Birthday Thoughts......................Hmmm!

Well, it is official, I am now 30! wow, its not as scary to say it as i thought it might be, who knows maybe it hasn't hit me yet. the twenties are done, but my hubby keeps telling me that the 30's are the new 20's, do you think that has something to do with him turning 32 this coming april? I've had a few friends hit the 30's before me with no complaints so far (I think). So I can do this! It doesn't really change anything except that when someone asks me how old I am I can't get away with telling them 21 anymore, I'll have to up it to 26 or 27 maybe. What does 30 mean to you? What should it mean? Is this where women start to wonder if they have missed out on things in life? Or where they jump at the chance to do something drastically different? What should I be doing differently? do I start using anti wrinkle cream or do I have to stop acting like a child( sometime)? I think "age ain't nothin but a number" and we only feel old if we want to feel old! I have my days that after running around with a young puppy I think, "okay time to sit down" but I don't think I feel old - yet! Maybe once I have some kids and have those sleepless nights then I might start to feel the age. Who knows! It wasn't the shock I thought it would be, I thought when 7:10 pm came around (the time I was born and my momma always reminds me that it was the time I put her in extreme pain) I would start to freak out have a mini panic attack and not know what to do with myself, but it wasn't so. I made it through and now have 10 years to get through before the next (maybe) panic attack!!!

Packages! For ME????

Wow, I am one spoiled girl! Other then the amazing postcards in the mail, I have received 2 packages for my birthday. One from Momma and One from Lisa and Stef! Holy Moly the mind reels! I made sure to take pictures of everything as I opened it so that it would be like they were here with me when I did! Momma is trying to start me on here addiction of snowmen collecting, I don't think I have the dedication she has, not sure I should take on such a task! But now I have 2 - the one on top of the tree and the one she sent me this year! Lisa and Stef on the other hand love to surprise me with fun and funny gifts. I loved all my parcels, you would too. Check them out here! and here!Whats your favorite of my fun and funny gifts?!?!?!?
I also received some pretty flowers from Momma and Brian yesterday! Thank you Again, Momma!

Look what I've been getting in the mail!

It started one crisp winter day like any other, I headed to the mailbox to see if my cheque for millions and millions of dollars had finally arrived. The surprise that waited for me was so different but just a valuable................ a POSTCARD! A Postcard? you ask, but not just any Postcard, this one was special it had a Mounty drawn on it! I knew this was the start of something! For every weekday that followed I looked forward to going to the mailbox and seeing what new surprises awaited me. It made me smile each time. I received a "B" "Y" and so many other letters over the next couple weeks. From great friends like Lisa, Stef , Jen, Danielle, Sara C, Sonia and some I still haven't guessed. I think they are sending me a message of some sort, I think I have it figured out, checkout the pictures here to see if I'm Right!

Time to Catch Up!

Hello..........its me..........I'm still here! Sorry its been a while since I have updated the blog. Its been a whirlwind of activity in the Holmes household. With me completing alot of Christmas presents and cards. I had a deadline of when to ship things out to get them to people on time! And there DONE!

So to catch people up, we have a newer truck. Matt and I found out the hard way that 2 wheel rear drive does not a good truck make for the Elkford Mountains during winter. It was hard just to get out of the driveway. Every road here is on some form of a hill. So you can imagine the cures words that where coming out of his mouth. (not mine I'm a saint)

So we went to Cranbrook (everyone says that the best place to get vehicles out here) and hubby found a 2006 Silverado with 4 doors that he loved. Its great, it has 4 wheel drive and power doors and windows, seats in the back for all the kiddies (eventually momma - don't worry) and rides pretty nicely. We were lucky to go get it when we did, there was a snow storm that night on our 2 hour drive home, and the truck handled it like it was nothing. I've even driven it, can you believe it?

Its been a GREAT DAY!

