I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this now that both Lee and I are on facebook. I've been told that folks are having difficulty writing comments so if you can't comment send me an email at: hobbz4@yahoo.com
If folks are still using this blog I'll start writing again...if not look us up on FaceBook.
jan
Monday, May 04, 2009
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thanksgiving already????
Wow, I just looked at the blog and it seems that it's been a month since my last post...yikes...I don't know where the time goes!
Since Last I wrote we've been to a couple of hockey games...one loss and one win, so pretty good all around. The Ace's hold first place in the ECHL so we're pretty geeked!
Snowboarding has officially hit our household. Yesterday Lee was up on the hill for 9 HOURS...and the only reason he stopped was because the hill closed. I think he would have stayed all night if he could. lol....The nice thing about being in Middle School is that since there are alot more kids in his grade now, he meets tons of people he knows up on the hill. It sounds like we boarded with at least 10 different friends yesterday. He was going to go again today, but sadly for him, he "procrastinated" on his book report and is now trying to write the whole thing today, since it's due tomorrow. Been there done that :) Awww to be a teenager again.....ick.
So sadly he's at the table trying to get his work done.
Bret went back to work on Friday, and is now working in the Lead Floorhand position, he is next on the list to be promoted to "pit watcher" for those of you that know what that means. For now though he's the head guy in charge of the rig floor and he seems to enjoy it. It looks like he will stay at Beluga Point for the winter which is nice, since he won't have to deal with the extreme cold of the North Slope.
I've been really busy with work, as our new program went live on the 10th, (my birthday)lol...so far there are lots of bugs to work out, but things are coming together well. It's nice to see all of my hard work come together into a cohesive working program. Yay!
It's the American Thanksgiving this week, so far I'm not sure what Lee and I'll be doing. We have an invite to my friends house, but he wants to snowboard all 4 days off of school, so we'll see how we feel on Thursday. It never really feels like Thanksgiving to me in November....it's very un-Canadian...lol. But I won't complain about a 4 day weekend.
Winter has definitely settled in here. it's been snowing for the last 2 days so we have about 6 inches of snow on the ground, which makes it so crisp, clean, and beautiful. The temperature has hung just below freezing so it's been nice, since it's still warm enough to go outside and do things, without freezing to death. Right now we're trying to decide what to do for Christmas Break. We may try to take the train up north and see the Northern Lights in all their glory, but we haven't made any firm decisions yet. it would also be nice to take a snow machine tour in Hatcher's pass. What to do what to do? We'll keep you posted
Keep safe and warm!
Love,
bret, jan and Lee
Since Last I wrote we've been to a couple of hockey games...one loss and one win, so pretty good all around. The Ace's hold first place in the ECHL so we're pretty geeked!
Snowboarding has officially hit our household. Yesterday Lee was up on the hill for 9 HOURS...and the only reason he stopped was because the hill closed. I think he would have stayed all night if he could. lol....The nice thing about being in Middle School is that since there are alot more kids in his grade now, he meets tons of people he knows up on the hill. It sounds like we boarded with at least 10 different friends yesterday. He was going to go again today, but sadly for him, he "procrastinated" on his book report and is now trying to write the whole thing today, since it's due tomorrow. Been there done that :) Awww to be a teenager again.....ick.
So sadly he's at the table trying to get his work done.
Bret went back to work on Friday, and is now working in the Lead Floorhand position, he is next on the list to be promoted to "pit watcher" for those of you that know what that means. For now though he's the head guy in charge of the rig floor and he seems to enjoy it. It looks like he will stay at Beluga Point for the winter which is nice, since he won't have to deal with the extreme cold of the North Slope.
I've been really busy with work, as our new program went live on the 10th, (my birthday)lol...so far there are lots of bugs to work out, but things are coming together well. It's nice to see all of my hard work come together into a cohesive working program. Yay!
It's the American Thanksgiving this week, so far I'm not sure what Lee and I'll be doing. We have an invite to my friends house, but he wants to snowboard all 4 days off of school, so we'll see how we feel on Thursday. It never really feels like Thanksgiving to me in November....it's very un-Canadian...lol. But I won't complain about a 4 day weekend.
