A Day In The Life

Nineteenth Century Problems

2012-01-20T23:16:00.002-07:00

I really did intend to post this for you at the end of 2011, but I am sure you will enjoy it all the same now that we have entered 2012.

So here it is, my musical version of 2011. Another yearly CD.

Nineteen Century Problems

Someday You Will Be Loved--Death Cab For Cutie
(But I Know Your Heart Belongs To Someone You've Yet To Meet)

You Can Call Me Al--Paul Simon
(I Don't Find This Stuff Amusing Anymore)

In My Place--Coldplay
(How Long Must You Wait For It?)

Girl Inform Me--The Shins
(Is There Nothing To Cure This Anxiety?)

IX (Sink Or Swim)--Peter Katz
(I Had A Noble Cause And Then I Lost It)

Alone Again (Naturally)--Gilbert O’Sullivan
(In My Hour Of Need I Truly Am Indeed Alone Again, Naturally)

She Doesn’t Get It--The Format
(I Am Bored Cause I Feel Much Older)

Eliot--Sarah Slean
(I Said I Had Hope. I Lied)

Brian Wilson--Barenaked Ladies
(Call It Impulsive. Call It Compulsive. Call It Insane.)

Another Day--Paul McCartney
(It’s Just Another Day.)

Somewhere Only We Know--Keane
(This Could Be The End Of Everything)

They Never Got You--Spoon
(Don’t Let Those Footholds Start)

You’ve Got A Friend--James Taylor
(Ain't It Good To Know You've Got A Friend)

22--Lily Allen
(How Did I Get Here? I'm Doing All That I Can.)

I Was Better Off--Phantom Planet
(I Am Where I Don't Belong)

Stop Crying Your Heart Out--Oasis
(You’ll Never Change What’s Been And Gone)

Both Sides Now--Joni Mitchell
(I Really Don't Know Life At All)

Alright, so before you start looking for a good therapist for me or wondering how you really do get someone committed, please know that I am really doing as bad as it might sound, despite how crazy, lonely, desperate my playlist looks. Musical therapy seems to be working just fine.

I know it is oh so late for any new year well wishes, but I truly do hope that your 2012 is full of magic and wonder.

Is it too early to start working on 2012's compilation?

As Always,

19th Century Problems from honeypie99 on 8tracks.

You Can Call It A Comeback

2011-11-22T22:12:00.004-07:00

Okay, no excuses. It has been more than a little stint since I last talk to all of you. Everyday I was gone I came up with excuses to not add another entry. Waiting until my next big adventure, always putting off writing until tomorrow, but let's be honest, my heart just wasn't in it anymore.

Sure I looked at my blog every once and while and had pangs of disappointment and guilt. Wracking my brain for the best comeback story of all time, but there was just nothing there. The girl who never had troubles finding something to say was finally quiet.

Life has moved on in the interim. Jenny and I did go to Las Vegas, although by now it seems almost too blurry. It took us about half a day to realize that we had probably gone on vacation to the wrong place, and a day and half before we would actually admit it. I am sure that there are lovely people who live in Las Vegas, Jenny and I just didn't happen to meet any of them while we were there.

Photographic evidence to prove we were there. Let's not get into why there are so few pictures of our trip.

So for right now, until I figure out exactly how to get back into blogging, if at all, I uhm, "borrowed" this questionnaire from a friend's blog. Cop out, you bet!

Be Rich or Famous?
Considering I am already rich, and not just in a "rich in spirit" kind of way, I am going to say famous. Besides anyone who has seen Hard Day's Night has already heard John Lennon say, "Money won't buy you happiness, my boy." Truer words have never been spoken.

Have an amazing Shoe collection or an amazing Makeup collection?
I am going to blame this one on the fact that I am Canadian and sometimes the only sensible footwear are your winter boots. What kind of girl I am if I am not really into shoes? Well, it's not that I am not into them completely, I just am kinda picky.

On the other hand there is so much makeup that I secretly pine for, but just can't bring myself to spend money on .

Be able to Sing or be able to Dance?
I really don't care if I could do either. I've got part of the Olsen Family Singers who I can call on should I ever need to perform a musical number and my new sister-in-law is a dancer. Problems solved.

But, and it's only because I don't possess a dancing gene and for reasons unknown the Church is still going with the dance thing as ways for singles to meet, I wish I could actually dance, or actually enjoy dancing.

Receive a bouquet of Flowers or a box of Chocolates?
Receiving flowers at work would be awesome, so long as there was a good story to tell from who sent them to me. But who would turn down chocolate?

Go without Brushing your teeth for a year or go without Washing your hair for a year?
I've thought about this for a while and I am going to go with brushing your teeth. I know that sounds bad, but hear me out. These people never said anything about flossing, mouthwash, gum or even wiping a paper towel across your teeth. Hair, on the other hand doesn't have so many options, dry shampoo and shaving your head are only going to work for so long.

Drink Coffee or Tea?
Of course you know the answer is neither. I feel that if I did drink these I would have to add so much sugar, cream and ice to them that the purpose would be defeated.

Converse or Stilettos?
I can't really get into Converse. There would be so little time for me to actually wear them that they would just look dumb. I really don't think I can pull off Converse at work, even on casual Fridays.

Be a Fairy or a Mermaid?
The answer is for sure not Mermaid. First of all you are part fish and you would have to live underwater. I've watched those deep sea documentaries and the Ocean is pretty gross.

Have your dream House or your dream Car?
I already have my dream-ish car. My dream car is anything that has a 2 at the beginning of the year it was made. At this point I would settle for a house. I am in the process of looking for somewhere to live by myself and sadly I have not been able to find anything to match my standards. I'm sorry that living in a basement without windows doesn't seem like such a good idea.

Ask or Answer?
Of course answer, that is why over the years I have filled out so many of these type of questionnaires.

Laugh or Smile?
Laugh. A long time ago I lived with a bunch of girls and when people were stressed, one of my roommates would insist that they laugh to make themselves feel better. It always worked. We usually ended up in a pile on the floor with tears streaming down our faces. It was the best entertainment we had, but then again we didn't have cable, the internet or even a computer at that point.

Would you rather skip Christmas or skip your Birthday?
Always birthday. Birthdays are just awkward. But I am excited for our postponed Christmas this year due to my parent's move. (Oh. I guess I forgot that my parents are moving. Now you know.)

See a movie at the Theater or at Home?
I am a movie talker. Over the years I have learning that theater people really don't appreciate movie talkers. At home movies are a lot more freeing.

Spend or Save?
I have found that when you have money there is nothing that you want to buy, it is only when you don't have money that you feel like everything should make its way home with you.

Have a picnic at the Park or on the Beach?
How is the beach a good place at all to have a picnic? The name is confusing, but you really don't need sand in your sandwich.

Kids, I'll get this thing figure out one way or another. But I take solace in the fact that I am not the only one who has abandoned their blog.

Good luck to us all.

As Always,

Either My Best Idea Or My Craziest

2011-07-25T23:07:00.000-06:00

Well, as you can tell I kinda got bored with my music posts. Thirty days is hard, and it is especially hard to write when the questions are uninspiring. What song can you play on a musical instrument? (It was going to be this one...and surprisingly on a record....just like The Friendly Giant) (Watch that last one just for Jerome's dancing. Oh Canadian TV you are awesome!)

Anyways on to today's news. A handful of weeks ago I turned 30. Yes. 30. Now to say that this change of decade was a smooth transition would be false. I called Jenny more than a few times in a panic. Jenny tried to help me understand that it was only a number and that it was the anticipation that was the worst part, but I still had a minor meltdown...or two.

At one point I told Jenny that I just needed to get out of town. Go somewhere far away and escape from it all. Not being much of a traveler or very spontaneous I am not sure that Jenny believe my threat. I hung up the phone and search for a cheap place to live out my adventure.

With limited time and somewhat limited money I only had a few choices. When I stumbled on an amazing sale to Las Vegas, I quickly abandoned my first choice of Disneyland for the adult city. I called Jenny and told her I had planned us a vacation. I am glad that it didn't take too much arm twisting to convince Jenny to come with me.

Jenny and I have both only driven through Las Vegas on our way out of the desert. We have no definite plans, other than the Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love Show. (How could we not?) I have spent the last month gathering advice from everyone and everywhere. Do you have any Las Vegas words of wisdom for us? Any must see or must avoid places?

I am a mix of nerves and excitement. Another airplane ride and the idea that our whole vacation is just a random set of letters in a computer have me a bit on edge, but another vacation with my dear Jenny and a chance to really get away from it all, have me hardly able to sleep.

Our adventure begins on Thursday. Just finishing up all of my piled up work and figuring out what to pack and then it is Viva Las Vegas!

Who's Looking For Me

2011-06-23T23:46:00.001-06:00

Day 23--A Song That You Want To Play At Your Wedding

You all already know that there won't be any dancing at my wedding, so there isn't much need for music, but after some though, I realized there is a song I want at my wedding.

My friend,Jenny, is a bang up singer. If you haven't heard her you are missing out. I heard her sing nearly every day in the three years we lived together.

So dear Jenny, I'm asking you to sing this for me, one day.

Looking For Someone--Sarah Slean

Don't worry. The wedding is a long time from now, so you have lots of time to find just the right key and we can both practice so we don't cry through the whole thing.

Thank you in advance.

Rise Again

2011-06-22T23:05:00.015-06:00

Day 22-- A Song That You Listen To When You're Sad

I'm sure you know me well enough to know that most of my discography is sad, emo music.For every happy song there are at least two that make you just want to crawl back into bed.

But thanks to my dad I was introduced to this inspirational Canadian folk song. It may sound cheesy, but it will seriously help you feel better.

Mary Ellen Carter--Stan Rogers

She's Looking Fine

2011-06-21T20:50:00.003-06:00

Day 21--A Song That You Listen To When You're Happy

There are a lot of songs I listen to when I am happy, most of them I have already listed for you. Some of my favourite to listen to are lesser known Beatles classics.

The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

Good Morning Good Morning

And Your Bird Can Sing

I've Just Seen a Face

Kansas City : Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

One of my favourite Beatles' songs is just like bottled sunshine. Just one of those feel good songs.

Good Day Sunshine--The Beatles

It's Me We Should Blame

2011-06-20T20:30:00.023-06:00

Day 20--A Song That You Listen To When You're Angry

I don't think that I get angry all the often, and if I am angry I don't listen to music.

But I did listen to this a lot after my awkward Tim Hortons breakup.

Which To Bury, Us Or The Hatchet--Relient K

It sorta helped move from the anger stage right to the bargaining stage.

Loose All Sense Of Time

2011-06-19T23:57:00.001-06:00

Day 19--A Song From Your Favourite Album

I'm sure that you just read what today's category is and feel like you should just skip over this one. After all how many times can a person hear about Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper or Hard Day's Night. We all get it. You are a Beatles fan.

I'll have you know that I have more than Beatles albums as some of my favourites.

Up To Here--Tragically Hip

Greatest Hits: Volume One--James Taylor

Futures--Jimmy Eat World

Something To Write Home About--The Get Up Kids

Even the soundtracks to Dan In Real Life and 500 Days of Summer make the movies just that much better.

But one of my favourite albums is Navy Blues--Sloan. An album released in 1998 from a half obscure Canadian band is still one of my favourites all this time later.

Iggy & Angus--Sloan

Every song is pretty awesome on the album, but don't take my word for it. Take a listen.

Let's Put On Sweatpants

2011-06-18T18:46:00.004-06:00

Day 18--A Song That You Wish You Heard On The Radio

As you all know, I like to basically force you to at least listen to the music I like, if not try and force you to love it. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to you that I wish that more people in this world not only knew about Peter Katz, but also loved him.

Why is Justin Bieber our Canadian musical export and not Peter?!?

Posters--Peter Katz

I'm sure you already love Peter just as much as I do, but if you need more convincing, check out this earlier video.

Braced Myself For The Goodbye

2011-06-17T23:49:00.001-06:00

Day 17-- A Song That You Hear Often On The Radio

I only listen to the radio during my 8 minute commute to work everyday, mostly so I can listen to the day's weather forecast and find out what is happening in local news. We have a few choices of radio stations, but I keep it tuned in to the Top 40 station.

At most I only have to listen to about one and half songs, but it seems without fail that one of those songs everyday is a Taylor Swift song.

I'm not a Taylor Swift fan, and short of the glimpse of music I hear on the radio, I don't spend any extra time listening to her greatest hits. But somehow, by the end of the day, as I am laying in bed trying to fall asleep Taylor Swift's words enter my brain. Somehow the only thought I have is "Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them..."

This is the latest single to get heavy rotation on the radio. I have actually caught myself at the office humming this song...shocking more than once. Dang you Taylor Swift!

Mine--Taylor Swift

If You Look Inside You Heart

2011-06-16T23:52:00.006-06:00

Day 16--A Song That You Used To Love But Now Hate

Hate seems a little harsh, but I try and avoid it as much as possible.

Hero--Mariah Carey

Look, it was 1993. The same year that gave us song like this and this. The song was everywhere. My Grade 7 choir sang it. (Whoa. Wait. Was I in Grade 7 in 1993?!?!) Besides this Mariah Carey album was my first CD! (Does anyone else remember Columbia House?)

Maybe I'm changing my mind about this song. It seems pretty nostalgic.

Fingernails That Shine Like Justice

2011-06-15T23:22:00.000-06:00

Day 15--A Song The Describes You

Some days we all know that this song probably does a better job at describing my current situation.

But if you are looking for a song that is really about me look no further than this early 21st century masterpiece.

Short Skirt, Long Jacket--Cake

Now, before you start accusing me of being a little too high on myself, it was actually a good friend who long ago told me this song summed me up. He has pretty good taste in girls, so it must be true.

Besides, I now drive a white car with a cup holder and an armrest.

The original music video is pretty awesome.

Relax Your Mind

2011-06-14T23:47:00.024-06:00

Day 14--A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love

Alright. Well you had better sit down and take a few breaths because this one is going to come as quite the shock.

Rock With You--Michael Jackson

Yes I know. If I preach anything on here it is love only The Beatles and that Michael Jackson is someone to be feared, right after Satan. But there is just something about this song that I love.

It's probably just the flashy background on the video, or sparkly jumpsuit and boots. But maybe, just maybe I should give MJ a little more credit.

Who am I kidding...Thriller is still pretty frightening.

Like The Greats Did

2011-06-13T23:28:00.003-06:00

Day 13--A Song The Is A Guilty Pleasure

Hey I'm not too proud to admit that sometimes there is nothing better than a Made For TV Disney movie. Perfect for sleepovers, rainy days and times when you just want to see Zac Efron or the Jonas Brothers.

Even if you try really hard, you will still be singing the songs from these movies days later.

Whether it is High School Musical, Camp Rock or Starstruck.

But one of my favourite cheesy Disney songs is from Camp Rock 2

Heart and Soul--The Jonas Brothers

Good luck getting it out of your head now.

You Make A Grown Man Cry

2011-06-12T23:21:00.002-06:00

Day 12--A Song From A Band You Hate

Well Nickelback just seemed like the easy answer. Even if girls do like this song. (No they don't. Seriously.)

People often assume that if you like The Beatles then you must automatically like The Rolling Stones, and the answer is no. Heavens no.

So take your pick, every Stones song is bad. At least The Beatles never had to dance around to improve their music. Just admit that even Yellow Submarine is 100 times better.

Start Me Up--The Rolling Stones

Black Mining Hills Of Dakota

2011-06-11T23:49:00.003-06:00

Day 11--A Song From Your Favourite Band

I'm more than certain that you have all been around here long enough to know what my favourite band is. After all I have only mentioned it...oh...24 times on here.

It is much too difficult to choose just one favourite Beatles song. They are all serve different purposes depending on what mood or situation I am in. But I do always seem to love listening to this White Album gem.

Rocky Raccoon--The Beatles

I'm pretty sure that I love it so much because it reminds me of when we received a Gideon Bible in Grade 5.

Looking for some more Beatles suggestions? Try this previous post.

Almost All The Time

2011-06-10T23:50:00.003-06:00

Day 10--A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

I'm really hoping that these categories get better. This one is pretty lame too.

If they were looking for a movie, I would say Breakfast at Tiffany's (but not the song) in a heart beat. Kinda strangely I'm not really listening to music when I am falling asleep.

I did find this playlist the other day online of the perfect music to fall asleep to. I haven't tried it, but give it a whirl and let me know what you think.

I guess if I was looking for something to keep me calm and relaxed, nothing really does a better job than James Taylor.

Something In The Way She Moves--James Taylor

I'm Only Good At Being Young

2011-06-09T23:50:00.001-06:00

Day 9--A Song You Can Dance To

Boo. Can you say lame category? Maybe if we were a stake dance I would say this song or this popular medley

So how about a song about today.

Stop This Train--John Mayer

That is all for today.

You Mean Every Word You Say

2011-06-08T23:23:00.000-06:00

Day 8--A Song That You Know All The Words To

I know the words to a lot of songs. Songs like this one. But I guess that more than once knowing the words to songs has really saved the day.

Like the time I was in show choir (yes, we can all laugh about that) and during the big concert the girl singing the solo forgot the lyrics to this classic. I stopped my background ooo's and helped her finish the number.

But I think my favourite story really proved the point that you shouldn't sing the song if you don't know the words.

My friends and I use to frequent a local coffee shop. On Friday and Saturday nights semi-professional talent entertained the patrons. But one night seemed to be amateur night, as the entertainment was just a couple of kids with guitars.

The group announced their last song and after the introduction was played the lead singer froze not knowing what even the first words were. Thankfully Ashley and I were there to save the day and we loudly sang the song and helped the band get back on track.

Faith--George Michael

I Hope We Don't Forget

2011-06-07T14:39:00.004-06:00

Day 7--A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event

One night a couple of my friend and I hung out with some super awesome guys. Short of the continual game of Skip-Bo that we played that summer, I can't really remember what we did for most of that night.

