Findings

Today was a nice day - I really had a nice day.

I woke up early (for a day off) and popped down to the south to pick up my mom, we ran some errands - to the bank, to get her flu shot, to get a tea, and then went up to the Queen Elizabeth Cemetery to find my Grandpa (see previous post).

My mom hadn't been up to see him for a long long time so she wasn't quite sure where e was exactly, but we knew that the Juno Academy kids had placed Canada flags on all the graves of the soldiers buried there - so we had a place to start. We searched up and down the hills, along the rows and everywhere - to no avail, Grandpa was nowhere to be found.... so after examining each grave stone we turned to the administration office. They thankfully have a listing and we were given his coordinates - he was not near the other soldiers - he was very very far away from where we were looking... go figure! Anyways, we drove to his plot, found his marker, said Hi, cleaned him up, and sat for a bit with him (it was my first time meeting him). It was nice, I do regret not being able to share my life with him - my mom said that he would have liked me - I think that is where I get my affinity for Scotch in fact.....

Afterwards we got some lunch, stopped by the Legion (#264) where I inquired about a membership (yep, I'm gonna join up!) picked up my laundry, did my laundry, went grocery shopping and then I came home, tired but happy. Since I got home however, I've been quite bust re-arranging my living room (Heather is going to kill me....) but I need to make room for my Christmas tree and as we did not have as many seating apparatuses as we have now I am at a loss as to how to configure my living room... I've tried something, but I'm not sure it will work out well... I guess I'll try again on Thursday - with some help from Heather of course.

On a side note, I should mention though something about Saturday night. It was Lanster's Birthday Party which she chose to hold at Limericks. I was driving home so I didn't drink very much, but I did have quite a bit of fun... I got to hang with her non FNF friends - who are hilarious, and I should also mention that of course the FNF crew was there too... good times were had by all and I really did have a great time.. good party Lanster!

Now, in the spirit of cleaning up, and finding things, I've just some across a little piece of paper my Mom gave me a long time ago and it seems to fit the mood... the quote reads..

"Have Faith Even in Despair" Pope Jean Paul II

And so I shall.

Remembrance Day

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.


In memory of my grandfather George Harford Gould.
You fought valiantly through all 6 years of WW II from France, to Italy and North Africa, and although I never did have the chance to meet you, your courage, dedication and patriotism will always be an inspiration to me in whatever I do, military related or otherwise.


RIP Grandpa, I love you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

LANSTER!!!! It's your BIRTHDAY!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And being that we are one in the same person, maybe it's my birthday too!!! Well, technically it is -2 months...

Nevertheless, today is your day and I hope you have a wonderful fabulous BRILLIANT DAY!!!!!

PS - I love Coupling!

Photo of the Day

Just because I am feeling rather nostalgic today I give you a photo of me, in the old Colosseum in El Jem, in Tunisia... where it was warmer than it is in Calgary right now.

Man, I am not ready for winter

22 Minutes Apology to America

An Apology

Canada apologises to the US:

A truly Canadian Apology to the USA, courtesy of Rick Mercer from This Hour Has 22 Minutes, CBC Television: Hello. I'm Anthony St. George on location here in Washington. On behalf of Canadians everywhere I'd like to offer an apology to the United States of America. We haven't been getting along very well recently and for that, I am truly sorry. I'm sorry we called George Bush a moron. He is a moron, but it wasn't nice of us to point it out. If it's any consolation, the fact that he's a moron shouldn't reflect poorly on the people of America. After all, it's not like you actually elected him. I'm sorry about our softwood lumber. Just because we have more trees than you, doesn't give us the right to sell you lumber that's cheaper and better than your own. It would be like if, well, say you had ten times the television audeince we did and you flood our market with great shows, cheaper than we could produce. I know you'd never do that. I'm sorry we beat you in Olympic hockey. In our defence I guess our excuse would be that our team was much, much, much, much better than yours. As word of apology, please accept all of our NHL teams which, one by one, are going out of business and moving to your fine country. I'm sorry about our waffling on Iraq. I mean, when you're going up against a crazed dictator, you want to have your friends by your side. I realize it took more than two years before you guys pitched in against Hitler, but that was different. Everyone knew he had weapons. I'm sorry we burnt down your White House during the War of 1812. I see you've rebuilt it! It's very nice. I'm sorry for Alan Thicke, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Loverboy, that song from Seriff that ends with a really high-pitched long note. Your beer. I know we had nothing to do with your beer, but we feel your pain. And finally on behalf of all Canadians, I'm sorry that we're constantly apologizing for things in a passive-aggressive way which is really a thinly veiled criticism. I sincerely hope that you're not upset over this. Because we've seen what you do to countries you get upset with. For 22 minutes, I'm Anthony St. George, and I'm sorry.

Shocker

Last night was my "tv" night.. first NCIS comes on at 9, then The Unit at 10... followed by Colin & Justin's Home Heist (if I'm not too tired to watch that is). So as it turns out I raced home from dancing to watch, and being that it is sweeps week I was not dissapointed. NCIS was a good one, Gibbs almost dies - but didn't of course... then came The Unit.

This one was for the record books. Grey was injured pretty badly quite early on in the episode and being that they were stuck in Lebanon (their helicopter was destroyed) and being hunted down by a militia group, the situation soon became very scary. As the espisode ran on Grey got worse, then better and then just as they were loading him into the ambulance with the help of some marines, Williams was shot in the neck and died.... The only freakin' Canadian on the whole show and the friggin' killed him!!

I was super shocked, and I think Matt and Heather were as well. But, wow, quite the night....

Sadly, that was the extent of the excitement for my evening. Dancing was rather lackluster - I was just not understanding... hence why I left early... but I'm still sad about Williams. That really sucks.

Ok, that's all for now - gotta get back to work.

Whata day / weekend

Friday- normally a good day in anyone's book, and at my office it is a bit sweeter with the advent of Fat Friday - a legendary event. This week certainly did not disappoint as Jane made delicious garlic zucchini soup, brought cheese buns from Glamorgan Bakery and even made her famous ginger snaps - quite delicous....

Going backwards a bit, I'll explain how the day was extra special. I picked my mom up in the morning so she could have my car all day - she jumped in and handed my "my breakfast".... love moms they are always so concerned about you... the breakfast turned out to be a brownie - yum! Later on it was Fat Friday and we were all quite satisfied with the aforementioned fare. Then about an hour later I received the yummiest delivery to my desk - Crave cupcakes!!! 6 delicious little gems for me to admire all day (Merci Merci Merci Kristen!!!!) My day has already become 100% better than fabulous... then it was lunch...

We walked over to the mall, went to Indigo, poured over the books for a while and then decided to move on - the way out of the food court area I ran into some guys that I knew worked at Sears so I said my obligatory "Hi!" and tried to leave asap . I wasn't fast enough though - they asked the question I knew they were going to -
"Have you talked to Bowman lately?" an innocent enough question to them, not really what I needed to hear but I responded
"Nope, never" they of course looked quite confused thinking the didn't hear me correctly - so I repeated myself and then it dawned on them and wow did they look unhappy... they even gave me the "OMG I'm so sorry face" - I smiled and walked away... trying to forget the encounter... yikes!

Back at work I was working on clearing my desk for the weekend and then our Law firm decided to have a reverse draw to raffle off some "mysterious" prizes... turns out there were 6 prizes, I won one of them - a 1.14 L bottle of Tanqueray Gin - which is currently sitting on my coffee table in all it's glory - I'm very pleased which I am sure we all knew I would be. I think I'll save it for Rachel's 25th birthday party chez moi on the 24th... Ps - come on over if ya like, we are getting started around 8, call me or drop an email if you don't know the address.

So that was my day in a nut shell:
- a brownie for breakfast
- yummy Fat Friday
- Crave Cupcakes
- meeting Cam's old work buddies at the mall, trying not to be upset in a public place
- winning a large bottle of Gin for my troubles

Friday night wasn't really anything special, but I did make it home for bed before midnight which was probably a good thing seeing how I had 3 large government exams to write the next day at 8 am...


Saturday

• woke up very early,
  
• picked up KQ,
  
• went to the University,
• waited for an eternity for the ridiculous government reps to hand out and proctor a very stupid exam (x3),
  
• grimaced whilst said government rep embarrassed the crap out of herself by using words like "you's all" whilst speaking to a large lecture theatre of university graduates and barely being able to read directions outloud (also x3).
  
