Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad

I had an interesting day at work today. It was pick-on-Dana day apparently. First, I was looking at our loans officers calendars to see what their days looked like and I noticed that Kevin had an appointment booked at 5 with Matt Dusk for a mortgage. I sat there and looked at it and just thought...no it couldn't be Matt Dusk the singer. So I decided I would just go ask, just to make sure. Well Kevin was on the phone, so I asked Grant. And Grant confirmed that, yes, it was Matt Dusk the singer and he had decided that since he had so many concerts in Winnipeg all the time that he would just buy a house here. I got really excited. Like, I mean excited. I got that nervous/excited feeling in my stomach and I was EXCITED. I also jokingly (well mostly jokingly) said that I was going to go home and get his CD so he could sign it for me. No, I wouldn't have actually gotten his autograph. At least I don't think so. Anyways, after all this excitement, Grant told me he was lying to me. Ass. No Matt Dusk for me.
So then there was the flower fiasco. My co-worker Erin got a dozen roses from her boyfriend yesterday (lucky girl, it happens about once a month). So we were all fighting about who got to enjoy them at their own desk. Isabel won for a while and had the flowers on her desk. All the members were asking about the beautiful flowers an Isabel lied to every single one. She told them it was her birthday, her anniversary, totally lied and passed them off as her own. We all had a good laugh until Erin stole her flowers back. Crap. So Isabel comes back from her lunch break with two dozen white long stem roses, which she gave to me! So I put them on my desk and enjoyed everyone's compliments on them. Except Isabel kept lying to them for me! She told them it was my birthday, that it was my grad anniversary, all kinds of things. One lady commented on them, and Isabel said they were from my boyfriend. "Oh wow" the lady said, "you must be very loved." And I just smiled. By then end of the day Isabel was telling people that these roses were from my second boyfriend. Apprently I had just gotten a second boyfriend and he was sending me flowers so I would pick him over my other boyfriend. She was lying out of her teeth! So I started the day today as a single woman and finished it as a woman with two dozen roses and two boyfriends. Sweet.

Hold On

Did I mention that I dressed my nephew in a little girl's onesie? I laughed at me, my sister-in-law laughed at me. My brother yelled at me.

The Sound of Fear

We live in a messed up world. Terrorist plots in Toronto, bird flu pandemics, murderers and rapists being set free every day despite their likelihood to re-offend...Shalom is a non-existent fantasy these days it seems.

One of our branches was robbed last week. I didn't hear about it until yesterday when it was reported that the same guy appeared in another of our branches yesterday. He left without incident, but shortly thereafter another bank in the near vicinity was hit. There were two other bank robberies in Winnipeg within two hours of that first one. The last one was violent. The guy was on the counter, waving a knife and demanding money. Those are not the kind of robberies you want(not that you ever want any kind of robbery), they are very traumatic. Anyways, makes me fearful. I've fortunately never experienced a robbery, but in my line of work, it's not a matter of "if", it's "when". So, prayers for safety are always appreciated.

Picture Perfect

Everyone, I would like you to meet my brand new nephew, Caleb Scott Petker. He was born on June 5, 2006 at 9:34 BC time, weighing in at 7 lb, 6 oz and just about 21 inches long. Everyone is happy and healthy from what I have heard and the entire family is ecstatic. I talked to my mom last night and she was nearly turned inside out with delight. I think even my dad teared up at the news. I know I sure did.

I can't believe that my brother is a daddy. The thought brings tears to my eyes. Good tears. Happy tears. Very proud tears. You have no idea how hard it is to not be there. When Darren called to tell me, I mean, I could tell him that I loved him and Judi, but it's just not the same as being there with them and sharing in their joy. My parents are already on their way out there...in fact they should be nearly there. What I wouldn't give to be able to see my mom and dad's faces the first time they hold their first grandchild. Oh gosh...the tears.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my joy with everyone. I get to go and snuggle him in 2 weeks and I just can't wait. Now I need to go find him lots of cute baby clothes, hopefully of the John Deere and Calgary Flames variety...

WOOHOO I'M AN AUNTIE!!!!!

The Unforgettable Fire

We had an intersting adventure today. I was in the kitchen, cooking, because that is generally what you do in a kitchen, when my roommate Alicia joined me. She also began cooking and set a pot of water on the stove to boil. This is usually an uneventful procedure, however, in our house, things that get spilled on the stove don't necessarily get cleaned up. When we turn on the elements it usually smells a little bit, sometimes there is a bit of smoke, but there is not often much action in our kitchen. However, today, there were flames. That's right, FLAMES. Not the Calgary Flames, but holy crap, that would be a happy day if Jarome Iginla, Mikka Kipprusoff, and Dion Phaneuf showed up in my house. Anyways, fire. We had a fire. Alicia and I remained very calm. In fact, neither of us moved for a good 30 seconds or so. Then she commented very calmly, "hmm, that element is on fire." And then she picked up her pot and just watched the flames a bit. So I, also mesmerized by the growing fire, suggested, "the pot lid?" and she said, "yeah, maybe try that." So i picked up the pot lid and put it over the fire. But when I lifted the lid there were still flames. So I put the pot lid back down. And picked it up. The flames were still there, a little bigger this time perhaps. Tried the pot lid again. And again. And once more. It was a bit loud, me banging the pot lid on the stove and it wasn't even putting out the fire, so I decided I would maybe abandon the pot lid idea. So there I stood, with a blackened pot lid in my hand, there my roommate stood, with a pot of water in her hand, and both of us still very calmly watching the growing flames. So I suggested, "baking powder?"
And Alicia said, "baking powder? really?"
And I said, "yeah, in case it's a grease fire!"
And she said, "well sure, try that,"
But we couldn't find the baking powder. She still had a pot of water and I still had a pot lid and it didn't occur to us to put either of them down. But eventually, we found it and I dumped some on the fire. Nope, not a grease fire. So the baking powder actually increased the size of the flames.
So at this point I began to get slightly concerned about our abilities to put this fire out. So I yelled, kind of loudly, "FIRE!". And our other roommate came downstairs to see what the commotion was about and what was causing our house to fill with smoke.
Anyways, after all this excitement, the fire came to a quiet and very uneventful end. This is to say, it burned itself out. So no hot firefighters had to come, but at least it all ended without any damage.