Calgary resorted to such tactics as taking time count violations to purposely run down the clock. A truly classless act by a classless organization.

Finally, I'm in for quite a big change in my career next year. My one true passion has always been programming. Unfortunately I've never really had the chance to utilize my skills in a work setting, although I'd dabble whenever I could. Well my manager, knowing this, came to me a few days ago and offered me the chance to work next year on a team transforming a key business system into a web based application.

While I'm excited I'm also nervous - this is a huge challenge. But when all is said and done I'll hopefully be a wizard at ASP coding. Which I'll also be able to apply to this site and any other um, business venture I might decide to take on.

A few weekends ago Chris and I were delighted to be invited to Jamie & Kim's wedding. The ceremony was very nice, the food was excellent, and the reception was a blast. Congratulations to them! Click on the thumbnail to view...

The Happy Couple

Then later in the week while at work I had one of my 'episodes'. This has happened to me maybe a dozen times in the past 5 years. Essentially what happens is I get flushed, feel dizzy and off balance, I get really weak - almost to the point of collapsing, my heart doesn't 'feel' right, and I start breathing fast and shallow. In the past this has usually happened at night and I'd go to bed and when I woke up I'd feel better. This time it happened in the morning and was the worst it's ever been.

I was frightened enough that I agreed to let Chris take me to the hospital. After 5 hours in Emergency, being fed oxygen, having multiple IV's stuck in my hands, two EKG's taken, being wired up to the monitors, having half a dozen vials of blood drawn, and my blood pressure taken every 15 minutes - the doctor says that maybe I should eat better and exercise more. That's the best that modern science and this fucking genius can come up with?

By the time I got to the hospital I had started to feel somewhat better having fought it all morning, but while I was there I suddenly felt ill again and I heard Chris who was watching the monitor say 'oh my God'. While this happened and it was only for a few seconds my heart rate had shot up over 120. But the nurses had forgot to turn on the monitoring alarm and they missed it.

I spent about 5 minutes on Google and found out that this is called Tachycardia. But as I'm in my early 30's, don't smoke, and have no family history (being adopted) it seems that they just don't give a shit.

Finally, this past weekend was crazy as we had our first garage sale. Pretty much everyone we knew was either selling stuff, dropping by to visit, or coming over for the BBQ to celebrate Alpha's and Tracy's birthday. We made some money, got rid of a lot of junk, er, treasured items, and even got hailed on. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did!

The holidays are over and it's back to the daily grind. Blech. I hope that Hailey and Lindsay enjoyed their stay with Chris and I. We went to Calaway Park, the wave pool, horseback riding, Sikome lake, and had the occasional water fight as well :)

Horseback riding was kinda fun. While horses are beautiful to look at, all they seem to do is eat and shit - a lot. I was afraid the horse I was on was going to get tired of lugging me around and buck me off, but for the most part he was well behaved. Thankfully I wasn't sore the next day, but when I got off I could hardly walk. Could I look any more out of place?

Just call me Cowboy Jim!

The inspiration for this week's poll has been my recent love affair with EBay. I've been snapping up vintage Mac's and Mac accessories. Once I receive everything and get it all assembled I'll post the details in the Tech Corner. "Pssst, brother can you spare me an Xceed video card with the grey scale daughtercard?"

Wow, one month in our new home. It seems like it's been forever, or like we've always lived here to be more precise. The garage has become a temporary storage location for the stuff we haven't got unpacked yet, but for the most part everything has been put away. I've actually done some home handyman type stuff - putting up curtains, drilling holes, and installing a programmable thermostat. Not to mention that Home Depot is like a magical wonderland to me now. Still on the 'to do' list for this year is put a fence up, buy another couch, and replace the light fixtures.

I'm currently on holidays, and it's been pretty rough let me tell you. Sleeping in, playing on the computer all day, hanging on the deck soaking up the sun - while everyone else is slaving away at work. I think I want to be a house-husband, yup, that's the life for me. Tomorrow I'm off to Edmonton to pick up my daughter, Lindsay. She's staying here a week along with Hailey. I'm sure the two of them will keep Chris and I busy.

Last weekend we went camping with Chuck, Tracy, Kim and Hailey. Alpha and Nancy dropped by for a visit as well. All in all it was pretty good. I still wouldn't say camping is my favourite thing, but unlike the past few times it wasn't hellish either. Chuck and I went for a hike and I learned a valuable lesson. It's not a good idea to go out on a 30 degree day with no water, wearing sandals, and decide to follow some path just to see where it goes. Thankfully my innate sense of direction (and a lot of luck) got us back to camp no worse for wear. Otherwise we might have got lost and ended up being raised by a pack of wolves or something. Actually that would have been kind of cool. Just call me wolf-boy!

