UTAH!

I have been looking forward to this for ages....just one more day at work and then a hectic and relaxing week ahead of me.   Starting with a trip to Salt Lake for General Conference and then 1 day back home before 3 days in Hawaii...life is good.

I flew Westjet from Calgary to Las Vegas and then had to RUN to the next terminal to catch a Southwest flight to SLC...I've heard so much about Southwest airlines, and I must confess I was under-whelmed.  They are very casual, and the flight attendants on my flight were so casual that they were actually scruffy...they weren't as "fun" as Westjet - but they got me to Salt Lake, so I guess I can't complain!

The view in Vegas from 18A as we took off...

One thing I love about arriving in Salt Lake is that you can almost guarantee there will be a family waiting for a return missionary to come through to arrivals...I arrived at gone 11pm and there were 3 missionaries coming home - I had to wait and watch them arrive - it was lovely!

Happy Birthday Boyce

Well, Boyce turns 51 tomorrow, and he LOVES to go out for Chinese food, so that's what we did.  We went to The New Dynasty in Crowfoot with a few family members from around town.  It's always a good photo op when there are cute kids at the table....

...and a happy birthday boy....

...and the family enjoying some Chinese....

L-R  Kelvin; Sharon; Arta; Boyce; Anika; Haven; Caylawn; Logan; Shanna-Lee Tiahnna:
Not pictured....Troy; Dad; Me; Arlan

There's a road under that snow!

Two things....firstly, and most important - I think Spring is springing; I went to visit Sandy this afternoon and there was the delightful sound of snow melting and water dripping onto the yard...the forecast shows snow again on Saturday, but there is a possibility that all the snow could melt before that, here's hoping.  This is a photo of the snow melting outside Pia's house, this is a surprisingly wonderful sight:-

I drove past the temple on the way home - it's coming along nicely, only 18 more months :)

It's going to be a tough week

...in the best possible way; I had a farewell lunch with my Calgary colleagues today;  Scott Willcocks; Karen Sonntag; Mark Neilsen and Kathy Beckley...we went to Joey Tomatoes, which was lovely....and then, still full from lunch we went out for Chinese this evening with the "empty nesters" at Church.  The downside of Chinese is that there is so much food, and no-one measuring how much you eat - somehow I don't think I will have lost any weight today! 

I have another lunch (with Jan) on Wednesday, followed by another Chinese for Boyce's birthday on Wednesday evening...and that is followed by SLC for the weekend - should I write the week off already?

I realize I've included LOTS of food photo's, so this time I decided to go for the "after" photo....

Aaahhhh SO cute

So, you know how some people talk with their hands?  Well young Walker Nielsen has mastered that art in his first month of life...and he even does it in his sleep.  In this first one he was clearly dreaming about General Conference...I'm glad to see he is sustaining everyone :)

...and in this next one he is practicing his dramatic response to some exciting news - I think he has a future in movies!!

Bless his cotton socks!  These photo's were taken with my ipod; hence they are a little more grainy - Walker is so cute that he deserves more photo's in the blog....more to follow :)



Out with the old, in with the new

Introducing my new MacBook Air....but I really can't get used to it....it's very cute, but how long before I can actually do stuff on it?

but it really is incredibly compact - how exactly do they do that? 

What exactly is "hoar frost"?

This is what it looks like....it's very pretty, but I'm not really sure what it is :)

Does anyone know when Spring starts?

It is especially annoying when I hear that everyone was enjoying t-shirt weather in England, and yet here in Calgary it's about the same as it's been for the last 6 months.  Really, wasn't Spring supposed to start a few days ago?  And yet this is today's view from our front door :(

Headed home from the final farewell

Well, that was the last business trip for Flextronics.  I'm not good at saying goodbye, but it was so awesome to go out to dinner last night and I caught up with a few people today before I headed off into the sunset.

I still have another week at work, but I'm really beginning to wind down on stuff - it was sadly too easy to replace me :)

I may never see this good ole place again....

