The Reunion

So Michelle and I got back from our holidays and it seems that Michelle doesn't hate my family. As if she could. In truth Michelle was feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of meeting my extended family. She is really quiet and she doesn't like to feel stupid. Not like me. I have no problem making an ass of myself. But Michelle if you know her likes to fit in and not rock the boat. She was really worried that people wouldn't talk to her and that she would be bored out of her tree. Or that I might leave her stranded in the main hall and be off playing football with the boys.

Well Michelle succeeded in getting to know the other relatives and by the end of the weekend she was making shopping plans. Funny that she would desert me and go shopping for earings... They are very nice by the way....

The reunion was great, and we were able to catchup with the family. In total there were 72 people and we were missing a few. Probably around 15 or so people couldn't make it. It was really weird seeing some of my second cousins that I don't really know all that well because when we had the last reunion some of them weren't even born and the others were like 5-8 years old. Man am I getting old...

We were fortunate enough to stay with Monica and Jurgen and Michelle gets along really well with both of them. Monica is my aunt that is three years older than me, more like my big sister... Jurgen is great because when we get together it is all football. Go Cowboys Go...

One of the funnier parts of the reunion... at least to me... We rented an outdoor community pool. We had private access to it so it was only people from our family. It had one of those waterslides that you would have at a pool at your house. I called over to some of my cousins and said watch this. I climbed up on slide and when I was at the top, I started yelling across the pool (which was probably about 100 feet long) Hey Mom... Mom.... Where are you Mom.... Watch me go down the Slide.... Over course everyone was looking and laughing, except my mom... She didn't realize that it was me because she thought it was one of the younger kids.... I kept calling out and finally someone said he look at your son... I was still calling out... Mom can you see me... Watch me go down the slide... Finally she watched and down I went.... Everyone was laughing, except Michelle of course. She was just glad I didn't call her name... That wouldn't have been as funny though...

So after all of the reunion stuff, Michelle and I went to Banff. We took a bunch of pictures and had a great time. We rode the Gondola up a mountain and then walked to the summit. It was really enjoyable, but once we got back we were bagged. We headed to Magpie and Stump for some Mexican food and it was awesome. We also had a chance to get an old time photo done and we look hot!

When we got back to Calgary we slept like babies.

We decided to come home early and just chill out and that was great. Now it is back to the grind... I realized that I hate wearing a suit. Oh well now I have to pay for the trip...

Summer Times

Is it possible that the last time I posted was May 19th? That seems like it was such a long time ago... I guess mostly because it was. It isn't that I necessarily had writers block, but I just wasn't in a mood to put pen to paper or rather finger to keyboard.

So here are the updates. In June I celebrated my 33rd birthday. It was a nice night of football and lasagna. The Bombers lost but hey it was only pre-season.

In July, Michelle and I spent a lot of time at the lake on the weekends. I love being out there at Nutimik. Sitting on the water in the boat soaking up the sun, reading a book. Can't get much better than that as far as I am concerned. For the July long weekend, we headed to Lac du Bonnet to watch the fire works. It took a long time for them to start but the wait was definitely worth it. I would have to say that the fire works were second to none. City of Winnipeg could certainly learn a thing or two. The two things that kind of sucked were that it was so windy that people were getting ashes dropped on their heads (luckily we were out of harms way) and the second thing was that for some reason, of all days, the fish flies came out. Before the event I hadn't seen one fish fly and by the time we left, you couldn't take a step with out crunching multiple bugs under your feet. Gross...

Of course I can't forget to mention that Michelle and I made it to one year and she surprised me by renting a cabin at Barrier Bay (Couple Only) Resort. It was really nice not having any kids running around, splashing around and being...kids....

So this weekend Michelle and I leave for Calgary. We are going for a Family Reunion from my mom's side. It is usually a lot of fun but it is a long drive for a weekend...

We are planning on making a stop out in Banff if we can. Should be loads of fun!

See ya after we get back...

