talkin' to myself

loooong overdue

So sorry to all who follow our blog and have been wondering what's going on in the lives of the BC Reids. Our camera refused to upload pictures to our computer making the blog entries seem pointless. The problem has now been solved; Brad picked up a memory card reader last week and we have quite the backlog of photos so over the next few days I will be making a few entries to get you all caught up on what we've been doing for the last 6 weeeks.

We spent some time in Edmonton over Easter the last entry was a video from that time but we have alot of pics to show as well, such as Carlon meeting Ama for the first time and his two cousins Madi and Olivia.

toys are awesome!!

Family time in Fairmont Hot Springs

Well, we are long overdue for an update thanks to our camera acting up... It's really time for a new one but, that's another story.

A few weeks ago we spent 6 days in Fairmont thanks to Brad's parents and sharing their time share. We left Sunday morning driving through Washington because the Coquihala was closed. We gave ourselves two days to get there and Carlon was a trooper. We had a wonderful time being together just the three of us, no distractions little to no thought of the stresses that have been surrounding us recently.

Carlon took a big step in development rolling from his back to his side and one night even sleeping nearly 10 hours... sadly he hasn't done it since. Oh well, I can't complain he still sleeps through the night.

30 Hour Famine

Hello one and all! I know it has been a long time since Colleen or I (or Carlon!) have posted on this blog. Part of that has to do with the fact that our camera and our home computer aren't 0n speaking terms right now (isn't technology great?).

However, I wanted to put up a quick post/request. This week the youth at Bethany are participating in the 30 Hour Famine that is run by Worldvision Canada. It is a great event where the participants choose to go without food for 30 hours and get sponsors to donate money to Worldvision. The money raised is used by Worldvision to help provide clean drinking water, food, medical care and other essentials of life for people in third world countries.

This year I'm partcipating in the Famine, just as I have for the last 3 or 4 years. So on Friday, April 3rd, at 6:00am I will stop eating and won't start eating again until noon on Saturday.

And, I'm wondering if you would be willing to sponsor me. Sponsors who donate $20 or more will receive a tax receipt from Worldvision. The easiest way to donate right now is to head to this website: http://tinyurl.com/ck4qdj

That is my personal donation website set up by Worldvision. You can donate by credit card at that site. Or, you can send me a message (email, facebook, twitter, phone call) and donate by cash or cheque. Whatever is easiest for you!

If you want more information about the Famine check out http://www.famine.ca/

Thanks for helping out!

Brad Reid

Grandma Reid and Auntie B

This last weekend Grandma Reid and Auntie B (Dad's mom and sister) came all the way from Edmonton to see me. I was so excited to see them, and really enjoyed the visit. We even all tooka day trip down to Washington to have Cold Stone ice cream and shop for some stuff for me. I'm so glad they came to see me, I hope I get to see them again soon.

Peanut Butter and Banana... The Easy Way

So, every since I was a kid I can remember loving to eat Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches. They are a total comfort food for me. In fact, they go beyond the "comfort food" category into a "life saver" category. When I was a student living in dorm at Northwest Baptist College the cafeteria food quality was uneven, to put it nicely. In particular, you would never know if lunch would be palatable until you were in line for the food.

So, my friend Tim Doling and I came up with a system. We kept a jar of peanut butter in Tim's room (although the jar sometimes migrated to my room). We would both get in line for lunch to see what it was. If it was something we liked (and could stomach!) we'd stay in line, get our food and eat lunch.

However, if the food wasn't appealing (which, if I'm honest, was very often) our system would kick in. One of us would head upstairs to get the jar of peanut butter. The other would stay in line, get a couple of bananas and 4 slices of bread. You see, the cafeteria always had bread and bananas available but the peanut butter was only available at breakfast time. Thus, we had our own supply on hand. By the time the peanut butter was brought down from the room the other person had made it through the line with the bread and bananas. We were able to have lunch and make it through the day. The sandwiches were a life saver!

So, in my mind, I equate Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches with some really good memories... from my childhood and from later on. Nowadays I rarely have a Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich. I'm not really sure. I suppose the biggest reason is that although Colleen and I both eat bananas we usually forget about them and they go bad. So, we don't keep them around very often. And it is tough for me to predict the craving for a Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich... it can hit at any time and it is rare to be able to get a banana from the store that is ripened to perfection for use in a Peanut Butter and Banana Sanwich.

All of which brings us to yesterday. Colleen, Carlon and I were in Burlington with my Mom and my sister Brenda. We were shopping at the Factory Outlets there. One of my favourite stores to check out is "Harry and David's" which is a specialty food store. Colleen and I like to browse the store and usually come home with a new kind of dip or relish or bbq sauce.

Yesterday we were just about to pay for everything when Colleen pointed out a jar on the shelf. I almost couldn't believe it! "Harry and David: Creamy Banana Spread"! Of course, I bought a jar and brought it home. I didn't open it up until this afternoon. I didn't have it for breakfast because I was afraid I'd be disappointed with it. If I was disappointed with it then I'd want something else for breakfast and wouldn't have time. So, I waited until this afternoon.

And BOY! I wasn't disappointed. It really was like a Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich but without having to find a banana that is ripened just right. Now granted, it wasn't the same as an actual Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich but it was suprisingly good. I mean... really good!

So, now I've finished my blog post and I'm tempted to have another Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich. Really... it was THAT good!