Do I have what it takes?

I'm sure many of you have heard of the x365. It's this blogging challenge thing. You are supposed to write a short blog (with a word limit) about a different person you've met for 365 days. The word limit is supposed to have some sort of significance to you, like your age for example. Looking at my commitment level as it stands now, I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. Instead, I think I'm going to try and do one or two a week.... so like x52 or x104. we'll see how it goes. First, I'm going to try and come up with that many people to write about and post that, then I'll be forced to follow through 'cause everyone is going to want to know what I have to say about them. On second thought... maybe that's not the best idea.

For the past few days I've been trying to decide how I feel about this time of year. The weather can't seem to make up it's mind, so it keeps me on my toes. At work it feels like we coming down the final stretch... and I love it! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy what I do. It's just that since I started this 'new' job I've felt like I just can't catch up. Every week I am just managing to get the work done, and I'm the kind of person who likes to plan ahead. The middle school program is going smoothly, and I've managed to make some plans for next year already. It's KIDstuf that freaks me out! There is a lot of work to go into the set and the organization of it, but we're getting there.

This is what the stage looks like now. Any suggestions on what I can add to it? Or things I can change. It's a kids program, so I like to keep it bright and happy. We're going to expand the stage out to the side, and I'm going to add a bookshelf that acts as a secret entrance! Oh, and that cupcake looking picture frame, is actually a window. It's gonna have a slide coming out of it for next season. So what do you think?



We're going to see Indiana Jones tonight, so I'll let you all know what I think in the next few days. When I used to work at the video store, all the staff members would come up with lists. The girls would have lists of : Old Man Crushes, Actors your significant-other would allow you a one-night-stand with, and other girls you'd go for if you were a guy. I know, we had a lot time on our hands. Anyways, Harrison Ford was in my top five old man crushes. Number one was the older man that owned the IGA next door. The Hubby was a little weirded out by that one, and I guess there were all supposed to be celebrity crushes. Oooh, I'm going to post my lists!

I'm not keeping up!

Ok, so I missed Fun Monday two weeks ago 'cause it was a holiday here in good old Canada. But this week I have no excuse. Apparently the topic for yesterday was your best vacation ever!

I've been on a few good vacations, however only one so far in my adult life. For our honeymoon, the Hubby and I went to an all inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta. I was great... for obvious reasons. We stayed for two whole weeks, spent every day either on the beach or by the pool. We wandered into town to check out the shopping scene. Oh! and I got a massage each week. It was so relaxing, and I came back super tanned!

The vacation I am most looking forward to is coming up in September! Myself and three friends are going to go on a road trip to California! We are taking 10 days to drive down, hit up all the theme parks, maybe sit in on the filming of Price Is Right or Ellen, and then drive home! We have already booked all the hotels and are not so patiently awaiting our departure date. Maybe I'll stalk Dad Gone Mad while I'm down there... I'll stake out his Starbucks....if I can figure out which one it is. Oh, now I sound creepy.

On to other things.

The Hubby has been demanding- I mean encouraging me to drink more water. You see, I have an addiction. It comes in a pastel blue can with fake little water droplets running down the side. It's called Diet Pepsi, or as my sister-in-law affectionately refers to it - cancer in a can. Ten years off the wagon, I haven't gone a day without a can, bottle or glass. Acknowledging that this may not be the best habit, I have conceded to drinking one glass of water for every can of DP, or cup of coffee ( An addiction we will have to discuss another day). I may have forgotten to mention the fact that I have a bladder the size of a walnut.

Tuesday mornings begin with an all-staff meeting. I began with a Grande sugar-free caramel americano. We break at about 10, and I took that opportunity to use the facilities and grab the obligatory bottle of water. ( into which I poured a single serving of Crystal Light..you didn't actually expect me to drink it plain did you?) It only took a matter of minutes for the bottle to empty, and I sat back with a proud little smirk on my face. The smirk quickly disappeared off my face as I realized the current state of my walnut-sized bladder. Can they over-flow? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's what mine was doing.

