proud

Canada I love you! Hockey I love you!

Gold medal in Hockey for Canada... I LOVE IT!

Today I really miss home.

I have fond memories of hockey games with my dad... listening as he taught me about off-sides, icing, penalties, and then plenty of high fives when the Flames scored. We would share nachos and I would scarf down a malt. Mostly I felt pretty special to get "dates" with my dad on a school night. Because of him it's the one sport that I actually understand. And it's the only sport that can get me all tied up in knots.

Gratefully today ended with a smile and not a frown...

awesome

When work is totally not awesome, getting flowers from great friends IS awesome. More awesome is the mistake on the card...

"Your homos

Love Penny and Jennie"

I assumed they meant to write "your homies" but what's totally hilarious is that my friends ONLY asked that the card say "Love" and their names. Not sure how the order clerk heard "your homos" but it made the gift even better.

I love the tulips. They are my favourite flower. And I love my totally awesome friends!

should nots

Unless you're Michael Phelps, you should not wear this


I spent a week in Maui... but currently I only feel like posting things that make me sick to my stomach.

8 weeks...

of Hip Hop class starts tomorrow. Yes, this awkward, uncoordinated, clumsy gal will be seeing if she really can dance! HRH and I signed up for an eight week course in "Introduction to Hip Hop".

So what if it says previous dance experience helpful (hey, I did ballet and tap as a young child)! So what if I ain't got rhythm! So what if HRH isn't going to be there for the first, very uncomfortable first class!

At least the music will be awesome. And at least, in my head, I'll be awesome.

signs

(Parents: Do not let Children Play or climb on top of Dinosaur)

In the space of 2 minutes I saw at least 15 kids on top of the dinosaur. Who knew there were so many illiterate parents in the city I live!

not sweet

A few weeks back I told a good friend that she was "nice but not sweet." At first she was a wee bit offended until I explained that it was not an insult, and in fact I was neither sweet nor nice.

Case in point...

A insignificant friend from junior high posted a status update on Facebook that read

"Who wants to be my 1000th friend?! The prize is you get to be my friend!!!"

And right then I decided it would be highly amusing to delete him as a friend so that he would now have to get TWO more friends to reach the elusive 1000! When you have that many "friends" you won't know who did the deleting. I entertained myself with the thought of him realizing he lost a friend but unsure of who the cruel person was... and the fact that I haven't spoken to him since I was 14 I wasn't too worried about hurt feelings.

Today I remembered that I de-friended him. Much to my pleasure I found out his profile is public! So I was able to snoop on his page. The day I deleted him this was his status update:

"Someone unfriended me! WTF? Now they will miss out on abundant witticisms, glorious commentary and incessant creeping:(" (However, anyone can creep on his page without being his friend, and I have yet to miss his witticisms and glorious commentary).

I laughed and laughed and laughed. See? I'm not sweet or nice but I sure can entertain myself.

that's right, eh?

10 Things I love about being home...

1. Hearing the accents all over again. House, about, flag, bag, tag. Awesome.
2. Hearing "eh" on a regular basis, especially from my eldest sister.
3. My nieces and nephews. So cute, so funny, and sometimes so cuddly.
4. Reconnecting with old friends... especially engaged ones.
5. Snow covered mountains.
6. Eating chocolate upon chocolate.
7. Having mom make breakfast, most dinners and generally spoiling us with food.
8. Roast beef dinner with yorkshire puddings (thanks sis).
9. Going to a hockey game (oh how I miss that sport).
10. It actually feels like Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone.

May your day be Merry and Bright!!!

only me

Thank you all for your well wishes... I am on the mend... so much so that I was able to go ice skating with my girls at work today.

The recreational therapist asked if I would show her how to do a "hockey stop" on skates. Seeing as I was an experienced skater (thanks to my heritage), I happily obliged. Midway through the stop the blade of my skate flew off... which meant I fell down. All I could do was laugh. And although I was shocked, of course something like that happened to me. I'm naturally clumsy so it makes perfect sense to have a skate malfunction. She had to help me off the ice as I'm not quite talented enough to skate on one foot.

Now to find out how much it costs to replace the blade.

baby

I've been bragging most of the Fall that I hardly ever get the flu. They were doing vaccines on Friday and when the nurse asked if I was getting it, I said "No, I don't believe in those things." Well, I still don't believe in them but my bragging days are over.

