Cute

These are far too cute not to share...

PS I Love You

So apparently I really enjoy crying in public. Perhaps I shall make it my new hobby. I'm talking of course about the fact that I watched PS I Love You and pretty much had tears running down my face the entire time. I'm not sure if it is because my beloved Movie Husband Gerard dies, or if the story is sad, or if I'm a total suck... in any case I was quite embarrassed as I exited the theatre with glossy, red eyes. The movie itself was good, but I am biased, I would watch anything Gerard is in, well that and the fact that accents abound in the film. We had dinner before hand and it was tasty, Open Sesame really does make a nice snack.

Today however is a lovely day off. The sun is shining, my house is clean, I slept in, life is good.... except that I train tonight - yuck.

Oh, I suppose I should also mention something about Saturday night's shenanigans..... 80's Party Chez Eleni - Lucky for us she never disappoints and it was fun - crazy clothes, crazy makeup, crazy hair - lots of Crown Royale... a good night for sure. Thanks Len!

Fortune or Foreshadow?

We had a chinese food lunch for one of our long time co-workers as it is her last day -we'll miss her! And although I didn't really eat anything as it was chinese food therefore everything was fried, but I digress - the reason I am telling you this is because my fortune in my cookie (that I sadly did not eat) was as follows:

"You will soon be crossing great waters on a fun vacation"

Seriously.... that is just not funny... (ps, if you don't get what I am alluding to, I leave for Basic on Vancouver Island in 70 days... )

Book of the Week

After last night's conclusion to the Band of Brothers Marathon - PS Kristen, you were so right about the heartbreak, it was awful and I very nearly cired through the whole thing... - I felt the need to feature the book version for Book of the Week. Written by Stephen Ambrose, it is a good read to be sure. Even if you just move on to the miniseries instead you will not be dissapointed. It was so well done, I am just speachless. Watch it, or read it - you will not be sorry you did, I guarantee.

From the Publisher:
As good a rifle company as any in the world, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, kept getting the tough assignments -- responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler''s Eagle''s Nest at Berchtesgaden. In Band of Brothers, Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze, and died, a company that took 150 percent casualties and considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers'' journals and letters, Stephen Ambrose recounts the stories, often in the men''s own words, of these American heroes

Travels with Denise

At the Airport

Gay Paris!

Crazy Vending Machine

Best Hotel in Paris

Watch the Traffic!

Ridiculously fast moving sidewalk

Say bye bye to my camera...

We found him!

MMMMMMMMM, waffles.......

Great Hostel in Brussels, save for the missing shower curtain...

Brugges, what a great place!

Happy Paris Anniversary

So today, 4 years ago Miss Denise and I set out for our Paris Adventure. It was a so much fun, a real girls trip, something I will always remember. If you don't quite understand the list you'll have to pardon me as this is really catered to the fabulous Miss Denise...

This is a brief summary of what I remember:
Paris:
We toured around,
ate delicious ham sandwiches,
saw the sites (Eiffel tower, Tomb of Napoleon, Arc de Triomph, Champs Elysees, The Louvre, Hotel des Invalides, Musee D'Orsay, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Montmatre, Tons of Metro Stops and moving sidewalks, Sainte Chapelle, Versailles (those cookies from the train station), am I forgetting anything?)
spent a lovely Valentines Day eating chinese,
soaked up the french atmosphere,
searched and searched for our fantastic scarves

Belgium:
jumped a high speed Thalys train to Brussels,
ate loads more (mmm, those waffles, those bizarre hot dogs, the Yop I drank for dinner daily, the Wasa crackers we gorged ourselves on, and the weird huge vending machines),
walked, walked and walked and thus happened to see a variety of European everything including: Grand Place, Le Bourse, EU Buildings, NATO buildings, Court Buildings, Mini Europe, Place du Sablon, Centraal Station and of course Le Manekin Pis)
Toured Ghent (the flowers)
Toured Brugges (the canals, Le Grand Place, the trees at the convent, the lace factory)
Toured Antwerp (the DIAMONDS!!)

Sadly Denise flew off to continue her European escapades in the UK, and I was to return to my crazy students. Good times indeed!

Divisions

Something I ran across in my searches and found rather interesting... check the comments via the link in the title...

Disappointment again

Apparently they still don't have confirmation of my old service, thus no swearing in tonight... One question still lingers in my mind though... Did they not have my file for my interview, or my medical, or my fitness test? And why didn't they request this 4 months ago when we started it all?????

This sucks!

