Where Do the Days Go?

I hope no one gets tired of me saying how relaxing this is, but here I go again.  You have to appreciate that this is the first real taste Don and I have had at this retirement thing, so we are a bit giddy about it.

I left you on Sunday, while we were boondocking with Ivan at Stewart’s Point, Lake Mead.  It was so peaceful there.  Don jokes that they bored me into relaxation, but it is just a matter of teaching oneself to relax, and then the day passes quite nicely.  I think for me it’s the fact that I cannot remember a time since I was about 14 that I have not had a job, school, kids, volunteer work or something to focus on… 

Reflecting on the past few years I have been over the top about commitment to jobs, and I am just now appreciating that fact.  Good thing I have had Don to balance me out.  As recently as last September when we tried to get away for one week, that week was consumed by emails and conference calls with work.  There is nothing wrong with being a dedicated employee, but please take heed that I TRULY believe you should not give more than 100% to your job.  There may be circumstances where that requires some different approaches, and that is fine, but you always need to ensure your current priorities are being met, in life not in business.  So give it a 150%, but do it for yourself and your own sense of ethics and morals, and not for the “company”.  And take some down time after. Now let’s see if I heed my own advice.  LOL  I think I am going home to a part time position with Volunteer Alberta, but it is not confirmed yet.  Hopefully by the time we return I will have a contract letter or something, as it will have been over 10 weeks since the offer was made.  And I will dig into my business, develop a plan, and start engaging in it.  Don has a few more jobs lined up as well.  I am so proud of his company and how far he has come in a few months!

Okay – back to the vacation report.  We ended up spending 3 nights boondocking, then felt the urge to move on.  So we carried down to Davis Camp on the Colorado River.  It is across from Laughlin Nevada, identified as in Bullhead City, Arizona.  We love this campground, and you will see the photo below.

On Tuesday we drove into Vegas, and stayed at our favourite Fitzgerald's Hotel on Freemont Street.  It has been 11 years since we first went there, and we paid $32, which is $3 lower than the first visit.  We had a great evening out, ate at the Seafood Buffet and watched all the light shows at the Freemont Street Experience – American Pie, Bon Jovi, Queen and the Doors.

This morning we returned home to the trailer, and having a relaxing day at the site.  We are here until Saturday and then need to move somewhere cooler.  Don and I are not cut out to be sitting in 28 degree weather.

Pat and Walter Parker are joining us today, and we look forward to our great visit with them.

Have a great week everyone – it’s hump day so you’re almost there!

Some of the Best Days! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It’s The Weekend…

…and that means nothing!  LOL  How wonderful when you have to ask each other what day it is because it just doesn’t matter.
We have had a great few days.  We visited the Valley of Fire State Park, pulling in on Wednesday morning, and picked a site nestled amongst the giant red mountains.  I haven’t loaded the photos to create a slide show for you – maybe this week.
It is very warm and VERY windy here.  I can’t remember the last time we had the trailer in such wind.  But the temperature is still enjoyable and still short pants weather, so that is wonderful.  We set up camp and left to do some touring, and driving through the small town of Overton found a McDonalds with wifi, so had no choice but to have a milkshake and let our emails load, update Windows, etc.  All those things that use precious G.  Then off to the grocery/liquor store and back home.
We decided to see if one more day would ease the wind, and so when we got up on Thursday and had breakfast we headed to Las Vegas.  First stop has to be Costco, for essentials that are so much cheaper than other places.  For example Coors 36 packs for $18.99 and Baileys 1.75L for $19.99.  Then it was off to the Vegas Premium Outlets!  Love the outdoor mall thing.  We had big plans this day – to stay and visit Freemont Street, eat at the extraordinaire Freemont Buffet, have a few drinks and go home.  But we copped out.  The lure of that camper was calling.
And what a great choice we made, as when we pulled into the site and looked across there was Ivan!!  What a treat to see him there.  That led into an evening of visiting and a great campfire.
So it’s now Friday and we have to make a choice – stay or go?  Ivan was off to boondock at Stewart’s Point, just miles form the campground, so we followed him to see if we would be comfortable pulling our rig there.  It’s a great place, with a 15 night maximum stay, and the views are beyond.  (Pictures I promise).  So we headed back to camp, hooked up and went on our way. 
Although still extremely windy, and rain overnight, the site is as beautiful this morning as ever.  Lake Mead can be viewed form 3 sides of the trailer, and the only other occupant visible is Ivan.  Quiet and solitude, and a pile of books.  The only downer is our trailer batteries, which we will have to replace today.  Don suspected this would happen soon, and the time has come.  We didn’t worry too much about when as it is warm enough not to need the furnace.  So when the world wakes up and the stores open, we will be off to Overton NAPA.
Sorry we have no “exciting” news to tell you, relaxing is not that easy to write about.
Enjoy your weekend…

A Short Update:)

Well we never made it to Snow Canyon State Park to camp – it was full.  What a hidden gem.  But only 20 sites.  It is amidst the best hiking in Utah (so I am told, not by experience).  So we went on to the city of St. Georges, which we would have been visiting anyway, and are staying at St. George RV Park.
On Monday we arrived and did the grocery thing at Walmart, then toured around and purchased a mobile internet stick from AT&T.  This is a big move for us, as we have talked about it endlessly on our travels and decided enough is enough.  To control our usage habits we have one that is pay and go, no contracts.  So this time we purchased one month, 1G, and have it figured that should be good for this trip.  Next time we come south we can simply buy more online, and there is no start up fee each time. Don has 1G on his phone, which is a mobile hotspot in Canada, and we have tortured it and never gone beyond the 1G, so hopefully we made the right choice.  I am happy because I can Facebook, so Don is happy too.  LOL  The simple things in life…
Today was a great day – the first of actually holidaying and no towing.  We started out slow, and then took the truck to get detailed.  They have a special interior clean called extreme, and advertise that they blow all the dust out of the vents. etc.  I wonder if they knew what they were getting into?  That Don’s trucks spend a majority of their life in gravel pits?  So it took one hours, 4 workers, and WOW!!  It looks cleaner than when it was new.  While that was happening we had a great pizza lunch.
Then it was off for some adventures.  We drove around the Red Cliffs area, back through Snow Canyon State Park, and through many small communities outlying St. George.  It is such different views than our prairie province.  Obviously the hills are red rock, and mixed in are black lava piles…
A relaxing evening outdoors, visiting other campers, and tomorrow off to Valley of Fire State Park.  We will stay there for a few nights, and make a visit to Vegas and the favourite Freemont Street, as well as the BEST outlet mall I have ever visited (one of my higher rated skills so don’t scoff).  Quite a few items on my list – new runners, a Coach purse as a surprise for a special friend who always does so much for me (if she reads this she might guess?), some clothes for the grandkids, maybe a dress for Dana’s wedding, and looking for a store that sells Toms.  Equals happy Donna again!  Don needs sunglasses and runners as well.
Here are some photos of today’s drive, and one of the truck.  Don wanted to remember how clean it was.  The buildings are on an Indian Reservation, and looked very mysterious against the backdrop of mountains.  I should add we have a travelling friend Ivan who likes to find the most amazing scenery to park in.  So I found you a spot Ivan on a back road.  Just for you!
Have another great day – we did!

April 10 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

First Days of April

Well April Fool’s Day fooled us – with snow!  Somebody must have heard me comment that I didn’t need to get an SUV this winter, because they have made sure on several occasions that it has come in handy.  Rather than a typical winter of steady snow and cold, we had a teaser winter where the weather was usually very mild, and then freak storms set in.
The first week of April was spent getting things in order for the holidays.
Don had several maintenance issues to deal with.  The awning over the trailer slide needed repair or replacing, so that was ordered, and almost taken care of.  Meaning the new one didn’t fit so it was re-ordered, and will be installed in May.  To save ourselves from loosing it on the highway, we had the shop remove the old one entirely.  The truck received it’s annual spring windshield, and while towing the trailer around for the awning we discovered it needed 2 new tires.  So all is in order now, we hope.
I spent the majority of my time getting the house ready for Connor’s first visit, Easter dinner and baby shower!  (As well as ensuring all my volunteer work was in place and order for a month.)
First we chose Good Friday to have our family Easter meal.  It was a great day with Tracy, Cal, Blake, Emerson and Reese out as well.  Cal and the kids had not met Connor yet.  The most surprising one was Reese.  We didn’t think she would be very interested in Connor but she was transfixed with him, and wanted to hold him constantly  It was so cute!
Lindsay and Jeremy and Connor were home for the Easter weekend, and while in town, we hosted a baby shower.  The house was at capacity, but everyone had a great visit and enjoyed seeing Connor for the first time.  Facebook has a lot of photos if you visit Tracy or Lindsay’s pages.
Don and I headed south on Saturday, after the baby shower.  We were all packed so on Sunday morning we could just get up and go, but typical for us we were too excited to hang around.  I just have to say we have the best friends and family, helping us clean up after the whole event so we could leave.  Tracy, Kim, Sharon and Stephanie, THANK YOU!
Our adventure so far has been Walmart camping Saturday night in Lethbridge, Sunday in Salt Lake City.  Today we are headed to Snow Canyon State Park by St. Georges Utah.  This is an exciting stop for us, as we are getting the truck cleaned.  Think of the most expensive thorough Bubbles package, less actual steam cleaning, and that is what we are having done.  For a tidy sum of $39.99.  I kid you not, about $200 less than Canada.  As well we are buying a US phone and wifi stick.  Enough is enough and it is time to commit.
Not sure how long we will stay in the St Georges area, it s very beautiful and we have never explored around there.  Temperatures are perfect for camping, about 30 degrees, so we will see.
Have a great week…

Favorite Time of Year

One more day until April is here and my favorite time - a trip south.  We have been going somewhere in April for many springs now, and this year are lucky to be going for the month!  There is no where I would rather be than anywhere in the fifth wheel with Don.  There is no way to explain the tranquility in that.

But first March.  It passed quite quickly in our house.  Don didn't work in February, then March stormed in and he had job upon job.  He was juggling 4 different ones on one day.  This is probably an indication of his future, but still having the option to discuss the projects and say yes or no is the best part.

I had a great month as well.  I finished both contracts I was working on, and looking very forward to April.  Sometimes I just want to pinch myself or come out of this dream, but it is our life right now and it's pretty great.

My 15 month contract with Volunteer Alberta concludes today, and my contract with Volunteer Wood Buffalo is also complete.  I have accepted a part time job with Volunteer Alberta, and will start that upon my May return, but still awaiting some definition around what it will be.  It will still involve supporting the voluntary sector, travelling and working from home, but on a part time basis instead of full time like the last one.  And I have ensured they are aware of our voracious appetite to travel, so hopefully I have made the right choice.  As well I am applying myself to to my company, SoulutionsByDonna, and hoping to get a few writing contacts like the Wood Buffalo one just completed.

We have some more renovations planned for the house over the spring and summer months.  Most exciting is the removal of a wall between the dining area and living room.  Removing this wall will allow us to fully open and sit comfortably around our glorious table!  Opening it fully versus opening it and sitting all around it is the key here.  That will lead to a lot of painting as well I am sure, and new flooring on the kitchen/dining room and bathroom.  Don and I both have home offices now, and although when I took over his (as he puts it) I didn't think I would feel as comfortable in any other space.  But I was wrong and the new one is as cosy - plus I decorated again:)  Check this proposed new paint color, tranquil blue; and we are pulling the carpet and putting new laminate in.

Not much outside this year, hoping not to be home too much!

I had a great week with Lindsay, Jeremy and Connor.  It is very hard to walk away from Connor every time, but it is what it is.  We are lucky he lives close enough to drive and see, unlike my friend Sharon who has a grandson in Australia.  It is all perspective.  Connor is a growing concern, already he has gained and as of Wednesday is 10 pounds, 10 ounces!  As I was confident, Lindsay and Jeremy have just smoothly moved into their new life roles as parents.

It has been fun watching spring through the eyes of Blake, Emerson and Reese.  Hard to believe Blake will be 5, and is registered in Kindergarten.  I know as a mom I cried every fall when that happened, and I will for Blake too.  Emerson is trying pre-school in April one day a week, and will be in the same class as Blake. I am sure she will offer him her assistance as a sister!  And Reese - wow she is all of a sudden a little girl, not a baby.  It is so cute to see her approach Don when he is playing with the them.  She wants to jump and wrestle, but not always confident of doing so!

Don is visiting this week with his mom and dad, who have just moved into their new condo.  He reports that it is fabulous, and we wish them many happy memories in their new home.  I don't attach much emotion to the buildings I live in, probably because as both a child and adult I moved around so much.  So I know mom and dad will make this house their home, and welcome everyone with open arms as they always have.  Some may be concerned with space, but I remember my Grandmother's 4 room house full of 50 plus people on many occasions and don't remember feeling crowded, only loved.

On Saturday we are hosting Connor's baby party, and today we bought the cutest decor:)  Good Friday will be our Easter meal with our family, and then we are headed south somewhere next Saturday.  We will definitely make it to the Las Vegas area, then depending on weather destinations unknown.  It is quite hot down there already so we will have to plan as we go, which isn't really that different than any other trip.

I will try to keep you updated on our April trip.

Happy Easter to all - have a fabulous spring!

And March has arrived...

Isn't it funny how we set our minds on something and then when it goes differently you are thrown off?  Well that is what happened to me when Connor was born before his due date!  I mean really?  I was all prepared for a mid-March baby:)

So let's re-cap February... You know I had my 50th birthday, as the party was in January, but I had many more lunches, suppers and even a wonderful overnight trip to Banff with Don.  All in all it was perfect.  Blake and Em wanted to have a birthday cake for me, and that was a great end to the celebrations in general.

It was a pretty low key month for us.  We made our annual trek to the Edmonton RV show, one evening by ourselves, and one day with Tracy, Cal and kids.  That was enough exercise for all!

Connor was born on Tuesday February 28 as you know, and Don and I stayed until Thursday.  Jeremy's mom is staying with them this week, and I will return there for a few days.  I am fortunate as my job is portable as long as I don't have any meetings, so that gives me the ability to stay with Lindsay.  We will get her through to the end of two weeks and then they can have their house to themselves:)  It is nice to have help but as I remember also nice to have your house to yourself and find a routine.

March 1 was my deadline for submitting my first draft of the Wood Buffalo project.  I am very nervous about this as it is quite new for me, but I am also very proud of this first draft, and excited to see the additions and deletions and the final document we agree to.  I am amazed at how many hours I put into research and writing.  With the 2 contracts I have been BUSY.

My Volunteer Alberta contract on the KnowledgeConnector project draws to the end of its 15 month term, and it is hard not to look forward to April and a south holiday for a few weeks.  Don has not been on the road this month, but that is OK, as he is retired!  Some small contracts are on the radar for the spring.

March will see us back in Fort McMurray at least once to visit Connor and his mom and dad.

Have a great March, maybe April will see more blog activity as we travel the south:)

Connor James Stecyk

We are in love all over again!  Lindsay and Jeremy welcomed Connor into this world on Tuesday February 28, 2012 at 2:46 p.m.  Connor was 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 20.5 inches long.
Of course he is absolutely wonderful and gorgeous!   I was so lucky to be in town at the time, as I was scheduled to present a workshop in Fort McMurray on Tuesday so travelled up on the bus Monday afternoon.
Labour started later Monday afternoon, and continued through the night.  Connor was delivered by C-Section.
Don left home Tuesday at noon, and met Connor when he was only a few hours old.
The family is doing fantastic!  We will update you soon.