I'd like to do a lovely year in review type of post but to be honest I'm a bit too lazy and a bit too tired today. I've been dealing with a nasty eye issue that seems to be getting worse with the antibiotic drops. Before the drops it was just sore and teary, now it's swollen, sore, teary and wait for it....there's puss oh yes puss! Apparently that's a good thing as the infection is coming out but I for one think it's disgusting and just had to share it with my lovely readers! My eye was actually sealed shut this morning.......

Gross

Anyway onto the upbeat beautiful life is fuzzy and wonderful part of this post. I've been fortunate enough to spend this year with many amazing friends and of course my wonderful family! I love them all to bits even during the maddening times they've all taught me something. I was fortunate enough to do some soul searching with guidance from an amazing teacher which to be honest really changed my outlook on myself and life in general. I feel like I'm in a much better place than I have been in a very very long time and for that I will be forever thankful!

I've met some amazing new people and have rekindled some old friendships! I've laughed, cried and I'm finally getting my ass in shape with the help of my lovely trainer.

2009 was very good to me and I'm hoping that 2010 will be even better! I can't wait to see what it has in store for me! So I raise a glass to all of my wonderful friends out in cyberpace wherever it is you may be! Cheers and a very happy new year to each and every one of you!

I'm still working on my resolution......

Lame-o it's okay-o! That's going to be the extent of this post as it's been a very busy week much like I'd imagine everyone else has had. Visiting with family and friends, shopping, parties.....I'm just about ready to spend an entire day in bed.

I've stuffed myself silly with dips and pies and of course have been neglecting the gym. I'm apparently going to make up for it this week though as I have that dreaded
2nd session with the trainer. I desperately wanted to cancel it but decided to suck it up instead.

I'm off all week but it doesn't seem there will be much time to rest. I was hoping to get to some of these goals but alas they may have to wait. It seems December 31st is quickly coming upon us and I have yet to make plans. I'm more of a house party type of gal when it comes to New Year's Eve. You can wear your comfies, play silly games and no one has to worry about driving or cabs or spending a lot of money. I'm keeping my options open this year and who knows where I'll end up as I was thinking a change of pace might be good. I haven't even thought about resolutions .... I should really get to those! So what are your plans for the big ole day and what will you resolve to do?

I had a fabulous weekend that included a date (maybe 2?), yummy Indian food, dancing with great friends and crawling in at 5am. It was busy busy busy and I loved the music the DJ's played at the Blow Up! I forgot about this song:



There were no Asian Patrick Swayze sightings but I saw a few of the old cats in suits out and about but the place was jammed so it was hard enough to manoeuver around let alone look for people. We went for food afterwards and a person I had met at the bar happened to be on the street so we invited him along. Apparently I'm on a roll in this department.....it's taken me long enough!! Can that be counted as date #4 for my goal list??? It involves a stranger, food, phone number.....(date #3 happened earlier in the day but more on that on my goal list update I'm definitely interested in #3).

I had a lot of fun however Sunday was a very lazy day, I didn't do much at all other than go out for dinner. I had wanted to check out these cute Fluevog sandals that were on sale but really had no energy to drive all the way down there and try to find parking.

I also tried this new workout the other day with a trainer and this may be TMI but it's seriously hard to sit and/or get out of the sitting position....I'm talking in the car, in a chair.....on the toilet! It's brutal everything hurts! I look ridiculous trying to walk up and down the stairs.....so yeah I signed up for another session at the time of the 1st one which I'm now regretting! Do I cancel, do I suck it up??

It's that time of year....where I stay *gasp* away from malls and stores. I know it's hard to believe but I'm VERY serious about this! I can't stand the crowds nor the incessant looping of horrific Christmas songs. I mean really.....really.....(I'm making one of my WTF faces)people enjoy this???

I don't understand the appeal however I will admit to enjoying a few holiday songs! When these come on the radio my face brightens up, I get a bounce in my step and yes I sing along. While I do love Wham (Wake me up before you go go anyone, anyone?) I'm really not a fan of Mariah at all though I do love this song. Go ahead Judgey McJudgers, I can take it. I like a Mariah Carey song....there I said it!



All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey




Last Christmas by Wham



They also play a lot of these song during the season which I enjoy:

Happy Christmas by John Lennon & Yoko




Santa Baby by Madonna




Please Come Home For Christmas by Bon Jovi (or the Eagles I like both)




Hmmmm I guess I like a lot more "Christmas" songs than I thought I did shhhhh don't tell anyone! What are your favourites? Even the Scrooges out there....you must like one or two.

Enjoy the last weekend before the madness begins! I shall find myself out of town whooping it up in the big city!! Our old haunt is having a reunion of sorts so I expect to have a fabulous time.....I'm dying to see if Asian Patrick Swayze will be there!!! Oh how I've missed him so and the various other characters we'd see on a Saturday night!

Maybe it's just me but I'm finding a lot of people annoying/rude lately. Some I know, others are complete strangers but for the love of god people STOP complaining, especially about things you cannot change. Example, LD and I were in line recently at a store buying gifts, there was a family in front of us and a man behind us. As soon as the man got in line he started whining to no one in particular "ugh, they should have more than one register open at this time of year." (please note said store was NOT busy). He continued to sigh loudly, mutter to himself and we thought that surely his head would pop off when the cashier called for a price check. Eventually a 2nd register opened up.......now one would assume the next people in line IE us would be the first to enter that line.....nope....the big whiner made a run for it. Neither of us particularly cared as clearly the whinger was in a much bigger hurry than anyone else in the store. I felt like turning around and telling him to shut the fuck up! Pissing and moaning wasn't going to make his or our waiting in line experience any better and it wasn't going to accomplish a whole hell of a lot.

I've also been to stores with people who are rude to the sales people and it drives me bonkers. I get it everyone is tired, we're over worked, have a million things to do and very few hours in which to get them done. Maybe I've just become overly sensitive to such things but a lot can be said of someones tone and facial expressions and sometimes I find it horrifically embarrassing the way the sales people are being treated. Every now and again I'll point this out to the ill behaved patron and once in a while I'll get a "did I?" but more often than not they defend themselves, tell me I'm wrong.....ad nauseum.

I took a course recently which I won't get into but it had a lot to do with working on ones soul, getting to the nitty gritty of ones beliefs, where they come from and things like gratitude and really living life to the fullest. It did change me ever so slightly and I find I have less tolerance for negativity, I want to surround myself with light and love and positive energy. I just find excessive complaining/rude behaviour extremely draining and I don't care to be around it.

We're all going to have bad days and yes even yours truly uses her horn more than the average person whilst driving but if your pattern is to constantly bitch and complain, make comments about every single thing going on around you "he cut me off" "hurry up, what's taking so long" etc etc it's time to take a breath and just relax. I remember sitting at a light once in a car with a friend while this guy just stood on the corner. He looked as though he was going to cross in front of us (on his green light) but didn't. When our light turned green he decided to walk right in front of our car as if he had the right of way. We both stared for a moment, shrugged and continued our conversation. We even got a giggle out of the situation and such things have happened several times since. I'm not sure what hanging my head out the window screaming "it's not your turn!" or "can't you see the light!" would have accomplished other than raising my blood pressure. Hence why I did not tell the man in line to shut it, it just would have made both of us angry. Maybe I'm just mellowing out in my old age!

Please take note that I'm well aware of the fact that I'm complaining about how I dislike people complaining :) It would be much different if every post was me bitching and moaning incessantly.

Goal List Update

Working On:

#24 Try a new recipe once a week for 16 weeks 14/16

I was convinced that I had found the secret recipe for Anna Olson's amazing lemon squares and I was thrilled!!! Umm yeah dream on sucka these turned out NOTHING like her delightful treats, they were okay but not what I had hoped for ... les sigh...