• Ate lunch at the Den (a nice reminder of my uni days),
  
• showered
• changed
  
• raced down south to catch the Flames game w/ Eleni and Denise,
  
• laughed all night with E$ and Mace
  
• drove home
• chatted with Heather and Matt
• collapsed into bed smiling that we got to change our clocks back an hour

Sunday (thus far)

• woke up late
• ate a cupcake (mmmmmm)
• ate different pancake things that Heather made (thanks!!)
• hung out and played on my computer, chatted with Heather and Matt
• went to the Christmas Bazaar at the Scandinavian Centre - cute things
• went to the Farmers Market (loads of yummy things)
• went to Safeway (for the things that I couldn't get at the market)
• chatted with funny Australian in line when he pointed out the health difference that he was buying Franks Red Hot and 4 pizzas whereas I had chickpeas, beets, skim milk, and sauerkraut, I however pointed out that in fact his dinner was bound to be far more delicious than mine
• came home, realized my apartment is very messy and promptly turned on my computer to blog instead of cleaning.

K, that's all for now, I've procrastinated enough, time to clean

Ciao!



-

My mother?

Yesterday at work as I bundled up to stave off the cold front that was engulfing my office (it was seriously freezing in here) I decided that I felt somewhat like the Staypuff marshmellow man as I had a long sleeved shirt, a polar fleece vest, a jacket and a scarf on. But the funny thing was when I examined my pockets... they were full of stuff it made me even puffier.... much to my dismay - these objects made up the contents of my pockets: kleenex (I have a raging cold), tic tacs and clinique lipstick... Upon seeing what I indeed had in my pocket the thought that I've become my mother suddenly dawned on me... wow, I am my mother... how's that for a shocker?

In other news....It's the 2nd of November and I've already cracked open the christmas music. Last night on my way over to KQ's for a very productive study session I popped in the latest and greatest in Christmas music... Chrsitmas Around the World - a 3 CD collaboration including Christmas favourites from Ireland/Scotland, Italy, the US and England/ Germany. So far I've just listened to the Irish / Scottish one (of course I did this one first) and I've been quite pleased. Tonight maybe I'll switch over to Italian for fun - who knows?

What else to tell you... Big test tomorrowm, well 3 tests actually..... and we need to ace this sucker... KQ and I should in fact do well though, I mean we changed a tire all by ourselves so it seems just as plausible that we should be able to write a freakin' government test just as easily - right?

On Sunday I found a Christmas Bazaar at the Scandnavian Centre. I don't think I can remember the last time that I went to a Chrsitmas Bazaar, let alone one at a Scandanavian Centre - so I think I shall go. Maybe I'll join the Centre and revisit my Norweigan roots... and just maybe I'll get some christmas shopping done... or wait - I'll leave that for VEGAS!!!!

PS - I leave in 35 days, 23 hours, 6 minutes and 18 seconds

Booyah!!!

KQ and I are friggin' geniuses... we changed her tire all by ourselves and with style, in full work clothes get up and complete with jewelry I might add.

I do believe that we are wicked awesome and deserve a medal of some kind.

Bravo KQ - you are one classy and mighty impressive broad... and that's classy with a "C"........

21 December 2012

I came across a book today that reminded me of something that I learned about somewhere in my Spanish stuff. It seems as though 21 December 2012 is some sort of Apocalypse according to the Mayans - or at the very least the day the stars change drastically.
Does anyone else remember hearing about this?
Can anyone else shed any light on this topic?
Am I losing my mind?

Weekend Update

Ah monday - whata day... can we all tell that I am uber pleased to be back at work??? But, I shall change my mood around and reflect on the weekend events. Friday was a write off, I was out of the house and working all day thus nothing fun happened. And, really after the excitement of seeing Diana Gabaldon - well nothing can compare!

Right, back to the weekend... Saturday was busy again - working during the day and then off to Denise's for a night of girl movies (aka 10 hour long BBC mini series) and junk food. Always a great time, always a long night - but I always go home happy and talked out. Denise and I seem to have this thing where we can talk for hours on end - it's just fantastic! I remember when I flew home from France for the week to surprise people and then returned to Paris with Denise for a week long trip - we took in Paris, Brussels, Ghent, Brugge and Antwerp - and really we had the best time ever. I think I need to go back ... yikes, I'm off topic again...

Saturday night, ate vietnamese, watched the end of Berkely Square, got home around 2 am and fell into bed. Sunday I woke up late of course - and cleaned up a bit, made myself some yummy french toast - I friggin' love french toast - and sort of hung around cleaning, organizing - watching Good Eats - and a new show - In Search of Perfection with Heston Blumenthal.. a cool scientific sort of cooking show... basically the theme tune is addictive and I like Science so ther ya go.

Ok - that's about it for now... Ciao!

Diana in all her glory

I just got home, and yes I am already in my PJs - you know me so well - and of course I know that we all had this day marked on our calendars for ages... but Diana Gabaldon was speaking tonight at the Vertigo theatre. I went because I am engrossed in her novels - all of them - and of course mildly obsessed with her incredibly complex characters - namely Jamie and Claire.....

On a side note - for those of you who have no clue what I am talking about - shame on you - but really, I am referring to the Outlander series of books that Diana has written. At present there are 6 books of Jamie and Claire, with a confirmed 2 more (I found that out tonight for certain) and 2 books of Lord John Grey with 3 more "short stories" due out in 5 weeks also about Lord John.

Back on the main topic though - tonight she spoke to a very large crowd, and she was wonderful. So witty and funny - a very impressive public speaker but in a past life she was a university professor and would speak to large lecture theatres of students about human physiology. Yep, her background is in no way connected to the books .. in fact she has a BSc in Zoology, a MSc in Marine Biology, and a PhD in Ecology - but the fact remains, she can really work a crowd and work it well. She had us laughing hysterically about the origins of writing Outlander and how she came about the beloved characters of Jamie, Claire, Jenny, Murtagh etc etc... ahh the memories....

Seriously.. I am so ADD tonight, what is wrong with me???

Sorry - She continued her story about Outlander, about how busy her life was when she started it at the age of 35, while all 3 children were under the age of 6, while she was an assistant professor at a university, while she wrote and published a quarterly scientific journal about using computers (remember this was the late 80's) for scientific research and while she also wrote freelance for a number of other computer magazines - that's right she did all of this at the same time... AND her husband was setting up his own business.... how's that for multitasking???

After the story of Outlander she read an excerpt from her 7th book - much to our delight... and I won't even be embarrassed to admit - I was enthralled... page after page she held our complete attention... and she even did a scottish accent... wicked!

After that we did a question and answer period - really good questions - my favourite was of course the one in reference to the movie deal she is working on - I think it needs to be a years long series myself but I digress... the movie deal is upcoming and then of course there is another Outlander book on the way - she says she will be finished writing it by the end of the next year (that's 2008) and then of course its out for publishing so it might take another year...ughhhhh....... I certainly cannot wait that long, but I suppose I must.

When it was finished we were all heading out to the lobby and guess who I ran into???

DIANA - I got to hold open the door for her, in fact I think I touched her writing hand (yikes I sound like a stalker), and she looked right at me, said "Wow, quite a crowd tonight" to which I thoughtfully replied "Yes, there certainly is" and then I let her pass with a smile - that was my brush with fame - and I loved it... she is so great, and with everything she has accomplished in her life, I am inspired... really I am - but from this mess of a post I am sure you cannot see it...

Oh, another funny question that came up was about Gerard Butler and if he would be suitable to play Jamie in the film version ... Diana said her was close - and that in itself says quite a bit! (Lanster, Leni, and Rachel - that was for you... and Denise, well I know you don't know Jamie yet but I know you love Gerard so that was for you too!)

More about that terrifying video

In the last few hours since I watched that video I have an opportunity to really think about what I do and what I can do to lessen the impact I have on the earth... yeah I know I sound all hippie like but really, I think this is warranted....I think I'll formulate my thoughts in point form - as it is a bit easier

• I am the lights nazi at home, meaning I usually only have one light on at one time... ask Heather - she'll attest that the first thing I do is walk around turning off the lights in the house... my mom drilled this into my head when I was young - much like she did with the whole table manners thing....

