Help!

Nej... I can't comment on your blog... I tried... I really, really tried! :)

{"Real" post will be coming soon. I have a lot to say, I just don't know if I have the time/energy to type it all.}

WTF?!

"In the March 12 edition of Maclean’s news magazine, Red Deer was ranked the eighth-highest city for aggravated assaults and 23rd most dangerous city overall in Canada. Toronto placed 26th while Calgary came in 33rd place out of 100 cities over 50,000 people."

I repeat... WTF?! Red Deer is a more dangerous city to live in than Toronto?! On one hand... I agree. On the other hand... that is really screwed up! Apparently the Mayor and Police Chief don't agree. But, there is a very large drug-scene in Red Deer which goes hand-in-hand with crime, and especially aggravated assaults. Downtown Red Deer is definitely not safe... contrary to what the local politicians try to tell you - I'd like to see one of them walking downtown, alone, at night. Wouldn't happen. And there's no way I would ever do it.

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Well, I may as well share my not-so-good news with the masses. LJ already knows this, but I won't be able to make it for her wedding (*sniff*). I'm really sad about this, but the money just isn't there right now. I was so looking forward to seeing everyone again. I will try to save up so that I can come out for a visit maybe next summer (2009).

I just took a peek at the NHL standings for the playoff race... very interesting! It's looking good for us Habs fans this year... and not so good for the Leafs fans out there. ;)

My volleyball season is over... and we won the year-end tournament! We kicked some serious butt! Now, bring on slo-pitch.

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Logan is 6 months old on Saturday! Holy cow... where has the time gone?! So, next week is a little crazy with pictures, needles, and maybe a doctor appointment. He is such a crazy and lovable little munchkin! He rolls over with ease now (he's rather quick, you have to keep an eye on him) and is trying his hardest to sit up on his own. No teeth yet, but definite signs of teething (which means nothing... it could take months for teeth to appear). He's been eating cereal for a little while now, but since he's at the 6 month mark I will now introduce more foods and more texture (not pureed) for him.

The poor little man had a chest/ear infection (stupid weather... warm, cold, warm, cold... cold, warm) but that is all cleared up. Logan had his 6 month check-up yesterday (it was supposed to be this coming Tuesday, but I wanted to make sure the infection is gone). He's 19.5 lbs! Little porker! We have his next carseat ready for when he hits the 22 lb mark, but I'm delaying the switch as long as possible (his infant carseat is more convenient). My doctor is sending Logan to see a pediatrician to make sure he doesn't have Hydrocephalus. He doesn't think Logan has it, but because of his *huge* head, he just wants to "make sure." I don't think he has it either, as he doesn't have any of the other symptoms of it - just a large head and his fontanel (soft spot on the front of his head) isn't quite closed yet. But, better to find out sooner rather than later.

We have a bunch of stuff keeping us busy these days - 2 more swim lessons, an infant sign language course coming up, Wednesday's playgroup, Friday's Mom's Group, Mother Goose story time starting up at the library soon. Fun, fun, fun!

And, to keep me even busier, I'm going back to work on a very part-time basis starting next week. I plan on working 4 - 10 hours per week, but I will only get paid for 4 hours and the rest will be banked so as to not to affect my EI-maternity payments. This way I can get a little extra income coming into the house (this is JB's slow-time of the year... breakup even affects his new job), keep in the loop at work, and keep working towards my P.Eng. (still undecided as to if I want to get it, but I may as well keep working towards it). So, the plan is to go into work Monday mornings (with the exception of next week, when it will be Thursday morning as my boss is away until then) for half a day and then take some work home with me for the week. My boss and the office manager worked so hard to find a solution that worked for everyone in this case... I really feel like my company values me and wants me to keep working for them. It's a good feeling, especially considering how I felt at my last company.

Well, I should run... my house is a disaster and I would like it to be a little tidier before I start work next week. Plus, I'm planning on making some baby food today - apples and yams. Yummy!

Quick note for Nej...

...Stargate: Arc of Truth is really good and well worth purchasing! JB and I watched it yesterday. I can't wait for Continuum to come out in late summer/early fall.

Wizard's First Rule... the TV Series!

Oh my goodness... I am so excited for this series to hit TV this fall!!! Here is a news release from the author, Terry Goodkind. In somewhat related news, I am 99% done reading Phantom by the same author, which is book 10 in the Sword of Truth series (Wizards First Rule is book 1) - I was up until 1am this morning reading because I couldn't put the book down!

*Sigh*

Well, even with all the grumbling and supposed unhappiness with the province's leadership... the people of AB handed the Tories yet another majority... and an even bigger majority than they had going into the election. Oh well, what can you do.

I heard a couple interesting things during the election coverage last night: voter turn out tends to be really, really low in AB (the lowest in the country, I believe) and the analysts brought up two reasons:

1. In a province where the Tories have been in power for 11 terms / 37 years (most of which have been very crushing defeats for the opposition), many people do not see a point in going out and voting as they feel their vote has no power (I can see where people are coming from... the person I voted for last night came in dead last in our riding).

2. There are a lot of people that move to AB for work and thus are from other parts of the country. These people haven't formed an attachment to the province and thus don't vote.

If the people in both those groups had voted last night, the results may have been very different. But, that's life in AB.

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Logan and I have a bunch of running around to do today - including swim lesson #2 and possibly a visit to cousin Ava (Logan has the sniffles, so I'll call first and see if my sister wants me to come over or stay away).

Oh... in other news... my Dad got a promotion. Involved with this promotion is getting a driver's license for Saudi Arabia and driving from rig to rig supervising. I really hope he is careful when he's driving. Basically, if you hurt a native of the country your ass will end up in jail no matter who's fault it was because you're a foreigner. Be careful Dad!

Has it been a week already?!

Hmmm... seems I've been slacking on the posting front (but not as much as LJ... we want a post, girlie!).

To answer C-dub's question... swimming went really well. Logan was a little cranky near the end, but that's because he would have been sleeping at that time last week (nap times vary from day to day right now). Logan and I both had fun and he did so good! He went under water and we went down a little "waterfall" slide together... good times! I used to love teaching parent & tot lessons - being a "student" in the class is different, but fun.

My sister is doing really well with Ava. The one thing I worry about is that she isn't resting enough to recover from the c-section (it's easy to do too much, too soon). She was telling me some things she plans to do and I hope they aren't until April... otherwise she may end up hurting herself. Ava is such an angel... I love her to pieces! I really hope that my sister can keep her life on the right track and take good care of that little girl... I really do...

In non-child-related news: today is election day in Alberta. The tides may be changing here in a province that has been Tory-blue for 37 years. Frankly, I think a change is needed. Stelmach has done things to piss off a lot of people... the question is whether or not Albertans want to risk giving power to anyone else. The analysts are saying that a minority gov't is a possibility... and that could be a good thing right now - then the Conservatives would have to "listen" to the other parties more and they wouldn't be able to push ridiculous bills through at 3am (seriously... this happened recently). Anywhoo... for the first time, I will not be voting Tory-blue... though I'm not making the switch to red either. ;)