Where are you Christmas?

Well, I would say - Christmas is here!  We are singing songs about Christmas, songs about the birth of Jesus.  All the gifts are wrapped.  Brian and I have finished our secret project.

I am truly looking forward to the holiday.  Cant wait to spend time with my family, the kids, the grandkids, my parents and anyone else who shows up!  Christmas Day here at our house, Boxing Day at Tara and Chris's. 

Brian and I have talked alot this season about the gifts.  Turns out that for Brian it is not the gift receiving ,but the giving.  Not the gift in the box, but the packaging and wrapping.  He was pretty creative in the wrapping.

Brian is in bed right now watching the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  And negotiating with his Dad.  Apparently he wants Dad to stay and watch the movie. Dad won and Brian is watching on his own.  I expect he will fall asleep before the first gift is stuffed up the chimney!

Merry Christmas to all of my dear friends!

So.. Where do you go for health care if you dont have the flu?

Seriously!  I need an answer to this question.  No one at the Hospital was able to answer that. 

Here is the story as it played out.  As you know Phil is a type 2 diabetic.  Over the last month his medications that he takes to help his body use the produced insulin have stopped working, or his body has stopped producing enough insulin for the medications to use.  Either way, he has been struggling with some pretty high blood sugar levels in the evenings.  To combat that, he has been careful about what he eats, and to help the level drop he has been walking.

He has seen his family doctor about this problem and his dosages have been raised to the max and an appointment made to see the specialist on October 30.  Phil was told that if his blood sugar level got too high he was to go to the hospital and get an insulin shot.  High being 20.  (normal is between 4-7)  This brings us to last night....

Ate dinner, then headed to the mall, Brian needed some new clothes and Phil needed to walk.  While Brian and I shopped, Phil  walked around the mall - at a pretty good clip - he made the circuit 3 times while Brian tried on jeans.  We walked a bit more after that, then headed home. 

Settled in, I got my work done, Phil was happy watching tv, Brian was playing a computer game.  Just after 9:00 pm. Phil takes his blood sugar and it registers at 25.  I said, "ok off we go to the hospital!" 

I got Brian settled, knowing my sister would be home in a very short while, and drove to the hospital.  Checked in at 9:30 --- Left at 2:30 am -- never saw a doctor.  Why you might ask?

Well apparently, there was only on doctor working that evening ( I saw 2 off and on), they were "slammed" with flu cases, and no one , and i mean no one, could explain to me why Phil was not seen.  He had his vitals taken at triage, and his blood sugar and he was sent along the blue line to the emerg waiting room, there another nurse took his vitals, and his blood sugar and ordered a blood and urine test.  At close to 1:00 am we asked if there was any idea when a doctor would see him,  Got a very snitty answer about no one being able to answer that.  Shortly after I asked a nurse to check his blood sugar again -- still very high , but lower than  when we came in.  That nurse said that his chart was not "there", that the doctor must have it and would see Phil soon.

At 2:30 - no doctor, no treatment, no idea of when a doctor may be available - Phil decided to leave.

During our 5 hour visit -  I saw many people walk in with flu symptoms,  they all saw a doctor and left the hospital! 

All I am left with is one of two conclusions -- either Phil's chart was lost --- or FLU PATIENTS ARE FIRST!  That brings me right back to my original question -- if you don't have the flu or flu like symptoms, where go you go for emergency health care in BC? 

Seriously - I really need to know.

Oh the Joy of Renting!

We rent the upper floor of a house. That means that there are people we do not know living downstairs. They change frequently.



We have had the lady who turned the furnace off cause it made noise - causing a cold cold winter for us! She also smoked in the house. We had the mother and son with the dog that barked and barked and barked and barked. Then we had the "non smokers" who smoked everything! They partied! Then one of them moved out and in moved another and then he moved out and in moved some girls.



And then today I came home to find people in the driveway waiting to see the place. And the interested party so far - 2 adults, a 2 year old a 3 year old and a baby due in November.

One thing you need to know about this house -- it is just a regular single family home that has been sectioned off into 2 suites. There is no sound proofing between floors. If you use the bathroom in the master bath you can listen to conversations downstairs.

Can you imagine the noise of 3 kids under 3 in a house like this? Not to mention that we pay 70% of the utilities. That is certainly something that will have to change!!!

Oh give me strength!

Vacation Part Two

The second half of our vacation has been very quiet. I believe that Phil over did it on the first half. He has been in a significant amount of pain since Wednesday afternoon. We came home on Thursday and he went straight to bed. He has been lying low ever since.

Today Tanya, Andre and Warren came for lunch. After lunch, Tanya and I went out to buy some blueberries. We stopped on the way home and picked blackberries. Then I came home and made 10 jars of freezer jam. I made them with Splenda so Phil can have a winter of yummy jam for his toast!

After all that activity, I went out and picked up some indian food for dinner. Another quiet evening in the Lang household! Brian is off at a friends for the weekend.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer!

Sunshine Coast Vacation - Part one

This is a great Sunshine Coast vacation -- We are blessed to be staying in Maderia Park at The Enchanter Bed & Breakfast (found here http://www.enchanterbb.com/). We are staying in a lovely trailer, under the trees. We have a nice view of the harbour.

We came up here on Sunday - had a good drive up, the kids enjoyed the ferry ride. Got settled in - the tent set up and went shopping for groceries. This trailer is completely decked out with all you need to prepare meals for the family.

Spent the evening visiting with our hosts (who if you don't already know -- are Andre's Parents), we enjoyed a great bottle of wine and awesome company.

When bed time rolled around we got the two boys squared away in the tent and settled in for our first night. Somewhere in the middle of the night - the skies opened and the tent flooded and we had two wet kids, with their wet bedding at the door. In quick order we had them settled for the night in the trailer. They quickly fell back asleep and I layed in bed listening to the rhythmic breathing of the boys and Phil, accompanied by the rain. It was pouring!

