With my boyfriend being sick last week, I got some quality alone time. Relaxing and restful. All good.

Work was good this week too. New experiences and I didn't feel guilty about having Monday and Tuesday off. And there weren't *that* many emails to catch up on. Heh.

I talked to this person this week and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the direction the conversation went. I have some thinking to do on that.

On another note, I did something very silly - I bought this. I'm very excited. I might get it delivered as early as next week. Eep!!

And Mr. and Mrs. Smith comes out on Tuesday and I really want to get it. I really liked the movie.

SaskTel didn't install my phone line yet - the guy needed a bucket truck to get the line through the big tree at the back. They didn't phone to tell me that though - I had to phone them. Would have been nice if they'd phoned, but hopefully, it'll be done for Monday.

What a full and fulfilling weekend it was. Shopping for clothes, shoes, luggage, a kettle, presents, a programmable thermostat, and many other wonderful things. And yet, shopping was not the focus of the weekend.

Good company was the focus of the weekend. I got to know one of my co-workers a little bit better and got to meet others face to face for the first time at a Christmas party for which I had a new outfit and looked just as smashing as everyone else, except a certain 48 year-old who I can only dream to compare to. I spent time with my friend and his new wife. I was glad to finally have some time to get to know her a bit better. I first met her at the wedding. She obviously makes Owen very happy so that's good enough for me. And besides that, I like her.
Spending time with some other friends for supper was great. I haven't spent any time with them in much, much too long. I'd forgotten how much fun I have hanging out with them. And the food was delicious! Others that I would have like to have seen weren't in the city last weekend, so I was out of luck. My mom and I stayed with my aunt which was great. I really appreciate my time with her as she has so many experiences in life and her wisdom is invaluable. Not to mention how much fun she is. She makes me smile. And she makes my mom smile which is even better. My cousin was out for lunch with us one day so we were able to chat a bit. I don't spend enough time with her either. She's always been someone to look up to for me. Oh and then there were the 9 cats I spent time with this weekend.

All of these things weren't rushed or on a tight schedule. I moved things around to suit each day. And mom just hung out with her sister. I think it did them both good. Mom and I agreed to do it again next year.

There isn't anything in particular that made yesterday a great day - just a lot of things. I got to meet a very nice woman who wants to help me, spent time with one of my best friends, the most fantastic massage which is saying something because they're always fantastic, and got some stuff organized at work which I haven't had time for since I started my new job! And the fact that I woke up smiling this morning doesn't hurt.

NAIROBI (AFP) - A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa, officials said.

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him. "It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park, told AFP.

"After it was swept and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added. "The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added. "The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years," he explained.

Well, it's the second night alone in my house after my roommate moved out. I miss him already, but I know it's a good thing for us both. I have been less motivated to clean up after myself, but decided to clean anyway. Got some stuff done too - a load of laundry, found some of my roommate's leftover stuff and put it all in one place for him when he stops by next, and unpacked from my latest trip. Took out the garbage too. All kinds of excitement going on in my house tonight. Wahoo!!

It's bedtime now and I'm looking forward to closing my eyes.

My mom and I received our reservation confirmation for next weekend...

I am pleased to advise you that we have been able to reserve a room for you and your daughter at Avoncroft Farms, main lodge, for November 18th to 21st.

However, the only one available is the honeymoon suite. I trust that this will not present any problems. It includes king size bed, luxury tub, fireplace, and ensuite. It will be available upon your arrival.

Lodge Manager

p.s. Due to unforeseen circumstances, there will be no maid service.

How is it that my keychain could appear in the hatchback of my car when I packed it before I went shopping yesterday with my neice? She read my keychain on the counter of Michael's while we were shopping. I didn't open the hatch after that.

So I unpacked last night and found it in a bag of stuff that I bought in Drumheller. I don't get it, but I don't think I should dwell on it too much. It'll just make me crazy. ..er.

Today was to be a good lazy day, great for driving home. Well, I haven't started yet. I got up at about 9:30 after being bugged by beautiful little children for an hour and a half. I know they knew what they were doing when they were banging on the wall in the other one's bedroom with me sleeping on the other side of the wall. Otherwise, why would they check on me afterward? [sigh] It's a good thing I love them. I was still happy to have them around this morning when I woke up.