How to Rip Down a Garage

What's in a Name

So the kid has a name... Her name is Aliegha (Ah-LEE-Ah) I am not sure if I spelled it correctly, but that is how it sounds. Her middle name is May which is sort of funny since she was born in May. I think if Michelle and I have kids we want to name them the month too... December Steinhilber, that sounds precious.

Let me tell you that the kid has hair. I think she might have more hair than her 2 year old brother. She is a good looking kid, especially for being 6 weeks early...

It has been a long time coming having a girl in the family...

Happy birthday kiddo...

About time, is it?

Well it is official. We have a girl in our family that wasn't brought forth through mariage. My brother Dan and his wife Corallee had a baby girl. It wasn't supposed to happen for another 6 weeks but I guess she was in a rush to get out.

It was a weird night, at about 12:00 midnight I got a call from Dan saying that there were some complications with Corallee and so Michelle and I booked it over to their house to stay with Marcus while Dan and Corallee went to the hospital. We hung out there for a few hours until Corallee's mom came in from Beausejour. They thought that the babe might make a run for it and the doctors injected some steriods to help the baby's lungs start working.

Some time in the afternoon the kid was born. The newest Steinhilber, a little girl weighing 3lbs, 11 oz. For now we don't get to see her up close and personal. We have to wait 3 weeks minimum which is kind of a bummer. I wonder what Marcus will think of the little girl.

Funny enough, Dan and Corallee were having a little disagreement at Mother's Day about getting the room ready for the baby and we all said there is plenty of time... Well I guess we might have to help Dan out a little bit so that it is ready when the babe gets home.

So what is the name of the new one? Not sure. It was so unexpected that they haven't picked a name. Knowing the parents, it might be a week before she has one. For now I will call her BOJ. Bundle of Joy.

Anyways, keep them (Dan, Corallee, Marcus and the new kid on the block) in your prayers.

What a Rush

What a rush today was. I rushed to get in the shower, I rushed to get to church, I think I might have rushed one of the songs and I rushed to leave church early so that Michelle could rush to class.

The morning seemed so rushed.

It will be nice to relax for a little while this afternoon and evening, just Michelle and myself. I think I might even sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather and a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Hmmmm.... Now that is how to relax.

My long lost relatives

Did you know, that there are a lot of Steinhilbers out there in the world. I thought that it might be a more uncommon name, but apparently there are around 57 of us on Facebook. For kicks and giggles I decided to do a search for Steinhilber and I was amazed at how many people I found. Most of them where in the states but a couple were from Saskatchewan, so it lead me to think that I might have some long lost relatives.

Hooked

I think this internet thing is going to take off. I mean just 4 months ago I didn't have a blog and now look at me. Recording the goings-on of my life on a weekly basis. Can you believe that I also just signed up for Facebook (www.facebook.com). I already have like 12 friends. It is amazing. What else could a guy ask for. Now if there was only some sort of way a person could make money using the internet. That would be awesome!

By the way, if you have Facebook, add me (no I am not having a competition with my wife to see who has more friends, and she is not beating me by double).

Powerful

What an amazing Sunday. In the last few months, things just didn't seem to be adding up for some reason or another. Either I am too busy or just not in the mood, but this Sunday was really powerful for me. I guess it was partly to do with the fact that it was Easter Sunday and all of the things in life are so small compared to what Christ has done for me. Maybe it was the realization of that fact.

This week I was on for worship team. I have to say that I was a little bitter not being asked to play on Friday at the combined service that we had with three other churches, but because I was playing on Sunday I got over it. Sunday's set was outstanding. Chris obviously spends a lot of time every week on the set and he is fantastic at what he does, but this week he out did himself. Every song just worked, and I don't think that I have ever felt the presence of God in the sanctuary like I did on Sunday. People were singing, and praising and it was just incredible. Jason's message really hit home to. I know it sounds cheesy but it was something to experience.

It was pretty powerful.

Thanks to those who were involved. It was great.

