Okay - first let me apologize for not posting for the last million years - getting back in the swing of things has proven to be more difficult than anticipated.

Banff was amazing - just as I had expected. The weather was beautiful and my new uggs kept my feet toasty. ;o) I didn't go skiing, however, but my husband (after months of pep talks) did manage to get me up on the gondola , even though I thought for sure my nerves would get the best of me again. Here are some pics from almost 8000 feet above sea level:



I can honestly say that I thought I was going to die, but now it's another thing I can cross of my 'to-do' list.

I found an amazing chocolate store that sold the most unbelievable caramel popcorn. I loved it so much, I went back on my last day to buy 6 bags. If you ever get there, you absolutely have to try it.

We went to Lake Louise one afternoon, and saw some ice sculptures
and it was all so beautiful.

The resort we stayed at was quite cozy
but it was the view from the outside that was breathtaking.

I spent a lot of time browsing through the great shops - probably spent too much money, but the time away was definitely worth it. These are some views of the main street:


As great as it was, it's always nice to be back home - I missed the kids and Porkchop terribly. On my way back, Amy told me she was moving out with a friend, so I've been a little melancholy about that - My first child is leaving the nest.... This has been tougher on me than I ever imagined, even though she'll only be living about 10 minutes away.

I'm going to be spending my Sunday catching up on everyone's blogs....I missed you all and I'm starting to feel 'out of the loop'.

Have a wonderful evening, everyone. Peace.

Road Trip

Well, boys and girls, my husband is taking me on a holiday tomorrow morning. We are going to be in Banff (yay!) until next Sunday - staying at a beautiful resort...Just the two of us for eight days.

I'm not a great skier (After 2 seasons of lessons, I actually suck), but maybe he'll talk me into one day on the slopes, but mostly it'll be shopping, eating way too much, and just having an insane amount of fun.

He's taking me to Pier 1 tomorrow to pick out my NEW DISHES!!!!!!!!! He got me a gift certificate for Christmas from there & it's been burning a hole in my wallet. As well, I'm going to stop at a store called "Gravity Pope" to get a new pair of Uggs - Amy rolled her eyes when I told her that I can't go to Banff for a week without them.

So, I'll have my laptop with me, and I'll try to keep up with everyone's lives. Have a wonderful week! I'll take lots of pictures! Peace!

Play it Again, Sam....

For those of you easily offended, read no further!


So many movies have sequels...Usually when the movie is good, the sequels are kind of disappointing - but sometimes, you're pleasantly surprised, and the sequels were well worth the wait.

Last night after dinner, my husband, my daughter & I were waiting for American Idol to start. Thanks to modern technology, I was able to surf through what was playing on each channel and see the titles of the shows (God Bless digital cable. Amen) As I'm surfing through, my hand freezes on the title of a movie that's on. This is what I saw:

"Jam It All The Way Up My Ass - 3"

Are you kidding me??? Seriously, after the insane amount of laughter, all I could wonder was, how good would the first movie have to be to warrant two sequels??? All I could say was, "Well, clearly we can't watch this - we haven't seen the first 2, and it would probably ruin the story." Then, just because for some demented reason this struck us as way too hilarious, we decided out of curiosity to look at upcoming titles just to see. This is what we found:

- "A Load In Every Hole - 4"
- "Gangland White Boys Stomp - 14"
- "Titty Mania - 13"
- "We Swallow - 10"
- "Screw My Husband, Please - 4"

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty damn certain that there's absolutely no story line to porn. I mean, technically, there is, but, trust me, dear Porn Producers, nobody...and I mean nobody watches it for the story line...Do they?

Have I been missing something here? Is porn actually so good, that they require up to 13 sequels??? This really got my mind going, when I stumbled across the only movie last night that was a first-run showing:

"Whoriental Sex Academy"

Sounded interesting...Not interesting enough to watch, but when the 15 sequels come out, maybe I'll buy the box-set.

Have a great evening, everyone. Peace.

It's Kare's Birthday!!!!!

How do I say “Happy Birthday” to my friend? Well, Kare, here’s a trip down memory lane….