We spent the next day, driving around checking out the countryside. We took a drive to Sechelt to dry all the wet bedding at a laundromat. Took the kids to McD for lunch and then did some groceries. It rained most of the day. We spent the afternoon watching movies, playing games and just hanging out in general.

Today we rose to a beautiful blue sky and the sun shining down on the trailer. It was incredible! After breakfast we loaded up the car and headed out to find a fishing spot! We ended up at Hotel Lake where the kids did a little fishing - the fish won!

We had a lovely roadside picnic at Garden Bay Lake. After the boys had had their fill of fishing and hanging at the lake - we headed off to check out a gallery and the yurts.

On our way back to the trailer we picked up some wasp traps (that are working awesomely!), some ice cream and some sugar cones. Spent the remainder of the day eating ice cream, playing cards and watching the boys laze away the time in the hammock. During dinner another rain storm erupted. It was a short one. Now i am sitting here writing and watching the sun slowly set over the harbour.

Tomorrow? A tour of the harbour - - it is only an hour and a half, so dont worry! Then -- who knows? That is the beauty of being on vacation - we really dont have to do anything if we dont want to!!

Hope you are all well! Love ya!

Stay Cool?

How do we stay cool in heat like this?

1. only hang out in air conditioned places
2. huddle around the fan
3. have a 24 hour long water fight
4. dont move too much
5. stand in a cold shower
6. drop ice cubes down your top and your pants
7. drink buckets of water
8. go to the mall - as long as it is air conditioned
9. dream of snow - but not too much cause I hate to shovel
10. eat a ton of freezies
11. hang your head in the deep freezer, while looking for said freezies
12. find a body of water and get in (lake, pool, bathtub, kiddie pool)

Keep adding to the list- as we all think of ways to cool off - maybe we will start to feel cool! I for on am sitting in the living room with the air conditioner and a spray bottle of cold water, spraying my legs and feet!

Home!

Today Phil came home! This is a good thing. No more driving around looking for a parking spot at the hospital. And I am sure if you asked Phil he is happy to be here too. We picked up a prescription for pain killers, grabbed some easy heat in the microwave meals and came home.

Phil has his computer in front of him, his feet up and a smile on his face. Brian is playing wii and I am nursing a headache. Hoping it will be gone really soon as I am going out tonight.

All in all, this has been a good day!!! I am so happy that Phil is home.

Now that was scary!

I want to thank you all for your prayers of the past couple of days!

What a scare we have had. To fill you all in, this began about 4 days ago. Phil had a pain on his left side. It continued to get worse and worse and worse. On Thursday morning we drove to the hospital. Phil was in severe pain. Over the next few hours, he was seen by the doctor, hooked up with some morphine, had a cat scan and then we waited for results. Turned out there was a foreign object in the small intestine that had perforated the wall and a raging infection was brewing. The only treatment option was surgery. So after a very brief conversation with the surgeon - an emergency surgery was scheduled.

Surgery went as well as could be expected. And Phil went from there to an acute care ward (like an icu - one nurse to each patient) I was told that he would be there for 24 - 48 hours. He did so well he was moved to the Maxi Care ward ( 2 patients to each nurse) less than 24 hours after surgery.

He continues to do very well. He looks very strange, tubes everywhere and machinery monitoring him.

We are praying that he continues to do well. Hoping he will be home in a week and able to attend Tara and Chris's wedding on the 25th.

He is able to have visitors, 2 at a time and for short periods of time. His parents came to see him this evening. All the kids have been there of course. It meant so much to him to know that all the girls were there during the surgery. He loved seeing Brian today. Even if he was abit scared that Brian might poke him!

When I left him this evening, he was "watching" the space channel. His eyes were closed and he seemed very peaceful. I am praying that he has a good night.

Again, thank you all for your prayers!

J.O.Y. Mine

Jesus
Ours
Yours
MINE

Went to Church this morning - not unlike every other Sunday really. Went to our home Church, Calvary Christian Church. The morning was very much like other Sundays, we went to Tim Horton's on the way for breakfast. Nothing unusual....

That is until Praise and Worship time. During worship I was struck by the words the songs, songs that were very familiar to me. nothing really new - just a new meaning. Isn't it amazing how that can happen. One of the songs we sang was, When I Survey the Wonderous Cross, a hymn written in 1707! The words of the hymn (as we sang it today):

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

As we sang this song, and others, like Enough and I Surrender, I was struck by the joy that is found in trusting Jesus with our lives. And the Joy in knowing that God never fails! (thank you Ruth for your word!) The Joy in knowing that we were so important to God that he sacrificed his own son for our salvation.

So cool when a God uses a Sunday morning service to reveal something! Even in the sermon this morning God continued to reveal Joy to me.

So thankful that I made the decision to get up and go to Church this morning!

Oh Happy Day!

Today was a happy day! It was the day of Tara's Shower. The sun was shining and we were able to spend a glorious afternoon in Tanya's back yard, blessing Tara with gifts and advice (most of it good, some of it questionable! lol)

There was good food and awesome company! Tara enjoyed all her gifts.

I posted some photos on facebook if you are interested.

Thanks Tanya for organizing and thank you guests for coming!

And in a short time there will be wedding! Yahoo!

Oh for a hot fudge sundae!

It all started last Wednesday -- as many good families have done in the past and will do again in the future -- we bribed our 11 year old with a hot fudge sundae from mcdonalds. Even offered double sauce.

That bribe would have worked well but for one thing. The Mcdonald's near us had no hot fudge! Are you kidding me! It is hot outside and there is not hot fudge????

Being the awesome kid that he is - he said maybe another night. He was better about it than me! I was bitter --- I wanted that sundae.

Two nights later - we decided to go for the sundae. And guess what --- yup --- no hot fudge. This time we decided we would go a bit farther a field. We drove to the next Mcdonalds - and ordered 3 hot fudge sundae's, sauce on the top and the bottom. And we were told that Mcdonalds doesnt serve hot fudge sundaes any more. SERIOUSLY?? what the heck? No HOT FUDGE?????

We offered the kid a Frosty from Wendy's and drove down the street to get one. I decided that seeing as I was not getting a hot fudge sundae I would try the new twisted frosty - coffee toffee. Now if you have had a twisted frosty you know that they take either chocolate or vanilla frosty and they swirl it up with some candy or cookie, sort of like a mcflurry or a knock off blizzard.

When we got to the window - the lady handed us a chocolate frosty, two spoons and something that resembled a milk shake that had been sitting out in the sun for an hour or so. Well - after the devastation that the Mcdonalds was no longer serving hot fudge sundaes, I was not in the mood to settle for anything less than what was advertised. So I made Phil stop the car at the front door of the Wendy's and I walked in with the sloppy mess of a dessert and plunked it on the counter. The lady asked me if there was a problem --- oh I bet she was sorry that she asked that!!!! I said yes!!! look at this - this is a twisted frosty? And she said yes -- well I told her was expecting something that I could eat with a spoon, like the m&m one. She offered to make me a new one but it would look the same. I said why would I want that???? Please refund my money. She told me she couldnt do that. I just about jumped the counter. I told her I had ordered a twisted frosty as depicted on their order board and had not received that and I wanted my money back.. I even took down their ad from infront of the till and showed it to her. After asking for my money back a few more times I did get it.

Then we did what we probably should have done in the first place ----- we went to Dairy Queen.

That was on Wednesday --- on Friday I went to a scrapbook retreat. One of the young ladies there ran out to get something from Mcdonalds in Langely. Imagine my utter and total amazement when she came back with a hot fudge sundae!!!!!

Apparently - only Surrey has no Hot Fudge!!!

Today -- my wonderful husband and son brought me a hot fudge sundae ---- you guessed it ---- from DAIRY QUEEN!

A Love Story - part 2

Now He & She were a They.

They liked each other.

They met each other's families.

They met each other's friends.

They went to movies.

They talked for hours on the phone.

They took the baby to the park.

They spent as much time as they could together.

They hated being apart.

He asked her to marry him.

She laughed and said no (thought He was kidding)

They keep on spending every waking moment together.

He asked her to marry him.

She said YES!

And so, They got married -- May 17, 1975.

And 34 years later......

They still like each other!

They still spent tons of time together!

They still enjoy the love story.

A Love Story - part 1

It all started a very long time ago, on a beach not too far away from where I sit right now.

She was 16 years old and the mother of a 2 month old baby. This was her very first time going out alone without the baby.

He was 18 years old and doing what he normally did on the weekend, partying.

She was there with some new friends, checking out the beach party.

He was there with his friends, hanging out, checking out the girls.

She drank too much tequilla.

He caught her as she stumbled into the fire on the beach.

She thought he was a gentleman.

He thought she was hot. ( seeing as she almost fell in a fire, she was alittle warm)

She needed a ride home.

He had a car.

She was impressed by the $ in his ashtray.

He was impressed by her.

They were impressed by each other, enough to start spending all their time together.

update, update, update

Here is the update at a glance

Victoria -- fun fun fun - dont like bugs!
Mother's Day -- spoiled spoiled spoiled - love my family!
Warren's Birthday -- party, party, party -- thanks Tanya and Andre
Brian's Birthday -- quiet, quiet, quiet --- party to follow with 5 boys in attendance
Work -- busy, busy, busy -- what else is new?
Wedding Anniversary -- 34, 34, 34 years!!! -- yup and all to the same man!

AND THAT IS THE UPDATE TODAY!

Wednesday in my World!

I was on the phone today with my Boss talking about an IT issue. After about 4 minutes, the conversation went something like this:

Boss: So if we print to file - what kind of program will be used to open?

Me: looks like excel will work just fine

Boss: is the data on the worksheet usable?

Me: a bit hard to understand , no headings, but I think I can fiqure it out......

D: Excuse me Laura - there is an urgent call for you from the school

Me: Crap -- oh sorry Boss -- can i call you right back? School on phone

Boss: no problem

Me: Hello School?

School: I have kid in the office, he is not feeling well, do you want to talk to him?

Me to self: not really!

Me to School: of course thanks!

Kid: Mom? my stomach hurts and my legs hurt and i want to throw up!

Me: oh baby, do you think you can make it through the day? (thinking how do I possible balance this one? Boss waiting-- Kid sick-- Crap!)

Kid: No Mom -- I really feel sick!

Me: ok let me talk to School

School: yes?

Me: I will be there as soon as my meeting with Boss is over, can he stay in the office?

School: yes

Me: Boss? Kid is sick! I need to go get him. I'll drop him at home. get him settled and come back. Sorry to drop the ball on this project.

Boss: not to worry - take your time. Call me once you get him home and let me know how it is going.

Me: thanks Boss!

And then the race was on! Get across town, wake up Kid sleeping in sick room, talk to Teacher, take Kid home, take temperature - 99.9 crap! find tylenol, dose Kid, turn on TV, heat up a frozen meal, eat lunch, take temperature, 99.1, good! Get kid settled infront of TV. Call Hubby - He's 2.5 hours away, CRAP! Tell Sister, Kid is home, head back to work, call Boss, finish project!

And then collapse! Boy am I happy the week is half over!!!

SMS - Sad Movie Syndrome

I have this! SMS - Sad Movie Syndrome - I watch a sad movie and I cry. Even if I happen to be watching it for the second time.

Today,for some reason my husband decided to watch "A Walk to Remember". I dont think he had ever seen it before.

He put it on and watched the first part of the movie, and then decided to go clean the car out. (Why? I dont know, but it was my car -so I didnt stop him!)
He returned to the movie after the part where we find out that she is dying. He became quite distressed that she was sick!

So here I sit, tears in my eyes, while my husband is wondering why he bothered with the movie!