I wonder what the next chapter will look like.  I guess the next page will be SLC and Hawaii - followed by something more serious after a week of pure relaxation!

Overwhelmed

It's actually hard to say goodbye to the people I've worked with for the last few years, they have become a part of my social life as much as my work life - even if none of them live even close to Calgary.

Leslie gave me a gift today - she hasn't known me for long and yet she managed to hit on a few things that she KNOWS I like!! Some Bath and Body Works stuff PLUS a super size box of Orbit chewing gum - I love that stuff!!

Then Denise (who I've only worked with for a couple of months) bought me a GORGEOUS Burberry scarf - I have wanted one of these for years - it is WONDERFUL!!

Then we went out to dinner at Maggione's in Santana Row tonight - I don't think I will ever need to eat again...these profiteroles were the biggest I have ever seen and I managed to get through 1.5 of them...I'm not looking forward to the scale tomorrow, but whatever it says, it was TOTALLY worth it :)

Last minute photo....

What do you take a photo of when you suddenly realize the day is over and you are stuck in your hotel room.....

I spent some time with Kris Rempel helping her pack this morning and then caught my flight to SFO...last trip to San Jose with Flextronics - this is getting very close now.  I also booked my trip to SLC for Conference and checked out the flights to Hawaii for the first week of April - I am so looking forward to a break with no thoughts of work :)

Girls will be girls

I vote for 2 Sundays every week, then maybe we could have one that is actually relaxing!

Church is at 9am - so I left my room at 8.30am (showered, dressed, made up and ready to go) and bumped into my FIL in the hallway, having just woken up and just thinking about getting up.  I thought maybe he was sick - but he was fine.  He thought Church was at 11am!!  Anyway, bless him - he got showered and ready in 20 mins and we were still waiting for Boyce (situation normal) - I barely got to Church in time to set up for my Primary class and run up to conduct the opening hymn....phew.

Almost all of my class were here today, so I took the opportunity to take a photo...here they are...

Back row L-R Dana; Olivia; Victoria; Janesa

Middle row L-R Kamila; Jayden; Kathryn; Maddy

Front row L-R Devin; Karen; Camryn; Hannah

We were just missing Alyssa - so if we ever get EVERYONE there, I will take another photo!  I took this with my ipod, because I didn't have my camera with me, and I messed up and took a video instead...I'm not sure how to download that..but it looks the same except they got all shy when they realized I was taking video instead of stills...it was so funny - some of the girls covered their faces...I still don't really understand why!!  Girls will be girls!

After Church I made dinner and then made another 3 dinners to stock the fridge while I'm away...I'm leaving Dad and Boyce alone for a couple of days, so hopefully they won't go hungry....or fall down the stairs...or burn the house down...this must be what it feels like to leave kids on their own for the first time (don't tell them I said that though!!!)

Off to San Jose for the last time tomorrow...it's disappointing to hear that the weather is crappy.  At least it's rain instead of snow, I guess a change is good :)

Saturday is a special day....

It was a busy...and yet quite relaxing day. We had to get the chores done today, but I had to sleep in because, well, just because I could!  So after a reasonably late breakfast we heard that Kathryn and Clint were in town shopping for furniture, so we went down to Ikea to hang out with them for a while - had to be back in time for my pedicure (!); then we did the grocery shopping - and suddenly it was time to go to the Stake social - which was quite delightful.  Boyce obviously was enjoying spending time with his uncle Kelvin, and obviously not enjoying having his photo taken!

Another travel day

Spent the day travelling again today...first flight from Guadalajara to Houston, then a 3 hour layover followed by a long flight from Houston to Calgary...should get home to the snowy north by 10ish tonight.

There were a couple of very cute twins on the first flight...and they happened to sit in front of me - I was grateful for this photo opportunity with one very curious little girl; she also came to investigate the emergency exit door, which got one of the passengers very nervous - however, I'm pretty sure the door was safe; I think I would struggle to open it, I'm quite sure she wouldn't be able to (famous last words!)