As the night got later our guys mysteriously left and came back with a thermos of hot chocolate and a couple of blankets. They announced we were going to drive to the mountains and watch the stars.

As we drove to the mountains they introduced us to some of their favourite bands. And as the hour long trip came to a close we had found a favourite song. By the time we reached our destination we were all singing it at the top of our lungs.

One Year, Six Month--Yellowcard

We watched the stars from the beach and left just before the sun began to peak over the mountains.
We made jokes about this night and song for years to come.

You Can Take My Breath Away

2011-06-06T23:53:00.000-06:00

Day 6--A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere

Hmmmm...this one wasn't that easy to come up with. So I searched my brain until I came up with a good enough answer.

One of the summers when I was in university I work at my local town hall putting together an information brochure about our town. It was a pretty awesome job and I even had my own office, tucked away in the Economic Development department.

Everything was okay, until the person who's office was next to mine kept, on repeat, all day, every day this song...

Hero--Enrique Iglesias

And he seemed like such a cool guy.

This song just makes me laugh every time I hear it just thinking about that crazy summer.

Will I Live With Him

2011-06-05T22:16:00.003-06:00

Day 5--A Song That Reminds You Of Someone

This time of year, for the past two years, has been difficult. After a very short battle with cancer, my friend died at the beginning of July 2009.

My friends and I, for the most part, have done a pretty good job moving on with our lives, but every once and a while, something out there reminds us of just how much we miss our friend, and we usually end up in a mess of tears.

Letia's mom asked me to put together a video for the that we memorial held a few weeks later. I went to her house and gathered up old family pictures to begin my sad task. A few song choices floated around my head, but nothing really felt right. Letia and I had not shared the same taste in music, at all. So in an inspired move, I asked her mom if I could borrow her ipod to see if I could find a background song.

I searched her most played songs, and like some answer from heaven itself, one of the top ten songs was the most fitting song.

When All Is Said And Done--Katherine Nelson

Thankfully I don't run into this song very often, and I try not to watch the video. But it ended up being the perfect choice and fit not only the occasion, but also Leita as a person.

I dedicated Heart of Life--John Mayer to Letia on my 2009 yearly cd.

Like I Never Occured

2011-06-04T17:50:00.003-06:00

Day 4--A Song That Makes You Sad

Definitely more than enough time has passed to tell this story. A long time ago, in fact the last time the Seahawks and Steelers played each other in the Superbowl, I got my heart broken. I didn't write about it at the time because the guy use to...and hopefully still does...read my blog. But that was a long time ago so I think the story is free to tell.

After confessing my undying love in an email of all places, I got an email in response that said, "We need to talk." I knew this wasn't going to be the happy ending I had wanted and suggested we meet Tim Hortons to get my heart broken.

After a long amount of awkward silence my one true love began to list all of the reasons he didn't want to date me. The conversation ended with him suggesting that I should begin to channel all of my energy into jogging. To this day I am still not sure if I should be offended by this or not.

Sad and dejected I went home to wallow in my own self pity. My roommates helped fill my time with everything except the suggest jogging and we spent the next couple of days eating cheesecake and watching horrifically sappy movies.

A week after my Tim Hortons breakup, I found an email from the guy with the lyrics to a song he thought he would dedicate to me. The song did nothing to make me feel better and if anything it had an adverse reaction.

Okay. So that was a long time ago. I've gotten over it and moved on. Heaven knows it all worked out for the best. But sometimes, when I just in one of those moods, this song still strikes some nerve.

Someday You Will Be Loved--Death Cab For Cutie

Indecision With The Best

2011-06-03T23:56:00.002-06:00

Day 3--A Song That Makes You Happy

I've come to the realization that I listen to a lot of music that makes me happy. It was hard to pick just one. But let's list some of the runners up.

1

2

3 / 4 (But only when Ashley sings them for me)

And of course 5

But I love...

Faded--Soul Decision

If you have never heard of Soul Decision you are really missing out. Formed in the boy band heydays and heavily featured on YTV's Hit List, Soul Decision still brings a smile to my face. I am sure they will soon become on of your favourites.

She's Got

2011-06-02T23:28:00.002-06:00

Day 2--Your Least Favourite Song

I thought about this all day and have come to the realization that I hate a lot of songs. Songs like this one.

The other day I was driving to work and this horrendous song came on the radio.

Bette Davis Eyes--Kim Carnes

To add insult to injury I stumbled on a website that will show you what the number one song was from the day you were born, and of course, of course, guess what just happened to be topping the list.

Bah!

Let's hope Day 3 is better.

Unknown Quotients

2011-06-01T23:39:00.002-06:00

Oh kids. I would say that it has been one of those days or weeks, but it seems like it has been one of those years. Can you believe that we have already made it half way through 2011. Barf!

This year is strangely wearing me out. My coworkers and I literally count the hours every day until the weekend, and sadly weekend after weekend goes by without getting anything crossed off my to do list. Wasn't I suppose to unpack from my move last September before now?

Look, I definitely learned my lesson. Do not complain about work. Insanely busy at work is much, much, much, much better than no work at all. But sometimes I wish I had a couple of months to myself again, just to get some things done and maybe spend more of my time talking to all of you.

So....hows about another 30 day blog challenge!?!?

I decided to undertake the 30 Day Song Challenge that has been floating around Facebook for some time now.

Day 1--Your Favourite Song

Seriously?!? You expect out of my whole music library to pick just one stellar tune?

So I thought I would leave for you a song that is definitely climbing the most played charts on my ipod.

Girl Inform Me--The Shins

I've seen Garden State....more than once. I thought The Shins were all too played out on my ipod, until a few weeks ago when this song randomly began playing. I've been mesmerized ever since.

You could do worse than The Shins, even if they do remind me too much of Zach Braff. Take a listen if you aren't familiar.

See you tomorrow!

Eastern Daylight Time

2011-05-16T21:44:00.003-06:00

Look, I don't feel that bad for not blogging. I personally think blogging is on its way out. One day it will just be another one of those funny internet things that sound vaguely familiar like chatrooms, Netscape or Myspace. But in any event, I'm here for a while yet.

Most of you have all but forgotten, but I really did go to Toronto at the end of April. ("I've got pictures to prove I was there, but you don't care.")

Thankfully I put 21st century technology to use and tweeted the whole trip. I knew I would be much too lazy to write up what we did when I got back, and heaven knows that I took only a handful of pictures.

But here are the highlights, if you are the kind of person that actually likes vacation slide shows.

I mentioned before that I wasn't a very good flyer. I like the convenience of getting to a destination in a short amount of time, but I still don't like anything about flying. I appreciate the free movies and drinks which help me take my mind off the rest of the experience. I, horrendously, was the dreaded middle seat both on the way there and back. I know, I know, I am one of those complainy people mentioned here.

Toronto is Canada's largest city. It is completely different than Western Canada, and even even though we have some of Canada's largest cities in Alberta, it is nothing compared to Toronto.

We did a lot of walking and took public transit everywhere. I will tell you there is no difference between a bus, streetcar, subway or train.

We also did a lot of eating. There was so much good food everywhere. In Greektown we had some authentic Greek food and amazing honey balls. Fresh, the delightful vegetarian restaurant, where the deep fried tofu was amazing. Huge, handmade burgers at the Great Burger Kitchen and fudge I still dream about from Niagara Falls. It is probably good we did so much walking.

We did the regular Toronto sites. Dundas Square, Eatons Centre, St. Lawrence Market, The Distillery, Yorkville and of course, the CN Tower.

The view was pretty amazing. The glass floor and outside observation deck were pretty scary, and so we didn't spend that much time there, but the SkyPod, a glass enclosure on the spire of the the tower, was impressive.

As we were leaving the CN tower we had a chance sighting of a celebrity. A lady excitedly stopped a guy who had just walked past us. It turns out that he was "Ryan" from All My Children. Not keeping up with soaps, Jenny and I had to look him up on IMDB to find out who he really was.

We walked by the Hockey Hall of Fame like the good Canadians we were, but didn't go inside. I bet Wayne Gretzky is sad.

One of my favourite places we visited was the CBC building. I was hoping to catch a glimpse at my favourite Canadian Broadcasting superstars like Peter Mansbridge or George Stroumboulopoulos

But to my excitement, and the excitement of any Canadian from my generation, was all of the Mr. Dressup artifacts that we go to see!

Jenny and I decided to take the GO Train out to Niagara Falls. The train was pretty easy to figure out and it was only a couple of hours until we reached our destination. We, of course, picked one of few rainy days, but it was still an impressive site to see.

We got lost in the rain trying to make it back to the bus and so we were cold, wet and tired and didn't really feel like taking in all of the cheesy sites that Niagara Falls had.

The trip was over much too quickly. It seems like we squeezed in a lifetime of events into a short six days. But the best part of my whole time was just being able to have face-to-face conversations and jokes with Jenny once again. Sometime you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

A HUGE thank you to Jenny for being such a wonderful tour guide. I can't wait until we are in the same time zone again.

No rest for the weary, life seemed to pick up right where I left it. I am looking forward to my next adventure, wherever that may be.

Just keep doing what you're doing.

As Always,

Eastern Standard Time

2011-03-30T23:35:00.002-06:00

So much for my big return to blogging. Can you even believe how dangerously close we are to April? There is no way that a quarter of this year is already behind us. Barf.

Since Jenny moved away in September, nearly seven months ago, we have kept in pretty good contact, possibly better than when we lived in the same house. Our Friday phone calls have become a tradition, and sometimes, like this week, our Friday phone calls extend into Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday...thank goodness for free long distance. For all of you who think the phone call is dead, fear not, Jenny and I are keeping it alive.

With the casual 'see you' at the end of our phone calls, we usually catch ourselves, realizing that with the 2,616km (1626 miles) it could be a long time before we actually see each other. But thanks to the government and somewhat large tax return, it won't be long until Jenny and I will actually be in the same city once again.

I found a cheap enough flight and ran the idea by Jenny. Now with a little more than 20 days left until I arrive in the T-dot (I'm almost cool enough to go there) Jenny and I have been making plans of all the must do places and events.

So please share your Ontario wisdom with me and let me know if all things we would be foolish to miss. (No, we aren't going to the Hockey Hall of Fame.)

Also, this is my first solo adventure. Any travel tips you would like to pass on? Are you a window or an aisle person? (I'm definitely aisle) Anyone else suffer from motion sickness? (When did I become Margo Pike?)

I am hoping to document some my trip, so stay tuned for the updates.

I'll talk to you all again soon. Good luck in your future endeavours.

As Always,

Truth Is I Never Left

2011-03-18T23:41:00.001-06:00

I'm still here. I've just been quiet for the last 46 days.

In the five years that I have been blogging, February 2011 was the first month I missed. So for all of you who were concerned, wondered if I had given up my nonsensical ways, or possibly died, fear not. You couldn't get rid of me that easily.

Everyday in 2011 has seemed to go by faster than that last. Work has been insane since the beginning of the year, making typing anything or being anywhere near a computer the last thing I want to do when I get home from work. Combine that with the annoying chest cold I have had for the past two weeks, making falling into bed the first thing I want to do when I get home from work.

Besides there seems like there have been a million other important things going on besides my daily musings. Things like this, this, this, this,this, this and let's not forget this.

Don't worry, I've got more to say, so I'll talk to you all soon.

What More Do You Want?

2011-01-31T23:47:00.001-07:00

Phew! Well, at least we made it through another January. January always seems to be the most taxing of the whole year. While I don't put a lot of faith into February being any better, at least January is gone for another year.

I know I am just squeaking this post by, and that 2010 seems like more than a life time ago, but here is my 2010 yearly CD, 'What More Do You Want?'

Who I Am—Nick Jonas & The Administration
(I want to break all the madness but it’s all I’ve have)

Happiness Is A Warm Gun—The Beatles
(She’s not a girl who misses much)

No Such Thing—John Mayer
(I like to think the best of me is still hiding up my sleeve.)

Honey Pie—The Beatles
(So won’t you please come home?)

Mushaboom—Feist
(It may be years until the day my dreams will match up with my pay.)

Don’t Pass Me By—The Beatles
(Does it mean you don’t love me anymore?)

I Hate My Generation—Sloan
(Maybe it’s my fault)

Yer Blues—The Beatles
(Yes, I’m lonely)

Don’t Forget—Demi Lovato
(Did you forget about me?)

You Never Give Me Your Money—The Beatles
(See no future, pay no rent)

To See You—Peter Katz
(I just can’t take you so far away)

Two of Us—The Beatles
(You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out of here.)

Something On—The Tragically Hip
(I know the alienation)

Baby You’re A Rich Man—The Beatles
(How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?)

Quelqu’un m’ dit—Carla Bruni
(On me dit que le destin se moque bien de nous) (They tell me that destiny makes fun of us)

Let It Be—The Beatles

(And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me)

Yes, you saw that correctly, there are eight Beatles songs on this years album. The original plan was to have the whole CD just be The Beatles, but it felt kinda wrong not including Peter Katz , that I decided to make only half of the album Beatles. So for every non Beatle song, there is a Beatles song that matches up with it. Fun and games on this years compilation! See if you can figure out what songs go together.

To make your life that much easier, I have also made a YouTube playlist of all of the songs. So sit back and take a listen.

Let me know what you think. Any songs on here that you love and/or hate?

Post a comment or two if you know what songs go together.

I'll Have You Know

2011-01-26T23:56:00.003-07:00

I tell myself everyday to stop being so lame, but so far I haven't really taken my own advice. I have every intention of actually publishing the many posts that I have just been squirling away for a few weeks now. And I hope to actually let you all in on my 2010 Yearly CD. Fingers crossed it makes its way to your computer before January has left us for another year.

But to not leave you empty handed, with only promises I am sure to break, I found this adorable, true to life video for you. Enjoy!

I really do love you all, and will be back before you know it.

As Always,

Return Of The Fascinating Girl

2011-01-07T23:36:00.024-07:00

With darker hair and a much need haircut, I am ready to take on the new year, and look pretty good.

I did have to suffer through this lady cutting my hair again (Seriously, I need to find somewhere new to go), but at least this time the end results weren't nearly as drastic as last time. And give my hair a few weeks and it will be just the perfect length.

But I think the thing that I love the most is my new coat. After hitting up an after Christmas sale I scored the tailored wonder, severely marked down.

I know what you are thinking, it is the perfect Fascinating Girl coat! I don't know that the picture does it enough justice, but it has put a spring in my step since I bought it.
What do you love wearing? Have you found any seasonal scores?

Auld Lang Syne

2011-01-04T23:32:00.001-07:00

Sorry kids, I can't predict the future. I can't tell any of us whether 2011 is going finally be our year, or if it is going to be a year best forgotten. But I can make a suggestion. Why don't we just try and live this year the best we can? Maybe it's time to finally find joy and excitment in whatever is thrown at us.

We are all going to be okay.

Here is our new mascot.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&from=sp&vid=079cd314-c39a-451a-88de-697f7c5c4548" target="_new" title="Happiest Penguin Ever">Video: Happiest Penguin Ever</a>

Where Have You Been?!?!

2010-12-29T23:37:00.023-07:00

It looks as though December and 2010 itself has almost slipped away without a word from me. I doubt that most of you were overly broken up, or even realized that so many days had passed without commentary from me. After all it looks as if most of you have given up blogging as well.

So for all of you (all three of you) here is what I have been doing all of December.

1. Jenny moved two whole time zones away this fall and even though I talk to her every Friday, and sometimes even more often then that, she came home early in December and we have been spending as much time together as possible. We have been staying up way too late, eating much too much food and laughing like old times. It will be sad when she has to return to her eastern home next week.

2. Thankfully our office Christmas party has long since come and gone. After two unsuccessful tries to find a date to the party and with less than a week to spare, I asked this guy. (Who, yes, is this guy too) The party was as good as office parties go, even though I had to hustle us out of the party somewhat early due to the excessive amounts of business cards my date was handing out. Family and friends were appalled at my horrible date, but I feel like I have been on worse. Maybe it is time to re-read this article.

3. I went through the temple for the first time on December 18. It was a good experience, although not without its first timer faux pas. Between all of the interviews, arrangements and six weeks of temple prep, nearly four months had passed since I first decided I should go. It definitely taught me patience and helped me feel prepared for a lovely day with all of my family and friends.

4. Christmas with all of its noise and chaos came and went in a flash this year. My 1 ½ year old niece made me laugh every day during my time off work. We chased each other around, went swimming and read countless books. She mimicked every word out of our mouths. It is sad to see someone so adorable leave.

5. On top of all of the Christmas rush we even found time to exchange our yearly CDs. I’ll post the details of my CD later, but after the blur that 2010 ended up being, it was difficult to put together a compilation of more than four songs.

What have you been up to?

So with the days left of 2010 quickly falling away, we gratefully have come to the end of another year. It looks as through my January 2010 promise is coming true: ‘We Are Going To Make It Through This Year If It Kills Us.’

Phew.

Stop Filing It Under Lame

2010-11-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

I understand I am from Canada, and from Western Canada at that. Cold weather is nothing new. After a slow start to spring and only a handful of days of summer, we were ready to ease nicely into a mild fall, but somehow we were unexpectedly hit with sub artic temperatures last week, and with each passing day it seems to get colder and colder. I think this morning was the coldest at a bone chilling –38*C (-36.4*F) with the wind chill. Even at lunch, four hours later, with the sun brightly shining, it only made its way up to –25*C (-13*F) with the wind chill still –30*C.

I understand that only a handful of you can really understand and appreciate how cold that really is. It is the kind of cold that takes your breath away and even with multiple layers of sweaters, coats, scarves, mittens and boots it somehow isn’t enough to keep you warm for more than a minute. And on those really cold morning, after staying in your warm bed for as long as possible, the cold makes you want to just sit in your car and cry from the drastic temperature change.