Massage

So apparently sitting at a desk staring at a computer plus kickboxing a lot = very sore and stiff muscles. Who knew??

This morning I booked myself in for a massage at the laser health centre on the 2nd floor of my office tower, and wow, it was great. She has some magic hands, that massage lady... my shoulders are much better and my neck is amazing - well done to her! I have a different massage booked for a month from now - a gift certificate from my sisters for christmas - that also should be just about perfect as it falls during the last week of my course. I will however need to begin swimming the following week, which may or may not suck, we'll see.

Tonight I think I'll pop by the gym for a quick run as I need to step that up a notch - maybe I'll do 4 miles tonight - and then it's home for dinner, making lunch for tomorrow, maybe have a visitor and then fall into a blissful sleep... my life is quite boring these days...

Oh, one more thing to mention - I am still waiting for the go ahead from Ottawa for my swearing in ceremony. Apparently they are still waiting for my old service records. Weird thing is though, they've had since October to get this all done, why the hold up now? Bottom line is that they ceremony may not actually happen tomorrow night, which sucks big time... oh well, there is nothing left to do but wait - I guess that means I am a civilian for another week or so... meh...

Band of Brothers, Part 1

Yesterday after driving the length of the city a few times moving washers and dryers, taking off doors, moving desks etc (a big THANK YOU to Ronnalie and Brett for the help, and of course Sandy and Glenn for the Washer and Dryer) I settled in to Scott's couch for a long sesssion of Band of Brothers. The weird thing is, this mini series, is completely up my alley... I mean, it's WWII, it's military, it's Linda.. and yet I have never seen it - hence the bizareness. Anyways, we watched 7 hours of the 10 miniseries - and as it was sunday we ate, a lot. The first 5 hours were quite good, I really enjoyed them, the last 2 hours however, when they were in the Bascogne (aka The Battle of the Bulge) was AWFUL - I was way to attached to the members of Easy Company, it was brutal!

In all seriousness though, I had quite an admiration for the WWII Vets, this miniseries has only made that admiration grow - they were quite a bunch. The sad thing is though that now I look around at the men that would have been the same age and I do not see any sort of courage / determination / resourcefulness / pure strength that those men possesed, it is a real shame.

I'll have to find another 3 hours to watch the rest of the movie, hopefully this week - but with my schedule I guess we'll see.

Fitness Eval, 1/2 way

So I managed to make it through my course half-way. Performance wise I wasn't too bad, I think I need to do some more running, perhaps I'll step it up to 4 times a week and see if that does anything.

Results from the fitness test were good, lost 7.5 lbs, 3 inches in the waist... a bit disappointed, but hopefully I've gained loads more muscle. Sit ups were better than before 45 vs 53 in one minute, and push ups were much better 30 vs 50 this time. I am slowly but surely making my way.... but hey, one pant size down is not too bad either right?

Now, I'm off to Job #2, and then tomorrow I get a washer and dryer... yeah!!!! Laundry at home, what a luxury!

War Memorials

Last night I attended a very interesting lecture at the Military Museums regarding War Memorials in NW Europe, meaning France and Belgium. The presentation was really well done and the audience was just great, not to mention the nibbles they had set out beforehand. It seems as though there are lectures almost every month and I had such a great time that I think I'll sign up for the next one. The nice thing is that I had been to some of the battlesites featured in the lecture so it was especially fun. The man presenting was so knowledgable and easy to listen to that the time just flew by, and the company wasn't half bad either.

In any case I recommend it to all of you - if you happen to be in Calgary of course. Here's the listing from the website:


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2008
Explore North West Europe's War Memorial Destinations with the Museums (KOCR) archivist Al Judson

Since 1867, Canadians have served around the world in military actions for the cause of peace and freedom. Many feel that Canada was born on the battlefields of Europe, as over 116,000 gave their lives over the past century. Back by popular demand and armed with over 80 photographs, Al Judson, the Museum's own regimental historian, will take you on a journey of the notable war memorials of North West Europe.

Mr. Judson's passion for military history commenced while studying for his Arts Degree at the University of Calgary in 1989. His extensive contribution as a volunteer with the Museum of the Regiments (now called The Military Museums) began in 1995 when he volunteered to be a museum host. In 1996, he retired from his employment at the University of Calgary and became a near full-time volunteer with the King's Own Calgary Regiment as an archivist and regimental historian.