• My house is always chilly, if not cold - I like (and I say this from a environmental and financial point of vue and not from a comfort one) my house to be about a balmy 15 degrees... max maybe 20... my point being is that this way I can use less natural gas and thus help to not contribute to global warming

• My car is tiny.. the smallest of all my friends... and since I drive across town to work (I know, that sucks) I need something that is quite fuel efficient and since my tank of gas usually costs $35 I think I've accomplished that goal - apart from owning a hybrid of course

• I recycle everything I can... again ask Heather - our recycling bins are always overflowing thus making the storage room messy as anything.....

Well I guess that is it for now.. I can't think of anything else I do, but I do think I need to step it up a notch... any suggestions?

Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See

How lucky do you feel?

YIKES!!!

JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE

Ma chère KQ, I hope your day is extra special because you certainly are extra special... Joyeux Anniversaire et Feliz Cumpleaños Chica...

Love you heaps and heaps,

Lady S

1/2 Price Magaritas?

Yikes!!!

Well actually, it was fabulous.... KQ, Heather, Sarah and Annie and I all went out for a great birthday dinner at Salt and Pepper and consumed the aforementioned 1/2 price Margaritas..... this of course with a full course of Mexican totopos and hilarious conversation (some of us hadn't seen each other in over a year!! )....... and then some more Margaritas... by the end of the meal most of us were in pretty good shape.

I can't quite think of anything witty to say at the moment so I shall sign off for now, CIAO!

Seriously... SERIOUSLY??????

Read the article and then check the bolded print at the bottom... how does this make sense?????

Wild monkey attack blamed for Indian official's death

Monday, October 22, 2007

CBC News

Wild monkeys reportedly set upon New Delhi's deputy mayor while he was reading on his balcony Saturday, causing the politician to fall to his death while he grappled with the horde.

S.S. Bajwa, 52, officially died of "serious head injuries" sustained when he lost his footing and plunged from his first-floor terrace.

But family members blamed the simians — protected in the city because Hindus consider them sacred — for killing the businessman and Delhi vice-president for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Times of India reported.

Bajwa, who was elected deputy mayor in April, passed away Sunday in the intensive care unit at a local hospital. He is survived by a wife and a son.

His death underscored what some Delhi residents have complained is becoming a citywide monkey problem.

It was not the first incident in which the revered monkeys have menaced citizens. They have been known to bite unsuspecting people and snatch away food.

Monkeys in the Indian capital are free to roam government buildings and temples because of their religious significance to Hindus. The Hindu deity Hanuman, the monkey god, symbolizes strength in Hinduism.

Meanwhile, animal-rights activists have blamed urban sprawl for taking over so much of the primates' natural habitat that they end up migrating to the city.

In an effort to curb the problem, city authorities are training a larger, fiercer breed of predatory monkey — the langur — to frighten and pick off the smaller, more frenzied Rhesus macaques. Over the years, the city has also employed monkey catchers to relocate the Rhesus macaques to forests.



One of my co-workers responded... it's like trying to curb our wolf population by bringing in Tigers... what the hell?

Best News

I do think that this is the best we could have hoped for.

Other things that are wonderful - I just bought myself a lovely set of chocolate and cream plaid flannel sheets! I love flannel and I love plaid, how could I go wrong? I didn't - and that's why I was cozy all night long last night... in fact I can't wait to go back to bed (and it's only 7:45am!)

Oh, and I suppose I should recap the weekend for you all.... just in case you weren't there - Friday worked, saturday worked, saturday night I got to make a trip to the Casino to learn how to play carribean stub poker.. but as I am a huge wimp I decided to save the $ for the emergency meeting afterwards - which ps was held at the Atlantic Trap & Gill. A fun place, fun celtic music and fun friends were there - namely KQ, Eleni and Scott... and as usual KQ and I got the drinking going with a small contest... and from there it was just fun - conclusion: we should have more emergency meetings....

Sunday I woke up a bit later than usual (I wonder why) and proceeded to laze around on the couch for the better part of the afternoon... that was fun! My mom thought that I might need something to get my butt in gear and not spend the entire day in house so she took me for dinner - so nice of her! We ended up at Earl's, not a place I really enjoy but they do have the yummiest chicken and brie sandwich (with fig jam!) - so I was placated.. then there was the a quick trip to the grocery store cause I had no more milk... Eleni and Colin were there - that was hilarious - and then voila, I was home - just in time to catch Desperate Housewives...

Phew.. that was a weekend for the books.. now it's Monday, I feel like a grannie because my legs and back are still stiff from my workout and I must prepare for KQ's birthday drinks tonight.. YEAH!

Alright, hope you all had a lovely weekend, and an extra lovely Monday morning... Hasta Luego!

Friday?

Is it friday? I certainly hope so... I think I've been awaiting this day since 'round about this time last week - well it seems as so...

Anyhoo, not to much to report - I had a brief Bolivers visit and tonight I'm home.. but sadly I won't be at home - I'll be out and about...

To recap this week, it wasn't awfully busy, wednesday was a tough day at work, made even tougher by the fact I was dancing all night and fending off convincing arguments to come to the Ball... but other than that it was relatively slack - funny though as I am completely exhausted.. wonder why?

Perhaps... Perhaps... Perhaps / The Revenge of the Lanster

What do I mean you say?

Well... what I mean is that I am hopelessly addicted to the funniest british comedy show... it is absolutely ridiculous... and Lani is the one who got me hooked - damn her - but not really 'cause I am really glad she turned me onto Coupling... Oh - By the way that is what it is called - Coupling.


I've been able to find it on the net thus far but the aforementioned (that one's for you KQ) Lanster conveniently owns the series on DVD. Honestly though - it is funny.. kinda like a british friends, but a bit more ridiculous - and I think we all know how much I like:

a) Ridiculousness
b)Friends
c) British Humour

Jeff might be the best thing ever, but Steve isn't too bad in his own right - and for Patrick, well he's Patrick. The girls are just as good, Jane with her unbelievable self-involvedness, Sally with her fear of aging, and Susan - she's great.

I just might be at the height if my obsession -cause I'm planning a way to get in an episode before I have to go out tonight.. wow, this can't be good.

Holy Mother of ...

She's coming.. and I have tickets - Fantastic!!!!!

It's been a while....

So, I've been quite the lazy girl these days - but hopefully things have changed a wee bit and I'll have something interesting to write about for you all....

Had coffee with Colleen on sat morning - one of my last free sat mornings.. and it was so nice. We hadn't seen each other in months - since january I think - and it was great to catch up, hear the wedding news and just chill with a good friend.

Friday evening was another installment of Ronnalie and Linda's night of relaxation. We made a yummy dinner (with an inordinate amount of leftovers) and watched some tv and a movie... great times!

Thursday, I'm not sure I did much thursday night... awesome!

Wednesday -Meeting for St. Andrews, got to watch a great film on Eiburgh... I'm such a geek!

Tuesday - Nothing is on my calendar - I am amazed!

Monday - Thanksgiving day, I spent this cleaning house and moving house... ahhh to housesit!

Sunday - Thanksgiving dinner at Eleni's house... mmmmm... with some fun twists, like feta and olives, and cabbage rolls - and my famous Cranberry Pudding ... those greeks always make a yummy meal!! plus we got to play taboo, and I think we all know how much I like board games!!!

Saturday - The wedding of Nick and Lisa... so nice, and they both looked lovely, and it was a nice evening. Sadly I wasn't in the mood for socializing so I did leave a bit early.. I think we all know why...

World Teachers' Day

With today being World Teachers' Day, thus we are to hug a teacher to show our appreciation.

I extend hugs to all my teacher friends... Rupinder, Nickler, Sarah, Carole, Andrea, Denise, Kate and Chrissy, and of course to all my Profs from university and teachers from grade school!

Without you guys, I certainly wouldn't be where I am now - so THANK YOU!!!

Too Cute

I was just this at work... If you know anyone leave a comment and I'll set you up....

Scott rescued 6 black lab (mix) puppies out of the middle of the road on Saturday. PLEASE help me find them homes - otherwise, it's Animal Control - which means they only have 5 days. We've bathed them, sprayed them for fleas and wormed them....but we can't keep them. They are currently in a kennel in my basement since I don't have a fence. I've lost count of the number of rescue groups that I've contacted, only to be turned down due to no room. Please check with every dog person you know to see if they need a puppy.

Weekend Update / Run for the Cure

I know this is a bit out of sequence, but I was a bit excited about my SPICE GIRLS news and I had to share - but here is a rundown of the weekend's activites...