I slunk out the back door of the board room and used the little girls room. Back in my chair I was quite content to have gone un-noticed. Until ten minutes later when I had to go again! I held it for as long as humanly possible, and then executed the same routine. Three times!!! Coffee and water... not good. Sorry Hubby, looks like I'm sticking to the DP!

Top 4

I'm just copying now, but this looked like fun :P


The Faboulous Four

Four Jobs I've had:
1. Paper Carrier
2. Sandwich Artist
3. Entertainment expert ( I rented your videos to you)
4. Youth Pastor

Four Movies I've Watched More than once:
1. The Matrix
2. An American Tail
3. Princess Bride
4. X-Men

Four TV Shows I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. America's Next Top Model
3. House
4. NCIS

Four Places I have Been:
1. Mexico
2. France
3. Italy
4. California

Four of My Favourite Foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Pasta
3. Pizza
4. Sushi

Four Places I would love to visit:
1. Greece
2. Ireland
3. Egypt
4. Japan


Hope that was interesting to you all!

Prom Season

I love when other people give me ideas for things to write about. I was looking at Rude Cactus earlier today, and he challenged people to write about their prom memories. I went to two different "proms" throughout high school, although where I'm from we called them grads.

Grade 10 grad - aka Jr. Prom was more or less ridiculous. The only thing I really remember was where I got my dress, and how unbelievably awful it was. The new store in our mall at the time was Jacob, so I was adamant my dress came from there. It was floor length, some sort of spandex blend, black with tiny white polka dots, and had skinny little spaghetti straps. For those of you who don't already have the brutal visual, I'll add that I was a very busty 15 year old, just to throw you over the edge.

My only memory of the evening was at the restaurant. After whatever planned event the school had put on, a bunch of us girls went to the Cactus Club for a late night dinner. We spent the entire time flirting with the good looking servers assigned to our table. Keep in mind that we were all 15! We continued by getting all the 'boys' (I'm pretty sure they were all at least in their early twenties) to sign our napkins so that we could have a souvenir. I don't know how I wasn't mortified! I am now just writing about it.

Fast forward two years to my grade 12 grad. A lot more planning went into this one. We spent months driving to every city in the area trying to find the 'perfect dress'. A group of us got together, pooled our funds and booked a limo. The big day arrived and a friend and I spent the entire day at my aunt's spa getting our hair and make-up done. She and I are no longer friends so I don't feel so bad telling you she looked like a clown! I'm a pretty vocal girl, so I had no problem telling them what I did, or didn't like. She was a little insecure and didn't really speak up, so she ended up looking pretty brutal.

The limo made it's rounds and picked us all up before heading off to some park so the parents could all take pictures. We made it to the hotel ballroom, only to have to stand around outside for more pictures. The dinner was okay, nothing special. There was very little dancing, a lame slideshow put on by student council ( aka - no one anyone knew was in it) and then two of our friends got engaged. Yeah, at 17. We had an hour between events so we went downtown, and the newly engaged stood our the sun roof of our limo cheering and hollering and whatever excited teenagers do.

The next event was a boat cruise. I don't know how we survived. One level had a painfully bad DJ and a dance floor. The other had karaoke and a temporary tattoo station. Ha. Oh, and you had to pay extra for everything. You wanted a a pretty little butterfly on your ankle, extra. You wanted to sing karaoke, extra. You wanted a water from the juice bar, extra. I had a bunch of friends who had chosen that evening to experiment with E, so let's just say I was loved.

When the boat finally docked, our groups decided to skip the school sponsored breakfast (cafeteria eggs- blech) and opted to Denny's instead. I should have given more of a lead up to this one, but I'll just flat out tell you that our limo driver what a total creep. While we were on our cruise he was picking up other people and doing who-knows-what in the back of the limo. He was also very interested in all us pretty girls. When we got to Denny's he followed us in, took off his shirt so he was wearing a dirty white tank top, and proceeded to join us at the table! Everyone else was all creeped out, but I just told him to leave. He didn't exactly go willingly. This guy was our ride home....

