I Bleed Blue, Too

Hey gang, sure miss you guys. I've been thinking about all of you so much lately and I think I'm at that stage now where I've been here long enough so the reality of everything has finally kicked in. I can feel myself getting homesick so I try to distract myself with good things like Landan's laugh, my brother's voice and the whistle of the mountains. Wow, that sounded poetic. Anyway I can already tell this is going to be tough to ride out but I know that deep down I'm really happy here and would like to continue down this path. It is such a life changing experience to go from having everything provided for me to providing everything for myself. I think it's a really good thing and that I needed the change to force me to grow up. I'm a very dependent person, something I'm trying desperately to change... and this was definitely the first step in that. I had to break out of my comfort zone 100% and try one of the most difficult challenges I'd ever face. For those who really know me - I don't adapt to change with ease. At the end of the day I just wanted everything to be dependable. But this choice so far has cracked that entirely, because I know now that I am capable of doing big things. On the milestones of life, I'd say that I accomplished my first dream.

This past weekend was pretty good. On Saturday night after work, I joined Mike and Jessica at the bar in Cactus Club Cafe for their friend Chris Miller's birthday. I had met him when I came to visit Kelowna back in September, so technically he was my first BC buddy. Now that I'm in my twenties I don't feel so out of place when I hang out with my brother's friends. Even though I am 7 or 8 years younger than most of them I still feel like I belonged there too. Miller is one of Mike's closest friends, and they've known each other pretty well since Mike first arrived in Kelowna. He has a long-time girlfriend Sarah who grew up and went to high school with Jessica... so it's a tight-knit group. They are all making me feel very welcome.

Yesterday I had worked from 10-6 (the mall opens at ten on Sundays!!!) but there wasn't too much traffic since all of the customers were sitting at home chugging beer and getting ready for the big game. It pretty much works out perfect where Hallmark's location is in the mall, since The Source is right across the hall from us and they have a 32" in the doorway that plays all sports. I was working with a girl named Vanessa who just happens to be married to a football player so she enthusiastically loves the Grey Cup. We both huddled at the doorway of our store and watched parts of the game in between rushes to check the score. I have to say that adding to my homesickness is definitely being one of the only Bomber supporters in the Okanagan. I really wanted to wear my jersey into work today but I had forgotten to put it on before I left. Each customer that came to the till, I'd ask them who they were rooting for just for kicks. I got a few dozen funny looks and even a "screw you".

The entire time the game was on, I was picturing my family at home gearing up for the match by preparing many outrageous foods in massive quantities. They would be having a GrayHawk Cup party. It's just a tradition. It was a lot of fun because I'd get to run to the back and check my phone real quick to see Laura's updates and photos... seeing everyone decked out from head to toe in Blue was pretty awesome. I really wished that I was there.

To the Blue Bombers: Thanks for taking us to the Grey Cup with you this year. I will fairly admit that I am not a huge football fan and I am not too knowledgeable on it either... but I do remember sitting up in those stands many times, watching the Bombers play and take harsh tackles & tumbles for the team... and at each and every one of those games we've seen, you've also given my family a day to all be together, bonded by the excitement of the game and huddle under big blankets as we share popcorn. All of those games never brought us to the Grey Cup but this year they did. As I am now in BC sharing turf with the enemy, I realize how much I took for granted and how much I miss my family. So today, even being miles away, I still got to experience a special moment with them. Because I'm from Swaggerville and proud of it.

Regardless that we lost, regardless I was at work and regardless I was miles away from Winnipeg, I still had a fantastic time watching the game on my tiny Source shop window. When I got home from work Landan was here, already set up with the toy cars and train track. I got down on my hands and knees and played for a good hour whistling and choo-chooing. I was honorably chosen as the bedtime reader again tonight (Aunty Bree: 3, Dad: 1 ) so we got to read Dr. Seuss' "... Red Fish Blue Fish" . That is one good story. He's just a mad scientist of writing good morals in between the lines. Poor guy, I wish he was still around to keep writing more of those things. Anyhow I tucked Landan into bed, kissed him goodnight and called it a day for myself as well.

Today I go to work from 1-9 so I'm gearing up by drinking raw eggs and RedBull. (just kidding, ew.) I forgot to mention I've applied for about 15 full-time jobs throughout the city. Hopefully I'll get a few phone calls in the next week or two... it would be great to get some extra work. I figure if I got another full time job, I could stay on at Hallmark and fulfill my promise to my manager for being there through Christmas, only as a part-timer perhaps) and then I could have some extra spending money for the holidays. I really want us all to pitch in and buy a Christmas tree for our living room so we can give the boys a real traditional experience. Even if it's just a small one, I'd be fine with that too. I think we're all in agreeance to do it.

