I've been tagged

by Jennifer! Although I have been thinking about stuff to post on my blog, life seems to speeding up as we move towards the end of the year and there is just not enough time in the day any more!

7 Random/Weird Things about Me .......

1. Although I am Canadian, I was born in Germany. My dad was in the Canadian air force and met and married a German girl, my mom, when he was stationed there. I didn't move to Canada until I was three.
2. I hate wearing socks if I have a choice, and am not that fond of wearing shoes either, so summer will find me barefoot as much as possible.
3. I love salty snacks, especially kettle cooked potato chips, and might eat the whole bag if no one is watching. :-)
4. I used to be a rather good bowler, and was on the bowling team for the technical school I went into after high school. Travelled throughout the province to different universities and colleges to compete.
5. I have a weird knack of remembering numbers - old phone numbers are still in my head, credit card numbers, all sorts of odd things.
6. I listen to opera when I do housework, the louder the better. Rigoletto is my favourite.
7. I hate the taste of diet pop and avoid artificial sweetener like the plague.

Twenty Years

Ron and I got married on November 5, 1988. Gasp! how did two decades fly by??????

It doesn't seem that long ago, really. I remember the beautiful ceremony in the Show pyramid at the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton. Chrysanthemums were everywhere - it was gorgeous, and the justice of the peace did the vows on a little wooden bridge in the midst of all the flowers. There were about 60 or so guests, but they all had to stand around on the paths during the ceremony, since there were no chairs.

I remember my wedding dress, which was my mom's, and fit me beautifully. Three quarter length, with a little jacket. Loved that dress! And I felt like such a princess with the headdress on. I'll have to dig out some wedding photos. I have never gotten around to scrapbooking them, there always seems to be too much going on in real time!

I remember the reception at the Norwood Legion, at which there was way too much food! Nobody could eat any of the wedding cake, which was marble cheesecake, because they were too full of perogies and everything else!

I remember dancing and partying all night, sleeping for a few hours, and getting on a plane to start our honeymoon in Fiji. There was so much hairspray and bobby pins in my hair that crossing half the world by plane didn't even make a dent in my fancy hairdo! Gosh, I loved Fiji. What a beautiful place. After a week or so, we went to the Cook Islands for a week, then New Zealand, and finally Australia. It was an amazing trip! We always thought we'd get back to Fiji, but alas, it hasn't happened yet. Maybe for the 25th wedding anniversary. ;-)

More about the Puppies

Smudge at 5 weeks

Although they won't be put up for adoption until they are 8 weeks old, the foster puppies are slowly moving on to other homes for their last few weeks of care. Coffee and Spot went to another foster mom yesterday, two more go elsewhere tomorrow and the mama dog goes back to the animal shelter for surgery and adoption to her forever home on Thursday. By the end of the week, my neighbor Kimbra will be done to 3 puppies. It will be an adjustment for many of us!

Remember, your local humane society is probably in desperate need of foster parents for all kinds of animals. It might just be a kitten that just needs to put on a little weight before they can be put up for adoption. Or taking care of a couple of puppies for two or three weeks until they reach a certain age. If you are able to open your heart and your home for these little critters, go for it. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to make a difference.

Halloween

The kids each had two different costumes for Halloween - one for indoors and the school party, and one plush, furry, extra warm one for outdoors, because around here, we have to plan for really cold weather outside at this time of year. But as it turned out, it was one of the warmest Halloween's I can remember, above freezing most certainly, so we probably could have managed with one costume per child. Oh well. And in the end, Ben refused to wear his cute warm bear costume anyway. We get a lot of use out of our costumes. I keep them all in a rubbermaid tote, easily available in the basement. The boys and their friends play dress-up almost every play date. At any given time, I can have a Ninja sneaking around the living room, a giraffe coming up the stairs and Indiana Jones investigating the yard. ;-)