Sunny Day

On a day like today its impossible NOT to go outside
and watch the last bit of snow melt awayunder the glare of the sun.

To wonder at things big...

and small...
close...
and far away.
But most of all wonder, how can this be February?


And jump for joy because it is.

Twenty-Two

It feels no different than 21, it just sounds a little more mature to me, perhaps because everyone associates 21 as the age that frees you from all "restrictions" and people tend to go a little nuts with that!

Carrot Birthday Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Yes, it was my birthday yesterday. Our family doesn't really tend to make much of a fuss about birthdays so it was a very low-key day. I went shopping for a camera in the morning with my dad, because my parents and eldest brother decided to make me the happiest by pitching in some $ to replace my old one that perished in the ocean this past summer.
I bought a Sony Cybershot H20, which is an upgraded model of my previous camera. So far I'm thrilled with it! I loved my old camera, and my only real complaint about it was bad indoor and low-light pictures. This newer model is improved in that area, so that is very exciting!!
Its also slightly more compact, and a little sleeker...I like.
My car-smart youngest brother gave Peppy an oil change (THANKS TIMO!) and I was delighted to receive a mini food processor from Mike and Katie! I'm so stoked about that because it spells H-U-M-M-U-S and P-E-S-T-O and a myriad of other culinary delights I've been dying to make!
We went to Chapters Viewpoint for a nice dinner, lacking only the wit of brother Paul, who was in Vancouver enjoying a 6-2 win for the Canucks vs. Penguins.

Family Shot

I tried Escargot for the first time!

Kind of a funny shot of my first bite

I have to say though, it was a very odd birthday to me, that didn't quite feel like a birthday, because there is simply NO SNOW! It looks like late Spring out there!!! Sunny, mild, and bare...?!?!?! what the heck? Besides the birthday I spent in Ireland, every single one of my birthdays has been well endowed with snow! It felt really strange, and not quite right.

I want the snow back.

Unbelievable.

Wii-k Arm

Yes, we got a Wii for Christmas!
We've been duking it out on Wii Tennis, Bowling, Boxing, and the myriad of Wii Fit games.
But especially tennis.
And I hate to admit it, but my arm is sore this morning!

The Surest Way to Drive Me Mad

I just played 2 round of Blokus with my brother Tim...and he beat me easily both times. It is so infuriating!
If you haven't played this game before, let me just say that it CAN be fun. Each player gets the same pieces, just different colors, and you have to each try and get more of your pieces on the board. The thing is, all of your pieces have to be attached to each other, and can only attach diagonally.
At the beginning of the game I always think I'm doing well, but then all of a sudden he sneaks a piece through my wall of defense and then it quickly goes downhill from there. Before I know what is happening, I'm left will all these weird and wonky pieces, and all he has to do it fit his little 2's and 3's into whatever crannies are left.

It doesn't help that he mocks me the whole time, and makes fun of my moves, and tells me to hurry up. I don't think I will play with him anymore. Or else I'll just suggest we play "Egyptian War" (it goes by another name too, but I don't remember it), which is just impossible for him to win against me. THEN we'll see how smug he is...

Giving In

It is nearly December 1st.

Only a 1/2 hour left, before I have to give in and admit that the Christmas Season has arrived.
I will not allow Christmas music, or decorations of any kind until December, because:

a. I am a bit of a control freak

b. There have got to be some limits set so that Christmas doesn't take over the entire calendar and become mundane and worn out before the 25th.

c. all of the above.

If you answered C. than you may be onto something.

When my mom gets home on Wednesday I have no doubt the wreaths and velvet poinsettas will bust out, the "gingerbread" and "candycane" candles will be lit, and a new Christmas CD will be drifting through the house.

And then the great Christmas Tree debate that we have every year will resume.

When do we get one? Will it be real or fake?

Things often get quite intense around here at Christmas, because despite the fact that our family has celebrated the holiday together almost every year, we each have our own preferences on exactly how to do it, and mine especially has a specific timeline on what is appropriate and when.

Are you the type of person that would love to have Christmas all year round, or do you wish it would stick strictly to the 25th of December? Or perhaps somewhere in between...

Dishwashing

I think one of the reasons I started cooking, all those years ago (for my family), was because we have a rule* in our house that whoever made dinner doesn't have to clean up. I loved being able to create the meal, and then sit back with a full stomach, and relax as my mess was tidied up.

Its not that I have an aversion to cleaning kitchens. I don't mind clearing the table, wiping counters, sweeping, putting dishes away...but inevitably there are those items that can't be put through the dishwasher, and must be washed by hand.

I do not like washing things by hand.

I need to find a guy like this.

I don't know why this is. When I think about it, its really not so terrible. I just...I don't like it. I think its something to do with dirty water. All the grossness is just swimming around in there. It gives me the shivers. I think this is linked to my pet peeve of dirty dishes sitting in a sink filled with cold dirty dishwater. It drives me CRAZY!!! Just thinking about it makes me mad.

I will gladly dry the dishes. I will gladly fill the dishwasher.
But please...do not make me wash the dishes.

* like all rules in the Coulter household, it is "flexible"...which means I have to (firmly) remind everyone about it, or I will be put to work.

