Malaysian HEAT

So, many of you know my brother and I just returned from
Kota Kinabalu Malaysia just this week. It was an adventurous
and interesting trip. Many things took place which started with
my brother and I enjoying first class flight seats to China..
We spent a night in Beijing, a night in Hong Kong where we
enjoyed walking around the Hong Kong island area, in the local
markets. We tried to get a picture taken with a little local lady
and she freaked out at us for trying to take her picture.
Final stop after a nice flight with DragonAir - Kota Kinabalu
where we met some nice heat, and a fabulous staff at the Hyatt
Regency. It was nice being treated so well, and it made me
realize, we as North Americans, have ZERO idea how to treat
customers even if they are not the "premiere" customer.
The golf course was beautiful, the weather some would consider
very beautiful, but extremely HOT. I however, was not missing
all the snow we were getting back home.
The caddy job was not so bad, though I could have rung out my
clothes after each round it was more than worth the trip.
The local food was interesting but tasty, and I enjoyed the
amounts of local fresh fruit, and fresh fruit drinks.

So after another night spent in Hong Kong (shopping the local
markets this time) a 14 hour flight (after a couple hour delay)
with 4 movies watched, a connection in Toronto and we finally
arrived in Saint John with a 56Celcius degree difference in
temperature. I did not bring back the same illness as my last
trip to China, but I did come back with a bad cold - a much better
alternative.

All in All - A great trip, and a wonderful opportunity to see another
new part of the amazingly large, yet small world.
















Our Hotel room in Hong Kong - big eh? Actually a
four star hotel in Kowloon City..















The Golf Course Sutera Harbour in Kota Kinabalu















Our view from the Hotel in Kota Kinabalu















View from the hotel balcony















Another view from the balcony of the China Sea















Some random guy in Hong Kong




















The high class restaurant Bud ate at in
Hong Kong - tasty though















Our new friend - Mr Ugly Crab















Our second choice of restaurants - look tasty?






















I know - I need to put more photos of the trip up

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

So I worked last night - which sucks - but I dressed
up as an Elephant. The highlight was Adam bringing
Jazmine into the office in her adorable outfit.

Hopefully you all had a great Halloween - I know I had
a slight sugar headache before I went to bed.

My first attempt

So I am putting together a nice group of photos which will
eventually end up on my wall in the frameless frames I picked
up at Ikea. I finally got my hands on a copy of Adobe Photoshop
and have been playing around with a few of the photos I am
intending to use. It is fun, though not as easy as I thought it would
be, especially as I am have zero training or practice using the
program.

Here is my first attempt and removing unwanted "things"
from a picture.

House Update, Me update

It has been a little over 2 weeks since I have been in my
new place.

Since moving in I have -

- Painted a lot more hours than I thought I would..
- Got a new cat/kitten (stray)
- Made my first mortgage payment
- Purchased a new amazing bed
- Purchased a new fridge
- Purchased a new TV
- Purchased a new Table (still looking for chairs I love)
- Planted flowers for the first time in a LONG time
- Was scared to death by raccoons on my front steps
- Been on vacation
- Started major recycling
- Been to the Doctor
- Blood work to find out why I am so tired and cold all the time
- Major hair cut
- Been enjoying watching the leaves change colour
- neglected my emails
- Started working out again
- Put together a toy box for Jasmine (Adam's Daughter)
- Celebrated Thanksgiving day



I have been enjoying being on vacation for the past week and have
been able to get a lot of things accomplished.
Chance (the kitten) has been great company, though today he ran into
the house with a new friend in his mouth. We called him Chance
because the day I took possession of my home I was talking to my
friends about how I might get a cat and walking out of a store he was
sitting there crying playing in the parking lot. None of us could leave
him there, so we took him to Adams place for the week until I was
able to get some painting finished... Called animal rescue but no one
claimed him, so he is mine. He is a sweet cat and very affectionate..

Things are going well with the new house. My neighbours have been
very friendly, stopping by to say hello while I was digging out the
ground box which was filled with weeds (took me almost three hours).
My immediate neighbour brought me over a welcome gift and some
fresh hand grown catnip for Chance.