I wonder if I should make him read the movie synopsis prior to turning on a movie? What do you think? Then maybe I would not have to cry and he would not have to suffer the distress of the sad movie syndrome! (I always cry at sad movies, I tend to rate them by the number of tissues required to wipe the tears away!)

Sickies in the house!

I can not believe it! We have sickies in the house again!
Yesterday it was the big kid, moaning in bed with a fever of 100.3 - which apparently telling him where the tylenol was is an indication that I dont care that he has a fever and may be dying!
And then last night - got the little kid to bed and sat down in the quiet living room to watch a little tv and there it was, the kid, "Mom - i feel like someone punched me in the stomach and I have a headache"
Crap! the busiest week ahead as I prepare for the audit and the kid is sick. What to do, What to do?
So I handed him some gravol, cause i didnt want to be up all night cleaning up puke and headed him back to bed.
This morning? Still sick, and the big kid who is also still sick has gone to work. And there is no way I can stay home today. I guess he stays home with his aunt this morning and his dad will have to come home a bit early!
So tell me - where did this sudden onset illness come from and who do i complain to?

Crazy days!

Well - today was interesting - to say the very least!
The lost was found, and a crisis averted.
The cel phone gremlins hit and phones are misplaced, lost, stolen, reactivated and in the end I think it may all work out.
I received a lovely gift from an unexpected source, to thank me for helping out.
I chose the wrong line up at the bank and ended up standing in one place for more than 20 minutes!
Got home late and was offered a choice of chinese food or bbq burgers, chose burgers cause we had them and Phil said but I thought you would choose the chinese. So we had chinese! I have a great husband!
And now - we wait for the Idol result show!
It has been a crazy day!

What's New?

1. Brian got a hair cut - very radical - check out my facebook pic
2. Works seems to be getting crazier every day - not more files or anything - just crazy!
3. We are going on a field trip to Victoria and at the end of the day stealing our son away and staying the weekend
4. Mothers Day is coming - hint hint
5. Warren will be one
6. Brian will be 11
7. I am speaking this Saturday at a ladies brunch - and when I finished writing and practiced speaking I only had 6 minutes - thought i had WAY to much! LOL back to the writing
8. today I am going to Starbucks for the free coffee - it is earth day!

And now you have had a brief update of my life!

It's Tuesday - it must be Idol!

Ok - we watched the show and half way through the last performer (Adam) Phil turned to me and said - why bother - they should just give it all to him right now! What a talent that guy has. Really entertaining and an awesome voice.

I predict the results of this season will be Adam as Idol and Alison as runner up and then Danny.

What is your prediction for the top three?

American Idol Addiction

After talking about last night's show with the ladies at work, I have decided that maybe the addiction to the show is much wider spread than first thought.

Brian is working on a project at school on drugs and alcohol and I am wondering if I should suggest he switch topics to AI Addiction, and the dangers of becoming hooked.

Signs of an AI Addiction

1. you reschedule your children's music lessons and swimming lessons so you can be home Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in order to see both the performances and the results. Once that is done you try to work a schedule where all lessons are now on Saturdays together with sports practices.

2. you know the names of all the top 12 (13 this year) and their home towns

3. you form your own judging panel in your front room and argue with each other about the performances ( Paula and Simon style)

4. you know just who will be able to sing the "phone book" and who will be bringing the "artistry" to the stage each week

5. you find yourself referring to your children as "dawg"

6. every Wednesday morning and Thursday morning you gather around the coffee pot or water cooler and discuss the previous evenings show and do not even begin to work until everyone has given their opinions! - - or alternately your morning cannot fully begin until you have discussed the previous evening's show with at least 2 other people - in person or electronically.

If you can say "yes, I do that!" to any of the above you may be AI Addicted and it is time to find a support group. Now the difficulty with that is there are NO SUPPORT GROUPS!

So - if there is someone out there who WANTS to deal with their addictions - start a group. But I think it will be a very lonely group! I for one will not be joining, I will be revelling in my addiction and enjoying the rest of the season.

I will however need grief counselling when the season is over! Maybe we will need a group for that? Let me know!

A time to blog

Seeing as it has been so long - I thought I should blog.

Life is crazy, seems like that is becoming the norm and not the exception these days. Work is getting busy, which is good.

I am feeling the desire to purge the house of unneeded junk. Any volunteers to come and be ruthless? I have been hoarding useless stuff for too long! The time has come to get rid of it.

Tonight we are indulging ourselves and watching American Idol I hate to admit it but we are addicted. Phil and I sit here and listen and judge, cause you know we know everything about being a pop star in America!! LOL Not sure how we got so addicted but here we are week after week watching the show. We are very fond of Adam and Danny this year.

Brian is wasting time trying to avoid doing his homework, - what else is new! Sometimes he does that by playing piano - so how to tell the kid who takes piano lessons to stop practicing? Oh such a dilemna!!!

So - life in the Lang household is chugging along, chugging along! Hope all is well with all of you!

Retaliation has begun!

Retaliation, sort of like revenge? For any of you who have been following Tanya's blog you will know that we pulled a prank on them while they were in Europe.

Phil, Brian and I hid a very large number of pictures of Jesus in their house. I cant tell you how many as they have not found them all yet.

Well, today they started the retaliation. We all went to church together today and when we left the church and walked to our car we were greeted by a wonderful site! Every glass surface of our car had been covered (from the inside) with the pictures. I laughed so hard. I can not even begin to imagine what other people in our church thought as they walked or drove by the spectacle.

Then when we got home, the two of them proceeded to wallpaper one wall in Brian's room with the same pictures that I had taken down from the car. Brian came home from his sleepover and was greeted with a wall of Jesus watching over him.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. I know Brian has some pretty good pranks up his sleeve.

It is such fun to have such fun loving kids! And watch out -- you never know who will be next!!!!

