Where's Waldo?

I mean Shari?? I've been curious to know where they are on their cross-country Griswald vacation. I miss her very much but am so glad she gets to make this journey with Kali, Dug and his parents. Looking forward to them all getting home, looking at the pictures and hearing the stories.

Miss you all!
xoxoxo Pen and Hal

Going home and what it brings...

Hi all,

It's been awhile since i've posted and now know why i've felt removed from so much and have kept so busy. As some of you know Hal and I are going on holidays next week and going 'home' where I lived with Mom and Dad, then on my own and then moved in with Hal.

Going home is bittersweet because it means seeing our nephews, nieces, friends, my Mom and Sister and all the happiness this gives us but also brings forth the loneliness I feel without Dad in my life. I'm happy Mom has moved on and is once again enjoying her life and that she has a partner who cares about her and she him.

When Dad was dying and we were on our road trip so he could say 'See you later.' to his friends we talked and laughed a great deal. Some times these talks were very hard to have but also very necessary. At the time I didn't want to remember the journey but now in retrospect wish I had journalled every moment. I've found the past week that dreams have been abundant and also flashes of memories i'd long thought buried or erased from memory. I've contemplated writing a book (so to speak) about some of the experiences from life so far.

Here is a glimpse into one of our conversations....

C ourage
A lways believe
N ow
C atch the sun
E njoy every day
R ejoice, Remember and Respect

One day we were talking while driving along the highways of Alberta and he said that the C word didn't always have to have negative connotations that it was also a very positive thing.

He said it brought him to the Lord, closer to his family and gave him a greater appreciation of what he had during life and was looking forward to the adventure that life would bring him on the other side.

While we were talking he asked what I feared most with death. I told him it's not fear of death just fear of what life would hold without him and how our lives would change. I now understand that we choose the outcome.

Still breathing

Hi all,

Life is good and the days are flying by faster then ever. Hal and I leave on holidays in two weeks so we've been getting ready for that plus working.

I'll be back to blog on the past two weeks. I've got some pics and stories to tell.

xoxo Pen

The Power of 3

From Jenny via Janelle...

3 Things that scare me:
Spiders, Being truly alone, My Naked Reflection!!

3 People Who Make Me Laugh:
Hal, Friends, Robin Williams

3 Things I love:
Hal, Nephews and Nieces, kids laughing

3 Things I dislike:
Fighting, being disorganized and waiting

3 Things I Don't Understand:
Hate and War, Algebra and Autism

3Things On My Floor:
My dog Cleo and her stuffed animals aka babies, shower stuff and papers for filing

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now:
this blog, drinking water and listening to the trees blowing in the breeze

3 Things I want to Do Before I die:
travel the world, hopefully grow old and enjoy life

3 Things I Can Do:
lol, i'll keep this 'G' Scrapbook, Write and Cross Stitch

3 Ways to Describe my Personality:
mixed, laid back, friendly

3 Things I Think You Should Listen To:
your intuition, your best friend, your heart (sounds good Jenny!)

3 Things I Don't Think You Should Listen to:
Rumours, Rap and Politicians (lol)

3 Favorite Foods:
only 3? Spanakopita, Jalapeno poppers and potatoes

3 Beverages I drink regularly:
water, coffee, and diet coke

3 Shows I watch:
Lost, CSI and Talk shows

Monday Menu Plan

This is my first shot at meal planning and it's going to be a rough one, lol.

Monday:
Chicken stir Fry, steamed rice and garlic toast
(Stir fry is chicken, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, baby corn, pea pods, green and red peppers)

Tuesday:
Honestly probably something from Terrace as we're going to a tea and then shopping.

Wednesday:
Lasagne, spring mix salad and garlic toast

Thursday:
BBQ'd Chicken, roasted potatoes with peppers, zucchini and onion, garden salad

Friday:
Grilled Salmon with dill sauce, rice pilaf and assorted grilled veggies

Saturday and Sunday undecided....hey I covered Mon - Fri though, lol.

xo Pen

"HoneyDo" list

This is our "Honey Let's Do" list:

Main Bathroom:
- Finish scrubbing the grout off the shower tiles and then seal. (Previous owners grouted and left it on the tiles instead of wiping it off so we've got one nasty looking shower)

- Paint, hang curtains (Hal wants to keep the blinds but i'm nixing that!) and decorate with Asian theme. Colours are Benjamin Moore Sundried Tomato for feature wall and Rapture for the remaining walls.

