Happy New Year!

It really is hard to believe that 2011 will be in a couple of hours. 2010 has truly zipped by. Blink!

I'm not one to make resolutions because I can't keep them and I always feel terrible for not keeping them. So instead, it's time to start making some new goals for the future not just for the new year and a new bucket list. I've had a number of things crossed off my bucket list so time to add some new items. I'm quite excited about it because that means some possible new adventures!

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

Friendships

What I've always known about myself and my relationships is that I probably will never have a best "girlfriend." Sure, I'll say my husband is my best friend, but it's not the same as a best girlfriend. Am I sad about this? No, not really. And that's because I feel like I'm surrounded by a number of girlfriends that all play different roles in my life and support me in different ways. I have those that I disclose basically everything to but I don't do a lot of activities with. I have those that are plain old activity buddies. I have friends that I've been to school with. I have those that I share special occassions with and events with. Some friends come and go througout my life. Sometimes, my friends interchange their roles. You get what I'm saying. At the end of the day, I still don't have a best friend and that's ok.

Some of us are fortunate to have a best gal friend that meets all our needs. But I think that's totally rare. For those that are searching for the one all be all friend, perhaps it's time to think of "splitting up" that one role to a number of different friends.

On the flip side, sometimes people drift apart, or things don't work out, there are personality clashes or it's just not a healthy relationship. And as painful as it is to let a friend go, sometimes you just need to. I know that I've been the one to be let go of before. And though the initial moment it hurt like hell, I've always seen the positive behind that decision and learned from it. I've never hated those people for letting me go. In some ways, I guess I thank them for helping me learn certain things in life and about friendships.

So to all my current friends and to my friends of the past, thank you for all that you've taught me.

Post Christmas

Well, on Christmas day, our family went to my my in-law's place for brunch. So this year, no turkey dinner...though we had a fabulous one earlier in December (Miss K, your turkey was ultra fabulous that night!!!). But there really is something about tradition.

So I made the turkey today. LOL! Yes, a couple of days post Christmas. But it was cool. Now I have a ton of leftovers and a ton of turkey stock to make food with. Yummy. I guess it's the Christmas meal that keeps on giving. Yeah!

Cleaning

We do our cleaning around the house. Maybe we should do it more often. But sometimes all you want to do is veg. There is so much to do and so many places to be. I know I'm not as busy as some folks, but that's not the point. The point is, I clean when I can and sometimes I give myself a break because I need it.

But because I give myself a break here and there, there are certain types of cleaning that don't get done as regularly as they should be. For example, the ceiling fans. Recently, this was finally done. BLOBS of dust coming down. Gross and a lot of sneezing. I can't believe I've been breathing all that dust in. But it obviously hasn't killed me yet. Bonus I suppose.

Well, that chore won't have to be done for a while now. =)

Christmas Eve

It really is hard to believe that another year is about to end. But before it does, we get to celebrate Christmas. Now, I'm not a hardcore Christmas fan...never have been. But with kids, it's hard not to celebrate the occasion. And it's difficult to tone it down...especially if one of those kids happens to have a birthday on Christmas too.

This year on Christmas eve, me and the girls watched Christmas eve. They loved it and it's been years since I've seen it. Yeah, I hear you singing Ghostbusters. Cheesy as it was, it was great. And it had to do with positive energy and getting into the spirit of things! Granted it was New Year's...but who cares?! It was fun, we all enjoyed it and had a ton of good laughs.

The family is just taking it nice and slow this Christmas eve. Nice and relaxing before the big day. However you celebrate Christmas and the holidays, may it be joyful! Wishing you good health, love and happiness.

Self Esteem

My husband and I just watched She's Out of Your League. OMG. It's been a while since I've watched such a funny movie!! I was guffawing because it was so funny!!! But of course, my humour might not be like yours, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

However, the movie brought up a real important point. Self esteem is everything. You don't have that, you really don't have much. Yeah, we all have our awkward moments and feelings that we are not worth much. But it's when you think you have no power, or are not worth much that you will continually get run over by people, to be taken advantage of and continually feel like crap about yourself. But by giving yourself no power, you allow others to treat you like that.

I know I still suffer from low self esteem moments. I think it's only human to do so. But as I grow older, I definitely see the need to maintain and grow my self confidence. I hope to continue to do so with the help of those that surround me and grow with my experiences.

Baking

I didn't think I'd bake "this" much this Christmas, but I have totally baked my little heart out. I don't know how many batches of Skor cookies I've made. I've lost track of the cranberry white chocolate ones. And a ton of coconut ones. Time to get me a cow so I can churn my own butter!

But Christmas day is upon us as is New Year's. I'm going to be using the oven to bake a Chewy Chocolate Cake with a Chocolate Ganache icing. (Miss K, at the next get together with Miss Y there, I'm so going to make this treat! It's chocolate heaven!!!) Seriously, I have never gone through so much butter in my life.

Though it gets extremely messy at times, it's something that I know people will enjoy. And it's a great activity to do with my girls...especially on those rainy days.

So, let's all get fat this season and be merry about it. =)

TLC

TLC as in the channel...yes, the Learning Channel. I like a number of those shows on there. I never thought I'd say it though, but I sat down and watched an episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska. I was intrigued because Kate Gosselin and her 8 kids was going to be on this episode. The whole idea was that Kate plus 8 was already in Alaska and Sarah wanted to meet them. As well, take her family and Kate's family to camp in the great outdoors.

Let me say this...I'm not a big fan of Sarah in the political arena. And I think I'd be somewhat scared if she really were to become president in 2012. But in Alaska, she's one rugged woman. She can take chop wood, fish, use guns (really well), build, you name it, she can do it...and she looks so pretty and strong at the same time. I was really impressed with her outdoor skills and I know she'd kick my butt out there.

Now, let me say this. Kate Gosselin camping in the wild is the whiniest and brattiest of the bunch. OMG. She whined at everything. She complained about everything. She cried about everything. Oh my goodness. Just shut it already.

Hate to say it...Sarah Palin 1, Kate Gosselin 0.

Vehicles

When you buy a vehicle, there are a number of costs that go with it. One of those costs is buying car insurance, but sadly, there's no deal for cheap car insurance. I don't go with certain insurances because I don't get a sense that they'll cover me for what I want in the event of an accident.

Yes, I get the discounts, etc....but it's not an amount that's chump change. But I can't imagine driving around the city, or down the street without the damn papers. Too many horror stories of people who thought they'd save a little money only to find that they pay way more later because they have gotten into an accident. Yeah, suck it up and pay it. I do.

Rituals

I am always amazed at how important rituals are for my kids. But that's what makes them feel safe in their world so I oblige. I don't know how these became rituals...but they are in my family.

My youngest refuses to go to sleep without her "animal blanky." But this blanket must have the animals with their feet facing downward toward her feet. Just refuses to even shut her eyes unless the animals are the right way. She likes it when I kiss her cheeks a certain way. And even when it comes to cleaning, she loves cleaning the sink a certain way.

As for my first kid, she loves drinking her milk in the morning with a stuffed animal/blanket by her side...but it has to be something with one of those "new material' tags as she holds it and rubs it while she's drinking her milk. She also likes two sets of hugs and kisses before bed time. And she really likes her blanket lying a certain way too.

I wonder how these rituals will look like when they get older. But I can totally deal with these rituals. Now the "not picking up after myself" ritual is not so fun.

Creams

There is so much marketing for all this cream and make up for women. But there hasn't been a huge niche for men's skin products. It's growing by leaps and bounds. However, it's nothing compared to women's products.

So the other day, I saw some newspaper ad that showed off wrinkle cream for men. Not something I've seen (or maybe they weren't that noticeable). But it's smart that companies are doing this now. Men are more interested in these types of products...so why not monopolize on it?

Though, I wonder...are these creams "really" different from women's?

Tables

My family seems to be getting bigger all the time. And I mean, the extended family. Anytime I have them over, we're at 2 different tables, it gets a little tight with my brother-in-law in the wheelchair, all the kids. It would be nice to have one of those modern extendable dining tables so we could fit more people at the one table.

