crystal's little corner

I got handed a box today at work.. it contains my very own business cards!

i got a hangover. i wish i had something important to say.. but i've got a rather large head after a great party.. free food, liquour, hotel room, and then my boss bought us breakfast :) it was a good time. we're decorating outside today and then going to mark's folks for turkey dinner.. :)

wow.. i'm having a HARD time getting in to the holiday spirits this year.. the house has a few decorations inside, and i've written some cards, but i feel like i'm just sort of going through the motions this year.. which is odd because its a year when alex is old enough to understand and know what's going on.. we're heading out this afternoon to get our tree, and hopefully the family auction/potluck tomorrow will help.. something has to.. right??

whew.. things have been crazy.. now that i'm home again after getting the floors finished, you would think, being as crazy as i am about things being clean & organized, i would have taken my 3 day weekend and finished getting things put away.. nope, decided to head for oxford and spend the weekend with mom. had a great weekend.. we took alex to the santa clause parade in amherst, did some xmas shopping, and finished putting her outside stuff out. i start my new job on january 12th.. my official title is "sales coordinator". im not entirely sure what all it entails, but i'm sure it will be nice to get back to a monday to friday gig :)

I GOT THE JOB! :) Details will follow.

the floors have been started.. my blog posts are few and far between because we are staying with my in-laws this week while the floors get done.. i've taken before/during/after pictures though, so stay tuned! started Christmas shopping today.. was not that successful, santa needs more help! no word yet on the job.. i'm beginning to lose hope. :S

I haven't heard anything back on the job front.. I'm pretty sure at ths point that I didn't get it.. go self-cofidence! Alex is feeling a bit better, sleep is happening in our house again, and things are slowly feeling normal again! Mark & I have taken on a bit of a project.. we ripped up all the carpet in the house and are re-finishing the wood floors underneath. what fun!

first things first... the interview went ok i think... i'll keep you posted! as for the rest of the weekend,it passed in a coma-like trance. alex is STILL cutting teeth, and i haven't had a decent night's sleep in days.

I got a call from HR this afternoon.. I have my 2nd interview tomorrow at 230! Fingers & toes, fingers & toes. Of course, I'm working 6-2, having my interview, and then working a banquets shift at 4.. So, I'm hoping that there will be time for a shower in between the interview & the banquet shift.. Thank goodness I work at a place I can do that kind of thing!

I just had my phone interview with head office @ IMP. Now, keep all fingers/toes crossed that I get a call for a face to face! xo

alex surprised everyone and put his costume on.. didnt' want anything to do with the pumpkin, but he looked freakin' cute as a little monkey.. we couldn't have had a costume that fit his personality better.

we have a halloween problem. alex hates the idea of carving a pumpkin, and is basically refusing to wear the costume. my only weapon is that i'm going to bribe him with treats & candy. things are busy.. we've all been sick, alex & i are on antibiotics, mark seems to be on the upswing. i applied for a new job at work as sales coordinator... far cry from what i'm doing now, but i think it'd be a cool job, i'm qualified, and best of all, it would be back to a monday to friday gig. i heard a rumbling through the hotel grapevine that i'm up for a phone interview, so please, pretty please, keep your fingers crossed for me. HOPEFULLY pictures will follow of alex in his costume, carving pumpkins.

something's wrong with my brain.. i'm actually entertaining the idea of another baby. somebody stop me! LOL :)

went out & voted, despite the chest infection that has kept me laying low since last friday. blick.

wow.. 2 1/4 down this week. :)

Really, there's nothing better then turkey dinner. Went home to River Philip to have an early Thanksgiving dinner yesterday since Dad is soon heading out to Manitoba to work . :( He won't be home 'til Xmas, so we're all REALLY gonna miss him! Much love daddy-o!

i finally lost my first 10 lbs since joining TOPS! lost 2 1/4 pounds tonight, for a grand total of 11 1/4 lbs down.. only took since last november!

we started out by putting alex in a snazzy new outfit: (forgive the sideways view.. i'm an idiot!) then went to breakfast as planned at the kiwi.. where we shared eggs, sausage & spelt toast! (his new "cheese" face) after a quick trip to lunenburg, we went to oak island and jumped in the pool for a bit.. alex had blast and didn't want to leave! when we finally got home, we snuggled in for some finding nemo, where alex finally saw the events of the day catch up with him :) ps.. they caught up with me too, because i was in bed by 8:30 last night!

