Eric's List

Hello Stephen,

Here is my list for Christmas:

Wii Motion Plus

Corner Gas - Season Six

Lego Star Wars - The Complete Saga (Wii)

Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore - Full Screen Collection

Happy shopping!

Eric

What's On Steve's List....

Cool Asian electronic stuff, that you can't get here...?

Essential Spiderman Vol.2 (I enjoyed reading vol.1 so much, I'm looking to own number two.)

Princess Bride Special Edition DVD (only the best movie ever made...)

Utili Key 6 in 1 tool (looks like a key, actually an elementary multi-tool. Perfect for sneaking sharp weapons onto planes!)

Noropro Egg Rite egg timer (perfect boiled eggs every time- check it out!)

Shower radio (sounds silly, I know, but I want one every time I step into the shower. EVERY TIME!)

Things Brian Likes

Bolle Sharkfin Goggle
Socks
Kombi Mitts
Hydration Pack
Gloves

For Reuben

Hey Reuben! We were at Grandma's house a few weeks ago, and found this picture of me (Aunt Marya) and your Dad! We thought you'd like to see that your Dad liked Spider Man when he was your age!

Fun with pictures!

I've been playing around with a new-ish online photo-editor, similar to photoshop, but free, and less features. Eric and Evan was my second attempt, and I think that worked out a little better...

From Dad/Uncle Leo

Mortgage Downpayment Loan RepaidWe had to borrow quite a bit of money for our downpayment (it was more than we expected), as our house-buying situation was so unique, and there were a number of other unexpected costs (ex. $3000 for a building permit!) So, now we own our front porch (and possibly the front yard)- free and clear!


iPod Touch
I've wanted to own one of these for a long time, so we decided that each of us could have one cool thing, just for themselves. This was my choice. (I forgot it at work today, and it is the first day that I bought it a few weeks ago that I don't have it in my pocket. Feels weird.) Plus, I'm a huge fan of gadgets, but I've never been able ot own a current one. For at least a few months, I did...

Garage Sales:

This is Sarah's 'purchase.' She couldn't think of one specific thing she wanted, so she decided that her one thing is being able to garage sale and shop without guilt. She usually gets amazing stuff anyways, but now she doesn't have to worry about the budget.

CPP:
Canada Pension Plan. This one kinda sucks, as I was reassessed last year, and the category my accountant thought I was in, I wasn't. So I had to pay for last year and this year, and it was almost as much as our downpayment. Not a fun thing, but it's hard to argue with the government, and now it's gone, and we don't have to worry about it. At least I'll have something to look forward to in 30 years... :-)

We've also put away our two months emergency fund, and we hope to get a dishwasher and replace our (defunct) furnace. It is so nice to be able to do these things, and breathe easier, knowing that there's a cushion there. Thanks Mom and Dad. This was a wonderful thing that you did for us all.

More Gifts from Uncle Leo/Dad

We recently got this outdoor adventure playset with some of the money that Uncle Leo left us. It was ... uh ... fun to put together, but the look on the boys' faces when they use it wipes all those memories away.
For those of you with really good eye-sight, none of those children on the playset are ours. I have no idea who they are ... they just wandered into our yard and helped themselves!

The First Fruits of our Unlce Leo Money

The day that we got the cheque in the mail (it was a very good day!), we made our first purchase: a very much needed dehumidifier for our basement! It's something we've been wanting to purchase for a long time, but they're not really that cheap. Brian managed to find one on Kijiji that was brand new - still had the cords all tied up and the bucket was taped in - the guy who was selling it thought that you had to put water INTO it to make it work. He sold it to B for a very decent price, and it was been dehumidifying our air ever since.