But then I wonder if it would be too long so that people would have to shout at one another to hear someone at the other end of the table. Or would it be so hard for people to get to the food that's on a plate on the other side.

I can't have a round table in this house either. Logistics. You'd think this would totally put my groove on. But no...not this time around.

Printers

Most of the printers at my workplace are the hp printers. They seem to be the trusted brand by the employer. I would also like to ask the employer to also buy the HP ink/laser jet cartridges too please!!!

If you're going to spend money on such good printers, WHY in the world are you buying the no name stuff. OMG. I can't even begin to tell you the problems I had with the colour HP printer upstairs...because the employer got the no name brand refills. A job that should have taken 30 minutes took me 3 hours. Don't get me started!!!!

So, if you're going to spend the money on a name brand product, get the name brand stuff to refill it too. It'll save you a lot of grief.

Rings

If there was a cubic zirconia ring that I really liked, I would buy it for myself. Hey, no one has to know that it wasn't real. But I think I would be a little hesitant to say the same if I got any one of those cubic zirconia engagement rings,. They're pretty enough, but bottom line, they're not the real thing.

Hey, it's the shallow in me. But I do admit, if I got one, I don't know about it. And I love my ring dearly. And there really are some amazing rings made of this rock.

Now, if I'm ever stuck in a glass cage, I'll use my engagement ring to cut myself out. If the stone is a diamond, I'll get out just fine.

Questions

I took my youngest to McDonald's today. Yes, I realize it's not the healthiest item. But my kid needed to burn off some energy in the play area before our next stop. So McDonald's was the best bet.

As we sat there eating, I noticed that there was an adult and a kid sitting to my left and perpendicular to me. Might have been about 6 feet of space between us. The adult looked like she was helping the kid with some type of homework.

I continued to eat not caring about what they were studying. But then, the woman piped up and asked me a question. And this is how our conversation went:

"Excuse me, do you know what that religion is...you know, the one that you can have multiple wives?"

"Polygomy."

"Oh, that's right! Thanks so much!"

"Uh, that's an interesting homework assignment you both are working on."

She just laughed. Honestly, this kid was maybe 7 years old. WHY in the world are they talking about polygomy? And what school homework were they working on? The last I heard, polygomy was not a religion either.

I guess a lot of things have changed since my time at school.

Donuts

I'm not a candy cane person. They kind of gross me out. But the other day, my youngest was just the most patient and great kid. Honestly. She was patient for 6 hours straight. No complaining. No whining. Lots of questions...but I could deal with that. Dang. For a 4 year old kid, that's total awesomeness.

So I told her we could go to Tim Horton's and she could choose a donut. She ended up choosing a chocolate donut topped with crushed candy cane. Gross. Well, so I thought.

Yep, mom had to sneak in a bite. Pleasantly suprised!!! It wasn't gross at all! So yeah, I snuck in another bite. But I figured I paid the $1.01 for that damn thing, I can have a taste.

Oh, Timmy's. I hate your damn coffee (though the French Vanilla which is really hot chocolate is divine), but your donuts rock.

Assistance

I don't ask for help much. I like doing things myself and I don't like to bother people. But I'm smart enough to know when I do need help and will not be shy to ask for it.

And sometimes, people just offer help. But I hate to say it, sometimes their assistance just isn't that helpful. It's more about what they need when I need them most. And it just doesn't work. In fact, their "assistance" becomes way more work for me and gets me all cranky. And so, when I know this help won't be helpful, I put up boundaries and I say no.

I know that sounds cruel. Someone is trying to help me but I refuse. But really, when their help causes me more grief when I don't have the energy or time to deal with it, then it's best that they just leave me alone and give me quiet. Now that's helpful.

Phone Calls

In this day and age, communication is pretty instantaneous. From MSN, to Blackberry Messenger, to texting, to e-mail and Facebook.

But I must say, when you're waiting for some news, there is nothing like a phonecall. You can hear what is actually being said, and the tone, regardless of the message, says it all.

And today, I got a great phonecall. It was exactly the news I needed to hear. The tone was as positive as the message so I knew everything was going to be ok. And yes, it's going to be ok.

Another

Again, I was on Facebook (for a person that hated Facebook, I sure use it a lot), and saw an ad for some type of weight loss pill. I looked it up because I could. But I also wanted to see reviews on this stuff. Really, I don't have time to clean up the house, but I have time to look up ads. Priorities.

Anyway, I digress. I looked up apidexin reviews. It's hard to tell on the web who actually wrote the article or if it's true. I know I could whip up a web page with dozens of awesome reviews, but is it true? Are these reliable sources?

Well, I can say I looked at the ad...now back to other important things...ooo...like another ad!

Remedies

Breakout...yeah, acne wise again. Not always fun...but they seem to be in areas that are a little more concealed this time. It's been nice to not have zits on the end of of my nose and so stinking red that everybody can't help but stare.

So many different acne remedies out there. Not sure which one works better. But for me, it's really about destressing and hot compresses. I can do the hot compresses a lot easier than I can control the stress because it's just always there. Some things I just can't control.

So, here's to hot towels and hot water.

Vortex

Vortex can be defined in many ways. According to dictionary.com, one of the definitions given to this word was:

"something regarded as drawing into its powerful current everything that surrounds it: the vortex of war."

Today, I'd like to discuss the Vortex of Darkness or should I say, the Vortexes/Vortices of Darkness in my life. These are the people that are so ultra negative that suck the life out of me. Perhaps I'm being dramatic, but I can only say, after spending time with these vortexes, I usually feel drained, angry, resentful, and sometimes just meh.

Prime example, I've worked in my current office/associated with the current office when working off site for over 12 years. This one woman I've worked with has been there since I started at the office. And everytime I see her, we chat about her life, her current partner, things she's working on and I SWEAR, within 5 minutes, I'm so done with her. Everything is so negative. She has an excuse for everything. Everything is just every body else's fault. Blah, blah, blah.

So 12 years of time with this person means that I can make an assessment on how I truly feel about this person. And I really would categorize her as the Vortex of Darkness. UGH. Honestly, she makes Eeyore seem "happy." Is she nice? Absolutely! But her choices make her miserable and her actions based on her choices makes those around her dislike hanging out with her.

Being positive is no easy chore. And changing into someone that is positive is no easy chore either. But it can be done. I remember in my younger years, I had a tendency to be a vortex myself and someone finally said to me, "you're so fricken negative." I was shocked and upset. But that was the shake up I needed. It was the kickstart that helped me make different choices for myself and to see the world in a more positive light. I listened and I'm so much happier for it...and hopefully those around me don't feel that negative pull. Don't get me wrong, I do have bad days and I complain. But after I have my rant, I move on...continue living life...focussing on all that is good. It has made me resilient to the many changes and things that happened in my life. I'm no Dali Llama...but I'm no vortex either.

But this woman who is close to retiring won't change. Have people told her she's negative? Absolutely. But she hasn't heard a word, chooses not to hear what is being told, has every excuse in the book and has not changed one bit since the 12 years I've known her. I only wish her and others like that happiness and hopefully one day, they can break out of that darkness and start being the Vortex of Light.

Mindfulness

Sometime last week, I went to go see some friends. Part of the reason was just to catch up with them and the other half was to talk about some trips we recently took. Of course I yapped about my Oprah trip.

Besides talking about Oprah, I actually let them see my pictures and videos of Chicago. Comments all around. But when my one friend got to my Segway video, they were killing themselves laughing. Basically, they were laughing because I looked SO happy with my wide ass grin, laughing big time and just looking enthralled with my Segway ride. "How can you be SO happy on a Segway Alice?!" I just said I was having such a great time.

I ended up leaving earlier than the other buds. And they started to talk about my Segway video once again. "I don't think I've ever smiled that hard and wide in my life...let alone for a Segway ride." Or she said something to that effect. She ended up telling me she said this to her friend.

So I ended up watching the video again today to see what she was talking about. LOL! Well, I do look a little on the crazy side. And I really was smiling from ear to ear. But I'm so glad that I was even though I look like a loser and goof.