Update - Friday

Not much going on lately. The past week has been uneventful - the time change took place and we struggled for the majority of the week trying to adjust. I think we have made it. I am not convinced that I am in favour of the time change. I believe that our bodies are shocked in a very bad way when we are forced to change our sleeping and eating habits.

It seems that things are picking up at work. I am back to 5 days a week and glad for that.

Tonight, Brian is going to a sleep over and Phil and I are looking for something to do. We may just stay home and do nothing but you never know!

Let's hope something of interest happens around here so my next blog is not quite so boring.

Pizza, Movie, Dinner, Hot Tub, Pool and McDonalds

That kind of sums up our weekend in one short title!

Friday night we went out for Pizza - yummmmm
Saturday afternoon we went to see Paul Blart Mall Cop --- funny!
Saturday evening we went to dinner with Tara & Chris - FUN!
Saturday evening we went hot tubbing at Sanda's - very relaxing
Sunday afternoon we went to the Canada Games Pool - exercise!
Sunday evening we went to McDonalds for a quick dinner with Brian and his friend

And that is the full weekend that we had! How was yours?

The Needs thingy

I did the "Laura needs" on facebook - then afterwards I thought it would be fun to do it as LJ.

So here is "LJ needs" as determined by Google.

1. LJ needs to be taken to the Wood Shed (ooh ooh - I must have been so very very bad!)
2. LJ needs touches, its that simple....
3. LJ needs pix! (to take to scrapbooking camp this weekend?)
4. LJ needs librarians (actually I think I need books, not a librarian)
5. LJ needs our support
6. LJ needs some fluff ( everyone can use some fluff!)
7. LJ needs more lists!! (YUP that is what I need cause I certainly dont have enough!)
8. LJ needs more artistic input (for scrapbooking camp?)
9. LJ needs xpress reviewers (for the artistic input I guess)
10. LJ needs a new frame (for all the stuff I create at scrapbooking camp?)

now that was actually more fun than doing Laura! I say if you havent done this give it a try. In the search bar on google - type "(your name) needs" and see what comes up. Be sure to use the quotation marks. This list was fun!!!

Another Survey Thing - from Facebook

You've been tagged! You have to write a new note (on your profile page under Notes), copy and paste these lines and fill in your answers.Now tag 10 people... don't forget to tag me!!

1.YOUR REAL NAME: Laura Jane Lang

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle names)I am hooped - I cant go into the witness protection -- my mother has no middle name!!!

3.NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)James Frederick

4.STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)Lan La

5.DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)Blue Kitten

6.SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)Jane Vancouver

7.SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)THE Pink Misto Tea

8.FLY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)Lala

9.STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)Vanilla Oatmeal Raison

10.SKANK NAME: (1st pet's name, street you grew up on)Bunny Bluebird

11.GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of first name plus 'izzle')Lauizzle

12.YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)Black Rascal

13. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)Chance Chocolate Cherry

Stolen from Tanya!

Sometimes the easiest way to blog is to just go to Tanya's and copy! So here goes - I will answer all the questions and you can do with it what you want!

1. What time did you get up this morning? not quite early enought -- had to rush to get Brian ready for school!
2. Diamonds or pearls? I like diamonds - I dont have many - but I like them
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Madagascar 2 -- I think. Or was it something else. Maybe I should wake up Brian and ask him? He would remember.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Friends - all 10 seasons
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? bagel and tea, or if Phil is making it eggs, bacon and toast
6. What is your middle name? Jane
7. What food do you dislike? Liver and any other organ meat. Why would I want to eat something that cleans toxins out of the blood? come on now!
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? hmmm --- I dont really have a favorite - lately the only thing I listen to is an audible book
9. What kind of car do you drive? Subary legacy
10. Favorite sandwich? not a real sandwich fan! unless of course a cheesburger is a sandwich -- in that case -- cheeseburger
11. What characteristic do you despise? selfcenteredness
12. Favorite item of clothing? anything that fits
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? wow - too many choices here - so I will have to copy Tanya - well only sort of - anywhere Brian and Phil are. and even better - a huge family vacation - Tara, Chris, Tanya, Andre, Warren all together somewhere!
14. Favorite brand of clothing? dont care about labels so i will say see #12
15. Where would you retire to? I was hoping to retire to the basement of one of my kids houses so I can help with daycare? what do you think?
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? my 50th - or maybe my 30th - they were both very special
17. Favorite sport to watch? kids playing
18. Furthest place you are sending this? not sending it anywhere - just posting it here
19. Person you expect to send it back first? no one
20. When is your birthday? I will only tell you if you promise to send presents
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? lately - neither
22. What is your shoe size? not telling you! it is a national security thing
23. Pets? the largest cat in the neighbourhood -- Rascal
24. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us? I want Tanya to have another baby!
25. What did you want to be when you were little? Famous
26. How are you today? Good - getting ready to go visit Sharon, which is awesome!
28. What is your favorite flower? carnations
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Feb 26 - going to scrapbook camp
30. What’s your full name? Laura Jane Lang
31. What are you listening to right now? a rerun of Hope & Faith and the click click click of our keyboards
32. What was the last thing you ate? a Baileys chocolate
33. Do you wish on stars? sometimes
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? midnight blue
35. How is the weather right now? i think it is cold cause i am cold.
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Diane - from work
37. Favorite soft drink? root beer
38. Favorite restaurant? hmmm dont really have one
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? a baby doll that i lost in a hotel in the states somewhere , i was really sad
41. Summer or winter? Fall.
42. Hugs or kisses? not going to choose
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? vanilla
44. Coffee or tea? dont want to choose
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? if they like
46. When was the last time you cried? today - when i looked at my paycheque and the reality of the cutback hit me!
47. What is under your bed? much dust
48. What did you do last night? sleep
49. What are you afraid of ? small close places
50. Salty or sweet? depends on the day
51. How many keys on your key ring? no idea, never counted
52. How many years at your current job? 5
53. Favorite day of the week? now
54. How many towns have you lived in? do you really care?
55. Do you make friends easily? Sometimes? I like to think I do

Sunday's Rock!