The best part about our grad weekend? No more school!

Anyone else have any good prom/grad stories. I know mine was a little long and detailed, so deal with it!

Fun Monday

I mentioned earlier that I was excited about this Fun Monday. Now that's it's here I'm having the usual issues remembering all the lovely things I was going to write.

This week Fun Monday is hosted by Sauntering Soul

I know we all try to be sweet and kind to people the majority of the time. But let's face it....we also know that sometimes we can be a big jerk. It could be that you experience road rage from time to time. Perhaps you empty the coffee pot at work some mornings and don't feel like taking the time to start a new pot for the next person. Or maybe you don't return phone calls on a timely basis when you know someone needs a response from you. Have you ever "accidentally" ruined a favorite shirt of your spouse just because you didn't care for it? Come on - it's confession time! List the small things you do that make you a jerk and elaborate just a bit on each one. Please tell me I'm not the only jerk around here!

Let's get started!

1. Movie Store Jerk
When I used to work at video rental place, I had plenty of opportunity to be a jerk. And by that I mean there are so many ignorant, rude, intolerable people out there that make it easy to dislike them. First there would be the people who would walk in and demand I go find their movie for them.... for them I would wander the store for a few moments and return with a sad face telling them the movie was all out : ( I'm sure it was probably out there and if they had bothered to look for themselves they would have been able to go home and watch it.

Then there are the ones who would be rude and condescending for no good reason. I "forgot" to take the locks off their rentals before they left, just so they would have to come back and yell some more.

And I can hardly forget the regulars who would demand you check the drop off bin for them, just in case someone might have dropped off the movie that everyone else in the store has already asked for. I would of course diligently check both drop off bins, taking out all the rental cases recently dropped off, and accidentally missing the copy or two of the one they were looking for, only to go back and get it the moment they huffed away for the one person who had managed an ounce of patience while I served the customers ahead of them.

And last but not least, for the customer who would talk on their cell phone while throwing their video across the counter for you to deal with, I would play " I don't speak sign language" until they got off their cell phones long enough to give me the courtesy of a moment of their attention.

2. Driving Jerk

When people follow too closely behind for my comfort, I slow down below the speed limit until the clue in and back off. I like to drive fast, don't get me wrong, but when the guy behind me is so close that I can't even see his headlights, he needs to back the frick off!

3. Restaurant Jerk

When we go out to dinner, I have very low demands. However, if we get bad service I don't just give a lower tip... I don't tip at all! I don't tolerate rudeness very well..... just wait till I'm a mom!

4. Daughter Jerk

When I was a teen, if my mom asked me to do something I didn't want to I would always pretend I didn't hear her. Unfortunately for me, my husband also knows that game very well...

I'm sure I have a bunch more up my sleeve, but we'll leave it at that for tonight :)

Anger and Frustration

So, I'm using this new program at work to go with my awesome new computer. This program will eventually make my days significantly easier. In the meantime, it's driving me crazy!!! There is always a learning curve when you start to use a new software, and it's not even that difficult. The frustrating part is that I need to master it by Sunday!! Yeah, so that's what I did all day today, and that's what I'll be doing for the majority of tomorrow.

My super talented sister may be moving to Japan in October because, well, she's amazing. She's a pastry chef currently specializing in Chocolate art... I know, I wish I were her. Anyways, she's being more or less recruited to go to Tokyo on a year contract to work with some famous chef. She's pretty pumped.

Layla is being a brat and frustrating me, so I'm off.

Fun Monday

Yes, I realize that it is Wednesday. However, Monday was my anniversary and I was just a little distracted. Therefore, I am trying to play catch up just a little bit. I figure if I can do Fun Monday today, I'll be ready for it next Monday when it comes up right? I'm already excited about next weeks topic. But! This week is where we're at, so on with the show!