I got a phone call an hour ago from Greyhound telling me that my parcel from Laura and Allan had arrived, so I'm going to get the van from Mike tomorrow and zip down to grab it. I really appreciate you two sending me my Toy Story figurines to me.

Well I suppose that pretty much wraps up this blog. I'm trying to think of a new concept that I could write blogs about... yknow, something cool like "Shit My Dad Says". I wanna keep this thing going forever, even after you're all bored of my life story!! Shout out some ideas to me!

Getting Behind

My apologies that I haven't been updating as frequently as I should be. I always lose my attention as soon as I sit down to write one of these things. I will try to continue this blog for as long as I can... as long as you are still interested in hearing about my uneventful way of living.

Well, all of the snow has already melted away. We got to about +8 here the other day and in the snap of a finger, all the white powder had become those beautiful fruit orchards again. The weather has been quite tame since I arrived other than the two snow days we've had... and today was the first real British Columbian rainy day I had experienced. (Although to be fair, I spent the entire day inside anyways so it didn't really affect me too much. Not that rainy days ever seem to.)

I will admit that I was extremely pleased when I heard about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers making it to the Grey Cup 2011. Ironically enough they are playing BC Lions, so it will make for interesting television. Unfortunately, we do not have cable here, so I won't be able to watch the match - live anyways. I work until the evening on Sunday anyhow so even if I had a TV, I still would have had to miss part of the game. I was however teary-eyed when I first heard the news... I don't know why. Perhaps I was just missing the nostalgia of Winnipeg, and seeing it in the headlines made me emotional. Or perhaps it was that I was actually quite proud of my hometown for making it all the way. I'll vote for the latter.


Back on Monday night, I had a staff Christmas dinner at Milestones Grill & Bar at Orchard Park (the mall). I was invited by my manager to join their planned evening so I scrambled to find a $20 gift for a small staff gift exchange they were planning on doing. I ran to Bath and Body Works (product placement) and found a box of lavender body washes, lotions, and soaps. The co-worker who got my gift seemed pretty happy with it, so I was pleased that I was able to pull it off last minute. I got a $15 Starbucks giftcard and a Christmas coffee mug - not a bad prize if I may say so myself.

Anyways, back to work tomorrow. This weekend is our friend Chris' birthday so we might go to the bar or something on Saturday night depending on if we have the kids or not.

Another note: we found out that our landlord is being chased financially and she is running from the bank... so there is a possibility that we will have to move out of this suite. We figure it'll be a few months before anything happens and that the bank will allow us permission to continue renting. More on that later.

I'm finding myself extremely homesick without my familiar faces around me but I do hope after Christmas I can make a visit back to say hello again and see the stomping grounds. I've barely been gone a month and I'm already thinking of coming back for visits. I miss you guys n gals, no doubt about that. But if you're wondering how I'm adapting I would say that I'm adapting well. I can see myself building a future here.

Tomorrow morning I'm making a few inquiries to various colleges around the area about their animation and computer engineering courses. I wish I could win the lottery so I could go to school with no problems but unfortunately I will have to save and make plans for now. I'll see what it costs for a night course or something that I can take to feed my appetite while I work. Until then I continue to doodle doodles and fiddle around with photoshop while I bury my head in my new animation teaching books courtesy my aunt Michelle.

I will make sure I check back in again soon. Hope to hear back from some of you readers sometime.. like I said, I miss you guys.

Have fun in Winterland
xo

Let It Snow

Oh, hey! Didn't see you there. Ahem. Well, what can I tell you? Not a whole lot of exciting stuff has happened lately... we got some snow here, but it's all fun and games when it snows in BC! It's absolutely one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

Mike and I went up to his dad's farm a few days ago to get the last few items that were there of his from the move. It was quite cold up on the mountain top, and they had much more snow than we did. It was fun though, I got to see the little guest cabin again which is where I stayed when I came out here to visit in September. It was a weird déjà vu effect. Bruce's (Mike's dad) two dogs, Buck and Annie, followed our car up to the cabin to say hello. It was nice to be around some dogs again, since I sincerely (since I sincerely... try saying that 10x fast..) miss my chocolate lab, Mika. She was without a doubt one of my best friends in Winnipeg... she slept outside my door every night, followed me around the house, sat beside me on the couch when I forced her to, and was a great playmate on the days I gathered enough energy to take her outside. Wow, quite the love story about my dog there. Anyway, my point is that it was fun to scratch some bellies again and get licked all over the face. Don't look too far into that.