Arrrroooooooohhhhh!!!

Happy Canada Day!

Well it's been a couple of crazy weeks. Where to start? A few weeks ago I was sitting in downtown traffic, lost in my own little world when suddenly - Wham! - some suit wearing, latte sipping, cell phone yacking guy in a Jetta slams into me from behind. He hit me so hard that even though I was wearing my seatbelt I somehow hit my head on something and had to check to see if I was bleeding. He pushed me into the person in front of me which pushed them into the person in front of them. Dazed I got out of the car expecting it to be totaled. Miraculously it seemed as if it was hardly scratched, but his Jetta didn't fair so well as it's entire front end was pushed inward. Everyone's vehicle was drivable so we exchanged info and went on our ways. When I got to work I was just shaking. The end result was that Mr. Jetta was at fault and had to pay for everything. Damage to my car was about $2500 as the front was scratched and the back end buckled in slightly. I took it to Montgomery Autobody where they did a fabulous job fixing it. I just couldn't get over how hard the impact felt. I was a bit traumatized over it and stiff and sore for a few days afterwards. I guess in a way it was good that it happened as it made me rethink wearing seatbelts. While I've gotten better over the years, mostly due to Chris' nagging, I'd only wear them about half of the time. Now I always buckle up.

So we got the keys to our house on the 18th and were just overjoyed. Even though we had no furniture we spent hours out on the deck soaking in the sun, having some wobbly pops, and just enjoying life. I did not want to return to our old place at all. It was a perfect day. The next day was moving day and was the DAY FROM HELL!!! The moving company we booked was called Brost Moving. They show up at 11am (two hours late) and then complained that they'd need an extra man. When Chris booked them she had asked if there would be three movers and they had told her that we only needed two. So Chris questioned why we should be charged extra for that and the guy said that he'd have to talk to his boss. While we're out on the balcony waiting buddy sticks his head out of the moving truck, waves to us and then just takes off! Chris tried calling the dispatch lady who she had talked to only minutes earlier, but they must have call display because they wouldn't answer the phone. Chris gets all flustered and starts crying. People are supposed to be coming over to our new place in a few hours to celebrate with us, and we have no idea how we're going to get our stuff moved.

We tried calling a bunch of movers but they were all either closed or booked. We were in the process of making arrangements with U-Haul when Alpha managed to find some movers who would help us. They were supposed to show up at 1pm but didn't get there until 3:30pm. There was only two of them because the third guy they normally work with was sick that day. Half way through loading our stuff they were complaining that they were tired and wanted to leave the truck overnight at our new place and get us to unload everything. Chris managed to appease them by saying we'd help them unload. Finally they show up at the new place and we all helped them empty the truck. Our move that was supposed to start at 9am wrapped up around 12 hours later. Despite being late and the fact that we did half the work ourselves we were presented with a bill of $750. Earlier I had gone to Canadian Tire to buy a pool. I get to the register and realize I had left my bank card at home. So I go back and get it, go to Canadian Tire, get the pool, come back and set it up - only to find it has a hole in it. This on top of everything else that had happened that day. Frankly I just wanted to cry.

A big thank you to everyone who came out that day. And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us out. I also want to apologize for being in such a pissy mood.

So there you have it. Chris and I are now happy suburbanites. I'm everything I used to despise :)

If it takes the breakup of this country to end the endless cycle of corruption in Ottawa then so be it. Maybe I'll even run on that platform in the next election.

I have lots of news to talk about but I haven't had time to get to it yet. I'm off to Edmonton for a quick trip and when I get back I'll be sure to bring everyone up to date on our move, my car accident, and our new house.

I write this as the 3rd period starts safe in the knowledge that Calgary has lost the series. It's been a great run and they've done Canada proud. I'm somewhat torn on the outcome though. On one hand there never should have been a game seven. As the replays have shown Gelinas did indeed score in game six, and the non-call on the trip that led to Tampa Bay's winning goal was complete bullshit. On the other hand, no team that was so brutal at home and was so useless on the powerplay deserves to win the cup.

In the late 90's after Edmonton was forced to trade away such talent as Curtis Joseph, Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, and Anson Carter because they couldn't afford their salaries I made a prediction. The prediction was that a Canadian team would never again win the Stanley Cup with the NHL in it's current form.

That prediction continues to stand.