The reason being, I can honestly tell I was happy and truly enjoying myself in the moment. Yep. Being mindful. With so much hardship, craziness and responsibilities in life, why not be in the moment to also enjoy the great things in life. I probably smile like that when I get a really good kickass bowl of soup or just being able to walk out in the sun. Being able to enjoy these moments of happiness really puts things into perspective and puts balance in my life. And really, enjoying these moments of happiness sure beats being in a funk all the time.

So enjoy whatever moment of happiness you have today.

NUD

Oh, what a glorious day! It's National Unfriend Day. Yes, it hasn't got quite the same punch as Christmas, but today is a great day. NUD is really a day to unfriend all those people from Facebook that you don't talk to, you don't want talk to, haven't heard from in 6 months, are not actually friends with, etc.

Granted, I unfriend people all the time in Facebook. Call it spring cleaning...all the time. I get unfriended all the time and I don't even remotely get upset. And that's because people have chosen to not have me see parts of their life. And I totally respect that...especially if we're really not friends, less than acquantances, and have no desire to actually be friends.

So, thanks Jimmy Kimmel for putting some great songs together about unfriending. This is one of my favourites.

The Letter F

Today was a day filled with F words. Actually, let me clarify the previous sentence. It was a day filled with the F word used repeatedly. I used it as a noun, a verb, the subject...yep, every bit of grammar you know.

My poor co-workers. They had to hear me rant and rave using this one word. Their ears were hurting. All of this started because some folks decided to give me some crazy task. But it was such a minute task...in the whole scheme of things and in the world, it really was nothing. But the time and energy to complete this task was more than I could bear.

And part of me was extra annoyed...when thinking about all the things we could be doing in life and for the greater good of this country, I couldn't believe I (as well as 5 other people) had to spend this large amount of time for this task.

So, I went around ranting to those that would listen. And once I got all this crap out of me, I just kept using the F word because it was just fun. I realized how "stupid" all of today was at work and just let it be. I'm ok with all of it now but in the moment, not so much.

Though I do hope that all my co-workers' ears heal from all my swearing today.

Lasers

One of my daughters wanted to wear a tutu for Halloween. But she also wanted to tote a laser gun with her...because that's what ballerinas take around these days. She was also shooting the laser onto parts of my body. I told her to point it at a zit of mine. Lovely thought, I know.

The hope was that I could get some acne laser treatment to zap away the yucky stuff from my face.

Yeah, didn't work so well.

Good drugs

When women who have kids get together, they share their war stories. I'm talking about birthing, breastfeeding, potty training...all the nasty stuff. But it's what really bonds women together. Yeah, we've got battle scars from these experiences. But we all survive in some way.

One of the battles I had was finding a way to increase breast milk production. Honestly, the wells were dry. The doctor had to give me domperidone to hopefully kickstart my milk production. The way this drug sounded, I thought he was giving me the A OK to have some Dom Perignon champagne. Nope. No such luck. Being drunk would have helped my sanity.

Sometimes some of my single friends ask why I don't tell them these war torn stories. I think I'm partially boring them. Secondly, no need to scare people off from having kids...we need to have some good people out there. But honestly, these are war stories that only other moms/parents understand

Passport Office

Well, I guess everybody had the same idea as me on Friday, November 12th. It was a Pro-D day for kids. And it was after Rememberance Day...perhaps if I go early enough, everybody will be sleeping still and I'll zip in and out of the passport office quickly for my 2 kid's passports. Yeah right! Wishful thinking.

Thank goodness I got my kids to bring activities, books and toys with them. But even then, the crowds and noise was making them antsy and "bored." Thank you iPhone for saving my sanity today.

And anytime I have to just wait, I people watch and I just watch my surroundings. I think I'm always amazed at how unprepared people are sometimes. People stuff their IDs in their purse and then when they get to the counter, they can't remember where they put it. They realize that they didn't fill in the form correctly. You get the idea.

And then the surroundings. This time I focussed on the numbers on the board. They ranged from letter A - F and then a number after that. I figured that can't be by coincidence. So I tried to figure out what the numbers were for.

When it was time to go to the counter, I was actually in and out very quickly because I just had everything ready to go. But because my applications for my kids were so quick, I thought I'd ask the clerk what the letters mean before the numbers. Amazing what you learn. She said that I got a D letter because D ones are for children applications and complicated ones. No one wants those. Uh huh. Thanks for making me feel special. But those are all the custody battles, lost IDs, lost passport types of applications.

Those with F are for urgent applications. And then the clerk started to laugh...EVERY clerk wants the A ones. those are for easy, no problem, for the applicant only type of applications. Guess I learned something new.

Well, at least this D number was an easy D application.

Grumpy Old Men

I never thought I'd like this movie, but dang. Watching 2 old grumpy men hanging out with each other is way too funny. And I particularly liked the scene where they are in a car and a bike is going way faster than them.

And I bring this up because I recently read yet another study on how personalities are basically solidified by the time a child is 6 years old. My one kid will be turning 7 so what I have is what I have. But even funnier is this kid that I see at my kid's mandarin school each week.

I swear, this kid is exactly like one of those grumpy old men!!! Every activity, he moans and groans and has to make some derogatory comment. Nothing is ever good enough. And everything is stupid. I shouldn't laugh because the poor kid will probably have the crap beaten out of him at school because of his attitude. Let's hope he's not 6 yet.

Congrats!

A good friend of mine asked me if I was busy the other day. And then she asked me a question that I would only be interested in..."did you have any dreams of babies lately?"

That was my cue to congratulate her as she was pregnant! I am just overjoyed at her having a baby because she will be an amazing mother. And her husband will be an incredible dad.

But I digress from the dream bit. With close friends, for whatever reason, I will dream about a baby and one of my good friends will be pregnant! Heck, this one girl didn't believe me, (hey Miss A), and sure enough, kid number 3.

And with this good friend, this dream was quite different. I had her husband chasing me down some skanky alley way and screaming at me the whole time. And when he got closer, he was screaming at me and saying "We're having a baby!!! And it's a girl!!!" Honestly, if that's not a clear message, I don't know what is.

I'll be putting in for that baby pool. Yep. I betting on a girl. Congrats to my lovely friend. I look forward to meeting your daughter.

Canadian or Chinese

The other day, my eldest daughter's daycare teacher pulled me aside because she wanted to tell me something. So I walked over to the other end of the daycare to chat with her. I don't usually like these conversations because it probably means my kid screwed up.

So the teacher starts telling me what my daughter said on the bus that morning:

Teacher, I was looking at photos of my mom last night. She was younger and in some, she was a baby. And did you know that when she was a baby, she was Chinese? And she was born in Hong Kong?

I had such a good laugh!! But I found it so interesting that my daughter didn't see the colour of my skin. She just saw me as mom and saw me as Canadian, not really Chinese. Wouldn't it be nice if everybody saw skin colour the way my kid did? Sure would take away a lot of problems.

Unions

Recently, I went to a vote as our union has forwarded us our tentative agreement. For once, I actually read it, thought about it, went to an information session and asked questions. Normally, I wouldn't, but there is a clause in this collective agreement that I'm not really liking.

I get that bargaining is tough. And I respect those that are willing to put out their necks to do it, because I'll be honest, I wouldn't want to do it. But sometimes I find that our numbers is actually a detriment to bargaining rather than a strength. If the union negotiated a .5% increase for 170,000 people, that's a lot of people and money versus having a .5% increase for a union that only has 25,000 people. I'm not going to drag on about this...but I voted my conscience and let's see what the outcome will be.

I just think that maybe our union should focus on the bargaining rather than trying to find an insurance company to provide me cheap auto insurance quotes. The union is working with I don't know who, but I keep getting mail about cheaper insurance in all aspects of my life. Why don't we talk about bargaining with the government again and taking severance OFF the table this time...thanks.

Doctor's Office

Everytime I go to the doctor's, I always check out the walls for new pictures, posters, etc. But I am serious when I say that my doctor must treat a ton of patients with herpes. Behind every single door in that place (believe me, I've checked), there are posters for symptoms of herpes, or cures for herpes, or medication for herpes.

First of all, I don't like that word. Secondly, I don't want to have to be reminded of diseases that I never want. And really, looking at ugly posters makes me sad.

Next time I go in, I should slap on stickers from my kid's sticker supply. That'll make me happier.