Main Bedroom:
- Art/Photo's for wall
- Curtains for windows

Kitchen:
- Fix countertop in the sink corner
- Hang Nana's plates
- New clock

Office:
- Paint
- New desk, bookshelf and *quietly types* BASKETS for closet shelving unit and bookshelf
- Floor protector for under office chair

Basement:
- Find out the cause of that funky smell
- New gyproc, paint for walls and for concrete floor
- Set up gym equipment so it can be a workout room but that nasty odor has to go!!

Whew, I think that's it and it feels good just to have typed it. Hal and I are trying to focus on completing one room at a time but we have this horrible tendency to float from room to room. First priority is to 100% finish the main bathroom and to get pictures for the main bedroom then that's two rooms completed!!

Thanks Shari for the idea of posting what needs to be done, it truly does help.

testing

Penz Thots

k Shari, figured it out! When you type/paste in the address you want to link it gives you the a href="http://insert blogspot.com addy here/" then it repeats it.
Where it repeated I deleted it and typed in Penz Thots so just type in what you want your link to say.

Canadian Living

Alrighty, it's 4:30 a.m. in the freaking morning and i'm wide awake!!



Wow if only I had this much energy after work last night there's so much I could have accomplished, lol. If I started re-organizing the living room it would wake Hal up so instead i'm here journalling in my book and playing online.

k, just got back from letting Cleo out, filled her water dish and folded a load of laundry, put another in the dryer and should really try to get some zzzzz's.

xo and sweet dreams to all
Pen

More musings..

- If you throw a cat out the car window is it considered Kitty Litter?

- why are chocolate chips tear drop shaped and not like a chip

- why are chicken fingers called chicken fingers?

- why don't sheep shrink in the rain?

- why do people sing "Take me out to the ballgame" when they're already there?

- if a person has multiple personalities and one tries to commit suicide would the 'others' be charged with attempted murder (hehehe, sick I know but I bet you laughed)

- if a mute swears does his Mother wash his hands with soap? (found this one and had a good giggle)

- If a cow could laugh would milk come out it's nose?

- Ever wonder why there isn't mouse flavoured cat food?

Friday Funny

Thanks Jen G. for the Friday giggle, great way to start a Friday, lol.


The Purina Plan

I went to Wal-Mart to buy a large bag of Purina for my Labrador Retriever and
was in line to check out.

A woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Purina Diet again,
although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last
time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care
ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it
works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one
or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete
so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now
enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy behind her.

Horrified, she asked if I'd been poisoned and was that why I was in the
hospital.

I said no.....I'd been sitting in the street licking my balls and a car hit me.

I thought the tall guy was going to have to be carried out the door.

Fingers do the talking

It's been a long time since i've just let my fingers do the talking so this blog may not make sense but i'm just going to start typing. In light of this so called anxiety that's causing some issues it's best to just do this and see what comes of it.

New home - love it, want to make it ours, splash of colour here and there, the smell in the basement bothers me and don't know when we'll get it fixed. Hal puts off helping with small things and it bugs the shit out of me! The wall unit needs to be put in the corner so the living room can be made whole, it's detached and void of the cozy feeling I desire. Pictures, personality but it's cold and uninviting, messy and disorganized. As I type that i realize that's how i'm feeling about my life too!

Negative Self - lazy, boring, overweight, to many wants instead of focusing just on needs, spoiled, self-centered. I need to exercise more and be healthier, it's up to no one but me to be accountable for what goes on in my life.

Positive Self - caring, kind, laughter, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, determined, strong,

Shell - Miss her so much, feels like a world of distance between us, where are the days of just walking across the street and hanging out, hugs, laughter, disagreements and then back to normal. Sisters by chance, friends by choice! I love you Shell and will see you in 5 weeks. The time will fly but we'll make the best of it.

nephews - grown so much, missing out on their youth. From babies to men in the blink of an eye, smiles, giggles, barney is my heerio, matty rats and stinkin boys. Lego, attitude, love, Christmas morning shivers, Papa and Gramma, camping fun

Mom - I love her and need to focus on not judging her but more on acceptance, let go of the anger, disappointment, try not to repeat the negative and work on repeating the good stuff, there was lots of it growing up but find at times that I forget that and wallow in self pity. She is a daughter too! I love you Mom.

Friends - Sunshine, warm, happiness, fun, confidante, sadness, lonely, not enough time, let down by some who I never thought would do that but have forgiven, worry that i've let down friends too and don't realize it.

when I read this it made me sad inside, heavy hearted, lonely, worried about what others would think when they read this, no need to feel sorry or that there is something deeply wrong, just need to work through it and quite often this helps. Even thought it may make no sense now, tomorrow is a new day and will shed a different light on what's come out tonight.