Address Unknown

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer a paper credit card statement.   I love getting mail, even if it's just a credit card bill, it's just so satisfying opening up the mailbox and seeing something there waiting for me! A paper credit card statement  is the perfect kick-in-the-pants reminder I need to pay that bill.  I know, electronic statements are more eco-friendly, but I end up having to print a copy anyway, so I can tick off all the entries and make sure it all adds up.  And emails can get lost in my inbox too easily.

A few months ago I realized I had not been receiving my statements for the credit card from the bank that we do all our banking at.  It hadn't been a problem, because sometimes I pay the card off early because my accounting software warns me that a payment is coming due, but I wanted to figure out what was going on.

I called the bank, they said, "call the credit card people."

I called the credit card people, they said, "On our end we can see that you are getting the paper statements, so you should be getting them, but in the meantime we can send you a copy. Maybe that will kickstart the statements getting sent."

A week later I received the copy of the statement.  Now it's been over a month, still no statement. 

So, today I called the credit card people.  They said, "We show that we have sent the statements out every month. Call the mail people."

I called the mail people. They said, "what's your mailing address?"

I gave them my mailing address. It's not a pretty address, it looks like this:

Box 4, Site 5, RR 6 

Cool Town, AB 

A1B 2C3 (that's the postal code)

They rattled it back to me and said, "PO box ...."

I said, "No, it's a community mailbox. Not a PO Box."

They asked for my physical address...

Here's where it gets tricky. I live in a subdivision created when a farmer sold a chunk of his land decades ago. So there are about 30 houses with the same address, and then a house number.  Similar to this:

12345 Hwy 67

#89

Cool Town, AB

A1B 2C3 (notice it's the same town and postal code)

But about 6 years ago, they built a new highway a little bit South of us, so now our highway is:

Hwy 67A.  But if you look on google maps, or any other GPS system, our new address doesn't exist. So what we have done for parcel deliveries is googled my house, and it gives a pretty random address based on the town 2 km West of us.

89 Random st

Neat Town, AB

A4D6N2 (very random)

But I have been told by the county people that the google address is NOT the address I should give if there's an emergency at my house.  I need to give the updated address with "Hwy 67A".

I told the mail guy my physical address, and he couldn't find it in his system (no big surprise there).

Then the mail guy said to me, "First we have to deal with your problem with your address before we can deal with the credit card statement problem.  I have entered a ticket into the system that we have to figure out your correct physical address.  You will be contacted by October 11."

I am eagerly awaiting  the official correct address of where I live!

My Snack Hack

I have always had a issue with Munchies Snack Mix.

I don't think the pretzels belong. Munchies is a summer staple for us, we take a bag with us to the beach, but the kids also don't enjoy the pretzels, so they usually got tossed to the seagulls as we were leaving (don't feed the seagulls while you're there or you won't get a moment's peace!)

Chad brought a bag home from his office a few weeks ago, and I have been enjoying the occasional bowl in the evenings,  but what to do with the pretzels? There is a distinct lack of seagulls where we live!

I accidentally came upon a solution. I left the pretzels in a bowl overnight,  and the next morning at coffee time pretzels seemed like a reasonable snack! 

So, now I savour the cheezie goodness of Munchies in the evening, and keep a little bag out for the pretzels. Throughout the day I enjoy the pretzels!  I still don't believe that pretzels belong in Munchie Mix, but now I have 2 snacks in one bag!

Twenty Years!

This post is all about the numbers...

Chad & I are celebrating our 20th Wedding Anniversary today, so I thought I'd compile some of the things we have done in the second half of my life!

We have had a few pets
2 cats
2 dogs
4 fish

plus lots of farm cats, some with names, some not.

 We've owned quite a few vehicles, & not one of them was wrecked!
1 SUV
2 Trucks
6 Cars
13 Motorbikes

Now, considering when I met Chad he was planning on being a farmer, which was perfect since I didn't want to move a lot, our life has not gone according to plan in that department!

We have lived in
1 State
3 Countries
4 Provinces

Many types of homes

1 Parsonage
1 Housesit
2 Co-Housing
4 Apartments

5 Houses

Which required
13 Change of Address Forms
10 Home phone numbers
8 Cell Phone Numbers

We have travelled quite a bit, & made it to
13 countries
19 Passports (including the kids')
11 years of documenting every trip outside of Canada for immigration (there were 28)

We have completed
4 Degrees
2 Certificates
(though none are mine, I still get to count them!)

We have had a total of
10 job titles
and worked for
14 Employers

We have hosted
5 homestay students
and we made
2 kids (We doubled the size of our family!)

