it's raw

Last week my gals and I planned a celebration dinner. I had just completed a brutal exam (cross your fingers I passed) and Jo had everything for her move to Arizona fall in to place. The food of choice was "all you can eat" sushi. We could each start with three dishes before ordering more, so that is exactly what we did. What we neglected to consider was how much food that actually was! Wanting to avoid the 75 cent charge per leftover piece we literally packed it back. After that much sushi, the eel tasted particularly fishy. I plugged my nose in hopes to choke it back.

It was only minimally effective but it was my last piece.

The lesson we learned that day was: bring boys or start slow and keep ordering if you're not full. This picture showed only a portion of the plates we cleaned off. I'm surprised I didn't vomit.


Addendum: Jo and I thought it would be fun to try something out of our usual repertoire so we ordered two pieces of Octopus. If you want to feel as though you were at the table with us, check out Jo's new blog, Wind in the Hair. Click on her link and see us eat it.

when in venice

Rent a beach cruiser. It's probably the most fun I've had in months.


And if you have big strong muscles like Kris, climb a rope.


When was the last time you felt like a kid?

share the love

My love affair with Snopes is still in that new and exciting phase but I have a feeling this will be one relationship that will last. Snopes has yet to let me down, is endlessly entertaining and always tells me the truth. Take for instance a recent email that I thought was questionable. It stated that I could develop breast cancer from drinking water in a plastic bottle that's been left in the car. I consulted my new boyfriend, and sure enough, he told me it was FALSE. The only thing likely to happen is regret from taking a swig of hot water at the end of my workday... thankfully my breasts stay safe.

Several weeks back I received an email from a co-worker chock-full of great advice for teenagers written by the esteemed Bill Gates. Again, as I read it my first response was "Bull, Billy didn't write this." And you know what? He DIDN'T. My new beau confirmed this yet again.

There was also an interesting email that my pop consulted my man on before forwarding it on. I'm not a Bush fan, but I like hypocrites even less. I know Gore has justified the electricity usage, but still.

So, if some of you also share my boyfriend (we have an open relationship), please share some of your favourite moments with him?

when stress gets the better of you

As some of my readers know I have been studying for a major exam for my professional license. As usual, I procrastinated so have been cramming like crazy the last few weeks. Tomorrow I'll drive to Salt Lake to take the exam. I thought I had my stress in check until this morning. I was just nearing the corner to work when I realized that something was remiss. If I had not noticed at that moment, I would have walked in to an all boys campus without my bra on. One would think this might be some sort of dream but it was my reality. I had somehow managed to get all dressed, check myself in the mirror before departing, and drive the 15 minutes to work before it even dawned on me that my underthings weren't in order! I called my boss, told him I'd be late to the meeting, drove home and fixed my mistake. My 15 minute commute took me 45 minutes. So, tomorrow when you get dressed for your day, have a good chuckle on my behalf.

circa 1988

This picture is for my sister. She loves my jaunty smile and pose. I think she's just jealous she wasn't part of the '88 Olympic opening ceremonies. I can't decide which I like more, the silver high tops or the blue beret.



*There may be a brief hiatus on posting this week due to more important endeavours.

dad

Dearest Daddy,

Thank you for taking me to numerous Flames games, complete with nachos and malts at intermissions. My love and knowledge of the game is directly linked to you, even if I was a fair weather fan this year. I distinctly remember the moment when I grasped your explanation of an "offside." I felt so grownup giving high fives to the crew that sat around us. After the game we would hustle to the car and you would turn on the post-game wrap up on QR-77. I never really listened to what they were saying. I was just excited to swerve in and out of traffic knowing that I was up really late for a school night!

Thank you for being my being my pep-talker. Way back in grade four you told me that "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." Those pep talks continued on to my master's and even now. You sometimes had interesting ways to "encourage" but when the going got really tough, your emails really meant a lot. Other times you would just take time to proof read a paper or an application. I am still amazed at your incredible literary skills.

Thank you most of all for believing in me. It has meant more to me than you probably know. Happy birthday you handsome devil.


Love,

Your daughter.

fever...

The last time I was in a race was 1999 and it was a 5K. Saturday I completed my first triathlon and I think I'm hooked. It was nice to start out with a Sprint distance (scroll down article to see the chart), as I will be doing an Olympic in July.

I loved this photo from the race. I'm not in it and it doesn't quite capture how often you get kicked or hit but it is still cool.


After it was all said and done, I understood why people like to race. I was exhilarated, proud and glad I didn't come in last (which was my biggest fear). While I wasn't in the top of my pack, I ended up finishing not too shabbily... just over an hour and a half. It made all my monotonous workouts worthwhile. Racing gives you something to work toward, helps set new goals and work at beating past times/place. The downside to triathlons are the unflattering wetsuit and spandex. Mmmm boy.

What are you hooked on? I bet you're all hooked on this image...


or this one... (I was determined to beat that guy to the finish, which I did)