Its been amazing weather - though today it is pouring rain


All in all, I have been working hard, spending more money than I
should be, and really just enjoying life.

Chance
My new TV
My living room colour - lemongrass

My bedroom colours - hot chocolate and something blue
My kitchen/dining room colour - cornsilk
The Blue Boxes
My backyard - need some 'love'
My "window box" - spring will tell me if I have any green thumb
The friend Chance wanted me to see - he was very proud
My new 6 1/2 foot table.. yeah I need those new chairs

House Buying

So on the 21st of This month I am going to close.
That statement might not have made a lot of sense to me not all
that long ago. However, as I have discovered, when I tell people
those words, they all get really excited for me and ask if there is
anything they can help with.
So Yes, on the 21st of this month I will officially be the proud owner
of my first "place". I will no longer be paying someone else's mortgage
and will now be so broke I cannot come and visit any of you
anymore :) As my sister said about her place before, I have the
"ugly" spot in the good part of town. It really is not ugly, but with
zero curb appeal I am going to have to take care of. 28 years old and
no one has thought about planting any trees, or flowers, but thankfully
they did plant grass.
Its a three bedroom 2 storey "town house" but not really a town house
they call them semi-detached now. I have a decent back yard
(for being right in the city and a short walk to work).. enough that
I can plant a nice garden and sit on the deck and wish that the place
came with a pool in the summer. I will now be responsible for
shoveling out my own driveway and do not live close enough to mom
and dad (like 45 minutes) for them to shovel me out.
I plan to do some cutifying (and yes it is my made up word) to the
inside and it only holds two colours - white and this odd blue. I am
presently deciding between an orange or a yellow kitchen. I have
things which would go really nice with both. I would not put all the
walls yellow or orange, but would have a great time adding lots of
colour to the house.
I am excited to get one of the bedrooms set up as a designated
massage therapy room and just as excited to be able to start using
my skills more often. Sadly, but I think of the things I am the most
excited about is having a closet in my bedroom. Something that I
do not have right now as this beautiful apartment is in a very
old house..

So here is where I need some help...
Trying to decide on colours for the bathroom, spare bedroom and also
for my own bedroom. Basically the entire inside of the house needs to
be painted. So any ideas, send them my ways.. Any tips, send them
my way.. All in all it has been an interesting, slightly scary, and very
exciting process.

I will get some pictures soon.. and show the progress of the cutifying
the inside of the house...

Another Blog

Just a quick update.
I decided to start another little blog.
I shall see how it goes, and how much effort I put into it
seeing how I have been slacking lately. I thought about putting
it directly on here, but the title was fun.
So its called "Things you didn't know you didn't know"..
So just click on the link in the title of this message and it
will take you to the page..
I am going to try to make them about a wide range of
things...

Home From Hell

OK so maybe I was only in Hell, Grand Cayman,

and you would think I would grow tired of it, but

I find it rather amusing still to say.

It was a rather lovely HOT week spent visiting

my friend Wolfgang down there.

He and two others (Jenn and Greg) share a condo

right on the beach of 7 Mile Beach. My days were

not really super busy, as they all worked during the

days, so I spent my time on the beach. I'd read, listen

to music, swim, read, swim, walk, sleep.. it was a

rather stressful week I tell you. On a few days I'd

walk downtown Georgetown and meet up with them

for lunch.

Highlights of the trip for sure were going swimming

with and feeding the stingrays... visiting the turtle

farm...winning a contest at Margaritaville...dancing

up a storm with the locals...finishing a couple new

books...cigar shopping for expensive cigars for my

friend Troy... and of course, trying to find a turtle

figurine to bring back..(I try to find one unique to each

country I travel to)

So I am home now (Obviously) and I had amazing

weather the entire time down there. I am told it was

crap weather for two weeks before I got there and I

was told in an email it has become crap again with rain

everyday since I left.. Looks like I picked the perfect

week.

So now I have a week off here in Saint John... I'm

relaxing, doing some more reading, playing some

scrabble with Adam (he is up 2-1) and watching my

beautiful tan fade away.

Next stop - my sisters Amie and Bess are flying in

next week... should be a fun time!

Wolfgang dropping me off at the airport on my way home.
Perhaps that photos should be at the end!