I met you when I was a stupid 15 year old & we were walking to the same job. Two complete opposites who became completely inseparable. My friends didn’t like you and your friends didn’t like me. But we clicked. I went on my first road trip with you – to a Rod Stewart concert. We ordered “Chicken-on-the-Way”, and when it took too long, you wanted to phone and tell them we were going to order from “Chicken-on-the-Ball”. Please tell me why we found this so funny… ;o)

We saw each other through teenage pregnancy, good boyfriends, bad boyfriends, and hey, we even kinda shared a boyfriend at one point. We spent a lot of times at sleazy bars listening to our boys play, and loved every minute of it. I watched your budgie fly out the window and then couldn’t stop laughing when you cried and wanted to get in the car to find it. I even stayed up with you when you were convinced that our apartment was haunted.

Years came and went, we stayed in touch, and at times we lost touch. Fate brought you to Rocky who happened to live right across the street from me, and nothing had changed.

For better or for worse, in good times & in bad, in sickness & in health, as long as we both shall live. Funny how marriage vows can sum up our friendship.

Happy Birthday to my forever friend. I love you.

Okay, seriously - could my life be any busier? Two weeks ago, the temperature in this fine city was +10c (I have no idea what that is in fahrenheit, for all you Americans), and exactly a week later, I woke up to -31c. You know, it's no damn wonder why the plague is sweeping through here like a brush fire.

A week ago, I decided that because of this weather, I would do a tribute to the ladies that keep me warm every morning - my girls at Starbucks.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the counter that I have walked up to every morning for the past 16 months. These girls take such good care of me - this girl in particular:

Here she is, making my Venti Extra Hot, Non-Fat Caramel Macciatto - just the way I like it....With extra, extra, extra caramel on the top. She is just the sweetest lady - it's nice to walk in and no longer have to even place an order. She knows and she makes it.





And then there's the manager:


Such a sweet person, she's laughed, cried on my shoulder and talked to me every morning like she's known me all of her life. She's beyond wound up tighter than a drum, but a kind heart, and always there to give me the 'broken' gingerbread cookies.

She actually came up to me one day while I was grocery shopping with Vaughn. She put her arm around me and started talking to me about the family - After I introduced her to my husband, she proceeded to gossip about everyone and everything. When she walked away, Vaughn asked how I knew her, and when I told him that she was the lady that made my coffee everyday, he couldn't stop laughing. He couldn't understand how this person was talking to me like I was her best friend. He then looked at me and said, "Jesus, how much time do you actually spend there???" I didn't think any more of it until last week when I looked at the bottom of my receipt. You see, after every 7 coffees purchased, you get one free. My receipt boldly stated:

"You have purchased 2 of 7 towards your 83rd free beverage!"

So, I got out the handy-dandy calculator. I've gotten 82 free coffees - I had to purchase 574 coffees to get 82 free. With each coffee averaging $5.00, I have spent $2870.00. On coffee. In 16 months.

No wonder this woman thinks she's my best friend.

Have a great evening, everyone. Peace.

This is just so cool!

It's a girl thing

I love Thursdays. Every Thursday, Amanda (my co-worker & the manager of the place I work) and I go for lunch... It's a stressful time, and usually by Thursday, one or both of us want to wring the neck of a certain co-worker....So, it's nice - we sit, eat, laugh, bitch, and eat some more.

This Thursday turned into Friday and we went to my favorite restaurant. She is insane crazy about their clam chowder...*puke*...The only seafood I'll eat is tuna salad sandwiches, Filet of Fish or Captain Highliner's Fishsticks...I don't think either of the three would constitute as actual fish, but, whatever.

Amanda & I ordered the 'chili chicken' which was sooo good.....I'm sure it's just chicken nuggets tossed in a spicy thai chili sauce, but everything tastes better when you pay a fortune at a restaurant for it.










Like I said, Amanda always gets the clam chowder, so when the waitress asked her today if she wanted the 'meal size', she assumed that it was the same size she normally gets. Wrong. This bowl was like a bloody flying saucer.










After way too much time laughing at the barrel of chowder (and me grabbing my handy dandy cell phone to take pictures), she proceeded to eat. At first her face got really red....and then the nausea set in....You see, this isn't the first time clam chowder has done this to her. About a month ago, we ate there, and about an hour later she threw it all up in Wal Mart. I offered her some of my pan bread with Parmesan dip, but, in between gags, she politely refused.

I guess the thought of all of this food lost it's appeal when I reminded her that as much as she loves clam chowder, it'll never taste as good coming up as it did going down.