The Christmas rush has finally set in at the mall, so little Kelowna Hallmark has been very busy lately. I work again today, but I will admit I'm still worn out from yesterday... although you can't complain too much when you work at Hallmark. There's just really nothing too strenuous about that job. Anyhow, I get a day or two off next week so I'm going to spend it getting my new BC drivers license (I already looked into it, no road test required, just a letter from MPI stating my driving experience) as well as a new haircut. I'm also planning on taking Landan on a little adventure to the toy store!

Speaking of, Landan came over this weekend and we had a great time playing together yesterday evening. We built a giant train track all over the living room and played for several hours on the floor. I always have so much fun spending time with the boys, I think I probably have more fun playing with the toys than they do.

I'm also getting used to the transit system here in Kelowna... it's a lot easier taking 1 or 2 buses through town than the 3 or sometimes 4 that I would have to take in Winnipeg. Okay, 4 is a slight exaggeration. Either way... it's been a lot cheaper than gas money & taxi cabs... so this had been working out great so far. There was no real point in me adding that segment in, and it was rather boring, so my apologies...

Well, I suppose I'll sign off here. Ive got another few days of work ahead of me and a staff Christmas dinner at Milestones on Monday night (AKA tomorrow) so I need to find a cheap gift for a gift exchange. I'll let you know how it all turns out. (WOOHOO the suspense!!)

Love you, miss you.

Loving Life

Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote - I have been getting distracted by my Xbox360. Shame. Anyways, I do promise to keep this updated as much as possible - especially for those reading this who don't have Facebook, it's just a nice way of sharing what's been going on.

Well, where did I leave off? We had a great weekend this past weekend. Brodie was over most of the week and then Landan came over on Friday and stayed until Sunday. He and I had a blast together; we played with his brand new dump truck toy & train set... then we watched Toy Story 3 while eating cookies. We had a nice family dinner with the whole gang and after supper Landan and I filmed a little movie on my iPhone, which he cleverly titled it, "The Car Movie". I think it's brilliant. I'm up for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars this year. Wish I could post it here.

After I gave Landan his bath and tucked him into bed, I read him a few Clifford books and turned out the lights. We then had our first company over, Shannon (friend of Mike's) and her man friend, Ian.

(We talked about the population of Winnipeg for like half an hour...zzZZzzZZZz... oh. Sorry. I nodded off there.) Anyway, Shannon is a great girl, and she brought us a nice little house-warming gift of a 2-4 beer. Mmmmmmm. Yep, she knows the way to my heart.

The following night Mike, Jess and I cracked out the NES (old school Nintendo) and the XBOX for a night of some serious video gameage. It was such a beautiful thing. We've been having tons of fun as a family lately... I truly couldn't be happier about that. We ran out of couch space though in the living room, so we made our own. It's pretty badass. (Picture included.)

What else can I fill you in on? Everything has finally been unpacked - all the boxes are gone and the garage is cleaned out. (Oooh, how exciting. Snore.... oh damn, fell asleep again. Sorry.)


This week has been slow and steady at work but I truly enjoy coming home to two fantastic siblings everyday. I guess the moral of the story today is that I'm quite loving BC so far. There's nothing like waking up in the mountains every morning.

Anyways I will surely keep in touch. I go to get my BC driver license tomorrow so cross those fingers that I don't need to do another road test!!!

Luv luv luv
Xo

Welcome to my Crib

Ever wonder why calling it a 'crib' makes it sound cooler? Because it's like a 'baby crib'? That's just dumb.

Anyway, where did I leave off...

I had a pretty decent day at work yesterday. I got a lot done and I think one of the older ladies, Eunice, thinks I'm an okay kid so with her trust she let me handle breakable things. Thankfully I didn't get a concussion. Last night Mike was home a bit earlier than usual so we got to finally unpack the rest of the house and have a nice evening together.

Today I woke up to the sound of a donkey's cry. That just sounds wrong when I say it like that..but I mean literally, there was a donkey crying outside of my window. You wouldn't believe it but there is a llama farm across from our house, and a donkey lives there. (That's not a Mad Lib.) It's the coolest thing on Earth. I got inspired by the misty haze on the mountain top so I dressed warm and took a walk down the highway into town.

It was a fantastic walk - saw a lot of great sights, much like on my first day here. It's been officially one week, so it's creepy that I did the same thing today as I did last Tuesday. I never even thought about that. Well, little did I know that this time I would destroy my knee by choosing to walk back UP the mountain. Stupid choice.

It was about a 3.5 - 4 hour walk into town and back, but I had stopped at stores in between. I also stopped to take pictures. I hope my iPhone (product placement) can somewhat capture the essence of what I get to see everyday on my usual route.