Our life is certainly much different from what we had planned, but there's no one I'd rather be on this journey with! During one of the first major life-changing moves we were embarking on, one of my co-workers asked, "So, Chad's going to do that, but are you going to go with him?"

I answered, "Yes, of course I am. We're married!"

When my co-worker replied, "But that's not what you signed up for when you married him."

When we got married, I literally signed up for him. I never signed a contract to be a farmer's wife, or live in a certain place, but I did sign a vow that I'd be married to Chad for whatever comes in life, good or bad. We're not the same people we were when we got married 20 years ago (thankfully!), but all our experiences have brought us closer, since the only thing that has stayed the same through all of this is that we are in it together.

It will be interesting to see how the numbers will change in the next 20 years...

An Odd Up-Do

My hair is very open to the power of suggestion.  That can be a good thing or a bad thing.  When I was in grade 7 I got a perm, & my hair was tightly curled until the day I cut it off, there was no relaxing that perm, & that was ok.  On the few occasions I have had my hair straightened, it stayed straight until I washed it, & I looked like I had been born with straight hair.

However, in general, when I wear my hair down it seems to think it is frizzy time.  No one likes frizzy time.  When I was in highschool I used to dry my hair in a low bun so it would stay relatively straight with some waves at the bottom.  But I have a lot of hair, & it takes a long time to dry.

The best way to manage my hair is to wash it at night & sleep with a towel on my pillow, but recently I have discovered a way to make my hair look even MORE curly, but the first day leaves me with a questionable hair-do...

This is day 1 hair

And this is the result!

Three Things...

It's been a busy few weeks, so just for fun, I decided to do this fill-in. 

Three names I go by
1 Sherilyn
2 Mum
3 Chad's Wife

Three places I lived
1 Poulsbo, WA
2 London, England
3 Charlottetown, PEI

Three places I have worked
1 Solicitors' Office
2 Western Retail Store
3 Doctors' Office

Three things I love to watch
1 The 100
2 Orphan Black
3 The Chicago Fire, PD, & Med shows :)

Three places I have been
1 Israel
2 Newfoundland
3 Greece

Three things I love to eat
1 Pizza
2 Brownies
3 Shrimp Cocktail

Three things I am looking forward to
1 Christmas with my parents for the first time in 13 years
2 Moving into our own house after 5 months of temporary housing
3 Summer!

The End Is In Sight!

I've had a few people ask about what's been going on in our lives, so I figured it was time to post an update.  Life has been a bit hectic & chaotic to say the least.  Last weekend we moved out of the place we had been house-sitting since the owners were coming back home this week.  We were very fortunate to be able to stay there for nearly 3 months, & initially when we began our move we had figured by this time we would be moving into a house of our own.  However, the house we ended up buying had renters in it, & we needed to give them 2 months notice to vacate the premises.  Unfortunately, that left us with about 6 weeks with no place to live. We put out the word that we were looking for a place in the meantime, & through church connections we managed to find a 3 bedroom duplex to rent, & church people have donated furniture for us to use since our things are all in storage!

We are thankful that everything has worked out, but this time of transition has not been easy for the kids.  They are adjusting to a new school, new friends, new church, & their normal routine has gone out the window.  PChad & I are trying to maintain as much normalcy as we can, but there's always the occasional thing that comes up, & while it's not so difficult for us to deal with, the kids occasionally have little meltdowns.  I made the mistake of bringing the kids to the grocery store after school the other day, & they did not have as much time to play at home as they wanted, & dinner was a sad, sad time.  If you have seen the movie "Inside Out", you will understand that my kids wanted to lay on the floor like a blob, & just disappear.

I have been filling my days trying to do normal boring things like laundry & cooking, & also trying to do as much as I can to get things set up for our new house.  Making sure we have electricity & heat when we move in, so we don't actually need to lay on the floor like blobs under a pile of blankets just to stay warm.  (We did move into a house once in November & were without heat for a week, it was not fun).  Getting the vehicles inspected so they can be registered & insured.  Some of this stuff has to wait until we are in our new place so we have an address (you can't have a drivers' license without a home address on it).  I have started making a list of all the things I will be able to do once we have a permanent address again: library cards, Nexus cards, Provincial healthcare, Order new checks from the bank.  It will be so exciting!

So, we get our new house January 1, & all of our things come in the moving truck January 2.  The kids go back to school after Christmas on the 4th, & my parents are going to come up & help me to unpack all the boxes while the kids are in school.