Happy Easter

So this is my Easter Theme Song

Check out my theme song in large format

Easter Break

What is the Easter Break? Like I don't have a busy enough weekend. This is what my weekend entails:

Friday morning I get to wake up really early and head out to Oakbank Baptist Church for no other reason than Michelle has to practice with the worship team. I don't get it. That will be practice number 3. I think church starts at 10:30 and I get to be there at 9:00. Good Friday service is followed by the church potluck. I hope we don't have to bring anything... Cause all we have is left over roast... Friday afternoon should be more relaxing but I still have not quite got all of my tax info together and we are seeing an accountant on Saturday so I got to get my 7:45 together... (that reference is for Monika G). So like I said we see the Accountant at 9:00 on Saturday morning. I am hoping it won't take longer than an hour. Then we are having College Pro Painters come and do an estimate on what the cost will be to paint the trim on the windows. Anyone use College Pro before? I am wondering if they are any good. Then after College Pro, Michelle and I are going to the hockey game. Hopefully it will be Canada vs. USA. I happened to win 4 tickets to the game from work. If everything works out, I will still be in one peice. Just in time for Sunday Service.

I love eating at Church. There is just something fun about having easter breakfast at the church. This will be the first time that we are around for it at Church at Pine Ridge, so I am looking forward to it. What I am not looking forward to is practicing for worship team at 8:30 in the morning. YIKES... I thought that Friday was going to be early. I don't entirely mind to be honest. It is early and I am not getting a chance to sleep in during the weekend at all but I guess it isn't like this every week. Good thing cause if it was I would be having a breakdown.

So in all of this activity, I am going to have to find some time to work on my Project Charter. I did a presentation today for the Executive Sponsors at work today and things went really well. The extra time that I put into the presentation paid dividends. The VPs congratulated me on good work, and so that does make it worth while. It isn't like I need them to validate my work, because I know that I do good work, but it is one of those things that makes you feel like it was worth it. Now the real job starts.

So if I am crabby at church, please forgive me, I am going on limited sleep and have a lot to get done.

Johnny G's Rocks, Mitzy's Sucks

So you like chicken fingers you say. Well I certainly do too. I went for the "Best" chicken fingers in town on Friday at Mitzy's and I was utterly disappointed. Everyone in town loves this place except for me apparently.

Here is the story. I ordered the 8 fingers and fries for 10.95. I was really hungry so I figured that I would get the big plate. A couple of friends bought the 5 and fries. When your meal comes you get coleslaw, fries, chicken fingers and a dill sauce. It is honey dill sauce with out the honey. Now my main complaint is that if you order 5 chicken fingers you get the same sauce as with 8 fingers. I lika da sauce and so with 3 fingers left and no more sauce, I asked for some more.

Now the taste of the fingers where not bad, but they definitely weren't the best I have ever had.

When I went to pay, the girl asked me if I had an extra sauce. I of course said yes, and she said that was a buck extra. I was like, you have to be kidding. An extra $1.00? Sorry, yes. I sure wish they would have told me that when I asked for it. How Cheap!

With a dollar tip my chicken finger meal with only water to drink cost me 15 bucks. What a rip off. Now if you want chicken fingers the place to go is Johnny G's on Main Street. They are good fingers, you get a plate full of fries and you get all the sauce you can eat. The bonus, you only have to pay 10 bucks with a tip.

Johnny G's Rocks..... Mitzy's Sucks....

Not Busy, Buy a House

So you like to fix things you say? Well why not buy a house. Not just any old house, but a house on Silvia Street. That will get you in the right direction.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my house, but lately I have been getting a little depressed. I mean, my house is a lovely character home, and it definetly builds character. Let's start with the first big project... building the garage. The plan was to build a new garage, that was simple. I guess for the most part it was not that bad, except the fact that it cost a few bucks. Well then there is the issue of the old garage. I am starting to make plans on how to rip it down. Do I hire someone to tear it down or do I try to dismantle it piece by piece. Once that is done, I get to paint the trim on the outside of the house, eavestroughs are a little sketchy so those are next. Once the garage is torn down, I can reseed or re-sod my lawn, then I better build a fence to keep the neighbours out...

With all of that going on you think I would be full of activities for a year. Well Michelle needs to have some lights installed in her studio and by the way, it would be nice to paint the living room... Well on top of all that, today Michelle informed me that the tap for the hot water in the shower no longer works. Looks like cold showers for us... Not on your life!

Turns out the tap was striped so I headed off to Canadian Tire and bought a new tap, but of course you have to buy two cause they have to match. Also our washing machine has been leaking like crazy so I bought a couple of new hoses for that. All the while Michelle was tormenting me by needling me and poking me. Oh well.

Things seem to be looking up... nothing has broken down in the last hour, well except for one of my computers that I am trying to configure. So if you aren't busy and pretty handy, go buy a house...

The New Project

Work is really challenging. I have the opportunity to work with some really smart and passionate people. As most of you know I am working for an Insurance company in Winnipeg and I am a Project Manager. We have a couple of really great initiatives that I get the opportunity to work on.

I can’t mention the project but it is pretty substantial and will be one of the bigger ones that I have worked on. It is also a defining moment for me because the project will have a lot of visibility by the VPs and CEO of our company. The VP of Information Services said to me that he is staking his reputation on this project and that I will be running with it, so by transitive properties, that means my reputation is on the line too.

Of course with great risk there is great reward. I am really gung-ho about this project and I can’t wait to start. Right now we are still selecting product and going through some of the initiation processes.

In a couple months I will either be on top of the world or at the bottom of the barrel…

Where are you David

It has been so long it seems that I last posted on my blog. I have been so lethargic lately and it seems like I don’t have the energy to be clever and funny. I seems like I just want to go with the flow and my creativity has lost itself. So now that I have posted my excuse I guess I should share some sort of information on my life lately.

Work has been a true blessing to me. I am finding that I am getting a lot of things accomplished at the office which is more than I could have said the last 2 years of working at EPIC. I loved EPIC. I was proud of EPIC. They gave me a shot and I definitely wouldn’t be here in my position today if it wasn’t for them. But as the years went on, I say every wart that the company had. I was very frustrated with the fact that it was more like a college dorm than a work place. I am finally working with the grownups now.

So work is going good and I am getting increasing responsibility. Another great thing in my life is my wife. She is awesome. I know that most of you that read this blog know Michelle, and probably think she is pretty cool, but I see a side of her that no one else knows. Not here parents, not her brothers, just me, and that is awesome. She is such an amazing mate. It sounds cheesy to say that, but it really is true. Sometimes I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for her… Mind you, she reminds me of that too.

Church is the one area that I am not totally satisfied in right now, and I am not sure that it really Church that is the problem. I don’t seem very motivated. I read an article on a friends blog and it was very interesting. I didn’t exactly agree with everything the writer had to say but it was definitely interesting. I have been feeling like I am not being fed and this article was talking about sometimes you need to feed yourself.

Check out the article at: http://www.xanga.com/agapetos7

I don’t think that I am not being fed because of anything the church is doing or not doing, I rather think that it is something in me. Maybe I have a blocked passage or something…

Worth the Trip

As my lovely wife has mentioned in her blog, we had a great time in North Dakota. Grand Forks has some good stuff going on. The drive down to Grand Forks was pretty bad and my nerves were slightly frazzled. With the snow that came during the week and then the wicked wind, the roads were slightly less slippery than a spongee rink. There was at least an inch of ice covering most of the roads and just for fun there was bumps here and there. That made it really interesting because every once and a while the tires would kick out a little. In the first 10 minutes of driving out of Winnipeg we saw 6 cars / trucks in the ditch. That got Michelle in the right frame of mind...

