So the other day when I was posting about free stuff and my thoughts there, little did I know that it would pay off. I played the radio game, I earned me some points and I decided to go ahead and bid on some things. Last Friday night when we came home from a friends bday party there was an email saying that I was the highest bidder!!! I won a stinkin Ski Getaway to Mount Washington. Including 2 nights accommodation, 4 lift tickets, 4 meals and ferry costs. So Derek and I get to go on a free holiday to the island to ski and sit by a fire and drink hot cocoa. Sounds heavenly right?? I am going to go pick up the prize on Friday and we will then decide what weekend we can go. Hopefully real soon!

In other news, my friend, Chad, had a very big birthday and turned the ripe old age of 30 (he might kill me for posting this). He had a huge bday bash and we had tons of fun. I posted a few pics below.

On another not-so-fun note, I have been sick :( The doc thinks I have a bladder infection, the jury is still out on that one. They will get back to me tomorrow. Hopefully that's all it is and there isn't anything else wrong with me. I do feel quite crummy though. Infections throw your whole body off for sure. I am back at work today though after missing the last day and a half. But I won't lie, it hurts to sit and I wish I was in bed.

Enjoy the pics....

Charlie came too!

The boys hanging out...the big Hockey game was on TV

Momma Jess and her sweet baby boy

Fun times!!!

thoughts on free stuff

Lately I have been faced with the option of getting something for free or at least the possibility of it. "Free" is a weird thing and I realize that people will pretty much do anything to get free stuff.

Yesterday I had the chance to go to a meeting at UBC where they were going to have a drawing for a few different prizes. A night at a fancy hotel, free airline tickets, great prizes indeed! Unfortunately I could not go, but the only reason I was even thinking about attending this meeting was because of the possibility that I might get something for free.

Today I went to a Grad Secretaries appreciation lunch where, if you attended, you not only received free lunch, but a free door prize as well. The door prize I got was a chocolate bar, not very exciting but free nonetheless on top of my already free food!

I always listen to the same radio station here in Vancouver when I am at work or when I am in the car. They are always having contests or giving away prizes. For the past few weeks they have been doing a contest where you if hear certain words on the radio, you go onto their website, enter the word and you slowly accumulate points through the code words and various other ways. Then every week or so they run an auction and you can bid your points to win free stuff. Sounds fun and easy enough, right? People in this city have become absolutely obsessed with it! I admit I am one of them, but not in the same way as some of these people. I fortunately found this online forum where people post all the code words and all the other things that get you points so I don't have to sit and listen to the radio all day long. Instead I just read through the forum, find the words and enter them online. Easy enough for me. But these people on this forum sit ALL day and listen to the radio, waiting for their chance to earn points just so they can maybe get something for free. Maybe. They post on the forum all day long about the unfairness of it all and how some people have more points than others and they just whine and moan about something that they are doing by their own free will to win prizes that they don't have to pay a dime for. It amazes me really how much they can complain and bicker about it all.

FREE can be a dangerous thing I am realizing. And really, when is free ever really free?

hello charlie

Last night Derek and I got to meet the precious Charlie Auden. He may be a "big boy" but really he is so tiny and precious. It was amazing to be there and get to hold him and see him in his 3rd day of life.

I didn't want to put him down

The happy fam

too cute

He likes to cry..but he's still adorable while doing so

I may even be blessed by a tiny little visitor at my home today. Jess and Charlie are going to be on this side of town taking daddy to work, so we might just get to hang out. I have a feeling this blog may soon contain more pictures of Charlie than of myself. :) Just can't help but love him so much.

a child is born...

Sunday afternoon I received a phone call from my friend Jeff. I excitedly answered the phone and said "is it time!?", Jeff replied in a sober voice "it's time". Jeff's wife, Jess, was officially in labor at long last. I gathered information from Jeff and phoned all of our friends to give them the update. That was about 2:30 in the afternoon. I sat and waited by the phone for more news until I couldn't stand it any longer, I had to know! I picked up the phone and called Jeff & Jess's home at 7:00pm. Jess's mom answered and told me that they were heading to the hospital. Learning that they did not have enough car space for all of them to get there I rushed over (along with my friend Grace) to pick up Jess's mom and we met them all at the hospital. Not too long after, all of our friends began arriving one by one. Pretty soon there was about 9 or 10 of us in the waiting room supporting our dear friend and waiting for the news. Enjoy the pictures below...they tell a better story than I can.

This Jess about a week before she "popped"

Passing the time in the waiting room

Here we all are along with Jess's mom and dad

Shelley, Grace & Katie C. -- getting sleepy

At about 12:45am we received the news --- "It's a boy!"