Book of the Week

This week's entry for Book of the Week goes to a book that I first read way back when I was in France. I had zipped over to Geneva (my old stomping grounds) for a visit with my friend Marci who was working with the UN Human Rights Commision at the time. While she finished her work day I wondered around the town, visiting my old haunts and taking in the crisp and clean Swiss air. During my wanderings I popped into a bookstore and found this book. Before I read it, I had no clue about what the tenseness in the Middle East was really about. This book however, did wonders to open my eyes. It also feuled my fascination with all things ancient and I now have Jordan listed as one of my top ten countries to visit. When I came home for my surprise week home I gave it to my mom to read and she in turn bought a copy for our neighbour to read - see, this book is that good.

Anyways, I highly recommend it - plus you'll probably learn a thing or two, and isn't that the whole point anyways????

From Amazon:

Anyone who loved The King and I will readily warm to the love story of Queen Noor and the late King Hussein of Jordan. Born in America in 1951 as Lisa Halaby, Noor came from a wealthy, well-connected family and was part of Princeton's first co-ed class. Her father's aviation business produced a chance meeting with King Hussein in 1976, and a year or two later Noor realized the king was courting her. He was 41, she was 26. The rumor mills buzzed: was she the next Grace Kelly? Before long, the king renamed her Noor (light in Arabic), and she converted to Islam. They were married in the summer of 1978. From this point on, her story is mostly his, mainly covering his attempts to broker peace in the Middle East. There are meetings with Arafat, Saddam Hussein, American presidents and other leaders. Noor details Hussein's struggles to create Arab unity and his vision of peaceful coexistence with Israel. Her own activities developing village-based economic self-sufficiency projects and improving Jordan's medical, educational and cultural facilities take second place to her husband's struggles on the world stage. And while she occasionally acknowledges her domestic difficulties, Noor is careful not to allow personal problems to become any more than asides. Her pleasing memoir ends with the king's death after his struggle with cancer, although readers may suspect that this smart, courageous woman will remain a world presence for years to come.

This just in

T-80 days until I leave (ps, that means 27 April 2008), coming home mid July...

Sorry Colleen, I'm out for the wedding, I'll miss it by one week... boo-urns

Update: I think we should have a "Camouflage/ Fatigues" party before I go... thoughts?

Acts of Kindness

I've been offered a free washer and dryer for my place, I pick them up on sunday and I couldn't be more excited. After a year and a half of doing laundry elsewhere it is going to be such a luxury. I, of course need to get this person something for helping me out... I'm thinking a gift certificate to a nice steak house... she's a meat eater like me... But, wow, I am super excited!

Other fun news.. yesterday I left my favourite pair of sunglasses in the ladies room of the the 2nd floor in my office tower. I was changing from my kickboxing stuff into work attire and left them there - I know, real smart move Linda... but by the time I remembered where I left them it was 4 hours later and of course they were gone. I posted a Lost poster with a picture of the glasses (google images is so great) and offered a reward for their return. I really just hoped that some nice samaritan would call. I waited all afternoon and just as I was leaving the building they called. Naturally I was uber exicted and planned to pick them up the next morning but decided that a Starbucks gift certificate would probably be a nice gesture - so there I was this am, gift certificate in hand I popped into her office and thanked her profusely for calling. When I got back upstairs to my office she called me again thanking me for the gift card... how nice is that?

Other fun news from yesterday... I had a lovely 4 hour chat with my neighbour. Turns out his little brother locked him out of the apartment and took off to the gym so he needed my phone to call him. The really funny thing is that this was at 9pm and he didn't end up laving my place until 1 am, but his brother still wasn't home yet.... Poor guy had to go to his girlfriend's house to sleep... It was a nice time though... I never knew my neighbour grew up in the next community to mine when we were young and that he was such a nice guy, interesting as well... too bad we are all leaving in a few months...

I should also mention today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.. I think I'll give up swearing... I seem to be muttering some less than flattering things lately...

I'm off to resistance training in a few minutes and then home to clean out the storage room in time for the new washer and dryer!!! I shall leave you with this last thought though. Did you do anything nice for anyone today?

Dissapointment

Ugh, I just got a call from a certain Recruiting Officer and it seems as though he needs to push back my Swearing in Ceremony from tomorrow to next wednesday. Not cool, but what can I do? At least that means I can go to my other training class tomorrow, and I found out that my Wednesdays will be busy from 19:00 - 22:00 so I guess that's one question down. Plus, I'll get all my uniforms and gear as well which I won't have to wear it until the following wednesday so I'll at least have some time to iron it and shine up the boots.