I, for one, miss global warming.

But for generations we have been dealing and coping with this cold weather. Here is the story.

Alfred and Fanny Garner, along with most of Fanny’s family was asked by John Taylor to come to Canada to settle. Leaving their Utah home they made the long trek to settle in Southern Alberta. Probably, just like my mother, they were horrified with how large the sky was, were puzzled by jam in a can, and learned the real pronunciation of shone, but settled in and helped to establish the town of Caldwell.

After a particularly cold winter, some of the Utah natives had enough and abandoned their Canadian homes for the Southern climate. Alfred and Fanny stayed, and now five generations later we still live only a couple of hours from their Caldwell home.

I really do love living in Canada. Where else can you get universal health care and butter tarts? But I guess the cold is just something we have to deal with. There is no wonder why the Canadian Olympic team’s uniform included mittens. Besides don’t you have to love a country that thinks 35*C (95*F) is unbearably hot?

Answering To You

2010-11-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

Oh ha! More than half of the month has gone and you haven't even heard a peep from me. Although I feel somewhat justified in my long sabbatical after writing way too much last month.

So exactly what have I been up to.

1. Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month)

I debated for while about participating, until a friend said, why not just start? So a few day's into November I pounded out this opening sentence.

The kitchen still smelled like spicy chicken curry or at least that is what Amber assumed the smell was.

Sounds like a best seller to me! But close to the third week on November I only have 400 words. Somehow I don't think I will be making the 50,000 goal this year.

2. Peter Katz

I know I write about Peter every time he makes a stop in town. Like usual, he didn't disappoint.

Seriously, just love him already.

3. Winter

We had been enjoying a love warmish fall, and then without a lot of warning, winter started earlier this week. To look outside is nothing but depressing. Amazingly we all quickly found our mittens and remembered how to drive in the snow.

As I drove home tonight after work my car politely reminded me it was a brisk -15*C (5*F), and all I could think about was how much colder it is bound to get. But before we all get too depressed, let's not forget where we live, there is bound to be a chinook before long.

4. New Baby

On Monday, November 15, just as the snow began to fall, we welcomed a new baby. Convinced for months that it was a boy, my second niece, Macy Jane surprised us all coming two weeks early.

We are all excitedly looking forward to visiting our two favourite little girls.

So despite how fast November has flown by I have been busy enough. It feels like forever since I have seen any of you. What have you been up to?

And...Scene!

2010-10-30T23:35:00.000-06:00

Well, here it finally is, Day 30. Thanks to all of you for reading, even if it was periodic.

So today I am suppose to to tell you about my plans for the next thirty days. To be honest I don't have any real plans for tomorrow, let alone for the next thirty days. But after some thought, I have come up with a list of things that I probably should be doing in November.

1. Decide if I am going to participate in NanoWriMo

2. Happily listen to Peter Katz lull me into submission

3. Clean my room...Oh my.

4. Make a decision about Preference. (Really?)

5. Finally find out if I have a new niece or nephew

6. Find something to wear to my Christmas party...and I guess a date too.

7. Start putting together my end of the year CD.

8. Plan all kinds of adventures, if only to document them for you.

So it looks as if November will be just as busy as the rest of the year. I still can't believe it is November.

Thirty days of writing was a challenge, but thankfully it got easier with each passing day. I suggest you give it a try for your blog. I just hope you don't mind if I am quiet for a day or two....or three.

Good luck to all of us.

Done For Another Year

2010-10-29T23:47:00.000-06:00

Well all of my Halloween celebrations have come and gone, and all without me having to hear 'The Monster Mash' or 'Thriller'. I am still amazed at how much confidence you can get from backcombed hair and black eyeliner.

So on this the last Friday of October, I thought that it was about time that we participate in Fill In The Blanks Friday.

1.The first thing I do in the morning: is cry and wish I had ten more minutes to sleep.

2. Today I wish: I could have had an afternoon nap. We were all so tired and cranky at work today.

3. If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today: (Actually, I do. Thanks payday.) Sadly I have a new car to pay for.

4. Tomorrow I will be: Sleeping in (Do you see a theme here?) I have been looking forward to my quiet weekend all week.

5. Two things that don't go together are: Beans and dessert...sorry Eric.

6. Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is: Magazines. I buy a new one most every time I get groceries. It's a real sickness.

Here For The Times

2010-10-28T23:02:00.000-06:00

I'm not just here to entertain you, but today I'm also here to help you. Not too long ago I stumbled on to a pretty awesome website.

Just admit it, since they stopped making them with cords, we have all lot our phone at one point in time. There is nothing more annoying than not being able to find your cell phone just before you are about to leave the house. You spend precious moments looking under couch cushions, searching all the various nooks and crannies, until you just wish someone would magically call your phone to aid in your search.

Fear not! Your prayers have been answered. Check out ican'tfindmyphone.com. Just enter your number and this handy website will call you (free of charge, I might add) to help you find your phone. It even has a congratulatory speech for you when you finally do find your phone and answer the call.

Another problem solved....you're welcome.

Loving, Living, Everything

2010-10-27T22:35:00.000-06:00

As much as I love my blog, sometimes it just doesn't do it for me. So for those boring day to day details and all of those events and ideas that are much too personal to post on here, (They are the back story to all of the song lyric posts.) I have a couple of real, paper and pen, diaries to record even more of my history. (There's more?!?)

Blank notebooks somehow seem kinda intimidating, so I picked up diaries that have a little more to them then just lines.

1. 5 Year Diary

A cute little book that only has five lines to record each day. You would be surprised how fast you can fill up five lines with your day to day comings and goings. It's awesome if you want a daily record of what you have been up to.

2. Wreck This Journal

Perfect for those boring days, or a great way to get your creative juices flowing again. This journal has different ways to use and abuse the book. It is great for those of us who hate to mess up our beautiful notebooks with writing.

3.Keel's Simple Diary

More like a psychology test, this diary is full multiple choice questions to answer about your day. Perfect for when you feel like you have nothing to say. An easy way to just share your peace of mind.

How do you document your life?

Everything Is Going To Be Okay

2010-10-26T23:56:00.000-06:00

Today wasn't the best day ever. I was running late all day, no matter how much I tried to catch up I was buried under a pile of work, my throat hurt, I missed more than one person terribly, winter tried to make an early appearance and to top everything, I had no idea what I would write for you today....until I found this. Yes, just minutes before a new day begun, it all felt like it was going to be okay.

Remember The Book of Awesome I told you about a few weeks ago? Here is the author of the book making a pretty inspiring speech. I know, I know, it is 17 minutes long, but well worth your time. Take a break from everything else and watch.

Don't Back Out Now

2010-10-25T23:54:00.000-06:00

Aren't you going to be just a little bit sad when October is over?

Today I am suppose to tell you about my favourite fiction book. Most of you know that I hardly finished any of the selections our book club picked. (I still can't believe I was in a book club.) But when picking books of my own choosing and not analysing them to death, I kinda like reading.

So instead of one book, I will tell you about my favourite author. Sophie Kinsella is a British author who writes hilarious, girly books. Years ago, I decided that I needed to do more reading in my life, and I wandered the bookstore trying to find something to whet my reading appetite. I finally stumbled on a bright pink book, "Confessions of a Shopaholic." It seemed more like a self help book, and so I blindly purchased it, and to my surprise had stumbled on a fantastically funny book. The Shopaholic books soon turned into a series of books, each one funnier than the last. (Don't watch the movie...it will just make you sad.)

I was delighted to see that even even the stand alone books were awesome. And I now have quite the collection of Sophie Kinsella books on my bookshelf.

Enjoy a reading from one of her new books. (It's a pretty great book.)

Check out all of Sophie's books, they are well worth your time.

Meow!

2010-10-24T23:23:00.000-06:00

I came up with a Halloween costume probably a month ago. I got some super cute sequined cat ears. I know that doesn't sound like much of a costume, but it is different than my standby wings. (Plus a lot easier to work my way through crowds and doors with out the wings getting in my way.) I have searched online and have found some pretty good makeup tips, so now all I have to do is tart myself up, and Halloween is underway.

I am not a huge fan of Halloween, although I use to be more into dressing up, until this story happened.

A few years ago I got invited to a Halloween party. It was going to be THE Halloween party to attend, and I got a special invite by the host, who just happened to be an adorably cute guy. He insisted that it was a costume party and so I spent the next couple of days scouring around for a costume.

I showed up to the party fashionably late enough, and as I entered the party I could see that no one else was dressed up. I ran into the host who, was also dressed up, and thanked me for following his party rule. He said that even though it was a Halloween party, on Halloween day, no one showed up in costume. I tried to ditch my costume to make it look like I wasn't dressed up, but there weren't a lot of alterations I could do. The party was fun enough, once I got over my embarrassment.

So since that time I have had some justifiable paranoia about dressing up on Halloween, and usually opt for costumes that can be dropped at a moments notice.

What are you dressing up as?

It's Been A While

2010-10-23T22:07:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I could hold on
Say to my heart: "it won't be long"
Yesterday I could hold on
Wait for the time that you'd come along

But not today
No I'm not ok
I just can't take
You so far away

I just want to see you

Long ago I had a plan:
Roam like the wind, drift like the sand
Long ago I had a plan
And come what may
I could withstand

But now the plan
Keeps me from you
I'm not convinced
I can follow through

I just want to see you

For one more night
I'd throw it away
Just say the word
I'm here to stay

And if you won't
Maybe I will
Love I would kill...
Just to see you.

"To See You" --Peter Katz

This One Is About Gum...Really

2010-10-22T23:44:00.000-06:00

I am insanely tired tonight, not only from a very long and busy work week, but also from chasing my goofy, but adorable 1 1/2 year old niece around all night. It is scary how big and smart she is getting.

But because I love you, and only because of that, I am writing another blog challenge post. Today I am suppose to tell you a fun fact about me. First of all, every single fact about me is fun, but secondly, I think I have shared just about everything a person can share on a blog. So I thought and thought and thought all day of something that I haven't shared with you, and sadly only came up with this lame tidbit. Yes, I am apologizing in advance.

What feels like many years ago I lived with 7 other girls. It was a super diverse house, from the girliest girl to the absolute tomboy. Everyone had such different personalities and character traits. Included in this was a girl that was so super cheap. I know that sounds harsh, but I think she would be okay with that characterization. She hated to buy anything new, and was always on the look out for free items, no matter what they were. (She's that girl would bring home leftovers from any and every party she went to.)

Anyways, among a throng of money saving methods, she use to only chew half a piece of gum. She could make a regular package of gum last two weeks to a month. Out of everything she did, we made the most fun of her for only chewing tiny pieces of gum. After all how expensive is gum anyways?

Flash forward to a year or two ago, when I was quickly running out of gum, and money. Suddenly the idea flashed into my head to give chewing half a piece a try. At first it seemed way too small. What was the point of even chewing any gum if it was going to be that tiny? But after a week or so of chewing my half pieces I gave up this lame money saving tactic, and once again returned to regularly portioned gum....only to realize that a whole stick of gum was way too big,and it was all I could do to keep myself from choking on this giant wad.

So now I'm hooked. In fact, I have even started to half my halves. I know it sounds absolutely crazy, but give it a try, you will soon agree with me, and will find it hard to go back to just chewing gum willy nilly.

Sorry. No one promised you sanity around here.

As Always,

Yesterdays Hits

2010-10-21T23:42:00.000-06:00

Tonight, while looking for some fun, I decided to hit up a local thrift store. I love looking at all of the rejected items. Combing through piles of clothes to find that one still perfect sweater, having a good laugh over hideously ugly knicknacks, gazing at all of the books, records and tapes of long forgotten super stars. But the best has got to be looking at all of the rejected electronics.

There you are sure to find old Atari systems, well worn typewriters, rotary phones and early digital alarm clocks. Tonight I even found an electric tie rack. Out of the whole store, it seems like the electronics department is like taking a trip back in time. How cool would I be if I had all of this stuff in the 1980s.

I know it is only a matter of time before my laptop, cellphone and ipod make its way to this technological museum. Funny to think how fast life moves.

So if you are feeling slightly nostalgic, or wish you could return to a simpler time, try hitting up your local thrift store. Even though I don't have a land line, consider buying me rotary phone if you stumble upon an awesome one.

Maybe When You're Older

2010-10-20T23:10:00.002-06:00

Today I'm suppose to tell you all about my last big purchase. I figured I couldn't fill up more than a few sentences talking about my new mascara. Yeah, you read that right, my last big purchase was very black mascara. When your eyelashes resemble those of the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia, mascara plays a pretty big role in your life.

So today, rather, I thought I would share with you one of my favourite stores. I learned about Anthropolgie from friends who has returned home from New York. Never thinking it was more than just a local New York shop, I didn't both to research the subject any further. But after stumbling into Anthropologie during one of my travels, I immediately fell in love.

Full of all kinds of beautiful clothing, knicknacks, jewelry and housewares, it seemed like like a store thought up by a true Fascinating Girl. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised it they even had a copy or two of The Fascinating Girl for sale, although, probably ironically.

After falling in love with some amazing aprons, I gasped when the price tag was close to $100.00. So sadly Anthropologie is my dream store, but definitely out of my price range. It's probably good that the closest one is a few hours drive from me. I spend hours on the website gleaning ideas, and for right now that is good enough.

Only ten more posts to go! Don't give up on me now.

Goodbye 2010

2010-10-19T23:14:00.000-06:00

Where did the weekend and summer time go?
It seems like this work week just grows and grows

-Peter Katz, " 'Til You Come Home"

(take a listen to it here)

I realized today that we are quickly approaching November. Where did this year go? To make the drifting year even more obvious, if you can believe it, our office Christmas party invitations were handed out a few days ago. It's only six short weeks until our holiday celebrations begin. Only six weeks to find something to wear, and not as exciting, find a date to accompany me to the party...(any takers?)

Before we know it I will be trying to put together a sensibly flirty Halloween costume, making Preference plans...(wait, I thought I wasn't going this year) and welcoming another new baby to our family. (Trust me, it's a boy.)

It all feels like it is moving too fast.

Civic Duty

2010-10-18T23:06:00.000-06:00

I voted today. Yup, today was our municipal election and I went and voted for a new mayor and eight aldermen....alderpeople?

Now, I've talked about voting in the past, sometimes at length, but voting could be possibly the boringest thing that a person could do. Call me a product of my generation, but I am convinced that voter turnout would be a lot higher if there was a little excitement added to the event.

Voting starts out fun. Usually there is a chance to go to see inside new churches or community centres. Do you think I would have gone to the Canadian Italian Club had it not been for voting? After insuring you have gone to the right polling station, the fun ends.

Tonight, after I had registered to vote, I was handed a Scantron ballot, just like those multiply choice tests of high school days. I was super excited! This wasn't going to be one of those mark an 'X' kind of voting experiences.

I sat behind my dark cardboard partitions and was greeted with a black Sharpie marker to fill in my ballot. No voting machines, no hanging chads, no fun. I carefully marked my ballot and returned it to the volunteer at the ballot box.

He carefully scanned my ballot and dropped it in the box. The whole process was over before it even began. I sadly walked out without a balloon, prize or even an 'I Voted Today' sticker. Just the pride of civic duty.

I'm not looking for much. How about some Rice Crispie Squares and watered down peach punch? Maybe an awesome cheer every time a new ballot is dropped in the box? Or just a friendly high five from one of the volunteers overseeing the whole democratic process?

Is this too much to ask?

Best Part Of The '80s

2010-10-17T23:28:00.002-06:00

Today one of my favourite blogs made a list of her favourite cartoons. It helped to remind me of all of those early Saturday mornings I spent in front of the TV watching all of my favourite animated series. See if you agree with any of my choices.

1. Inspector Gadget--My brother and I use to watch this every day after school. I always wanted a computer book like Penny's, and thought that it was super awesome that the van turned into a police car. Sure, I was terrified that I was finally going to see Dr. Claw's face, and I was disgusted with how stupid Gadget was, but it always a hilarious show to watch. Besides, it is the place that taught me about snow blindness.

2. Care Bears--I'm not going to lie, but I hated whenever Noheart was on the show. To me he was the scariest cartoon bad guy. Shrieky and Beastly seemed more comical than frightening. I still think that there is nothing that a Carebear Stare can't fix.

3. Tiny Tunes--I know so many people love the original Looney Tunes, but let me tell you that the better of the two really is the 1990s version.

4. Gummi Bears--The theme song still puts a smile on my face. Please don't tell me that you don't wish that Gummi Berry Juice wasn't something real.

5. Dr. Katz--This isn't a Saturday morning cartoon, but still super awesome. My brother and I use to watch this late at night after coming home from our fast food jobs when we were in high school. It is hilarious. I wish I could find somewhere to watch it today.

1,826 Days

2010-10-16T23:11:00.001-06:00

It all started with this and after five years I still love this picture.

It was one of the three Ashleys I lived with who introduced me to blogging. I never thought that it would be something I would stick with through 560 posts and 5 long years. Eight of us lived a horribly small house, so small in fact that the only place we had to put our computer was in the cold and disgusting laundry room in our basement.

Life has changed so much in five years, new jobs, different house, roommates and friends who have come and gone. I am more than grateful I have documented it all. It is fun to see how far I've come.

I have taken a brief look through some of my past posts and have moments and memories that I had completely forgotten about. Take a look for yourself and discover some of your favourite musings.

Thank you to all of you my readers, whether you have been here since the beginning or just started today.

Here's to at least five more years!

Cop Out

2010-10-15T11:18:00.009-06:00

I'm sorry. Today's post is really only going to be funny for a handful of people. It's been a long day. I promise tomorrow will be better.

Thanks Tommy Douglas!

2010-10-14T23:08:00.000-06:00

For the second year in a row, I got a flu shot. Along with a strange mix of young and old, I waited in line to become vaccinated yet again.