No dessert today...Lunch was over. Lucky for me, it didn't ruin my appetite at all.....I ate every bite.

Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

Yum!

Everyone knows my love for coffee... I also have an absolutle love for chocolate....Love, love, love. I happened upon the website of "chocolate nerd" (www.chocolatenerd.blogspot.com) when I was new on here...She's amazing - and what a blog! She tries out all these different chocolates & stuff and reviews them! She even makes these amazing notecards and journals that are published by Random House....What a woman.

Anyway....back on 28 November, she did a post about these fresh baked brownies made in South Africa, by this company called Khaya Cookie Company (www.khayacookies.com/index.htm). They provide employment to the men and women in a town that is riddled with poverty.... Anyway, after reading about this company, I expressed how interesting they must be. And guess what???? SHE SENT ME ONE!!!! Seriously, people - I'm spoiled beyond belief!

I've decided to wait until the weekend to try it - with an extra large cup of coffee, of course! :o)

Thanks again, Imani! You're a doll!


Have a great evening, everyone. Peace

Back to School

Happy New Year everyone!!! Wow - it's been a crazy week! Christmas was great - Santa was so good to me, but finally the madness is over, the decorations are put away for another year, and our lives are going to start getting back to normal....

I wanted to talk a little today about Amy....She graduated from high school in 2004, with no idea what the future held for her. I was so gung-ho about her going straight to college, but she just didn't see the sense in wasting her time and other people's money when she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. So, she packed up and went on a road trip with my parent's for a few months, came back and decided she would give school a try, and she enrolled for the second semester. Almost at the end of that semester, she had an epiphany - she finally knew what her calling was. I was so happy....until she told me what it was.... After all that time (and money), she decided she wanted to be a professional body piercer. I was speechless - but, like any parent, I held it in, offered to help her get into a good apprenticeship program, and supported her. Then it came to the point where she told her father and grandfather of her dream. Bad idea. I swear, if you look up the term 'bad idea' in the dictionary, her conversation with these two men would be given an honorable mention. To say that 'shit hit the fan' would be such a gross understatement.

So, she put off school for another year. She worked hard, traveled, partied, and didn't save a dime. I knew it would come to her eventually, I just hoped it would be sooner than later. There is always a running joke in this house that we would support Amy until Adam gets out of university, and then she'd become his responsibility. I think somewhere deep down in our subconscious, we all knew that this would most likely be the way things would turn out. She was nagged by her grandparents, her father, and some of her close friends, but I knew that it would be a matter of time and it would hit her. If any of you knew Amy, she's not one to be backed into a corner. It would happen when it happened.

This is the time where I have to say that (gulp) I'm grateful for Ben entering her life. As you know, he only came up here for his summer break from university to work for Big Brothers. Amy spent a lot of time volunteering last year with him, and enjoyed it immensely. That girl is a natural born leader, and working with the children brought out something that I had never seen before. She had a purpose. She was making an impact, and changing the lives of children.

She went off to visit Ben last month, and spent a lot of time talking about her future. After all the pressure she had been under from family, he got through to her. She came back, and knew what she wanted to do. She wants to be a Social Worker. And she's beyond excited. I am over the moon excited for her. I could cry.

So, I dropped her off this morning for her 1st day of classes. I'm not a horoscope reader, but I read hers this morning and it basically said that she might as well go back to bed because this was going to be the worst day ever. We laughed about it, and I wished her luck.

Have a great day, everyone! Peace.

Hmmmm

You Are a Bow

You don't think of it as the holiday season - you think of it as the present season!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

Seriously, I'm not all about the presents! This quiz is lying! LOL

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

One week later......

I'm afraid I have no drunken pole dancing pictures from last week's Christmas parties. My darling son gave me the gift that keeps on giving - the flu. I managed to make it through the dinner at Vaughn's party Friday night, but was home and in bed by 10:30pm, and didn't get out until Sunday evening - completely missing my party.

Do you know when your kids get sick, you wish you could take their pain? I actually didn't feel that way at all - I was more than willing to give the plague right back to the recipient. It's now infected Amy, so we've pretty much been a 'quarantine' house for quite awhile.

On a lighter note, Kare and I received a wonderful package from Nett yesterday! She sent me an ornament for the tree:

I totally laughed my ass off when I opened this. She also sent some other wonderful goodies:

Thanks so much, Nett! Kare and I really appreciated your thoughtfulness!







