Whoa

It has totally been a long time since I last posted. Sorry to those who actually check this blog (the few loyalists who are out there).

What news do I bring from the south?

Firstly, thank you to each and every one of you who prayed for Jean! It turns out that her body was just making too many antibody-type dealies, and then she had a flu shot, which only made more, and then was given perscriptions to increase her antibodies, and so all in all it was just a build up of these things, and they'll go away within a month or two on their own. So yay! She's all healthy and does not have recurrent cancer!

We're having a Super Bowl Party for the teens, though I'm not sure how many are going to come out for it. I'm still very new to them and they still are very reluctant to involve themselves in anything, but it's with the Jr. High teens, and Maggie expects a few of them to come out for that, so one way or another, we're having a party. I like parties!

What else...oooh! We're having a Mardi Gras! Which was at my suggestion, so therefore I get to put it all together. How crappy is that?! I have no idea how to run a show like that. Oh well, good experience or something, right? Organisational skills and all that crap. Blah. It'll be really good though. There are a lot of people who are helping out for it, and it's a parish-wide event, so it's gonna be pretty big. We're gonna have music, and dancing (hopefully), and bingo, and Texas Hold 'Em, and a video archade (mostly for the teens, but open for everyone), Mardi Gras crafts, face-painting...yeah. I think it'll be a lot of fun. So yay! I'm looking forward to that, although I'm anticipating a lot of stress because I really don't know what I'm doing. I'm gonna have to run a budget meeting, and I have no frickin idea what that is supposed to entail. But Ron (our business manager) said he'd help me plan that out, so thank God I have that. Oi. Lots of that'll take up my life for a bit.

And we're having a Valentine's Craft Nite to make Valentines and candy/cookie-grams that we'll sell at the masses before Valentine's Day as a service to the parish and to get the teen's faces out there so that people can see them. They love seeing the teens doing stuff and supporting them. And they're gonna be cheap (like, $2.00), and they have M&Ms and Jelly Bellies, red, white, and pink coloured, and cookies icing sugared by the teens. I think that'll be fun. I'm gonna have a good time, anyway :D.

That's about it parish-related...I'm heading to Santa Monica either Friday or Saturday cause my friend Jacqui from Saskatoon kindly informed me there's a Harry Potter store located there, called Whimsical Alley, and they have some cool stuff there. And I mean -cool-. I'd love to have $300 to spend there.

In other way cool news, it turns out that I qualified for that $400.00 from the Alberta government! I got a cheque yesterday in the mail for it, Adam kindly told me, and that makes me very very happy! That'll cut a nice chunk off my Canadian visa bill (the frickin interest was $20 this month!). Hopefully I can have that totally paid off soon. At least, I really hope so. That'd be nice.

That's about it in my life. I finally cleaned out the cardboard boxes that I'd been harbouring in my living room since I moved here. And holy crap! Does it ever look like I have a floor again! I'd forgotten what it looked like without the cardboard stacked up against the wall and against the couch and end tables. It sure makes a difference. I'm glad I did that, that was a very productive thing for me to do.

And the lighting guy came and fixed my second light in the kitchen, which was apparently painted in place (idiots before me), and the heating guy came and replaced my thermostat, which was still from the 40s and very worn and not moveable anymore, so that was really really nice. Really really. I have a furnace again! And I bet you're wondering what the hell I need a bloody furnace for, aren't you. Yes, I know, it's definitely not as cold as in Prince or Edmonton (or even Victoria), but it has gotten down to 2 degrees here at night, which is chilly when you're expecting +15 to +20 degree weather. San Clemente is desert area right up to the beach, which means that we get the desert like temperatures: really hot during the day and really cold during the night. And it's gotten cold in my house here to around 12 or 14 degrees internal temperature, which is colder than the thermostat at my mom's place in Prince in the winter, so I have reason to want a furnace. It's just I won't use it half as much as I would be if I were in Prince or Edmonton. So that's my explanation. And yes, I did feel a need to explain myself. :D.

Anyway, hope you're all doing well! OOOHHHHH! I have a link to the trailor for the next Pirates of the Caribbean! Just click on its name there. It looks really good! I'm pumped! July 7th, people, July 7th!
Peace,
Jane