Before we left PEI the kids were so excited for this move.  Asher was 2 years old & Chancery was 6 weeks when we came to PEI.  They kept saying, "This time when we move we'll remember it!"  I dare say they will never forget it!  At dinner the other night we were talking about how I had decided that I'd like to marry a farmer so I would never have to move, & then we were counting all the houses each of us had lived in, & how sometimes what we plan doesn't work out, but it's ok because God knows, & his plans are better.  For those of you who are curious, by the time we move into our house here...

Chancery - 7 Years old
- 1 Country
- 3 Provinces
- 4 Schools
- 5 Houses

Asher - 9 Years old
- 2 Countries
- 4 Provinces & 1 State
- 4 Schools
- 7 Houses

PChad - 35 Years old
- 3 Countries
- 4 Provinces & 2 States
- 6 Schools
- 16 Houses/Moves

Sherilyn - 36 years
- 3 Countries
- 4 Provinces & 4 States
- 4 Schools (PChad went enough for both of us!)
- 18 Houses/Moves

A Farewell to my Fellow Needle Nuts

Last week I got together with the ladies I meet with monthly for an afternoon of Cross-Stitch.

Normally we stop meeting over the summer & go to a play instead, but this time we decided to meet one last time, then go out to dinner afterwards.

I have spent many hours with these ladies, & gotten a lot of helpful advice on how to make proper French Knots (I will master them one day!).  I will miss them all very much.

Fortunately, one of the ladies lives in BC most of the year, not far from where we are moving to, so perhaps we will be able to meet up for an afternoon of stitching at some point!

“Pulling A Sherilyn”

When PChad & I lived in London, we lived with Geoff & Margaret, an older couple that we met at church.  They invited us to live with them since they had a big house & money was tight for us.  We gratefully accepted, & became part of the family.

At the time, I was working in a Solicitor’s office & I would get home from work around 8pm.  Since I had a work uniform, I’d often go upstairs & change into my pyjamas before supper, so Geoff & Margaret became accustomed to seeing me in my PJs relatively early in the evening.

One night, as PChad & I were watching TV after supper, Geoff popped his head in the TV room, & asked if it would be ok for him to put his pyjamas on.  “Of course!” we replied.  He came downstairs a few minutes later wearing a nightshirt, nightcap, & slippers…


We still stay in contact with Geoff & Margaret, & from time to time they let us know that Geoff still likes to ‘pull a Sherilyn’, meaning he gets his PJs on early.

Bye-bye Braids!

I have a tradition of growing my hair long, then getting tired of all the tangles, & cutting it all off.

My hair is really thick, so even after we cut the purple hair off, I had enough to make it worthwhile to donate to Locks of Love.

 

Eleven inches gone!

It’s always fun to start fresh with short hair & grow it out again, until the next time, 3 years down the road when I choose to cut it all off again!

Dinner Theatre

Every summer my cross-stitching group goes for dinner & a play.  This year, we thought we’d combine the excursion & go to a dinner theatre.  We saw “Heard It Through The Grapevine”, & it did not disappoint!  We showed up excited, & hungry, which was the perfect combination, because there was lots of delicious food, and outstanding entertainment.

Here’s the whole crew

 

The play is set in “Potatoville” PEI, with the action centering on the mayor stepping down from his office, & 2 of the townspeople running against each other in an election.  The audience also participates as towns people, contributing questions to the debate, & voting for the new mayor.

At first we weren’t sure how good of a time we would have.  The actors are also the waiters, & they stay in character the whole time.  Our waiter was the town bumpkin, & he did a great job of playing his part.  One of the mayoral candidates took a shine to our table, & tried very hard to win over Ellen & Adri, even going so far as to serenade them!

I’d say he succeeded, wouldn’t you?

View Full Album

Saving the Day, One Lock at a Time

Yesterday Henry & Vincent (our Home-stay boys) decided to ride their bikes downtown for the day, & spend some time at the library.  Around noon, they called me that they couldn’t get their bike lock unlocked.  I told them to ask at the library if there was a maintenance person who could cut the lock for them.  They asked, but the maintenance worker was not allowed to cut it off for them because they had no way to verify that the bikes were theirs.  It totally made sense.

 

So, I got another phone call that they needed me to come downtown & save them.  I know we have a bolt cutter, but I had a feeling that it was out at PChad’s shop.  I looked around the garage & the basement, but couldn’t find it, & I couldn’t find a hacksaw either.