I don't know if I have ever had the flu, I think I had it a last year, and I will tell you that it was no fun. I literally did not get off the couch for a whole week. (Well, besides this odd night.) So I guess 'A Poke In The Arm Is Better Than A Week In Bed'...I can't take credit for that, this was the title of a super lame newspaper article encouraging people to get flu shots.

I am going to attribute it to my blood donating, but I am no longer afraid of needles. I remember squeezing my friend's hand almost off when we got shots in Grade 9, and I spent a whole summer trying to avoid the public health nurse at the hospital I worked at who was trying to convince me that I needed a meningitis vaccine.

There is something strangely satisfying about overcoming your fears. It is probably time that I give the dump another try, or even watch Michael Jackson's Thriller video all the way through. So today, why don't you look one of your fears right in the eye, it might just change your life.

Oh, and maybe think about getting a flu shot too.

Amen

2010-10-13T23:43:00.001-06:00

Tonight our living room, along with the rest of the world, burst out in applause as we watched the first and last of the 33 Chilean miners rescued from where they had spent the last 70 days, deep underground.

Check out pictures of the amazing rescue.

As someone who only recently was reunited with a far away brother, I had a small idea as to the excitement those families were feeling. I was in constant contact with my brother, and even knew an amoeba wouldn't stop me from seeing my brother again.

It seems like it is only events like this that make us remember how blessed we are, and all of the small things we take for granted everyday.

Congratulations to the rescue workers who worked tirelessly to get the miners free.
Welcome home to the brave men who survived the ultimate challenge.
Thank you to God and all his angels for not only insuring a safe and effective rescue, but also for watching over these men for so long.

Miracles really do happen.

Short Long Week

2010-10-12T23:40:00.000-06:00

Second Mondays

2010-10-11T22:58:00.000-06:00

The happiest of Thanksgivings to all of you.

I know that all of my American fans are shaking their heads and laughing at our early celebration, but let me tell you here and now that Thanksgiving in October could be the best decision we have ever made.

1. What else are you doing in October? It is nice to have a holiday in every month, and without Thanksgiving, we would just be stuck at work.

2. The end of November is kinda a dicey time. It could be absolutely beautiful, or we could have piles of snow. While, yes it is Canada and it could potentially snow in August, the chances are a lot better for a nice day in October.

3. Our holiday is on a Monday. That means I have all of Saturday and Sunday to relax before I have to even think about the stress of a holiday.

4. No Black Friday. You might think we are sad about this, but luckily we have a happy holiday almost entirely invented for shopping called Boxing Day, a fantastic way to get in on the post Christmas sales.

5. Turkey is always welcome. With two and half months between Thanksgiving and Christmas, enough time has passed to enjoy our Christmas turkey just as much as we did at Thanksgiving.

I know I can never convince you that our Thanksgiving is the better of the two holiday, but I promise you that you would love it if you gave it a try. Come celebrate with us next year.

Today's Thought

2010-10-10T23:37:00.003-06:00

"I like life. It's something to do."
--Ronnie Shakes

The Best Game You Can Name

2010-10-09T18:51:00.001-06:00

How can you tell that I am Canadian?

Along with close to 5,000 other people, I spent my Friday night cheering the local hockey team on to victory.

Hockey really is huge here. Here are some examples:

CBC, one of our national TV stations, has named Saturday nights, "Hockey Night In Canada"
My eighteen month old niece enjoys watching hockey
Nothing has made me more nervous or more proud then Team Canada winning the Olympic gold medal.
Believe it or not, I once had my very own hockey stick

Take a listen to our own hockey song (I strangely know all the words to this song) and just embrace hockey.

A Laugh Every Time

2010-10-08T23:34:00.000-06:00

Phew. It has been a long day, and a long week. But thankfully it is a long weekend, and I am excitedly waiting to sleep in, catch up with some old friends and eat turkey. (Seriously. You should definitely give Thanksgiving in October a try...but more on this later.)

Today I am suppose to tell you about my favourite TV show. I rarely watch much on TV when it is actually on....thank goodness for the internet and DVDs. But there is one show that I get a kick out of watching when it is on TV.

Come Dine With Me doesn't mean to be a funny show, but it is one of the funniest shows on TV. This is a British gameshow where 4 people throw a dinner party for strangers who score each contestant's dinner. The person with the highest points wins 1,000 pounds. I am pretty sure that I only love this show because the people on it are English. Considering the fact that England was such an influence on Canada, we sure eat different and talk different. Each dinner party has at least one dish that I have never heard of, and everyone on the show has such a unique way of putting words together.

Seriously, I am not doing a very good job at selling this show to you. Watch it for yourself and have a laugh or two.

There is a Canadian version of the show apparently in the works, but like any TV production in Canada you have to live in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) to participate....Jenny, I'm counting on you. I would love a chance to compete, mostly just to see what kind of score I could get. While I'm sure the Canadian version will be decent enough, I don't think it could be nearly as humorous at its UK counterpart.

Literary Abandon

2010-10-07T23:13:00.000-06:00

I got an email today from NaNoWriMo encouraging me to participate again this year.

NaNoWriMo is the challenge where you have 30 days to write a 50,000 word novel. If you can imagine, November is right around the corner, and another opportunity to become a novelist is right before you.

I am debating whether or not I will participate again this year. I never did finish my story from last year. I left my main character sitting in her car, not knowing what to do next. But, it really was an amazing experience, and hard to believe that I had the ability to write as much as I did.

If you are even the littlest bit intrigued, I suggest you give it a try. It really is the ultimate challenge.

Not Campbells

2010-10-06T22:34:00.001-06:00

I hope you all aren’t getting sick of me just yet, there are still 24 days left to hear from me…oh, that’s still a lot. Hopefully you don’t mind if I don’t have much to say in November.

Today I am supposed to tell a true funny story. I like that they had to add in the true part. Please know that all of my stories are at least 90% true. So today I thought I would tell you my most requested story.

(I apologize to all of you who have heard this story live, in person, more than once. I promise tomorrow will be better.)

What, pray tell, do you think my most popular story is? That one story that gets requested again and again, the tale that people ask me to tell to their friends and their family.

Is it bread dog? How about weight lifter guy? Maybe it’s the “think about puppies” lady? Nope. By far my most requested story is ‘Kraft Dinner Soup.’

I realized that for my international readership maybe I should explain Kraft Dinner. I know you are all thinking it sounds like the most extravagantly awesome meal you could eat, but in reality it is really just Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I just looked it up, and it turns out that it was originally named Kraft Dinner, but changed in America to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to target children. In the UK it is called Cheesy Pasta. If you have yet to try this orangey concoction, when made properly, it really is some kind of comfort food treat.

Alright, on with the story.

When I was in college and university I lived with my grandparents. The idea was that I was supposed to live there and help them out, but in reality it never really worked that way. As often as I volunteered my services, they insisted they didn’t need my help, and as a result we often got meals similar to this one.

One Saturday my blind grandfather decided that he wanted Kraft Dinner for lunch. Knowing I could make it in my sleep, I volunteered but Grandpa insisted that he use to make it on his mission all the time, so he would tell Grandma how to make it. So Grandma got out the pot and boiled the noodles. When the noodles were sufficiently cooked, she asked my grandpa what the next step was. “Well, you need one cup of butter and two cups of milk.” my grandpa said confidently.

I am pretty sure that there was an audible gasp that came out of my mouth. Anyone out there who has had Kraft Dinner knows that those amounts of milk and butter are about 10 times what you should add to your macaroni, however it was too late to stop them and my grandparents carried on.

Grandpa then instructed Grandma to add the “cheese.” Grandma said that it looked like too much to add for just one little box, and she had decided she would only add half of the pouch. At this point I knew I was going to have fake some illness to stop from eating this disaster. Grandma mixed everything together and put our lunch in bowls for me and Grandpa to eat. It was only then that, on top of the excess milk and butter, I realized that my grandma had also forgotten to drain the water from the noodles.

There, waiting for me was light orange macaroni soup.

Impressive Culinary Skills

2010-10-05T09:54:00.002-06:00

Today I'm sharing a recipe with all of you!

Two years ago, in fact the very night before we took my brother to the MTC, my brother and I were watching TV at my grandma's house. My grandma doesn't have cable, and quite often there are only a handful of things to choose between. We ended up watching a cooking show, where they shared this recipe. My brother and I agreed that it seemed like something good to eat, and when we got home, I looked up the recipe and decided to make the Key Lime Bars. Every time I made them I thought about my far away brother.

Key Lime Bars

CRUST
1 1/4 cups animal cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons brown sugar

pinch salt

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

FILLING

2 ounces (1/4 cup) cream cheese

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

pinch salt

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Use either greased 8" square pan, or 9"x13" pan.

TO MAKE THE CRUST: In pulse in blender/food processor animal crackers until broken down. Add brown sugar and salt. Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

TO MAKE THE FILLING: While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zest, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

They really are good, even though you have to wait so long for them to cool. Enjoy!

What Did We Do Before You?

2010-10-04T00:48:00.002-06:00

I'm doing pretty good (so far) with all the daily blog post! Hooray for me!

Today, I have to share my favourite You Tube (or is it YouTube) video for you.

Whenever my friends and I get together the last part of our time turns into what we like to call the You Tube Party. Everyone has a video that is so funny that we all crowd around the computer monitor and watch random, but most of the time, hilarious videos. We engage in this type of party so often that I have probably spent hours of my life on You Tube.

Because I love you so much, I am not going to share just one of my favourite videos, but three! All of them different from the last, but pretty awesome too.

1. Carmen, Are You Excited For Christmas?

Even though this adorable baby has since grown into a pretty wacky little girl, this video is still so much fun to watch, even if it isn't Christmas.

2. Posters--Peter Katz

Awesome song, even better video. Don't you just love Peter Katz?

AYAOTD Summaries

Cheesy TV show + Hilarious commentary = You Tube Gold

Have your own You Tube Party! It will be one of the best things you did all week!

Do you have any must watch videos I need to see?

Dewey Decimal Fan

2010-10-03T06:10:00.002-06:00

Today’s challenge post is to tell you about my favourite non-fiction book. I am a big fan of non-fiction. As any of my previously employed by Chapters friends know, I could spend hours making my way through the Reference section. I love books filled with quotes, lists, random facts and how-tos.

So of course you would guess that The Fascinating Girl ranked pretty high in a list of my favourite books to flip through. Full of detailed how-tos on what to wear, say and do to win a guy, this serious book makes me laugh every time I pick it up. While we have seen that none of this really works to win the one you are chasing, it has made me more conscious of being ladylike.

I’ve almost been a Beatles fan for longer than I was a non-Beatles fan. Over the past few years I have collected quite a number of Beatles paraphernalia. But out of all of it, my favourite would probably be my Beatles Anthology book. As an accompaniment to the Anthology documentary of a while ago, the book is everything the six DVDs are and more. It is huge! If someone ever breaks into my house, fear not, I’ve got a weapon to defend myself with. It is jammed packed from the top of the pages to the bottom with pictures, quotes and even more information than any Beatles fan should ever really know.

A few months ago, dear Google Reader suggested that I read a blog called 1000 Awesome Things. A list of all of those little things through out life that might not be that big, but just make life that much happier. I loved reading the blog. On those days when things felt like they weren’t going right, that blog helped to remind me of all the things that I should be grateful for. So when it was announced that the blog was now becoming a book, I picked up a copy of The Book of Awesome. I lay in bed every night stifling laughs as I read about all the awesome things in the world. I nodded my head in agreement at most of the suggested things. Every chapter helped me to remember something else in my life that was awesome. It was truly one of the most delightful books I have ever read.

Have any non-fiction suggestions for me?

I'm Fine. How Are You?

2010-10-02T01:05:00.004-06:00

There are three provinces or 3,318km between Jenny, and me and according to Google Maps, it is going to take me 1 day and 11 hours to drive to her. That is pretty far. But in the past five weeks since Jenny left we have kept in pretty good contact. Between phone calls, text messages, various email accounts, Facebook, blog comments and Twitter, there has been no shortage of ways to share information.

But thankfully Jenny convinced me that there was nothing better than receiving a good old-fashioned letter. We have only sent each other one letter, but it has been fun looking in the mail and having something other than bills addressed to you. Sure the news is kinda old, and I have to come up with $0.57 and an envelope to send something, but there is something really satisfying about taking the time to drop that letter in the mailbox.

So, why not send someone a real letter today! Even if they only live across the street, I know it will make their day.

Good luck to us all.

As always,

Looking Back Before Looking Forward

2010-10-01T00:21:00.000-06:00

You will never believe it, but October marks my 5th Blog-iversary! For five years I have been writing more than nonsensical posts for all of you, strangely enjoying it more every passing year.

So as a treat for you, I thought I would participate in the 30 Day Blog Challenge. Essentially I have to write something new for all of you, all month. (Sorry. This month it is quantity over quality.)

There are more surprises planned for the rest of the month, so be prepared.

But, thank you to all of you...all of you...for reading my musings. When I started this blog on the computer we had set up in our laundry room five long years ago, I never thought I would still be going strong after all this time.

Today's Challenge Blog is to post a picture myself that was taken ten years ago. Luckily for me, and all of my saved email, I had a picture of a 19-year-old Denise.

Oh my. Don't I look young! This was taken for one of my college classes. (A class I really hated. Can you tell?)

Check out that old tyme computer monitor, and the huge binder I use to walk around with (Do they even have binders like that anymore?) And yup, that is my natural hair colour. (What! You're not a brunette?)

It is amazing to think about how much has changed since this picture was taken. How in ten short-ish years so much, and yet so little can happen. I'm too afraid to think about all that is to happen in the next ten years.

More tomorrow!

As Always,

Too Old To Begin The Training

2010-09-29T11:11:00.001-06:00

I hope you guys haven't all gone away, losing faith that I would ever write again. I apologize. To be honest I have been totally uninspired lately. Besides, after the busy days we have been having at work, the last thing I want to do is come home and type. Maybe I should hire myself an assistant.

I promise there are good things in the works, so please be patient.

The other night I ended up hanging out at someone's house, and as these kinda things go, someone pulled out the game Apples to Apples. Through out the past couple of years this game has become less magical, less funny and more insidey jokey, but the other night was one of the worst games to date.

After drawing out the adjective, dead, we all began to look through our hands of nouns to pick out the best answer. Someone from the group asked if Ghandi was dead. There were a lot of blank looks, and so I finally informed the group that he had been assassinated, and besides he would be very old by now.(Yah, I learned about Ghandi in Grade 9). The game moved on, until someone said, "Who's Ghandi anyways?"

I gave my new acquaintance a brief history of an imperial India and hunger strikes, but I don't know that it did any good.

Only a few cards later, someone drew Frank Lloyd Wright, and after again no one knew who he was, I told the group he was an architect. Only to be asked, "What's an architect?"

I spent the rest of the game playing my more 21st Century nouns, and held back things like the Challenger Explosion and the Bates Motel. I didn't think I could patiently explain that the Bates Motel was from Psycho, an Alfred Hitchcock movie, only to undoubtedly hear, "Who's Alfred Hitchcock?"

I understand that this all sounds like I am a little too pretentious for my unread friends. But obviously the creators of the game thought these were famous enough people and events, or they wouldn't have included them. And I know that I should cut my younger friends some slack, after all most of them were born long after any of this would have been current events.

But maybe pick up a book or two, enroll in a history class, read wikipedia, if only to make Apples to Apples that much more fun.

Oh well, what am I going to do?

Yup.

As Always,

Unpacking Boxes, Slowly

2010-09-09T23:15:00.000-06:00

Yes. September has long since begun, and you haven't heard a word from me. In my defence a few things have been going on since we last spoke.

1. I know you all know, but I did move. I live in a basement, which is a lot different from the second storey apartment that I use to live in. (I miss the birds.) In the move I upgraded from my trusty twin bed, all the way to a queen size bed.

After the years I have spent confined to my smaller bed, I haven't quite spread out like I probably should, but I have enjoyed the extra room and one half of the bed is littered with books and magazines, similar in many ways to opening scene of Dan In Real Life.

(If you still haven't seen Dan In Real Life, how are we even friends. Please, go right now and buy it. I promise you won't be disappointed and can probably score a pretty cheap copy for yourself. I went to check the first part of the movie, and ended up watching the whole movie, wondering why I didn't travel to Rhode Island or meet people in bookstores. It really is that good.)

2. I joined the Laptop Club. After years of wish and waiting the computer gods finally smiled on me. I am now able to compute on the go, no longer confined to my desktop, like life in the 1990s.Yes, I've got my desk set up for when I get serious and want to do some major computing, but most of the time I enjoy the freedom of checking all of my social media and watching movies from the comfort of my bed.

At this rate I'll never get the TV set up. It's still sitting on the floor by the couch.

3.Seeing all the sites of the Treasure State. I spent the Labour Day long weekend with my family in the thriving metropolis of Great Falls, Montana. I know you are jealous. The weather wasn't that great, and in reality there isn't that much to do, but we still had a good time.

Another summer has come and gone. Fingers all crossed that the end of the year is somewhat exciting.

(In other blog news, please don't forget to check out my brother's new blog, as well as updates from Jenny in Toronto!)

Love you all. Thanks for your continual reading.

As Always,

Thanks Evergreen Terrace

2010-08-29T23:15:00.003-06:00

Goodbye scary elevator.
Goodbye noisy birds in the trees outside the window.
Goodbye screaming girls jumping on the trampoline across the street.
Goodbye annoying buzz from the front door.
Goodbye neighbors who fought after coming home from the bar every weekend.
Goodbye people down the hallway that look like the Black Eyed Peas.
Goodbye 7-11 within walking distance.
Goodbye strange ethnic food smell in the hallway.
Goodbye creepy half naked guy who lives on the first floor.

Hello new postal code.

Amazing!