For the most part I consider myself a grown up. I own my own place, my own car, and have a good job. But when I'm lying on the floor of my bathroom and praying that this will be the last time I will throw up all I can think of is "I want my mommy." Funny how being ill takes you back to your childhood days of Mom taking care of you, rubbing your back, getting you Gingerale. I revert back to being a baby. To make matters worse, I was so sore from my run on Saturday. So walking down my stairs was painful... on top of being weak from losing any kind of fluids or nutrients in my body. That is when a split-level house truly bites you in the a**. Gratefully it was a short-lived flu. I thought I was well enough to return to work today but after 3 hours of being there, I realized I could have used another day of rest. In that short time I had kicked a girl out of my office after only 5 minutes and spent another family session in a total haze. I came home with some paperwork to do and the only thing I managed to get down was take a 3 hour nap. I've eaten some toast and soup and think I'll be able to return to work tomorrow. Hopefully this means that I won't get sick at Christmas.

And I know that I will always call out for Mommy when I'm sick.

things that must go

Well the only thing I have energy to write about is one thing that really must go...

Public groups on Facebook for people getting married

Sure there are lots of clever ways to state they're getting hitched. Recent ones I've seen "So and So and their Carnival of Love", "So and So are getting married!!!!", "Team So and So. We're getting married!!!" And no, I am not a bitter single woman. I just don't understand why people will give out their address in a group that is public content. Anyone can access it.

People... make your group private or better yet, send a personal email or phone call asking for addresses you don't have. I guess I still believe that weddings should be for close family and friends so getting an address shouldn't be too difficult OR too public.

There I said it.

*If you, or someone close to you, has had one of these groups, this is not a personal attack. But really, it must go!

before and after

So I still need to hang pictures and decorate, but here are some photos of the paint job.

Living room (many thanks to my folks for helping me with this huge task)

Before:

After:

Bedroom Before:

After: (Sis, please note the bed is made better... just for you!)

nothing but the truth

There are times when I sit in therapy wondering what important details my clients are omitting from their stories. Details that would likely help them (and help me help them) in making some changes. Changes that would make their life better. I can't force it out of them. I can't always be sure my intuition is right. But I choose to believe I'm brilliant so I must be right!

And there are times outside of my work life when information would enlighten a situation. It seems like this week was full of unknown details that came to light. It isn't anything I want to publicly write about... I guess I too want to omit certain details in this forum. I do know that I'm grateful for a new week and I hope for less surprises. I hope for more loose tongues and upfront, straightforward discussions in all spheres of my life.

distracted or clumsy?

I have always stated that I am just clumsy. But lately I've been wondering if the real problem is being distracted... which leads to clumsy. Regardless, a screwdriver hitting me in the head still &%*$# hurts.

The good news... my bedroom is finally painted!

A handy painting tip for high walls - don't leave a screwdriver on top of the ladder. When you move the ladder you could end up with a very nasty surprise.

giggles

Usually my house is quiet and peaceful... except when some unwanted visitors paid a visit two weeks ago (not my parents, but the mice they so lovingly disposed of for me). I loved having my parents around. I don't think I've eaten that well in months. And they even helped me paint the place. I couldn't ask for better parents.

But tonight was a special night filled with little kid laughter. My two nieces christened my home with giggles and dancing and singing. We snuggled under blankets, they each ate their chocolate treat of choice and introduced me to the world of High School musical. Parker managed to set off a mouse trap which gave her a good fright and me a good reason to say "probably time for bed." As Parker snuggled in super close in the bed, with her arm draped across my stomach and her stuffie (aka stuffed animal) wedged between us, digging in to my back, I could only smile. Tonight this place felt even more like a home.



On the agenda tomorrow: Lucky Charms. Isn't it every Auntie's job to sugar them up before the folks pick them up???

time to sleep

It's a sign that you should have been asleep an hour ago when you use nail polish remover instead of eye makeup remover.

My right eye is not burning anymore and I seem to be able to see out of it okay. But about 10 minutes ago as I swiped my cotton ball on my eye I quickly realized I hadn't used to the right bottle. It burns folks, it burns.

One of these days I am going to seriously hurt or maim myself.

what do you call it?

It's not irony... I think... since Alanis Morrisette's song does not apparently contain "ironic" situations. But definitions are not my strong suit.

So readers, tell me what you would actually call this true event:

A person spends an hour talking with teenage boys about how to be mature and appropriate in relationships. She takes some time and effort in telling them that communication is key, and that you have to learn how to have real discussions. Texting, IM'ing is not really talking. You can mask your insecurities, show more courage and boldness without having to face the person. She hopes they have taken just a kernel of what she said to develop healthy, mature relationships.