Friday - work was ho hum, as per usual... but not to worry as I had a date night with my dear friend Ronnalie - we basically ate, relaxed and watched movies - Harry Potter 4 to be exact. I find that really Ronnalie is the sort of friend that I can chill with, talk about everything with and just enjoy life with - I love hanging out with Ronnalie...

Saturday I woke up early, cleaned house, arrived back at my house (I love my house by the way) and then cleaned myself up and met up with Michelle, whom I have not seen for about a year and a half. The funny thing is though, even though we don't see each other very often, we always seem to pick up right where we left off and have such a great time. Plus I got to ask her all the military stuff I could think of...awesome times - thanks Michelle for great day!!!! In the evening we (Michelle and I) were off to celebrate the birthday of a friend. Fun times and sangria were to follow...

Sunday I again woke up bright and early to make it to the annual CIBC Run for the Cure - for Breast cancer... a dismal turnout for team Walkers for Knockers, but FNF did better and I just hung out with them, plus I got a brunch out of it, and their my co-workers so there we go.

Sunday after the brunch Eleni and I visited Chez Katherine and hung out chatting for a while and then I was off to spend a well deserved afternoon on the couch. In fact, it turned out so well that there was a Colin & Justin Marathon on HGTV and I was quite content to sit and watch. Then after quite a few hours of that a quick cleanup and dinner was in order before Desperate Housewives - the season premiere. All in all a good weekend.

Now, I sit thinking of all the money I now need to pay for my weekend trip to Vegas to see Posh and the gang... I think I should probably get 2 part time jobs... yikes!!

Tell me whatcha want, whatcha really really want

Hot Damn - we got 'em... Eleni and I are the proud owners of 6 Spice Girls Tickets and the option to purchase 6 more... 5 of the spots are taken but like I said we have another code to purchase 6 more tickets for the Las Vegas show on the 8th of Dec... Mandalay Bay... (PS the tickets must be purchased before wed night....)

I couldn't be more excited - I am going to see the Spice Girls BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look what I found

Mom must be taking the picture.. but in this shot I think I am about 6 or 7... I am at the top in the red snow suit with white frills, Amy is in the red with the hood, my dad is to the right and Sarah is holding our puppy - Micky - with the yellow jacket... brings back memories.

It's in you to give

So yesterday was my blood donation day... normally a routine occurrence in my life... which I do actively encourage you all to also make as well - 'cuz it's important and, say it with me - It's in you to give...

Anyhoo, back to the story - I was having a great time, chatting with the nurses about traveling, signing up for the aphoresis program, eating cookies and drinking juice, when all of the sudden, my vision goes blurry - I am finding it hard to talk, and I am super dizzy.... not too good... but thank goodness Francisco was watching me - he realized that I wasn't doing so well, ran to get some nurses and they practically carried me to the couch, plied me with more juice (something like 18 juice boxes) and more cookies - plus the fans, the cold cloths and the nurses all watching me.. wow, I was embarrassed. In the end I had to sit there a further 1/2 an hour because - according to the nurse I was much to pale and shaky to leave.. to which I replied -

"No, seriously, I am normally this colour, I'm really really white...."

In the end I was grateful to the nurses and helpers for their assistance, they are a special breed of people and they deserve my most sincerest thanks!!! so Thank you and Thank you again.

In other news, I had a "Nothing Weekend" with Eleni.. although we did watch quite a few movies - namely "Bourne Identity" and "Bourne Supremcy" then "Crank" - which ps is really quite fun... but then on sunday I was asked to accompany my big sister to Banff in order to act as a translator for visiting engineer from Venezuela... What I learned is that my spoken spanish is pretty crap and that I need to really bone up on my spanish... spoken spanish that is....

Otherwise it was pretty tame and I was quite happy to do nothing, although I did decide that a noting weekend is hard to do as I can't sit still long enough to really do nothing...

Anyoo, I'm tired and I need to stop typing - plus I should feed Buddy the cat - that's right I'm housesitting again... honestly, when am I ever going to stay at my own house, I do enjoy it quite a bit and I like that I have all my stuff there instead of in a suitcase - but really I gotta go - CIAO!

Happy Birthday

To Miss Colleen (also of blog fame) on her Birthday....

Have a wonderful birthday, and yes we definately need to have coffee one of these days...

You know you've been out of school for way too long when you need to consult your calendar to check what you did yesterday - seriously!

So, according to my calendar....

Monday - I met up with Kate (of the Kate & Mike Abroad blog fame) for some gelato and some europe talk. Always my favourite subject as we all know.... but really... we had a lovely talk and some delicious gelato and in the midst of all of this I remembered my lvoe for living in europe. Now don't get me wrong - I love Canada, and I will be uber patriotic until the day I die - but I do love to live in europe, and I do have a hankering to go again... what ever will I do with myself.....


OOH - aaaand on Monday night I got to see Heather... it's been quite a while since we sat and talked - I did miss her lots, and I am very glad to have her back... plus she helped me fix a few things on the old laptop.... what a great room -mate!

Tuesday - Amazingly my calendar was open for last night... I was shocked but fully took advantage of it and sat for a while and watched some tv... nothing much on really - but it was fun nevertheless.... I did however get up the energy to go for some well needed grocery shopping... Superstore was out of stock of everything though so it was quite the waste of time... note to self - do not go shopping at superstore during the first part of the week... you won't get far....


Tonight is the first night back dancing... that should be a riot... I haven't danced since last december - yikes!!!

K, back to work I go....

Jack

Today is the beginning of the trial for the death of Jack Beauchamp- my thoughts are with you, Matthew, and your family...

Update

Yikes, it looks like I never did give the full run down of my life - so here goes

Sun Sept 9-
My birthday celebration this year was a bit more subdued than last year's.... instead of a house party I decided that High Tea at the Banff Springs was more in order and thus my dear friend Ronnalie planned it out for me. Eleni and I arrived earlier than others to go for a bit of a walk down by the river / golf course and as we were driving up together we took our sweet time getting to Banff. We stopped at Timmy's on the way out - at Wendy's in Canmore on our way up.. good times for sure.

Later on after our walk around we freshened up and made our way to the hotel lobby - on the way we spotted a piper and stopped to listen to him for a while - lovely music that those pipes play! Anyhoo, we met up with Ronnalie in the lobby, then Jane and Katherine and then thought to go up to the Rundle lounge before we lost our reservation. My mom, my sister, Mrs. B, Nikki and Patrick and Rachel and Rob all arrived later but even so - we all had such a yummy lunch. The snacks were awesome, although there were raisins in the scones which I am not a fan of, but our server more than made up for the raisins. Shelann, as her nametag read, was fantastic - she took our pictures, brought me a lovely glass of champagne, made jokes with us and basically took very good care of us. Her service accompanied with the beautiful view of Mt. Rundle made it one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Not to mention of course, the company that was with me that day - they were all lovely as well.

Monday September 10 - Dinner with the broker team and KQ at Oriental Phoenix. Good times again - I really didn't think I would have fun, but I did, I learned a lot about my co-workers but my favourite was that I actually got to spend time with the aforementioned KQ!

Wednesday Sept 11- First meeting of the St. Andrew's Caledonian Society. Glad to be back, as it gives me something to occupy my time. Plus I get to hang out with old scottish folk - who are so fun, love that accent!!

Friday 14 September - Our articling student Char had her bar call - it was so nice to see her finish her articles with such style. Her brother flew in from Denmark, her mom and some friends from Vancouver, and her dad and stepmom from Kelowna to mark the occasion. I gave away our apartment to her family as neither Heather nor I would be there, and the fact that it is so close to Char's apartment - but funny thing happened... instead of the 22nd as scheduled, Heather was due to arrive last night.... oops!!! So, red-faced, I had to ask Heather to delay her arrival until today so Char's houseguests still had a place to stay.... not good, but hopefully with the pipecleaner decorated poster message I lefty her she doesn't hate me too much......

Oh - and of course it was my friend Tijana's Birthday today - I think she is in Madrid currently... or perhaps near madrid - in any case she is in Spain and I am so very envious.....

Saturday 15 September - The Lanster and I had breakfast at Cora's... it was her first time and I think I've swayed her over to the Cora's side - tasty tasty breakfast.....

Sunday 16 September - Mrs B's Birthday today.... I hope she had a nice day as I didn't actually get to see her, but I think she did anyways...