So, I'm off today, and Alex & I are spending the day together.. It's so rare that we get to have these days that we're going to make it special.. Breakfast out at the Kiwi , then to work for a swim in the indoor pool , then home for lunch, and an afternoon at the park :) Pictures will follow, I'm sure! xo

I survived the caffeine withdrawal. I'm ok with the fact that I need to have decaf.. The detox & craving I'm having for all things carby & starchy is a whole different ball of wax... I could SO dive in to a bucket of potato & bread right now! But I'm doing ok.. I did cave and had a slice of pizza the other night.. a total no-no.. and boy, didn't I feel gross after eating it. I also find that I'm getting fuller faster on these meals that I'm eating, which is a rockin' good thing, because I'm eating less.. But, tell a cook that she has to limit her meals to 3 basic things, and it's not pretty.. I'm slowly running out of ideas for meals and am surrounded by temptation all the time. I think it's time for some good old fashioned research.. Thank god for the internet and online recipe pages. :)

I had the coolest day. My former boss called me this morning and asked if I would be interested in going for a ride in his helicopter. Um, yeah. I scrambled to find a sitter (thanks Eve.. you're a rock star!), and off I headed.. So, the helicopter was a tiny little 2 seater bubble of a thing with floats for a water landing.. We flew from Martins River, to Lunenburg , catching some pretty cool sights along the way.. Seals sunning themselves, only to be startled by the roar of the chopper and diving away, and something truly breathtaking.. the Bluenose II sailing out of Lunenburg Harbour, loaded full of passengers.. it was gorgeous. I do have some photos to share, but am having an issue with my camera connecting to the USB cord, and of course, I'm a total moron and recorded the photos to the internal memory of the card. If anyone knows a way to transfer photos from the internal memory to a card, please let me know! I can't wait to share some of those pictures!

I knew that this was gonna be hard.. but man oh man. The lack of caffeine is killing me. I think my head is going to explode. Oh well. It's all for the greater good.. right?

Whee... My life these days is just so fun I can't stand it.. and neither should you! :) Alex has been nursing a cold for 2 weeks, had it, took a 2 day hiatus, and now it's back. There's very little sleep happening in this house.. The only way I get to sleep is either sitting up in the chair with him, or snuggled under the new Nemo blankets on his bed. I went to my allergist appointment today.. I'm allergic to trees, grass, dust & dust mites.. And, he wants to put me on a low carb/low yeast diet for at least 2 weeks to help with some of my symptoms of other stuff too. I have no idea what the heck I'm gonna do.. Basically all I can eat is meat, eggs & vegetables. Did I mention that I have already cut out pop and now I have to cut out COFFEE? Anyway, I'm off for a run. That's right. I'm running. Hell has frozen over.

wow.. i've got so little to write about these days. if i'm not at work, i'm at home. blick. i need to get back out into the world and do something for me.. i have started a 5k running plan so i can start running.. that's really all i have done for ME. i haven't even been taking pictures, which i really need to do. lazy = crystal. it's sad really.

my beautiful boy is turning two today.. i can hardly believe how fast the last two years have gone.. what was once a goldfish bubble in my belly has turned in to a beautiful, intelligent, funny little boy. love you lots bud.. here's to cake & balloons!

august 27, 2005 wedded bliss!

alex - messy as usual

vacations' over. back to the real world in the morning.. i sent alex to cathy's this morning so i could clean out closets and get rid of some things with no little fingers helping me.. and with the best of intentions, i've gotten one done.. although the world of the internet and CNN keeps sucking me back in...