I started my day off in kind of a strange way -- I was at church, setting up the Easy Worship for the first Service. I had downloaded all the new backgrounds and was starting to set up the program when ..............

I was rudely awoken by Phil saying -- we need to hurry, it's 7:30 and we need to leave now.

That is right I was dreaming - dreaming of what I was going to do this morning. I was quite saddened to learn that we were not there yet.

So up we got, quickly got ready, got Brian up and dressed and off we headed to McDonalds drive thru for breakie. Hit the church right on time and settled in for next 3.5 hours. First service was good- missing some sound for the first part (someone had unplugged something!) Second service went off with out a hitch. The new backgrounds worked out awesome!

Brian spent both services in a ball on the floor, poor kid is barking when he coughs and was feeling pretty miserable! But he is a true trooper and he hung out with us with out complaint.

After the second service we invited Cathie, Gray and Isabelle to our house for sandwiches. Sounded like an easy lunch - Phil and I wanted Chicken Salad on potato buns. Yummmy! So we headed to IGA to get the best buns - they had lots, but now chicken salad or even a deli chicken to cut up for chicken salad. So off to Safeway we went. There we got the chicken salad and a few things for the sick kid!

After lunch we all watched Open Season 2. The DeForges left and the Langs took a nap.

Then it was off to hunt down some fish and chips for dinner (Phil's craving). Not as easy as it sounds, there are not too many fish and chip shops around anymore, and most of them are closed on Sunday. We found some and brought them home to eat while we watched America's Funniest Home Videos - which Brian slept through.

And now - because there is nothing on, Phil and I are watching the Grammy's and Brian is playing Maple Story. He is headed to the bath shortly and then off to bed!

Even with a sick child, we have had a great day, worshipping in the house of the Lord, spending time with family and friends. I think this is what Sunday's are made for.

One Month To Live

We started a new series at Church today - it is called One Month To Live - Thirty days to a no regrets life.

Phil and I started reading the book to day and will continue to read it for the next 30 days. We are hoping to join a Challenge Group that will be running for the next 6 weeks.

It is a Church wide program, from Grade 6 and up. All services and all study groups will be doing the same series.

I am really looking forward to it - I am looking forward to what God has planned for us and learning more about how to live my life as He would have me live it.

Fireproof - a review

Ok- so last night we went to see the movie Fireproof. We met up with Sylvia and Ozzie - she asked me if I brought kleenex as the movie was a tearjerker. Kleenex? I hadn't even thought about that!

Well, I must say that I truly enjoyed the movie - and I did tear up a couple of times. And we laughed! The story was good and the movie was entertaining. The movie challenged us to look at our marriage and our relationship with God.

I would recommend this movie to everyone -- If you get a chance see it - see it!

Friday - Lunch time

And I am really truly taking a lunch break today. Heated up a bowl of chili and got a cup of tea. So far so good. The phone is quiet and not being demanding today. Of course I am working in the Abbotsford office and the phone here only rings if someone is calling for me directly.

The sun has broken thru the fog that had engulfed the office this morning and it feels good to look out the window and see the great shining orb warming up the earth!

Tonight Phil and I are going to a dessert and movie night at the Church. We are seeing the movie "Fireproof". It looks good - if I remember I will write a review of it when I get home. But I am making no promises.

And now I guess I really should get back to work - write some letters, generate some documents, that sort of thing!

25 Random Things

OK Tanya - lets see how far I can get

1. American Idol is a hoot!

2. Phil makes good oatmeal cookies

3. I am going to go to Scrapbook Camp

4. this guy is butchering Imagine and i wish he would stop!

5. My fire is burnt out - is it too late to start it up again?

6. Phil can not build a fire for love or money

7. Cathie is hanging out tonight -- such fun!

8. I think Phil has caught Tanya's code

9. Work was very stressful today

10. I have Fridays off starting next week

11. Not sure that I have an 11th thought

12. Brian has a ton of homework and he is not working on it right now (too late)

13. We had Ham for dinner

14. I was very sad to see snow this morning

15. I was very glad to see the rain this afternoon

16. I came home to a driveway full of strangers

17. The basement suite is for rent again

18. The furnace is on its last legs

19. My itrip broke and I need a new one

20. I am getting tired

21. The raison oatmeal cookies are all gone - Phil make more

22. There is laundry to be folder - again!

23. Simon is being mean

24. My house is cold

25. Phil is eating jello with no toast - the world as we know it has ended!

Successful!

It was a good day!

Paper , stamps and Starbucks - fun with Tara
Dress Shopping/Looking - read Tanya's Blog (crackedhelmet.ca) for the hilarious details
New top for Me - the consignment store was a great idea girls!
Lunch at Toyo Sushi - such good food! Thanks for taking me there
Shopping at Toys R Us - mission accomplished!
Hanging at Lara's - thanks for cake - it was great to see you all
Shopping with Lara - I loved the stores
Hanging at the Baron's - Scrabble anyone?
A quiet evening at home - men at my house are still sick, sad to say

Like I said - it was a good day --- thanks kids, you made it awesome!!!

Children in the workplace

There is a lot of material written about children in the workplace, on site day cares, flexible hours for parents etc.

I have decided that I have the best arrangement for children in the workplace! On Tuesday - as you have read previously, the sick kid spent the day with me - traveling from office to office - and yesterday stayed at home with Dad - who worked from the living room.

Today - once again - the kid has a fever so he is here with me in the office. The wonderful thing about my employers is that they have no problem with kids in the office as long as they are not being disruptive. And seeing as I am the only person in this particular office today - no one would even know. I did call my boss and let her know that I would have him with me again today.

That said - it is now 12:30 and I am having lunch. We have been here since 9:15 and my wonderful child has not interrupted me once. He has been extremely quiet, (a good sign he is not 100%). Playing a game or watching a movie and just in general being a good kid.