So, yesterday I took the time to make out a plan of what i wanted to do today. I was going to take the truck and drive 2 hours to Cranbrook, to do some Christmas shopping for the hubby, pets and get some things we needed here at home. I made a list , checked it twice. Had a the timing planned out and everything. Then this morning when I get up, its snowing, big fluffy packing snow flakes. This was at 5 am when Matt was getting ready for work, so Matt and I talked about me taking the truck, it doesn't have snow tires or 4 wheel drive. So my plans for the day where shot, I headed back to bed, but not before breaking the dogs dish (oops) having the cat meowing at me for about 2 minutes and dropping the top of Matt's lunch cooler loudly on the floor! I couldn't get back to sleep at first but I was not getting out of bed, I was determined to sleep. I think about 10 minutes after I fell asleep (7am) My hubby calls to tell me that it was a good thing he took the truck because the roads from here to his work (5 minute drive) where horrible. He then asked me if I could take a peek at some used vehicles online because we might need the 4x4 for the winters out here. off to bed I went. Again, it took me a while to get to sleep, again I get woken up by a phone call from my hubby asking me if I had found anything, I tell him, no, I am sleeping remember! oops, the man thinks I am awake because he is...........geez!
So, now we are on the hunt for some form of SUV! Any Suggestions on make or model?? Anyone have suggestions on ones we should stay away from??
Great start to a day, wooooooooo hoooooooooo! I'm going to get coffee now, I think I'm going to need it!!!

A walk in the Mountains!

I know I take to many pictures, but can you blame me with a view like we have out here in Elkford?!?!? We took a walk the other day up one of the logging roads and we could see the town from above (Lisa- the opposite side of town from the view point) it was great.
Nice sunny day, not too cold, just a little snow on the ground, the dog loved it. We all know I took way to many pictures and probably drove my husband and dog crazy! Then I think my husband wanted to return the favor, I'm a worrier, always have been, well Matt takes the dog off the leash while we are outside (which we have never done) and lets him start walking around. I'm terrified that this dog is going to run into the woods, or just take off. Matt ....cool as a cucumber. He starts to play fetch with the dog and that resulted in some cute pics here! But boy oh boy was i worried he was going to run off! I also took some "where's our house" like wheres waldo pics of our house from the mountain. It was a gorgeous day!

Hello, My name is Gym .....................Home Gym!

Matt works for a company that believes that healthy employees are more safe and productive, so they allow all there employees to have what they call "recreational amount" which allows there employees to get a little money back on health oriented things! So, with that said, Matt decided to use his to help buy a home gym..........and here is the story of the trek for the home gym..
The first step in any new purchase is the research, so I started by looking for places to buy gym equipment, and who would have guessed that up in the mountains there aren't any places to buy that kind of stuff. I was shocked! So after a little research it turned out we would have to head to Calgary for our new Gym.

The day started out very early, we decided to get out of the house around 8 so that the 3 hour drive wouldn't feel so long (with traffic). When we walked out the front door, it was a beautiful early morning........see pics here! We hit the Tim Horton's in crows nest pass ..of course , that was a great cup of coffee. The drive was pretty fun, we saw a cattle drive on the way. (should be in the pics folder) and some beautiful sites. When we made it to Calgary I had Matt drop me off at Micheal's, we all know I love the crafts, and I was needing some material for some xmas presents I'm making! By the time I was done in Micheal's ( maybe about 30 - 40 minutes) Matt was back with the monster of a box in the bed of the truck! He was excited! So after a quick stop at Ikea (if I am within 10 km of that place I have to go) and a little desk purchase by me, we headed on down the road!

Matt told me about the gym on the way home and how the guy that sold it to him explained the set up as a 4 beer task! Well, he doesn't know Matt that well then does he???
What followed was a very interesting few hours of plastic wrap, nuts, bolts, and beer! Check out the Pictures and let me know what you think.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

We have some beautiful snow on the ground! It started in early morning on Tuesday and its stuck around for a few days for us! I took the puppy out for a walk, he got really excited with all the new snow on the ground. It was a very interesting walk indeed, there was no practicing the Heel or anything like that, he was loving it. I took some pictures that you can find here! And I will be taking more when we head out for a walk today, the sun is shinning and you all know me with the camera, can't stop if i wanted too!

The road I Know!

A few post s ago I told you all about the license switch over and the fact that I have had a beginners license for a long time. When I went to transfer my license it was told to me that I have had my beginners since Nov 13Th 1998!!! Holy Moly!

I am happy to announce that I received my learners (after taking the knowledge test again- Darn tests) On October 29Th 2008!!! And because of the years I have had a learners in Ontario I was able to schedule my drivers test for anytime I wanted - no waiting period! So we came home (with the lovely large capital "L" magnet that has to be on your vehicle during that stage) and I called to book my road test in Sparwood (because Elkford has not traffic lights) but Sparwood was all booked up, it seems that the towns are tiny enough to only schedule road tests on Thursdays! The next available day for a test in Sparwood was Dec 3rd - no thanks, can you imagine doing a road test in 3 feet of snow! I then called Fernie to see if the had any openings, the very nice lady told me there were opening late November of the very next day October 30Th 2008! So, I scheduled my test for 2:45 on the 30Th. Wow, did Matt and I drive around alot that afternoon and the next day before the test.

