It seems lately I have been swamped with post work commitments and activities. I always have this ideal weekend planned of really doing nothing except reading, playing on the computer and watching movies. Joel and I have been extremely busy the past few weeks, and there is no clear end in sight! Although for the most part I enjoy these activities, or have signed myself up for them, I am starting to miss my introvert ways.
This weekend we hosted Martin’s birthday (Joel’s dad), which was a huge success! I was pleasantly surprised with how the food turned out, especially because it was my first attempt. I was thankful to have the help of my mom and dad as I don’t think I could have done it myself. Joel was extremely sweet on the Saturday too, running out to get all of my last minute forgotten items.
I have yet to golf a full round from the women’s golf league I joined; however I did have a good clinic on Sunday. I actually missed Joel’s cousin’s wedding shower to attend the clinic. The clinic focused on driving, which although I am not terrible at, I would like to improve. I do not drive far, but usually straight. This clinic taught me that it is not necessarily how hard you hit the ball that leads to the distance it travels, but also how you follow through. I admit fully that I am nowhere close to a perfect swing, as it just feels slightly unnatural to me. I would like to go to the driving range more, and Joel has offered to join me. Luckily, there is one just down the street from us, so we hope to make it out soon.
I donated blood last week which was rewarding in itself. It seems silly to me that I am always looking for ways to donate and this simple one always seemed like a chore. I have thought about it for a while now, but thought it would be inconvenient or time consuming. Really, it wasn’t that bad at all! It took about 1 hour door to door. There was free parking, really friendly volunteers and nurses who answered all my questions, and a little café to eat after your donation. I even arrived one hour early to my appointment and they accommodated me. The prescreening takes the longest where they are a bunch of “high risk” questions. They even have a section you can decline your donation of blood without anyone knowing in case you are just hoping for a HIV test. That seems silly to me, but at the same time you know they have a rule for a reason. There is a time limit between donations, so I cannot give again until the end of July. I will be happy to donate again though.
I have signed myself up for the event coordinator certificate at work through a program we administer called emerit. emerit is a nationally recognized program, and kind of like university for the tourism industry. I take my test on Friday, needing a 75% to pass. Once I pass that exam, I will have an interview and case study to complete and then I will need a letter from Boston Pizza to make me an official event coordinator.
I am also taking multiple SAFE Work course from Workplace Safety and Health. I have attended one last week, and have scheduled one a week until the end of June. They are great to get me out of the office for a day, but also to help build my safety knowledge so I am a better resource to Christine.
Next week I am also attending a one day workshop called Manitoba Best. It is a customer service workshop which I took when employed with Lilac Resort. It was helpful, but that was years ago and I am sure the program has changed.
This weekend composters go on sale from the city of Winnipeg, and I plan to be a proud owner by Saturday morning. Although I will be going in my sweats, I am happy to invest $30. Joel and I do not currently have a garborator, although I have been whining about one since we moved in, and I feel this is a fair compromise. At least it is worth trying at any rate. I have read a bit about it, and plan to compost with success. Joel says he is slowly turning me into a hippie, and I think he might be right. I am proud to say I ride my bike to work on occasion, however will be more proud when I can say often. I am a vegetarian, and try to buy organic when possible. I plan to attend the St. Norbert market to purchase locally grown vegetables this year, and although we are not the greenest family out there, each of our little steps are helping.
This Sunday marks the annual JDRF walk at Assiniboine Park. As some of you know, I volunteer with them periodically. I have created a media release for distribution after the event, and tried to help increase the awareness of the event. It is tough though since they spend no money on advertising. They are competing against a lot of other great causes, who although are also not for profit, do account for advertising dollars in their budget. A lot of marketing is based on previous purchasing, and potential for future purchasing. A space that would normally sell, cannot just be donated to each and every charity. This leads to my dilemma – how can we get great media coverage without being willing to pay for it? I have added the event to every online resource I can find, but ultimately that only reaches a certain target market. I need to start getting creative, but between school, work, school at work, golf, family, and being home, I just really am having a hard time fitting this in.
Joel and I have decided against a winter vacation this year. Instead we will be finishing our basement renovations. Joel has actually changed the basement plan altogether and I couldn’t be happier! He is removing our basement stairs, extending our kitchen and dining room upstairs, and increasing our storage and laundry room downstairs. This will make our house have more usable space. Currently our kitchen is not set up ideally for a family. One person can cook in there, however with limited counter and cupboard space; it can make for a hectic dinner. We also have built in appliances right now which I have wanted to replace with ordinary oven/stove combo. Our stove is a white ceramic top, but I would much prefer a black top. (Even if the oven itself is white.) Now these kitchen renovations are a long way away, but just knowing there is something practical that we can do to make this space more appealing is great news!
For now, the laundry room will be bigger and have some decorating down to it. I hate our laundry room. It is dingy and dirty and I wanted it to be more welcoming. I am down there a lot it seems, and as time passes, it will only become more a station for our home. Joel and I have agreed to put down linoleum, even though the floor will still be uneven, this will make it easier to mop. We will put a proper door with a handle so it can actually shut and we will be putting curtains along one side of the room to block the furnace, water tank, etc. Originally I thought a wall, but Joel says we cannot do that so close to the appliances so again this is how we can make it work. This will block the “yucky” side of the room. Joel is also dry walling the other side and adding lots of shelves for me. Our house seems like it has a lot of storage space, but really it has a lot of useless storage space. Things like Christmas decorations are easily stored as you only need them once a year, but for everyday storage items, extra cans of soup, etc. we have little room. We also plan to remove one of our freezers, to gain additional space too.
I am excited for all the changes coming, but I am also feeling a little overwhelmed right now too. I am hoping things slow down for the summer so Joel and I can both enjoy being married and spending time together. That’s all for now – Enjoy!
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