It has been years since I actually sat down to watch any Soap Operas. Back then, when I actually watched them, I could barely go a day without plopping in front of the TV to catch all of the latest on The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives and Passions. They all started to become really cheesy to me. I think I stopped watching Days of Our Lives when the “aliens” were found by Belle and whoever her boyfriend was at the time, Hope’s oldest. Well someone has left the TV set to the channel Days of Our Lives comes on and I see that Stefano has come back from the dead again. I am beginning to think he is part feline since he seems to have so many lives!

Now I understand why I stopped watching this one. LOL

It is hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. Every year I put off my shopping until the last minute, which usually gets me into a lot of trouble because I have a hard time finding those special gifts - they are usually all picked over. I have promised myself that this year will be different and I will start my shopping via the internet.

My mom adores jewelery, specifically anything in gold (both white and yellow). The last couple of years I have managed to find nice gold earrings and a really beautiful gold ring but this year she has put in a special request. She has “dropped” gold necklaces in many conversations between my sister and I on several occasions recently. Since I am on a budget, I figured I would probably have a really hard time finding something for her. I am happy to learn that will not be the case. Overstock.com has a great selection of gold chains, so many that there is no way anyone could or even would walk away not finding something they love. I have just spent the last little bit browsing through 3 pages of gorgeous gold chains, which are available in many different lengths and styles - ropes, figaro and loop, to name a few. I remember my mom mentioning something about a white gold rope chain, so I think I will go that route. Lucky me, I have just come across the “14k White Gold 20-inch DC Rope Chain” (on page 3). It is a stunning piece and at $269.99, a steal! If you will notice on the same page, the two-toned heart pendant, this would make such an awesome gift for my 16 year old sister in law. She loves hearts and since it is two-toned, it is very stylish!

If you are looking for beautiful gold chains, whether in white, yellow, rose or even multi-tones and at affordable prices, then Overstock.com is the place you need to be. They have even made it easy for you to search by offering categories which will help you narrow it down by color, style, length and best of all, price.

I have a few ideas for a couple of new Wordpress themes, so I think I will start to work on those sometime in the next day or so. I should have plenty of time to work on a few things at that point. I also have a couple of free headers in mind that I will try to work up before the weekend. I feel very inspired here. If only I had my new camera!

So far today I have managed to clean up the house. Jo and his mom had to leave to take his uncle to the airport, so they were in a big rush this morning. When I got up and saw that they had not had time to straighten anything up, I put on my “bee bonnet”, haha. I still need to do the floors but otherwise, I am almost done. Shoooweey. If it were a little cooler in this place, it probably would not be so bad but as luck would have it, Jo’s dad lit the fire this morning.

I worked myself up an appetite, so I think I will go have a sandwich or a bagel before finishing up.

Remember when I made an entry about someone using one of my themes on a blog that promoted racism? Well, the referral popped into my referral list again today and after clicking the link (forgetting about my previous visit there), I realized this person was using a spitting image design of Manda’s at toxid-lotus.net. I got in touch with Manda a few moments ago and realized the girl is also offering Manda’s adoptions (little pixel images). She is also using my Semi-daily theme as her base but of course you will see no credit to that other than in the style sheet. Everything looks just like Manda’s.

Why do people do this kind of thing?

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Since moving to Newfoundland, sometimes I find myself feeling a little selfish. When they called us up to Jo’s grandmother’s side earlier today, I kept thinking about my own grandmother too. I want to be there for Nan (Jo’s grandmother) just as much as my own but sometimes I feel so guilty. I know I cannot be there for my grandmother right now, like I am Jo’s but it also worries me that I may not be able to at all.

I guess that is the price you pay when you marry someone who’s family is thousands of miles away from your own…

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We were called up to Jo’s grandmother’s room earlier. We had no idea what was going on other than everyone was being called up. When we got there Jo’s mom, sister and some of his uncles / aunts were all outside crying. His grandmother took a turn for the worse this morning and they had to increase her morphine to 30mgs from 20mgs. Jo decided to go in a see her for a bit when she started asking about us. It was so heartbreaking to see him caressing her hand with one hand and squeezing it tightly with the other hand, trying to fight back the tears. I can’t even begin to tell you about how happy I am that we came home when we did. It seems her time is winding down and I don’t think Jo could ever live with himself if we hadn’t moved here when we did.

We probably won’t go back up to see her again until tomorrow. They were going to let her rest for the rest of the day.