I have been checking the television for the past two weeks, trying to find out when "It's a Wonderful Life" was going to air - I watch it every Christmas Eve, but this year, I'm assuming that they've decided not to air it. I was in a panic....I'm talking major insanity panic. I actually told the kids yesterday that if I didn't see it by Sunday night, they would wake up Christmas morning to me burning all of the presents in the back yard. God Bless my husband - he went on a major hunt, and found it in the bottom of one of the clearance bins at WalMart. Bells rung and he earned his wings. So, we just finished watching it - Adam for the 1st time, and I cried like a baby.

I truly feel like I'm the richest person in town.

Tomorrow, I'm spending the day with my brother's family.....If I don't post before boxing day, have a Very Merry Christmas everyone! I hope Santa is good to all of you, and you enjoy the time spent with your family and friends.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Peace.

All is not calm....All is not bright....

Vaughn's Christmas party tonight....My Christmas party tomorrow night & Adam has been home with the plague all week. I sure hope he feels better soon - when he gets sick, it totally knocks him off his feet. He's just like Vaughn - when he gets sick, he has no appetite and therefore won't eat & loses weight. Somehow, nomatter how sick I am, my love for food always overcomes the illness.

I am just about finished my Christmas shopping - my goal is to be completely done by Sunday. I can't remember it ever taking me this long, but our house is being turned upside down between work, baking and a disease-ridden child. :o(

I have to go get a gallon of coffee before work - have a great day everyone - If we decide to go, I'll post pics of the parties. Peace.

Christmas Carols for the Phychologically Challenged.

So....Can anyone relate to these songs??? LOL

1) Schizophrenia---- Do You Hear What I Hear, the Voices, the Voices?

2) Amnesia-- I Don't Remember If I'll be Home for Christmas

3) Narcissistic-- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

4) Manic-- Deck The Halls And Walls And House And Lawn And Streets And Stores And Office And Town And Cars And Buses And Trucks And Trees And Fire Hydrants And...........

5) Multiple Personality Disorder----We Three Queens Disoriented Are

6) Paranoid---Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Us

7) Borderline Personality Disorder--- You Better Watch Out, You Better not Shout, I'm Gonna Cry, and I'll not Tell You Why

8) Full Personality Disorder--- Thoughts of Roasting You On an Open Fire

9) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder---Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

10) Agoraphobia---I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day But Wouldn't Leave My House

11) Senile Dementia---Walking In a Winter Wonderland Miles from My House in My Slippers and Robe

12) Oppositional Defiant Disorder---I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus So I Burned Down the House

13) Social Anxiety Disorder---Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate

14) Attention Deficit Disorder--We Wish You......Hey Look!! It's Snowing!!!

The Ice Storm

Okay, since kare has been bugging me forever to do this blog, I figure I should probably do it.

I started figure skating probably around the age of 5 or 6. My brother was in hockey all of his life, so we pretty much spent a lot of our evenings and weekends at the rink.

I loved to skate. I loved the ice shows. I loved dressing up and performing. I lived for it. And then, around the time I was 13, I had gone as far as I could go in the small town we had lived in, so I started teaching the new kids, which meant everything to me.

My Dad was the typical 'hockey dad'. Even though my parents worked constantly, he was always at my brother's games, and going away quite often on his tournaments. It really wasn't that way with my skating. I know, it doesn't have the excitement of hockey, but I was usually dropped off and either driven home by another skating mom or in a cab. I can only remember them ever going to my year-end ice shows. But I didn't care. My parents had me enrolled in every extra-curricular activity known to man, but skating was the only thing I truly loved.

Skip ahead....We were doing the show based on the story 'Oliver!' when I was 13. I was skating as a market girl selling flowers. I loved it. I can still see the dress, and it was my favorite show ever. After the show, I overheard my mother talking to another skating mom who was complimenting my performance, and my Mom was saying, "Darlene will never be a real figure skater. She doesn't have the grace for it." That was the last time I put on a pair of skates for almost 23 years.

My girlfriend, Dena called me about 3-4 years ago because the skating club in town was offering adult lessons and she was wondering if I'd be interested. After long thought, I figured, why not? I purchased my 1st pair of skates since I was a kid, flew out on that ice and fell flat on my ass. I got up, and I fell. I got up again, and I fell again. But I continued to get up until I didn't fall anymore, and I loved it still.