Other than the rearranging of my calendar I am experiencing some very acute sugar cravings. Maybe it's due to the fact that we have Lemon Meringue Pie, Carrot Cake and both Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter cookies in the kitchen. Darn it!

Tonight I'm making mini sirloin hamburgers for dinner with a nice salad. Yum, but it isn't a Peanut Butter cookie, that's for sure!

Atonement

Yesterday during my marathon house cleaning session (Ps - my bathroom has never been so clean!) I managed to watch Atonement. I've seen the book about a trillion times and I thought I'd give the movie a go while I cleaned my room. Now, normally I'm not a huge fan of Keira... she is just too painful to watch at the best of times, but the movie wasn't half bad - with the exception of course of the whole sad bit.

Other than that, I had a great day. Breakfast with the big sister, house cleaning, a trip to the Gym, a yummy salad, a quick run and of course the obligatory Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Vanilla Milk followed with a show on The Queen (I love her!) and the aforementioned movie.

A nice day spent mostly at home, getting things checked off of my To Do List - fantastic!

Today, more resistance training and perhaps some grocery shopping as my current food supply is dwindling down to nothing, yikes!

Saturday realizations

I've always heard that exercising is supposedly a wake-up call for your body, it gets the energy flowing, your blood pumping etc etc etc.. Funny thing is though, Tuesday and Thursday mornings I am good, I feel happy, energized, but Saturday mornings are bizarre, it feels like I am moving in slow motion, and the feeling lasts until the afternoon. Maybe because I am on my feet the entire day instead of sitting in my desk at work and getting up and every few minutes to grab something off the printer, or perhaps I go harder the rest of the week. Whatever it is it sucks..

At least the workout week is over, I have tomorrow to look forward to, and the snacks, oh the snacks!

K, night for now, I'm going to clean the house and get to bed, early for once...

SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Apparently our office in Mississauga emailed with the message that due to the "extreme weather conditions" they are closing the office 2 hours early.... So we checked the weather in Toronto and this is what we discovered...

Current Conditions
-1 °C
Observed at: Toronto Pearson Int'l Airport
Date: 5:28 PM EST Friday 1 February 2008
Condition: Light Snow
Pressure: 100.9 kPa
Tendency: falling
Visibility: 1 km

Humidity: 90 %
Wind: ENE 18 km

Windchill -6°C

Calgary

Current Conditions

-11 °C
Observed at:
Calgary Int'l Airport
Date: 3:00 PM MST Friday 1 February 2008
Condition: Sunny

Pressure: 101.2 kPa
Tendency: falling
Visibility: 32 km
Windchill -14°C

May I remind you all that earlier this week our temperature with windchill was approaching -50°C and yet we were all diligently working away at our offices... wow, this is so reminiscent of the time they called the Military in when it snowed...

Un - freakin -believable... and people wonder why I have a problem with Toronto...

Book of the Week

For obvious reasons I feel like this week I should do something with a military theme - well, that and the fact that Top Gun has been on TV every day. Therefore, I think I shall choose "Making the Corps" by Thomas E Ricks. I finished this one a few days ago as I felt the need to remind myself how Basic really was. I do recommend it to most of you, mainly because I am sure the only things you know about the Marines are what you see in movies. This book explains the mentality through the progress of the recruits in basic training. I am sure that you will all be very surprised to see how they make it!

From Amazon:

Marines are different: distinct not only from ordinary U.S. citizens but from the ranks of the army, navy, and air force as well. The difference begins with boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, where the history and future of the United States Marine Corps intersect in the training of every new recruit. In Making the Corps, Ricks follows a platoon of young men through 11 grueling weeks of boot camp as their drill instructors indoctrinate them into the culture of the Few and the Proud. Many arrive at Parris Island undisciplined and apathetic; they leave as marines.
With the end of the cold war, the role of the American military has shifted in emphasis from making war to keeping peace. "The best way to see where the U.S. military is going is to look at the marines today," says Ricks, as the other armed forces have begun to emulate the marine model. To understand Parris Island--a central experience in the life of every marine--is to understand the ethos of the Marine Corps. Ricks examines the recent changes in the Standard Operating Procedures for Recruit Training (the bible of Parris Island), which indicate how the corps is dealing with critical social and political issues like race relations, gender equality, and sexual orientation. Making the Corps pierces the USMC's "sis-boom-bah" mythology to help outsiders understand this most esoteric and eccentric of U.S. armed forces. --Tim Hogan

Happy Friday!

And for more Marine fun, check out this blog I found...

"The Day to Day, semi-normal life of a Female Marine"