Hugs all around
Charlie Auden...the newest addition to our group of friends.
We love him already.

Sadly because it was so late and we all had to work the next day (well later that morning technically), we did not actually get to see Charlie the night he was born (although I was willing to wait). But tonight Derek and I have the honor of blessing our good friends with a meal and meeting this precious baby boy. More pictures to come I am sure. Congratulations to the new mom and dad!

friends

The party the other night was great as expected. We heard about everyones holiday break, Ansley got to share her big news about being pregnant, we got to oogle over the size of Jess's ready to burst tummy and we drank beer with our best of friends. It doesn't get a whole lot better than that. I snapped a couple pics so I decided to share this one of me and the girls. A few of "the girls" are missing, but you get the gist. These are my friends. I love them.

Tonight I get the priveledge of seeing the girls again cause I am hosting "Clothes Swap 2007". It will be a night full of clothes, hard cider, Dixie Chicks and girlfriends. I don't think it gets much more girlie than that. Unless we all wore pink or something.

The internet at home has been incredibly turtle like. I swear it has been slower than dial-up (remember dial-up?). It's funny how quickly we get used to new technology and how it seems as though we could never go back to the way it was. I admit, I have been feeling that way about our internet connection. It has been unbearably slow. Things like checking my email that should take maybe 30 seconds are taking 5 minutes. I wonder how long it will take me to actually post this blog.

Yesterday was my flex day (I had the day off) so I slept in, got a good 8 hours and when I woke up, I looked out the window and saw this:Crazy Vancouver weather! About 3 days ago it was in the upper 50s here and then snow! Of course it all melted by about mid-day but it was fun while it lasted.

Derek and I had to run some errands in the States so late yesterday morning we made the journey southward to Bellingham. The border wait on the way down was about 30 minutes, not too bad. In b-ham we went to the bank, bought beer at Fred Meyer, went to Target (of course) and then to a book store. The border wait on the way home was non existent which was wonderful. Our whole trip there and back was exactly 5 hours. Record time I'd say. It will probably be our last visit to the states for a while. We are ready to stay put in Vancouver for a good chunk of time.

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with some close friends who we haven't seen in a while and found out they are going to have a baby! How exciting! Just as one friend is about ready to pop I find out another has one on the way. Tonight we are going to a party where we will get to see all our friends again, most for the first time in 2007. I am excited to hear about everyones holidays and see all my wonderful friends again. I miss them. And my one friend will get to tell everyone that she's expecting. It's going to be a great night. Pictures to come I am sure.

Christmas pics and highlights

A few higlights from our Holiday in Oregon include:
-seeing LOTS of good friends
-staying with Dave and Majell
-gettinng a whole new bathroom set for Christmas (unexpectedly)
-watching Taladega Nights, In Good Company, Oceans 12, Pursuit of Happyness and The Holiday
-Deschutes Brewery tour
-hours and hours spent at Backporch
-Our awesome Christmas gift from Dave and Majell "Free drinks for the time you are visiting"
-Beginning my New York scrapbook
-3 Christmas celebrations!

Feel free to look through the album of pictures

Christmas Holiday 2006

Home at last! Happy New Year!

Happy 2007 everyone! My Holiday has officially come to an end. No more lights, trees, presents, backporch coffee and no more Oregon. It was a great great trip but I must admit, a bit long. We are glad to be home to our own place with our own bed, our own shower and our own space. Today I went back to work and life is now officially back to normal for the most part. The last week or so in Oregon was great. Just as relaxing as ever mostly spent sipping coffee at Backporch. I got to see some old friends, went to a wedding and had 2 more Christmas extravaganzas with Derek's family!! I am very happy to report that our drive home was much more successful than the drive down. We did not hit any snow banks and though we were quite tense driving through the snow over the Mt Hood pass we made it through safe and sound. Below you will find a couple pics of our last days in Oregon. I will try and post the whole album in the next couple of days in case you want to see more of what we did during our break. I hope everyone had an amazing Holiday with family or friends or however you spent it. I am just so thankful for all of the friends we were able to see while in Oregon. Dave & Majell, Chris & Jenni (and Sam), our new friend Joe, Kari, Megan, Marc & Alexis, Shaun, Amber, Rachel and more...I love you all and appreciate your friendship so much.

Kari, Megan and I (just like old times) on top of Pilot Butte in Bend.

At Beth Colclough's wedding

Beth's wedding reception with Jessica and Allison (love you girls!).

opening my new sheets and down blanket from Derek's dad & step mom!!

Our adorable niece and nephew on Alex's new rocket! Aren't they the cutest?!