Crossing the border was pretty painless. We had a guy that was not in a very good mood. I guess that is what they are paid for. At least we didn't have to get inspected. In total it took us 90 seconds and we were through. The roads in ND were pretty good, just blowing snow everywhere with the occasional drift.

We were pretty happy to get to the hotel.

I wasn't very thrilled with the mall in Grand Forks, matter of fact the only thing that we got there was a Pretzel. The stores kind of sucked for us. My parents were always pushing JC Penny on us, but we didn't really find anything there.

Our goldmine was found at Gordman's. It is right beside the Super Target and the best way to describe it is Winners on Steroids. The difference is that where Winners has one offs, Gordman's has the same thing in every size. I couldn't believe that they had my size in a lot of clothes. I also managed to find a pair of shoes that I like. I finally can retire my old CATS since they have a huge hole in them...

Over all the trip was really relaxing and we had a lot of fun. The food was great too... All I can say is deep fried ice cream.

On another note, Michelle has been putting the word out that I have had a little bit of a change in cut and color. So for all of you who have not seen me yet, here you go!

States Side

Michelle and I wanted to take a trip to North Dakota for some shopping, Mexican food and generally just to relax a bit, and so we were planning on making the trip with some friends. Unfortunately we weren't able to go the weekend everyone was planning (March 9-11th) because Michelle is taking a course and it happens to be on Sunday. We thought maybe we could still go and just come home early on Sunday but with the time change happening (make sure to set your clocks) and the fact we have to cross the border, Michelle was just a little bit nervous. So we decided to put those plans on hold. Funny enough, my Mom and Dad were planning to go this weekend and asked if we wanted to meet them down there. As it turns out Michelle didn't have a class this weekend so it worked out perfectly. So we are going to go get some American money and drive to Grand Forks. I was hoping to go to Fargo but I guess I will settle... Coincedently, we are staying at the Settle Inn... (Is that Cheezy) . Honestly, I can't make this stuff up...

So as I was saying we are going to go do some shopping and fill our need for Mexican food. I was thinking that maybe I could also stop by Theif River Falls and check out the Arctic Cat Plant. I wonder if they give tours. I heard that they have a snowmobile trail to the plant and people drive their sleds to work. I wonder if you are allowed to drive a Polaris to work...

So I was hoping people might give me some ideas of good stores to go to, or places to check out while I am States Side.

By the way, for the people that are hitting the states next weekend, pick up a TV Times from the Saturday Free Press, there are a bunch of good coupons for cheaper hotel rates. We are paying 55 Bucks a night.

Check out our "fromage" hotel: http://www.settleinn.com/grand-forks-settle-inn.html

By the way, I hope they have Krispy Kreme donuts at the gas station, because I am going to clean them out! I might actually make a special trip to Fargo just for those!

Operation myMuzik

Thanks for all of the feedback about the websites (specifically the myMuzik.ca website). I am getting to the point where I am happy with what I have. I know it isn't "professional" but that really isn't the point. Basically I am just waiting for content and then we will be finished. I also want to put a stat counter to see how many people actually visit the site and where they are coming from...

One of the features that I really like is the timetable which is dynamic. Basically Michelle can change the schedule on her own because it is connected to a database. Really cool eh! Ok, so it isn't "cool" per say... But I am proud none the less.

I have a couple of people interested in hosting their websites on my server so that is cool. I wouldn't mind off setting the costs a little bit. I realized that it is a little more expensive to have it at my house than originally thought. The good thing is that I have control of it.

So check it out again www.myMuzik.ca (Terry get over the spelling!) and let me know what you think of the almost finished product. Keep in mind there are no pictures and content yet. That is the next stage.

