Do Not Pass 'Go' - Do Not Collect $200

So, I live in a city that is comprised, like many cities, of various areas - let's call them 'communities within the city'.... Allow me to share with you some excitement that's going on here today.

My 'community' has been in lockdown since approximately 4pm this afternoon. There have been shootings and there are helicopters flying overhead and police cars everywhere. I just looked out my back window and there are police men with the dogs out.... We have been advised to stay locked in our houses. Our 'community' is up on a hill and the police have it barricaded so no one can enter or exit our area.

If this isn't bad enough, want to know what could be worse? Vaughn is on the other side. He can't make it home. Nothing like this has happened in our area before - it sucks even more knowing that half your family isn't with you when it does.

This is hitting way to close to home for us. I'm scared.


Update: Lockdown lifted 5 1/2 hours later.

Things that make me happy right now

- My passport came in & Vaughn booked our holiday for Vegas in July!!!

- Adam's last final exam is today & then he's off for the summer!!!

- We've cut Porkchop's anxiety medication in half, so she not a 'coma dog' anymore!!!

- Amy & I got Backstreet Boys tickets!!!

- I'm drinking a 4 shot vanilla latte!!!


Have a great day, everyone! Peace.


Update: 5 minutes later. Okay, so I think I may have spoken too soon about Porkchop no longer being a 'coma dog'. No, people, this is not the same picture I posted last week - as you can see, her eyes are open. This was taken (with my stupid cell phone) just a few minutes ago:

I read this book on my way back from Edmonton yesterday. I had seen Randy Pausch on 'Oprah'; as well, I watched the full video on YouTube. This man is truly inspiring. If you haven't seen the lecture, I will copy it below. When I finished it, my husband looked at me and asked, "Is it a book I should read?", all I could reply was, "It's a book everyone should read."

If you have about 45 minutes to spare, I strongly recommend watching this lecture. The man is an inspiration to us all. The book goes into a lot more detail regarding the lecture - things he was unable to say on stage.

Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

Stress, Music, Prizes and the Open Sea....

Little Miss Porkchop didn't have a great day. It was her annual vet visit - as well, she was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. You see, my little girl is scared of everything. Her biggest fears are buzzing insects, planes, wind whistling through the house and thunder storms. We've always known it's been bad, but for the past few weeks we've been having terrible storms & between Vaughn and I, we've pretty much been on a constant vigil with her. She shakes and hyperventilates so badly, we've come to the fear that eventually she'll end up having a heart attack. So, my girl will now be on medication for the rest of her life. My heart breaks for her - we try to make her feel so safe & secure, but I hope that now she won't be so tormented by everything.

We are moving Amy to Edmonton in the morning, which is only 4 hours away. Looking forward to getting some shopping done! As well, Vaughn sold his boat & ordered a new one that we're picking up on Saturday. He's like a 10 year old before Christmas.

Tomorrow morning at 10am, tickets go on sale for the Backstreet Boys on 31 August. Amy & I are so excited! We'll be driving down the highway dialing Ticketmaster like two crazy people. I think I'll pee in my pants if we get good seats.

Stay tuned for a contest next week!


Have a great evening, everyone. Peace.

Irish men ROCK

Has anyone seen this movie? I rented it about a month or so ago on a Friday evening. About half way through it Vaughn told me he was turning it off because I was crying. Okay, maybe crying isn't the appropriate word - I was wailing. You know that cry when you're hyperventilating, and you let out the occasional squeal? That was me. It was so sad, I was still crying on Sunday. I vowed never to watch it again.

Last week while Adam was at school, Amy expressed an interest in the movie, so I jumped up and popped it into the DVD player (I never learn)... I pretty much started crying instantly, but Amy was surprisingly quiet. After about 45 minutes, I asked her if she was enjoying the movie - and then the flood gates opened. She had been holding it in to try to make a point that I'm a big baby, but she just let go and screamed, "Oh my God, I want to DIE!!!"

I can't imagine anyone leaving this movie & not being touched in some way. *sigh* So romantic.


Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day...Saturday, 14 June

I'll go anywhere - even if I don't knit....


I grabbed Kare's throw that she's making for Danielle's grad and said, "Take a picture of me pretending to knit!" (I kinda look like a pro, don't I??)


My favorite friend :o)


Guess who actually won a prize?


Okay, this is me actually knitting.


Not sure what it was supposed to be, but I did it!!!! Kare was so proud I thought she was going to cry.

