I'm using the same meme as WIGSF! I've been on vacation now for a week and a half and so has my brain! Enjoy!

What do you really want for Christmas but you know nobody will get it for you?
*I would love a car starter or bike shorts for cycling! I did receive a car starter a few years ago and asked that they take it back. Don't ask me why cause now I would LOVE one!

What do you not want for Christmas but you know that somebody will get it for you?
*Slippers/PJ's......every year.....it's actually become a big joke because they know I don't want either of those items and yet continue to buy them for me. This year she promised me that neither would be under the tree.....

When do you open your gifts (Christmas eve or Christmas morning)?
*Christmas morning, doesn't santa fly through the sky on Christmas Eve?

Do you prefer gifts wrapped or in gift bags?
*It's definitely much more fun to rip open a gift wrapped with paper! There's more anticipation and ohhhhh what is it than if you just pull something out of a bag.

Did you re-gift anything this year?
*I did actually, a gift card! It's not that I didn't want the gift card I totally would have used it but I was too cheap to buy one for someone else and gave them mine!

What’s your favourite Christmas movie?
*Nothing new here, I love National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Frosty, The Grinch, Rudolph....all the old school cartoons!


What’s your favourite Christmas TV special?
*All of the above


Do you like eggnog?
*Do I ever, especially the eggnog lattes from Starbucks *drool* Granted eggnog is sooo fattening that I haven't actually bought a carton in years! I would totally drink a glass at someones house though.

Real tree or fake tree, which do you prefer?
*The environmentalist in me says fake, however, it's once a year so forget it, real all the way! I love the smell and would totally miss stepping on sharp needles and poking my hands on them whilst decorating if I had a synthetic tree.

Would you actually use one of those fireplace DVDs if you didn't have a fireplace?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo

Are you sick of Christmas music yet?
*To be honest not yet! I really don't listen to stations that play Christmas music and haven't been anywhere near a mall since November! My secret, I do love a few even by Ms. Carey "All I want for Christmas is yooooouuuuu" and Whams "Last Christmas I gave you my heart" and Madonna "Santa Baby"....okay I'll just shut up now before I start confessing my love of Nickelback!

Are you getting up early to wait in line to do some Boxing Day shopping (Canada’s equivalent to Black Friday)?
*I used to faithfully for years, but the last few I haven't bothered! Other than some shirts/sweaters I don't really need anything from the mall. But who knows, I do love to shop!

When was the last time you sat on Santa’s lap?
*As a child! Maybe I should change that this year or would that be creepy?!? Sitting on some strange chubby mans lap....pfff I'm sure I've done that before LOL :P

I will be the first to admit, I wasn't super keen on Black Friday this year. I felt like I didn't need much, didn't want to spend a lot and with my ho hum mood as of late it just wasn't something that I was feeling you know.....that was on Thursday.....by Saturday I was singing a totally different tune and was thrilled that I had gone. The hours were different this year and much more convenient. The only line we really had to stand in was the one at midnight, after that people had come and gone to many of the stores so parking was easy to find and the lines were quite short. We chatted with other shoppers, the mood was light and fun and I had a really great time. It makes me sad though when I read about people who act like assholes to save a few bucks. Last year a Walmart worker was trampled to death as people rushed the doors when the store opened, this year a woman pepper sprayed a bunch of people in order to get to the front of the line where they were selling video games at half price. I can't even fathom such barbaric behaviour.......

I've been in desperate need of some new jeans as of late! After losing over 28 pounds and not having bought a new pair in a few years it was clearly time! Not only did I buy 3 new pairs but I totally branched out and bought *gasp* some skinny jeans. I always thought that I would look like more a of an ice cream cone than a stylish Chiquita but I was wrong! They are actually quite flattering!


All of my dress boots have stiletto-ish type of heels, sexy but not necessarily comfy you know. So I bought the most comfortable pair of wedges that fit like a glove and a pair with ruching and a small heel. As well I have been looking for a pair of black flats for the last year. They seem to be everywhere and yet picky pants IE moi has not been able to find a pair....until now! Score!


My current purse.....well the one I use daily (let's be real I have several) has been very well loved and is starting to rip along the bottom. I found two really cute replacements, one at 60% off and one that I splurged on. I also found this cute black scarf with silver accents and a new wallet as mine was completely falling apart.

I was on a mission to find something fun and fabulous for the Prince concert! I figured the shinier the better as my friend was deciding between gold lame (not lame but lame with an accent aigu....the fabric) or something bright purple. I found this fabulous sparkly dress with sequins and rocked it Saturday night!!

My favorite purchase of the trip was this super fun Betsy Johnson umbrella! My face lit up when I saw this gem and actually had to rip it off of the display as it was the only one left with this pattern. I even love the sparkly pink box it came in, I mean come on, what's not to love!!

I bought a few other items like those super warm and comfy marshmallow socks and some perfume! Ohhhh and a Lonely Planet book on India.....I keep saying that I want to go but I need to turn that want into REALITY!