We had a few people in our classes over the past years that had no clue whatsoever. At one point 2 years ago, one lady fell so hard, when she hit the ice and cracked her skull, you could feel the vibration throughout the entire arena.

Skip ahead to registration this September. Dena calls me to see if I'm still interested. Hell yeah, I'm still interested - Friday nights are the highlight of my week. I live to get out on the ice. But wait - there's a stipulation this year. Because of 'cracked skull lady' we have to wear helmets. Silence.

For about 20 minutes, I thought 'I can't do this. Geez, I can skate my ass off. I'm not wearing a stupid helmet'. And, to find the humor in it, we all joked about skating with the 'special' people while I wear a helmet and a bib. Then it stopped. I couldn't believe that a stupid helmet would be the one thing that would stop me from doing this.

So, I 'Pimped my Helmet' with enough bling to sink a ship, and thought I seriously couldn't look any more idiotic than everyone else out there. It gets me out there, with the ice under the blades. Helmet or not, it will always be my favorite thing to do. If I do lose my balance every once in awhile, I blame it on the extra weight on my head.

Am I any good? I'm not great, but I'm not bad considering I'm kind of an old lady now - LOL. I forgot everything, but it's all coming back. I'm even practicing the "Dutch Waltz" after Christmas. I can't wait.

I'll take some pictures of Darlene and the Amazing Technicolor Helmet at the next class. LOL

Have a great evening, everyone. Peace.

A Christmas Meme

I've been tagged by Netter! Here you go....


Attach a photo of one of your current holiday displays :

This was made for me years ago by a person I am no longer friends with - She could pretty much be the craziest, insane person I have ever met, with severe emotional issues. Too much baggage for me....But she's wicked at crafts. LOL

1. Egg Nog, Mulled Cider, or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog Lattes

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? It's all about the wrapping paper.

3. Do you decorate the outside of your home with lights? Any other displays? Just lights - anything else would get stolen by the hoodlums.

4. Poinsettias, Holly or Mistletoe? All three

5. When do you put up your decorations? Right around the beginning of December.

6. Do you prefer to give or receive? BOTH! I'm a total giver all year long, though. I celebrate everything.

7. Cut tree, live tree, artificial tree, or Festivus pole? While I absolutely love real trees, I have an artificial one - I did have a real one last year for the 1st time since I got married & it fell on the dog.

8. Have you ever made a gingerbread house? Yes, every year - they're kinda ugly, but it's fun with the kids.

9.Do you display a nativity scene? Yes.

10.When did you learn the truth about Santa? I was 6 or 7 and I saw my dad bringing the presents into the house after midnight mass. When I called him on it, he told me that I had to believe in Santa or I would never get presents again. So, I guess I kinda still believe in Santa.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I'm a total snow lover.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes - I actually take figure skating lessons every Friday night. Kare insists that I blog about it, so I will sometime.

13. Do you open your gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Christmas Morning

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with family and friends, and having time off work to play stupid games, eat lots & watch movies that Santa brought.

15. What is your favorite holiday cookie? Do you bake them or buy them? I love shortbread cookies, but I'm thinking just about any cookie that doesn't have peanuts or raisins (two things I despise).

16. What tops your tree? An Angel.

17. What is your favorite Christmas song? Tons! "Oh Holy Night" by Josh Grobin - Any Frank Sinatra or Andy Williams Christmas song, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee. I have my satellite radio set to channel 2 in my car - right after the American Thanksgiving it plays all Christmas music all the time. I'm in heaven.

19. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? If Yum, how do you eat them? I can take them or leave them - unless they were made with chocolate or coffee somehow.

20. Do you send Christmas cards? If yes, do you enclose a letter or picture? I usually send cards and occasionally I'll send a pic of the family, but not often.

21. What kind of lights do you decorate your Christmas tree with? White lights, or another solid color, multi colored, candles, or a novelty light such as bubble lights? We were all about the white lights up until a few years ago - now I have multi colored seizure lights on the tree.

22. Favorite Christmas memory as a child? Tough question - I just had this conversation with my husband a few weeks ago. I honestly have to say my favorite memories started after I had the kids.