2010-08-26T13:09:00.002-06:00

There is nothing funnier than a conversation with friends about your favourite tv shows and toys when you were little. Out come all of the memories-- Care Bears, Thundercats, Ninja Turtles, Pound Puppies. People start singing theme songs, remembering old McDonald’s commercials with Grimace and Birdie, talking about iconic figures like Fido Dido, and suddenly you are taken back to a time where summers were spent building forts in the field by your house and when you ate way too many watermelon Jolly Ranchers.

Everything is going good, sharing the same childhood experience, until you mention that one show or that one toy that no one seems to know anything about. With your mouth falling open in surprise, you can’t believe that no one remembers Samurai Pizza Cats or Pogo Balls.

For years I have been trying to tell people all about one of my favourite shows, in the hopes that someone else would remember it, but sadly they never do. Only a segment on a show that my older brother recently remembered was Vid Kid, was Computer Man. The rest of the show was kinda lame, in fact Computer Man was lame too, but we loved to watch it. Computer Man would answer all of your questions. The host of the show would ask, “Do you have a question for Computer Man?” while flailing his arms around like a robot. Kids from the audience would ask questions of Computer Man, while pretending to be robots themselves. (I don’t really know why a robot would have to ask Computer Man questions.) Computer Man would then act out the answer to the question.

I am pretty sure that the only reasons that my brother and I remember this show at all is because we always thought the questions the kids asked were so lame. “Computer Man, how do you spell cat?” “Computer Man, do you like ice cream?” My brother and I would shake our heads in the disgust at the simple questions they were asking a computer. We would come up with elaborate math problems and wrack our 4 and 6-year-old brains to come up with a difficult question to ask Computer Man.

In reality, if we were ever actually on the show, we would probably not be able to come up with a good question for Computer Man. And as all of you who knew me in the 1980s would guess, I would probably just end up throwing up if given a chance to talk to Computer Man.

I have been searching for years for any mention on the internet of Computer Man. But of course always came up empty handed…that is until now!

A big thank you to my brother who found Computer Man for us! And now you too can share in the enjoyment that is awesome 1980s technology! “AMAZING!”

Serious, Sometimes

2010-08-16T12:55:00.000-06:00

I am pretty good at spurting off all of the nonsensical, unimportant details of my life for you. In the whole time I have been recounting my life for you, I am sure that only a handful of real, important events have been discussed. Hopefully you are not looking at this as an informative way to catch up on my life.

So, let’s discuss some real life events that have been going on lately.

First, and I would say most importantly, our favourite Elder Garner finally returned home from his Dominican Republic mission. He is a lot tanner, skinnier and taller than I remembered. He still has a half an accent and gets a little freaked out that we drink water from the tap. He bursts into loud Spanish songs every once and a while, but deep down, he’s still the same guy we loved before.

It is getting close to two weeks since he got home, but you still can’t imagine a happier family. It is so great to be all together again. And thankfully, phew, we don’t have to send any more missionaries out for a long, long time.

Secondly, I should let you know that Jenny and I are moving. I have known for quite a while, almost half the year, but yes, after living together for over three years, we have finally decided to go our separate ways. Jenny is leaving me for the wonders of Eastern Canada, and once again is donning the title of student, this time in Toronto. I, on the other hand, am moving just down the street. Exciting, I know!

Moving felt so far away, something in the far future that one day we would have to figure out, but now we are down to single digits countdown until Jenny leaves. (Luckily I have a few days longer until I have to move out.) I walked up the stairs of our somewhat creepy apartment building last night and realized how much I would miss living in our deluxe apartment in the sky.

I don’t know that Jenny and I have come to terms yet that we aren’t going to be with each other anymore. Some days it feels as if it is really time to say goodbye and move on with our lives, and other times, I am sure that both me and Jenny would be willing to commit another three years to each other. But it is probably for the best. You know our saying anyways, “Friends can live in different wards.”

The summer seems to be slipping quickly away from us. I for one am excited to see it go and move on to September. It will be nice to get back into a routine and, hopefully, more serious matters.

Good luck to all of us. There is so much to do in the next little while.

Anyways.

As Always,

To: From: Subject:

2010-08-03T23:00:00.001-06:00

You know what I realized the other day? I’ve had the same e-mail address for at least 10 years. I closed my eyes and tried to think back to when I opened my e-mail account. I know that I use to send emails to my friends from our high school library, only weeks before large signs were put near the computers stating, “Internet not very personal use.” And considering that I attended high school back in the 1900s, it has been at least ten years that I have been sending and receiving email from that account.

My inbox is pretty full. Every once and a while I clean it out, filing important emails into various email folders. After a quick check I saw that that the earliest email I had saved was from September 2000. I have all the emails sent from my younger brother’s mission, and all the emails from my older brother’s mission (back when missionaries didn’t email home every week) I’ve got planning emails from when I was the Relief Society president, arrangements of Preferences gone by and emails I sent to friends when I had boring summer jobs. I have emails from high school friends, and college friends and even my celebrity friends like The Tragically Hip and Odd Todd. Emails from guys I had crushes on, the email I sent declaring my undying love for a guy, and I even saved the ‘you’ve been dumped’ email I received.

If you’ve ever written an awesome/fun/cute comment on here, chances are that I saved the e-mail I got saying I had a comment.

Poor email has taken a back seat in our communication world, what with Facebook, text messages and instant messages. My inbox isn’t as busy as it once was. It seems today that it is only littered with online specials and various newsletters I have signed up for. A few years ago I opened up a reputable email account that sends me boring online bill payment reminders and service requests for my car. (Note: If you are still sending important emails to your accountant or lawyer from your 2hott4u@mail.com* email account, it’s probably time you get your own respectable email address.) *I wonder who’s email address that is?

But you know it is nice to look back at all of those saved emails. I like to think they are there to remind me how far I’ve come.

But I've Found A Driver And That's A Start

2010-07-29T08:34:00.007-06:00

See! I’m not the only person over the age of 12 who is trying to peddle the Jonas Brothers on to you. Even Paul McCartney thinks you should give them a listen.

Take a look at this short video of them performing Drive My Car at a recent Paul McCartney Tribute/ Gershwin Prize Concert. Apparently Paul hand selected all of the people performing, including Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello and surprisingly Jack White of the White Stripes.

Are you not a little bit curious who the other Beatles would select to play at their tribute concert? I can’t even imagine who John would like. Do you think that Lady Gaga would be too over the top for him?

I Know Who I Am

2010-07-27T23:57:00.001-06:00

You know what, I have never come right out and said on this blog (although I am sure that you all already knew.) I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints……(I kinda hoped you sang the song when you read that.)

I read a lot of blogs (including yours!) but one of my favourites includes a special posts called True Story. The True Story posts interview people of interest, whether it is someone who started their own magazine or someone who is a cancer survivor. Just every day people telling their own story. A few weeks ago the interviewer posted a long list of people she was looking to interview. I scanned the list to see if there was something that I could be interviewed on. I am an orphan…nope. I’ve been in drug rehab…nope. I scanned the list of things I wasn’t and most of them never hoped to be until I saw the one I could be interviewed about. I am a Mormon…yup! I emailed the interviewer and suggested she ask me all about my faith. But sadly she didn’t choose me. (From all of the comments, there seemed to be a lot of Mormons who wanted to be interviewed.)

A few days ago, while reading my long list of blogs, I saw that True Story was featuring the Mormon!

So since I wasn’t the chosen interviewee, I decided to answer all of the questions asked, just for you all. (Yes, I have taken some of them out since the person who was interview is now a former Mormon.) Enjoy!

For those of us who don't know about it, could you give us a brief overview of Mormonism?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it is officially called, is the same gospel as organized by Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. In the spring of 1830, a 14 year old farm boy, Joseph Smith, confused about what church he should join went to the woods to pray and both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and told him not to join any church, but that the gospel of Jesus Christ was to be restored to the earth once more.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized including the translation of an ancient record called the Book of Mormon (Wonder why we are called Mormons?) that tells of Christ’s visit, after his death, to the people on the American continent.

We continue today, with prophets and apostles. We have congregations, called wards and stakes, all over the world. We have over 100 operating temples and missionaries that teach of this restoration throughout the world.

What are the biggest misconceptions about Mormons?

We are everywhere. Seriously. I am sure that all of you have run into a Mormon or two in your life and might not have even known it. Maybe it’s your doctor, your mailman or that person standing next to you in line at the store.

We also consider ourselves Christians. We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of our church. We believe in his atonement and resurrection. While we do have other scriptures in addition to the Bible, we do study the Bible. (In fact I teach a Sunday School class all about the Old Testament this year.)

How did you come to be Mormon? Were you raised in the Mormon Church?

I was born and raised in the Mormon Church. I have pioneer heritage on both sides of my family. My parents met at BYU. You can’t get anymore quintessential Mormon than that.

How does being Mormon affect your daily life?

I don’t know that I think about being Mormon every day. I don’t come to the office and think, “Now, don’t drink coffee today.” Being a Mormon is just who I am. Just like my name is Denise, or the fact that I am Canadian.

Just like any religion, I'm sure there are varying degrees of commitment to the Mormon Church. Did you ever drink alcohol or coffee? Smoke?

No, I have never had alcohol or coffee and I’ve never smoked. I don’t drink Pepsi or Coke. But there are lots of people, even people who are not Mormons, who don’t drink or smoke. I don’t feel like I am missing out in life. I guess we know how to have a good time without those things.

What does the Mormon religion bring to your life?

Peace and a plan.

Sure there are still decisions I have to make about my life everyday. Where am I going to live, what am I going eat, but for the most part I have plan for my life. I have an end goal. I am not afraid of the future.

What advice would you give to someone interested in joining the Mormon Church?

Give us a try, it might just be what you have been looking for. Keep an open mind. Don’t worry about what you will be missing out on or giving up. I promise you that we are not an oppressed people. Talk to the missionaries, talk to other Mormons. Join us on Sunday to find out what we are all about.

Come Play With Me

2010-07-13T23:02:00.002-06:00

Oh kids. I feel like I have been gone for a long time, but in reality it hasn’t been that long. Although, I am the impatient blog reader who yells at my computer if certain blogs don’t update everyday. Maybe it is time I make some offline friends. :)

So for all of you who have been holding your breath, every so patiently waiting for a new something to read, here it is. (And quite long.) I wouldn’t be that creeped out if one of you changed your Facebook or Twitter to “Hooray! Denise blogged again.”

Of course you remember the calendar that hangs in my office. Every month there is a list to complete. (I have written down things for the other months, but just haven’t gotten around to posting them on here, yet.)

July asked us to make a list of our favourite games. So here is it! Hopefully you agree with some of them.

Board/Card Games

Trains. It’s really called Ticket To Ride, but surprisingly I can never remember that. Be a jerk and put your trains in the middle of someone’s line. Fly under the radar, circumvent the major ports and end up with a train from Edinburgh to Athens. It all ends with a semi-challenging math exercise. But despite the sound of it, it’s actually a pretty fun game.

Trivial Pursuit. Since the days of Quiz Kids (“Kermit is a ________?”) I have loved to test my knowledge. For the longest time my family only owned the original, dark blue boxed version of Trivial Pursuit. The questions involved events that occurred long before my birth, and most of the questions were still dealing with a very communist USSR. We have since moved on the challenging Canadian edition, and easy 90’s version but sweet satisfaction still comes every time I earn another piece of that plastic pie.

Skip-Bo. I lived at a house that one summer went through an immense Skip-Bo phase. We set up on the kitchen table, added more and more decks to the pile and the never-ending game continued for the whole summer. When someone got tired of playing, someone else subbed in. When it was time to sleep the game paused and we picked it back up in the morning. For the longest time after that summer I felt ill whenever it was suggested we play Skip-Bo, but every once and while I pull it out and remember the raucous games that occurred that blurry summer, long ago.

Video Games

Tetris. One Easter in the early 90’s we got Tetris for our computer. I have loved it ever since. Back then I could barely clear two lines at once, let alone get a whole tetris. Thinking the game was gone with the original Nintendo, I was ecstatic to find the game I loved online. I am now a Tetris master, performing back-to-back tetrises with ease. Thanks Russia for a wonderful way to pass the time.

Original Mario (preferable with Duck Hunt on the same cartridge). We never had a Nintendo growing up. Occasionally we rented a unit during our holidays from school, and spent the next couple of days becoming “vidiots.” I know that other Marios have been introduced, but my favourite is still the original. Hands up if you can still sing the whole soundtrack to the game.

Aladdin for Super Nintendo. Run through the streets of Agrabah, find the princess, unlock the Genie, take a magic carpet ride and beat the big boss, Japhar. My brothers and I spent a great deal of time trying to beat this game, and just when we thought it was impossible, we became victorious. It was the first game we were ever able to win.

Karaoke Type Games. I’m not much of a singer, but give me a microphone and scoring based on tone and accuracy, and I can belt anything out. Whether it is Rockband (especially Beatles Rockband), Singstar or even the creepy Filipino version our ward has, I’m the singer for the band, and love watching those points climb higher and higher…. on easy mode, of course.

Other Games

Celebrity. Some paper, pens and a big bowl and you have a game of hilarity on your hands. Write down your favourite celebrity (Sometimes, just for fun, throw in your own name.) and have your friends try to get you to guess who the person written on the paper is. Without a doubt, Canada’s answer to Mr. Rogers, Mr. Dressup, shows up in the game, and there are always those unknown people whose only clue becomes, rhymes with…

Make Out Challenge 2000. Whether it is the celebrity edition, people we know, or the gross out version, this game has become a classic Weekday Eve game. Give it a try yourself. Think up two people and decide who would you rather make out with. Some of the answers might surprise you.

Games I’m Really Not Into.

7-Up. Come on, you know the one. Played during recesses in on cold days, I tired quickly with the game and often just kept my thumb down to keep from being chosen. Although, considering how much time has passed since I last heard, “Heads Up, Seven Up” I might be willing give it another go. (Besides it might be a good way to figure out who has a crush on me again.)

Boggle. I have a few friends that are much too competitive when it comes to this game. I am only able to find simple three letter words like cat before I am completely out words. They challenge each other, egging the other one to spot the seven and eight letter words that they were able to come up with. Just to hear the shake of the box brings that sinking feeling of dread.

Softball/Baseball. Considering that I heard, “We’re baseball men” most of my life, I cannot play this game for the life of me. To be honest it all seems a bit too dangerous for me. You just stand here with a stick and we are going to throw balls at you. Oh yah and now that the ball in the air, we are going to give you a piece of leather on your hand to catch the ball with. You’ll love it! Well, I can’t hit, I can’t catch and heaven knows that I can’t throw, so the whole night turns into an elaborate game of dodge ball. Fear not, I do make a pretty great spectator. I have figured out the just the right time to yell, “Call it in the air” and an encouraging, “Good eye”.

What are your favourite games to play. Maybe it's Monopoly, Scrabble, Dr. Mario or even head games, give us a list of your favourite competitive way to pass the time.

Cutting Edge

2010-07-07T23:36:00.000-06:00

I love getting my haircut. In fact it is probably one of the most expensive hobbies that I have, well that and car washes. There is nothing like a good haircut to make you not only look better, but feel better.

I love all of the brightly coloured shampoo bottles, the soothing music, the satisfying pile of hair on the floor and the lightness of your head after weeks and sometimes months of growth has been removed.

I’m not too picky about my hair. In fact I have had a similar haircut for most of my adult life. Sure the length goes up and down, and the colour changes from light to dark and then back again, but the overall cut has been about the same. So when the haircutting mood strikes me, I made the first available appointment, throwing caution to the wind.

That was until I found the greatest hair stylist ever. He moved quickly and silently, producing the best haircut I had ever had. For weeks my hair looked amazing and bad hair days were suddenly a thing of the past. Soon word got out about the talent of this stylist and it was near impossible to schedule a haircut with him. Only a few days before I decided to schedule a haircut with my talented friend I learned that he had been deported from the country. Yup, deported. Devastated, I put off my haircut for a few more weeks, until Saturday when I finally had enough and once again threw caution to the wind and scheduled the first available appointment.

What a mistake. The hair pulling, comb tangling, uneven cutting stylist went to work on what was to be my simple trim. Shortening my hair from mid-shoulder length to shoulder length was supposed to be an easy $30 for this lady. With the first chin length cut of my hair, my pushy stylist said, “Is that too short?” Without even time to answer she went on, “Oh well, I guess it’s too late if it is.”

The Beatles, Justin Bieber and I all have the same haircut. Isn’t good that I am full of natural beauty? It’s fine. Just a little shorter than I had anticipated, but probably a nice summer change.

Hope you are all enjoying your July, thus far. It is pretty odd to think not only is summer quickly flying by, but also that the year is half over. What have I done with the past six months?

Hmmm….

The very best of luck to all of you.

As Always,

More Than Just A Thursday

2010-07-01T14:27:00.000-06:00

Considering that this blog has an international readership, I thought I would take today, Canada Day, to share with you all why Canada is pretty awesome.

Poutine

Fries are good. Cheese is good. Gravy is good. Combine them all and you get one tasty treat. Thanks Canada! You are a pretty good cook.

The Metric System

Now I know some of you are rolling your eyes complaining how difficult the metric system is to learn and use, but it is really easy! If you want to convert something all you need to do is add and subtract zeros. No calculators needed. There are 1,000 meters in a kilometer and without complicated calculations I can figure out that there are 100,000 centimeters in a kilometer. Are you curious how many hectares are in a kilometer? Just subtract a few zeros. 100 hectares in a kilometer. See! Not complicated at all.

Temperature is even easier. The higher the number the hotter it is. Anything with a negative in front of it is pretty cold. Water boils at 100*C. Water freezes at 0*C.

Awesome Money

Does your five dollar bill have kids playing hockey on it? Mine does! Is your ten dollar bill purple? Yup! And thanks to a two dollar coin and a one dollar coin you can have a little fortune with a fist full of change.