I am very thankful for understanding bosses that honour family values and allow me to do two things at once, take care of Brian and work at the same time. And should he still be under the weather tomorrow - maybe I will try to work from home.

Now if we could just get him feeling better and back to school!!!!

Mom! I think I am going to........

yup - that is what I heard about 2 blocks from the school. And yes the last word of that sentence was puke! Thankfully - he only felt like he might have to - he didn't! (Cause there is nothing worse than puke in a car! trust me I know!)

The next sentence out of his mouth was "Mom can I go to work with you and not go to school?" Now that means the kid is sick!

You see this all started on Monday evening - Brian came to me and said - "I have had a stomach ache for the past few days" So I felt his head and sure enough a low grade fever. So a dose of tylenol and off to bed the kid went.

Tuesday dawned, Phil hit the road at 6:30 am headed to Pemberton and I was headed to Chilliwack for the day. Brian awoke - sick! Stomach ache and low grade fever. So - a dose of gravol and a tylenol later - we packed the car with dvd player, ipod, and a blanket and Brian came to work with me. He slept all the way to Chilliwack, watched a movie in the office and snoozed, slept all the way back to Cloverdale, hung out in the office while I saw clients. Got home at 6 ish and said "I'm Hunrgy!!!!"

We thought the illness had passed ... and then this morning!

I drove right by the school, called them and let them know he was staying home. Dropped Brian off at home and Phil stayed home with him (lucky Phil). Brian went back to bed where he stayed for the entire morning. Cold and sick! Apparently he spent the remainder of the day just taking it easy.

So now we wait to see what happens tomorrow. Again, both Phil and I are out of the local area for work. Fortunately, I can take Brian with me to Abbotsford for the day if needed. He can sleep on the couch, watch a movie or read a book. Hopefully- he will be able to go to school. But in reality - he is not looking so hot, a bit pale and certainly not his usual self.

And then there is the fear that he is just the first one in the family to come down with whatever it is he has. Let's hope it is not!!!

It's Wednesday

And we are at the half way point to the weekend. The day commonly known as Hump Day. I always find Wednesdays to be a long day - not sure if that is because it is half way to the weekend or because I have been away from my desk for the first 2 days of the week, working in the other offices.

I know when I get to work this morning there will be at least 10 new messages (read problems) that I will have to deal with right away. I would love to delegate them to other staff members but there really isn't anyone to delegate them to at this time.

I have a ton of Family stuff sitting on my desk that I should have done on Friday but as I was running around all day I didn't get it done.

So I am off to run Brian to school and then hit the bricks running!!! Have a good day and think about this -- when we get to the end of today --- there will only be 2 days of work left until the weekend!!!!

Sunday Morning

I am here at Church and listening to the sermon for the second time. Thought maybe I would blog as I listened.

The sermon this morning is about friends, part of a series. This week it about Foolish Friends.
Parable of the Virgins and the Parable of the Builders. You can hear the sermon yourself - and the others in the series at Calvary.ca - select media and then sermons.

Another cool feature - is the "watch live" - you can watch our church services on the webcast.

Phil and I both work in the media department at the Church - both of us with computers in front of us during the service. So while we listen to the sermon it is not uncommon for us to be doing something else - Like blogging or playing Star Pirates.

Our new schedule for 2009 has us at the helm of the media once a month for me and every 3 weeks for Phil. On those days we are up at 7 and in the drivethru at Tim Hortons by 7:40. We are in our appointed places at 8:00 am - we are here until the end of the second service - about 12:30. Brian is not too happy with this schedule - as he has to be here for the same time. We have started training him on what is done up here in the media room. That way he can feel some sense of purpose for being here (that is my theory at least). He goes to Kids Church during the second service.

Back to the sermon - it is interesting to me that Pastor is preaching on Friends. The past few weeks I have been thinking a lot about Friends. The friends that I have and how I treasure them. The friends that I have had in the past and lost contact with. I have also been thinking about how I need to put my self out there and make new friends.

When I was younger it seemed so easy to make new friends - for some reason I seem to find it difficult now. Maybe I just need to stop looking at myself and just join something where other people are. And then call one of them? I never thought of myself as a shy person - but I seem to behave that way lately.

And this desire to make friends seems to be evolving out of a feeling of loneliness. And where has that come from? I have a close family - closer than many! I have a loving husband - who likes to spend time with me (so he says). But some days I find myself feeling lonely.

So I am looking for any advice you may have - all ideas gratefully accepted.

Now I must go back to my duties - the sermon is starting to wind down and I am sure that the congregation would like to have the words to the song so that they can sing along!

Oh Dear what have we done!

I am not sure how many of you are Friends fans - but if you are think back to the show where Ross pulls out his keyboard from college and plays in the coffee shop. His own compositions - the one where he uses all the weird noise functions on the keyboard and makes up a "song". And I use the word song loosely!!!

Well, last night Brian and his friend discovered the mode on his electic piano where every key played a different sound, and then Brian played the theme from Star Wars. It was interesting to say the least!

They then proceeded to make up "songs" -- it was so hard not to say - "turn that noisy thing off!" After about 1/2 hour I did ask them to turn it down just a tad. Which they did right away! (they really are good kids)

I guess - regardless of the actually sound being produced - if he is practicing and playing we have success -- what do you think?

Misc stuff - more like an update!

Work is still crazy nuts - never know from one day to the next what is happening - but at least I am still employed.

Brian is awesome! He bought a new electric piano and now plays all his songs in clarinet, or organ, or dog, or one of the other 503 sounds that the machine has. His Piano Teacher says she can already see a difference in his playing - he is practising much more now.

Phil is wonderful - he survived his procedure and seems to finally gotten back into the swing of working - he had almost three weeks off!!

Chris is having birthday on Sunday and we are hosting the party! It will be such fun!

Tara and Chris are getting married - so we have a wedding to look forward to.

Tanya and Andre and Warren are heading to Europe soon.