So I'm sitting here having an uneventful Wednesday evening when all of a sudden I hear "ping." It's my ever so helpful cellphone letting me know that I have a message. I open up my email and see a phone number followed by mms@ blah blah. I open up a message that begins "Hey sexy, how's the nite? I'm cool chill 28, looking to kick it." Figured it was just some spam and didn't think anything of it when not less than a minute later "ping" another message from a bizarre phone number. "Hey there *insert name* you are fucking yummy...." on and on it goes with a lovely photo of this gentleman's hard nether region. WTF? Another follows within seconds by yet another guy who actually sounds relatively normal and said that he saw my posting and wanted to go on a date. I start freaking out!

A little back story, recently someone I know had their email hacked into and thoughts of my normal innocent pictures photo shopped onto naked bodies was racing through my head!

I decide to email the normal one of the bunch and explain that I have not posted anything anywhere and ask him to show me what he has seen as I am dumbfounded and confused. He sends me a link for Craigslists intimate encounters in Portland only it doesn't work. I'm now freaking out, I have the "contact us" section open and am sending a "TAKE THIS DOWN NOW" note to those in charge. In the meantime and before I can hit send, he sends me another email with a copy of the actual post and 2 photos of this attractive 21 year old who thankfully is not me. Turns out this lovely young woman was looking for some fun and happened to have the same name and email as myself with the exception of a few numbers. The pervy horny men mis read her email and started to contact me instead. Phew!!! I thanked the normal one, wished him luck in contacting the proper person and signed out. "Ping" Oh noooooooo!!! Now he's sending me messages asking me questions about myself......seriously!!!!! Maybe he's not so normal......

I was able to laugh AFTER I found out there wasn't some hacker posting dirty made up photos of me online; and I did end up with a photo of a very interesting looking.....you know.....EWE!!!!

I haven't been around much on this blog as of late. My creative juices (ewe that sounds dirty) have not been flowing recently. I want to write, I want to stay in touch and read blogs and contribute and I will! I just need a little more time!

I'm doing the annual Black Friday trek next week followed by a Prince concert! I'm beyond out of this world thrilled about that! I saw Prince way back in like 1997 and have waited FOREVER for him to return. It's funny when people think of Prince I'm sure they don't think of him as a sexy man.....but I do!!! Something happened back in 97, the way he danced and moved around on stage had me mesmerized. It sounds ridiculous I know, he's a tiny tiny person but WOW, he is a sexy mother*$&#@) live! (Did anyone get that....he has a song called Sexy Motherfucker....anyone anyone....)

Things I'm enjoying:

I saw these yummy looking treats at the grocery store and thought what the hell why not try em!! When I opened the package they were quite tiny and not very impressive, looked like cake in a bowl. I must say the end result was quite good! The cake was moist ( I'm cringing, I HATE that word!!) and the pudding tasted like lemons! The portion turned out to be perfect and I really enjoyed the warm yummy tart treat!

Mmmmm I'm super in love with the Salted Caramel Mocha Frappucino from Starbucks! When they first came out I had a few too many but have since calmed down. It's bizarre as I'm not a fan of salt at all and don't put it on anything however the different flavours in this bevy make my mouth water!

I saw some random guy wearing a white watch in the summer (can one wear a white watch after labour day?) and thought it looked rather sharp! I kept my eyes open when low and behold I found this gem, a beautiful big fun Toy Watch. It was the same brand as my skull watch which I adore so I thought, what the hell! The price was a bit steep but luckily I found the same bloody watch elsewhere for half the price (shout out to my American peeps)! I love everything about it, the size, the cute little crystals inside and the way they sparkle in the light!!

Okay I don't actually OWN a snuggie! I mean hello, when these first came out I was appalled by their sight and thought only a HUGE loser would buy one. Friends got them as gifts and I'd ask if the giver disliked them! Skip ahead a year (few years...whatever) and I totally want one!! I was at a friends recently freezing my arse off when she pulled out her snuggie to help warm me up! I was toasty in no time and the only complaint I had was the largeness of the garment/blanket. It was huge.....but that can totally be fixed by my dress maker!

Surprisingly I've been losing weight again! I say surprisingly considering my first two "things I'm enjoying" are fatty treats! I took a slight detour with my goal but I'm back at it and lost a whopping 4.6 lbs in 10 days! I didn't starve myself or do anything weird, I simply tracked what I ate and worked out! I know every week will not be like that, heck I'd be surprised if I ever see such a big loss in such a short time again but I tell ya that made me want to work harder than ever as I am creeping closer and closer to my goal!

PS Please tell me you didn't think my labour day question was serious!!! I actually think "not" being able to wear white after a certain day is ludicrous! I mean who cares, wear what you want when you want!

Hmmm so I've been having a bit of a meltdown for lack of a better word recently. I don't care to describe it or go into any details but I have not been myself at all lately. I knew it was bad and I reached out to a friend over the pond as well as one close by. They're amazing women and I'm a very very lucky person to have such wonderful friends in my life so big hugs ladies!! I've been meeting with a professional over the last few weeks to get some advice, we're focusing our sessions on career counselling and figuring out what types of careers would best suit my interests and personality! It's been quite interesting and I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders after the first session, but to be honest I'm back to feeling like BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I don't know what I want to do with my life! I've been debating about going back to school.......but for what? That is the question......