Tonight - I have Gelato with Kate - we get to talk about France!! As you all know - this is one of my favourite topics... so needless to say I am quite excited.....

K, I'm done for now - see ya later!

Birthday Pics

So I finally got my pictures from my birthday - I'll write a synopsis later, but I thought I'd give you something to peek at in the meantime.

Mr. William Cornelius Van Horne - President of CPR
Me and my little sister Amy

Mrs. B and Amy

Me and Amy - such loving sisters

Eleni, Me, My Mom, Mrs. B and Rachel walking through one of the wings

Rachel, Rob, Eleni and I outside and the terrace

My Mom and Amy - crazy girls!

Ladies and Gentleman- I give you my little sister, the Gargoyle

My Mom's Bday in Banff - believe it or not we are in the ladies room...

Me and my Mom also in the Ladies room - Happy Birthday Mom!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

So here it is - one day after mine birthday thus it is Sept 10th and I need to wish Miss Rupinder in London a very happy birthday!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!

Thoughts

Nothing humbles you more that your little sister's birthday celebration.

I say this because tonight we celebrated Amy's 24th birthday. It was really quite fun, I got to see all of her friends that she grew up with, and amazingly still keeps in touch with - something that I will admit I am sad to say I do not do. We did however get to talking about what everyone does and how everyone is and it really made me think. Now I know I've done stuff in my lifetime, I really have, but I do feel somewhat sad that more hasn't happened as of yet.

What I am getting at is the fact that she has friends (and so do I come to think of it) that are married, have proper careers, have children, own a home etc... and although I have graduated from university I have neither a child nor a husband, nor do I have a proper career, nor do I own anything in the way of real estate.

I guess the fact that my next birthday is a scant 12 minutes away makes me re-evaluate my life, which is good in a way but it can really get a girl down.

This fact is a bit troubling to me.

YEAH!!!!!!

IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE....

Here is my first picture taken with photo booth - this cool new feature... and yeah I know I look quite sad... but I'm not - I swear - Anyhoo... I'm trying to nap a bit because I have a stupid Casino to go to... aaand how stupid am I - I have a meeting with HMCS Tecumseh tomorrow morning at 8 am and my shift at the casino ends at 2:30am - very very smart of me... meh!

Sad News

My mom called me early this morning to tell me of the passing of a legend.

Luciano Pavarotti died last night of pancreatic cancer. This is sad to me because when I was very young, probably 3 years old, my mom bought a Pavarotti record for me and I would run round and round the coffee table singing at the top of my lungs. Now that must have been funny to see. In any case this is very sad and I will miss him.

Ciao!!

So I'm relaxing in my PJs eating a tortilla pizza and a salad made up of chickpeas, carrots, celery, radishes and balsamic vinegar - yep, time for grocery shopping... anyhoo, I'm sitting here admiring my new windows in my bedroom... very pretty ps... and I've decided that I don't like living alone. I'll explain ....

Last night I was in bed getting quite scared as I could hear random sounds. Now, normally I think of myself as quite the tough -girl.. I mean I've survived a lot, gone through military training, and I've lived on my own in various countries but I am worried about people trying to get me, or perhaps even monsters getting me - weird I know... but I think of things like that. Not to mention that when I housesit I am always alone..... hmmm, I think I miss Heather. Good thing she comes home in a few weeks.

What else to tell you...oh, I'm having a tea party at the Banff Springs on my birthday, sunday the 9th. We are meeting in the lobby at 1:30 so come one come all for High Tea in the Rockies, don't forget your white gloves. I would love to see you all there!

Night!

Overdue

So I missed both of my sister's birthdays... not in real life, but rather in blog life as I neglected to post them a Happy Birthday message... Amy on the 1st and Sarah on the 3rd - so here it is... Happy Birthday to you both!

Otherwise I had quite the busy weekend. Friday night brought a "Little Britain" Marathon... a show that I truly recommend to everyone as it is hilarious. I have Maya to thank for introducing me... Anyways - so marathon with Rachel and Rob friday night - laughed quite a bit....

Saturday brought my real "last" day at job #2 - I know, I know - I caved and went back for a few shifts, but I swear, I am really done this time. After I left my last day I zipped over to the Bowling Alley at Frank Sissons for some high quality work socializing. It was really fun - I didn't make it in time to participate in the bowl-off, but I chatted with everyone and watched the strikes come. Everyone played quite well, and they all seemed to have a good time. After that we went to the casino side and had a wrap up dinner. As we walked into the restuarant (which by the way had about 2 tables occupied) our waitress looked absolutely mortified as we asked to be seated... she even exclaimed "Did you call ahead?!?!?!?"

Sunday of course was my annual trip to Canmore for the Highland Games... really the highlight of my year... Sunday morning was a bit dissapointing as Eleni called me at 5:30 feeling like death, Lani called me saying she hadn't slept hardly at all as her kitty was sick all night anf Rachel was hung over from the pub crawl the night before, plus she also hadn't had very much sleep... so as it turned out I made my trip to the games with some hung over, exhausted girls. As it turned out we did have a fun time - I didn't really get to watch any of the pipe competition, my favourite part, as we were perusing the booths.. but we did get to the Ceilidh this year - also a fun time.... something I haven't been able to attend. Anyhoo, we had a fun time and I think next year will be even better.

Monday was pretty laid back. On the way back into town we stopped a few times at various places between here and there and listened to some random tunes in the car. When I got back home I pretty much chilled all night - watching "The Tudors" and getting my place ready for the windows guys - who ps neglected to show up again... damn them.

Today was back to work - a dentist appointment - no cavities, as per usual, yeah for my teeth!! and then more work - not so much fun - except for lunch of course - I had a nice visit with Miss Jenn and her darling little Isabelle, now that was good times! Friday however, I do get to talk to the Navy - that should be fun...

K, well that's it for me - adios and stay tuned for highland games pics to follow!

Most addictive test in the history of the World

Thanks to Matt... my entire office is now addicted to this test.... After 5 trys I was up to 23.545... but I am determined to beat it... Someone in my office is now at 29 seconds... thanks Matt!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

A heartfelt Happy Birthday to Cam on this, his 27th Birthday.

Happy Birthday to You!!

This just in

What could be better than warm fuzzy socks straight out of the dryer???

Right now - absolutely nothing....

Also - I'm on a bit of a spending spree and desperately want a Palm Tungsten E2.... I won't buy one just yet as I really need to be more of a hermit - but it is so pretty and it will be so useful... I just love being organized

Re-read

So I'm re-reading last night's post.... it doesn't quite make sense....I think I was too excited about the news of Maya..... and because I bought a laptop... and because Eleni bought a laptop.... so - oops... sorry guys...

Fun stuff

Ahh, yes - Monday night, not such a great night normally, but after a lovely weekend, I'm thinking that monday night isn't as bad. Let's recap shall we....

Friday - Denise came over to the Boliver's house...we ate yummy food, talked about various life things and of course - watched a girl movie..., it was Emma this time - a classic for sure and really it was quite fun - I had a good time...

Saturday - the day of the big shower...Lisa's to be specific. My first shower, an interesting time... nice food, nice company, loads of nice gifts and I got to meet some people - girls really that I have never met before - and hang out with Lisa of course... The boys however had a more action packed day than us girls... I think they started with golf, continued with a ride on the Zip line and finished with some time in Banff....I think I need to take a trip on the zip line... and maybe even go paintballing... whose with me???

Sunday - Megan and I got together, finally... it seems like forever since I saw her and it was a lovely time. We walked down to the Plaza theatre and caught the afternoon showing of 2 days in Paris.. an interesting movie with Julei Delpy and Chandler's messed up replacement for Joey (from Friends). Afterwards we got a latte chatted some more and made our way back to my place for some more girl talk. We ended up chatting for hours before I realized that I had to get to the grocery store - I had absolutely nothing in the fridge and as I am a hermit for the month of september I really needed something for lunch.

Today I got to go back to work - yeah... I think I need something more fulfilling... time to talk to the reserves I guess... but anyways - I got to hang with Eleni and buy her a laptop... so much fun....

K, time to sleep, I gotta get up in 7 hours... night!

Oh - oh - oh.. I almost forgot, I just got an email from my dear friend Maya - my old neighbour from France... and as it turns out she will be in calgary for 2 whole hours next week - what could be better I ask you? I haven't seen her for a year and a half - and I am dying to see how she is....just wonderful!!

ok, really - I'm going - goodnight!