When I got home I cleaned up and collapsed onto my bed to watch a good three episodes of my favorite TV show: Supernatural. I'm hooked. Mike & Jessica returned home shortly after and Brodie came to sleep the night too. I've got the day off again tomorrow so I'll probably dedicate it to changing my driver's license and doing laundry. I looked into the drivers license thing today and it looks like I won't need to take another road test. Thank God, because I really didn't want to parallel park.

Well, not much left to add. I'll post these pictures and check in again soon. I miss you all a ton.

Love xo

A Hallmark Moment

Sorry it's been a day or two since I've updated you on what's been going on. Not too much to say that's worth sharing this time around - only that I started my new job at the new Hallmark yesterday.

The new job is good, I haven't been there enough to really notice any huge differences between stores... pretty much everything except for the organization systems and computers are visibly different. I met all of my co-workers already except for one, who I will meet next Saturday.

I really wish I had some exciting news to share. The best news I have for you tonight is that I met THE COOLEST OF THE COOL taxi drivers OF ALL TOME. Seriously. I called for a taxi to get me home from the mall last night, and some tanned, fashionable, long-haired dude pulls up with a soul patch and a fedora. I get inside the taxi and he had blue neon interior lights! What the Hell? I felt like I was next to Vin Diesel in Fast and Furious. (Notice I didn't write Paul Walker because nothing would ever compare to riding side by side to my man of choice.) He also had a miniature disco ball hanging from his rear view mirror. Awesome much?

EVEN after all of that, he asks me where I moved from. (I explained I was new in town.) I said I was from Manitoba, and in a shrill, Jamaican-like voice he says, "NO WAY I'm FROM WINNIPEG!" That's what HE said. When I told him that's where I was from he shrieked like a girl and told me he was from East St. Paul. I mentioned I originated in Dauphin and he said he used to go there for Country Fest! Sigh. Small world after all.

Anyway he gave me his card so maybe I will awkwardly hang out with my cab driver sometime. I'll let you know how that goes...

Oh, and by the way, I got into my first car accident a few days ago: IN MY OWN DAMN GARAGE. That's right. I failed at parking. I drove into the garage door. It was embarrassing. Don't worry - no one was killed. Just the paint.

Jessica was a sweetheart and forgave my grave mistake. Forgave..grave.. how often do those two words end up next to each other? Weird.

Well, I'm off to bed to listen to some Jack Johnson. No photos tonight. Check back tomorrow!!

Love u
xo

Hangin with the Boys

Not a whole lot to report again today... I woke up in my cozy new room, happy and satisfied to be able to play video games first thing in the morning. My brother Mike didn't get home from his painting job until 3 am last night, which was sad. He's a hardworking guy that's for sure. But the nice thing about that (for me only) is that we got to have breakfast together this morning - and we had a nice cup o coffee before he left.

At lunch I drove to Kenda's house (nephew's mom) to pick up Landan, and from there he and I went to pick up Jessica's son Brodie, from school. Landan and I were early so we had tons of fun playing on the playground and going down big slides together. When Brodie was finished class, we drove home so the boys could see their new room - with BUNK BEDS!!!! Okay I'm pretty sure that I was more excited about the bunk beds than they were. I'm the immature one in the family... (nothing's changed... :) )

I made some lunch for the three of us and we spent the afternoon/early evening playing with Tonka trucks, airplanes, choo-choo trains and Star Wars toys. It was my wet dream. Uh, I kind of regret typing that our loud. Sorry..

Anyhow, it was a great way to spend my day. Mike & Jess came home around supper time and we all hung out together for a while eating dinner and being a cute, mixed family.

I start my first REAL day of work tomorrow and I'm nervous but excited to do something productive. Right now the boys are watching Toy Story but they'll be off to bed soon. I get to read them Clifford the Big Red Dog so I look forward to that.

Until next time, this is Bree Hawks signing off. Stay classy, Manitoba.

My Nest

Finally I can say that I've settled in. I built my desk today, which took me several hours to complete thanks to poorly written instructions. (Or so I say.) During the afternoon I went grocery shopping, bought some picture frames for those candids from the Peg, and I casually bought a flat screen TV. Oh, and milk.

I feel more at ease now that I have familiar objects in sight again - as well as the fact that I had a chance to customize my own small corner of the world. I can officially say that I am all done buying furniture and that I can start living like a normal human being.

I called Hallmark Orchard Park to see what time my shift began tomorrow, and I found out that I made a mistake and I begin on Saturday, not Friday.

Guess this means I never really got away from wacky hours...

Anyways not much to update here today. Just more decorating and shopping. Tomorrow I am babysitting my 3 year old nephew Landan for the afternoon so I look forward to spending some time with him.

Hope you're all doing well. Missing Winnipeg (but moreso the people in it) like crazy.

Luv u