I'm pretty sure I'm burnt out from my field, it's emotionally draining to work day in and day out with people who are in a constant state of crisis. Many have addictions and mental health issues and it's hard to work with the same people for years and years and years and not see a change in them. I feel like I've become a bit jaded and cynical and cranky! I met a volunteer recently and she had the most amazing attitude and spirit, my field needs a million more people like her!!

One of my goals this week was to go over a list of like 100 jobs the tests picked out as matches......I wrote down about 4 that interested me oh my! I feel like screaming!!! I'm in the midst of learning my new position which is stressful, I have pages upon pages of stats to learn, I'm losing hours and therefore taking on another new position at the end of this month which I will have to learn on top of my already new position.....are you still following me....so I'll have 4 different positions to make up my full time hours! Huh...exactly!!!

Also, I just found out that someone close to me is terminally ill. It saddens me greatly, she's such a wise woman, I've always found great comfort in talking to her and I remember at my Aunts funeral, I was 22 years old and stuck to her like glue! She made everything okay with her words even though everything was not okay. She's not a religious woman but a very spiritual and intuitive soul that embraces the world and it's people with open arms. I'm sending love and light her way in hopes that she will have many more months ..... years.... can I be greedy and wish for many more years......so that I can continue to learn from her and she can continue to live!

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. " — Mary Anne Radmacher

Our trip in pictures:

We stayed at a lovely motel while in Miami! It had the cutest decor, a throw back to times gone by, lotsa neon and a pool that was open 24 hours a day! They gave out earplugs (apparently my new favorite thing) and the staff were absolutely amazing! Seriously, the owners son offered to drive us down the street to the closest CVS to get beer so we didn't have to go into a shady corner store the next block over. We declined....the shadier the better but talk about customer service!


Sooooo cute inside the rooms!!!

This was the view from the condo/hotel/apartment (?) that their friend was staying at while completing a contract out in Miami. Seriously, what an amazing view from the 51st floor! Can you even imagine walking out onto your balcony every evening and seeing this?!?

We went to South Beach our first day and wandered around taking in all of the amazing art deco! Loved it!!! Dined at a cute little diner that was featured in 'Diners Drive-ins and Dives' and spent the day shopping! It was impossibly hot during the day so we took our time walking back along the beach as the sun started to set and it was a bit cooler! Absolute heaven!!!

J and I thought we were doomed as we arrived without booking a cruise ship and it proved rather difficult to find one with such short notice. J however worked her magic and voila we found a 3 night cruise to the Bahamas! We left the others and set sail on day 3! This was our view during breakfast early one morning! By early I mean ohhh 10am, we like to sleep in!



I was absolutely amazed at how crystal clear the water was! There was a big group of hilarious cops floating around in the ocean beside us. All of a sudden they all moved away so we were like "WHAT"? Turns out there was a jelly fish right beside us, oops! I probably would have swam right into the bloody thing I'm soooo not observant LOL!

This was a private island owned by the cruise ship so we spent the entire afternoon, laying in the water enjoying the sun! Mmmm big pina coladas, the ocean, sun, clear blue sky and hot hot weather, what more could we have asked for! It was soooo relaxing which is just what I needed!


We docked in Nassau for an afternoon and wandered around on a bit of a death march in search of Fort Charlotte! J and I snapped a few photos along the way of abandoned houses that we thought were quite stunning! We also enjoyed some island food which was really delicious and flavourful, J tried the conch and loved it!


Yay we made it to Fort Charlotte! Our tour guide made me laugh soooo hard! He did not seem to want to take the time to answer any questions and wouldn't let us read the material available. It was like Chevy Chase in Vacation at the Grand Canyon! He told us at the end that we could go back through and take our time, I was like huh! Ohhhhh he gets tips and wants to get as many people through as possible, ahhh ha! It took me forever to figure out why he was rushing us!

We spent my last afternoon wandering around Little Havana (the others were staying an extra week)! Have I mentioned that I'm totally in love with plantains, like totally in love but not in love with the thunderstorms that plagued us my last day! I can't even believe I was walking around with the black sky and crazy rumbles taunting me from above but it was worth it!

I had a great time, lots of laughter and sun with of course a few storms, great food, beautiful scenery and of course wonderful company!!

I have not been on vacation where I board a plane in a few years which is kind of bonkers as I'm a total travel whore! There's been a road trip here and there however that is all going to change this week thanks to J! I decided at the last minute to join her on a cruise to the Bahamas for some fun in the sun. I've never had any desire to go on a cruise but I like to try new things and figured why not! It will also be a different experience as her friend works on the ships so we'll be hanging out behind the scenes in the "staff only" areas as well, ohhhhh awwwww!

We'll fly into Miami this week and set sail a day later! I haven't had a chance to even look at things to do in the Bahamas, the only thing that keeps popping into my head is that crazy slide at the Atlantis. I saw it once on the Amazing Race and thought they were all bonkers to even try it, granted I might sell my right arm for a million dollars so who am I to judge. As described on the website:

"The Leap of Faith slide offers the daring and adventurous a 60 ft. almost-vertical drop from the top of the world-famous and iconic Mayan Temple, propelling riders at a tremendous speed through a clear acrylic tunnel submerged in a shark-filled lagoon."

I'm just excited to get away and relax I don't even care what I end up doing! I could park my ass on the beach for 3 days with a book and be content! It helps that J and I travel well together so I know we'll have fun (except when she tries to steam roll me but that's a whole other post).