 

So, on my way downtown, I stopped at the local greenhouse which is owned by some friends from church, to see if they had a bolt cutter I could borrow.  Unfortunately Mr Charlie was on lunch break, & they other employee I found wasn’t sure they had a bolt cutter at all.  I told him I’d take a hacksaw, but that lead to a bunch of questions about petty theft!  After assuring him I wasn’t going to do anything illegal, he looked in the back room & found the bolt cutter for me!

 

So the kids, & I marched up the the library carrying the large tool down the street, & I managed to cut my first lock!  I then loaned the boys a keyed lock that I had brought, & warned them not to loose the key!  I didn’t want to have to go through that whole ordeal again!  Fortunately it all worked out.  I wonder what other adventures we’ll get up to while PChad’s away!

My 35th Birthday

Yesterday was my 35th birthday.  I had a wonderful day celebrating, in the most unusual manner.  Had someone told me a few years ago that I would be celebrating by spending the day shopping with 3 ladies who are twice my age, & having the most delightful time, I don’t think I would have believed them!

 

I have been part of a cross-stitching group through my church for a few years now, & the ladies & I have become quite good friends.  We were scheduled to have a stitching day on my birthday, but then Ellen (one of the members) called me & asked if I would like to go to Moncton for the day with the ladies instead.  I thought that sounded fun, so I agreed, then Ellen said, “That’s great… would you be able to drive us?”  Well, I do love to drive, so I agreed to that too!

 

Our first stop was Timmy’s; after the long drive we had to get our caffeine fix!  Then we went to the cross-stitch store, & spent a good amount of time there re-stocking supplies, & browsing.

Then it was off to Montana’s for lunch.  I think I was the only one who had been to a Montana’s before, so I showed them the ropes.

 

Gonda was surprised to be given a Mason jar to drink from!

 

Since it was my birthday I got to wear the birthday hat!

 

And Gonda’s birthday is the day after mine, so she got a hat too!

 

We then headed to Costco, and ended the day walking the mall.  By the time we decided to head home I think we were all shopped out, but it was one of my most fun birthdays!  I’m really glad to call these ladies my friends!

Narrowing It Down…

…kind of.  If you have been following my coat conundrum, you will know that I have already purchased 4 coats trying to find a new winter coat that will keep me warm, has a powder skirt, & thumb holes.

I thought I should include a picture of my old coat so you know what I’m working from.  I really like this coat, it has served me well for 10 years, but it is getting ratty looking, & I’m starting to worry about the water-proofness of it.



After getting some feedback, I had narrowed it down to the blue Columbia coat.

(I tried to look happy in all these pictures since people were saying I should not choose certain coats because I looked less happy in the picture)

  






And I checked one more store & found this Liquid (I can’t find the exact one) coat.
  It’s a little longer coat, but it was only available in a Medium…











…so I called the store back & asked if they could order it in in a Small.  They told me the purple wasn’t available, but they could get the pink version in.  (Hello, my name is Sherilyn, & I may have a shopping problem)





I really like the length of this one, & I am confident that it will keep me warm.  I also think it looks nice, so WE HAVE A WINNER!!!
(and I have 5 coats to return)

The Coat Conundrum

Today I decided it was time to look for a new winter coat for myself.  The kids were both in school & I had no plans for the morning, so I set out to find it.  My old winter coat is 10 years old now.  It’s a bit dirty looking, frayed, & quite bulky, as that was how they were made back then.  Now, with new technology in coats, you can be warm, with 1/2 the weight!  That coat has served me well for the past 10 years, & I set out to find another 10 year coat!

I first stopped at Target, bought a purple down 3/4 length coat that happened to be on sale for almost half price, but after thinking about it, I decided it would not work very well for playing in the snow, or skiing, or the like.  So, less than 1/2 an hour after purchasing the purple down coat, I returned it.

 

Next, I headed to SportChek, & found a Firefly coat for 40% off.

 

I like this coat, but it is rather thin, & I was worried that I might not stay warm.  I really, really hate to be cold, & it can get very cold here, so I want a really good coat.

 

 

 

 

PChad told me to go check a few more stores, so off I went to Sporting Intentions.  I asked a lot of questions, & was shown a lot of coats of varying prices & warmth.  Nothing was on sale, so I had to settle for paying full price.  After much deliberation, I chose a Scott Coat.

 

 

I came home with the 3rd coat of the day, but it did not seem to be any thicker than the Firefly coat.  So, I decided to check Google for some comparisons & reviews.  Unfortunately both of the coats I had come home with are new this year, & so there were no reviews.  PChad decided to join me for another trek to SportChek.

 

 

 

We looked around & compared many different brands finally settling on a Columbia coat.  even though it wasn’t on sale, it looked to be a warm coat, & it was a little cheaper than the Scott Coat.