Winter has definitely settled in here. it's been snowing for the last 2 days so we have about 6 inches of snow on the ground, which makes it so crisp, clean, and beautiful. The temperature has hung just below freezing so it's been nice, since it's still warm enough to go outside and do things, without freezing to death. Right now we're trying to decide what to do for Christmas Break. We may try to take the train up north and see the Northern Lights in all their glory, but we haven't made any firm decisions yet. it would also be nice to take a snow machine tour in Hatcher's pass. What to do what to do? We'll keep you posted
Keep safe and warm!
Love,
bret, jan and Lee
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Same as Usual
Life in Alaska is moving on same as usual. Lee is chomping at the bit, to get up and snowboarding, the rest of us are glad that most of the snow has melted away and that maybe, just maybe we'll have a bit of a reprieve for now. Lee's mom is setting him up with an annual ski pass at Hilltop again this year and we are enrolling him in lessons twice a week again. The first month he'll just be in the regular snowboarding lessons, but he's decided to try a new class for the second month. The new class focuses on jumping and doing tricks on the half pipe, so needless to say the young man is quite excited.
Parent teacher conferences are this coming week and are student led. The students have been working on a power point presentation for the last week to present to parents, and then teachers will drop in and out during our appt. time to answer further questions and fill in the gaps. This sounds like quite an interesting set up and I look forward to seeing Lee's presentation. All in all he's settled in quite nicely to middle school, much to every one's delight, especially his!
Bret just went back to work last Friday, and is still working at Beluga Point which is just across the bay from Anchorage. This has worked out good and bad for him. It's not as cold as working up on the slope, but the wind walls down here are only 6 feet high instead of 12 feet high so, he's exposed alot more to the elements. He's liking his new crew and has a chance at being promoted to "pit watcher" this hitch, so the opportunities keep expanding with every hitch up there. We're very proud of all the work he does, it certainly isn't an easy 14 days for him.
I've been working from home for 2 weeks now, and absolutely love it! I can't even express the difference it's made for my health. It also works out great for Lee and I while Bret is gone, because I'm home when he is and we don't have to worry about piling too much responsibility on him. Even though he's 13 he still very much thrives in a scheduled routine environment and stays on track alot easier when someone is around more often than not. I'm also able to schedule things like parent teacher conferences during the day, and be here when he has half days, or full days off. I think it's been a hugely positive change for all of us!
Halloween is this coming Friday and Lee has the day off. He's been struggling with whether or not to go Halloweening, but also knowing he IS 13 and he's kind of old for the whole deal. The hospital I work for gets discounted tickets to the local hockey team's games, so we've compromised and decided to spend Halloween night at an Ace's hockey game. It's something we both love to do, and it still makes it a special night out for Lee. Go Ace's.
I've been taking some pictures with my new DSL digital camera, but have been saving them for this years calender. I'll try to pick some out to post this next week.
hope everyone is well! Take good care.
bret, jan and lee
Parent teacher conferences are this coming week and are student led. The students have been working on a power point presentation for the last week to present to parents, and then teachers will drop in and out during our appt. time to answer further questions and fill in the gaps. This sounds like quite an interesting set up and I look forward to seeing Lee's presentation. All in all he's settled in quite nicely to middle school, much to every one's delight, especially his!
Bret just went back to work last Friday, and is still working at Beluga Point which is just across the bay from Anchorage. This has worked out good and bad for him. It's not as cold as working up on the slope, but the wind walls down here are only 6 feet high instead of 12 feet high so, he's exposed alot more to the elements. He's liking his new crew and has a chance at being promoted to "pit watcher" this hitch, so the opportunities keep expanding with every hitch up there. We're very proud of all the work he does, it certainly isn't an easy 14 days for him.
I've been working from home for 2 weeks now, and absolutely love it! I can't even express the difference it's made for my health. It also works out great for Lee and I while Bret is gone, because I'm home when he is and we don't have to worry about piling too much responsibility on him. Even though he's 13 he still very much thrives in a scheduled routine environment and stays on track alot easier when someone is around more often than not. I'm also able to schedule things like parent teacher conferences during the day, and be here when he has half days, or full days off. I think it's been a hugely positive change for all of us!