23. Best present that you have received? The good thing about me is that you don't have to spend alot (ignore my Santa letter) If I saw that you put thought into the present, it wouldn't matter if you spent $1 or $1000.

24.Turkey, Ham, Seafood, or Soup for your holiday dinner? We usually do Turkey and ham and all the trimmings - but boxing day leftover dinner & turkey salad sandwiches are my favorites. I hate all seafood except tuna salad and Captain Highliner fish sticks.

25. Favorite Christmas Movie. "It's a Wonderful Life" - I watch it every Christmas Eve and cry right through it.

26.Describe your favorite Christmas ornament. Aside from all the cute ornaments my kids have made me, my favorite is one a childhood friend gave me about 10 years ago. I've known her since I was 2, and we now live thousands of miles away from each other. I've only seen her twice in the past 24 years - the last time was just over 6 years ago. We always talk about how nice it would be to get together at one another's houses to just have coffee in our jammies and gossip. This ornament will forever remind me of the time I wish we had together:



Everyone else....you know the drill....do the meme and make me proud. LOL

Have a good day everyone.....Peace.

Amy's Excellent Adventure Pt. 1

Here's Amy at the airport on Tuesday, all ready for her trip to Ontario. I don't know what it is about that girl...Things happen wherever she goes. I just hang on for dear life and hope that I happen to be with her when this stuff happens....

Take Tuesday, for example...She was on the plane in Calgary, waiting to leave, but the plane was being held for one passenger who hadn't shown up yet. Amy has the patience of a rock, so she was pretty much growing more and more annoyed each second. The flight attendant finally closed all the overhead compartments, and they were ready to take off, and, wouldn't you know it, the guy finally showed up. He then proceeded to reopen all of the compartments and start to move everything around and shove his stuff up there. I think Amy was beginning to implode at this point and was muttering stuff under her breath (I'm assuming it was in the proper 'lady-like' language that I've taught her). The man turned around and looked at her. It was Bret 'The Hitman' Hart. Silence.
Okay, people - Let me tell you about Bret Hart. I love him. No, I don't like wrestling. I only love him. I have the Bret Hart Barbie next to my bed, I have his autobiography, and every interview and wrestling match he's ever competed in on DVD. I was asked once that if I could fulfill one fantasy what would it be. I immediately imagined my husband walking in the room wearing pink spandex pants, a black leather jacket, sunglasses, and have long sweaty hair, yelling, "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be!" Somehow, it didn't do the same thing for me. Dont ask me what it is about him, people, but this man makes me blush.

So, back to the story.....Silence....Amy gasped. He sat down. The end. SHE DIDN'T EVEN GET A PICTURE OR ASK FOR HIS AUTOGRAPH. A part of me died. I have filed the papers to legally disown her and she has been written out of my will.

Have a great evening everyone. Peace.

Sorry, people - this struck me as very funny. Anyway, I'm getting ready for work, so I just wanted to add some humor to your weekend. :o)

Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

I've been Tagged!

Okay - I've been tagged by Brandy - here goes


Things You May Not Know About Me

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:
1. Cashier at a greasy restaurant
2. Secretary / Manager for various Hair & Body Salons
3. Telephone Solicitor for a Photography place (that's where I met kare when I was 15!)
4. Worked at a Health Food Store

Four movies I would (and/or do) watch over and over:
1. The Count of Monte Cristo
2. The Life of David Gale
3. Muriel's Wedding
4. Anything with Tom Hanks

Four places I have lived:
1. Newfoundland
2. Fort McMurray, Alberta
3. Calgary, Alberta for a few months
4. Spruce Grove, Alberta

Four TV shows I love (or would love) to watch:
1. CSI (only the original)
2. Brothers & Sisters
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. What About Brian

Four Places I have been on Vacation:
1. Las Vegas
2. Toronto
3. Vancouver, BC
4. Southern Alberta about 4 times a year

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Cereal
2. Nachos & Salsa
3. Mandarin Oranges
4. Coffee (yes, this is a food)

Four of my favorite books:
1. Any of the Harry Potter Books
2.Tuesdays with Morrie
3.The Five People you Meet in Heaven
4.A Million Little Pieces/My Friend Leonard

Four friends who I want to do this:

Anyone who reads this, consider yourself officially tagged.

Who Will it Be????