Family Camp

Well it has been a while since I last posted to this blog. It feels like I am all Blogged out…

So here is the update. Two weeks ago I was commissioned as the Rowandale Family Camp Dean. My role was simple, keep 125 adults and children in line for a weekend at camp. It is a natural role for me, since I love project management, but it was a challenge none the less. It was tough because Michelle was being a good sport and came along for the weekend. Her fear was that I would be off snowmobiling or something and she would be left behind with the women talking about babies and stuff like that. Or worse, she would be sitting by herself and no one would talk to her. Well I am happy to say that I didn’t leave her to go snowmobiling, however my role as dean made it so that I didn’t have a chance to sit down and eat with her. Since I was the dean, I had to decide which table eat first and that meant that I ate last… Over all it was a good weekend. Saturday we gave the kids rides on the snowmobiles, and even Michelle was out there taking the kids for rides.

Which leads me to my next thought. Michelle has been telling me how she doesn’t like the hills. She is scared of falling off the sled. I took her for a ride up a really steep hill and she did survive. Well when we got back to the other people I asked her if she wanted to take someone for a ride, and so she did. She went the same path that I took her, up the steep hill…. Unfortunately she jumped the road and went down the other side and got stuck in a creek. Fortunately she didn’t hurt herself. When she didn’t come back right away, my mind was going crazy, I thought maybe she might have fallen through the ice or something. We sent out a mini search party, and found her being helped out of the creek by some helpful strangers. Michelle was so embarrassed.

So that was basically the weekend.

Webmaster DES

Apparently I like to create websites. I just recently decided to get business Internet which basically allows me to host websites and email at home. I did this because I was paying someone to host a website for me... www.stonebuilder.ca ... and I wanted to help Michelle with some marketing so I figured she should have a website too. So I got it set up for the most part. Some things are still working themselves out, like transferring my website from the old server to the new one, and I am working on Michelle's new website. The name of her business is Michelle's Muzik and so we are building a site called www.mymuzik.ca I would be interested in your thoughts on the site. Mostly I am looking for some constructive criticism. Since it is still a work in process, it is not complete by any means, but I am looking for advice or comments about the layout and such.

Let me know what you think.

By the way, if you want to host a website, I would be more than willing to host it for you for a very minimal charge (basically just to cover costs).

Panda Sneezes

I found this on the internet... I thought it was Super funny!

Carnival - Oh how Fun

So this last weekend I helped Michelle out at her first annual MYC Carnival. Basically a bunch of kids running around screaming and yelling. Oh the noise! My task was simple, record the event in the form of digital archiving. Yeah I took the pictures.

It was actually kind of fun. If you like that sort of thing...

Some of the highlights, face painting, balloon races, ball darts (my favorite) and of course a fishing game. What kind of carnival could it have been without a fishing game.

All in all it was really good for Michelle to have this Carnival, and fun for the kids. Hopefully Michelle will have a few more kids from her classes next year.

Here is hoping I can retire because MYC takes off for Michelle!

And I thought I was Good

I thought I was good, but after taking a closer look, I realized that I ain't SHITE... I am talking about my photographic ability. I took pictures of a wedding, hoping that this is something that might take off in a year or two. I thought, maybe Michelle and I could have that second business and do something creative and fun... I did the job as a favour, and to be truthful, the person that hired me was doing me a favour too. It was to help me build my portfolio and in return I took around a thousand pictures and charged them only for my expenses. (The wedding was past Brandon). So basically I charged for gas and to cover a portion of equipment costs. Well I thought that the day went pretty good for my first try. It was only me because Michelle wanted to stay home. Something about getting married the next week... (I said suck it up, but apparently she was a little bit stressed). So I went on my marry little way and took these so called photographs, came back home during the night and was plenty proud of my first real job.

Fast forward 6 months and 2 weeks.

So here I am working on a website to display my talent and try to get another job. I look at the pictures and in every one of the pictures the people look distant or drunk... Ok so they were actually drunk, but I am sure that I could have done a better job. Now to be fair to myself I could argue that I didn't really fully understand my camera and that I have learned an incredible amount about photography in the last six months. Plus with Michelle helping with any future jobs I can concetrate on taking the shot while she is busy setting the shot up.

Hopefully I get another shot, and hopefully I remember the mistakes I made and also the lessons that I have learned. Hopefully I can find another broke sucker willing to let me do my worst... I mean best!