Halloween is this coming Friday and Lee has the day off. He's been struggling with whether or not to go Halloweening, but also knowing he IS 13 and he's kind of old for the whole deal. The hospital I work for gets discounted tickets to the local hockey team's games, so we've compromised and decided to spend Halloween night at an Ace's hockey game. It's something we both love to do, and it still makes it a special night out for Lee. Go Ace's.
I've been taking some pictures with my new DSL digital camera, but have been saving them for this years calender. I'll try to pick some out to post this next week.
hope everyone is well! Take good care.
bret, jan and lee
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Happy Weekend to you all!
So it's yet another weekend without a post on this blog so I thought I'd better get cracking. lol
Bret is back up at work, technically he's not on the slope, he's at Beluga Point which is NW across the inlet from Anchorage. This is very nice for him because he gets to experience our weather, which is a a touch milder than slope weather. He went back on Friday, with the idea that he was going to be working for only a week and then back home for two, and then just settle into his two on, two off schedule. Oddly for Bret, LOL, he misunderstood and he is actually up there for three weeks and then off for two....so it kind of sucks. Not that he's upset about being back at work, it's quite the opposite, but psyching yourself up for one week is alot different than getting mentally prepared to be away for three....such is life.
Lee had an adventuresome week! He stood up in class to talk with one of his teachers, but sadly forgot to pull his chair back in, before sitting down. Needless to say, his but missed the chair, but his head did not! He now has 4 beautifully stitched stitches in his head to show for the ordeal. OUCH. Overall though, he was a real trooper, I don't care who you are, it's no fun to get numbing medicine in your scalp! double OUCH. He's healing well, and the stitches will come out this Wednesday. His newest acquisition is pictured below. We bought it yesterday with money he borrowed on his much anticipated Permanent Dividend Fund check...yes, it truly does pay to live in Alaska!
Hopefully this doesn't mean another trip to the doctor's for stitches! At any rate he is very proud of this new scooter, especially since his bike was stolen earlier this summer and he's been stuck walking everywhere....
As for me things are going reasonably well. I gave notice at my job and was miraculously offered a work from home position as the systems administrator for our new electronic record...pretty happy way for me to get the extra home time I need. This position will for sure be in place until January and then I'll possibly look at job sharing a full-time position with a co-worker who wants to retire, yet still keep her foot in the door. I'll keep you all posted as things happen. So 3 more weeks and i'll be happily working on my puter from home.....yea me!!!!
hope everyone is well and thanks for all the warm birthday wishes for Bret....he celebrated his 10th sober birthday on the 16th and I couldn't be more proud of him! Happy 10 day Bret!!!!
jan
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Released to work
Bret is officially released back to work as of Sept. 17th. YIPPEEE YAHOOOO (insert back flip here). Needless to say we are really thankful and excited. No one is more excited of course than Bret, I think he's starting to get a little stir crazy hanging around the house 24/7.
In my last post I mentioned that we were struggling with the decision of whether or not I should continue working. In short the decision has been made, and as soon as Bret gets back to the rig, I am going to give notice at work. After 5 weeks off and 1 week back at work, neither of us can believe the toll that work takes on my body; and all that is considering that my time off wasn't a vacation, it was recovery from neck surgery. It's come to a point where this is the right decision to make at this time, so be it, that's what we're going to do.
just wanted to write a quick note to update you, and I'll write more this weekend and with luck I'll even get a couple pics up from when Karen and Monty were up visiting.
love you all!
bret and jan and lee
In my last post I mentioned that we were struggling with the decision of whether or not I should continue working. In short the decision has been made, and as soon as Bret gets back to the rig, I am going to give notice at work. After 5 weeks off and 1 week back at work, neither of us can believe the toll that work takes on my body; and all that is considering that my time off wasn't a vacation, it was recovery from neck surgery. It's come to a point where this is the right decision to make at this time, so be it, that's what we're going to do.
just wanted to write a quick note to update you, and I'll write more this weekend and with luck I'll even get a couple pics up from when Karen and Monty were up visiting.
love you all!
bret and jan and lee
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Schools back in session!