These two recipes were a flop as well as far as I'm concerned. Chile encrusted Scallops with a Cucumber Cashew salad. I wasn't a fan of either.

Yay finally!! This recipe was lovely, a veggie curry! You know I've never made curry myself and it wasn't bad at all in fact I'm looking forward to making this again. It was super easy and super good! (Hey BB you forgot to mention I say super wayyyy too much) I might even try the President's Choice Naan bread to accompany it next time.

I was due for a good smoothie recipe and I found one yay!!! This one has frozen raspberries, peaches and vanilla yogurt. Seriously, it was so bloody good, I haven't had a smoothie in eons and this one was just delightful.

14. Take vitamins every day for 90 days (10/90)

Ugh! Enough said!!!


#35 Read all of the unread books on my shelf 13/35

I have very minimal room for my books at the moment and I'm trying to read some of the ones that I've been given or borrowed for the hell of it. I will most likely read them and then donate them to the women's shelter sale or wherever and thus will free up space on my bookshelf for the ones I will keep and enjoy. Swimming in the Ocean by Catherine Jenkins was one that I took from a friend, it sounded relatively interesting and I suppose that it was in it's own way. Actually at first I disliked it very much and wondered how I was possibly going to get through the whole book. In the middle I got used to her writing style and started to enjoy the novel a bit more than I had imagined I would. Will I keep it....certainly not. I'll pass it along to the next person perhaps someone that will appreciate it more than I was able to.

Completed:

22. Whiten my teeth at the dentist office

Good thing I know some swanky friends as these suckers cost upwards of $350 for a silly plastic (or whatever it's made of) tray. Mine is going to cost me a few vanilla sprinkle donuts instead so I certainly can't complain. The one thing I like about myself is my teeth.....and now they're going to be even more lovely and white! Yay!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sidenote: What the fuck is up with this weather?? It's -7 and the winds are reaching 90 km/h brrrrrrr makes me want to curl up and stay in with a nice cup of tea!! Or a fancy drink from starbucks....I'm drooling for an eggnog latte right now! Enjoy the weekend!

So I opened up my email and saw they had added some new seats to an Andrea Bocelli/David Foster concert. I wouldn't snub my nose at these two men so I clicked on the link for the hell of it. To my surprise the 5th row popped up as my choice (man this is getting better and better) the concert Gods have smiled upon me not once but twice in the past week. I quickly called my mother and then burst out laughing when she answered.....never mind I said. Turns out I forgot to look at the price of said tickets......ummm yeah they were over $500 a ticket.....$1034.00 for two. Thankfully I was smart enough to let my eye wander down to that part of the page, sometimes I'm a bit lax with such things and in the excitement of it all press the purchase button and THEN look at the price. That would have been a bit of a surprise!

My time off has been fabulous and I still have a few more days left before I go back yay!!! The salvation army will surely love me as I've been doing a spring cleaning of sorts and have bags and bags of goodies to donate. I haven't gotten to as many goals as I would have liked, figured I would spend my time reading and such but I've been quite lax in that area granted I've run about a thousand errands it seems this week.

I went with the gals this weekend to the King Tut exhibit which was really quite amazing. I was fascinated by his sandals, the jewelry the statues and just everything in the exhibit it was quite surreal to see. We hit up T & T's for some dim sum and grocery shopping woo hoo and then went back to J's for some pre drinking (it's like we're 19 again) and then off to a pub. It was a great night and we slept in till ohhhh the noon hour at which time we woke up to J bringing us super yummy bagels. Thanks doll!!!

LD and I went shopping downtown and I bought these super cute earrings though the picture does not do them justice. They're little skulls make with swarovski crystals and they shine like crazy. Love them!!! I also found some lululemon sweats to replace my old ones yay!! I've been looking for a thicker pair and finally found some pants as well as a comfy hoodie! Good thing as it was time for a new pair, my previous jacket and pants had been VERY well loved and had been fading and looking rather worn. Anyway I had a great weekend stuffing my face, hanging with the girls and of course shopping!!! It looks like I might have to do it all over again next weekend....yay!!!

The Good and Bad of the Week

I woke up rather late last week and grabbed my laptop to flip through some emails while lounging in bed, it was 9:50am. I opened up a few emails when I came across a John Mayer presale announcement for 10am that day. What the hell I figured, I'll try my luck and if I get good seats I'll grab 2 if not then I won't bother purchasing any. Well my friends, someone was smiling upon me that day as Row 10 popped up as my choice. Row fucking 10 in this huge stadium where I've only sat one other time (in the bazillion concerts I've seen) as those kinds of seats are terribly hard to come by. Of course I purchased them on the spot and then tried again to see what other seats were available for shits and giggles.....section 321 nosebleeds. It was a total fluke and I couldn't have been happier!! ( I know Yrautca's drooling right now....sorry dude!!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The same day I snagged those sweet ass seats I found out that Topol will no longer be performing in Fiddler on the Roof. Apparently I've been living under a rock and hadn't heard that he hurt himself.......anyway someone else will be filling in. It sucks as I REALLY REALLY wanted to see him in that role and he was the reason I bought the tickets in the first place. I'll still go as I'm sure his understudy will be good.....but he would have been great.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I opened up my email as I do daily only this time my heart started to pound and I couldn't believe my eyes.....he had replied! I honestly forgot that I had even sent him a message as it was a good month or two ago and I certainly wasn't expecting a reply. I mean it had been years since we'd seen each other it was one of those if I don't do it sort of things I'll regret it. So I did it and he wrote back. Nothing will come of this to those hopefuls out there, he's married with a few kidlets now and still funny and lovely as ever which makes my heart hurt just a little bit.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We did our annual run to the States for Black Friday shennanigans. I bought FAR too much and my biceps hurt from carting bedding and a coffee maker around. When did I turn 90?? Anyway this particular maker caught my eye as you can use a filter in it to make your own ground coffee rather than having to rely on those K cups and it's super cute!

I got a purse from Buckle and a bedazzled (who would have thunk) clutch for fun nights out at the bar (my sister HATES the purse and likened it to a ruffled, bedazzled, bolo tie mess......whatever I love it!!). We also (and this NEVER happens) got a front row parking spot at the Olive Garden AND got a table right away. This is unheard of people!! Normally after our 10 or more hours of shopping we collapse in the lobby of the Olive Garden and wait a good hour for a table with the other hardcore shoppers. Not this year, we were ushered right in!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have two weeks off of work!!! Now that's something to celebrate!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So this week has been full of some highs and lows but nothing earth shattering to send me into the depths of despair. It's apparently going to rain over the next few days which is blah but whatever, I can make myself a nice cup o Joe and stay in bed with a good book!! I bought two while I was away which I wasn't supposed to do as I have a million sitting on my shelf unread. Oh well.....I clearly don't like to follow my own rules!

Just to forewarn everyone this post will be more on the lame-o side than usual.

I'm very beyond busy this week and unfortunately my body decided to crap out on me at the last second. I found myself laying on the floor in pain on the weekend due to my shoddy back. It's one of those things that I know needs rest, some heat/ice and of course some good muscle relaxers. It of course could not have come at a more inconvenient time. Oh well, they say your body will do mysterious things when it thinks you need a rest so I suppose it was my time.