The view from the condo living room.. A random photo of me getting ready to go swim with the
stingrays!
This photo cracks me up! Stingray time.. this was an amazing time after I got used to them
rubbing up against my legs like cats before they got the food
from my hands. Look they are even nice enough to let me hold
them!

I love turtles.. even if down there they eat them!

All in all a great fun, relaxed, much needed vacation!
Thank you Wolfy, Jenn and Greg

Kites flying High...Spirits Soaring!

Its been a wonderful two weeks, and I have found myself

doing things I have not done in a LONG time, or ever for

that matter. Last weekend I went flying a kite. I know that

may sound so normal, but really, truly, I cannot remember

the last time I flew a kite of any sort, let alone a stunt kite.
The first couple crashes were a huge indication I had never flown

a stunt kite before.

Tidby is a great lover of photos, and has thus created evidence

that I did eventually learn how to fly the kite! Thanks Tidby!

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

So my life has taken another rather interesting turn.

Most people who are in my life already know by now
that I am no longer getting married. It has been
hard in a lot of ways with a million different emotions
going through me on almost any given day.
I'm much happier now in
many ways, but there are certain emotions of guilt
and sadness... just to name a few.


HOWEVER, I have been so very lucky to make a new
set of friends here in my own city of Saint John.
I was out at a Jimmy Swift Band concert and was
introduced to Tidby by my friend Bruce.. the rest they
say is history. It is a wonderful blessing to find people
with whom I just connect and so very much enjoy.
So since then it has been a great time trespassing on
Patridge Island exploring the old tunnels and such
from the war days (using a light sabre as a form of
flashlight - see photos).. a couple of bonfires with a great
group of people. Plenty of great and deep hammock
chats... great meals cooked for me... and more laughs
than I think I've ever had in such a short span.
Tomorrow I plan to fly a kite with Tidby....

So all of this has got me thinking about how important
friends are in our lives. Outside of family they are
hopefully those who we create so many wonderful
memories with. I have been lucky to have some really
great friends thus far along my life. They may not be
huge in numbers, but they have been deeply important
in my life. I welcome these new friends who from the
very first moment never judged me, made me laugh and
welcomed me with open arms into their circle of friends.

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not
born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a
new world is born." - Anais Nin

Tidby being the wonderful "geek" that he is!! Love this pic

Andrew and I talking religion... and the meaning of life

One of the crawl spaces and tunnel areas - fun days

Sweet photo by Tidby.. with Andrew on the left and Greg on
the right.. I'm in there in the back and so is Wilson.
Can you say GEEKS R US??

I DOUBT anyone would disagree

It continues to be an interesting change of events in my life.
I find that in learning to love another person unconditionally
has taught me a great deal about myself. To be honest, not
all that I am learning are things I wish I was learning, but are
lessons which will be so valuable to me as I approach marriage.
I've never been loved so unconditionally by a man who allows
me to be me... It is amazing and scary at the same time.
Through this experience thus far I have come to better
appreciate Rilke's words.

For one human being to love another; that is perhaps the most
difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the
work for which all other work is but preparation.
Rainer Rilke

Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest
human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side
by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between
them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole
against the sky.
Rainer Rilke

"NAME" that Song

So there are a lot of women in my office who are pregnant
right now and we have been discussing names. I mentioned
I somehow love the name Forrest and they all started laughing
somewhat uncontrollable. I never found the name all that
amusing, however I quickly realized that by having the name
Jenny, I would set my child up for a lot of teasing. Though I
argued that Forrest Gump references would be long gone by
the time my child was old enough to be teased, they still said
he would get the teasing regardless. (Then again I figured that
the references when I introduced myself as Jenny would have
stopped long ago, perhaps a reason I started going by JennyMay)
So it got me thinking to how common certain names are in
the movies and music. What did I do, I went to ITUNES
and put the name Jenny in a search for songs, and boy was I
surprised how many songs have the name Jenny used in it.
I guess having a common name would bring about such and
occurrence. So here is the question... what is your name and
what is your favourite movie or song which has your name in it??

Let me start... Well obviously J-Lo's Jenny from the block..
ok so maybe not - cheesiest is Barry Manilow
(Jenny) You're my only Girl..