Sigh. My vacation is over and it's back to the grind tomorrow. I didn't do as much relaxing as I had hoped though. For the first part I was kept pretty busy getting things in order for when we move into our new place. But when all is said and done I do feel rested which is what vacations are all about. During the week I didn't do a whole lot. I worked out, added a new entry in the Commentary section, and bought our kitties a new scratching post :)

On Friday night Chris, Michael and I went to the Speakeasy to see porn legend Ron Jeremy. The show was supposed to start at 9pm, but as usual they waited until the place was packed and they had raked in enough from the cover charge. Finally he came out wearing a Flames jersey and did a short standup routine. While I don't think he'll be appearing on Just For Laughs anytime soon the jokes I was able to hear were pretty good. Afterwards there was a huge lineup for people to talk to him and buy merchandise. We wormed our way into the front of the line and got our picture taken with him. I asked him what it was like 'being' with Traci Lords, to which he replied 'Actually, it was pretty good'.

Chris and I with Ron Jeremy

On Saturday we went to Banff for the night with Chuck, Tracy, Ethan, Kim, Hailey and her friend. We stayed at the Hidden Ridge Resort. The place itself was very nice and well maintained. We got to barbecue our own steaks which were supplied by The Keg and were delicious. The hot tub was nice, but I think we all felt that it was a bit too warm. Perhaps we're just getting old....We also got to see some wildlife, browse the shops, and of course take in the mountain scenery. Other than the crappy sleep, Chris and I had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Happy long weekend!

Yes, let's all pause and thank Queen Victoria for the great contributions she's made to our country........can't think of any? Me neither. The only thing I know about her is supposedly how she died :) But hey, a holiday is a holiday. You know, seeing as we're supposedly a bilingual country and have to suffer hearing speeches in French, reading it on cereal boxes, and having the French channel come in clearest of all the channels, we should get to celebrate their holidays as well. Why don't we also get Ascension Day, Victory Day, Bastille Day, Assumption Day and All Saints' Day off? I see a petition in the making...

Speaking of holidays I have this week off for some much needed R&R. I don't have much planned other than going to the gym, sleeping in, and updating this site. I need the break after getting back from Saskatchewan. It's been about 5 years since I've been there, and well, not much has changed from what I saw. I do know that after driving in Regina and Saskatoon that Calgary definitely needs a ring road (or two) - it was so easy getting around while I was there.

Finally, our hearts go out to Nancy for her loss. I know we can't erase the pain, only that we can offer our love and support.

Well seeing as my beloved Oilers didn't make the playoffs, and now that Calgary is in round 2, I've decided to jump on the Flames bandwagon - Go Flames Go! Michael was lucky enough to go to the game 6 overtime marathon. Here's some pix of the event:

I'm about an hour away from flying up north. As part of my work duties, I get to visit our regional offices on an annual basis. During the next three weeks I'll be visiting such exotic locations as: Grande Prairie, Fort St. John, Ft. McMurray, Saskatoon, and Regina. Chris will likely be lonely, so feel free to call her up or drop by and visit her.

TTFN!

Like all those Hollywood Celebrity Biography stories always go..............'everything was fine - until the tragedy'. Such is life and so it is with us. We got the results from Chris' latest MRI today and well, they weren't good. The general gist is that her MS is quite aggressive and the doctor wants her to essentially be on drug therapy for the rest of her life. We have a couple of different drugs to choose from, each with their pros and cons. With one she'll have to take injections every day, with the other every three days. They cost roughly $20,000 a year but thankfully the hospital will approve her to get covered under Blue Cross. So it'll only cost us around $100 a month and we'll get reimbursed for that. The drugs will hopefully help control the frequency and severity of her episodes. We actually got to see the 'slices' of her MRI this time. Watching the doctor point out the damaged areas of Chris' brain was a surreal experience. As the images had already been digitized we put in a request to see if we can get copies. If we do, we'll post them on here.

Onto the more mundane aspects of our lives..............Jun 18th can't come fast enough. We can't wait to move into our new house. Every week we go over the Housing section of the newspaper to look for ideas. Chris has started a scrapbook containing pictures of items or looks that we like.

I finally rebuilt my computer. So far it's been behaving itself. I also recently purchased Pinnacle's Studio v9 which is a video editor and DVD burning package. While it's not without it's fair share of quirks, it's also about $900 cheaper than Adobe Premiere. And I was able to create my very first DVD with it! I took a bunch of clips from some VHS tapes I had, digitized them, created the menu structure, transition effects, and burnt it to DVD. My Sony DVD player which is about 5 years old wasn't able to play the first one I made (DVD+R) but I switched to a different media format (DVD-R) and it worked flawlessly. On the whole a very aggravating experience and not quite as easy as they make it out to be in commercials, but ultimately satisfying nonetheless. While far from being an expert, if you're thinking of getting a burner and making your own DVD's, I'd be more than happy to share my experiences and offer any advice.