French and English

Everything we buy, everything, comes with both French and English written on the package. Reading the cereal box at breakfast has now just become twice as long! How did you think I learned that pamplemousse is grapefruit in French?

Extra Letters

We Canadians like to add extra letters to our words like neighbour and colour. If you feel like your writing is missing some pizazz, it's probably a 'u' you are are missing.

I've only scratched the surface with how awesome Canada really is. Come give Canada a visit or two, you'll love it. I promise!

Happy Canada Day, no matter where you are.

As Always,

The Dead Cat Is Another Story

2010-06-21T13:16:00.002-06:00

There is no need to fear drought here this year. With the late spring snowstorms and now the constant downpour of rain, we are more than a bit soggy. Last Thursday was no different. With a wall of water and 100km/hour winds, I had a small idea of what a hurricane felt like, even in my land locked province.

I ran to my car trying to avoid as much water as I could. By this time my umbrella had turned completely inside out and I was getting a little more than wet. I finally got into my dripping car, shook myself off, plugged in my ipod and ceremoniously chanted, as always, ‘Now’s the right time for a good song’. I let the rear windshield wiper go back and forth a few times, and then slowly backed my way out of my angled parking spot. When suddenly my car stopped moving.

I looked again behind me and found a car centered through my back window. Without a sound or a crash, I had gotten my new car into an accident. GRAB. I got out of my car to acess the damage. My new friend had a small dent on the passenger’s side of his all metal car, meanwhile I have a pretty large dent and a hole in my bumper.

Luckily, I guess, neither of us were moving faster than a parade, and so the damage was minimal. My friend and I stood out in the pouring rain, exchanging information, both laughing that we had never gotten into an accident and didn’t know what information we needed to exchange.

Hmmm…I guess this is why we have insurance, but it still makes me sad to look at my now broken car. If only I could take back those seconds!

My only hope is that something good comes of this. Maybe my new friend and I will fall in love. (He seemed about the right age.) Don’t tell me that wouldn’t make an awesome story. Besides, Jenny did remind me that our friend’s car was wrecked by her now husband, shortly before they started going out.

Everything will be just fine, and before long you won’t even remember that my back bumper wasn’t original to the car.

Good luck to all of us this week. We are going to need it.

Random

2010-06-16T19:56:00.001-06:00

If you have ever worked at a desk, I am sure that you know about the random things that get left behind by the previous person who inhabited your desk. Maybe it is a collection of coloured paper clips, a pile of really, really old filing, or if you are lucky, an excessive number of glue sticks. (I am sure you are probably jealous, I had all of these things waiting for me at my desk when I started.) But what I found the other day has got to be the weirdest memento of days gone by.

Sitting patiently on my highest shelf, was Big Bird. A ‘Tickle Me Pal’ still in its original box, creepily staring at me. I pulled down the 10” toy and questioned those around me why a Muppet had taken up residency at my desk.

They all burst into laughter and shook their heads. No one had any answers as to who would have left behind such a strange office supply. I looked it over a few times and put it back on the shelf to wait for the next occupant to find it.

Please make up your own story as to why someone thought it would be necessary to have Big Bird as a part of their professional day.

Nutrient Enhanced

2010-06-13T23:52:00.010-06:00

Well, my car flipped to 2,000km when I was driving home from church today. Mind you I didn't drive about 300km of that total, but it still made to sad to think my new car is growing up so fast. Where have I been? It made me wonder where I will be when it turns 5,000km, 10,000km, and the even more frightening 100,000km. I tried to picture my 100,000km future, but it was much too blurry. Maybe I should undertake in some goal setting.

Well kids, the weekend, once again went by much to quickly. I celebrated several quiet birthday celebrations with all of my favourite people...well except you, but hopefully we remedy that soon. It is hard to imagine that I am 23 (hmmm...plus a few years). Some of my co-workers signed a cheesy card for me, but I did enjoy one of the inscriptions. "May this go around the sun be your best yet." Let's keep our fingers crossed.

So today I thought I would share with you one of my new favourite items. Vitamin Water. I have no idea when or why I originally started drinking it, but our recycling is littered with several empty bottle varieties of this semi-flavoured water. It is the bottled equivalent of watered down Kool-Aid with a Flinstones' Vitamin thrown in (Sorry Twitter followers, I know I used that joke before.) Somewhere between the neon coloured liquid and the clever descriptions on the front, I became a fan. I am sure that it is entirely some form of the placebo effect, but drinking Vitamin Water does make me feel good. Plus it can't hurt to be well hydrated.

Besides it is probably better than drinking my other strangely flavoured favourite beverage, Mountain Dew. With more than 46g of sugar in each tiny bottle, its only redeeming quality is that it is caffeine free. I do blame my Junior High for introducing me to this unpopular drink. Our pop machine at school seemed to be constantly sold out of everything except Mountain Dew. In Grade Nine after a slew of parental concern, the school changed all of our pop machines to juice machines, but it was too late, my love of Mountain Dew had begun to blossom.

So if you have some extra money kicking around (Vitamin Water is an outrageous $2.25!) and looking for a mildly flavoured beverage, give Vitamin Water a try. Let me me know what you think! Doesn't it feel better to know you are getting 100% of your daily vitamin requirements? (Now if only one of them had iron in it.)

Good luck to all of you with the your up coming week. I'll keep my fingers crossed for all kinds of awesomeness to come your way.

As Always, (And this time I mean it...)

Long Ago and Far Away

2010-06-04T13:01:00.001-06:00

Remember the calendar that is hanging at my workstation? (It’s more than a desk, but less than an office. Like a cubical, but without the walls.) Instead of showing all of the UK Bank Holidays or even the moon cycle (why do we need to know about the moon every month?) my calendar has funny things to do through out the month or important days to celebrate, like Fudge Day (June 16, if you are planning on celebrating.) So today’s fun thing is ‘Listen To Your Favorite Songs From 1998’ I’m not exactly sure why 1998 was the year chosen, but it was fun to do a little research and remember songs from days gone by.

In 1998 I was 17 years old. (Please don’t do the math to figure out my age now. It will only make you sad.) MTV has recently come out with a show called ‘When I was 17…’ where celebrities talk about what they were doing when they were 17. When I was 17, I was just finishing Grade11, a less than stellar year for me academically. I spent that summer serving a whole lot of root beer at A&W, and returned to Grade 12 with a full schedule. I took Math 30 twice and had a crush or two on a couple of guys in Grade 11. (Which was frowned upon by all of my friends.) I listened to The Beatles and in an effort to catch up on retro music my friends got into ABBA. I went to prom and only a few weeks before I turned 18, fake graduated from High School. (We still had finals to do.) Seventeen, and 1998 seems like more than a life ago. Strange how much things can change in just 12 short-ish years.

So to celebrate this sunny Friday, here are some of my favourite songs from 1998. Enjoy!

Share some of your favourite songs from 1998, or whenever you were 17.

Good luck to us all. At least the weekend is only hours away.

As Always,

'What's On Your Mind?'

2010-06-02T13:02:00.001-06:00

The other night I was at the grocery store, when overhead an announcement rang out. “If you love shopping here, why not join our Facebook page!” It seemed to make more sense to add the store to my fan list, as opposed to becoming a fan of sunshine or brushing the roof your mouth. (Really. This is a real fan page.)

Is it just me, or do you feel like Facebook has run its course. I take a look at it every day or so, but it has been forever since I have updated my status, put up new pictures or even made a funny event, like grocery shopping. I am finding that even those “friends” you keep just for their crazy wall posts and statuses don’t have anything to say anymore. It seems as if Facebook is just a place to play Farmville (I’ve never played, maybe it’s fun?) or just a glorified birthday calendar.

I think about quitting every once and while, but never quite pull the trigger. While Facebook doesn’t have nearly the cachet it use to, I know that the day I quit will be the day something great, funny, awkward or just plain weird will happen, and I would have missed it. Besides with my birthday coming up, heaven knows I don’t want to miss all of the “Enjoy your day. Do something fun” comments from people I don’t talk to the rest of the year.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so cynical about this strange communication tool. Lest we forget, Internet Boyfriend would have just been another guy I didn’t talk to in real life if it wasn’t for Facebook. I don’t keep my ear to the ground quite like I use to, and there are a ton of engagements that I would have never learned about with my online gossip. (Although, I’m going to need a real invitation to your wedding. I’m probably not going to show up if I just get an invite to your Facebook group.) And luckily for me, I have asked two dates to Preference on Facebook, thus avoiding blowing up hundreds of balloons. (But, let’s not talk about the third guy who never responded.)

I guess the main purpose of Facebook is still being fulfilled, that of keeping up with far away friends. Although I don’t know how much I keep with them, especially after the initial “what I’ve been doing since we last saw each other” message gets sent. Most of the time I just look at all of their pictures, wish I was in more of them and wonder what kind of friends we really are if we need Facebook to keep us together.

Maybe it is time we send Facebook to its watery Internet grave, much like Netscape, chat rooms and Myspace. Or maybe, just maybe it’s time to reclaim Facebook, relive those glory, constant status updating, wall writing, poking days of early Facebook! Come on, 2007 wasn’t that bad, was it?

Is That So Bad?

2010-05-28T12:39:00.003-06:00

Hello to you all on this wet and rainy Friday. (But at least it is Friday.)

As most of you who are avid readers will know, I have developed an interest in the Jonas Brothers. (Trust me, the music isn’t that bad. Have I steered you wrong before?) And while I am sure that I can’t convince most of you to watch Camp Rock 2 (Showing on September 3, 2010, if you were interested), I might, maybe, be able to convince some of you to listen to Nick Jonas and the Administration. That’s right, one of the brothers has their own separate band. It is pretty good, especially considering the fact that he is 17, and writing his own music. (I shudder to think of the music I would have written at 17.)

Take a listen to the title track of the album, ‘Who I Am’ that will most likely be on my 2010 Yearly CD.

So today, and just for you, I’ve come up with a game for you to play. Let me know who you are. Leave a comment or two or three answering these questions about you! (Don’t worry, I’ll answer them for you in a couple of days.)

1. Shhh, don’t tell anyone but I secretly love listening to…
2. No one believes me but the worst food in the world is…
3. Strangely I’m afraid of…
4. The best way to spend a Saturday is…
5. It seems like an odd place, but I would love to travel to…

Looking forward to all of your responses!

As Always,

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad, I Guess

2010-05-26T20:48:00.001-06:00

Sorry kids. I know I have been gone for most of the month. It isn’t because I haven’t had a plethora of feelings swirling around my head, but more that I decided a while ago that this wasn’t the place to share all of my paranoid thoughts and complaints. (Much to your chagrin, I am sure.) I must admit that things haven’t been all that bad around here. I have most of what I want, and all, plus a little more, of what I need, so there is really no room for complaints.

Our first summertime long weekend came and quickly went, and all without me completing anything on my massive to-do list. I will need to find another dead monarch to celebrate in order to get another day off work. Maybe I should invoke my dual citizenship and celebrate Memorial Day away from the office. (I am pretty sure that I suggest this every non-Canadian, American holiday, but have yet to put my plan into action.)

I spent the weekend with my ever crazy and growing niece, went on our long weekend, late night, Denny’s adventure with some of my favourite people, took a drive or two in my still new smelling car and even got some sleeping in done. While satisfying enough, I figured that the weekend would be non-blog worthy, until Saturday night happened.

I ventured to the store later Saturday night to pick up some groceries. Without a real plan and some time on my hands I slowly perused the aisles, idly placing items in my cart, when all of the sudden a lady in her mid-thirties approached me. She asked me if I have found any good deals. I smiled weakly and engaged in some very small, small talk. Just as I was about to walk away from my sociable new friend, she began to tell me how beautiful I am. I looked at her strangely and politely thanked her for her compliment, but she didn’t end there. She went on and on gushing about how cute I am, and what a great personality I have. (All true points.)

Standing there confused, my friend went on. She asked me if I would be interested in helping her with a project that she was starting. I should have just said no thank you and moved on, but I was sort of intrigued, especially after all of the compliments I had received.

I asked the lady what her project entailed and she began to tell me about how it took someone who was comfortable being themselves, and other nonsensical buzzwords. At this point anyone else would have walked away, but I was so curious to find out what she wanted with me. Was I going to be a model? Was it some scientific research project? Was this really a hidden camera show?

My friend got closer and asked me if I would do one thing for her. She asked me to write down all of my life goals and attach a monetary value to them, and then take the paper that I have written all of goals on and sleep with it for a whole month. Her examples of life goals I might have were to move to Vancouver and to find a nice retirement home to put my parents into. (Neither of which are my life’s goals.) I agreed, with fingers crossed, that I would participate in her strange goal game. (Don’t you also wonder why I have to sleep with this paper?)

That’s when she finally handed me her card. She was selling energy drinks. No wonder she was so enthusiastic. She wanted me to participate in her pyramid scheme. She asked for my phone number. I should have explained that I don’t drink energy drinks so why in the world would I ever want to sell them, but I had participated in this odd exchange too long. I quickly wrote down my phone number, with a few numbers conveniently changed, and hurried out of the store.

With the luck I have, I should have guessed that I would end up being poached to be part of a pyramid scheme whist grocery shopping. With all of the build up that occurred, I wish it had been something more elaborate and even crazier that I could have gotten myself into.

Here’s hoping the rest of the week and month treats all of us all right.

Wishing I had Leita around, if only for her no-nonsense advice.

All fingers crossed.

As Always,

"Branco"--My Brazilian Car

2010-05-06T18:52:00.003-06:00

Oh kids. Sorry I have been gone so long. With my parents out of the country, I am using this time to practice living alone and have been holed up in their house for the past week. But sadly, they took both of their laptops with them and so I have been away from my digital life. I only recently remembered that the Wii has an internet connection, but it hasn't been all that quick to check all of my sites.

So, here it is. I know you have been waiting a while. THE BIG SURPRISE!

So it's a new car, if you didn't figure it out. 2009 VW City Golf! I don't remember how many kilometers were on my car when I got it, but there are only 700ish kms on it today. (And I've been driving it for an 11hours and 51 minutes. Aren't you kinda sad that your car doesn't keep track of that for you?)

Anyways, my old, semi-reliable, 1900s car died. Completely gave up the ghost about a week ago. Sadly it got hauled away, and flattened into scrap metal. It is my hope that someone is China can make a house out of my old friend.

If I haven't taken you for a ride, let me know and we will go wherever the wind takes us. Maybe even a little further than Coaldale.

Hopefully spring is coming back to us soon. (I'm pretty sure I jinxed it.)

As Always,

Giving Nothing Away

2010-04-30T19:36:00.001-06:00

Well kids, I have a surprise for you! Are you excited? Well, you should be. All the details will be revealed soon. The story hasn’t been completed enough tell you just yet. So be patient, you don’t want half a story, now do you? Don’t worry though, it will be worth the wait.

Well I think that is about it for today, especially since I have thoroughly confused you.

May is looking like it will be a pretty good month. (Knock on wood, of course.)

As Always,

Keeping One Eye On You, And One On My Other Options

2010-04-27T23:48:00.006-06:00

I'm wearing blue nail polish. I'm announcing this just for your information as an interesting point of notice. I gave up my nail polish wearing shortly after I began working. It was just too hard to keep up with the constant chipped nails, and somehow in my very professional office, it just looked out of place and childish.

But the other day whilst walking through the store, I swear the nail polish aisle started calling out to me, questioning my love for them. To my surprise I found a whole array of beautiful spring colours to great me.I finally settled on 'Ocean View' a fantastic, mostly unprofessional, shade of blue. But you know what, after carefully transforming the tips of my fingers, I am totally loving it! I've got to say if you are looking for some spring in your personal life, why not try your own outrageously bright shade of nail polish.

So I graciously gave you your very own springtime quiz to answer, and now here are my answers. That is if you were holding your breath waiting for them.

1. I know it’s spring when….
when the baby geese and duck are wandering around.I really do like birds. I took this picture a few years ago. It makes me smile whenever I see it.

2. Everyone knows the best Popsicle flavour is…
orange all the way. Besides what flavour is the red one suppose to be anyways?

3. If I were designing a kite I would make it…
I had a friend growing up who was an only child. Her mom was always coming up with fun things for us to make, including suggesting making kites. My friend never wanted to do any of the projects her mom suggested and would want to play school or ‘party’ which turned out to be us decorating the pool table. I was so sad that I never got to make a kite.

If I had to design my own one, I think I would make that floating ship from Mario. Remember! With the canyons and bullets! Although I don’t know that it would very aerodynamic, so how about just making a classic diamond shaped kite.

4. My favourite part about spring is…
that spring is always a welcome change. I don’t know of anyone, short of allergy sufferer, that dislikes spring. The trees once again turn green, school is over for another year, you can put away your winter coat, and due to an overly extended hockey playoffs, hockey every night—8!

5. If it has to rain it better…
it had better pour. With tons of lightening and thunder. I live on the second floor of an apartment building, why should I care if it flooded.

6. The best barbequed food is…
definitely steak. Hamburgers might come a close second, but without a doubt the smell of barbequed steak can always get my mouth watering.

7. Yard work is…
not fun. Neither is gardening. The idea of digging around in the dirt is not my idea of a good time.

8. The best way to eat ice cream is…
either in a cone or via ice cream sandwich. Both methods are super portable and there is little clean up.

9. It wouldn’t be spring without…
me thinking I should buy an umbrella. Every spring they are put front and centre in every store. I wistfully look them over, and then realize that I live in a pretty rain free area of the country and that there is no need for one. After the first rainy day, I wish I had bought one. But knowing me, I would probably forget it at home if I needed it.

10. This summer is going to be…
full of magic and wonder! No, probably not. In reality, and due to the fact that I won’t have any holidays until February, I will be spending the summer working every day. Hooray!

So kids, I hope you are having all kinds of end of April fun. May, and summer will be here before you know it. Thanks to all of you for your continued love and support. Looking forward to all kinds of shenanigans in the nearish future.