An hour later she receives a text message from a man she has never met. He could be a perfectly nice person. He was given her information by a mutual acquaintance... a set-up of sorts. He asks her out over text. They don't even know what their voices sound like. She wishes he had listened to her advice that she gave to teenagers just an hour ago... and wondering if this is really what the adult dating world has also come to.

So, is this irony? Word aficionados please help.

This is not meant to slam this person or make fun or be cruel. It's just a huge pet peeve of mine when people use impersonal means to start/initiate relationships or hide behind their fears or insecurities. I worry that the younger generation is losing all of their communication skills because they don't even talk on the phone anymore. I'm a fan of the text, don't get me wrong... but timing and situations need to play a role in to when it is used.

posse

Sometimes I envision a posse of past pets (dogs) roaming around Heaven. Maybe not crazy Jiggs or nutty Ben... but Albert and Breta would be the best of friends... The top dogs of all the pets we've had. Ted's iguanas and geckos might be tagging along when they're not "too cool for school." And if Jiggs has learned to quit barking up in Heaven, the head honchos might let him play. That dog could be so annoying, but it was nice to finally have a dog I could put on my lap!

I might be off my rocker, but yesterday I had this image of my sister's dog Charlie jumping and licking and playing with the rest of the crew up there. His hair would still be in his eyes, and he would be as lovable and hugable as ever.

My sister once told me that getting Chuckie was the best decision of her single life. He adjusted well to her marriage and loved her kids... and they all loved him. As hard as it is to say goodbye to a sweet member of the family, I wonder how enriched my life would be if I could come home to an unconditionally loving pup. But saying goodbye is hard, really hard. And when it came to saying goodbye to our past dogs, I had a hard time remembering "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." (Oh Dr. Seuss, so wise)

As far as becoming a pet owner, I haven't decided yet. But one thing I do know is that all dogs DO go to Heaven.

when bad things happen to good people...

...who procrastinate.

Due to some bad business practices of my "former" bank surrounding my past potential mortgage with them, I decided to switch banks once I actually bought my home with a new lender. I pulled out most of my money and left just a little bit to cover the last automatic withdrawals that would happen before I could switch it all over. That was several months ago. I kept thinking I should close the account but it wasn't on my priority list, and hey, I do procrastinate. So, I was going through my secondary email accounts that I don't check every day when I saw an alert that I was in overdraft with my former bank. What the heck?! Having never been in overdraft I was mortified and confused as to how that could happen.

Turns out that a year ago I authorized my AAA account to use automatic withdrawal. Well, that yearly payment from my OLD bank account put me in to overdraft. Awesome. To top it off, I continued to get a daily charge for each day I was in the red. And because I don't often check that one email account, I've been in debt for three days. So I decided to deposit a cheque tonight to clear it all up and to once again feel like a financially responsible person... until I remembered that my debit card from that bank had expired. I shredded the new card last month because I was closing the account. Are you all following me here? So, now I get another daily charge until I can go in to the bank and deposit the necessary money. Then can you guess what I'm going to do? Yup, close that damn account... which I should have done months ago.

Lesson learned.

Oh, and I still hate that bank. Yes, I hate you WELLS FARGO.

late nights

I have this bad habit that I stay up late when my schedule changes. Since I'm going camping with my work girls tomorrow I suddenly think I'm on vacation. I'm forgetting that I'm going to be camping with them for three day and will be "working" 24 hours a day rather than my usual 8-9. I'm thinking this night owl routine is going to kick me in the butt tomorrow at about 3 p.m. Either that or the girls. Ha ha.

Wish me luck!

i'm the king of the world...

You know it's a good vacation when it involves Titanic re-enactments. I went to Vancouver Island earlier this month to spend some quality time with my folks, sister and her two adorable kids. It was what a vacation should be.

We rode a ferry (and saw Orca's on the way back)

Went to Sooke and went on some cool ziplines

Enjoyed the scenery in Sooke

Checked out Victoria Harbour

Sailed!

And rode some rides in Seattle.

This picture really epitomizes how fun the trip was.

Other non-pictured highlights...
-Watching Parker catch rain with her mouth which resulted in a soaking top
-Finally getting ice cream at the Big Moo
-Running by the ocean
-Being told by the Sushi man that I have a "nice shape and beautiful."
-Retelling family sailing stories, especially those involving my little brother
-Having my sister catch me from gossiping about a stranger that happened to be on the same bus as us