Supplements

I'm wondering how those best fat burner supplements that may not have FDA approval or some Canadian Food Inspection approval make it on the shelf in the stores? Obviously people buy them. But then I think, if I were to go into a Chinese health store, I'm sure I could grab something similar and I wouldn't think twice about it.

In "Canadian food stores," I make sure that I read all the expiry dates. But in Chinese food stores, not necessarily. I'd still eat it if it looked good and the package looked like it was still in tact.

Doesn't anybody think that's odd that it's ok to eat expired/non approved food in one place but diss it in a totally different environment?

Skin products

I love trying new products. However, I should realize that sometimes, those experiences are not going to be good. But I also see that as a positive as it makes me realize how much I love my other product.

So the other day, my exfoliant which is somewhat like those acne lotions because the exfoliant scrubs away all the yucky stuff to prevent bacteria from going was on sale. But there were 3 different versions. I usually do the full on exfoliant. But I thought I'd try the gentle version. WHATEVER. I don't know why I bothered. I just didn't get the same type of scrub on my face and now it feels oily. Boo.

Sweaters

I'm not a huge fan of sweaters...and that's because I just like wearing t-shirts. Like, all the time. However, there are times where I don't mind feeling girly. When I was shopping at the Oprah store, I just loved looking through all of Oprah's girly clothing that she wore on the show. I'd love to try on some of it.

Then there was the regular clothing she was selling...like the cashmere sweaters. Never really saw Oprah coming up with that kind of clothing. But I must say, it was very soft, actually very fitting and just beautiful. However, my carry on was just much too full and I could not buy any sets. Well, maybe next time. Yes, next time.

Insurance

I know that there are a lot of sales people out there. And this is no diss to them. But sometimes they just have to lay off. If I'm an existing customer, don't try to upsell me every 2 weeks. Don't try to tell me about the latest item especially when I just told you 2 weeks ago that I don't need something new.

Thank goodness my financial planner is smart and actually doesn't bug me. When my plans are coming up and about to expire, he'll call us up to let us know. He'll set up a meeting and provide us with things like term life quotes. We'll examine the information, ask our questions and then make our decision. If we say no, he is so ok with it. He says that he just wants us to at least know about the product and make a good decision for our own lives. Good enough for me.

So, for all those other sales guys that keeps calling me, stop and learn something from my financial planner. Because he gives me the space to make decisions, I stick with him. He gets tons of sales from me and referrals. So it's worth your while to not badger.

Hobbies

I'm a bit of a serial hobbier if that makes any sense. I love trying all types of arts and crafts. And there are a ton that I've started but then either never continued with it or just thought meh, didn't like it that much. And I would say beading is one of those.

Though I enjoyed making it, it's an extremely expensive hobby. The other thing is that I would make it and never wear the stuff. Yes, I would give some away as gifts. But not everybody has the same taste as me. So as I look at my beading supplies, I'm thinking of what I'm going to do with it. Most likely, just give it to my girls and then can muck around with it.

As much as I try many, many hobbies, there are those that are true hobbies to me and I have not yet swayed from them.

Sales

Yeah, I love sales. But I love them especially when they happen at all times of the year. This helps with my "around the year" shopping for Christmas. Yep. I'm about 75% done for this year. I've been at this number for a while. But I figured that I still have a good couple of weeks. Not planning to head into a mall during December. Too stressful.

So I got an e-mail about rocawear. Never heard of them so I thought I'd just check it out. Actually some neat urban clothing. But that stuff is too hip for me. No longer young like THAT.

Chicago

Chicago in the Fall really is an amazing experience. Yes, Oprah was awesome. But the city really is great, has tons to offer and is extremely clean. And in terms of safety, I probably felt safer there at night then I did in some other US cities.

So what did I do? TONS! I'm going to break it down....

Day 1 - basically all travelling. I had one stopover but basically, I got off the plane in Minneapolis, walked to the next gate and boarded the next plane. Easy peasy. Then when I got into Chicago, took the subway into the city and then walked to the hotel. The remainder of the day was walking around to get my bearings and did a bit of shopping.

Highlights of the day

* meeting Bob on my flight from Minneapolis to Chicago. What a lovely man! Learned about his life, his work, and his granddaughter. On the other side of me on the same flight, a nurse from Minneapolis. She talked up a storm. Learned lots about her business, her allergies, her patients, and her telework arrangements. What they got out of me? A lot of giddiness about Oprah. They were thrilled that I was going and we had a good chat about that.

* When I was at the train station getting ready to buy a train pass for a couple of days, two women came up to me and my girlfriend and gave us their pass that was still good! Woo hoo!

* I took a lot of pictures with life size Lego figurines down Magnificent Mile.

Day 2: Segway tour to start the day. Three hours of tourist time around the neatest sights and parks. I also had the opportunity to do some shopping down the Magnificent mile! And also the Museum of Contemporary Art. Beautiful place but I must say the exhibits kind of sucked this time! Playstation HQ to try out their new Move games!

Highlights:

* The segway tour. I got a chance to try this magnificent machine! I'm going to do a segway tour again in another city. I also got to race with one of these. Total awesomeness.
* got to do some shopping that we don't have up here. Garret's popcorn (one of Oprah's favourite things!), the Disney store, and more pictures with lifesize Lego figurines.

Day 3: Oprah, the Oprah store and Giardano's.

Highlights:

* could it be Oprah?! But better yet, there was someone in the audience who got to speak and talk about herself. She writes a ton of songs for Disney, including for some pop artists like Miley Cyrus. Yes, I actually don't mind some of Miley's songs so it was so neat to see who was behind those songs!
* shopping at the Oprah store. Seriously got some great deals. And she has such nice stuff. If I had more than a carry on, I would have brought home WAY more stuff.
* stuffed pizza at Giardano's. That's just a big fat pill.

Day 4: I did so much this day. Chinatown was the first stop! Hey, I have to see my peeps in a different city. Then my girlfriend and I separated for part of the day so we could see different things. I ended up going to the Field Museum where they have the largest T-Rex specimen. Next up was the zoo. Then it was off to visit my friend once again to go to the Chicago Art Institute.

Highlights:

* dim sum in Chinatown was actually very good! And they have the most beautiful colour menus!!
* Chinatown was extremely clean and I really enjoyed the shops and other food (where else can you get enough food for 2 people for 2 meals for under $7.50?!)
* Field museum had so much to see. The T-Rex (Sue) was awesome. Oh yeah, it was free that day, extra bonus.
* The zoo was also extremely clean. Had some neat animals I hadn't seen in a while. And yeah, it was free.
* The Chicago Art Institute was truly awesome. Got to see some paintings that I've wanted to see and can now officially cross them off my bucket list. And yes, it was FREE! Oh, this city really understood my Asian cheapness. And best yet, my friend and I just had the funniest giggle fits in this place. I don't know...getting lost, not understanding some of the art, the crazy security guards and goodness knows what else was just funny.

Day 5: Last day! My girlfriend and I actually went to line up for the morning show that I was originally supposed to attend. We were there and there some folks lined up there too. And of course I started to chat with the women there. One of them was named Shirley. She kept saying that she was from the same home town as Oprah. And she was Oprah's aunt's friend. Sometimes, when Shirley was visiting with Oprah's aunt, Oprah would show up. And Oprah knew she was coming. She was the sweetest lady. But I thought to myself, if your Oprah's aunt's friend, and she knows you and likes you, and Oprah knows you're coming, WHY in the world are you in the line up? I'm sure Oprah likes you enough to just get you escorted in...or maybe she doesn't like her enough?!

I also made it to the Navy Pier. Not much time to explore, but it was great to go. Sort of a North Vancouver Londsdale Quay feel with way more things to do and some neat exhibits that I didn't have time to see.

Highlights: checking out the Navy Pier where I could see the water move. Last time, the body of water that the pier sits on was frozen solid.

* chilling in the hotel room after I got back from the standby line. Seriously. Napping, watching tv while in pjs, snacking and just doing nothing...for a mom, that's pure awesomeness.

* meeting the cutest college graduate! He was cute because he was so "new" to the adult life. He came from a farm that harvested beets and green beans. Oh, if we all had that naivity and freshness in life still.