As Always, (And this time I mean it.)

And Other Such Nonsense

2010-04-22T20:11:00.001-06:00

The happiest of Earth Day to you. Long before global warming was an issue, back in the days of banning CFCs, the growing holes in the ozone and when acid rain was suppose to kills us all, my Grade Four teacher was really into the environment. She was always making our spelling lists include words like resources and recycle. We had a Litter Club, where our class spent most recesses picking up garbage. We wrote letters to Ralph Klein, the then Provincial Minister of the Environment, asking for more recycling depots. We planted trees and even used environmental cleaning supplies during our Grade Four campout to Cypress Hills. (I still don’t know why they thought taking three whole classes of nine year olds on a week long camping trip was a good idea.) It is my hope that somewhere out there Ms. McGuire (The first teacher I ever knew who went by Ms.) is having a very green day.

I for one think that the day should be a mandatory planetary holiday. If you live on Earth, you get the day off. Think about the reduced carbon footprint if we all got the day off!

I feel like I have been gone for a long time, but in reality it’s only been a week. It has been a long week, and sadly, there is still another day to go. However, it’s not like the weekends are much better, in fact, in the name of fun, I find that my weekends are actually busier than my weekdays. I just need an Earth Day holiday to unwind and get some much needed sleeping in done. But sadly, we all have to wait until our mid-May Victoria Day holiday for another long weekend. But knowing how those kinds of weekends go, it won’t turn into a weekend of much rest.

For those of you who didn’t know, I work downtown in a pretty tall (the tallest this city has) office building. The view from my window (the one I share with three other people) is quite amazing. It has been exciting, especially since our piles of snow melted quickly away, to see the entire city turn green. Spring has definitely sprung and summer will be here before you know it. Where did the year go?

So today is a springtime questionnaire just for you! Leave a comment or two or three with your answers. Copy it for your own blog. Fill it out in your head and have others look at you strangely when you start laughing at your own cleverly thought out answers.

1. I know it’s spring when….
2. Everyone knows the best Popsicle flavour is…
3. If I were designing a kite I would make it…
4. My favourite part about spring is…
5. If it has to rain it better…
6. The best barbequed food is…
7. Yard work is…
8. The best way to eat ice cream is…
9. It wouldn’t be spring without…
10. This summer is going to be…

Good luck to all of us. Looking forward to all kinds of sunshiny days with you.

As Always,

Another Evening Show

2010-04-15T23:12:00.000-06:00

Sorry that is has been so long since I have last talk to all of you. But at least I have some half interesting stories to entertain you all with.

Spring snowstorms are nothing new around here, however, yesterday we were hit with a big one. The snow/rain started on Tuesday and didn’t let up until half way through Wednesday, which turned the city into a wet mess of heavy Slurpee, and all without the cherry syrup.

The power was out at our house, but I got ready enough and went out to brush off my snow-covered car in the wet snow. Forty minutes later, after a lot of work, I finally got my car clear and powered through the deep ruts and slowly made my way on ice/puddle covered roads to the office. As it turned out, the power outage was city wide, and none traffic lights worked, making an already dicey driving situation worse. By the time I got to the office everything was closed up and work was cancelled for the day. We were all excited for the day off and made our ways slowly home. However, I returned home, soaking wet, freezing cold and without electricity. You don’t realize how much of your life requires electricity until you don’t have it for most of the day.

The snow stopped later on in the morning and by the afternoon electricity was once again restored to our house. The day warmed up considerably and the storm that, only a few hours earlier had shut down an entire city, was now only giant puddles in the street. To come to town today, you would have no idea that the whole city came to a standstill yesterday. We all came to work today, each of us telling our horror stories and now have a busy day ahead with all of yesterday’s work still left to complete.

At least it was an adventure, and in the end we did get the day off work. If only we had known on Tuesday night, we could have at least slept in and waited inside our dry homes for our cars to defrost on their own.

I had wanted to tell you yesterday about the Peter Katz show that sadly most of you missed out on, but without internet or even electricity, you had to wait until today. With a lot of begging, crying and promoting, we actually had a fair number of people attend the show. We got there early enough, found somewhere to sit and waited impatiently for the show, when Peter came up to our table and said, “Are you Denise?” A whole table of mouths fell open, and I nodded that I was. Peter admitted that we were Twitter friends and that he was excited that a whole gang of soon to be fans were in attendance.

After suffering though a lame opening performance, we finally got to the main event and were entertained by Peter. I am pretty sure that even those people who came to see the other acts gained a new appreciation for Peter. Between sets and even after the show, a long line had formed with people waiting to talk to Peter and to buy his CD. Peter and I talked again after the show about our favourite Elder Garner. We exchanged last minute hugs, and I wished him safe travels. (I was incredibly grateful that he wasn’t stuck in yesterday’s mess) Peter hoped to be coming back to town in the fall and I am sure that I am not alone in excitedly counting the days until we can meet up with our musical friend (and listen, yet again, with our favourite return missionaries!)

I’ll continue to say it: To see Peter live is to become a believer. Please take advantage of any opportunity you have to catch a show near you. I promise you won’t be sorry. Fear not, there are always his fantastic albums if you have to wait until the next tour to meet Peter. Available on iTunes worldwide! (Come on, just get them already!)

Thanks Peter for yet another wonderful show!

Missing you all terribly. Looking forward to the weekend and, fingers crossed, all of the hijinks I can find.

As Always,

Oh What Fun! Look Who's One!

2010-04-07T19:39:00.000-06:00

Do you remember when I introduced you to this baby last year?

Only 356 days later has this serious newborn turned into this crazy girl.

Tomorrow my favourite little girl turns one! What a quick year that has been. It has been so exciting to see her grow up into a fun little person.

The happiest birthday to Carmen! Looking forward to spending the next year with you.

Love you all very much. All kinds of good things coming in the future.

As Always,

PS--Tell all of your family and your friends! Get your very own copy of Peter Katz new album at HMV, right here in town!

Thing I've Been Doing, For Now

2010-03-28T23:30:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone!

Oh. Another weekend, over again. They go by so fast that before you know it, Monday morning is here to greet you again. But let's take solace in the fact that it is at least a short week for most of us. And that a much needed long (or really long, for some of us) weekend is only a short four days away.

I was able to get a lot in this weekend, including:

Hitting up the mall with Jenny
Avoiding the dance (Maybe one day I'll start attending again. But don't hold your breath.)
Scoring some awesome, cheep, thrift store finds
Eating some delicious turkey with a funny family
Buying my mom an early Mother's Day gift (I'm a pretty awesome daughter.)
Laughing over Apples To Apples with some crazy friends
Partaking in some fierce after church flirting
Hearing all of the gossip
Failing at donating blood

All in all a pretty eventful weekend, well all except the blood donating. Excitedly 56 days had passed since our last donation, and we headed to the blood donor clinic to once again become heroes. I had prepared all week. I took all of my vitamins, was incredibly conscious of increasing my iron intake, and drank bucketfuls of water. I even went to be relativity early on Friday night, and by the time blood donating time had come around I was feeling pretty great.

We checked in, and moved on to get our iron levels checked. Out of the whole process, this is the part that makes me most nervous. I'm not afraid of needles. I am pretty sure I don't have AIDS. But I am always on the lower end of the iron level. I don't feel weak, or iron deficient. I honestly get at least two healthy meals a day and I eat as much meat as the next person. I don't know why iron doesn't want to stay in my blood. So, barely making the iron grade last time, I tried everything I could to up my iron intake.

A poke of my finger and a drop of blood into the iron testing solution resulted in me failing iron test number one. The nurse told me not to be sad just yet, there was another test she could perform. Another poke and more blood and I failed another iron test. I was so sad. I cried to my nurse that I had tried to hard to be full of extra iron! She gave me a weak smile and said there was one more test we could try. I submitted yet another finger for her to draw blood, and yet again failed the test. My plans of being a hero and donating blood that day were shattered. My nurse reminded me to eat more red meat and dark green vegetables and hopefully in another 56 days my iron would be right where it needed to be. I did receive a small bag of chips as a consultation prize and went over to watch my friends attempt blood donating.

The staff at the clinic took pity on me and offered me all of the free juice and cookies I wanted. It really is a great staff at the blood donor clinic! So I am redoubling my efforts and have decided that come May, 56 days from now, my blood will be so full of iron they won't know what to do with me.

Alright. Well if you haven't noticed, things have changed around here, again. So take a look and let me know what you think of the new look.

If you are interested in an easy, customized way to change your own blog, why not take a look at this. (Sorry non-Blogger friends.)

Just putting my nose to the grindstone for the next few days, with my eye on the long weekend almost within our grasp. I forgot how wonderful holidays are.

Love you all. Can you believe it is almost April!

As Always,

I've Been Missing You, It's True

2010-03-23T23:29:00.003-06:00

I am totally, one hundred percent, blaming Jenny for getting this idea in my head. With tax season upon us, and more importantly tax returns just around the corner, I was excited to receive a hefty enough cheque from the government as a reflection of just how poor I was in 2009. Jenny has been lucky in the past couple of years to be able to put her return towards exciting vacations, and usually is jetting away to a random location about this time. I awesomely got a $7.00 return last year, and barely had enough money to take an exciting trip out to Coaldale.

So earlier tonight, while discussing our Easter plans, it was Jenny who suggested I take my return and go to General Conference. Initially laughing off the idea,but it wasn't long before I started formulating a plan to spend Easter abroad.

Thankfully with my real adult job, I get the widely uncelebrated Easter Monday, as well as Good Friday away from my desk. I thought about all of my Utah friends I could spend some time with (including you!), family I haven't seen in a while, and realized I could even bring some Almond Joys home for my mom.

So I sat down in search of some cheap flights between here and there. I seemed to find some flights that were pretty awesomely priced, until I realized that I would have a ten hour layover in Bozeman, Montana.With a more direct flight (I don't really want to go from Calgary to Vancouver to Seattle to San Francisco to Salt Lake.) and a car rental, my vacation was going to take all of my return....plus a little more. Hmmm...

I debated for a good long time, and even got pretty far in the booking process, before a little voice in my head reminded me of dying car and my goal to buy a newer one sometime this year. So sadly, my tax return is staying in the bank, for now. I am trying to not think of all of the exciting thing I could do on my vacation, or all of the people I will be able to catch up with (including my General Authority friends.)

Oh well, there's always October, right? Hey, throw a few bucks my way and maybe I'll reconsider my plan!

Love you all. (Have you thought about Easter in Canada? It's beautiful this time of year!)

As Always,

A Call For Help

2010-03-21T23:10:00.004-06:00

Well, aren't you all lucky. You are getting an awful lot of blogging from me in the past couple of days. (I wish that I had exciting news to tell you all.)

If you have stopped by here in the past couple of days, you might have noticed that things look a little different.

I personally use Google Reader to keep track of all of the blogs I read. It magically tells me when someone has updated, and so I rarely get to see the pretty layout that all of you have chosen. Although, that being said, I occasionally go and take a look at your real blog and look your your lovely background.

Seriously, if you read more than 3 blogs, it is worth checking into Google Reader. It isn't hard to set up, and you don't have to bounce from blog to blog checking, hoping, praying, that people have updated. In fact, I already tried to convince you all that you needed this in your life, way back in 2008.

Anyways, I am not overly proficient in HTML. I missed that day in college, (Yes, I said college. I know most of you probably learned it in elementary.) and I never feel all that comfortable making changes to my blog template. So once I decide on a template and painstakingly figure out how to customize it the best I can, I usually stick with it for a while. I had no beefs with the old template I had up, but was bothered when, out of the blue, the blog title and date were being cut off. I thought I could easily fix the problem, but in the end I mistakenly deleted a vital part of the template I had, and had to find a new one.

So for the past couple of days I have been trying on pre-made blog templates in the hopes of finding an awesome template that captured the magic that is my blog. Maybe I am picky, but I still have yet to find one to fall in love with. The all seem a little too girly, emo, japanese anime and just plain weird for my liking.

So here is your challenge. Go in search of a blog template (preferably a free one) that screams, 'A Day In The Life.' Send me the link, and I will check it out and hopefully pick yours to be the winner! (And you will win the satisfaction of helping a girl in need.)

Although, if we all start using Google Reader, then there won't really be a need to have a pretty background, now will there.

Oh. And as you can still see, the date and post title are still being cut off. If any of you know how to fix that, I will be eternally grateful.

Good luck with the upcoming week. Hopefully it is full of magic for all of us. (After all, it is finally spring.)

As Always,

Who I Am

2010-03-19T23:36:00.002-06:00

I read a lot of blogs. A LOT. And I keep seeing people blogging about the contents of their purse.(Blah...I hate that word, purse. I'm not an old lady nor am I Robin Hood.) So for you today, I thought I would share with you what I carry around with me. (Sorry for those of you who don't care what I have with me. I'm waiting, with baited breath, for something exciting to post about.)

1. The most fantastic wallet in the whole world. It is purple "crocodile" skin, and the inside is yellow. It cost a whole lot more than a normal wallet, but I get so excited every time I pull it out. Thanks to Jenny for finally convincing me that my cards and id needed to be housed in a pretty container.

2. An ugly, ugly change purse. (There's that word again.) Coming from a land that has not only a $1 coin, but also a $2 coin, I collect a fair amount of change that use to wind up floating around at the bottom of my bag.

3. "Pink Lemonade" lip gloss. I dont' wear it that often, and I can promise you it tastes nor smells anything like lemonade.

4. A lonely cough drop from my still lingering cold. :(

5. A roll of Loonies for the parking meter I park at while at work. I only pay $20/month for parking, while the suckers in the parking lot (which is actually further away from my car) pay $45/month.

6. My awesome purple iPod.

7. Jonas Brothers chap stick. Yup.

8. A couple of pens.

9. Two notebooks, which, surprisingly come in very handy.

10. A dumb photo radar ticket I got the other day! Boo! 43km/h in a 30km/h Playground Zone. :(

11. My cellphone.

12. 1/2 a stick of peppermint gum. I only chew half a piece of gum at a time. I know it is weird, but regular pieces are too big, plus a package of gum lasts me a pretty long time.

13. My car insurance and registration.

14. A bunch of coupons I got the other day. I stupidly, in the past little while, have purchased most of the items I had coupons for, but I forgot to use them!

So there you go. No, I don't have any Tylenol, Kleenex or hand lotion. (People are always asking me.) But it is enough to get me by most days.

What are you packing around with you?

Where I've Been, What I've Been Doing.

2010-03-18T23:23:00.000-06:00

Hi Kids,

I know it has been a while since I have talked to you all. It isn’t from a lack of things to tell you, but more an inability to focus for long periods in front of the computer. Sadly, I have been afflicted with a cold, which has put my incoming oxygen at an all time low. The cold moved from my head to my chest, and has miserably moved back into my head. I have spent most of the week alternating between sneezing and coughing, sleeping and half awake. I am slowly on the mend, so no need to fear. I am sure by next week, I will be back to my normal self.

So let’s get on with the business of the day:

First an announcement/commandment. EXCITEDLY the new, long awaited, Peter Katz album is out! You must, MUST purchase it from iTunes right now!

I know some of you are thinking, “Denise, why are you ordering us to purchase an album from this ‘Peter’ guy. I don’t even know who he is.”

Fine. Let me explain. Peter Katz is hands down the best Canadian export we have. Forget hockey players, maple syrup and poutine, the best thing Canada can give to you is Peter Katz. I know you watched the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics and thought that the best we had to offer you musically was Avril Lavgne and Nickback. But Peter Katz is a million (or a trillion, in the case of Nickback) times better than any other Canadian artist you can name. So please set aside $9.99 and get your very own copy of ‘The First Of The Last To Know’. I PROMISE it will change your life.

If you aren’t exactly sold, just yet, why not take a viewing of this wonderful video. How can you not fall in love?

But if you still need convincing, fear not. Our dear, best friend, Peter is coming to town to play a concert just for you! Clear your calendar on April 12th,to see Peter perform live is to become a believer.

But just take my word and download your own copy of the new album (and while you are at it, why not get ‘More Nights’ too.)

All right moving on, but just know you are so missing out if you don’t at least give Peter a try.

Our stake proudly got the chance to have Elder David A. Bednar come and speak at a special stake conference. He also hosted a Q&A with the YSA in town on Saturday night. Both were fantastic meetings and a great opportunity to get to know another apostle. Elder Bednar, unfortunately, did not pick me to ask him a question (and trust me, it was a good one.) but I did get to be one of the lucky few who had the opportunity to exchange handshakes and a few words with this man of God.

Now all of you who were at the fireside knew that with Elder Bednar’s tight schedule and the surplus of people, it was almost impossible to get anywhere near to him. But already being best friends ¼ of the Twelve Apostles, I tried my luck and ended up in the right place, at the right time. Sitting between one of the senior missionary couples and stake leaders at the back of the chapel, I ended up with a few seconds to befriend another general authority. We shook hands and he thanked me for attending the fireside. I told him that it was one of the best Saturday’s we had for a long time, and he agreed. I asked him if he would be willing to come back another Saturday and he said he wished he could. And with that I am now best friends with 1/3 of the Twelve Apostles!

I realize that you are wracking your brain trying to figure out how a girl from Canada can become friends with 4 apostles, especially considering I never served a mission, so let me share my experiences with you.

It was my younger brother and I who first had a brush with greatness. While in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, we left our parents to try out all of the bathrooms in the building we could find. (I know it sounds lame, but come on, I was 14 at the time.) While waiting excitedly for elevator doors to open to take us to a new floor and yet another bathroom, we ran (literately) right into Elder Russell M. Nelson. We apologized, he composed himself and gave us a big smile. It wasn’t until we got on to the elevator that we were informed who we had just knocked down. I still waiting for the day that he mentions his poor bruised ribs in General Conference.