By the way, the website that I am working on is at http://www.stonebuilder.ca

It is only in development stage right now, so things change from day to day.

Six Months of BLISS!

Yes, as my wife has posted on her blog, today is our 6 month anniversary. I said a line in my 5 hour wedding speach; "I hope today is the day that I love you the least". Well it certainly was. I love Michelle more now than I have ever before, and the love keeps growing. Now I am not just saying this because Mich is reading my blog from time to time... I mean it helps, but I can honestly say that she is my best friend and I can't imagine my life with out her...

Is that mushy enough for you?

There are other plus sides to being married. For instance, I wake up and when I go to my dresser, I have clean gonch and socks... I put them down this chute when they are dirty and they arrive in my basket nice and clean. Also the strangest thing happens when you get married. The floors are always clean, I was told by a close friend that there is something called a Vaccum that cleans the floors. Apparently you get one when you get married. Supper doesn't consist of nachos every night. Now I get spaggetti and lasagna. Did you know that chickens don't just have fingers, there is actually more to them than that...

Before I got married, my bed never got made, now I have 8 pillows and a throw blanket... I used to just throw my blanket... apparently it isn't the same thing...

Seriously though, my wife is awesome. She is working really hard at learning football for me... I know, it is amazing! Also she loves to go snowmobiling and even has her own snowmobile jacket. If her high school friends could see her now...

Anyways, I love you Michelle, Happy 6 months...

I think I slept through last week

So sleepy. That was the theme of this past week. I am not sure why but I have been so tired. This week has been pretty busy too, so I am sure that had something to do with it. The end of the week was topped off by a visit from my in-laws. It was Michelle's dad's birthday last week so we had mom and dad Zink and Terry, plus Michelle's Aunt Joanne and Uncle Alex over for supper. The evening went really well, and I was able to catch the last half of the colts game!

Well against all odds my picks came through for me, Da Bears vs. Da Colts...

I finally got back on the trails today too. They sucked. Man how much do I have to pay for the trails to get groomed and they are horrible. I think next year, I might not buy the trail pass. It is a waste of money if the trails don't get groomed.

The Super Bowl lands on my nephews birthday this year. I was thinking of having a football party but I think they want to have the birtday party on the Super Bowl. I wonder if that will fly with the rest of my family.

I will keep you posted on that one!

The Back Story

Well my weekend was going to start with a big bang. Unfortunately it ended with a bang… That bang was me hitting the floor.

One of my friends (Matt) just got a new place and so I helped him move. My knee has been bugging me and since his new place is a walk-up three story apartment, I told Matt that I probably wouldn’t be able to carry stuff up the stairs. He was totally cool about that, and he ended up having around 6-7 other people there. I did do some lifting, but I was really careful not to lift with my back because I didn’t want to hurt myself.

The move went really well and we ended up doing most of it in not much time at all. I was feeling really good. I didn’t hurt anything so that was really great!

Sunday morning I was scheduled for playing on the worship team and things were pretty good, until after my shower. For some reason my back started to tighten up, and by the time I got to the church I was in severe pain.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any back relaxing medication but I did manage to pop a few Advil… My back still hurt big time and I was in obvious pain, but thank the Lord I made it through the worship time and the service was actually out a little early because we had a baptism…

I raced homeward and stopped off at the drug store. I may have gone a we bit over board, because I bought a bottle of 50 pills…. Isn’t it funny how when you are in pain you are like, give me the biggest bottle…

I got home and Michelle ended up using the massager on my back. I have such a wonderful wife! After about an hour my back loosened up and I was able to walk around without being in pain.

The worst part about this is that I had made plans on snowmobiling in the afternoon with my buddy Gord. I haven’t had a chance to go with him yet this year so I was really excited about going, but that is what happens I guess.

I did mention to Michelle that I could go out sledding cause my back felt better, and her response was, “If you go out I will never massage your back again old man!”