I am Happy to announce that I PASSED! (we won't talk about the parallel parking) I am Finally a licensed driver and I get to remove the large "L" from the vehicle as not to be a "L"oser any longer, but now get to replace it with a large "N" for "N"icole or as Lisa and I discussed "N"erd!!!! Its green ! Wooo Hooo
I have to drive in this class for at least 24 months then I can take the next road test to get my exit license! Then no more letters!!!

Well, you will all be glad I am driving out here in Elkford instead of around the streets of Hamilton , that's for sure! Watch out world here I come!!!!

Paint colors!

When picking paint colors for a room I have always liked to live with the colors for a while! Get some sample cards and place them somewhere that I will see all the time, to see what colors I start to love more and to see if there are any I can take away! Here is a picture of the paint cards I like right now, we are thinking of picking a color for 3 of our walls in our kitchen/living room and then picking one of the beige/whites for the 4Th wall. In the pics you will see the trim around the window, that is the color of all the kitchen cabinets and the trim throughout. So
What do you think? I need votes! let me know your thoughts and choices!

Thanks a brush - I mean Bunch!!!

Driving Mrs. Nicole!

I don't have a full license, I've had a beginners for a very very long time. I took the drivers course last year because my lovely parents made me, love you guys! It was probably the best thing to happen though, otherwise I would have never done it. Now that we are in Elkford, I need a vehicle of my own if i want to work or go anywhere, so on Tuesday I have to take the knowledge test and then schedule my road test. The woman working at the drivers office here in Elkford said that I can take the written test here but would have to schedule my road test in sparwood. BECAUSE Elkford doesn't have any traffic lights and they are required for a road test! How do you like that!!!

After all this testing and road tests, I am going to be getting my first vehicle, I have been doing alot of research online as well as talking to anyone I know about what cars are good or bad. There is a tone of information out there, but who knows what i might end up with, I am pretty sure we are buying used, the pricing is better for us for now.

So wish me luck, cross your fingers and think about how lucky you all are that I live so far away now, your not on my roads!!!
ha ha ha

Hiking Pic!

I wanted to post this as well, I love how clear the water is, its gorgeous!!!

Hiking!!!

Anyone who knows me would tell you that I'm not a very active person. Don't get my wrong, I love being outside and scenery and all, but if I have projects on the go (knitting or reading) I would rather be watching TV, I am a TV junkie! My husband is the opposite, he would rather be outside and he usually will turn the TV off, saying something like " that TV is always one" (even if its only been on for an hour)
So yesterday we decided to go for a hike and took Rylie with us. Rylie is now almost 5 months old and 42 lbs. He's learning all the walking stuff - heel, sit , stay , down etc. Matt and I got him in the truck (hes a little bit of a chicken about the truck) then headed to a walking path we have taken a few times in the past. As soon as that dog was on his 4 feet, he was gone. His nose to the ground and a steady pace the whole time. We walked all the way into the falls and then back so about 2 hours of walking altogether. It was a beautiful day for it, the sun was shinning and it was pretty warm.
That dog was asleep in the truck (which was a 5 minute ride home) and then slept for a couple hours when we got back!!
Gorgeous day, nice hike - maybe I'll get active yet!!! Maybe!!!

Hello..........

So, I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving. We did! The turkey attempt was a success, I didn't burn it or under cook it and the hubby liked it, score on all points. Other then a great thanksgiving, we have started to walk rylie outside, and he is loving it. The funny thing about our walks is that he doesn't like cars, he runs to the side of the road (the shoulder - onto the grass) and sits down. It takes us a few seconds after the car has passed to get him to start walking again. At least that means we won't have to worry about him running towards cars for a while!
You might have noticed the you tube box at the bottom of the blog, I am trying to find fun things to add, and anyone who knows me knows how addicted I am to youtube! Let me know what you think about the blog, send any ideas my way! This should be fun!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Well, I hope everyone is wearing their stretchy pants today...............its a great day to spend with family and cook a huge meal! Out here in Elkford Matt and I will be having our first thanksgiving as a married couple - and do you know what I am doing to celebrate that- I am attempting my very first turkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how scared are you??? It should be an interesting experience and I will take pics along the way to see how it goes. Wish Me Luck! I might need it!!!!