My nephew chopped off my feet and hands and I bled to death this morning. Then I rose from the dead to attack him and cause him to go running and screaming to his daddy who was also still sleeping. Heh. I love being the auntie. Then my neice and I went shopping for a bit where I lost my car key and keychain that read "PROPERTY OF THE PRINCESS." I got that keychain as a gift from a friend and it always made me smile. I'm just lucky that I didn't lose the key chain with ALL my keys on it. I only lost the pirate's peg leg sometime over the weekend in Drumheller. My nephew noticed that as well. The trials and tribulations of a LEGO keychain.

We were late getting back to the house so I dropped my neice off at the Fun Tycoon where they had a birthday party to attend. Good for them. I then went back to the mall to see if I could find my key. No luck, but with all those stores, I managed to get the 4th season of Six Feet Under, some underwear, a new winter jacket, and stuff from Michael's. Would have been more from Michael's if the bead aisle hadn't been so crowded.

I love my family very much. I still need a teleporter. Can't wait to see everyone even though it'll be later than I'd like when I finally get back to Saskatoon.

So here I am in Calgary after my fabulous weekend in Drumheller.

I haven't sat still for very long since I got here - except at my desk all week and then today watching many, many episodes of Six Feet Under. I felt very busy all week.

My brother told me he was jealous of me. So I asked why. I was pretty sure I knew, but I wanted to hear him say it. [grin] I decided to work in Calgary this week because I can. Heh. It's the little things that make life grand.

I worked too much this week. Last Sunday from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. which just started the whole week off badly. In early and staying late some days too. And then today for a few hours again. The beautiful thing is that I don't resent it. I feel like it's worth it because people are counting on me and that means something.

The highlights of the week:
1. Meeting some of my staff that I hadn't met before.
2. Swimming with my niece and nephew.
3. Watching Six Feet Under.
4. Seeing my niece and nephew each morning before work and having them yell in unison from the front door, "Good-bye Auntie Suzi."
5. Seeing friends I haven't made time for in a long while.
6. Getting an expected note from someone who really believes in me.
7. Learning that Chinese food leftovers are edible - just get them to put the sauce on the side.
8. Talking to the people in Saskatoon that I miss terribly and it's only been a week - including hearing my cat purr it up at the sound of my voice.
9. Having people feel that they can tell me when I've done something wrong without fear of breaking me.
10. Hugs from my family and friends and feeling connected.

While I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night, I'm going to miss everyone here. I really need a teleporter.

I didn't realize how beautiful a king size bed really was before this weekend. I was in heaven. Of course, part of that might have been that it was on a frame at least 4.5 feet off the ground. I love being on such a high bed. It's absolutely great. I think I'm going to begin my campaign with my dad for such a thing again. I might win this time because I have some solid knowledge about how this one was built - yes, I checked it out. Heh.

There's something extremely grand, maybe even opulent, about being connected by a door to a spa where you're getting treatments. Something great about being in your pajamas when they come knock on the door for you at 10 in the morning. It was a fantastic experience. I loved the mango body polish - I'd definitely do that again. The wrap was annoying more than helpful, I found. But that's mostly because laying on my back for 45 minutes gets rather painful. The facial and head massage was divine. [sigh] Then with the painting of my toes the colour of a new penny was fabulous too - I love it when people play with my feet. I just about started drooling.

Of course, the best part of the weekend was the company. I love my friends so much even though we've gone such different ways in our lives. It felt like home being with them.

Wow, it was 16 days ago that I last posted.

Fading Suns was cancelled tonight on very short notice so I find myself with some time and not a lot to say.

Been working a lot of extra hours lately and playing City of Heroes the rest of time which means Purrrsia is level 38 now. Next weekend, I'm off to Drumheller for a weekend with the girls. Really looking forward to it.

I fell asleep on my lunch break today. The sweet girls at work phoned me when they noticed I'd been gone a really long time. So tired so I'm heading to bed soon. Mmmm... sleep.

Maybe I'll have more to say tomorrow night.