Needless to say we spent the afternoon hanging out in the living room and taking it easy.

By the way, I decided to never play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with Chris J again, he schooled me on the ways of the force! “Powerful was He”

The Super Bowl Dilemma

The Super Bowl dilemma started a few days ago for me. Not the usual dilemma like will I serve pizza at the party, do I make a spinach dip with the funny bread that no one buys unless there is a party, or do I open the party to everyone or just a select few that will really enjoy the game. No my dilemma was which province would I be in for the game. Now since my Cowboys didn't make it to the next round... (this is a touch subject for me right now, please don't make me go back to therapy) I am not overly excited at this point in the game. I am sure that once the game gets closer things will change, but I am still feeling a little bitter.



Needless to say I am working on a project at work which requires the travel to our Eastern brother's province of New Brunswick. I didn't realize when I started planning the project that the heart of work was going to be going on Super Bowl weekend.... WHOOPS! It was actually Michelle that reminded me that it was Super Bowl weekend (how is it possible that she would know that and I don't - Very Weird). So as I continued to do the planning the VP was suggesting that I should be down there to watch over and if any problems would happen to occur, at least I would be there to help out. Oh boy, what did I get myself into? So the last couple of days I have been trying to figure out, how I can be in Moncton, NB and still watch the whole game. Maybe there is a bar close to watch it in... Things were looking very bleak....

Then it came. The email that I was longing for! I was told that a different manager should go along with the team, because he had a good relationship with the Moncton VP. AWE SHUCKS.... To bad for me.

Now I have to plan a party.

The Great White Hunter

As I stalked my prey, I could feel the fear in the room. Yeah, that was my wife screaming and maybe shedding a few tears. I think that she was the only one that was afraid the first night, and the second night, but not the third night. Well maybe just a little. But she shall fear no more, for I, David of Silva, have snared the beast in the craftiest of ways.... Actually I went to Safeway and for around a buck eighty-seven you can buy a pack of two mouse traps... Michelle insisted that I buy three packs...

Well we didn't have any action the first night, and there was much panic. We went to work the next day and hoped it would find its way to the wonderful treat we left, but no such luck... Coincidently we went for dinner to Perkins because we couldn't stand the thought of the beast in the next room, oh and yeah, as if they don't have mice! This morning I checked the house and inspected all the traps.... Nothing! Will the madness ever end?

I got home from work, I first checked the Kitchen.... then the dinning room.... then the living room by the TV.... then by the fish tank.... NOTHING! Please one more left, please let it be the one....


DING DONG THE MOUSE IS DEAD, THE MOUSE IS DEAD, THE MOUSE IS DEAD, DING DONG THE WICKED MOUSE IS DEAD!

And now we shall not fear, for we have conquered the rodent that haunted us at night.... Well mostly Michelle, I slept like a baby....

I am sure that Michelle will have her own take on the events, but I wouldn't believe them if I were you.

By the way, for ideas on how to catch a mouse, check out Wikipedia Mouse Trap

The first one is so Exciting

Well here goes. This is the usual first blog. " I have never done this before, I am going to try to think of something, blah blah blah..." Truth is that I haven't ever blogged before and I am getting caught up in the craze... I want to hang out with the cool kids and have my own blog.

My wife Michelle got me hooked on checking blogs. I would check out her page and see what kind of crazy comments she would make about what is going on in the house. Then I would read all of the wacky comments that everyone makes... But it doesn't end there. Then I have to click on everyone else's blog and see what they are doing... Will it ever end? Probably not, especially now that I can no longer hide behind the screen and just observe... No, now I have to input as well, continuing this vicious cycle. I am sorry that I have to involve you now.

Don't forget to check out Michelle's blog.

Yes that was a trick... See now you are hooked too.

So what are you going to find here? More than likely this blog will be dedicated to the everyday life of David and Michelle. Oh yeah, with some football and snowmobiling thrown in the mix.

Maybe tomorrow I might even figure out how to post a picture or two...