Randomness

1) What's more painful than getting a tattoo? Getting a tattoo touch-up. Remember last September when I got Vaughn's initials tattooed on my wrist? Well, it was touched-up yesterday, and it hurt so bad. I even called my tattoo guy a bastard. I was told at that point that touch-ups are always more painful. Way to not send me THAT memo until it was too late.

2) Why haven't I won the lottery yet?

3) A few books I've read over the past month or so:



And the two I'm in the process of reading now:



4) I'm planning on going to that 'World Wide Knit in Public Day' with Kare tomorrow if she's still going... No, I don't knit, but I support knitters everywhere.... as well, I love reaping the benefits of having a best friend that's a knitter. I'll take pictures!

5) God Bless Bret Hart. Amen.



Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

I loved this guy on American Idol. He was my favorite right from the auditions. Aside from looking like he was going to vomit, he did an absolutely amazing job with the national anthem last night.

Now, allow me to share a picture I took of Porkchop napping yesterday afternoon. Couldn't find my camera, so had to use the crappy one on my cell phone:




Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

Practical AND Fashionable

Anyone who knows me, knows my love for Miss Porkchop. I hate to be away from her, so these past months have been great in the sense that I'm off work and I can spend all this time with her.

Now it's boating season & Vaughn wants to be on the lake every chance he can get. I don't want to be leaving her every weekend, and it worries me that if I brought her on the boat, something would happen & she wouldn't be able to get to shore.

I mentioned to Kare that I wanted to find her a lifejacket. After an unnecessary amount of laughter (on her part), I think I made her see the light. Unlike her two dogs (whom I LOVE), Porkchop isn't as ummmm.... self sufficient. She's not the outdoorsy type at all, and she is purely for decorative purposes only.

When Kare was out of town a few weeks ago, she came home with a present for my little girl:



It took a lot of coaxing to get her into it, but once it was on, her tail started wagging. Just one problem, though. She wouldn't move. She just stood there. Frozen.

Either way, I'm going to make a sailor out of this girl. All she needs now is the little hat & we'll be set.


Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

No, people, I am not dead

So, here I am - blogging for the 1st time in what seems like a million years. I guess the only reason I have for not keeping in touch is that when Amy left in September, I think I lost my mojo. Sure, she was 21 and God knows, I can completely understand that she needed to find her own way, but the selfish side of me just wasn't ready. So, I'm back - I don't know if anyone will ever read this, but I'll fill you in, somewhat, on the goings on of the past 7 months in the life of MadameZ:

- Amy came back for her 1st visit in December to see her brother perform in "Cats". He was AMAZING. The play was phenomenal. I wasn't sure what to expect when I found out that he had a solo - A few weeks before his show, this was the conversation that my husband & I had:

Me: Adam has a solo in this play.
Vaughn: Are you serious? But, Adam can't sing.
Me: I know
Vaughn: Well, do you think the Drama teacher knows?
Me: Well, honey, they've been rehearsing 15 hours a week for the past 3 months - I think she must have a clue.
Vaughn: This could get ugly.

When Adam started singing, our mouths dropped. He was amazing. I cried and couldn't believe that was my little boy up there. He made me so proud.


Let's skip ahead a few months.... After all the problems I had with my stomach these past years, I wound up getting surgery again in April to remove my right ovary. This gave me a month off work, so I had lots of time to have coffee with Kare.
It also gave me the chance to go visit Amy for awhile. By this time, she had come to visit 2 or 3 times, but it was so much fun to see where she worked, to meet her new friends & hang out on her turf for awhile. It was so amazing. We had the greatest time.



Forgive me for not adding captions to these pictures, but my darling husband bought me a MacBook for Christmas because I thought they were cute and it has intimidated me every day since. I'm still having issues with it.

So.....I come back from my holiday to return to work & cannot understand why I'm still not feeling better. I manage to make it through a 1/2 day and when I go back to the Doctor, it turns out that I have scar tissue that had wrapped itself around just about everything, including the nerves in my upper leg. So, a few weeks later, I'm back getting surgery again and, therefore, more time at home. It's been 12 days since my last operation & I can honestly say I'm feeling so much better.

Amy's up again for a visit & has decided to move closer - on Friday, she will be moving only 4 hours away, and I couldn't be happier.

Because I'm the queen of procrastination, I waited till only recently to apply for my passport, much to my husband's dismay. If it does happen to arrive in time, he & I will be in Vegas the same time as Kare & her family. How totally awesome is that???

I'm going to try my best to keep up with my life. If you're reading this, thanks for sticking around.

Have a great day, everyone. Peace.