One year later....

Ah yes, a year after one of - arguably - the worst days I've ever experienced....Not much has changed, but that is the way it is and I will deal with it as it comes....I just hope it doesn't happen again...I should really stay away from job #2 today... collectively it was the worst offender.

In other news, I got to chill last night with my kitties, and I could help feeling this morning as I drove into town, how nice it was to be staying with the Bolivers as the downtown core was surrounded with a low cloud - just the tops of the high rises were peeking out and it was quite the sight to see.

Oh, and some more anniversary news - on the 21st I had my first anniversary of my full time job - all in all it hasn't been too bad... 2 promotions, 2 raises and now I have a desk at the window... what will the next year bring I wonder?

Back to the Bolivers / New TV Habits

Ah yes, it's back to the Bolviers for me. Just for the weekend this time, but I'm sure it will be fun - it usually is.

The last few days I've been somewhat of a hermit, to my surprise- I finished my The UNIT Episodes, can't wait for the new season, only 1 month left! Watched a bit of JAG (my fav) and the got onto this new show - Army Wives. Catherine Bell is in it (from JAG fame) but it isn't as much fun as The Unit, but it'll do for now. As for the rest of my week - not too much to report. I ironed a lot, washed my floors, cleaned my kitchen, tidied my room. Pretty much the usual.

Oh, I do have something to tell - I was wondering around Indigo one day and I saw a lovely box set of Jane Austin books - for $30 - so I bought them, now I canstart my year of reading the classics and Shakespeare - that I am very excited about....

K, gotta go to work - bye for now.

Happy Birthday Weekend

As you can tell from the balloon, this weekend was my Mom's Birthday. Her actual birthday was in fact saturday but as I was working, we decided to change it over to sunday and take a trip to Banff for the day. Before I launch into that however, why don't I just recap the weekend events first.

Friday - I went for my bloodwork to check my iron levels... I'm sure they should be much higher these days. Then after work I zipepd over to Linens N Things for a set of bed risers, now my bed is huge and I have to jump into it every night, but at least I have some storage space, well more storage space underneath. Then I think I ironed, watched more "The Unit" episodes and made some dinner. Nothing too exciting but it made all the difference. I like being a hermit.

Saturday as I mentioned earlier was work day at job #2, it wasn't too bad, at least I got to see my friends again which was nice. Saturday night I got to steam clean my area rugs - which for those who know me know that this was ny most favourite activity. Lani and I went to town cleaning my various area rugs that were damaged in the flood. In fact we had so much fun with mine that we pulled out one of hers that she had in her closet and then cleaned that one too - good times I tell you, good times! After cleanign was movie night, " Lock, Stock and 2 Smokin' Barrels" was up first - classic, funny, awesome, and "Shaun of the Dead" was up second - truly funny and wickedly british - I recommend them both.

Sunday of course was Banff day with my mom and little sister. We first went to the Banff Springs Hotel - which as it turns out is my most favourite hotel in the world, and yes I've ben to Vegas and all over everywhere and I still like the Springs the best. I think it is because it is basically a castle, and a Scottish castle at that!! It was sad to see however that the tartan wasn't draped everywhere like it used to be. I guess our Americans friends that purchased the Fairmont hotel chains decided that perhaps they didn't care for tartan as much as us Canadians do - what a shame... kinda makes me mad 'cuz I love tartan. Anyways, back to the hotel.... we explored almost every nook and crany and decided that indeed this hotel needs to be where I spend a significant amount of time. The one thing that I was a bit sad over was the fact that my mom (and for this reason I do not know why I am related to her) she did not want to go for High Tea... so instead we relegated ourselves to a small lunch at the deli and walking about and exploring afterwards. After the hotel we zipped out to the town and explored the main street... and of course the Spirit of Christmas. A lovely store indeed if you have ever been.... I used to not be a huge fan of the aforementioned holiday, something about it just never struck me in the way it does others. I've since changed my tune because of one Mr. Cameron as he loves it so much.

After the main street we piled back into my car for the trip home, stopping for dinner and then back to my house to unwind before the work week - which ps, I am not loving... Eleni is out for the week on a trip, so sad.

Now I'm at my desk listening to the run down of the wedding of a former co-worker that was on saturday.. the same co-worker that sat beside me and talked and talked and talked about her wedding all day..... I'm not too impressed so far, hopefully this day gets better....

Should, Should not & HAPPY BIRTHDAY

• Shouldn't : Go to a movie wherein they show copious amounts of scenery on Europe thus making me want to live there forever (damn you Bourne Ultimatum) - really good movie though. Unlike some reviews I thought the slightly shaky camerawork emphasized the action.


• Shouldn't: Plan a night out every evening. Tuesday was the movie night, last night I went to my Aunt's house for dinner, showed off the Tunisia pictures and visited... oodles of fun but I didn't get home until 11 and then of course I somehow occupied myself until midnight and then fell into bed


• Should: Buy flowers every week - I love my roses, they are so lovely. I put about a dozen of pink tipped and a dozen white each in a chinese style vase I bought in China town on sunday - they are so beautiful and the certainly brighten up my desk


• Should: eat toast - I am on another toast kick... I freakin' love it..mmmmm


• Should: Eat more Steak. Steak last night at my Aunt's, Steak tonight at Eleni's....mmmmm steak.


• Should: Clean up my room, it is a clothes strewn mess

• Should: Wish Heather a very happy birthday - not sure if you will see this heather dear... But when you come home in a month we can have a celebration then.

Roses Galore

Today is $5 dozen rose day at the Avenida Grower Direct. I of course, in true Spencer style picked up 6 dozen - 2 for my mom - with which I plan to cover my apartment in flowery goodness. Who wouldn't love dozens of roses decorating their home? Who I ask you WHO?

I might add that I am sure our dear friend Heather must be glad she is on her way to South America - as last time I filled the house with roses she was a bit overwhelmed..... they basically took over my living room.

Yeah for flowers! I can't wait to get home to set them out.

Monday Lists

No time for real posting... just some quick thoughts to put down before I forget.

• The sun is no longer up when I leave for the gym - not impressed
• I need more art in my life, I'm thinking ballet and symphony season tickets - I wonder how expensive that will be
• In keeping with the art movement, I think I should take the nest year and read all the classics - meaning: All Shakepeare's plays, all Jane Austen novels, all Bronte sister's novels etc....
• I love my apartment, it is very homey
• Mean and snarky gym ladies are not my idea of fun at 6am
• I only have 16 days left before september - before I should be joining the reserves - yikes!!
• I will be 26 in less than 1 month - yikes again!!
• I've decided my hair needs to be darker - we'll see how that pans out

That's all for now - time for breakfast.

Out Damn Spot, Out!!

There really is nothing better than relaxing on a sunday evening, drinking a lovely cup of tea, watching some quality programming on the television and getting ready for the work week. To further explain my delight I shall share my weekend plans.

Friday was suppose to be a girls night at the movies. As it happens only Rachel was able to come, which was fantastic in itself - but to make things even better we were able to see Becoming Jane. Now, if you know me, and I sincerely hope you do, you will know that I do enjoy movies of this nature - I am a huge "Period Costume Drama" fan, Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and the like. Needless to say Rachel and I enjoyed ourselves immensely and the starbucks chat we had afterwards was fantastic.

Saturday was interesting - I worked. Now, I know what you are thinking... didn't she quit job #2, and the answer is yes, indeed I did quit, but I was asked back for a few weekends so I obliged them and thus was stuck working. I did, however have a nice time seeing the girls again. Saturday evening though was something special. Another Job #2 Alumni was in town from London (thats UK not ON) and we had the opportunity to take in a presentation of Shakespeare's MacBeth at the Shakespeare in the Park Festival. It was set in modern day - which I hope you are all putting together that I do not like - but nonetheless was presented well and in a fun and interesting way. The best part of the night though had to have been hanging out with Rupinder - I hadn't seen her since my impromptu trip to Europe last year and this was a well needed catch up session. While we watched the events unfold in a curiously non scottish environment (PS - for those of you wondering what I mean.... MacBeth is a play set in Scotland and the actors did not feel the need to exhibit scottish anything) we dined on a sumptuous picnic of pizza buns, Starbucks Vanilla Frapacinos, babybel cheese and a wonderful veggie tray. Afterwards we made our way (which took quite a while) through the Park back to my place and chatted away until midnight - parting on the promise of dinner before she goes back to the UK. All in all a great evening.