Next week, I'm heading to Main Cycling & Sports to buy something that will probably look a little bit like this:

I've decided that since I live so close to work, it would be nice to bike to work during the spring/summer/fall. I'm not saying that it will happen every day, but my goal is to reduce my gas consumption by half this season. And perhaps (ok, definitely) get in a bit better shape. I don't really like biking anymore - the fact that I have a car negates the need to use a bike to get anywhere, as in the days of elementary & high school. However, I'm told that there is a whopping difference in riding a $89 Canadian Tire bike and a decent bike made by reputable bike companies. So, I'm going to give it a try and become a biker. This does mean that I'll have to a) get up earlier and b) shower and dress once I get to the school. I'm not so excited about those things. I was hoping to get a bike this season anyways - but this wonderful gift definitely makes it much more of a possibility!

What we're doing...

We talked about sharing our uses of this gift on the VanBreda blog, so...

We've already mentioned our washing machine... We went out for lunch with the boys when we normally wouldn't have...
We're looking in to a play structure for the boys...
We made a donation to the Huntington's Society in Memory of Uncle Leo...
We'll be saving/paying stuff off...
Maybe a trip somewhere on an airplane... (Korea? :)...possibly Edmonton...
Some home improvements...

Steve's (rather late) Christmas List

Africa Celebrates U2 CD

Warm and dressy leather gloves

Fun games for my DS

Jayne Cobb's hat, or a suitable replica

The "Bone" series of graphic novels by Jeff Smith

Marya's list - Updated

I don't have much for my list...

-a haircutting kit with DVD (I saw one in a Wal-Mart flyer a few weeks ago)
-12 x 12 scrapbook for baby
-maybe a teapot - something simple
- Straight No Chaser - Holiday Spirits CD

Sarah's Wish List.

I know that scrapbooking is something that I usually have on my list, but really, it is a luxury and there are SO many things that I need!:)
This is one of them that I have been looking at for a long long time. I have the "lace" on one loan but I would love any of the other ones that look cool.

I would also love a corner punch. The one that makes the corners look rounded.

That is the only idea for now.

... a few of my favourite things ... [updated]

Wii component-video cables

Bluetooth mouse

Dakine wrist guards

Prisonbreak Season 2 on DVD

Glayva

Fluorescent light fixture :: 2 or 4 bulb (prefer T8 Enegy rating) :: 48" (for home grow-bench)

Used Xbox (old one, not the newer XBox 360)

Eric's Christmas List - Pay Attention Brian = )

Any of the following DVD sets. I am not a 100% sure of our price range this year, but a shrewd buyer like yourself should be able to find these within the limit.

In no particular order:

1) Edmonton Oilers: Ten Greatest Games (I believe it is a 10 DVD set)

2) Corner Gas: Season 4

3) Corner Gas: Season 5

That is all that I can think of for now.

Eric Renkema

Jenn's Christmas List

1. Pinking Sheers
2. Mario Party for the Wii
3. Mexican Train Dominos
4. Flinch
5. Digital Picture Frame for my office
6. An electronic, handheld Jeopardy! game.
7. Any other Wii game that sounds or looks like fun.
8. A subscription to Canadian Living
9. Comfy Cozy PJs
10. Slippers with memory foam in the soles

Happy Birthday!

Satan is a Penguin!!

While surfing the internet the other day, I came across this article that claims Satan is a penguin!! Interesting read! Funny thing was, all the "experts" thought Hell was hot!

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=367718

Uncle Eric

Happy Birthday, Nadine!

Our (future) Living Quarters

This is our Dining/Livingroom. The Diningroom will be located at the far end of the room in this picture. You'll note the lovely wood wainscoting around the whole room - that will either be painted a light colour, or a dark brown (our professional painter advisor tells us that because the carpet is light and the top will be light, it won't make the room look darker or smaller. The top will be painted a cream with a brown tint. (As will the entry way on the right of the picture - that's real deal ugly wood paneling. Ick.)This is the livingroom end of the room. We're not sure if we'll be painting all the wood above the fireplace yet, or what colour it will be done if we do it.
Looking down the stairs into the rest of our living area. Straight ahead is our (small) bedroom. (And looking at Rachel. You can't see it very well, but she's got a very cute baby belly growing.)
Our tiny kitchen. There wasn't much use in turning around and taking another picture, because that's really all that's there. That's the kitchen. We think we're more than willing to give up cupboard space to put in a dishwasher, though - once there's dishes on the counter, there's no room to cook anything!
This is Brian's office / laundry room. I'm not exactly sure how he's going to make it all work, but I have faith in him.