Okay boys and girls - I'm putting on a contest. Whoever posts the correct answer first wins!

I have six tattoos. With five of them, I soul-searched, studied and put a lot of thought into them. With one of them, I woke up one morning about 2 years ago, kind of in a pissy mood, and called the tattoo parlor and got it on an impulse.

Here's the thing. Amy's friend came over last night & noticed it for the 1st time. She asked me what it meant, and as as I began to tell her, my brain went blank. For the life of me, I could not remember what these symbols on the back of my neck were supposed to mean. I knew it had to have some kind of significance, but I was stumped. That's when it got funny for us...

Anyway, I woke up at 4am with a 'eureka!' moment. I remembered! The contest is - Would you know what it meant?

The first person to post the meaning of my tattoo wins! Bonus points if you can tell me what language it is. I'll give whoever it is my email address and they can send me their mailing address & the prize will be yours!

Here it is:

Good luck, everyone. Remember - you have to guess the meaning. The language is just extra.






Have a great evening, everyone. Peace.

Happy Trails

Amy leaves tomorrow for her trip to visit Benjamin. Be safe, little girl.

Well, I can't say it was the greatest anniversary in the past 17 years, but I can say that it was quite memorable....

The day started out like every other anniversary - opening presents, reminiscing about our wedding day, and marveling about the weather...It was 3c on the day we got married - it was -37c yesterday.

Vaughn got up and took Porkchop to her hairdresser appointment, and I stood in the shower until we ran out of hot water - here she is:


I was in a mood. I was so hormonal and emotional, I couldn't even stand to be around myself. I was suffering from the worse case of the "woe is me" sickness and I couldn't get one person to pack their bags to go on this pity trip with me. Vaughn was so excited about taking me to the honeymoon suite - so, I got some stuff together and we ventured out, all the while I just wanted to be home. I never saw the logic in him taking me to a hotel when we've got a perfectly good bed 5 miles away. I mean, if he had surprised me with a trip out of town, that probably would have been one thing, but being in a hotel so close to home, this close to Christmas just wasn't sitting right with me. So, as we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, I just said, "I want to go home". So he pulled out of the parking lot. "Let me at least take you out for a nice dinner", he said. So, we did...All that mattered to me was we go to the lounge part so I could have a drink or three. You have no idea how bad my hormones were working - I was even starting to piss myself off.

So, we get seated at the lounge at my favorite restaurant, and I order a martini called "Hawaiian Headlock". I think I could have bypassed dinner all night & just drank these. wow - that's all I've got to say about those. So, we're eating our meal, and the man who was sitting in the booth behind Vaughn, but facing me, stretched out his arms and gave the loudest yawn...This in itself kinda made me giggle, but then he started to tip, and before you know it, he had gone rigid, dropped to the floor and went into a seizure. Every staff member in the lounge was running around like wet hens while this guy was throwing up like crazy, so I called 911....I happened to have my camera in my purse, and wanted to take pictures of him so badly, but Vaughn reminded me that it was probably in bad taste, so as we left, I did manage to take pictures of the ambulance.

This was way too exciting - seriously.

We came home & rented a movie to watch with Adam & it was great. I know I was probably a bit of a 'Debbie Downer', but all in all, it was pretty okay. On another note, my parents send me the wierdest bouquet:
When I opened it, I didn't even know what to say - they ordered them from a this wierd-ass interpretive floral shop, and I don't even know how to comment on them.

Our tree got put up - finally:


So, here it is, the day after our anniversary and I'm not feeling too bad - Tonight we have our 'Secret Santa' gift opening for work at a local pub, so, that should be fun....

Oh My God! I almost forgot! I found my new dishes! Kare, I guess this means that you'll soon have new dishes as well. :o)


I'm in love with them...Hopefully Santa reads this.

Have a great day, everyone. Peace.

Patriotism at its best

You are 100% Canuck!

You rock, you are an almighty Canadian through and through. You have proven your worthiness and have won the elite prize of living in a country as awesome as Canada. Yes I know other countries think they are better, but we let them have that cuz we know better than they do, eh?

How Canadian Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Date night....

So, Vaughn & I went on a date tonight - First out for Chinese food, then off to the furniture store to raise some supreme shit about our phantom accent chair legs that somehow mysteriously disappeared....I was ready....I was pissed off....And then I walked by the beds....