Today was also quite eventful. The day started with Dim Sum with my Dum Sum buddy Ronnalie, at the newly opened Tang Dynasty restaurant. We were so excited to go as the restaurant that used to occupy that location had been closed for renovations some time ago. This trip however was not to be as delicious as hoped for. In fact, the meal was rather disapointing. Despite reservations we were seated in the far corner of the dining room, almost no carts cam by our table and the waitress that we asked to help us did no speak any english. As it happens we were able to eat a few things, which were far below the standard of the previous restaurant. We made our way to the Golden Happiness Bakery in search of something sweet and then back to the cars to head to her house for a movie and later on a wonderful meal of Rouladen and Spitzlei...mmmmmmm.... So we grocery shopped, chopped, pounded, fried, baked and ate our delicious meal while we watched 300 (a truly awesome movie by the way) and then I was on my way home to clean, relax, and ready myself for tomorrow's 5 am wakeup.

So, here I am, finishing this post, feeling rather nostalgic while watching Harry Potter on CBC, making my sandwich and lunch for tomorrow wondering if I will be doing this for my children someday. I hope so.

Happenings

Ahhhh, currently I am sitting on my new and much fancier couch - with thanks to Heather's dad and Kevin we are the new owners of a wonderful new couch and loveseat. In fact, they are so comfortable that I can hardly notice the mess surrounding me in my apartment - coming home from house sitting is always a disaster. I seem to accumulate stuff, not so much fun. Anyhoo back to the couches. I've decided that these are the ultimate in comfort as I can sit crosslegged with Heather's laptop on my lap and I could even have a lovely nap on my lovely couch. Too bad that Heather cannot be here to enjoy the lovely new couches as she has departed for her month and a half long trip to South America- Bon Voyage to you, have oodles and oodles of fun!!!

To return to the topic of housesitting, I can say that although I do enjoy puppies - I really do, but in combination with 4 cats and keeping in mind that these dogs are not trained in the least - you can all imagine that I am ecstatic to get home. Not to mention that the aforementioned critters would wake me up at 4:30 with barks after barks after scratches on the door, after whinning - brutal I tell ya brutal. That and the freakin' huge amounts of cat hair everywhere - yuck!!

Tonight I've decided that after I clean up the house a bit - although now that I've mentioned it I'm not sure I can really, I've had to pull out all furniture from the windows as we are awaiting the windowers (as Heather calls them) to arrive and install new windows.. Funny thing though, they are 3 days late so I'm not sure if they will ever arrive. Anyhoo, I should maybe just chill and have a lay-in night - a lazy tv watching, linda only evening.

However, I should give some kuddos to Cam. Yesterday was his call to the bar - a ceremony where he is admitted as a member to the Law Society of Alberta. Basically it is a prestigious day after which he can call himself a proper lawyer. So congratualtions to you Cam - I am really quite proud of that you have accomplished, and I am very happy to have been there to celebrate it with you. Give yourself a huge pat on the back, you deserve it!

Other well wishes go out to Eleni and Katherine for tomorrow as they both have final exams to write - good luck Girls!

K, gotta run and make some dinner - plus Jeopardy is on and we all know how much of a Jeopardy freak I am.

Friday friday...

Because I can't be bothered to write an entire post with puncutation and proper grammar - you get a list... so here goes....

• I am hating house-sitting... although I love dogs, and these ones are cute - they are infuriating..always barking, always whining.. and the cats - the CATS - there are 4 of them.. 'nuff said.... who has alll these animals and constantly leaves them at home thus needed a housesitter????
• I am loving getting up at 5 am every morning for swimming/ the gym
• the pain in my neck is getting to be 'er a pain in the neck - enough already
• The Lethbridge airshow is this weekend and I am depserate to go
• Heather leaves next week for a month and a half and because of the aforementioned house-sitting gig I haven't barely seen her this summer and now she is leaving - not happy about that at all
• Been a bit of a hermit lately, not sure why, but I need to see more friends - I'll resolve to do so after this damn house-sitting gig
• I loved the fact that I got to have dinner with my cousin who I haven't see in about 20 years.. and her husband and her little boy - they are super fun and I had a great time.
• I think I am suffering from lack of travel / excitment in my life... too freakin' bad I have no vacation time available to go anywhere worthwhile
• I am suepr stoked about the Spice Girls coming to Vancouver in Dec - that's right, I said it - I love the Spice Girls and am not afraid to proclaim it to the world.
• Highland Games in Canmore are in a month and I cannot believe the time has flown by so quickly - this year we actually get to stay for the Ceilidh

and finally...

• Cam's Bar call is this wednesday at the Court of Queen's Bench in the pm - I am so excited to go, what a great accomplishment - yeah for Cam!!! Bravo to you and all you've worked for... I am so proud.

Mornings Part Deux

Just arrived at work, fresh from the gym - yep, that's right Eleni and I are super stars now - but last night I had a thought.... As Ronnalie and I sat watching our movie - G.I. Jane - I started to feel quite scared... the last time I went to basic training my friends decided to have a movie night for me, turns out we watched G.I. Jane. Good movie, but if you are about to go through military training it scares you a bit. Granted, I am not going through SEAL training, I'm not sure that I could in fact do that, but I am doing Basic again which means pain, exhaustion, mental breakdown and the like. But here's my big secret - I am quite scared, I scared that



a) I'll get hurt again

b) I won't be mentally tough enough to stand Hell week again

c) I won't be physically ready to endure 9 weeks of hard labour, including swimming - because I don't know how...

and d) Because new situations are hard to deal with - and yes I am aware I put myself through this all the time every time I leave for Europe.



In any case, I know if I don't do it now I'll regret it forever and that is never good.

Mr. Potter

Ah yes, the fifth installment of our beloved Harry and the gang has arrived (in movie form that is). I went last night after hosting a study party chez moi - funny though I left them there as I took in a movie.... I don't think they minded, Eleni and Katherine seemed quite content to watch So You Think You Can Dance - looked like a good one actually....I kind of sad I missed the ending.



Anyhoo, went to see the late show, at the Imax in Chinook (ps - I highly recommend the Imax experience with HP5), and we even got 3D glasses for the last fight scene... very cool!! During the movie though I felt uber sick, stomach pain and the like.... needless to say HP5 wasn't as cool as it certainly could have been as my mind was somewhat preoccupied. Cam even asked me several times if we needed to leave - but in true HP stylle I perservered and got through it - and it was worth it, although I think the movie could have been about an hour longer....

This morning however wasn't nearly as fun as it was suppose to have been. I flaked out the gym with Eleni because I felt like garbage, but ended up feeling worse because I didn't go - tomorrow for sure though, I promise.

Mornings

The last two days my good buddy Eleni and I have been up bright and early (5 am to be exact) to better ourselves... by swimming... now, granted - we can't really swim, well I can't really swim, Eleni is pretty good at it in fact, but needless to say we are not the strongest in the pool.

Now, I've decided that I need to know how to swim - I am sure that there will be a swimming component to my reserve training, so I might as well start - not fun I tell you! I think my big problem is that fact that I cannot for the life of me keep my legs horizontal - they always seem to drop down so I am almost walking on the bottom of the pool with my torso horizontal - funny to picture I am sure. Anyone have some suggestions?

The very best part to these little escapades though - is - the fact that when I get home after work I can chill on the couch and I won't feel like a blob if I don't do very much... granted, that is if I had a free night to actually chill... last night when I could have become a couch parasite I in fact srubbed my kitchen down, re-arranged my shelves - including the growing mountain of Stabucks Coffee Packages that now inhabits my top shelf... cleaned out the fridge, cleaned up the recycling in my storage room (which I dropped off this morning after swimming), washed the floor, cleaned the bathroom and sorted out my piles of random papers, bills, letters, cards etc etc and flopped into bed at 10:30... wow, I feel so adult - yikes!

Anyhoo, I think it's Tea O'Clock, ta - ta for now!

End of an Era

Yep, it's that time, things have definately changed - in many ways.... Not quite sure that I can handle all of them just yet - but we'll see how it turns out....

Firstly, My last day at Job #2 was saturday - with a follow up farewell dinner at Tandoori Hut in Kensington - thanks again guys, it was fantastic... not just the dinner, but the 3 years.....