Since Christmas is coming up, Jo and I have been discussing what we both want to do for the other - gift wise. Jo’s biggest thing on his list is an espresso machines, which is also something I want. I guess we can just consider this a mutual gift and just finish up with the smaller gifts. This will definitely save us some money since we won’t be running out and buying huge gifts for one another. Plus, since we’re here with his family for a couple of months, it’ll be something everyone can use and enjoy.

It’ll be really nice to have this during the Winter especially, because we won’t be able to leave the house too much. Or I should say, I won’t, since I don’t feel comfortable driving in the snow and ice.

Now I’m craving espresso, haha!

Ever since my best friend Stacey got her Mustang, my husband has been making little comments here and there about how much he loves the newer bodies on the Mustangs. This is actually the car I wanted back in high school but of course, my parents were against that. I promised myself that one day I would have my own but that day has yet to come. Maybe with the influence of my husband, it will happen!

I know if I do wind up with a Mustang, my husband will turn it into his own, personal “muscle car” with some of those Mustang suspension parts. That’s fine though, I actually don’t mind that at all.

It is such a miserable day out. It is a little windy, chilly and of course, rainy. It appears this will be the case for the next 4-5 days. Yuck. Makes for good napping weather though!

We just got back from visiting with Jo’s grandmother. She was napping when we first arrived but she got a little thirsty, rolled over and saw we were there and just had to sit up and have a chat with us. We took some grapes up to her, the kind she loves, so she snacked on those for a bit before getting sleepy again. We gave her a kiss, said our “I love you’s” and headed out.

We are trying to visit with her on a daily basis, since we really have no idea how much longer we have with her (maybe a couple of months, if that). The cancer has spread to several places and is causing her kidney’s to fail. Hopefully she can fight it but it seems like she is getting so tired of fighting it (she’s had cancer several times in the last 10 years).

As for my grandmother; she’s also not doing well at all. I got upset yesterday when she would not talk to me. She was having one of her “fits” and said “I don’t care who that is, I’m not talking”. I know she only said that because it wasn’t “her” but still, it hurts. Her health is a little better though, it is mostly her mind that is .. well, shot. At one point while I was talking with my mom, she (grandmother) was making strange motions with her hands, so my mom asked her what she was up to. Her reply? “I’m folding laundry”.. which she apparently had been doing all day long. It was cute but at the same time, sad.

Guess I should do a little work though. I still have yet to get back into the swing of everything - online and offline.

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Burr, it sure is cold today! I woke up this morning, completely under the covers. That’s a very rare occasion for me, I’m generally always hot / warm. The last two nights though, I’ve gone to bed in a long shirt and pants and still found myself bundled up under the covers, haha!

We have a few things we need to do today. I need to start going through all of our clothes and putting them all away, plus we have to make a run into town for a few groceries. I’m sure we’ll probably stop in and see Jo’s grandmother again too. I really hope she’s feeling better today. The last couple of days haven’t been so great.

Time to get cracking though!

I really need to get more memory for my Dell computer. It seems like I can never run more than a couple of programs at the time, before I get the little note saying I’m using up all of my memory and need to shut down some of my programs. That’s really frustrating when I’m working on my photography or designs because I usually need several things running at once. Dell Memory is definitely affordable right now, so I think I’ll go ahead and snag myself a GB of it and see if that doesn’t do the trick.

We’re probably going to give Jo’s sister Jo’s older Dell computer, so we’ll probably have to invest in some memory for it too!

We live in a great place for fishing. We’re just feet away from the ocean and honestly, I cannot wait to get out there for a day of fishing. It’s a little chilly today though, so it wouldn’t be a great idea to sit in the cold (not for someone who isn’t used to this kind of “chilly”) but this Spring, it’s on. Of course, that means I will have to stock up on fishing tackle. I’m hoping the weather will warm up again before it really starts to get cold, but like I said, if not, I will just wait until Spring. No biggie! Fishing is pretty popular up here, so even if Jo decides not to go with me (he’s not as into fishing and such), I shouldn’t have a problem finding a fishing buddy!

OK, I’m going to do my best to sum up our entire trip - in fairly decent detail.

Thursday, October 4th; We left Calgary around 10:30am, which was definitely much later than Jo and I planned for and was due to a hail storm the night before which prevented us from loading up the last minute things. We made a quick pit-stop at Tim Horton’s for a bite to eat and of course, my beloved Iced Capp. Within the first hour of our trip down the Trans-Canada highway, we had to stop 3 times to adjust the roof pouch because the wind kept whipping the long straps all over the place. We made it all the way to Brandon, Manitoba around 11pm, which is where we stayed for the night. We actually wanted to shoot for Winnipeg but I was just so exhausted and ready for a break. We found a decent motel just off from the highway and got the room for a decent price. We “omitted” the fact that we had our cats with us but they did so well that I didn’t feel too bad about not telling them. HAHA.