This photo doesn't do her justice, and I wish I could have got a picture of the two girls - they were SO cute! Nice way to brighten up an otherwise boring flight!

Cool art

We are staying in the Fiesta Americana this week - and I think this has the best artwork I have ever seen in any hotel....this is one of the lights, and there are all sorts of interesting things around the hotel..very cool.

I also called the doctor that treated me when I had my emergency surgery in Guadalajara 3 years ago...he was such a nice man, and as this is my last trip to Guad, I thought I should call him to thank him once again - I was surprised that he remembered me, he even remembered how long ago the situation occurred.  I think of that situation every time I come into town - it is, surprisingly, a fond memory!



Hola

I felt pretty crappy this morning, and consequently didn't get any work done practically all morning while I just sat there and felt sorry for myself.

Felt better this afternoon and well enough to go out with the team this evening...we went to a lovely little Mexican restaurant - there was no-one there when we got there at about 7.30pm, but the Mexicans like to eat late, so the place started to fill up by 9.30pm. 

Anyway, they made some crepes, and I love how he set fire to them at the table...I'm guessing there was probably a ton of some alcoholic drink in there if it set alight so easily....so I did without crepes!

March 16 - Sunrise, Sunset

On my way...very early, to Guadalajara....the flight was delayed a little, and consequently we took off exactly as the sun was rising.  Finally landed in Guadalajara and got to the hotel in time to see that same sun set over the hills; lovely.

FINALLY!!

I know I've hinted at this for a few days now...but I think Spring is FINALLY here!!  I went out this evening, and I didn't even wear a coat - and the sun went down so late....I love this time of year...in 3 months it will be summer, and then in 4 months it will be winter again!!  But I enjoyed today.  It got up to 9C and it was windy, so it really made some headway on melting the snow.  I'm off to Guadalajara tomorrow, and I'm hoping the snow will be all gone when I get back - Oh joy!

Let the big melt begin...

The temperature got up to over zero today...and the forecast is to stay above zero (during the days) for the rest of the week. Is it possible that the snow will melt this week?  We have had snow on the ground since October, and it would be nice to see the grass.  It was warm enough for the kids to be out playing today (although it looks as though these kids are just sitting watching dad do all the work!) - it was also warm enough for me to step outside of the car to take today's photo!

How do they do that?

When I was young I used to do gymnastics, I remember training hard so that I could do a back walkover; I'm not sure I ever managed to do a backflip;

Today I went to West Edmonton Mall to see Loleini (Shaw) compete in the Cheerleader competition.  These kids are amazing - and they make it look so easy;  look at Leini in this photo - way at the top and looking like she is enjoying herself.   I will never look at cheerleaders the same again - these girls were incredible.

I decided to fly to Edmonton, it was really weird to go through security with a tiny purse and no luggage!  It wasn't any quicker by plane, I left home, parked at the airport, rented a car in Edmonton and then drove around West Ed Mall for 40 mins looking for a parking space - I finally gave up and used the valet parking at the hotel in Lisettes name - otherwise I would still be driving around the car park.

I forgot how to speak English

Just a regular day at work today - and this evening I went to the play rehearsal for the youth play at Church, they asked me to help some of the girls with an English accent.  They did really well, and I found myself struggling to remember how we actually say some stuff.  Why do we drop most "r"s and put "r"s where there aren't any?....I should have studied linguistics.

Then the kids practiced some of the singing for the play - it was very good - I'm looking forward to the finished thing!

Back to normal

It's been a very quiet week - everyone has been away since Sunday and I have been living on chicken soup and oranges....apart from making the soup on monday, I haven't cooked once all week....until this evening.

Everyone came back, peace and quiet is over and I spent a couple of hours cooking and cleaning this evening.  But it was worth it to see the happy faces...