Next was Elder Richard G. Scott. Like Elder Bednar, he came and hosted a special YSA fireside in town. We really weren’t suppose to be best friends, as I had no intention of introducing myself to him, but my roommate, too afraid to go up and shake his hand, asked me if I would come with her. We got in a huge line, waiting to meet the apostle. When I finally got face to face with him, I decided to give him the ol’ double handshake and thanked him speaking to us. I sent him a letter a few weeks later thanking him, again, for his inspiring message. I like to believe we have been best friends ever since.

And almost two years ago, I ran into my real general authority best friend, Elder Robert D. Hales. Read the whole story here.

And after adding Elder David A. Bednar to my Christmas card list, I’m surprised that a random girl like me can have so many friends in high places. With each and every meeting, I have been more and more impressed with the kindness these men exude, and their willingness to give of their time. I have been lucky enough to realize that there are men of God still on the earth today. I look forward, more and more, to General Conference and the opportunity I have to listen to my friends.

So Kids, that is most of what I have been up to in the past little while. I am praying that Elder Bednar doesn’t fall ill after meeting me. I am waiting, excitedly, for normal breathing to once again return to me. March is falling away just as quick as January and February did, and spring really is just around the corner. And even luckier, choir is almost over for other year. (You can laugh.)

I love you all. Really I do.
As Always,

You'll Find It's Gonna Be Okay

2010-03-01T23:37:00.001-07:00

If I didn't have such a deep love for my ward and Leinani, I don't know that I would go to FHE. After two weeks of less than stellar male interactions, I am pretty sure that it's not the place I'll find someone awesome to date.

So again this week I got ready for FHE and pumped myself up to cheer on my country for our FHE Olympics. The activity was great. (Awesome job buddy!) People had a lot of fun. I was just about to call it a night when a group of guys called me over to talk to them.

I cautiously went over, wondering what they wanted to talk to me about. And when I got there, one guy turned to another and said,

"When are you going to take Denise out on a blind date?"

I stood there awkwardly, smiled sheepishly and pointed out that it wasn't exactly a blind date considering we knew each other.

A few tense seconds passed, and finally my potential suitor spoke. In front of half of the ward he admitted he was busy all week. I again stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to get away from this highly embarrassing situation.

His friend piped up. "The only thing you are busy doing is playing video games. Besides, Denise is pretty awesome." I nodded in agreement. I am awesome.

And then came the greatest excuse...well...ever.

"I have to practice for choir."

Yup. That could be 1000 times better than "I'm washing my hair."

Finally I had enough of the embarrassment, and said, "Well, if you ever figure your schedule out, let me know." And walked away, cheeks burning.

I got to my car. Put my head down on the steering wheel and tried to collect my thoughts. Had I really just been shot down in front of half of my ward? I can understand not wanting to date me. That is fine. Really. But couldn't you come up with some cagey answer. "I'll have to check my schedule. I'll let you know when I am free. Next month would probably be better for me." The whole situation could have ended and I promise I wouldn't ever bring it up unless you said something.

Hmm. It's fine. It was just embarrassing, to say the least. I'll be fine tomorrow, and I promise I won't even ask this guy how practicing for choir is going.

On another slightly related note, I did get an odd invitation, by Internet Boyfriend of all people, to a hockey game next week. I know when I think Denise, I immediately think hockey. I honestly think he is just trying to round up enough people to get a group discount. But I'm going to the hockey game. After all, that is what a good Canadian would do.

How about a little Jonas Brother song to wind down with, and to help us have some faith. Things are bound to get better, someday.

As Always

A Bouquet Of Thoughts, Just For You!

2010-02-24T23:40:00.001-07:00

Let's just start with a warning. This is going to be a rambley jambley post, just so you are aware at the start. I'm not even going to try with any clever segues. I don't have it in me to be that cute/smart anymore.

Where to begin?

How's about a movie review? We haven't done one of those in a while.

With Olympic hockey causing me and Jenny more stress than excitement, we decided to hit up a movie tonight. We looked at the whole list of shows playing and officially decided that the recession had finally hit the movie making business. So we tried our hand with the star studded "Valentines Day" movie.

This movie is a thumbs only slightly pointed sideways. But to it's credit, it is 10 movies in 1, so I am sure there is going to be even a brief moment you will find half amusing. It is every story of love you can imagine, the best friends, the old people, high school kids, strangers and even the bad love stories of cheaters and commitment phobics. Something for really everyone.

Why should you watch this movie: If you are a movie talker like Jenny and I, you will spend a good time guessing the outcome of each story, predicting each twist and turn along the way.

Why should you not watch this movie: Two words. Taylor Swift. Agh! I am pretty sure that she took acting classes from Scarlett Johansson.Are we not sick of seeing Taylor's face (and voice) everywhere these days?

So I guess you should watch "Valentines Day" if you have nothing else to do and no where else to go.

Speaking of the Olympics. WAY TO GO CANADA! You make all of us proud. You're doing great at both hosting, as well as medal winning. It doesn't even matter (who am I kidding) if we don't win the hockey, (Knock on wood. Knock on wood!) we love you anyways.

Alright, now on the the Show and Shine. Do you know what a Show and Shine is? And no I'm not talking about with cars. My friend came up with this term a few years ago. It basically means tarting yourself up for a specific event in hopes of catching someone's eye. I have spent a lot of time in the past couple of years helping my friend prepare for various Show and Shines, but had never really participated myself.

So, I thought I would give it a try and had my very own FHE Show and Shine. I have to admit that I looked pretty amazing, and I went with an awesome attitude, ready to talk to anyone that caught my eye. But, as my luck would have it, my Show and Shine was anything but successful. After really only the opportunity to talk to girls, I was excited for the main event to begin and some fierce flirting to get underway. Until I realized that my evening would result in athletic ability being showcased, outside. Not one to be overly athletic and definitely not dressed for the weather, my Show and Shine ended before it really had a chance to begin.

Sigh. Maybe I'll try again next week. But at this point I am pretty sure that the same prospects would present themselves if I showed up in sweatpants. (Which you know I would never do.)

So with my failed Show and Shine I began thinking about other dating mishaps I may have been involved in. And Internet Boyfriend came to my mind. (Remember him? I've got to admit that sometimes I miss having a fake relationship.) Okay, for those of you who are new, let me give you a run down about Internet Boyfriend. This was/is a guy I really know, in real life. While we saw each other all the time, we NEVER spoke to each other in real life, but on the internet, there was no shutting that boy up. It did eventually end up going to real dating situation, but it was so awkward to carry on a real live conversation that it ended pretty quickly.

We don't even talk to each other on the internet anymore, and we for sure as don't talk to each other in person.

But it was only last night that I realized that maybe the problem wasn't the fault of my poor, quiet Internet Boyfriend, that the real problem is me! I have no problems talking to people, really. After all, aren't us Gemini's "known to have a strong desire to express themselves and tell stories". But throw someone I am half interested in the mix, I am a near mute. The other day it ended up being just me and a half interesting guy and I racked my brain for something to say, but nothing came. Honestly nothing, so sadly, stupidly, I just walked away.

It's funny but true "Why do we let the one thing we don't have affect how we feel about all the things we do have? Why does one-minus-a-plus-one feel like it adds up to zero?" (Sometimes TV does say what we are feeling.) Maybe I shouldn't worry every day/week who I get to or don't get to talk to? Maybe it's not what I wear that will finally start my dating ignition? Maybe what I've got right now is good enough? (But then again, isn't spring coming?)

Okay. Uhmm...sorry. Cheerier note to end on, hmmm. The sun is shining, I woke up to the birds singing in the tree outside of my bedroom the other day which seemed to put me in a good mood, February is thankfully almost over (and hopefully winter with it) and despite what I sometimes think in my mind, 2010 is turning out to be an okay year.

Thanks to all of you. (Sorry for the messy post. I wasn't thinking it would be so long.) With lots and lots and lots of love.

As Always,

Settle Down

2010-02-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

You know what, it has been quite a long time since I told a story, so hands up if you want to hear one. (I'm just going to to assume you all put your hands up.)

This event happened three weeks ago, but I am still somewhat bothered by it. I know I should just let it go, that it really doesn't matter, but, well, I'll just wait and see what you think.

So I woke up a few weeks ago with an odd feeling that I should e-mail a certain friend. A debated for a while if I really should, after all were weren't that close of friends, and I was more than sure he would think that I was crazy and or creepy. But the feeling lingered, so I sat down and wrote out a small message.

"I know this is incredibly random, but I felt like I should send you a message. What is new?"

Short and sweet. I even acknowledged the oddness of the out of the blue communication.

Days went by and I received no response back from my friend. We saw each other a few times, but neither of us said anything. I will admit that I probably made the situation more awkward, but after getting no response to my letter, I didn't want to draw more attention to my random message.

Even more time went by and still nothing from my friend. I was absolutely mortified. I hadn't meant to creep out this poor guy, but somehow I felt that was exactly what had happened.

Finally, my friend was the first one to speak. One night he came charging up to me and said, "What is your problem? You sent me a weird message and then you don't talk to me. I was beginning to feel unloved!"

"You were feeling unloved!" I exclaimed. "You never wrote me back. I was convinced our friendship was over." I joked with him.

My friend got serious for a minute and quietly asked me, "Well, why did you send that message?"

I explained that I had woken up with a feeling that I should send him a message and after the thought lingered for most of the day, I decided to write to him.

"Well, I'm not depressed, if that is what you think." My friend strangely replied.

I shook my head, that idea hadn't even crossed my mind. So I shared a story with him. I told him that shortly before Leita died I had the feeling that I should call her. But I put the feeling off, after all we had just spent the whole weekend together, and I was soon leaving on holidays. I returned home from my vacation to find my friend in the hospital, and she sadly died a week later.

My friend sadly never got the chance to meet Leita, but I figured it would help him understand that I wasn't going to let another feeling like that slip away. I had learned the hard way that you never know when it was going to be your last opportunity to see/talk with someone.

With his mouth gaped open, my friend responded in horror. "You think I'm going to die!"

I feigned a smile and nervously laughed. An innocent gesture had now gotten larger than life. I quietly whispered, "Never mind" and walked away, half shaking my head.

My friend and I are nowhere near normal. On the chance that we do talk to each other it is minimal and painfully awkward. I never thought in my mind that something as simple as an e-mail would change things so much.

I know I should just move on. Maybe after some time things with my friend will return to normal. Or maybe I should just cut my losses, it's not like we were the best-est of friends. But I don't know, I am finding this sort of thing happening more and more. Okay, maybe not to the same extent, but people are seeming to be more and more creeped out by innocent gestures and questions.

I promise I am not creepy. Really. I didn't make a big scene when he didn't respond to my message. I didn't declare my undying love for him, I didn't leave a note on his car, all I did was send a friendly e-mail. I am the first to admit that is random, but then again isn't it somewhat nice to know someone is thinking about you?

Oh well. I am a little weary sending out similar messages in the future. I could end up losing all of my friends this way.

Okay. Officially putting this out of my mind now. (But still shaking my head.)

Love you guys lots and lots. (You know I'm not creepy, right?)

As Always,

Today's Answers

2010-02-16T23:11:00.007-07:00

Well, now it looks like I am the copycat. My dear Leinani posted these questions on her blog, and I though I would answer them myself. Why not take them to your own blog? It might just be the thing to spark your writing.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?:"Practically perfect in every way." No. I was actually finally relieved with how my hair had turned out.

2. What's the last thing you think of before you go to bed?:I listen to my iPod before I go to sleep, so I am usually thinking about the song I am listening to, or trying to remember to turn off my iPod before I fall asleep.

3. What's a word that rhymes with door?: Snore.

4. Favorite planet?: Pluto. Poor, poor Pluto. You will always be a planet to me.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your phone?:Oh wait. Let me grab my phone. Hold on. My parents. But don't worry, I saw them mere moments after they called.

6. What is your favorite ring on your phone?: With my old phone, I had a different ring tone for all the people I talked to the most. But my new phone I only have one ring for everyone. It is one of the songs that came with my phone. It is pretty funny. It's called 'This Time'. Take a listen here.

7. What shirt are you wearing?:A shirt my mom gave me a couple of months ago. I don't wear it often, mostly because I forget that I own it.

8. Name the brand of shoes you're currently wearing?: I'm not actually wearing shoes right now. Even though shoe was my first word, I am not a big fan of shoe wearing, especially indoors. I must be Canadian.

9. Bright or Dark Room?: Dark. Yup. Jenny calls me a vampire. It's probably true.

10.What were you doing at midnight last night? Reading your blog! Why don't you update so I have something to read?

11.What did your last text message you received on your mobile say?: Hey! It was from Leinani! We sometimes get to be church carpool buddies.

12.Where is your letter box?: If you are asking about our mailbox, it is on the main floor. There isn't ever anything good in it. Just bills. Send me a letter or a card. I will be eternally grateful.

13. What's a word that you say a lot?: Sugar. (People laugh every time I say it. I realize I say it more than I think I do.) and fantastic. I caught myself at work saying it the other day. It is a pretty good word, but I am trying to come up with a new professional way of saying awesome.

14.Who told you he/she loved you last?: Someone's mom after my Sunday School class. It was a tiny bit random, but hey, I like making new fans.

15. Last furry thing you touched?:The new slippers I just bought me and Jenny. (And that is all I am going to say about them.)

16. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?: Uhm. Nothing. I haven't even taken any vitamins in the past couple of days. I probably should, I feel like I might be getting sick. (Knock on wood.)

17. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?I don't even take pictures with my digital camera, what makes you think I am taking pictures with film?

18. Favorite age you have been so far? 24.Really, anything under 25.

19. Your worst enemy? Right now, my car. Sadly my transmission is going and so to get it to shift properly is kinda a struggle.

20. What is your current desktop picture?It is just one of the preset ones on my computer. It is called Autumn. Take a look, maybe your computer has it on there too,and then we could be desktop buddies!

21.What was the last thing you said to someone? Jenny told me she was going to bed, so we exchanged 'Good-nights'. Although, true be told, I seem to talk to myself a bunch.

22. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly: I don't really like flying in an airplane, so what makes you think that I want to just fly on my own. Money might not buy me love, but it would buy me something funny like hundreds of sesame snaps.

23. Do you like someone? Hmm...that seems like a loaded question. Let's just say there are a few people I wish there was more possibility with, but sadly some of the people who have peaked my interest are sadly unattainable.

24. Last song you listened to? 'Who I Am'--Nick Jonas (Are you shocked?)

25. If the last person you spoke to was getting shot at, would you jump in front of the bullet?: Uhm...well, considering how much I hate guns, I would probably run away crying long before any shots were fired. I would hope Jenny would run away too.

26. If you could punch 1 person in your life right now, who would it be?: I talk about punching different people/things in the face all of the time, but I am never really serious.

27. What is the closest object to your left foot?:A whole bunch of things, including: Fascinating Girl, my camera, a whole bunch of CDs, a few notebooks and slew of stray papers. (I really need to get some better organization over by computer.)

I'm Happy

2010-02-15T23:26:00.010-07:00

Well, I will tell you what I am not, and that is a good blogger. Oh my good heavens, I am sorry that I haven't updated more often. It is hard to be a full time worker and a full time blogger. How did I ever do it at my old job? Please don't even look at my Fascinating Girl blog, it has sadly fallen into a state of disrepair. I think that a major blog overhaul is about due.

Anyways, I'm here, I'm now, I'm ready. Let's talk.

It was only driving home today that I realized I am happy. For the first time in a long time. Maybe it is the fact that February is more than half over and spring is around the corner, or that maybe my life is starting to FINALLY look up. But I have come up with some reasons I am happy.

Dress pants. I have come to the realization that it is a lot harder to look like hobo than it is to look good. Maybe it is due to the fact that I own way too many dress pants and not enough hoodies. In fact, in the ten days that I have been in the working world, I haven't even gone through all of the dress pants I have. Yes, I have that many. For a whole year a chorus of black, gray and brown wool pants would mock me from my closet, waiting patiently for the day they would get to be worn. Short of a fantastic skirt and a great pair of tights, nothing makes me feel quite like an adult the way that dress pants do.

A well needed hair cut. I LOVE getting my hair cut. Although sadly it is an expensive hobby. So with a shortage of funds, I have had to try and make my straggly hair work. Not only has a new hair cut put some bounce back in my hair, but also a bounce in my step.

The Olympics. I have been in love with the Olympics (both summer and winter) since Calgary hosted them in 1988. As a small child I felt the Olympic spirit and have excited cheered for Canada ever since. Thankfully Canada has been given another chance to host the winter Olympics and we have all been proudly waving our Canadian flags. Let's not forget our first gold medal this weekend! After a whole year of these commercials, I BELIEVE!

Payday. It has been 13 long months without a payday for me. That is long time. But thankfully Friday not only kicked off a long weekend, but also put much needed money in my account. It has been while since that much money has belonged to me!

Family Day! Thank you Government of Alberta for inventing a made-up holiday in the middle of February when we need it most. And a day with my family is always full of fun.

A job I finally understand. Okay, so maybe I don't have all of the office procedures exactly down, but at least I feel like I know what I am doing, law wise. A few weeks before I started working I wondered if it had been too long to once again try and be a legal assistant, but strangely some legal switch has flipped in my mind and I have found myself asking strange questions, like "Should we be preparing a Dispute Note?" Who knew I knew what that was, or even when we should use one!

A full tank of gas, and a clean car. It has been over 700kms since I have had a full tank of gas. For the past couple of months, I have just been put small amounts of gas into my car, just here and there when I has some money to spare. My 'Low Fuel' light remained constantly on. Now I can go anywhere the wind takes me. (But we should probably still stay in town. Let's not forget that I am still driving a car that is almost as old as you.)

So as you can see, things are going well, and even small things are amusing me these days. I am grateful for all that I have. Looking forward to all that is to come. Breathing a sigh of relief.

As Always,