Friday, October 5th; We are up and about by 5:30am. Quick showers and loading up the cats was completed by 6:00am. While Jo was checking out, I hopped onto one of the computer terminals to send my dad a quick email about where we’d arrived the night before. For some odd reason our room didn’t have a phone, at all. We are on the road by 6:40am, after a quick stop at Tim Horton’s again, which really became our life saver. LOL. We decided to skip stopping for lunch and just snacked on our granola bars and gatorade. We made it to a small town in Ontario that night, around 9pm. We stopped earlier for the night, than the night before due to the rain. After passing 4 signs warning of “Moose” and getting annoyed with the windy mountainish roads, we figured it was best.

Saturday, October 6th; We are up and ready to roll by 7am, which was a little later than we wanted to head out but we waited until the sky brightened up a bit. We were headed for Saute Saint Marie(ish) but after getting within an hour and a half from there, we found ourselves staring at a “Road closed” sign. No detour was provided, so to the atlas we went. We found a road that would take us back to the Trans-Canada but essentially, took us about an hour out of the way. We were going up the mountains, down the moutains and around the mountains. At one point we were crusing along a river and I swear, Jo could just about reach his hand out of the window and touch the water. No guardrails or anything. I was absolutely terrified. We found ourselves in a hotel just outside of North Bay, Ontario. Needless to say, I got rather tickled about that and I think some of you know why.

Sunday, October 7th; We head out before 7am, cruise through the rest of Ontario (holy moly, 3 days to get through that dern province - never would have thought that). We hit Quebec and I was ready to finish the trip. I do not know French and the thought of cruising through an entire province with only French signs frightened me. BUT, we made it through. we stayed the night in a hotel about an hour away from the New Brunswick border. At this point, my hands are so blistered and sore.

Monday, October 8th; We head out, destination North Sydney, Novia Scotia - for the ferry. We truck along through New Brunswick and I have to tell you, through the little villages in the valleys.. it’s GORGEOUS. There were several small towns that I could imagine myself living in but I must say, I am happy where I’m at. We make it to North Sydney around 10pm, after Jo sent me about 20 minutes in the wrong direction (headed to Halifax, Nova Scotia). We were on the waiting list for the ferry but like I mentioned in the previous post, we were too late and missed it for the night. We decided to stay in one last hotel and catch the night crossing the next day. The day crossing would have been fine, if it wasn’t for getting off the ferry during the night and still having to drive 6 hours through Newfoundland. Something I would rather do during the day.

Tuesday, October 9th; We hang out at Marine Atlantic, while we’re waiting on the ferry. We sit on the deck, basking in the sun, sit inside and talk as we’re browsing “Newfoundland tourist information” and I checked my email to make sure everything was on the up and up on my “work”. Just before 10pm, as we’re the first in line for the ferry, we are asked to board - I drive up into the boat and park, we grab pillows and the cats and head up to deck 5 and prepare for sleep. Surprisingly enough, I did not get sick this time.

Wednesday, October 10th; By 7:30am, we are off of the ferry and headed for the nearest gas station to fill up one last time. After about 6 hours of driving, we arrived “in town”. I just can’t even express how happy I was to get here and see everyone.

Jo’s grandmother had no idea we were going to be here this week. She knew we were coming but with her being so sick, his mom decided to tell her we weren’t leaving until next week so she wouldn’t have a chance to worry. I wish I could have taken a picture of the expression on her face when we walked into her room. She just about cried and her face just lit up the room. She was so happy to see us, just as happy as we were to see her.

We slept in today - no stinking alarms ever again. HAHA. It was nice not having to worry about getting up and hitting the road. I refuse to go anywhere that takes longer than an hour to get there. When I go home for a visit, I will have to prepare myself for flying because driving / riding is no longer fun!

Well, now that I’ve written this long post out.. I think I’m going to play with my kitty cats. By the way, they are more spoiled now than ever before. Bella LOVES Jo’s mother (and she loves Bella). She has followed his mother all over the place, after she gave her pieces of turkey! Jynx is started to come around but she’s always been pretty timid. It will take her time to warm up to everyone but she will eventually!