The man in the moon

Is it just me or does it look like the moon is smiling?  Or is it just laughing at the fact that we're going to have a long cold Spring?

Spring is NEARLY here

Is it just me, or has this been a brutal winter?  I was excited to see the temperature in the negative single digits for the first time in weeks....It's funny how technology has changed our lives, if anyone asks my father-in-law what the weather is like, he will look out of the window, or step outside and analyze the clouds, or the direction of the wind and wax lyrical on the weather patterns....I, however, stay in my chair and look at my ipod....

Family Night

Monday night is family night....even if everyone is out of town.  So I played the piano; watched the TV, did some work and just hung out.  Life is good :)

MARCH 6 (ish)

I woke up at 3am this morning and remembered that I had forgotten to download my photo for March 6, I realized that it was too late and if I was going to be a day late, I may as well carry on sleeping and just upload the photo today.

I took Dad and Boyce down to Ramona's house yesterday - I was sure I would find a good photo opportunity somewhere in that 45 minute drive - and I kinda did, I thought the old trains at Heritage Park looked really cool, but I would have needed to get out of the car and walk a hundred yards in the snow to get a decent shot....I guess I'm a fairweather photographer!  So, I took this photo of the reservoir - just because I could take it from the car....

...and for comparison - here is the train,  I'll take a decent photo of this when the weather is a little warmer!!

Where did that day go?

After a late night last night, I had to get up at a silly hour in order to catch a flight back to Calgary....

The intent was to catch an early flight so that I could be home at a decent hour and not miss the whole day (which, incidentally, is my wedding anniversary) - so I flew all morning and was home before noon.  Then promptly went to bed and slept the day away.

It would have been just as good to sleep in and catch a later flight :)

Last day in Austin

It's actually quite sad saying goodbye to everyone....but I had a lovely day in Austin. The GM's spoiled me with some lovely Texas gifts; and then we all went to watch a hockey game in the evening.  It was actually quite entertaining - the home team (Texas Stars) were 4-0 up in the first period and then lost the lead going to 5-4 in the 3rd period.  Fortunately they scored with 18 seconds left and then won in OT...very gripping!

But look at the crowd - only 5,036 people, hardly a Flames game, but made it easy and quick to get out afterwards..

earlier in the day at the office, I took a photo of this vulcher which was guarding her eggs just outside the office window...the photo is a bit grainy, but interesting nonetheless!

Shopping spree in the hotel

I spent a lot of the day passing stuff on to Leslie - I felt like I was adding stuff to the list quicker than we were completing it...at this rate we should have everything covered by June :)

After work we went to a steak house for dinner....not sure why it had a skull on the wall, but it was kind of interesting to look at....

When I got back to the hotel I noticed my blackberry cable was missing; I called the front desk who had a  box the size of Texas, full of cables that had been left...so I managed to inherit one that was way better than the one I lost....now I just need to think of other stuff I've lost over the years and see if they have spares....like that brown skirt I left in San Jose; the black shoes in Hong Kong; the earrings in Poland and my heart in San Francisco.  Tomorrow I think I'll tell them that I lost an ipad and a 56" LCD TV.

Back to reality

Today seemed especially boring given the exciting few days I've had with the Merrills;  I spent the day in the air and the evening in my hotel room catching up with email. Hmmph :(





A temple in the making

I went out with Barbara today to see some Church History sites in  and around Kansas City;  We started at Independence - that was interesting, it's hard to believe how technology has made stuff so easy now.  I can type this blog in a few minutes every day and at any time get it printed into a book within 24 hours....Back in 1830-ish, the process was a lot more complicated and painstaking - letter by letter by letter, and then swabbed with these big ink holders - it would have taken months to complete a book.

After Independence, we visited Liberty Jail - incredible; and then finally we drove to the Kansas City temple site - it's coming along nicely and should be complete in about a year...

As you can see - the weather was gorgeous; at last!