So, the trip was great! No drama with my friend which was an extra bonus. Weather was fantastic besides my one morning of thunder and lightning. Tried new things. And 5 days of not having to make bagged lunches. This trip will definitey be in my top 10.

Change in Weather

Oh, it is definitely fall. The leaves have changed colour. The wind and rain are showing up much more often. And we will all be switching our clocks soon.

Another sure sign that the weather is changing is the need for me to buy eczema cream for my 1 kid. I just hate this time of year for her skin. She's contactly itchy despite all the moisturizing. Sometimes her skin just gets raw from her scratching as she sometimes scratches in her sleep. Sometimes I think I should just bathe her in cream. Maybe she'll moisturize better.

Let's hope it's a short scratching season.

Pills

After my husband's last surgery, he started to take supplements. Because of what they took out of his body, it was difficult for his body to make certain enzymes, etc. By taking certain pills, he could help his body stay healthy.

But I seriously have issues in trying to keep track of his pills. I guess I can't get it in my head that he has calcium pills in the house. In fact, he has four bottles in the house already. So what did I do, yes, I bought him some more. What the...? But because I keep buying him calcium, my brain keeps forgetting to by Vitamin C which is what he really needs and goes through so quickly.

They both have the letter C in it.

Katy Perry

I admit, I was slow to like Katy Perry. But she's really won me over. I'm not a fan of every song she has out, but for the most part, they are catchy, cute and fun! They are feel good songs!

Now I didn't realize that she had to use acne products, but she's obviously the person that is doing informercials now about it. And I think to myself, how much money is she making? And does she really need it?

Looking at her "worst" pictures, her acne was no worse than anybody else's. Oh well. Whatever works for her. I just wish I made thousands of dollars to sell a product like her.

Cash

As a parent, I get that sometimes it's difficult to balance the books. Somehow, all the lessons come at the same time. Then suddenly their clothes all rip or are damaged. Maybe you need extra medicine that isn't covered by health insurance. Sometimes, your car breaks down. Basically, there are a ton of things that can happen that you just can't control. And that can be extremely stressful.

Though I'm not sure if the payday cash advance is the best option. Perhaps people have figured out how to get out of the vicious cycle. For these folks, these companies may be the answer that they need.

But I think I'll pass thank you. Interest in the double digits makes me sweat.

Must Lists

When my husband and I were looking for our next place to live, we both had a list of must haves. He needed a dishwasher, I wanted fireplaces. I was willing to live with one though.

And though I would never ask him to change his list of must haves, I had some difficulty in understanding why he'd want a dishwasher. I just never grew up with one and didn't understand the need for it. Heck, I had an Asian girlfriend that used that dishwasher as a place to put all her extra toilet paper. She never actually used it to wash dishes.

On the flip side, he couldn't understand my need for a fireplace. To me it was about security and warmth.

So in the end, we both got what we wanted on our must have list. And I'm glad that he had dishwasher on his list...not sure how I'd live without one now.

Footnotes

With everything, you need to read the fine print, any footnotes, etc. You can't just "believe" everything that is said. So when I recently picked up something to read about the product which was herbal phentermine, I asked myself two things...one, what the heck was it? Secondly, why is it not FDA approved?

My first reaction...I'm sure they are telling me that it will help me lose weight. But I'm not sure what the science is behind this. And is a pill really going to help? Isn't it as simple as less calories in and more calories out? My second reaction was that I a bit scared because it said it was not FDA approved.

So I just put it down and went along my merry way....

Oprah Show - The Second Time Around

I decided that I would do an Oprah entry separate from the Chicago one. I did so much and there is so much to say!

So before I mention how awesome the Oprah show was, let me preface this entry with some information. My original show was slotted for Friday, October 15th in the morning. A couple of days after receiving the news that I had reservations, I received an e-mail from the Oprah show saying that the show I was signed up for is moving moved. I had the option to stay with the same show, but I would not know who the guest was. Or I could move to the 13th show in the afternoon and be guaranteed that I would be seeing Portia de Generes, formerly known as Portia de Rossi.

I opted for the 13th show for a number of reasons. I knew who the guest was. Nobody how "sad" her show may be, it still would be bearable. I didn't want a weeping show or one where I walked away all upset because of the topic. Secondly, by leaving on the Friday, I saved myself a couple of hundred bucks. Chicago is a very pricey place on Fridays. And by coming home Friday night, I would be home on Saturday bright and early to take the girls to their lessons.

On the 13th, my girlfriend and I were very excited! We ate breakfast but our minds were on Oprah. We went back to the hotel room to get changed. Then we heard some really loud bangs. Holy smokes. Thunder, lightening, wind and a whole bunch of rain. It was a really nasty storm. But we were prepared...we had our umbrellas.

We took a taxi to the studio an hour earlier than we needed to because we decided that we would do all our shopping at the Oprah store before the show. That way we could beat the line up and rush between shows. And we could leave all our stuff there at the store until after our show and not have to deal with the crowds.

I had done a lot of research on the Oprah site before I went to the store. I had my lists and I was ready to go. But the online store only shows 80% of what is in the store. And I got to hang out at the Oprah closet. In the store, there is a large armoire. Inside is clothing that Oprah has worn on the show and that you could get for cheap. I so wanted to get the A line grey skirt by Valentino. But $200 was still a little pricey for me. But how fun to see some amazing dresses, and other outfits I recognized!

After too much spending at the Oprah store, it was off to the studio that is across the street. We got in with no problems. I was prepared for the next couple of bits as it was the same process as the last time. Coat check, security check, signing forms and waiting in the upstairs room before people are called down to the studio. In the upstairs room, there are extremely large photos of Oprah and special guests. And every person in that room remembered those episodes and we all talked about it.

Then came the time to go down to the studio. You either get called down by name because they want you in a certain area. Or they go by number based on your form number. Out of the 317 people that day, I had number 233 or something ridiculous like that.

So imagine my suprise when I get called by name to go to the studio. Then imagine my suprise when I go into the studio and they sit me and my friend in the reserved section. Yeah. RESERVED section of the studio audience. My friend and I were FREAKING out. This was so wild.

And we sat next to this couple. The husband had really wanted to get tickets for his wife. So we shared stories of how we got tickets. We used the exact same methods and we were just killing ourselves laughing. His wife and my friend had no idea why this was funny but we understood the work needed to get these tickets. LOL!

We also shared our essays that we had to write for this particular show. And I told him that this was by far the weakest submission I had put in. I wasn't even going to write into the show to go see Portia. I really debated whether or not I was going to even do the work. Then I thought, why not? I have nothing to lose and it obviously paid off.

Before the start of the actual interview, Oprah has a staff member come out. I got Beth last time I was there and she was just as awesome this time around. However, she really amped up the energy there. She started to say some fun things and talked about the amazing 25 years of Oprah, and next thing you know, awesome music started up, the tv monitors showed amazing clips that everyone knew, next thing you know we're all doing the flash mob dance from a couple of seasons ago, we're all jumping, dancing and screaming! Oprah hadn't even shown up yet! But it put us all into such an amazing mood!

Time for the show to start now. Oprah walked out and we screamed big time! Oprah did her amazing intro. And the next thing I knew, Portia was walking onto the stage and she was literally 5 feet away from me. Awesome. The actual interview went by so quickly even though this whole process took me about 4 hours to complete. I had the perfect view of Oprah and hung on to every word. She really is amazing at what she does. Though the Portia interview wasn't that "happy and fluffy," it was still a great show to watch. She talked about her anorexia which I had no clue she had. And it was very informative and showed how resilient she really is.

At the end of the show, Portia left the building and Oprah just sat to talk to the audience for a couple of minutes. I'm sure she says this almost every show...especially since it's her last season. But she thanked the audience for the 25 years, how it's because of people like us that kept her on for that length of time. She thanked people for taking the time and effort to see her and that she is humbled by it, etc., etc. I don't care how many times she has said it in the past, but it really felt heart felt. If she was acting, I believe it all, and it's ok. I'll buy into it.

And before you know it, we were all being escorted out of the building. We ended up getting a copy of Portia's book. No big give away. But that's ok. It is a great reminder of the show itself and a great reminder of an amazing experience and day.