Anyway, to boot I've been having chest issues (insert joke here) or lung issues may be a more appropriate term (this is where you feel bad for inserting previous joke sickos!!)! I went to see a doctor a few weeks ago, she diagnosed "bronchitis" and sent me on my way with a puffer. By the end of the week nothing had changed so I went to see yet a different doctor (mine was on vacay) and he gave me a prescription and suggested a chest x-ray with (pneumonia?) written on the bottom. He suggested I go and get one if the nasty sounds in my chest continued on past the weekend. The sounds had subsided and I was content the issue had been treated. Skip ahead a week and here I am feeling like a 300 pound man is sitting on my chest and those sexy gurgly sounds seem to be peaking their heads.....not in a "look at me" type of way they're more subtle at the moment but I know something is not right.

I may get the chest x-ray in the next few days but really just wish all this shit would be cleared up. Why the hell do I have to take 3 days off of work for one problem??? I'm not complaining as I have great sick time it's just the inconvenience of it all, I have a thousand clients booked in a hundred spots because I'm taking holidays shortly and felt as though I needed to see everyone beforehand. I hate feeling like I can't take the time off because I will be putting my workload onto someone else who will surely be cursing me for doing so (I'm cursing myself for booking sooooo many people over the next few days). It's really a no win situation but I may just have to suck it up and take the morning off tomorrow and get the x-ray for the longer I leave whatever it is the worse it will become. I need to be nice and healthy for Thursday....Black Friday shopping in the States yo!!

Enjoy your week as it's doubtful I will be posting again before I head off into shopping heaven!! With or without an oxygen bag :P

Random thoughts and ramblings:

How the fuck does one eat a pomegranate? Apparently I ate them when I was quite young (so young I don't recall ever having one) and I bought two the other day. I cut one in half and tried to dig out the seeds......juice ended up all over my jammies, the counter, everywhere. It was a disaster. I just heard that they were so good for you and wanted to give them a go. Perhaps I should just buy the juice next time.

Have any of you seen that new show Modern Family? I know I watch a lot of mindless TV and crap but this show is freaking hilarious! Seriously, check it out if you haven't. I'm also digging Two and a Half Men this year, I've always enjoyed watching this show but they seem to be pushing the envelope even more this year and it's cracking me up!

Is it common practice around the world for folks to pull their car over to the side of the road or stop when a funeral procession is going by? I always do (except for last week, a big truck was in front of me and before I knew it the hearse had gone by and I felt like such an asshole). I made up for it this week though as I pulled over and stopped while one passed me by on the opposite side of the street.


I saw this movie trailer in the theatre months ago and could not for the life of me remember the name. I just remember that I wanted to see the film REALLY badly!! Well here it is and it comes out this month!! Yay!!

I thought I'd share some of my favorite songs; well perhaps that's going a bit far but I do really love how these artists sound live! I would especially like to see this Marc Broussard guy in concert, he has such a soulful voice!

Marc Broussard: Let Me Leave



Sia: Death By Chocolate


Amy Lee: Sally's Song from Nightmare Before Christmas Revisted



Elisa: Dancing




Adele: Hometown Glory

Goal List Update

Try a new recipe once a week for 16 weeks (9/16)

Asian Mushroom and Noodle Soup

I got this recipe out of a magazine as it looked yummy......and it was......it was just more noodley than soupy. I had to halve it so I must have added too many noodles and less broth than I should have as I was just tossing in whatever amount looked good.

Caramel Pudding Pumpkin Cupcakes

Someone sent me a website full of low fat recipes and this one caught my eye. As I'm sure you're all aware I LOVE pumpkin anything so I just had to try these. They were super easy and very moist (BAH that word makes me cringe...it's so dirty I can't believe I just wrote it) and I really really liked them!

Chocolate Fudge

An old co worker made this fudge years ago and I just had to have the recipe. I made the fudge and while it was okay I'm not quite sure why I just had to have the recipe. I must have enjoyed it more when someone else made it cause it was just okay and not mind blowing. I probably wouldn't make it again unless I spiced it up and added some other ingredients to make it more tasty.

Indian Lentil Stew With Vegetables

Okay so this one did not turn out like anything remotely close to the photo looks wise. Mine looked like soup while the magazine photo was much less watery. So I had to improvise and add more lentils and lima beans (it called for brussel sprouts but mine A) went bad and B) I actually hate them) . The end result was quite yummy and I would make this again with less water.

Read all of the books on my shelf: (12/35)

I've had Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins sitting on my shelf for years and years. It was so bloody funny and odd and romantic all at the same time I really should have picked it up sooner. It's full of redheads and outlaws, a princess and pyramids, explosives and odd balls from Argon! But the real question it tries to answer is "how to make love stay". If you want a hilarious yet thought provoking read, give it a try! From the back cover:

"Still Life with Woodpecker is sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads."

I started to read A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle last year sometime and while I was enjoying the book and its concepts I never got around to actually finishing it until recently. Unless you've been living under a rock I'm sure you've heard of the book and its ideas: Tolle talks about the Ego and how we should focus our attention on living in the present moment in order to dismantle it. While I did enjoy the book there were parts that I just couldn't seem to wrap my head around and was a bit lost part way through though I found my way again. That being said it made me take a step back and go ahhh haaaaa! I get it and am going to try and put to practice some of his thoughts and ideas as I surely need work in this area. I have a HUGE ego!!!! Ha!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I did read over my list to see which ones would not be attainable in the time I have remaining. I've decided to "give up" so to speak on these three as they will be difficult to complete before the end of May next year due to the nature of the goals. (Unless I happen to find myself on vacation somewhere hot between now and then). So I'm going to give $30 ($10 per unfinished goal) to World Vision as their Gift Catalogue came out recently so it's the perfect time to give to them (5 fruit trees will be $30). I will keep these goals on my bucket list so to speak as I would still like to try them out, I've just run out of time for this purpose.

#8 Cancer Bike a Thon next year

(Next year would have been like 2008 I believe so oops that one passed me by)

#33 Try waterskiing

Again it was one of those that i'll "get to" later and forgot about it.

#46 Go on a jetski

Same as above, I don't know anyone who owns one and would have had to go to the beach and rent one. I just never bothered to do that.

I was actually amazed recently that in a group of 10 women I was the only person to not only have jumper cables in my trunk but that I was the only person who also knew how to use them. WTF.....this is 2009 and not 1942 or am I mistaken? Someone in my building needed a boost and apparently I was the go to gal, which is fine but I honestly thought everyone had such items in their car for emergencies.



Perhaps it was because I had a battery die one too many times or I like to be prepared. I even have a membership to one of those auto clubs so in reality I could just sit pretty in my car and wait for someone to come and give me a boost. Come on now, who wants to sit around for an hour for the person to show up, I'd rather just do it myself.


Other important items that I always keep in the car:



*extra windshield washer fluid



*a small shovel (best birthday present EVER) in case I get stuck in the snow again.....


*Emergency kit (flashlight, blanket, signs etc)



*lint brush & floss



I'm no mechanic and wouldn't be able to change a tire or anything like that but a simple boost.....come on now ladies!!! It's not rocket science!! Speaking of which maybe I SHOULD learn to change a tire. It can't be that hard!

Can everyone see that lovely picture up above??? What is it you ask, well that would be the weather forecast for tomorrow in my lovely city. Hmmm mixed precipitation...rain AND snow. It's supposed to be around 2 degrees but shall feel like -1.

*

I almost burst into tears when I saw that photo.

*

The only good/odd thing is that they're anticipating Sunday will be around 14 degrees and sunny. I suppose I'd rather the good weather while I'm not working so I can at least enjoy it. The downside for tomorrow is that I will most likely have to leave an hour earlier for work as most people tend to drive like assholes at the first glance of a snowflake. I'm anticipating tomorrow is going to be a lonnnggggg day for yours truly.

*

Ah well, a cute email I received the other day to take you into the weekend! I'll highlight the ones that I have actually witnessed and or partaken in:

Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Canadians.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from
September through May,
You may live in Canada .


If someone in a Home Depot store
Offers you assistance and they don't work there,
You may live in Canada .


If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time,
You may live in Canada .


If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation
With someone who dialed a wrong number,
You may live in Canada .


If 'Vacation' means going anywhere
South of Detroit for the weekend,
You may live in Canada .


If you measure distance in hours,
You may live in Canada .


If you know several people
Who have hit a deer more than once,
You may live in Canada .


If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C'
In the same day and back again,
You may live in Canada .


If you can drive 90 km/hr through 2 feet of snow
During a raging blizzard without flinching,
You may live in Canada .


If you install security lights on your house and garage,
But leave both unlocked,
You may live in Canada .


If you carry jumper cables in your car
And your wife knows how to use them,
You may live in Canada .


If you design your kid's Halloween costume
To fit over a snowsuit,
You may live in Canada .


If the speed limit on the highway is 80 km --
You're going 95 and everybody is passing you,
You may live in Canada .


If driving is better in the winter
Because the potholes are filled with snow,
You may live in Canada .

If you know all 4 seasons:
Almost winter, winter, still winter,
and road construction,
You may live in Canada .

If you have more miles
On your snow blower than your car,
You may live in Canada .


If you find -2 degrees 'a little chilly',
You may live in Canada .

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doesn't everybody measure distance in hours??? I don't think I've ever said "oh such and such is 120 kms away" I always say "oh such and such is about an hour and a half away". Actually my friend and I were talking yesterday about taking a roadtrip to this huge mall, I asked her how far away it was and she said "oh about 16 hours". Ha! Enjoy the weekend!

This twitter site was brought to my attention by a friend and it makes me laugh soooo fucking hard. It's written by this guy in his late 20's and he just posts hilarious things that his 73 year old father says. I haven't a clue if it's "real" or if the guy just has a great sense of humour but it cracks me up whenever I remember to go and read it as I don't follow peoples tweets on a regular basis. I have my own shit to do and that normally doesn't include reading about what others are doing at any given moment. That being said, some of my favs:



"You sure do like to tailgate people... Right, because it's real important you show up to the nothing you have to do on time."10:53 AM Oct 20th from web



"Just pay the parking ticket. Don't be so outraged. You're not a freedom fighter in the civil rights movement. You double parked."12:59 PM Oct 18th from web



"You're being fucking dramatic. You own a TV and an air mattress. That's not exactly what I'd call "a lot to lose."5:57 PM Oct 3rd from web



I gotta meet this guy!!!!

I have been going for laser hair removal treatments for close to a year now. It can be a bit painful, nothing one can't handle but a bit uncomfortable every now and again. I started out lasering my armpits and soon after began to have my bikini line done as well.

While it's not the most comfortable thing being semi naked on a table in front of a stranger with a teeny tiny towel covering your bits....I eventually got used to it. Perhaps it was because I had built a rapport with the woman lasering my armpits that when it came time for my hoo haa area it wasn't a big deal. Granted I have no idea why they even bother with the towel, I suppose it's there to make you feel like you're not so exposed but come on now.....the tech sees everything.

So I'm at the office the other day for session #4 on my bikini line when I'm informed that my technician is gone (like gone forever) and some other woman will be taking over. Whatever, so I'm in the room and normally they leave so you can undress and get situated on the table but not this chica. She had her back to me a bit and was asking me questions while she was pointing at me to get on the table. Alright then, off everything goes.....

While this woman was nice enough she took double the amount of time than the previous woman had taken. And for some reason she handed me these stress balls (WTF I've never been given these before) to squeeze AND it hurt waaayyyy more than usual. When all was said and done I started to hop off the table and she was like "Oh I'll let you get cleaned up and dressed". What so NOW you're going to leave the room???

Enjoy the weekend folks, it's my favorite time of year of course Halloween though funny enough I'm not sure of my actual plans as of yet. Silly me made early Sunday morning plans which don't bode well with a night on the town the evening before. Nor have I looked for a costume but who am I kidding....I'll just be the same thing that I am every single year!! How's that for creativity!!!

The weather here on Friday left something to be desired it was gloomy, cold and rainy......all day and all night long. I made it to my class and then hit up the grocery store to buy ingredients for a new recipe. I made these super yummy pumpkin cupcakes with caramel sauce and they're low in fat to boot. One more recipe down on my goal list!

Of course Saturday was Depeche Mode Fest and I had a fabulous time. The DJ played all of my favorite songs and then some as he had 6 hours to fill up. The pictures on the screen made us laugh as some were VERY old and the band looked hilarious.....Martin in his chain vest....I forgot about that fashion statement! I chatted with random strangers and even ran into a guy from my high school. It's funny as I run into him every once in a while in the oddest of places. That used to happen to PP and a friend from high school, she once ran into him in NYC and another vacation spot...so bizarre. There are countless photos of the crowd including LD's "TYB" and someone I was chatting up that she referred to as "your dad". Apparently he was graying a bit....whatever I think it makes a man look more distinguished! Anyway I had a lot of fun and the crowd was great as everyone was there for the same reason, to get their groove on to Mode!

Sunday was spent laying around for the most part of the day as we didn't make it back to my friends house until 4am. Late nights/early mornings are getting to be a bit much for this old lady! There are a few more theme nights coming up that I'm interested in attending mainly The Cure and a Smiths/Morrissey evening! This particular DJ also holds themed fetish parties so we're looking into a few of those as well, give us some time to make appropriate outfits. Some up and coming ones are: Studio 54: Sleazy 70's, Bawdy Medieval Yuletide Fete & "Nice Boots, Wanna F*ck?"As for the coming week I'm planning on taking it easy!

Remember my recent post inquiring about meditation practices? Well I found a 4 week course to teach just that! I attended the 1st class last week and it was quite educational and very intimate as there were only 5 students in total. I enjoyed it very much however when there is A) such a small group and B) a quiet class it's hard to hide any noises coming from ones tummy. Yes there were a few gurgles here and there from the other students, no big deal. But my god do you think my stomach could have picked a worse time to have gas bubbles???? I ate well before the class and nothing odd of course as I didn't want to have the reaction that ... well I had!

As soon as I sat down I felt my stomach churning and could hear the gas moving around. Oh fuck!!! The thought of even attempting to pass the bubble did not cross my mind as there is noooooo way you could sneak one out in such a setting. So I had to sit for an hour and a half in absolute pain. A few tried to sneak out my mouth so I did the quiet burp in your mouth kinda thing but it's still obvious when it's soooo bloody quiet. Oh well, I think I'll skip eating beforehand however that leads to other problems....gurgling hungry tummy sounds. Perhaps a light snack will do the trick.

I hope that everyone enjoys their weekends! I'm heading to a friends about an hour away to attend Depeche Mode Fest; 6 hours of music and videos dedicated to the band! That makes it sound like it's at his condo....it's not, it's at a bar of course. Conveniently he lives about a 20 minute walk from the place so it should be a great night. I'm very excited as I attended a similar David Bowie night years ago and enjoyed myself thoroughly! Gotta love the weekend!!

I've received this email several times and it cracks me up each and every time. In fact I may have posted it previously though I really have no idea. Alas, here it is perhaps again, or for the 1st time, enjoy!

Why Raincoats are Yellow:

It is Monday after all and I needed a good laugh as I'm back to work after a week off. Granted it wasn't so much time off as more of a time to catch up on things. I had a few appointments and even attended a training for work (don't ask). I did book a facial at the spa which was lovely and relaxing. They had the most amazing tea so I took the little tab from the satchel and will try my darnedest to find the stuff. I tried a green tea/tropical fruit mix and it was just delightful and sooooo refreshing

Anyway off to work I go to play catch up! That's the only problem with taking time off you always have quadruple the amount of tasks to complete when you return to your desk *sigh*

I found it kind of interesting that most of you were either unaware that I had my tongue pierced or were sort of surprised that I had it done. I pierced my bellybutton when I was like 16 or so and my tongue followed soon after. I've had a few in between and of course 8 or so in my ears. I've always wanted my septum (bullhorn)or labret (chin) pierced however do not want any scars on my face so didn't bother with either. Anyway here is a silly pic of the tongue, I must have been talking and for some reason my friend decided to take this close up shot of my mouth....classy!! Not the best photo to showcase the bar but you can see a bit of the silver ball......that and the only two things people ever compliment me on: my teeth and hair! Ha!

Anyway back to my original post:

Things that I'm into right now:



I was watching Dr. Oz recently and became enamored with his guest Dan Riskin a parasite expert......mmmm a cute nerd!!! Me likey!!!




I love love love anything pumpkin pie related!! I saw a commercial for this wonderful treat and found myself at Dairy Queen the following day. I'm totally going back and getting another one with the whipped cream.....I may even get a large. It was the best fucking thing I've had pumpkin related since the pumpkin spice latte. Which do reminds me, a friend suggested I try a pumpkin spiced donut and while I'm not a fan of the fried treats I will give this one a go.



A friend of mine goes once a month to get pedicures and always has super cute art on her toes. We went together last month and I'm totally addicted. Mine were supposed to be a zebra sort of print though everyone tells me they look like candy (they're red and white...candy cane perhaps?). Either way, it's fun and creative....I might get cute little skulls next time!

1. The phone rings; who do you want it to be? Someone from work telling me there is a snow day.....


2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Always, I mean how lazy does one have to be to leave the cart like 3 meters from the cart holder and out in the middle of the parking lot. I usually use a basket but on the rare occassion I opt for a cart....I always put it back.
3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? Depends on the company that I am keeping but I'd say a little bit of both.

4. Do you take compliments well? Not at all, they make me uncomfortable and I often will
poo poo them away "Oh this old shirt..."

5. Do you play Sudoku? I haven't for quite some time but I do enjoy the game.

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? Hell no, I hate bugs, I don't eat meat and I doubt i'd be eating any weird berries or mushrooms or anything like that. I'd give myself one night.

7. Do you like to ride horses? I only rode a horse once, like 15 years ago....it was fine...but clearly it's not something that I'm super into or I would have gone again.

8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? I went once but it was our end of the year trip for school.

9. What was your favorite game as a kid? Clue, I always have to be Mrs. White and I always win ;)

10. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he was married, would you go for it? I plead the 5th.....seriously though....nah there are plenty of men out there, I don't need someone elses.

11. Have you lied to get out of a date? Not that I can recall.....

12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? Possibly, I'm not a religious person and don't do well around religious fanatics but I can respect anothers opinon.

13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? I like to be pursused, pursuing is too much work.

14. Use three words to describe yourself? Outgoing, funny, kind

15. Do any songs make you cry? Oh crap probably, not any one in particular but if I'm in a melancholy or poor me mood then yes certain songs will turn the water works on.

16. Are you continuing your education? I'm not in school but I take different courses, training for work and other such things.

17. Do you know how to shoot a gun? Ugh, noooooo! I hate guns!

18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? Pictures....

19. How often do you read books? Less than I should but I'm working on it.

20. Do you think more about the past, present or future? I think more about the past and future than the present. I'm reading A New Earth to help me work on this.

21. What is your favorite children’s book? Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

22. What color are your eyes? Blue

23. How tall are you? 5'4

24. Where is your dream house located? Good question, somewhere quiet and hot where I can lay by the water and read a book.


25. Do you have a secret fetish? Now why would I tell my "secret" fetish....you'll have to earn that answer!

26. Have you tried sushi? Of course, it's one of my favs!! This place near me makes this fabulous roll out of rice paper, it has tempura bits, mushrooms, spicy sauce, some green stuff I have yet to identify and a few other items....it's so fucking good!!

27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? My friend and I used to take them every time we went to the mall in our teens....so yes!

28. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? Last year, it's a ritual when we go shopping for Black Friday. We spend like 14 hours shopping and then gorge ourselves on breadsticks, salad and pasta!!

29. When was the last time you were at Church? Oh jeez, a wedding last summer, like 2008 last summer.

30. Where was the furthest place you traveled today? About 20 mins away so not far at all.

31. What was your favorite job? At an amusement park working in the beer garden/staff room. I was young without a care in the world, it was the best 4 years of my life...so much fun!!!

32. Do you like mustard? I like it on my veggie burgers/dogs but that's about it.

33. Do you prefer to sleep or eat? If I HAD to choose I'd say sleep, I don't get nearly enough and yet I love it!

34. Do you look like your mom or dad? I look more like my father.

35. How long does it take you in the shower? Washing hair/shaving probably 10-15 mins, otherwise I'm super quick like 5 mins with no hair washing.

36. Can you do the splits? Sort of.....not all the way anymore but close. Oddly enough only with my left leg forward not my right.

37. What movie do you want to see right now? God Grew Tired of Us, Whip It, Couples Resort, Taxi to the Dark Side

38. If you could fast forward your life, would you? Yes of course but only if I could go back and live it!

39. What did you do for New Year’s? Went to a house party, drank, played Cranium and Rock Band.

40. Do you think The Grudge was scary? Worst movie ever, such a waste of my time and no it was not the least bit scary.

41. Could you relate to a character in Mean Girls? A bit, they were extreme but parts of the girls yes.

42. Do you own a camera phone? Yeah but I don't use it very often I mean if I want to take a shitty picture then I will use it....

43. Do you have an “ex box” with pics and letters from past lovers? Nope, I have a box of old cards people have given me, not just ex's but everyone.

44. Was your mom a cheerleader? Of course and my dad was a jock!

45. What’s the last letter of your middle name? N

46. Do you like your middle name? I find it boring but it was my great grandmothers name.

47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? Oh 5-6 though I really need more like 8.

48. Do you like care bears? When I was younger I did. I had their cloud car and a few of the figurines.

49. What do you buy at the movies? My ticket, I don't usually eat at the movies and if I do I bring my own almonds or chocolate. Who wants to pay $5 for a chocolate bar??

50. Do you know how to play poker? I've only played once so I managed to get through that game but I certainly do not know how to play.

51. Do you wear your seat belt? Always!

52. What do you wear to sleep? Depends on the weather, sometimes a nightshirt, or shorts and a shirt or flannel jammies.

53. Anything big ever happen in your hometown? Yes two girls were abducted by these horrible people, tortured for weeks and then killed. They dismembered one and put her into cement blocks in the water. It was horrific and disgusting. I was a year younger than the girls who were abducted at the time and everyone lived in absolute fear.

54. How many meals do you eat a day? 3 meals and a few snacks

55. Is your tongue pierced? Yes!

56. Ever meet anyone you met on myspace? I'm not on myspace

57. Do you read myspace bulletins? No

58. Do you like funny or serious people better? Funny, I don't do well with super serious people I mean how can one be soooo anal all of the time??

59. Ever been to L.A.? Not yet, but I hope to one day.

60. Did you eat a cookie today? Nope but I had some lemon pie!

61. Do you use cuss words in other languages? I have but not on a regular basis

62. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads? It's been a very long time since I've downloaded anything, but I paid for it.

63. Do you hate chocolate? Hell no....I LOVE chocolate much to the dismay of my thighs!

64. What do you and your parents fight about the most? There are a few things.....

65. Are you a gullible person? I used to be moreso but not so much anymore.

66. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? Nah, I've been single for years and while I'm not the happiest cat I think a partner would just make things more complicated and thus more miserable.

67. If you could have any job what would it be? I would cohost the Amazing Race with Phil! "You are team number 1"

68. Are you easy to get along with? I'm very easy going and have a devil may care attitude so yes as long as you have a sense of humour we're good.

69. What is your favorite time of day? Evening, I'm a night hawk so 8pm and on.

Working on

#24 Try a new recipe once a week for 4 months (5/16)

I made this bean and shitake mushroom dish which was quite simple and surprisingly tasty. I find that oftentimes when I try a new recipe I really dislike the final product but this one was yummy!!



#14 Take vitamins everyday for 90 days 6/90

Ugh the fucking vitamins.......enough said!

#35 Read all of the unread books on my shelf (10/35)

While the number is the same as last time (pitiful I know), I am in the midst of reading two books, 28 Days of Aids in Africa and Still Life with Woodpecker.

#57 Go on a minimum of 5 dates (2/5)

I went out recently with a friend of a friend. We had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and then hit up a live show. I had a good time and that's all I'm going to say about that!

Completed






#4 Go topless at a clothing optional beach

I realized in mid September that I had yet to complete this goal and figured I better get on it ASAP as the weather was starting to get a bit chillier. A couple of friends came with me however they went to the clothed side of the beach while I ventured to the naked area. I must say I felt a bit self conscious at first as I heard people walking very close to my towel. I got over it quickly and just enjoyed the hot sun as it was a beautiful day and really, most of the people out there are actual nudists so they could really care less about me being there.



#49 Mow the lawn


You know I didn't mind doing this however I had a hell of a time taking the bag off to empty it. Half of the clippings ended up back on the lawn and I felt like my back was going to go every time that I had to empty that bloody thing. Perhaps the lawn mower makers could reposition the bag to make it less awkward to take off!!!



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know that I have to pay $10 for every unfinished goal towards some type of charity or make a donation. I recently received the Wish List catalogue for World Vision and was thinking I should pony up some $ to them for goals not completed IE do the cancer bikathon "next" year....that should have been in 2008....sooooo......


I hate to assume that I won't complete some goals however it's getting cold here and if I don't head somewhere hot on vacation (which is unlikely) I'm probably not going to get out on a jet ski anytime soon. I'll have to go through the list and see what I think.

Friday was a super gloomy day. It was the kind of day that makes you want to lay around in bed, drinking tea, curling up with a good book wearing fluffy slippers and flannel jammies. I had the day off however was not able to do the above, I was up at 7am and out the door soon after.



I did treat myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte mid afternoon, non fat to make it a little less of an indulgence. I had to laugh as the barista asked the cashier if I wanted whipped cream, she answered "no" for me then turned to me and said "I always assume that someone who orders a non fat drink doesn't want whipped cream." I told her she was correct though I'd imagine there are some oddballs out there that would want the topping. I guess I shouldn't say that as I'm sure some people figure they can save calories on the milk and enjoy the whipped cream or whatever as every bit counts.



I really liked the quote on my cup:



"People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world's diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others."


Youssou N'Dour

I did manage to get quite a bit of reading done on Friday evening which I really enjoyed. I rarely take the time to sit down and read as there are far too many technological distractions for me....computer, tv, phone....to name a few. I'm going to try and read a bit each evening from now on as I certainly don't make enough time for it and yet I find reading quite relaxing.

Actually I was thinking of trying to meditate again as well to clear my head and help with relaxation. I tried many moons ago and had a hell of a time trying to shut off the noise in my brain.....it was next to impossible for me to concentrate. There is actually a Buddhist Temple near my place that has a meditation program however you must make a commitment to attend 5 days a week for many months which I am unable to do. I may look further into the program to see if there is any leniency as far as attendance is concerned though I do not believe there will be any.

Does anyone out there have any tips on how to keep a focussed mind while trying to meditate? I know a few people that I can go to for advice but I was also thinking of borrowing some CD's or books from the library on the topic.

(Photo by Rose Wind Jerome)

There are moments when I KNOW I should refrain from pressing that send button. I’m well aware that it could be detrimental in more ways than one and yet I just can’t stop myself. I go back and forth between “this is a really bad idea” to “you’ll never know if you don’t try”. Of course my rational self always loses such battles and my other self takes control; the one full of hope and what ifs.......

I'd much rather take a risk than play it safe for you never know what the outcome may be. Regardless of what happens in the end I'm always happy that I tried! The anticipation gives me the butterflies.....makes me feel like I'm alive!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I received an email from PP recently that made me laugh so hard. You see I'm a very social person and tend to go out quite frequently. Like everyone else I'm either making the plans or I've been invited out by somebody else. It drives me bonkers when I make the plans, call one or two other people to join me and then receive calls the next day from others asking "why didn't you invite me, I would have gone". There's always a reason for such things, perhaps I just want one on one time with a certain person, maybe it's a weekend away in which another friend is putting us up and only has so much room for guests or perhaps making driving arrangements for three people is much less of a hassle than making plans for 7 people.

I get that question a lot in regards to concerts and I have tried in the past to accommodate a fair amount of people.....which ultimately screws me over because trying to seat 6 people together is more difficult than say 2. You always get better seats when seating less people. So I have to be stuck in the nosebleeds because 5 other people want to come......I don't think so!

You'll often hear me say "Why do I have to invite everyone I know everywhere I am going?" when I get the "why didn't you invite me out, I would have gone" question.


So PP sends me the following email with the subject line "It's official you're the George"


Im hanging out cleaning, and Seinfeld comes on..... It's an episode ive never seen about a parking spot? Anyway, George is standing on the side of the street and I actually looked up the script to copy and paste it in here.


KRAMER: By the way, thanks a lot for inviting me to the flea market.


ELAINE: What?


KRAMER: Yeah, Jerry, he told me all about it.


GEORGE: Oh great.


JERRY: I didn't know.


ELAINE: Oh, so that's why you were acting so funny.

GEORGE: Well I didn't know you wanted to go to the flea market.



MIKE: A flea market? You went to a flea market??

GEORGE: Hey, who's talking to you?


ELAINE: We just didn't think of you.


KRAMER: You said it, sister.


GEORGE: What? Every time I leave my house now I have to call everybody I know and ask them if they want to do what I'm doing?



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - how many times have you said that???????? You say that all the time. PFFFFFFFFFFfff. You're the George!!!!!! HAHAHAHA




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ugh, how did I become the George?? I've been told by countless people that I'm Elaine.....but now George.....what the hell!!! Ha!

I feel a bit like a vase that has been shattered into a million little pieces. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to glue the pieces back together, they’re not whole anymore but rather broken and fragile. I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy and empty as of late for one reason or another. I’ll snap out of it eventually as these feelings seem to come and go as sure as the sun rises and sets, so I’m not too concerned about them. They’re mere speed bumps in my journey nothing more and nothing less. I'm just thankful that mine are minute in comparison to the bumps that other people must face.

For that I am grateful.

An addendum, I wrote this a few days ago.....and then I watched an episode of Oprah. She had on two guests, the first was a woman who was shot in the face by her partner and therefore needed a face transplant. The second was a little girl with "mermaid" syndrome. Both women had an amazing outlook on life, were strong and very inspiring. They have persevered through the unthinkable and made me realize that I really need to be more thankful for all that I have. In fact I felt like a ginormous asshole for writing the above after I watched the show, I always feel bad for feeling bad, like oohhhh poor me when I see stories such as theirs. So now not only do I feel like a broken shattered vase but an asshole at that!

I'll be fine.

I had a lovely weekend visiting with my gal pals that I don't get to see very often. L and I spent a leisurely Friday getting cute pedicures at this quiet little shop. As if that wasn't relaxing enough we then headed over to this Japanese restaurant to have lunch and catch up some more. It was great as the waitress sat us on the opposite side of the restaurant from everyone else so it was super cozy and again nice and quiet.


We then went shopping and eventually ended up at her friends place......this like 70ish year old man that loooovveesss to party. He has this crazy bar set up in his living room full on with a 200 CD changer, flashing lights and bizzaro nick nacks. We stayed there for a few brewskis and then headed on our way. I'm not going to lie I would have stayed there all night but it was dinner time, he was already trashed and we both had to get home.


On Saturday a few of us got together with a friend who we rarely get to see as she lives a few hours away. We went for lunch and the conversation just kept a flowing. We reminisced about old times, laughed about current goings on and of course our inappropriate thoughts IE Why don't we date someone who is in AA.....then we'd have a DD......terrible I know but kinda funny nonetheless. Clumsy me of course catapults my chopstick off the table and it flips and flips through the air and thankfully lands right beside me. I seriously thought it was going to hit someone behind me in the face....I would have died had that happened. It was really great to have lunch with the girls as we laughed so hard tears were streaming down our faces. We're all absolutely ridiculous I love it!!


LD and I heard that there were baseball tournaments going on all weekend so we hit up the Wrinkle Ranch to check out the talent. She got hit on by a 43 year old man and Burt Reynolds twin asked me to dance.....I declined. That place is fantastic for entertainment as the clientele are VERY interesting and run anywhere from 19 to 85 years old. The old men line up near the washrooms to oogle the women, cougars are everywhere and the pieces of clothing people wear are priceless. They played old tunes like Funky Cold Medina, Strokin and Just a Friend by Biz Markie. Seriously what could be better!!!!

We finished off the weekend on a patio bar for lunch. The weather was phenomenal and we figured the place would be packed but we were sooooo wrong. It was like a ghost town down there which was surprising as it's the place to be in the summer and it was nice and hot out. We could have cared less as we got a prime parking spot and our choice of table so it was perfect.

Clearly my waistline isn't enjoying my eating in restaurants everyday as I seem to have magically gained ohhhhh 8 pounds back this summer. I mean when you think about that calorie wise it's really quite disgusting as 3500 calories equals one pound. Spin class tonight anyone??

So I was at the park recently with a child (not mine obviously) and it was absolutely barren, just the two of us which was nice. No screaming kids running around and lots of room for us to play. Anyway a work truck pulled up and I recognized one of the workers as a guy I used to go to high school with. We were friends, hung out a bit and lost touch once everyone went their separate ways to Uni/College.

I saw another girl that I used to work with 10 years ago at this same park about a month ago. I avoided her at all costs....not because I didn't like her....but because I hate seeing people so many years later as I've grown a bit sideways instead of vertically and am terribly self conscious about it. I also hate small talk and answering trivial questions about my singledom.

Back to high school guy, clearly there was no avoiding this interaction as it would have been far too obvious had I jumped behind a tree or crawled under the jungle gym. There were no crowds to get lost in....so of course he came over and said hello. We did the usual pleasantries, where do you work, what's new etc. Of course the conversation turned to relationships:

HSG: So are you married?

MA: No

HSG: Are you seeing anyone?

MA: No

HSG: Really? Come on Miss Ash, why not? You gotta get out there!!


He then went on to talk about his baby that is on they way etc etc etc. It was nice running into him.....but made me once again feel inadequate as you see I get asked this question all of the time by people I haven't seen in a long time. My answer is always "no" and they always wonder why.


I used to volunteer at this place and became friends with one of the workers. He moved jobs, I stopped volunteering and we lost touch for a good year. Anyway, we eventually reconnected and he was like "for the love of God please tell me you've had a relationship in the past year" cause he had had a few and had even been engaged in the few years I had known him and yet I had always remained single. Same answer "nope" he was like "WTF??"

What the fuck indeed sir!!! There's a point to all of this.....I swear. So I have a friend who has joined a few dating websites and she's been bothering me to do the same. She's also told me that I have to go on at least one date before the end of this year. I was also talking to a fellow blogger about this and the possibility of trying the whole online thing. We both know a few cool couples who have hooked up this way which makes me feel a bit better.......like there are some interesting (not creepy interesting) but interesting cats out there. I'm sooooo close to giving it a whirl but I have a feeling my self consciousness will take charge and I'll end up with a shitload of internet friends as I'll refuse to meet any of them due to my insecurities. Bah!! What to do what to do.......

Wiwille recently posted a horrendously embarrassing story where he felt the need to intervene and stand up for some Subway workers while a man yelled his order at them. Go over and read the story as it's quite funny in an oops I was trying to be helpful but became a jackass sort of way.


It reminded me of this one time I was about to board a streetcar. As people were exiting and I was waiting to get on I notice this young boy ripping up pieces of paper and throwing them out of the window and onto the street. What the fuck??? For those of you that don't really know me, I despise and I do mean despise litter bugs. Not only was he throwing shit out of the window but he was ripping the garbage up into teeny tiny pieces. Maybe he didn't get the memo .... there was no ticker tape parade going on that day.


So I finally get on and as I do I glare not only at the child but at the adult sitting beside him. I then sit directly across from them and as I'm about to ask how the hell they think it's okay to throw shit out the window and how disgusted I am with them both the kid starts freaking out. He grabs the adults hair (which is long) and starts to rip it out of her head and won't let go. Another woman from the back of the street car runs up to try and help her before I can even move an inch. They seem to know one another and the child's name, put him in a non violent crisis intervention move and interlock their legs with his and bend his head over. I look around and realize there are a lot of younger kids on the car with a few adults scattered in between...they're all on some type of excursion.


Turns out the litter bug was autistic and I am really really happy that I kept my mouth shut granted it was not on purpose but only because he started to grab that woman's hair. Otherwise I would have gotten on my soapbox and started telling him he was an asshole and that the "mother" should have taught him better and how the youth of today are not respectful. So sometimes it's best to keep ones mouth shut regardless of what's going on!

Sidenote, I went to school with a guy who turned out to be schizophrenic. He got himself into trouble with the law recently and some jackass wrote a letter to the editor about how he should rot in jail etc. The guy from school broke a few windows people....okay quite a few but not residential properties. Anyway I felt like writing back to the jackass about how you don't always know what is going on and everything is not as it seems. His mental health issues were never printed in the paper so this guy just figured he was some hooligan wasting a Saturday night trashing other people's property. I was absolutely livid and wanted to rip him a new one telling him to get all of his facts straight and to learn the meaning of compassion.

Okay so my posts have been a bit cranky rather than glass half full lately for whatever reason. For Yrautcas sake I'll try to make this one a little less Debbie Downer!

This past long weekend I went up to a friends cottage for 4 days and had a blast. We drank appalling amounts of alcohol, sat around a blazing fire and played a few silly games (which of course landed me with a gigantic bruise on my arm and I now have to wear longer shirts to work this week.....only it's 30 degrees outside and I don't really have any 3/4 length shirts...fuck). We also met a bunch of 20 year old boys errrr men who loved nothing more than to hear their own voices. Of course us ladies secretly named a few of them: (Please note NONE of us were interested in them they just wanted to party with some old folks and try to impress not only the women but the men as well with their ridiculous stories)

Chatty Kathy, loved loved loved to talk about himself and how wonderful he was, how great his work was and how much he knew about everything.

Dirty Stache, also loved to talk non stop however was more tolerable than CK. I would assume his nickname would be self explanatory ..... but if you don't get it, he had a wee bit of peach fuzz above his top lip.

Those two were brothers and had a father up there who was nice enough.....to the men....but seemed to dislike the ladies. He gave all our male friends shirts from his bar, wanted to take them tubing (or toobing) etc. Where the fuck is my shirt buddy???

FNG: fucking new guy.....he came up later than the rest, seemed pleasant enough though could barely stand up as he was soooooo wasted. I didn't really talk to him as he wasn't able to function much less carry on a conversation.

There was another one who let's just say LD dubbed my boyfriend....I'll leave it at that because it's super mean....but kinda funny all at the same time! He really seemed to look up to one of our male friends and would repeat everything that he said which after a few cocktails made the ladies laugh. It's funny how we can just look at one another and automatically lose it with a glance.

So anyway for whatever reason this group of people kept coming over to our fire and hanging out with us. I forget how they originally showed up or how we became their new best friends but they were around a lot. They were great for entertainment albeit slightly annoying as "I hate them" was uttered more than once from the gals but I did laugh like crazy more than once.

There's also an embarrassing story about yours truly that I shall never repeat but I was crying I was laughing so hard at myself. Partly mortifying and partly fucking hilarious!

I've vowed to take it easy after the 20th and tone it down a bit as I really enjoyed this summer a little too much if you know what I mean. Too much partying and random bruises do not do a body good! It's time to get back to my goals, read some books, get my ass to the gym and relax a bit. Unfortunately my throat started to feel a bit odd last night, tight (if that makes any sense) like it's swollen and hurts when I swallow. Cross your fingers it's just a sore throat and nothing worse like strep cause I have a long long day at work tomorrow and no time for Dr's appointments! Oi!

Things that annoy me:



I don't care how long it takes me to type a proper text or a proper email but for the love of God people PLEASE stop using ridiculous short forms. I cringe every time I see U, R, gr8 or ur in one of these forms of communication. Guess what....I only have 140 characters to type per text as well and I still manage to type you, are, great, your or you're in there.



I've been single for ages but I can guarantee when I do get a partner that I won't ignore the friends I used to be close with. I know a few people like that they're all consumed by their relationships and spend every waking breathing hour with their boyfriend/girlfriend. It kind of makes me laugh when things fizzle because my phone starts ringing again.......only I don't care to go out of my way to hang out with my newly single friend.


This next one sort of goes hand in hand with the above pet peeve. I also don't understand when I invite my friend somewhere that they think it's an automatic invite for their significant other as well. It's like nooooo I asked you to the movie or for a drink or whatever. It would be different if there was a group of people going, but sometimes you just want Q time with a certain person. I had a friend that was soooo stuck to her boyfriend that she invited him to our friends birthday luncheon.......that was specifically for the girls! The birthday girls husband was not even there.....but our friends boyfriend was!



It really gets under my skin when I answer the phone "hello" and no one answers back. If you're lucky I may say hello one more time before hanging up but it's not very likely. I figure if it's important the person will call back and actually put some words together so I can hear them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway I'm heading up north tomorrow for the long weekend and am hoping that the highway is not jammed......cross your fingers!!! Enjoy whatever it is you are doing for this last bit of summer as it's already getting chilly down here brrrrr!!!!

Love it or hate it facebook really is a magical tool. I had somehow managed to change my keyboard to the Canadian Multilingual option and was unable to type a question mark without é popping up. Of course there was a super simple solution but I hadn't a clue what it was; that was where facebook came in handy. I changed my status to explain my conundrum and within seconds I had 2 messages and a phone call telling me how to fix it! Yay for technology!!


I bought a rather large picture the other day and had to maneuver my way through the mall to get to the car while carrying this very cumbersome box. You would think that people would notice such a thing and I don't know maybe move out of the bloody way but of course not. What the fuck is wrong with people? I had one guy get off of the escalator and actually clip the corner of the box as he walked right into me.....another man was walking right towards me and I had to jump out of his way.....two girls cut me off.....it was amazing how fucking rude people were. My friend was beside me the whole time yelling at everyone who got in my way and that made me laugh!! I honestly thought that someone might see how awkward it was to carry the gigantic box and offer to help, instead they just kept knocking into me. I hate people!



A bouquet to my friends for helping me with the facebook question and a brick to the assholes at the mall!

I wasn't able to read blogs this week or do much of anything internet wise as I did not have access during the evening. Clearly I'm super reliant on this bloody thing as it was torture....pure torture for me to go without......sad but true!! I did however get a lot of reading done that I never would have otherwise gotten around to.

Anyway it's late and I'm a bit knackered so I've filled out a meme that I got off of Jlee. I've deleted some of the questions as they're silly so the #'s won't match up. I'm sure no one will care much about my answers to begin with but does anyone really care if I've kissed anyone named Matthew.....or if I can play guitar hero?? No! I didn't think so! Have a great weekend!!


1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? Oh the things I could say......but I won't!! It was a water bottle people a big silver water bottle!

3. Where was your profile picture taken? Yonge Street outside of a pub, I was searching through my purse looking for my phone and had no idea the photo was being taken.

5. Name someone that made you laugh today: Kelly....I had tears streaming down my face I was laughing so hard!

6. How late did you stay up last night and why? Midnight, I usually try to be in bed between 12am and 1am.

7. If you could move somewhere else, would you? Of course.....somewhere warm....and fun....and exciting.....with hot guys.

10. Do you believe ex's can be friends? Maybe though I've not gone that route, why bother I figure it's over for a reason.

11. How do you feel about Dr Pepper? I feel nothing....

12. When was the last time you cried really hard? Last week....I was obviously feeling a little sorry for myself.

14. What bed did you sleep in last night? Not mine......intrigued?? Nah I didn't think so......

15. What was the last thing someone bought for you? Lunch....dim sum....it was yummy!!

16. Who took your profile picture? Good ole Moe

17. Who was the last person you took a picture of? Do felines count??

18. Was yesterday better than today? YES!!! I was stuck in ridiculous traffic today AND my brakes started making bizzaro grinding noises....

19. Can you live a day without TV? I can but I probably wouldn't like it!

20. Are you mad about anything? YES, my brakes!!! I don't know if it's my driving or what but I seem to go through them like crazy!

22. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Maybe....but at the moment I'm not so sure. It just seems like one would take too much effort and energy that could be put to better use.

24. Night out or night in? Night out....I love love love going out! I love listening to music and dancing and laughing with friends and at strangers and playing TYB and eating grease at 4am!

25. What items could you not go without during the day? Lip gloss, water, sunglasses & of course my cell phone.

27. What does the last text message in your inbox say? 307...I actually sent that to myself so that I would remember what page I was on as I didn't have a bookmark when I was reading last night.

36. Name something you have to do tomorrow? Get a massage (my neck is fucking killing me), get my brakes fixed and celebrate J's bday!!

37. Do you think too much or too little? Waaaay too much and lately in the evenings when I'm trying to go to bed. I find sleeping a tad bit difficult lately as my mind seems to be on overdrive.

39. Who was your last missed call on your Mobile phone? PP, I had my phone on silent.

40. Is there something you always wear? Yes the colour black! To be more specific my black shirt with the buttons......those who are sick of it will be happy.....I discovered that one of my buttons is gone *sniff*

41. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Driving, I was enjoying myself, sunroof open singing along to my CD until I turned the music low. Then I was cringing while I listened to this horrific grinding sound coming from my car. It's probably been doing this for weeks.....I always have my music on and of course rather loud.

42. Did you have an exciting last weekend? Exciting no, relaxing yes!

43. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes as a kid I would sometimes forget my keys and have to crawl through the kitchen window which I might add was not low to the ground.

47. What's something that can always make you feel better? Curling up in my bed listening to Trent belt out a few tunes and having a good cry!

48. Will this weekend be a good one? I anticipate a gong show, lots of laughs and drinks and great company!