Phil and I are going to go see the Good Noise Choir

I bought new shoes today (and a top and a pair of pants) so really I bought a new outfit!

And that dear Friends - is a misc update of the Lang household! Love you all!

And now for something completely silly........

"Take the tin can and give it to the guy in the house"
"The meat is on the counter, put it in the frying pan"
"Put the frying pan on the toast"
"That is not where that belongs"

And what do each of these quotes have in common? Well --- these are all random sentences that Brian and I heard the other day.

You see - Phil had a procedure at St Paul's Hospital on Friday. They gave him an anesthesia in order to do the procedure and Brian and I had the "pleasure" of sitting with him for about 2 hours as the drug wore off. There were times when Brian and I were quite bored -- but then Phil would pop up with one of these beauties!! There were more - but Brian and I agree that these were the all time best!!!

When asked, Phil was able to explain each statement. But Brian and I like the randomness of what we heard!!! Imagine it if you can --- a quiet hospital room, Brian and I sitting in peace and quiet when all of a sudden -- Phil says -"Take the tin can and give it to the guy at the house"

And Brian and I are still laughing!!!

Oh and on the medical front -- the procedure went well and we are waiting now for results of the biopsy.

Someday We'll Laugh About This

I thought I would share this email that I sent out to everyone at my Office today.

Apparently this week is “Someday We’ll Laugh About This Week”. How many of you knew that? (well Belinda – as she reads the same online magazine as I do)
I read that and I started to think about some of the things we now laugh about that were not at all funny at the time. Some of my most embarrassing moments, moments when at the time I wanted to just curl up and die, and how now even I find them funny enough to tell the story.
That thought process led me along another path, maybe I need to stop and take a look at all that is happening around me right now and look for the humour – the one part that I will find funny later on. Maybe, just maybe, if I can do that, then the stress that I find myself in now will be relieved a bit.

And then – as my mind continued to wander , I thought maybe I should start a journal, start writing down some of these moments so that I can look back later and laugh. And then – the big revelation came – I ALREADY DO THAT! I have a blog, a blog that Is shared with my family and friends. In my blog, I tend to ramble about events in my life, some of the stressors that I face, the embarrassing moments and my triumphs. Once blogged, and posted, my family and friends read and comment. It is often reading the comments of those close to me that help me see the bigger picture and help work through the stress.

So in keeping with the celebration of SWLATW - I am challenging each and everyone of you to look at the things that are stressing you this week, and see if you can find the one thing that you know you will be laughing about someday – and then laugh about it today! And if you feel so inclined – share it with the rest of us – we would be happy to laugh with you!

Enjoy your day and look for a laugh!

I found this silly joke online and it made me laugh – so I am sharing it with you

What to do if Housework is getting you down.

1. Open a new file on your desktop.
2. Name it "Housework."
3. Send it to the RECYCLE BIN
4. Empty the RECYCLE BIN
5. Your computer will ask you, "Are you sure you want to delete Housework permanently?"
6. Answer calmly, "Yes," and press the mouse button firmly....
7. Feel better?
I hope you got a giggle out of that! Have a great day!

Laura

Look at that Rain!

Wow - I know we all said we wanted to snow to stop - but really now - did we really ask for all this rain at once?

It seems that the weather patterns of the west coast have really and truly changed over the past couple of years. I think that I will be looking at the end of season sales this year for a few winter items that I have not had for a long time. Here is the list of items I will be shopping for:

Winter boots - snow type - ones that come up to at least mid calf - maybe even higher if this year was any indication of things to come

Winter jacket - it is time for a new one anyways

Snow shovel - one with a longer handle - the one we currently have was designed to be used by a young kid - and if you know my kid at all you know he tuckered out on the shoveling before the whole driveway was done - he did lots and I was very proud of the way he offered to help shovel and sand the walks!!

Snow shovel - a third one - so then we can all shovel together - - look I created a new family activity for the Lang book! Aren't I smart!

Warm inside shoes - ok slippers really - but Brian is too cool to wear slippers so I thought if I called them inside shoes he would wear them!

Afghans - for the cold room, I mean living room, we could use a few new ones - ones that dont look like they have been used by the entire family over and over and over again!!!!

Cord of wood - or maybe two - it is apparent that we will never have heat to the living room - so we need to use the fireplace to heat that part of the house. So a cord of wood would be a great way to do that. Anyone know anyone with a truck load of wood they want to get rid of?

Umbrella - apparently the one that lived in my car has died an untimely death!

Gum Boots - so we can sloxh through the snow that is melting! (those I may go get tonight so I can start wearing them right away!) Ooh - maybe I could find some cool ones - not the black ugly ones but a pair of cute ones. I deserve cute ones!

And while I am at it - I want new furniture for the living room! A coffee table and a storage chest for all the blankets and afghans are my first choice - then new couches and chairs

Wow - looking at this list I think I may need a second job to pay for it all. I guess I will evalute each item and buy the ones that I can afford and leave the others for the time being.

But back to the rain --- I am happy to see it start to wash the snow away -- I hope that it does not cause any flooding for people. Drive carefully on the super wet and slushly slippery roads.

2009? Really?

Wow - hard to believe that it is 2009 today! Seem such a short time ago we were all wondering what 2008 would bring. It never seems to amaze me how quickly time seems to pass at this point in my life.

I remember when it seemed that the passage of a year was a eon! not a blink of the eye as it seems to be now.

Looking back - 2008 was a year full of interesting events and excitement. Warren was born, Tara and Chris got engaged, we went on a fabulous vacation to Alberta with Brian. And that is just a sampling of the years events!

Looking forward to 2009 - Tara and Chris will get married! A brother or sister for Warren? (hint hint) I will get a new couch, maybe! Brian will turn 11 if you can believe that.

I hope all of you have had a good time today - looking back at 2008 and all of your accomplishments and looking forward to all the 2009 will bring your way.

Happy New Year!