As awesome as her show was that day, my girlfriend and I opted to wake up early and try to attend the 15th show in the morning as standby folks. And if you can believe it, we got there only for staff to tell us that it was cancelled. If I had kept to the show on the 15th, I would have been SOL...having gone there for no reason. Sometimes, things are just meant to be.

Oprah you will be missed! But I am so happy to have shaken Oprah's hand, to have sat in on 3 of her shows as part of her live audience and able to see her during her last season. Memories, memories.....

"O" in the Windy City

Well, enough "deep thought" entries. Those happen from time to time because that's just life.

But I'm going to talk about a happy moment and happy moments in the next week to come. First of all, it's Thanksgiving weekend. Yep. Turkey and stuffing. My in-laws are hosting and all I have to bring is my family, a fruit tray that I'm buying (forget cutting up all that!) and brussel sprouts that I have to wash. Yep. I can handle it. Can't wait for the turkey coma!!!

Secondly, on Thanksgiving Monday while I'm still nursing the turkey coma, I'm heading out of town to the "Windy City". I never thought I'd be heading to Chicago twice in my little lifetime, but it just so happens that I will be going again. And the main reason why I'm heading to Chicago is of course to see Oprah!

I was extremely fortunate to get tickets once in my lifetime. But to get them a second time, I can't waste this opportunity, especially since it's her last season! I already know who the guest is this time which is rare. So don't go on thinking I may get a giveaway show. But it will be Portia De Rossi (Ellen Degeneres' wife). I'm thankful that it's not some show about murder, third world countries and those folks that have been captured, etc. I just want something light and fluffy.

And life is quite funny sometimes. Life just knows when you need a break and this break couldn't have come at a better time for many reasons. The best part is I get to go with a great bud. She's fun to travel with and extremely easy to travel with. She gets that parenthood along with working and what I'm going through can be difficult. There's no judgement. Best of all, she's one of the neatest and most amazing people I know. And it just so happens that life recognizes that she needs a small break too. So we two gals are just exhilarated at this opportunity to go together so that we can support each other and just enjoy all the wonderfulness of Oprah and Chicago. Don't forget, the last time I went, it was -40 degrees Celsius. Ummm...a little cold to be doing some outdoor sightseeting. This time, totally different...I'm going out to explore the city big time!!

I've got a segway tour booked (can't wait to try one of those things). Zoom, zoom! I'm hoping to hit Chinatown to see how good Chicago chinese food is. There's also shopping on the Magnificent mile, check out some museums, trying out their deep dish pizza and enjoying Chicago dogs once again. Just a small list of things I want to do when I'm there. Of course, I'm hitting up the Oprah store too! I've been checking things online and making my lists!!! It's going to cost me.

Oh, it doesn't matter what I do because this trip will be an adventure with a great friend. It will be a life away from my regular life. It will be the energy boost that I need to take me through the next little while. It's an opportunity to acknowledge that life is short and you just have to enjoy what you can when you can because you never know what life has in store for you.

Let the adventure begin!

Tears

Tears. I hate seeing them on other people's faces. And it's not that I can't deal with the fact that they're crying, is that 95% of the time, it's because they are in pain of some sort, and I feel terrible for them. Five percent of the time, there are tears of joy...but hey, let's be honest, these are rare and hard to come by.

So after a day of my other 2 girlfriends dealing with deaths in this family, I wasn't expecting much today in terms of stories or hurt. But obviously I was wrong. I bumped into a friend and she's been having a tough time with life in general. And they are all legitimate reasons. So today, all I asked was "how are you?" And the tears started to come...and they kept coming. It was one of those "I'm trying to stop but the faucet has been opened and now I can't stop" type of cries.

Well, I was suprised to say the least. But I took her someplace quiet and private where we could chat and she could just cry. And though it was hard to watch her go through this, it was so important that she did. And I just let her do it, listened, and when she asked for advice, I didn't even bother to sugarcoat.

I let her cry because I know that she could then acknowledge the problem and just be "there" with it. But I can see that even with that big cry, she's already started to work her way out of that dark hole that I spoke about in my last entry. I'm not saying that I was the reason she's crawling out of that hole. It really was those tears that she cried that is helping her heal, and letting her eyes see clearly the pathway out.

Today

People's lives can be dramatically changed...as they say, at a moment's notice. Today, I had 2 good friends that lost someone close to them. One friend lost a grandmother. What's more tragic is that she is going through so many other things in her life. This death in the family is just one more thing for her to deal with. I'm amazed at how she's still functioning.

Another friend of mine lost her mother today. Her mother had a sudden onset of Alzheimer's at a very young age and her health decreased very quickly over the last couple of years. And even in the last couple of days of her life, she was holding on. I think holding on so she could just spend a little more time with her family. Her body failed her...but I think she really knew that her family was there.

In both cases, I can only imagine what life is like right now for them. The chaos, sadness, grief and so on.

Everybody has had times where they are so down where they think they've hit rock bottom...only to find that there is further to go. But life goes on...and you have no choice but to crawl out of that dark hole, no matter how dark it is. And though that climb may seem incredibly difficult if not impossible, it's one step at a time. By not doing so, you are forever stuck in that terrible place and you just can't move on.

I hope to be one of those friends that will be there to support my friends in their time of need as they've been there for me.

Mandarin School

I've always wanted my kids to learn a second language. I want them to learn because it really is part of their Asian background and heritage. I also want them to be able to communicate in another language, especially to their grandparents. It's been an interesting transition.

Both girls tried a mandarin school that I originally went to. Though it worked for me, it did not work for the girls. It was evident by not so happy faces when we went to class. So it took a while, but I found a new mandarin school for them. This was the first semester that they would try the class. And if this one didn't work, I was screwed.

Last week was their first class and they had a blast! They learned songs, did arts and crafts, watched videos, played games...in mandarin. They even came home singing songs. And during the week, they talked about how they couldn't wait to go back to mandarin school. Having them like the class is me already winning half the battle.

So, I'm off with happy kids to mandarin school. Joy and bliss.

Between the Folds

I've always enjoyed origami. But my specialty is modular origami...basically, you fit pieces of paper folded a certain way to get a specific structure such as boxes, cubes, hexagons. Very mathematical, impressive and pretty.

So, I happen to see a movie trailer for a movie that has to do with origami. I was skeptical and not sure how "fun" this movie would be. But if you are into origami and like the math behind it, this movie is for you! I know I definitely want to see it. Here's the trailer for you to enjoy!

Travelling

Anytime any of my friends or family goes travelling, I hope that there will not be a travel emergency. And that's why I always encourage people to buy some type of travel insurance as you never know what can happen.

My dad is really good about buying travel insurance because he never wants to burden me with expenses. (THANKS DAD!) But it was just an odd conversation last time he went on a trip and gave me the details of his insurance.

"Ok Alice, in the event that I die out there, no need to ship my body back. It's much too expensive."

"Ok Dad. Whatever you want."

"But remember, don't get me cremated. You know how I'm scared of fire."

"Ok Dad. Whatever you want."

But a couple of days later when he got clarification about his insurance, he called me back and changed his tune.

"Ok, if I die out there, no problem. My insurance will pay for the shipping of my body back to Canada. See?" He had the insurance agent highlight the section.

I hope for my dad's sake and the insurance company, my dad never has to collect.

Jobs

Everybody talks about how the tech jobs are the jobs to have these days. Well true to some extent. I just think about all the computer problems I give to my husband. But that type of work isn't for everybody.

Dream job, I'd be an astronaut. SWEET. And stop calling me a space cadet already.

Daytime job, what I'm doing is pretty darn good. Though I'd like to organize for some big money company one day. Big rewards.

Job I'd hate to have, anything to do with bugs. That kind of stuff grosses me out. Today I saw some big ass cockroach...I screamed, I used my kid's boot to trample the crap out of it. Even when the guts were gushed out, I still kept hitting like I had to kill it 6 times over.

So techie stuff, yeah, I'll stick with the playing with new gadgets. They don't need someone like me trying to fix stuff.