"IT'S T-SHIRT TIME"!!!!!

Just when I thought everything was figured out there was a HUGE twist and it's back to the drawing board. If I wasn't losing sleep and feeling anxious it would actually be quite laughable! Oh well, such is life, we shall see what happens.....

My holidays on the other hand were absolutely wonderful and I could not have asked for better weather! On several occasions I was found lazing around on patios, visiting with old friends enjoying a pint or two! That was probably my favorite part of my time off, just getting to see people I haven't seen in the last year or people I rarely get to see! It felt amazing to reconnect with them and catch up!

I went to see Billy Elliot which I really enjoyed! I loved the cheekiness of the characters and the humour, not to mention the lead who was amazing! Such a young performer and yet soooooo talented. PP and I went for our annual Summerlicious dinner to this Southern restaurant. I will say I wasn't terribly impressed by the food but the dessert was quite tasty!

Mmmm I went to my favorite bakery up north and bought my yummy turtle brownies! They are massive and sooooo delicious and sweet! I actually bought a few extra to freeze though there aren't many left! There was a fire ban while I was up north due to the dry weather so we sat around a bright candle instead!



Hiking in the summer is one of my favorite things to do and I was rather ambitious this one Sunday afternoon. After taking part in an hour long spin class I decided to go for a hike in the Gorge during some 38 degree weather!

I love hiking down through the trees as it's so incredibly peaceful and surprisingly I only ran into 5 other people the whole time I was down there.

I pretty much had the place to myself and just took in the beautiful scenery, the sound of the birds chirping and the water rushing by. It was heaven!

I also went to the Horticultural Centre and enjoyed walking around and admiring the beautiful flowers. I tried to enjoy the simple things that I always take for granted while I was away from the hustle and bustle of work.

I totally fell in love with this super cute little guy!

I'm fortunate enough to have a few friends with pools and totally took advantage of the gorgeous sunny weather and warm water! No bikini shots you pervs!



I really really enjoyed my time off! It was relaxing and rejuvinating and while I kept busy I also tried to take some time for myself to just be. Now back to the grind....

I saw this on Claires blog and thought it was a cute idea. I hope she doesn't mind that I borrowed it!!

This Week

Feeling: Anxious and nervous!

Thinking: About the future....

Making: Possibly a pig out of a sock for a little person! If it turns out I'll post a photo!

Doing: Some research online to figure out why my ipod decided to randomly die one day whilst charging. One moment it was fine, the next poof it wouldn't turn on. Tips are welcome!

Reading: I'm embarrassed to say I'm not reading anything other then the news online and catching up on blogs! I have a stack of books waiting for me! Some things never change LOL!

Writing: Lots of letters at work! Canada Post was on strike recently and I wasn't able to send out anything via mail. Now it's time to catch up!

Watching: A new show called Love Bites! I've only seen 2 episodes but I'm really enjoying it thus far. Also So You Think You Can Dance has started back up, woo hoooo! I love the creativity that goes into the choreography and how many of the dances send shivers up and down my spine they're just so raw with emotion. I love that show!!!

Eating: Oh man it seems like everything in sight!!! I've had pizza and Cold Stone ice cream and Japanese food......

Drinking: Beer! I've been REALLY good lately, I rarely go for drinks blah blah blah but the past few days have been different. I had an all day vball tourney where I enjoyed a few bevvies and then attended an unplanned pool party the next day that turned into a 9 hour event. On Friday I will be partaking in my annual Canada Day tradition with my pals and will be sipping a cold one at 11am until we can't take anymore! We usually last until 11pm or so! I look forward to it every year, it's supposed to be sunny and gorgeous out and we always have such a great time laughing and catching up! Perfect patio weather so I'm excited!

Listening: To the Foo Fighters! I tried to get tickets to see them but all the seats left were shit! I'm actually considering going down anyway and buying tickets on the street.....who does that!?!?! Oh right, my friends did once in NYC, sold their real tickets for "better" seats....the better seats turned out to be fake! On second thought, maybe I won't go down!

I've also been listening to a lot of Nouvelle Vague lately!





Working: On loving and accepting my body! I've lost 25.1 pounds to date and I feel amazing! I love my curves and how they look in my new clothes! There's a spring in my step (who says that!!!) and I'm feeling waaaayyyy more confident and sexy!

Wishing: Peace for my feline companion. Her tumour has become unmanagable and even though she's still playful and gorgeous as ever it's not fair to keep her on this earth any longer so an appointment has been made. It's a bit harder as she was my Aunts cat and when my Aunt passed away I found some solace in knowing that she had loved and cuddled the same furry creature I was now able to hold. It was like there was a living breathing piece of her still with us....

Looking forward to: My vacation! I'm not actually going anywhere exotic or exciting per se but I will have 2 weeks off to do as I please starting Friday. I have plans to see Billy Elliot and dinner with PP, also a trip up north to the place where they sell my favorite turtle brownies nom nom nom! Who knows I might be spontaneous and head up to Cedar Point one day or just lay around and read! I'm VERY excited to get out on my favorite trail by the water and go for a bike ride or a hike and just be one with nature! Tis the season!

Sorry I've been MIA for a little while. I've been feeling a bit down in the dumps lately and haven't felt much like writing. There are some major changes happening in regards to my job, I'm not yet sure of the exact outcome or what's going on but I may be forced to change positions within my agency due to funding cuts blah blah and I'm feeling a bit lost. I love my job and I don't love the other positions that may be available to me so I have some decisions to make. Do I go back to school, do I try to find something else in my field, do I change fields completely?!? I'll know more later........I'm just trying to prepare myself for the next step. I need to have some idea and some direction before everything changes.

I'm unfortunately a creature of habit and change scares the shit out of me. You know how some people thrive on change and embrace it.....I'm the opposite of that. I did try to get a better paying position with the government last year and the interview process was a nightmare for me. It included a 3 hour written test, a 45 min interview in front of a panel of 6 people which included a role play and lots of talk about Legislation......I wanted to die! I did that for the experience and the possibility of making more moolah, but not because I had to.

It's not just about change though, I truly love my job! Over the years I've had the opportunity to take a few hours here and there doing other things within my agency and to gain experience in other areas while keeping my main job. I wasn't happy doing the odd jobs, I actually dreaded some of them and couldn't wait until the contracts were up.

I admire Rawbean and Yrautca who have both made huge decisions and changes regarding their jobs! Instead of feeling lost and sorry for myself I should hold my head up high and get on with it. I know that everything happens for a reason and I should look at this as an opportunity to learn something new and move on to bigger and brighter things. I'm not going to be jobless as I'm guaranteed a position within my agency, I just might have to do something I'm not fond of until I can figure out what it is exactly that I want to do. Who knows, I might go in a completely different direction, Dental Hygienist or Bricklayer anyone LOL??




Before I found out about all of this I made an impulsive, rather pricey purchase! I figured I had lost almost 25 pounds, I don't eat out or drink like I used to and wanted to congratulate myself on sticking with my goals and changing my lifestyle. So I bought myself a vintage Louis.....it's gorgeous and in prefect condition save for a few marks on the bottom and cost way less than a brand new one. I might end up jobless and have no money but at least I'll look good :P

I've been on holidays for the past week and for some ridiculous reason I decided it would be a great idea to go to the gym at 8am for a class. The evening prior I had dropped something very heavy on my foot and low and behold the next morning half of my foot was black and blue. So I was tired, it hurt to put my runners on, I put my crap in the locker, click and "oh shit"!!!! I locked the bloody key to my lock INSIDE the locker.

The tiny girl at the front desk hands me these gigantic bolt cutters, I thought she was kidding. So there I am, tired, cranky and sore trying to break through 8 million layers of metal to no avail. Several other women in the change room tried to help but nothing was working. I wandered around looking for anyone to help but the problem was the gym was quite sparse, it was the holiday Monday for everyone else as well and the gym had just opened right at 8am. I asked some man who was just standing there to help me, I think he thought I was trying to pick him up cause his response was "ask my wife, she's over there doing push ups, she's strong". I went over to ask her and when I explained what I needed help with I thought she said " I don't really care"! I thought WTF is WRONG with the two of you!!!!! Thankfully that didn't fly out of my mouth as I had not heard her correctly, she had actually said "I don't work here"! She did come to try and help but she too could not cut through the lock. FINALLY this older gentleman came to my rescue! Turns out he had to loosen a bolt in order to make them cut further which clearly none of us noticed! I was soooo thankful and happy as my purse and keys and everything were locked away.

I gotta say I was totally annoyed with the first guy though. He was just standing there doing nothing and he wouldn't even try to help. I can't stand people like that! If someone needs help I help them as best I can. A little while ago I saw this very old woman standing at her trunk with grocery bags. I was heading into the store, stopped and asked "Can I help you put those in your trunk?"She didn't even have to ask me I just saw that she might need assistance and asked. Clearly my parents raised me right!!! So a big fucking brick to the douche and a big bouquet to the helpful gentleman!

I'm one of those people that HATES getting sick. I don't think that anyone actually enjoys germs but I go to great lengths to make sure I avoid them. You can imagine my dismay when a woman walked into my building last week, glassy eyed, coughing and looking like death. I asked if she had been sick all weekend to which she replied "no, just today"! I thought oh dear Lord she's CONTAGIOUS!!!! Why oh why would one go out in such a state! I stayed as far away from her as possible that day but quel surprise it got me. I think we should take a cue from the lovely people over in Japan, I saw several people over there wearing masks to avoid getting/giving germs when I was visiting! Brilliant idea!!

Once I felt better Starbucks lured me in with their 1/2 price frappucinos I mean come on $2, who could resist! The old Miss Ash would have gone several times for the deal, the new svelte MA went once (granted it's on for a few more days soooooooo.....) and thoroughly enjoyed a fatty Vanilla Bean Frap with whipped cream! Yummmm!

I also had the most juicy and delightful strawberry! Seriously it was amazing! It's always hit or miss I find with strawberries and pineapples. Some are super sweet and yummy, others more tart, meh and flavourless. I completely lucked out this week on both the berries and pineapples nom nom nom!!!

As most of you know gas has been creeping up, actually no, no it hasn't been, it's shot up to exorbitant prices 140.9 per litre in my neck of the woods. I'm lucky to live in a border city and have been heading over to the States weekly to fill up. Even with the drive and the toll I've been saving lotsa moolah and with the amazing exchange rate I can't go wrong! It's always hit or miss with the border guards as well, some are friendly and have great personalities, others not so much. I had one guy flip through my passport "You travel a lot" to which i replied "I sure do" (translated in my head to "hence why I have a passport jackass" or "thanks tips") He then questioned where I work and made some condesending remark "you have to go to Ghana to do that?" as he glared at me. I actually started to laugh at him, I thought he was joking. Clearly the man has never left his little booth at the bridge, he didn't even crack a smile, nor did he appear to enjoy my smirking at him as shown through his icy stare but he eventually waved me on. The man I got the following trip over was much more jovial and we shared a few laughs.

I went to the mall over there to browse and they were having a big sale at one of the department stores. There were racks and clothes everywhere and it was a bit chaotic. All of the workers were very polite saying "excuse me" to the throngs of people in line as they weaved in and out, asking if they could help, they all seemed to be in great moods considering the crowds. I then overheard a woman talking to and then screaming at a sales clerk. From what I gathered she wanted to know where something was and when the saleswoman didn't know or couldn't find what she was looking for the woman's solution was to scream "YOU WORK HERE NOT ME" "YOU PEOPLE ARE USELESS YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE ANYTHING IS, I'M NEVER COMING BACK HERE"!!! I kept my mouth shut but you have noooooo idea how badly I wanted to say "you will be doing the staff here an enormous favour if you never come back here so please make good on your promise". I did tell the worker to ignore her, she was clearly having a terrible day and told her how impressed I was with the service that day.

It really irks me when I ask people who they are voting for and they tell me that they don't vote. I'll admit I used to be that guy but thanks to Jennifer and a few others I smartened up in my early 20's and have been casting my ballot ever since. I always find it very interesting to see the various signs in certain cities. Where I work it's a sea of orange (NDP), in my hometown it's nothing but blue (Conservatives, barf)! It doesn't appear as though things are going to go my way Le Sigh :(

I've been trying to get through those Malcolm Gladwell books I spoke about a little while ago. I must say for such a popular author the first one I picked up (Blink) was a bit of a letdown. He had some interesting points but they seemed to drag on and on and on I actually had to put the book down two thirds of the way through and couldn't finish it. I figured the book was a lemon and went onto What the Dog Saw. I'm a few stories in (they are articles that he wrote for the New Yorker) and I'm still not very impressed. There are several sections and perhaps I should move on to the next as my attention is waning reading about Ron Popeil and ketchup. Hopefully The Tipping Point will be of more interest.....

I was in a spin class today and normally I am focused on the class and don't look around much but this evening my eyes wandered outside of the room to a woman on a stair climber. Her ass was completely covered in sweat! She had these two wet marks that covered her entire cheeks which of course made me giggle! She looked as though she had sat in a puddle, not a drip of sweat anywhere else but her buttocks! So weird!

A few of my favorite things:

I rarely eat frozen dinners as I find them repulsive and terrible for you. This one however caught my eye and I figured why not. Every now and again I'm lazy and don't feel like making something for lunch at work so ta da! The curry could have been less watery but other than that absolutely no complaints. It tasted great, filled me up and I really enjoyed it! So bizarre!

Mmmmmm speaking of Indian food I'm absolutely in love with Gulab Jamun! I could seriously just sit and eat these little balls of sweet delight for breakfast, lunch and dinner one right after the other, nom nom nom!!!!

I was at Sephora buying nail polish and could not keep my eyes off of the sales woman's lips. They were soooo shiny, subtle flecks of pink and sparkly. I was surprised when she showed me a lip gloss as I thought for sure it would be a regular lipstick. I realize in the photo below it doesn't look like much, maybe you need movement to get the full effect, I swear it was like diamonds on her lips! I just adore this new gloss!

Speaking of Sephora, I've been looking for a sugar scrub to exfoliate my skin and get it ready for the nice weather! (Ummm ya so it snowed the other day, clearly I have more time than I thought). Anyway, I came across Sweet Cheeks by Cake, what a delightful treat! It's a brown sugar scrub and yet has hints of cinnamon and vanilla and feels amazing on my skin! I smell like a cinnamon heart after I'm done! Love it!

• Thank you for all of the good thoughts towards LD and her family. It is with a heavy heart that I tell you he did pass away this weekend. I don't think I will ever be able to wrap my head around cancer and how quickly it changes a life. I'm sad to say he is not the first person I've known to pass so quickly after the diagnosis. It's taken so many of my friends parents that I'm unable to count them all on one hand, it's touched my life as well, I've had several relatives succumb to the beast and I will never ever understand how it can transform lives within days. They told my Aunt she had pneumonia and she was dead within 2 weeks, she went into the hospital with a general feeling of malaise and never came out. LD's dad was sent to physio for a possible pinched nerve in his back and meanwhile it was spreading all over his body.

• I've met several breast cancer survivors and my friends mom did live for a year with brain cancer before she passed but come on, somethings gotta give! You would think with the bazillion dollars spent on "research" they would be closer to finding a cure or at least detecting the many different kinds of cancer before it's too late. I know there are mammograms and paps and some tests that can find irregularities but my experiences with those close to me have not been positive. They're fine one minute, feeling not so good the next and then poof they're gone in less than a month. I still can't wrap my head around it.......

• I was with her at the hospital, she was curled up in the bed beside him as he slept and I couldn't stop crying, I felt so bad for her family and the pain they were in, knowing at any moment he could be gone, offering anything to the universe for one more minute. Through tears she said "do me a favour, go see your dad and hug the shit out of him when you leave here" and I did! All of my love goes out to her and her family, we'll get through this together! I love you!

Randomness -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------*I was out of the city and wanted to go to the gym so I headed to the closest one in my chain. It was inside of a mall and I realize I"m going to work out so I should be happy about having to park a mile away but my lord! Seriously, parking was ridiculous I was like 50 rows away from the entrance and then I get inside and guess what?!? There are four flights of stairs to climb to get to the actual gym. Sheesh, I felt like turning around and thanking them for the workout. Someone remind me again why I'm paying for a membership?!? --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------*I was flipping through the channels and came across some extreme coupon show. Ummmm what the fuck is wrong with these people? One woman bought 60 bottles of mustard and her husband doesn't even use it! This same woman bought hundreds of boxes of cereal and containers of yogurt. Her bill went from $1500 to $100 but my jaw was on the floor. Everyone loves to save a buck or two but what the hell would you do with a million bottles of mustard?! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *I'm not sure if it's the cold rainy weather or if I'm just tired in general but I know when I need to take a week off and it seems as though it's time. I get sick of the excuses from my clients and even the people that legitimately have issues and reasons for lagging behind are on my last nerve. It's hard when you've worked with someone for 18 months and for 18 months they've done nothing. Every time there is an appointment it gets cancelled for some reason or another, then they pop in and demand to see you, they promise and promise and plead for more time ad nauseum and yet nothing ever gets done. I've had one guy cancel 10 appointments due to sickness, it's actually laughable now, I wait for his name to pop up on the day of his appointment as I know he's going to call he's sooo predictable....I finally asked him why he's always sick....he said he's not used to the weather in Canada....I asked him when he moved here...he told me 12 years ago! I had one woman beg me not to send letters to her house as her partner was not aware of her criminal activity and would kick her out if he found out. I find it odd that he's reading her mail and wonder what kind of relationship that is where you have to fear being kicked out for making a mistake but that's going off topic. I told her all she has to do is show up to her appointments and no letters will be sent. She's missed two now and she's done nothing, I have bent over backwards trying to make her appointments through third parties and phone calls and I'm done. I'm sending a letter if I do not hear from her by next week, it's not my problem. That is how I know that I need a break! --- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Someone recommended an author (Malcolm Gladwell) to me so I went to the library to grab a few of his books. He must be rather popular as I had a hell of a time finding any titles by him, they had all been taken out across 4 libraries save for two books. I snatched those up and plan to crack the spine this evening. I'm excited to read something new! Are any of you familiar with is work?

I've become a bit lax with writing on my lovely blog so my apologies, I promise upcoming posts will be more frequent, maybe not entertaining but more frequent! Ha! The bachelorette party in Montreal went well and a good time was had by all. A few tips for those taking 7 plus hour road trips.....make sure to put the correct address into the GPS AND make sure to spell words correctly when using another language. I wasn't the driver thus not in charge of directions which I'm sure everyone was happy about, but the driver forgot to enter "west" at the end of the address. We ended up at some dead end street, confused and clearly not at our destination. I realized her error and kept trying to type in the correct address to no avail. We drove for a while and eventually ended up where we needed to be. Turns out "west" is spelled "ouest" in French hence my not being able to enter the full address correctly. I was like "WHY won't it let me put WEST at the end of the street name?!?!"

I've been sworn to secrecy about the goings on of the festivities but I will say I had beer, champagne and wine in front of me all at one time during dinner, I ate pizza twice (the super cheesy fatty one above and another more reasonable thin crust with just a sprinkle of the white stuff) and had poutine at 2am even though I declared "I'm full, why am I eating this?" Even drunk Miss Ash knows when she is being bad! LD and I were able to sneak off in the wee hours of the morning to our favorite 80's bar with the blessing of the bride to be, she was supposed to follow but didn't quite make it!

I learned that green bananas take FOREVER to ripen and had no idea they were impossible to peel at said stage AND that they're putrid when not ready. I seriously brought a bag full of fruit to fill up on so I would not eat like a super pig and could watch my points somewhat. I bought greenish bananas as I hate when they get toooooo ripe only mine where horribly under ripe. My friend suggested I hang them in the sun.....so I did....only that made them worse! They ended up green with black marks everywhere and I had to toss them. Bye bye bananas!

I watched the interactions with groups of friends and it made me appreciate mine that much more! When one of my friends is acting like an asshole I'll tell them, they'll tell me...end of story. It's very very rare for my friends and I to get into fights, we may have disagreements and not see eye to eye but at the end of the day we're usually smiling. One girl actually got upset with her friends because they were talking to guys. If any of my gals was chatting up a bloke I'd be giving them the thumbs up as long as their beer googles hadn't creeped up! This girl was clearly jealous her friends were getting attention, she yelled at them, told them the guys were ugly anyway, it was rather amusing!

I let myself have a few treats but other than that super cheesy pizza and the poutine I was a good girl.....booze not included! You know, brown toast when I wanted eggs benedict, fruit smoothies when I wanted frappucinos! I didn't do soooooo bad! I lost a pound this week so that made me happy!

A phone call came as we were leaving the hotel, devastating news, like a punch in the face you didn't see coming, LD's dad was in the hospital. What was originally thought to be a slipped disk was much much worse! Can everyone out in bloggyland please please please send positive energy to LD and her family! Her dad has unexpectedly been touched by an illness and while it can not be cured they just want more quality time with him! So join me in sending light and love their way!! He's not done!!!!!!

Oh look, the slacker is back!

Lady Gaga put on an amazing show as was to be expected. Lots of fun costumes, audience interaction, she sounded great live and of course that little girl from Winnipeg stole my heart! I also had no idea that the Scissor Sisters were opening up for her so that was a fun surprise and our seats were much closer than I had anticipated so that was a treat! People in the crowd were dressed up, the cutest being the two gals in front of us in the photo above, they were a big hit!

The only complaint I have is it took Ms. Gaga an hour and a half to start her show. Seriously, the SS finished at 8:45pm and she didn't hit the stage until 10:15pm ... huh.....she played for 2 hours though!

Dog sledding was so much fun and a great workout! I'm not a fan of snow but I must say the further up north you go the prettier it is. It was the perfect day to go, not too cold, not too hot, snow had fallen the night before so the trails were in great condition. I was surprised at how hard it was to actually do though! Seriously, I was "driving" J and I in the beginning and asked "ummm J is it going to be this way the whooolllleeee time"? to which she replied "yes", I thought oh jeez! Whomever is "driving" aka standing on the back has to get off on hills and walk/run and push the sled up to help the dogs. That person also has to "skate" on flat ground to help push your passenger and yourself. We took turns driving and resting and it was really a lot of fun and soooo beautiful!

I fell in love with our lead dog Leroy, he was sooo freaking cute and had such a great little personality. (I'll never ever get lost in that jacket!)

Via some miracle, I lost a pound on my birthday week! Go figure! I went to the Cheesecake Factory and gorged myself on appetizers, shrimp scampi and ice cream cake. I also got a big ass piece of cheesecake to eat after my weigh in. I worked my ass off at the gym that week but I honestly thought I would stay the same. I was smart though, I ate half of my meal and saved the rest for lunch the next day, ate the cheesecake in nibbles over the week rather than in one sitting, only had one piece of birthday cake and voila, 3500 calories off my ass! I get it I get it, it could have been 7000 aka 2 lbs lost but meh, it was totally worth it!

I have my get together with friends this Saturday and will be heading to Montreal next weekend for a bachelorette party which should be a lot of fun! Seems like I'll be spending every waking moment in the gym this week to make up for my indulgences in the coming weekends! That's the good thing about me though, I'm like the gestapo with my points! If I haven't earned any or don't have any then I don't eat it! Kinda like a credit card, if you don't have the moolah to pay for whatever item you want then you don't buy it. So I may eat a piece of cake or gorge on appetizers but it will always be within my points limit!

Speaking of which....look what they were handing out after spin class today.......I'm giving mine to my niece!

Oh it's going to be an exciting week I can just feel it! I Miss Ash am going to see the lovely Lady Gaga, I bought these tickets last May.....can you imagine....who knows what the hell they're doing 10 months down the road! And apparently there's been some hoopla about a young fan taking the stage with her, I haven't actually read about the girl but have been told by a few people that something like that is happening. I'm just excited to see all of the creative outfits the fans will be wearing and of course to see Lady Gaga perform as she's kinda out there and I like that! And *gasp* she can actually sing!

I also have plans with J to finally go dog sledding on Sunday! The trails flooded in January when we had our original reservation so this will be our second attempt. I looked at the weather forecast for this particular area and it was cringe worthy.....100 % chance of rain on Saturday (possible flooded trails again?) and 20 cms of snow on Sunday (ummm icy flooded trails?). It's a good 3.5 hour drive from her place (4.5 from mine) so I'm really hoping for good weather. Those meteorologists are wrong half the time right!?! I sure as hell hope so!

Ah yes, then my special day will be arriving next week. I've taken it off though I'm not sure what I will do other than dinner with the fam. I might go for a hot stone massage and pamper myself a little bit! I deserve that, I'll be 33 *sigh*

I was perusing the net when I came across a status update "I'm enjoying a Shamrock Shake"!!!! WHOA!!!! I *heart* shamrock shakes and had nooooo idea they were back or around at all. This person lived in Florida....could the yummy shakes possibly be in my neck of the woods as well!?! Clearly it was a slow day at Miss Ash's place and I started to research aka google "shamrock shakes". Can you believe there is a website dedicated to shamrock shake sightings, I shit you not!

I laughed and laughed and of course looked and looked, mocking the people for writing on this site but loving them all at the same time. This not so good for you but oh so yummy green drink appears to have a cult following...who knew!

I desperately wanted one on Thursday but waited until my weigh in on Saturday to get one. I weighed in, went to a spin class and grabbed a shamrock shake on the way home!! Ah the perfect day!!!