Secondly, Harry Potter - As I arrived home from my last time closing up the store, I ripped open the mailbox, joyfully took out the newly printed copy of The last adventures of Mr. Potter... and tore open the package as I entered my apartment.... I finished it late late in the evening and proceeded to go through Potter withdrawl - something I've experienced many times over - not fun at all!

I waaas going to say something about the book, but for those of you who have not finished it yet, I won't spoil it at all - that would just be mean!

As for other changes, well we all know, and we are all unhappy, but life is as such and I shall deal.

The Return

Aha I am back.... yeah, I know I suck, I have been quite lazy this last month. Not sure why, but not to fear, I am back and ready to entertain.

I suppose I should update you a bit, not too much to note, I quite Job #2 finally.... it had been a long time coming - I hadn't been to pleased with my environment, in addition to the fact that every saturday I awoke with a groan and seriously decided calling in sick...not my style to say the least, so I would go in purely to visit with my friends. Sooooo, in true Spencer style I quit, tomorrow being the last day, and have decided to perhaps give the reserves another shot. I mean , if I have been thinking about it every day for 8 years - maybe I should do something about it when I am still young enough and have spare time to kill - as we all know how bored I can get.

I had a great meeting with one of the recruiters at the Harry Hays Building and to be quite honest, I felt so enthused after my chat, now all that is left is to go wild at the gym for a good month and take my tests.. easy as pie!

What else... ummm, well my move to broker team isn't as fun as I thought it would be - I don't really work with anyone my age - save for Katherine, and she is great - but the others are older, always warm, and go out about 15 times a day to smoke... not to mention they use me as a secretary even though I might have more education than all of them combined... but whose keeping score?

Oh, I just remembered......I am completely addicted to a show called The Unit - again in true Spencer style it is military, special forces military, but it also has a family component - the wives... so in order to fuel my addiction I watched the whole first season in about 2 days... I am a freak, but I love it - and I desperately cannot wait until the second comes out (25 september) or the third one starts (also this fall)... In the meantime I am stuck watching the few choice episodes that CBS runs not on their regular night of tuesday, but rather saturday - which really quite messes me up... I am usually home tuesday nights, but almost never home saturday nights.... oh dear, what is a girl to do?

In any case, that will have to hold you all for the time being.... I'm off to clean the house....


Oh, oh, one more thing... my fav little person stopped by on tuesday night for a sleepover - accompanied of course by mom and dad - Cynthia and Aaron... it was great - thanks again for the visit....

Top Ten Reasons to Live in Canada

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA…
1. 2010 Winter Olympics - champagne tastes on a beer belly budget.
2. Vancouver: 1.5 million people and two bridges.
3. The local Whistler hero is a pot-smoking snowboarder.
4. The local wine doesn't taste like malt vinegar.
5. Your $400,000 Vancouver home is just 5 hours from downtown.
6. A university with a nude beach.
7. You can throw a rock and hit three Starbucks locations.
8. Great place for avalanche training.
9. There's always some sort of deforestation protest going on.
10. A drunk driving premier - setting a good example for all British Columbians… a Ralph Klein wannabe.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN ALBERTA…
1. Big Rock between you and B.C.
2. Ottawa who?
3. Tax is 7 percent instead of approximately 200 percent for the rest of the country.
4. The Premier is a fat, alcoholic who is easy to make fun of.
5. Flames vs. Oilers.
6. Stamps vs. Eskies.
7. You can exploit almost any natural resource you can think of.
8. You live in the only province that could actually afford to be it's own country.
9. The Americans below you are all in anti-government militia groups.
10. You can attempt to murder your rich oil tycoon husband and get away with it.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN SASKATCHEWAN…
1. You never run out of wheat.
2.There are no curves or hills on the highway.
3. Cruise control takes on a whole new meaning.
4. Your province is really easy to draw.
5. You never have to worry about roll-back if you have a standard stick shift.
6. It takes you two weeks to walk to your neighbour's house.
7. YOUR Roughriders survived.
8. You can watch the dog run away from home for hours.
9. People will assume you live on a farm.
10. Buying a huge John Deere mower makes sense.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN MANITOBA…
1. You wake up one morning to find you suddenly have beachfront property.
2. Amusing town names like "Flin Flon" and "Winnipeg".
3. All your local bands make it big and move to Toronto.
4. The only province to ever violently rebel against the federal government.
5. Hundreds of huge, horribly frigid lakes.
6. Nothing compares to a wicked Winnipeg winter.
7. You don't need a car - just take the canoe to work.
8. You can be an Easterner or a Westerner depending on your mood.
9. Because of your licence plate, you are still friendly even when you cut someone off.
10. Pass the time watching trucks and barns float by.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN ONTARIO…
1. You live in the center of the universe.
2. Your $400,000 Toronto home is actually a dump.
3. You and you alone decide who will win the federal election.
4. There's no such thing as an Ontario Separatist. Separate from what? You are the centre of the universe.
5. Your grandparents sold booze to the States during Prohibition.
6. Lots of tourists come to Toronto because they mistakenly believe it's a cool city.
7. The only province with hard-core American-style crime.
8. Much Music's Speaker's Corner - rant and rave on national TV for a dollar.
9. Baseball fans park on your front lawn and pee on the side of your house.
10. Mike Harris: basically a sober Ralph Klein.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN QUEBEC…
1. Everybody assumes you're from a different planet.
2. Racism is socially acceptable.
3. The only province to ever kidnap federal politicians.
4. You can take bets with your friends on which English neighbour will move out next.
5. Other provinces basically bribe you to stay in Canada.
6. The FLQ.
7. Your hockey team is made up entirely of French guys who can't skate.
8. The province with the oldest, nastiest hookers.
9. NON-smokers are the outcasts.
10. You can blame all your problems on the "Anglo bastards".

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN NEW BRUNSWICK…
1. You are sandwiched between French morons and drunken Celtic fiddlers.
2. One way or another, the government gets 98 percent of your income.
3. You're poor, but not as poor as the Newfies.
4. When listing the provinces, everyone forgets to mention yours.
5. The economy is based on fish, cows, and ferrying Ontario motorists to Boston.
6. No one ever blames anything on New Brunswick.
7. You have French people, but they don't want to kill you.
8. Everybody has a Grandfather who runs a lighthouse.
9. Just as charming as Maine, but with more unemployed fishermen.
10. You probably live in a small seaside cottage with no television.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN NOVA SCOTIA…
1. The only place in North America to get bombed in the war by a moron who set ammunitions ship on fire. (Halifax Explosion).
2.The province is shaped like the male genetalia.
3. Everyone can play the fiddle. The ones who can't, think they can.
4. If someone asks if you're a Newfie, you are allowed to kick their butt.
5. The local hero is an insane, fiddle playing, sexual pervert.
6. The province that produced Rita MacNeil, the world's largest land mammal.
7 You are the "only" reason Anne Murray makes money.
8. You can pretend you have Scottish heritage as an excuse to get drunk and wear a kilt.
9. The economy is based on lobster and fiddle music.
10. Even though it smells like dead sea animals, Halifax is considered Canada's most beautiful city.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE ON PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND…
1. Even though more people live on Vancouver Island, you still got the big kick-ass bridge.
2. You can walk across the province in half an hour.
3. You were probably once an extra on "Road to Avonlea".
4. This is where all those tiny red potatoes come from.
5. The economy is based on fish, potatoes, and CBC TV shows.
6. Tourists arrive, see the "Anne of Green Gables" house, then promptly leave.
7. You can drive across the province in two minutes.
8. It doesn't matter to you if Quebec separates.
9. You don't share a border with the Americans, or with anyone for that matter.
10. You can confuse ships by turning your porch lights on and off at night.

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN NEWFOUNDLAND…
1. The poorest, drunkest province in Confederation.
2. If Quebec separates, you will float off to sea.
3. In the rare case when someone moves to the Rock, you can make them kiss a dead cod.
4. The economy is based on fish, seafood, and fish-related products.
5. If you do something stupid, you have a built-in excuse.
6. You & only you understand the meaning of Great Big Sea's lyrics.
7. The workday is about two hours long.
8. You are credited with many great inventions, like the solar-powered flashlight and the screen door for submarines.
9. CBC sets time in terms of you being on the half hour.
10. It is socially acceptable to wear your hip waders on your wedding day.