Perfect Moms

Oh, the perfect moms!!! Hey, I hate to tell you, they don't exist!! I'm sure I've broken and violated some sacred "Mom" law. But it's true. And the more society and us moms can accept this, I honestly think that this world will be slightly better.

I get that moms want to be perfect, but it's just not possible. With all the pressures of work/staying at home to take care of children, the demands of everybody and I mean everybody, being a chauffeur, organizing all the activities, packing all the lunches, and everything else that needs done...moms can't do it all. Really. I know it looks like we can sometimes, but we are only human too. And sometimes, we do break, lose it and cry our little eyes out, and sometimes, we just flip out on the ones we love the most.

And that's why I only hang out with certain moms. The ones that want to think they are perfect are always competing. And healthy competition is ok. But with motherhood, it's tough enough and you want as many allies as possible. Strength in numbers and it's true when it takes a whole village to take care of those little ones. And sometimes, I think it's these "perfect moms" that have the issue. Why do they need to portray that out there?

I choose to spend my time with moms who have dealt with it all, can honestly say that they have screamed at their kids, can talk about their darkest days of parenting, been so scared about what they've done, and had barf all over them. Those are the real moms. Those are the ones that will understand when you're breaking and need some help. Those are the ones that can laugh at their imperfections. Those are the best allies you can find in parenthood.

Little Kindness

I am very selective about the friends that I have around me. I know that sounds elitist and plain old mean. But it's true. And there are a number of reasons why this is the case. One of the reasons is that I only choose friends that can support me in a positive way.

Tonight was a prime example. It was a long day and honestly, it's just been a long haul mentally lately with everything going on. As much as I like cooking, sometimes dinner can be a real chore. I wasn't particularly wanting to cook and I didn't want to spend a bunch of bucks on food.

And lo and behold, when I got home and went to go check my mail, there was a big bag on my front porch. I looked inside and it was filled with food! I went inside the house and I couldn't find a note anywhere. I was so thankful that I wanted to cry. It was pretty much food that was made up that I could serve in a jiffy. No muss, no fuss. Finally, I found out who it was as they left a Facebook message. LOL!

It probably wouldn't have taken me that long tonight to cook a meal. But really, this gift of time and gift of nourishment came on a really good day. This gift of time actually gave me extra time to read and cuddle my kids, clean up a couple of things that I've been meaning to do, and just a couple of extra minutes of time to myself. OMG. So awesome.

So thank you to my lovely friend tonight. You filled my "bucket" tonight. And to all my other lovely friends that continue to surround me and support me in ways that only you can, thank you. It's really people like you that make this world such a better place.

Labels

I bought a ton of address labels...they are those cute ones that you can put the family's faces on them and personalize them. I love them, especially during Christmas. No need to write out my address 50 times.

And I love them so much that I sometimes just order them for my friends. I get to personalize all those stamps. And I know that sounds stupid...but it's about giving the gift of time to people. I know that writing out your address is not a big deal. But if you're constantly having to do it because you're sending cheques here and there, filling out registration forms for your kids, sending out cards and invitations, I am serious whe I say that your hands get real tired and real fast.

Ahhh...time to write a letter to my pen pal...and you guessed it, I'll be slapping on one of those labels!

Bluntness

Many years ago, my husband who was my boyfriend at the time, came to my dad's place for dinner. And my dad's friend was also having dinner with us.

All of us had a really great time just chatting and getting to know each other. It was great because she actually spoke English too which made it so much easier for my husband. So I thought they really got along.

But out of nowhere, and remember, this woman just met my boyfriend for the first time...she blurts out, "You know, you can get hair replacements." Ummm. Ok, maybe my husband has a receding hair line. But OMG, really? Did you want to mention one of those best hair loss product lines for him too? Let's just say, my husband took it real well. But I can not believe that she just blurted it out as if she was saying the weather was nice. I'm all for directness, but that type of bluntness somewhat scares me.

I'm sure it's been 10 years ago...but still, the incident was like it was yesterday.

Creams

I was asked to put in my name to do one of those wrinkle cream reviews. I don't know if I should be pissed that they asked me because are they saying I have too many wrinkles? Or are they saying I can product test well. Either way, if I get to do it, I get to try something.

And I have to say, doing product reviews just rocks. I can totally be honest how I feel about a product. And the best part is, if I like it, I will be a long time customer. The company also wins because they get to really hear how real people feel about their product. Can't say I'm always complimentary.

Hey, if any of you have tested out stuff, you should let me know. I love to hear about new products and reviews of things!

Insurance

Everytime I get a letter from the union, I also get some pamphlet to inform me that I can get lower rates for insurance. This includes vehicle insurance quotes, house insurance, etc. And I can call to just compare the costs to my own insurance company and they bet they will be lower.

Hmmm. I tried and I'm not so sure. And I know this is odd, but if I did buy from them, I'd feel like I was buying no name brand insurance. I'm sure that's not the case. But there is something very soothing about buying from a well known insurance company. Don't get me wrong, I buy no name products all the time. But I do have a limit to what I will buy as a no name product.

Public Service Announcement

I've blogged about this before. But I felt the dire need to do it again today. The topic is mercy flushes.

Seriously, I walked into that work washroom today into a cloud of "you know what smell." I know we all do it and sometimes you just have to go at work. Fine, go because I don't need you exploding. But if you're going to do a number 2, then flush in between. Really, I don't care if you flush 5 times while I'm in there. I know what you're doing. But I'd rather know what you're doing than smell it.

To me, this is being kind to your co-workers. No one needs to half faint as they are walking out of that washroom.

On a segue, I'm all for people telling me stuff. But there is a thing called too much information, or TMI. Today, I had a co-worker talk to me about their bowel movements, their colitis and their irritable bowel syndrome. It's one thing to tell me about it, but to tell me about every little rumble, every "place" you have to go, and other nasty details? I realize I'm not the only one in the office that is hearing all this stuff. But honestly, TMI. And if I could mercy flush the conversation, I would.

Muffin Top

Boo. I've always had a bit of a muffin top. And after having kids, well, that muffin top is a big one. Though I try to exercise and eat better, unfortunately I have not made a complete lifestyle change. I love eating too much and I really enjoy it as a social event. Makes it a little hard to lose weight. And honestly, exercising 3 hours a day to get rid of that food is not an option either.

Yep, I know what to do to try reducing belly fat. But I have yet to truly implement the steps. Well, I continue to go 1 step forward but 2 steps back.

If the government can start this stupid HST, then maybe they should just slap a 90% tax on junk food. That'll stop me from me eating junk food because I'll be too cheap to buy the item!

Advertising

For once, I'd like to see honest advertising. I know...I'm asking for the world here. I always see ads for the diet pill that works. But unfortunately, every review that is ever written is just on a different site, but with the same content. You decide if that's a good enough review for you.

This is not a slag on those that take these pills. I just hope that whatever it is that they are taking into their bodies is actually suitable for their body and they get the results that they want.

Pet Peeve

Everybody has pet peeves. I also have my share of them. And I bet because I'm talking about all of this, I don't even realize that I'm doing it myself.

My one pet peeve has always been when people ask "how are you" and then proceed to answer for you. So literally, the conversation goes like this:

"Hey, how are you? You must be stressed...you must be happy after what happened."

But my response is usually the opposite of the person. Then I end up having to justify or argue to this person why I'm not feeling the way that they were expecting me to feel. So these conversations go like this:

"Hey, how are you? You must be stressed/you must be happy after what happened."

"Um, no. Actually I'm not stressed about the current situation."

"Well, why not? That would be stressful to me and it looked stressful."

"Well, it wasn't to me. I feel ok and I feel that I've been handling things just fine. Maybe my face looks stressed, but I'm probably concentrating."

"No, I'm sure you are totally stressed out."

"No, I'm not." And I think to myself, yeah, I'm starting to stress out because you won't shut up about how I feel!

Honestly, one of the most important lessons that someone taught me was this...if you're going to ask someone "how are you" then make sure you're ready for an answer. Whatever that answer is. But never answer for people. It pisses people off...people like me.

Eat, Pray, Love

Yes, I finally watched it. It only took me about a month, but I finally went. I pretty much knew that the movie wasn't going to be as good as the book. But for a chick flick, it worked for me.