I think I've told you how absolutely "normal" my husband is. He's the grown up in our blessed family....Probably the only one with any sense, actually - but I think with him being at one extreme and me being on the other, we are a good balance.... At least that's what I keep telling myself.

So, the beds in the furniture store were calling me to jump on them, to lay on them and to roll around on them....So I did - on every single one.. I think I may have actually dozed for a few minutes...The fun part of this evening is that I finally got Vaughn to get on the beds with me. Usually he's a "press down with your hands and sit on" type of guy, but he actually laid on them all & even saw the humor when I suggested we take a few for test drives before we settle on one.

The evening was fun - and very unnecessary as tomorrow is our 17th wedding anniversary, and he rented the honeymoon suite that we stayed in on our wedding night. How sweet is that????

Adam and I are going to put up the tree now - and Vaughn hasn't grinched-out once. Believe it or not, he's actually helping. I think this man's a keeper....I'll post pictures tomorrow....

Have a great evening, everyone. Peace.

wish list

As per Kare's blog, I decided I would compose my letter to Santa - And just like Kare's, this list will more than likely be obsolete by next week, and my mind will have changed a jillion times...but, here goes....


Dear Santa:

Thank you for all the presents you brought me last year. I've been a really good girl this year, so, for all my extra efforts, could you please send me all or some (preferably all) of the things I wish for this year:

- "Chance" by Chanel (my favorite)

- "Coco Mademoiselle" by Chanel

- "Pure Poison" by Christian Dior

- "Very Irresistible" by Givenchy (I think you're noticing a pattern here....move along....)

- 3 or 4 tubs of Cranberry Body Butter from The Body Shop because it's only made at Christmastime, so I'll need enough to get me through until you bring me some next year.

- A new recipe box, because the bottom dropped out of mine. :o(

- Beverly Hills 90210 & Melrose Place season dvd's

- Enough booze to keep me floating through the Pacific Breeze during the holidays

- Abercrombie & Fitch gift certificate

- Pier 1 or Stokes store gift certificate (or both - it's time for new dishes)

- Almond Roca - Kare's gift doesn't count. It was well before Christmas.

- a trip so I can use the gift certificates (hey, you can probably save a bit of money if you send me on this trip with Kare when she goes to use hers!)

- Forget world peace - inner peace will suffice.

I will leave some KFC along with a few shots of Cuervo for you & some carrots for the reindeer.

Your #1 on the nice list friend:
MadameZ

Do I Qualify for a Handicap Sticker?

I have come to the conclusion that I should never make plans. It seems that every time I do, it's like there's a little, evil person on my shoulder making sure that I don't follow through with them. Let's take this past weekend for example....

My big plan was to decorate. I'm just not an everyday decorator - when it comes to Christmas decorating, it becomes an actual event at my house. My son jumps right on the bandwagon with me, while my husband sits "Grinch-like" in the corner (blog to follow), and my daughter heckles from the sidelines. Thank God one of my spawn turned out like me. Anyway, I'm getting off the topic here. Sunday morning, I decided to get the housework done while my husband proceeds to pull my truckload of rubbermaid totes into the living room so I can get the ball rolling. I'm in the bathtub, scrubbing the tiles with one hand and talking to Kare with the other hand. I hang up with her, and as I go to get up, I threw out my back. I've been a cripple ever since. My living room is covered in totes, because, God forbid anyone else get into the holiday spirit and do it....So, I'm laying on my back in the middle of the room, and here's how it goes:

My husband says, "Don't worry about the decorations - I'll put up the tree".
I say, "There's more than the tree - I've got a thousand totes to open!"
He says, "We only need the tree - we don't need any of that other stuff".
I say, "I could punch you in the throat right now".
He says, "Catch me".

I will be charged with murder when my back heals.

On a happier note, I went over to kare's on Saturday evening for coffee, and she gave me the greatest gifts!
Her talents will always amaze me. And Almond Roca! I nearly died. I try to limit myself to only Christmas day with these because I become a complete glutton with them, but seeing they were a gift, I took an exception. I ate 9 before bedtime, and I couldn't sleep all night, knowing that there were 3 left. I became nervous that someone else would eat them, so I woke up at 7am Sunday to finish them off.

Does anyone want to come over and help me decorate?

Have a great day everyone. Peace.