so, the new task is to start decluttering the house.. we got some "new to us" furniture on the weekend, and when we put the living room back together, i got rid of SO much stuff that we had absolutely no use for! so now, i'm itchy to get at every other room in the house and start getting rid of stuff.. why 3 people need/have so much stuff is totally beyond me. so, if anyone's interested, i've got a computer monitor, a papasan chair (with green cushion), and dvd player & surround sound system for sale.. that's just the beginning!

oy.. our computer went on the fritz back in may.. and i've just now gotten a new one.. FINALLY. really other than work not much has been going on with us.. my brother got married on the 9th of august, and alex was ring bearer.. so here's a pic of him in his tuxedo for anyone who's still hitting this page on occasion... if anyone is still checking out the blog, it will be kept more up to date now that i have a computer that doesn't konk out on me every other minute! xo

My little man cut his 3rd molar today. He's miserable, sick with a chest infection... and has been sick for a couple of weeks. :( Now, I'm sick too. Oh well, spring has sprung, I have pretty flowers out my window and the sun is shining! Went & looked at a couple of dresses for my bro's wedding in August.. Tried on one dress @ Sears that was a size 12, and it was too.. BIG! Wow.. I guess all that walking that I'm doing might finally be starting to pay off. :)

love.. the first time i held my gorgeous little boy! 9/18/06

we had a great easter, even if alex wasn't totally interested in the egg hunt! we took sunday afternoon to put together alex's toddler bed, and took his crib out.. he's such a big boy these days! .

so, i'm thinking about starting a photography portfolio and maybe taking it a bit more seriously.. one of those things that i've always wanted to do and never got around to. and thanks to michelle , another one has crossed my mind today, and that's doing a portion of the bluenose international marathon .. hmmm.. maybe it's time to start doing the thoughts instead of thinking the thoughts.

what did i ever do when i was home alone before alex? i have no idea. this morning, i had the morning to myself since alex is in river philip with mom & dad, and mark was at work. i went to bridgewater to run some errands, and then went to get my hair done. i feel all pretty again.. and BLONDE. tonight, i'm home alone again.. was supposed to go to mom & dad's, but mother nature is not on my side.. again. mark's gone out for a bit with a couple of the guys, and i'm here listening to some cooking show (i don't get enough of that you know!), about to curl up with a chick flick.. because i don't know what else to do!

sidewalk chalk art halifax waterfront - busker festival - 2005

so, i'm back on the weight loss road. i started weigh ins back before christmas, and have lost 6 lbs so far.. i get weighed on thursday nights, and this week, managed to just stay the same, which is impressive after a bad week which involved alot of pizza, beer & mcdonald's. the motivation? the little black dress that i need to wear in august for my brother's wedding.. i'm the MC for the reception and dont' really want to look like a killer whale standing in front of 125 people, so... that being said, i'm nervous as old heck about being the MC for such a big occasion in my little bro's life.. i'm considering putting together a slideshow of photos of the soon to be married couple, but don't even know where to begin... so if anyone has any pointers on what i need to do, what i'll need for gear to show it, anything.. i'm open to suggestions. :S

police confirmed today that the body found on the banks of the lahave river late last week is indeed that of the 12 year old girl who went missing from bridgewater about 2 1/2 weeks ago. not only that, but they've said that the investigation is now one of a homicide. i'm saddened & horrified for that poor girl's family, and the rest of the residents of my little corner of the county. it scares me to no end to think that there's been a child murdered less then 30 minutes from my front door. rip karissa . i'll hold my little boy a little closer tonight and keep him as safe as i can. lost, but never forgotten.

hi.. i haven't forgotten about this space. i suppose i thought maybe it would update itself? truth be told, working full time, and being a mom is alot tougher and more work then i ever expected... i love it all though and wouldn't trade any of it for the world. halloween, christmas, new years.. all come & gone, and alex grows bigger & smarter every day. he's amazing, and i'm completely in rapture of this little person as he learns new things every day. this space will be updated more often.. i promise.. even if it is just the "photo friday", or a picture of alex here & there. picture of alex from end of january, 16 1/2 months: