It sucks to be Wise

You know, most people think that to be wise is a great gift. I beg to differ, because with wisdom comes wisdom teeth. Now some may ask, "what's wrong with smart teeth?".....well I'll tell you, the hurt like a bugger. I have delt with wisdom teeth since about grade 7, but it seems that the problem has gotten much worse over the last few months. I can now expect that approximately every 3 weeks or so to have a visit from my wisdom teeth, not sure why because every time they try to come for a visit they get the same result.....NO ROOM....You think they would get the hint and simply move on and never come back.

I guess I am just going to have to take matters into my own hands and have them removed!

Curling Champs

That's right guys!!!! We were curling champs this weekend in a "fun"-spiel that Becky's school group put on. Our team, better known as "team awesome" consisted of 4 exceptional members, lead - Stacey, 2nd - Jamie, 3rd - Myself and Skip was a guy by the name of Rory (Denny). We managed to win all three games and came out on top winning the whole event based on point for and against. I believe that we won by 1 point. Supper was also provided for us which was AWESOME.

Since it was saint Patricks day we went to Old Navy and bought team outfits. They, as you can see in the picture consisted of saint patty's day boxers over top of our curling pants, green shirts and nice green lays. Ah we were definitely a sight for sore eyes that day.

After the curling festival was over we all went out to the pump to celebrate Saint Patty's Day by consuming some green beer and having a good time.

Jamie and I also curl every Tuesday night in another league and we are in playoffs at the moment. Lets just hope that we do as well in the league as we did last weekend!

A guide to feeling safe in Regina

Well, there really isn't a guide to feeling safe in Regina, however after last weekend Jamie and I have made steps into trying to feel a little more secure in Regina. We just recently moved into a new neighbourhood a few weeks ago and thought that it seemed like a really nice, quiet, safe area. It all changed on Friday night. Jamie and I had gone to bed at around 11:00, like old people married people do. At around 11:30 Jamie woke up thinking that someone was at the door. I quickly assumed she was wrong and told her just to go back to sleep. The dog was barking and I thought that it must have just been the cats or something similar that set the dog off. To make Jamie feel better I got Miki (our dog) to quiet down and we couldn't hear anything at the door. I got up to use the washroom and when I got back to the bedroom Jamie was WIDE awake. She was quick to tell me that there had to be people in the backyard because we could see what looked like flashlights shinning through our window. I took a look out the window to see what was up and saw 2 people searching our back yard with flashlights looking at all the windows and door. After some thought and a phone call to Jamie's Mom we decided to call the City police. We were informed that there had been several break-ins in our area that night and it would be to cops looking around. SO case solved....they were cops in our backyard. You can assume that the rest of the night was quiet sleepless. We now have an alarm system hooked up in the house and feel much safer.

We are glad that we never waited until we ourselves got broke into before taking action to secure our house. Now with both the dog and the alarm...good luck trying to break in.......I HOPE!

Saskatchewan

So for starters forgive me if this blog gets a little sentimental. I have been thinking a bit lately about living in Saskatchewan and how people perceive us that live in this province. I tend to get the impression from "outsiders" that Saskatchewan is looked down upon, and we as residence of this province are pegged as hillbillies. I remember at one time Saskatchewan residence being refered to as "gappers", in definition the people that fill the void between Manitoba and Alberta. I also recently heard of a radio station in BC holding a contest called "You know your in Saskatchewan when..." where the person with the most "assaulting" line won a pair of tickets to the Juno awards. I can only assume that such people have never been to Saskatchewan to experience what we have to offer. On a side note, some of my rant is coming from a recent student interview we held which I will have to post at another time and will most definitely get a rise out of those who come from a farming background.

Anyways, I have been trying to figure out what it is that keeps me drawn to this province. The following is a short list of the top 10 things that keep me drawn to this province:

• 1 - Saskatchewan is the home of our family farm which means a lot to me and I enjoy being close to it and being able to keep my foot well grounded in the farming community. I have lately been slacking on lending a hand at the farm but these last few months have been very crazy.
• 2 - My wife's family also lives close by and they mean a lot to her and to me. Being close to them is always a good thing and soon will be even better when we can lean on them as babysitters....just kidding, we love them dearly and they are most definitely a reason why we stay in this province.
• 3 - Saskatchewan is a province that always has you guessing and on your toes in regards to the weather, the economy and the government.
• 4 - The space. I love the fact that Saskatchewan is sparsely populated and they is so much open space and fields.
• 5 - The northern lights - I am sure that we have the best light show next to Alaska.
• 6 - The natural attractions. There are so many things to see in Saskatchewan, you just have to know where to look. For example last summer for work we went on a landslide tour. During the tour we were lucky enough to see Castle Rock (Castle Butte) which is a HUGE rock in the big muddy valley South on Bengough. It was amazing. I am hopefully going to attach a photo album of this and the other attractions we took in during our tour.
• 7 - The PEOPLE - We are in fact not hillbillies, but grounded, down to earth people who actually give a crap about others. To some that may be the common trait of a hillbilly and if so...then I guess I am proud that I live in a province filled with them and again am proud to say that I too am a Hillbilly!
• 8 - The lakes, yes that is right the lakes. Saskatchewan is the province of a 1000 lakes. You just have to find them.
• 9 - The landscape. It may be flat to some, but to me, I grew up in the Moose Mountains. There is nothing but rolling hills around our farm. I am gonna try to also attach some pictures of the hills for you too.
• AND 10 - The cost of living. Thank the lord that we have nothing close to a Calgary or Edmonton. I enjoy the fact that I will one day own my house and in fact not be broke my entire life trying to pay for a 800 square foot home. I can in fact live in a 2000 square foot home and actually pay it off! Crazy I know, but again Saskatchewan offers us that opportunity.

To end off, I must say that I hope to be able to raise my family in Saskatchewan and show them all the beauty that this great province has to offer.

So much for the "WARM" weekend

So yet again the weather reporters were wrong. Funny how it seems that they get it wrong more times that they get it right. Jamie and I were so pumped for the "forcasted" warm weather for the weekend. We thought that it would be a perfect weekend to get outside a bit. We were quiet surprised to see how cold it was when we got up on Saturday morning. It was -26 without the windchill. People such as Tyler and Emery would be able to speak for how cold it was. They were ice fishing at Regina Beach and when Jamie and I caught up with them Saturday night they still looked frozen. I am sure that some of the redness in their faces must have been from the amount of alcohol they had been consuming that day/night.

Anyways, Jamie and I did manage to get outside last night for a walk with the dog but cut it super short as we were freezing the second we stepped outside. I am hearing good things for the end of the week again but am not holding my breath just yet. If today is anything like this weekend than it will be another crappy weekend of cold weather. I think the weather people should be forcasting -40 so when we look and see it is -26 we can be happily surprised instead of pissed off!

Well on another note I just came from a PEPP presentation and who knew that at the young age of 25 I would have to be making decisions on my retirement and what type of investments I want to make in order to achieve my retirement goals. There was a lot of talk of risk and gains but I am still a bit confused so before I make the final decision on how I want to invest my PEPP funds I am going to have to do a bit of homework. If only I knew a friend who deals with finances and could help as a financial planner.......hey Michelle!

Well enough for now.

Wedding Pictures

Well, I thought that I would put the web address for our wedding pictures on here. Then everyone can take a look at them if they so desire. Anyways the following link will direct you to our wedding pictures. Our photographer is from Carlyle Saskatchewan and he did an AMAZING job!

http://kdphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/2303476#P-1-15

First Blog Ever

Well this would be the first time I have blogged. I spent the morning reading over some friends blogs and decided it was about time I made a blog for myself. Even if no one ever reads it at least I can say that I have posted a blog or two.

Well life has been moving at a quick pace since December. I married a beautiful girl at the end of December and we just finished moving into a new place together. We were living together in a house already but the owners were selling and we decided to get out while we still could. It was a move for the best since we are now paying less rent for the place and are once again without roommates. We really wanted to buy this time around but it just isn't in the cards for us until we know where Jamie will be getting a job. So for now we are hoping to save some money for a down payment on a house when we are ready and to help pay for a trip or two this year. Jamie graduates in May and we are really hoping to be able to stay around the Regina area with friends/family and cheaper living costs!

I am still with the Department of Highways in Regina and loving it. This winter I had a chance to drive a snowplow truck for a few days while SGEU was on strike. It was quiet an experience and I managed to make a nice chunk of money doing it. I have also had an opportunity to gain some valuable engineering experience with the Department and have got my hands on a few projects thus far. If anyone is looking for summer work, I know that the Department is always hiring for seasonal positions. Nice pay and overtime if you are in construction. Can't go wrong with overtime pay!

Well, with that said, I should get to work here. Fridays are always quiet and slow around the office. Especially with the weather the way it is.