Tell me about the Super Hero in your life. Not from TV, but anyone that has been or is in your life that you have really looked up to or has made a impact on your life. It can one or many. You can share pictures if you like. Just have fun with it.

Hosted by kitten's homeschool

Right, so my Hero?

These guys :
And these Girls:

Happy Anniversary!

So, yesterday was more or less the best day ever!

I started off the day by sleeping in until 9am!! 9am people! It was beautiful. I sent the hubby off to work ( yes, he starts late, slacker) and took my time showering and getting ready to go out. I ran a few errands, grabbed a good coffee and enjoyed the rest of my morning. At 2 in the afternoon I went to pick the Hubby up from work for the surprise! We went to the European Day Spa for a massage ( best ever!) and then a pedicire ( have have pink toes, with a little white flower). The whole treatment took 2 1/2 hours! (Even Hubby liked the whole thing!) That was time and money well spent. And we're going back next month for some special deal to help training the newbies.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about my trip to get coffee. I pulled up to Starbucks, and as I was getting out of my car I notices something in the window of the store next door. I went right in (EB games) and bought Mario Kart for Wii!!! I have been waiting for this game and didn't even realize it had come out!

So back to my story. We came home from our spa day and played a few rounds of Mario Kart. Then we went to our favorite sushi place for dinner, and it was amazing! Way more than we could eat. After dinner was the movie, Iron Man! I was a little skeptical going into it, but man was it good! It had all the elements of a super hero / comic book movie. There was the typical action, suspense, love story and some pretty good humor. I was pleased. Oh, and if you plan to see it still, make sure you stay until the end of the credits. It's a short little thing, but worth it. We finished off our adventure with a pair of brownie Iced Caps at Tim Horton's, and then headed back home for more Mario Kart. We were up until almost 1:30... which wasn't so good for me this morning. But I survived as you can see.

I'm Winning!

I would like to take this opportunity to tell my Smelly... "I'm Winning!" For those of you in the dark, I'll have to tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, something like 4 years ago, I made a bet. My best friend and I were both getting a little on the chubby side, so we decided that it would be easier to slim down if we made it a competition. It wasn't. Neither of us really went anywhere. He blamed it on work and other stuff. I just didn't really give it a good run. Surprisingly, we have both on occasion renewed the bet. (oh yeah, the winner has to take the looser out for dinner.... counter-productive? So what?!) One of us always claims to be winning every time we talk, although usually neither of us are.

Fast forward to a year ago. I got married, gained more than I had ever lost, am not happy with it. This time around I have actually decided to do something about it. On a side note, my husband is tall and thin. read:very fit! When we got married he ended up loosing more than I had gained. We decided to get back in shape together. He started going back to the gym ( having quit shortly before we got married) and so did I. Now I cook 95% of meals and even pack lunches! Yeah, he's gained back about half the weight and I've lost the same. I've decided not to stop at getting back to where I was... as that's when the whole bet started. I've got a loooong way to go, BUT!!! I've already lost a quarter of the total I want to loose!!! That's right, I'm 25% done!

So Smelly.... you better get to work if you want to catch up!

In other news, it was Layla's birthday yesterday. She got a new toy and treats. The Hubby wanted to know how that made it different than any other day... I pretended not to hear.

Also something sad. My mom came out for a visit this afternoon which was great, until she told me about Fritz. Max and Fritz were my sister and my cats when we were little. We went to the SPCA and picked them out ourselves. Max (my cat) got sick a few years ago and had to be put down. Fritz ( my sister's) seemed to be doing really well until last year when he started having seizures. He didn't have them too often, but his health really started to deteriorate in general. They had to take him to the vet to be put to sleep on Thursday. He was almost 20!

On to happier topics. This time tomorrow I will be relaxed and have pretty toes! I can't wait for my massage!


Three things:
1. Pedicures and Massages in one afternoon!
2. Visiting with the Fam.
3. No rain so far today :)