   

 

 

So, after buying 4 coats today, & bringing 3 home, it is time to decide which one to keep.  The key thing for me is being warm, the second concern is the colour of the coat, & how easy it would be to keep clean.  All of the coats have thumb holes, of which I am a big fan, so they are all comparable  in that regard.  So now, dear reader, which coat would you choose?

The Stocking Is Done!

This Christmas you may have noticed in some of the pictures, there was an odd stocking.  I finally finished the cross-stitch one I was making for PChad!  I started working on this stocking when I was pregnant with Asher.  Seven years later, I am GLAD to finally have it finished!

 

I started with the plan of making a stocking for every member of my family, but at the rate which I stitch, I’d be lucky to get the kids’ done before they move out of the house!  I think PChad might be the lucky one that gets his own, everyone else can have matching red fuzzy ones.

Last Night….

I couldn’t get to sleep at all, no, no! ♪ ♫

 

These are the things that run through my mind when I can’t get to sleep…

-I wrapped all the stocking presents, & I know that I took one thing out of the pile for Asher, but did I put something BACK in the pile to replace it?

 

-Now that we have presents under our tree, it’s going to get harder to put water in the tree stand.  I should get a funnel with a piece of hose on it.  That would make it easier…  Wait, I’ve seen those before!

 

-I’m really hungry!  I’d love to have a cookie, but I know I shouldn’t eat cookies this late.  I SHOULD eat celery, but who WANTS to eat celery?  Maybe I’ll have some raisins.

 

-I heard my phone beep downstairs.  I wonder who would have messaged me at this time of night?  Maybe one of my friends can’t sleep either!  I should go check.

Teaching

You probably have noticed that my blog has become quite quiet these days.  This is in part due to the kids both being in school, & not having as much time spent together means not having those fun/odd conversations as often.

 

Also, I have been crazy busy!  I’m not really sure what has added to the craziness, but it seems the days are flying by!

 

I have increased the number of days that I help with math at the local school to 2 mornings a week.  I have really enjoyed being able to to delve into the world of Algebra once again!

 

I tutor a variety of grade levels/abilities.  One group is just learning the F.O.I.L. method for problems like this:

(2x-4) (5x+2)

it’s one of my favourite lessons!  Some students are just getting into multiplying & dividing fractions (so fun!).

 

One thing I discovered when I was in college & thinking about becoming a teacher is that I would much rather reinforce concepts that has been taught in class rather than stand up in front of a classroom full of kids & teach it myself.  This time at the school has really solidified that for me.

 

I have also discovered that if a student has the basic math concepts down & just needs a little extra guidance I can often reword the problem or explain it in a way that helps them to understand it a bit more.  But the problem I have been faced with a few times is the student who knows their times tables, fractions, decimals, but has issues with adding & subtracting 2 digit numbers.  No matter how many ways I have tried wording it, I can’t get a correct answer for 10-9.  So, I need some help!  Please offer any tips/suggestions, I’m stumped on this one!

I AM CANADIAN!

Well, after 13 years of trying, I have finally completed all the forms, paid all the fees, & passed all the tests!  I am a Canadian Citizen!

 

Watch out, Cuba, here I come!

Comfort

I’m a big fan of comfortable clothes.  Being warm is at the top of my list of priorities when I get dressed in the morning.  Hoodies are a winter staple.  I’ve got a rainbow array of them in my closet.

 

I was telling PChad the other day, that I was looking for some nice long-sleeved t-shirts to fill out my wardrobe, but I didn’t want plain ones.  I want them to have a bit of a design on them.

 

“Why don’t you look for something nicer than t-shirts?” he asked me.

 

“Well, then what would I wear with my hoodies?” I replied.

 

He responded, “Exactly.”

Stickers

As I mentioned a few years back, part of my job at the Western Shop where I worked, was to remove stickers from products we sold.  I still like sticker-free products so I often remove any stickers promptly.

 

A few days ago, the kids were given small pinwheels that had stickers on the sticks.  Chancery had started peeling the sticker off her stick, but couldn't get it to come off nicely.

 

This morning, she brought her pinwheel to me as I was lying in bed, & asked, “Mummy, can you take this sticker off for me?”

 

“Oh, you can just leave it on there,” I told her.

 

C: “No, I don’t want it on there!”

 

Me: “Well, then just do your best to get it off.”

(I figured that would keep her busy for a few minutes)

 

C: “But you are the best sticker picker ever!”

 

It’s nice to have your accomplishments recognized…