Snow!!!!!

It snowed wednesday! Just for a little while and it didn't stay on the ground for very long but it was my first elkford snowfall. wooo hooo! Here's a pic! Oh and when I woke up this morning there was more snow! So after a walk to the store I will take some pictures of the snow, if its still around!

Rylie and friends!

So, Most of you know that we have a puppy now. His name is Rylie and he is now 17 weeks ( 4 months and one week). He is a yellow lab, who is growing inches by the day! The last vet trip was middle of sept and he was 30 lbs. Oh my! Well anyone out there who has had a puppy knows that you have to watch them every second. No difference here with this little (or big) guy, he loves to explore and see everything. The other day I was doing the dishes, (yes I am a house wife at the moment) and noticed he wasn't in the kitchen- he likes to be close to whoever is around- so when I looked to see where he was headed I noticed him going into the office. When I followed to see what he was doing, I found him looking out the front window of our place. It had seemed he had made a new friend. There he was looking right at a large deer, that was about 2 feet from the front window and the deer was looking right back. That's a daily thing here, the deer come around in the mid morning and afternoon to eat some of the grass. I was glad I could grab it on film though, so that I could show you all how it is here for us. Its so beautiful. What do you think we should name Rylie's new friend????

Fall colors!

The other day I decided to make Matt take me to a little walking path in the middle of town so that I could take some Pictures. The fall colors are so vivid on a sunny day. It's cool here now, if the sun is out your warm, but if its a cloudy day your feeling the temp drop fast. Anyone who knows me, knows I usually have my camera attached at the hip, so you can imagine the amount of pictures I have taken since we have moved here. I still think I want to take my film camera out and get back to the basics, mess around with the depth and try some stuff. Not sure where I could go around here to develop the film though. Who Knows!
Well, I am going to add an album of pics on facebook, Haven't figures out how to do it on here yet, but I will put up one pic so you can see what I mean about the colors.

The adventure begins

Well, Its been about 2 years since I have done any blogging, A lot has happened in that time! I moved back to Hamilton Ontario! Got Engaged then Married to the love of my life and high school sweetheart (few years separated in there) and now we have decided to make the move out to B.C. The hubby found a great job up in Elkford, B.C. If you look it up you will find it high in the mountains right by the Alberta border! The town is tiny with a population of 2500 people! Compared to Hamilton which is around 500 000 people, I'm going to have some adjusting to do. So a good friend of mine (batty) suggested I start this blog and tell you all about my adventures out here in the woods! So, here we go! We bought a house - well its really called a modular home, There like mobile homes in outside shape but done differently on the inside. And they make up a lot of the places in the mountains because its so expensive and hard to have building supplies brought in. So, ours is on a court with about 20 other modular homes, in a residential area of Elkford. I love our new home. The kitchen alone makes me smile! We have a 2 bedroom house with a large open concept living room and kitchen, I like the open space! We have started to buy some furniture for our living room with some gifts from people at my past employer (those girls rock) and gifts from family and friends! Its coming together! Other then that its just getting used to the new routine of 4 shifts on 4 shifts off (my husbands schedule) and taking care of a 4 month old puppy! He weighs 35 pounds already! (the puppy, not my husband) So as of right now, I'm a full time house wife and puppy caregiver! Its very different for me then what I have been used too. Working in retail for about 14 years you get used to the people, crowds and pace of a city. Well here we have I small strip mall that has ( are you ready for it) 1 post office, 1 movie store, 2 general stores, 1 liquor store (woo - i can stay), 1 dental office, and one grocery store! Someone in Hamilton asked me to find out how many traffic lights there are here in Elkford! I've been keeping my eyes peeled and guess what --- NONE!!!! Yes, that's right, NONE! There are stop signs everywhere but not traffic lights , how do you like them apples!There are 2 gas station/convenience store locations, One convenience store around the corner from our house - in the same parking lot as the Lamplighter Pub! The only other bar in town is in the hotel that's right by the strip mall. We have a library, pool and rec center in town. The rest I haven't been able to explore too much yet. The Elk Vally consists of 3 towns close together - Elkford, Sparwood and Fernie. Sparwood and Fernie are driving distance from us on the one highway in or out of our little town. The highway will bring you to Elkford, but doesn't continue past us, we are the 'end of the road' as the saying seems to go!So this blog will hopefully help me stay in touch with all my friends and keep you all updated on the Crazy goings on in Elkford B.C and the adventures that Matt and I will have! Talk to you all soon.