Let's see what's new................not much...................oh ya, we bought a house! After a few weeks of searching and dozens of houses later Chris & I found our dream home - well for the next few years at least :) It's in Coventry Hills, almost 2000 sq feet, comes with a deck, awesome view and we just love it. Here's some pictures:

I'm at home sick today. I think I have Mr. Sickly (Michael) to thank for my cold. Oh well at least it gives me a chance to update the news - which is long overdue.

Unless you've been living under a rock you're probably aware that Chuck and Tracy are the proud parents of baby boy Ethan. Congrats to them! He's quite the cutie. Chris and I are looking forward to corrupting him as he gets older.

Saturday was Chris' party to raise money for MS research. It was a great turnout and over $400 was raised. My parents surprised us by showing up as well. Thank you to everyone who came and an especially big thank you to Kim and Amber for all their help. Pictures of the event can be found here.

Our Survivor Poll is doing well. So far it's a three way tie for first, with the rest of us scoring a big goose egg. I was a bit disappointed that the Hatchman got kicked out as early as he did. The fat, naked, gay guy is certainly entertaining.

Lastly, Chris and I have the house buying bug again. Stay tuned...

Ah yes, Groundhog Day. I think it should be made a statutory holiday. I mean it's much better than Victoria day. Who the hell cares about the Queen's long dead mother. If it was a holiday everyone would gather in bars getting hammered watching the little fuzzy rodents come out of their holes on the Jumbotron. And the hardcore revelers would all be dressed up in fur costumes. Now that would be an event.

So yesterday was the Stupid Bowl and everyone is all a titter (get it?) about Janet Jackson's unveiling. I'm sure it won't be long before that image is plastered all over the 'net. Actually if anyone comes across it fire it off to me. I'm morbidly curious to see if it's much ado about nothing. Although to her credit they did have some nice jiggle action to them.

Last week seemed like it would never end. I don't know if it was the ridiculous temperatures (I actually had to wear socks to bed) or the fact I had to work a 5 day work week - just brutal. At least I have this Friday off. Unfortunately I'll be getting my skull drilled at the Dentist's which kinda puts a damper on my long weekend. At least I'll get a new package of floss........hmmmm minty!

Traci had her baby shower and by all accounts it was a smashing success. Hope baby boy got all kinds of goodies. Chuck came by here to escape the outpouring of Estrogen and we went and saw Big Fish (see my review).

I was most upset to hear about the passing of Khasam, one of the Calgary Zoo's tigers. Once I get some extra cash I want to adopt an animal there. If you read their website they fork out a huge amount of money every year just to keep operating. Closer to home Chris and I got the sad news that Heather's cat, Alley, was sick and had to be put down. Our thoughts are with you.

Sorry to end on such a sad note, but there ya go.

Happy New Year!

I have to remember to start signing my cheques 2004 now. We hosted a nice little soiree on New Years eve. The theme was black light/glow in the dark. Thanks to everyone who showed up - Chris and I had a great time. According to the poll most everyone thinks that this year will be better than last. I hope that they're right.

In addition to the New Years party, we had a belated birthday bash for Chris and also took some shots from Christmas. Pictures of the revelry can be found here. Just so you know, Tracy forced me to put on her lipstick.

For those who are wondering, the hotel pictures show off the room Chris & I had when we visited my parents in Edmonton for Christmas. I recently had my status upgraded to 'Gold' at that hotel and one of the perks was a free room upgrade. So we ended up getting the two story fancy suite complete with bar, spiral staircase, two bathrooms, dining room, and Jacuzzi :) Christmas itself was good and we enjoyed spending it with my parents.

Thankfully the days are starting to get longer.......in the midst of December I was starting to feel like a vampire as I was shrouded in constant darkness. Ick.

Oh, kudos to Amber for picking such a kewl restaurant for our monthly dinner. The food was yummy and the evening enjoyable. I can't remember the name, but it's an Indonesian place on the corner of 17th ave and 14th st SW.

Speaking of Amber, rumour has it that we might be joining her at Detours this month on 'kink' night. That should be interesting. Hopefully I won't get hit on by any guys this time. Maybe I'll end up handcuffed to some alternative hottie.......

Ciao!