So for us adults...school being back in progress, is a wonderful thing. No ringing telephone, no ringing doorbell, no "can I have", no "why can't I...", aaaaaaahhhh silence is such sweet bliss. For Lee on the other hand, it's back to the old grind stone.
Overall though I think Lee is feeling much better about middle school. His first day he left the house in terror thinking all the 8th graders were going to make his life a living hell. Well all they did was call him a "sevvy"....so when we asked what he said back he said they called them "eightys" and all was well. Whew, he dodged a bullet on that one. The funny thing was the other night at dinner, Bret asked Lee what he thinks of school now that he's been back for a week? the response....."it's not that I don't want to do work or anything, but ALL they expect us to do is SCHOOL WORK all day long!". Welcome to the big leagues, little man! lol
I'm back at work, since last Tuesday, and it's been a long week. When I have long periods of time off, I notice how much easier my life is, then when I go back to work, my fibro flares, my patience dives and life gets rather rough. Bret and I finally decided this week that I need to quit my job and take some time off, so as of yesterday that was the plan. Then I went in for my annual review at work and got a glowing review, and was told repeatedly on how she (my boss) relies on me totally....and then I caved and didn't mention our plans to her. So now I'm excited about the prospect about not having to work. But on the other hand, I feel totally guilty about work...and on the third hand (if that's possible), I like working and it's great to get a glowing review. Do I give it all up for fibro? Or do I make my fibro worse, for the job? Not that it all boils down that simply but that's where we're at right now...in the middle with no decision in place...argh.
Bret goes back to the doctor on Tuesday, and we're hoping he gets released back to work...so keep you fingers crossed and send the good vibes Bret's way! We'd appreciate it.
The weather here has been simply beautiful! This morning we went out for a hike in one of the biggest parks in town...and then treated ourselves to some DQ afterwards. Lee's out playing with friends, Bret's gaming, and I'm working up the energy to take a nap! LOL, not too bad for a lazy labour day Saturday......
please do keep in touch and keep your comments coming. We love and miss you all!!!!
Bret, Jan and Lee
Overall though I think Lee is feeling much better about middle school. His first day he left the house in terror thinking all the 8th graders were going to make his life a living hell. Well all they did was call him a "sevvy"....so when we asked what he said back he said they called them "eightys" and all was well. Whew, he dodged a bullet on that one. The funny thing was the other night at dinner, Bret asked Lee what he thinks of school now that he's been back for a week? the response....."it's not that I don't want to do work or anything, but ALL they expect us to do is SCHOOL WORK all day long!". Welcome to the big leagues, little man! lol
I'm back at work, since last Tuesday, and it's been a long week. When I have long periods of time off, I notice how much easier my life is, then when I go back to work, my fibro flares, my patience dives and life gets rather rough. Bret and I finally decided this week that I need to quit my job and take some time off, so as of yesterday that was the plan. Then I went in for my annual review at work and got a glowing review, and was told repeatedly on how she (my boss) relies on me totally....and then I caved and didn't mention our plans to her. So now I'm excited about the prospect about not having to work. But on the other hand, I feel totally guilty about work...and on the third hand (if that's possible), I like working and it's great to get a glowing review. Do I give it all up for fibro? Or do I make my fibro worse, for the job? Not that it all boils down that simply but that's where we're at right now...in the middle with no decision in place...argh.
Bret goes back to the doctor on Tuesday, and we're hoping he gets released back to work...so keep you fingers crossed and send the good vibes Bret's way! We'd appreciate it.
The weather here has been simply beautiful! This morning we went out for a hike in one of the biggest parks in town...and then treated ourselves to some DQ afterwards. Lee's out playing with friends, Bret's gaming, and I'm working up the energy to take a nap! LOL, not too bad for a lazy labour day Saturday......
please do keep in touch and keep your comments coming. We love and miss you all!!!!
Bret, Jan and Lee
Monday, August 25, 2008
Heads UP!!!!
I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going to take the link to my fibromyalgia blog off of this site soon. I want to see how many people are visiting my blog on their own. So....if you want to stay tuned, please save the address in your favorites. I'll leave it on for another week or so, but then I'm going to take it off.
Thanks for all your support!
Jan
Thanks for all your support!
Jan
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