Ocean to Prairie

Well, survived another Thanksgiving weekend foodathon and I am STUFFED. So was the turkey! Bear and I travelled south to his parent's house where we enjoyed the company of his parents, youngest brother, and extended family. They are such a great group of people; I truly enjoy spending time with them. We ate delicious food, sang songs of old and new what does the fox say?! and had a lot of laughs. A great weekend. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving too. This weekend was bittersweet too. Although I spent it with wonderful company, I was also homesick. I miss my family back home and was oh so happy to be able to Skype with them for a few moments on the holiday that brings families together. Not only was it Thanksgiving, but also this weekend marks the 2 year anniversary of me heading out of my comfort zone, on my own, and out to the prairies. Oh my gosh I didn't leave a thing behind. Of course I am glad I made the change, but at times I  think about how life would be dif

Autumn is upon us. The air is crisp cold , the combines are out, and the leaves are changing from luscious green to golden yellow and orange. A beautiful time of year. One last pop of colour until the 6 month blanket of snow or perpetual brown of winter I'm hoping for mostly brown with a touch of white. Nothing like last winter, please! Along with the season change brings new changes at the Homestead! I managed to find a great job at a residential rehabilitation facility. I'm glad to be working in non-profit again, and to be away from Le Miserable.  A fresh start is what I needed! But first... Bear and I started September with a road trip to Victoria. I really enjoyed the drive out because I got to see my mountains from below, rather than above, like when we fly. The air is so fresh once you hit the Rockies. We drove so we could bring along our little pupski, Ryder. He's a great traveller--just sleeps away the day in the most hilarious positions.

Hello there! Today's post is out of the norm. We're currently hiring at my place of work and I've had the joy of watching resumes and interviewees present themselves to our establishment. Some come prepared, but others are not making the right impression At least, to me they're not! We are a professional office that is looking for someone to be a great first impression to our clients. Many people, including myself, are visual, and at times, how you present yourself is the only chance you have to wow your future employer. Since most people find themselves work in an office, I have prepared some tips on how to better groom your resume and self into the newly-hired awesome person you are! Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming to be a guru or expert in the hiring process. The following are observations I have made over the years.  1. Proofread your resume! Suck at spelling? Most word processors have spell-check. Use it. Beware of grammar too. Check for capitalizati

Hello again! I was requested to make a post to make a rustic wooden sign. I whipped it together today and it looks pretty good! I will warn you though, my tutorial isn't a pictorial step-by-step. I didn't think that through this afternoon. Ah, yes, the Homestead. To start, I rummaged through our burn pile in the yard. We like to have fires on warm summer nights and it gets rid of the brush and barn wood that our place is currently overrun with. I found a sturdy piece with little rot and holes. I sanded the front surface just a little to get rid of any splinters and roughness that may interfere with my painting. Now, you may be wondering How is her letting so nice? Well, I used my handy-dandy word processor. I have Microsoft Word for Mac. My settings were: Paper/Page size Legal Margins set at 0.5cm all around the document Font: Goudy Old Style in BOLD Font size for main lettering: 250 pt Font size for small lettering: 150 pt I played around with the font to f

Oh hello there, just a few months have passed since our last encounter. Where the heck were ya?!  I was... what was I doing? Being busy doing something! It was a very long and depressing winter. We finally came out of the snow in May which then brought on flooding (and a pool in the basement!). We're now in the thick of haying season. Bear's out right now baling the stuff. le flood. Haven't been too creative these past months. Finally getting the hang of seeing the sunshine, so I've been outside as much as possible. Tending the larger garden. Pulling weeds. Pulling weeds. Pulling Weeds.  Oh, we planted 285 trees back in May. With the help of Bear's parents we had the job done in hours. The rest of the weekend consisted of mulching dead fall and spreading it around our new seedlings. Thank you Government of Canada ! Hmmm... what else... OH! WE HAVE A PUPPY! His name is Ryder yes, we're Sask fans and he has been with us for two weeks. He i

Hey Everyone! I was up early enough this morning to catch a beautiful sunrise. Sundays are for sleeping in, but I'm glad I was up to see this! Oh! There she starts! Love the colours    Here comes the sun! Two suns???

Pinterest. I love Pinterest. All those who join are addicted. It's hard not to get addicted. Such wonderful ideas on time-saving life hacks, recipes, child rearing tips, art, exercise, fashion... anything and everything! If you check out my Pinterest page, you'll see I have a great collection of inspirational quotes, 3/4 of the most adorable and fun wedding you'll ever attend planned, a dream house modge-podged together through a collection of photos containing neutral walls with a *pop* of colour in furniture and accessories and about three recipes for crab rangoon that I have yet to try mmmmm crab rangoon. I also hate Pinterest. Blasphemy! Why, you ask? I have come to realize that Pinterest is making me vie for a trendier wardrobe, better style, skin, makeup, body. I love all of the fashion and trendy ideas Pinterest offers, but I'm finding myself becoming upset with what I have in my closet. This isn't the right chambray shirt. Why did I buy teal pants wh