(Almost) Our New House!

This week, Brian and I put an offer in on a lovely semi-detached house on Cranbrook Dr (just inside the corner of Garth and Stonechurch). Our (very low) offer was countered with another price, which we decided was still in our range. We've signed off on the offer and it has been sent to our mortgage broker to be officially approved by the lenders - when they approve it, it'll be sent back for a final signing (which will then involve mom, since she has graciously accepted the position of a co-signer for me). Then we pay the lawer fees to see if there are any lays against the land, and then we pay the land transfer tax and the PST and pay the current owners the land tax that they've already paid for the whole year, and then, after all of that paying out money, on July 15th, Brian and I will be home owners! If you want to come and see our house and get a tour of the whole thing, you'll have to come between the 15th and the middle/end of August - we're hoping to rent half of it out in August or September. Unfortunately for me, we're going to be renting the pretty half of the house out - the upstairs. All of the pictures below are of the upstairs. It's a four-level back split, so when you come in the door you walk straight into the (recently redone) kitchen. At the end of the kitchen is a door to the downstairs apartment, but if you go left you'll be in the diningroom/livingroom. To your right is the four steps to the upstairs, where there are three bedrooms and a four piece bathroom. If you head around the back of the property through the gate into the back yard, there's a door to the downstairs apartment - when you head downstairs, you'll head straight into the rec room, or what will be our very large livingroom/diningroom/most things room, with a gas fireplace. This room has not be retouched in about 15 years, so if you come between July 15 and 25, bring along a paintbrush, because I'm repainting it (or rather, Kenny is repainting and choosing colours and I'm helping)! go down a few more steps, and there's a tiny kitchen to the left (we'll have to do dishes everyday, with that kitchen!) and through the kitchen is the laundry room, workshop, and storage area. Across the hall from the kitchen is the bathroom, which is actually larger than our current bathroom. And at the end of the hall is our bedroom - no windows, so it'll be hard (for me) to wake up in the morning! And that's about it! There are no photos of the downstairs apartment, so this is all upstairs. Eventually, we'll move upstairs and rent out the downstairs, and then hopefully we'll come to the point where we can kick out the downstairs renters and occupy the whole place! :)
I'm looking forward to:
Having laundry facilities in my own apartment!
Having a back yard where we can have dinner in the summer!
Having a back yard where I can hang laundry out to dry in the summer and fall!!
Having a gas fireplace!
Eventually moving upstairs into the really nice part of the house with a dishwasher!
Getting a dog!

Our house ends between the two front windows - the first is ours, the second is the neighbour's livingroom.

You can see the front door just to the left - there's an entryway there for shoes, etc. The floor in the kitchen is either a different (darker) hardwood or a laminate, I can't remember.

A breakfast island! On the other side of that fake brick wall lives the appliances that come with the place - the stove (electric, boo), microwave (that lives overtop of the stove) and fridge. All appliances are pretty new.

Breakfast nook! (And more cupboard space!) I thin that this island is moveable.

The livingroom, with original hardwood floor. We asked them to throw that huge mirror into the deal, and they said yes. Brian really likes that mirror - there's one like it at Ikea ($250) that he's been drooling over for the past two years...

Diningroom end of the livingroom.

Three bedrooms upstairs - two straight ahead, one to the right. Bathroom is to the left. That door with the windows is what separates the upstairs from the downstairs. Brian and Nick want to take out the door and drywall it in for the timebeing, while we're not occupying the whole house, in order to keep the noise travel to a minimum.

The bathroom. I like it. Again, a laminate floor in this room.

Isn't that an awesome faucet? I love it!