My Little Hockey-Playing Brother

Cheering

I was sad to leave Kamloops when I did, because my two older brothers had just joined a ball hockey league and I was able to go and cheer for them for a couple games. I love watching sports where I know the people playing...its so much more fun! And its especially fun when its your family, and you get to cheer them on!
Luckily for me, my little brother Tim joined a league in Campbell River around the same time, and so now that I live here, I've had a few chances to get out and watch his games!
He is so intense about his hockey. When I was visiting Homewood (where he works) I could hear him practicing his shot up in the bus barn, and the girls I know there say he spends a lot of his spare time up there, preparing for his games. He sometimes has to leave his duties early to catch the ferry to get to a game on time, but he always works so hard to do the most he can before anyone else even starts, so that it all evens out.
He jogs before games to warm up, and when he gets dropped off to the arena he is fairly shaking with adrenaline. He just loves it so much!
Last week I surprised him by picking him up off the ferry, because it arrived at the same time his game was supposed to start, and usually he has to hitch a ride. He was so relieved...maybe because it was pouring the mother-load of rain!!!
I love watching him play. He is so good at it! He is one of their fastest players, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. When the other team has the ball, he can just seem to effortlessly knock it out of their control and spring away with it. Maybe I'm just biased as his sister, but I keep thinking that if his whole team were made up of Tim's, they would do a lot better :)
Its so cool that I get to go and cheer for him, (shouting really loud to embarass him), and I think deep down he likes it too, because no one else can be there to see him doing what he loves.
My favorite part is after the game, win or lose, Tim comes off the rink sweaty and stinky, with his quirky half-smile, and then we go for an ice-cap at Tim Hortons and chat until the last ferry pulls in. Its funny that we have lived in the same house for years, but we never took a lot of time to visit, and now that we live a distance from each other we finally can appreciate each other's company!
I'm looking forward to his next games on Monday and Wednesday, already :)

Happy 25th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

I love you guys!
Can't wait to come up and visit you!

ps. the card is in the mail!

Slightly Inappropriate

A brief snippet of our lunchtime conversation today.

Mike: So, how often do you poop?

Andrea: I pooped twice today.

Mike: Twice?! That's not healthy! Mekel, how often do you poop?

Jill: (aside) Mike just because you only poop once a week...

Matt: Sometimes I will poop twice a day.

Mike: But before lunch?!

Matt: Well that might be pushing it...

Jill: (snickering loudly) "Pushing" it!

Extremely immature giggling ensues.



Disclaimer: Mike and I both have Kostelyk blood running through our veins. Fascination with, and amusement from, the topic of poop is inevitable.

A Very Coulter Christmas

The Photographic Tour of an Adventure Gone Horribly Right

We thought an hour or two of GT-ing up in the boonies would be just the thing for our Christmas afternoon. Me & the boys popped into the Rav, with brother Mike behind the wheel. It would seem though that his winter-driving skills are somewhat lacking *cough*.

To make a long story short, he drove off the side of the road.
Though our combined strength frightening to behold, the wheels refused to cooperate.

Tim spent a few satisfying moments in the drivers seat.

Alas, all our efforts were in vain.

Paul desperately pleads, "Mom! Dad! Pick up the phone! SAAAVE USS!!!"

It seems all hope it lost...

Wait...! There! In the distance!

DAD TO THE RESCUE!!!

Dad pulled us out easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

"I will be a more responsible driver from now on."

....And a few short minutes later, we're back in the ditch. Good thing Dad is still behind us!
Mike ponders his shame.

In the end it turned out well, because they boys GT-ed down the snowy road and it was declared "the best ride EVER!"
And we all had fun laughing at Mike's stupidity! (Paul drove after the second dive)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My Alarm Clock

Most people find digital alarm clocks to be the most reliable.
Personally, I rely on my dad.
My father is a Man Of Routine. His work-day mornings run the same every day (with very few exceptions).
7:00 AM- I wake to the creaking of my parents' bedroom door, and the thump thump thump as he stumbles downstairs (he will only use the downstairs shower because it has good pressure).
Then, the squealing of the plumbing as the shower turns on full blast.
By around 7:10ish (I never really check the clock for exact time...that's the whole point of this post) he has stumped back up the stairs, and I hear him fiddling with the power outlet in the upstairs bathroom, as he is plugging in his electric razor. A few minutes of a buzzing sound, and then a drawer slams, the door opens and he moves back to the bedroom. (There is more to his routine, but it would take too long to detail). By now we are around 7:15 AM.
This is my cue to groggily stumble to the bathroom and perform my own morning routine.
As I said, I rely heavily on my dad to know exactly when to get up.
This morning was one of the few exceptions mentioned above. I was taking my mom's car instead of getting a ride to work with Dad. I didn't take into account that my dad would be getting up later as a result....
Well I woke up in a panic this morning, realizing I was hearing none of the usual sounds! I was COMPLETELY disoriented!!! I scrambled to the little *digital* clock I have at the other side of my room, and to my relief is was only 7:04 AM. A little early. I decided to get up anyway now that my heart-rate had shot way up.
Without my father's timeline to guide me, I ended up running way too early, which is always annoying, especially when I think of how warm and cozy I was in my bed.
Luckily, tomorrow we will be returning to the regular schedule, so I won't have to be so confused again.