Christmas of 2011, Bear, his brudders, and his dad built skin on frame kayaks. They took the time to steam, bend, and lash the wood to make these beautiful nautical skeletons. Each creator had a little 'something different' about the frame of his kayak. Seriously, this is one talented family. The final paint jobs of the 'yaks were also very personal to each boy. The exterior is a nylon fabric that is painted with oil-based paint to a point where it is impenetrable within reason .  Bear's kayak stayed south until the summer, until Bear's parents brought the 'yak to the homestead. There she sat in the barn, waiting to be painted and loved. Bear and I discussed cool paint ideas and we settled on our apparent obsession: The Kraken. We like stories of the Kraken, we like the rum, and we most definitely liked the logo on the bottle of Kraken rum. I took quite a bit of time planning the paint job. Will I do a dot-matrix type technique? Will I just use small d

I've started some seedlings for my garden. I'm attempting to start them in eggshells so I can easily transplant them into the garden whenever the damn snow melts. In theory, the eggshell will decompose and provide nutrients for the little gaffer out in the garden. So far, the pea plants are thriving. I may need to transplant them into a larger container way before the time comes to put them into the garden. Not something to be too upset about! No success with the cucumber seeds. Maybe they need some more time to show any sign of life. I'm pretty excited to have a garden again this year; to learn from last year's mistakes and find techniques that work for the multitude of plants I'll be growing! Anywho, I'll try to keep you posted on the little pea's growth. A little inspiration from John Denver below. This song has stuck with me ever since I was a kidlet who watched the Muppets over and over on VHS recorded from the TV. Awww yeah. 

Okay, I promised you a post about the Christmas gifts I made for my nephews. It is now March so I guess I better tell ya! I fussed and fretted about what to give my adorable nephews for Christmas. Ty is 4, and Wyatt was 15 months at the time toddler age is so strange . Toys are overrated, books are overdone, cash is unimaginative... what to give these boys?! I figured I could make something, with all that free time I have here on the ol' homestead. But what can I make? The boys aren't on Pinterest and can marvel at the crafty things I can copy off of someone else. Hmmmmmmmm . For Wyatt, the 15 month old, I wanted a keepsake. Something he'll always have from his Auntie Wawa. A quilt! I still cherish the blanket made for me by my Auntie Jo. What a great idea! Wait... wait... I have never made a quilt before. Crap. Here is where the trouble began. First tip: make sure you are skilled in the area of artistry.  Failed step one. I have a sewing machine, there is a fabric

So, I've been working at the same establishment in town for a year and a half. It started out great. I loved the new work I was learning, and as of recent, I am quite looking forward to leaving. Why you ask? One miserable person is making me miserable. So miserable, that I come home miserable and make Bear's life miserable. That's not how life is supposed to go. At first I thought it was 'just a phase' with this one miserable person. Let's call this person 'Miserable'. Miserable found a weakness of mine and taunts me with it regularly: "Did you cry over Christmas?" What if I did? "You know, apples are delicious too, you should try one instead of eating ice cream"  Uh, yeah, I eat apples all the time, not ice cream, asshole. Miserable also openly expresses that I am not fit for the position I am in at work. Miserable says things loud enough so I can hear the comments Miserable makes. Miserable makes me disbelieve in the great work

Hello again! This is a slightly odd post title and a very bad image of my thighs, but I like the way it sounded. Deal with it. While at the gym the other day I thought about how awesome my workout music is soooo awesoommee . I am so very happy that my gym is usually abandoned when I'm there. This allows me to, occasionally, bust out a lyric or two while on the elliptical. I'm probably one of those "crazy chicks" that are ungracefully dancing/running/lip syncing while working-out that you point and laugh at while at the gym, but too bad, I'm there and it is MY time to take care of me.  I realize music is very personal, but mine is great, and you should like it and listen to it all the time I am definitely kidding here . Below I will share some of the songs that get me moving and keep me moving through the times that I want to quit! Follow the links to the YouTube Videos. Warning: Mom, you're not going to like a vast majority of these songs. There's sw

Alright, alright... ALRIGHT. Yes, I've been avoiding chronicling my adventures out here in prairieland. No, it's not because I've been just so darn busy being awesome that I have not been able to spend time writing my musings. It's because I'm lazy. That's right, I said it: Lazy. Over the past month and a half two months? There was Christmas prep, Christmas doing, Christmas recovery and that brings us to today. So, maybe I do  have a couple of reasons why I was not writing new posts. I guess you'll see the products of my excuses soon enough yay new post material ! The new year, as every new year beginning, I am inspiiiiired to get my butt in gear and do something great! Something so great that I .... ZZZzz ... oh wow. Already losing interest in myself. I've realized that I should start out small. I tend to get overwhelmed quite easily and loose faith right quick. So, some small changes I'll be making for the greater good are: Pay more atten