I wanted to go for a number of reasons. One, how did it compare to the book? Secondly, was Julia Roberts any good in this movie? I always think she's a bit of a one act deal. Last but not least, I wanted to check out the scenery of the 3 different places she went to as I've been to 2 of them.

Yep, it took the good pieces out of the book. But not a lot of depth. That's fine. It was a good Coles notes version of the movie.

As for Julia Roberts, for once, I actually liked her acting. I didn't love her. And it was almost different enough from her other acting. And maybe I was willing to like her as I really enjoyed the book.

The scenery in the movie was great! I loved the panoramic shots. I especially loved the shots of places that I visited as it brought back many good memories for me. There were a couple of shots that totally reminded me of my trip with my husband to Rome. The food shots were awesome as the food there really is so beautiful. The city scape is something to awe at. The Tuscan country shots made me long for quietness and tranquility.

Though, I do have to admit, there was once scene of Bali that did not bring back great memories...though it is funny to think back on. There was a shot of a monkey on a branch sitting there, people watching and eating. Seeing a monkey doesn't usually bring about bad memories. But when I was in Bali in the monkey forest, one of those damn monkeys saw something in my hand that was food. The damn thing basically jumped from its branch onto my head and attacked me making me scream like a banshee. One of the local tour guides took off her slipper and just slapped the monkey away. For her, it was a regular day. For me, it was somewhat horrifying. I'm glad I went to that damn monkey forest, but I won't be going back anytime soon. I swear, the monkey in the movie was looking at me...and mocking me. It's probably the same damn monkey.

I just wish that I had gone to Bali after reading this book. However, it wasn't an option as the book was written well after I returned from Bali. But I do wish that I had met Ketut. Who knows what he would have told me?

So, a nice afternoon spent by myself watching a chick flick, and getting a break that I desperately needed.

Shaq

Yep, I watch Shaq vs. I'm not too shy to even admit it. They have some neat little contests between Shaquille O'Neal and whoever else. One night it was Penn and Teller. One night it was that Bieber kid. One night, Shaq was boxing. He just gets into these ridiculous contests and basically, he tries to win.

So I watched it last night and he had 2 competitions. One was a hot dog eating contest with the champion hot dog eaters. Craziness. The second competition was with Charles Barclay. Now, I've watched Shaq and Charles mock each other before. But this was taking mocking to the next level. They were totally killing it with their shots. It was awesome.

That of course made me think of my friend, Miss K. I swear, she is the only person in the world that can mock me mercilessly...and I just sit there, laugh and take it all in. Seriously, anybody else in this world who mocks me like her would have a black eye as I'd punch them. But no, this gal must be slipping something into my tofu shirataki noodles, because I don't have an issue with her mocking. And she mocks me on everything that I love...EVERYTHING. From the Olympics, to my taiko drumming, to my love of Korean ribs, etc...that girl has no shame and will take me down on any topic.

I have to keep watching this show...I might learn a couple of zingers that I can fire back!

Holidays

My one daughter has a daycare that closes down for 2 weeks of the year. One is during the last week of August. It's a bit of a pain because I have to take time off during this week or have some type of care lined up.

But this year, it's come at a good time with so much going on. Yesterday, my family and I just spent the whole day at home. Puttering, riding bikes, a bit of cleaning, vegging. So uneventful, but so needed. Just gave me the down time I needed.

Don't get me wrong, the house is still a mess, but I don't really care. Sometimes, it's ok to just chill. Yep. I'm chilling.

Monitors

Our house is a bit of a technology graveyard. We still have monitors in this house that are before the time of the lcd monitor. You know, the BIG ones that take up a whole desk!! My husband wants to keep them around for when we have our big games days so if people want to do a network thing, there is a monitor for each person if they need one. But seriously, in a family of 4, we have about 7 monitors. Seems a little outrageous doesn't it?!

Christmas

I have a pen pal that I just adore. She's from Wrexam, UK. I had to look for that place on the map! Never even heard of it.

The other day she had written me and was just talking about her life, current renovations at her house, her family, etc. Just normal stuff which I love. But she asked me a question about invitations. She had received a Christmas dinner invitation...and this was a couple of weeks ago...is it too early?

Really? Do I even have to think about this one?! YES. It's too early for a Christmas invitation. YES, it's too early for the Christmas trees to be out at Costco. YES, I think that Christmas stuff should not be out until after Rememberance Day.

Seriously, I will go bonkers if Christmas becomes a year round event.

Decisions

Sometimes, I can only shake my head at the decisions that managers make. However, I also understand that some decisions are made because of reasons that are unknown to peons such as myself. I accept that. These folks get paid the "big" money to determine certain things, to stick by their decision and live with the consequences.

However, there are times that even peons like me need to say something. One of my co-workers basically was denied some training. The reasons, well, there didn't seem to be any. And the option provided did not make sense. And even the director was somewhat confused.

Today was not a good day for management to be confused or to make a crazy deciion about denying someone's training for no reason or a mediocre reason.

As the learning coordinator in the office, I have a responsibility to ensure that certain training happens. If training is denied, it better be for a good reason.

I marched into the director's office, talked about the act that governs this type of training, talked about the reasons why this person should not be denied, gave him the history, etc. I laid it on pretty thick because it just didn't make sense she was denied. Now, even though I laid it on thick, I know I was respectful. This was about standing up for a fellow employee.

And who knows? Best case scenario is that this decision is reversed. But I don't know unless I try. I'm hoping for some good news for my fellow co-worker.

Connections

I like connecting with friends and family. But I also love making new connections, you never know where they may lead!

As many of you know, I had made a connection with an author that I absolutely love and adore. I actually got an opportunity to have drinks with her in Vegas. And then when she stopped in town while writing one of her books, she actually gave me a shout and we had dinner together. It was fantastic! And all of this took place because of 1 e-mail.

I recently made a connection with another author again through e-mail. This author had written her first book and I thought it was just such an amazing read! Oh, I can't gush enough about it. So I wrote her and told her about it. And I also started reading her blog and it's amazing. She lives in Paris and since I've been there, I can picture what she's explaining and I've been to some places she's blogging about.

Honestly, I don't expect responses from authors because they get a ton of fan mail. But I was so delighted that I received a personalized e-mail from her. I know for most folks, this is on the "stupid" end of things to do. But I just love this kind of stuff! And really, what if I got to meet her too?! I would love to go to Paris to meet her! And so up my alley of things to do.

So, another item to add to the bucket list rather than tick off. Can't wait to finally tick it off!

Productive Weekend

Saturday wasn't that productive. But I got the girls to swimming, finished up a movie with my husband and just chillaxed a bit. I needed it.

But Sunday, for whatever reason was a very productive one. This included taking the kids to the aquarium, taking them to a birthday party, deleting over 8,000 emails (updates, junk, etc), uploaded 700 photos and categorized them, packed up clothes that are going back to a friend, moved all my scrapbooking stuff to a different area that's hidden to give me back 3 feet of my bedroom, and all the other chores to get ready for the week. So even though Saturday was a complete write off, I think I made up for it on Sunday.

And now I'm pooped!!!

Bashing

I have 2 people on my Facebook page that I would consider acquaintances. I used to work with them a number of years ago. They seemed like neat peeople however, I must say, I was somewhat suprised when they said they were getting married!

But off to the wedding I went wishing them the very best. And years later, I went to the baby shower as they introduced their newborn to everybody.

Fast forward a couple more years and things are not so good. In fact, they announced their separation on Facebook with a status change. Well, that's a good way to get news out fast. And things seemed amicable between them.

But now, one side has decided to air out every piece of dirty laundry in the marriage and constantly bashing the other person. We're not talking about light bashing, we are talking about full on stuff. The other person has not eeked out one word about the other ex spouse and has kept their Facebook statuses about their life only.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what happened between the two to bring about this situation. All I know is that there is a time and place for news...and I don't think Facebook statuses for stuff like this is appropriate. But that's social media for you...anything and everything goes. I find that the more I read from the basher, the more upset I get at this person because it's just juvenile and utterly disrespectful to those that are still friends with the other spouse. And really, puts the basher in a terrible light. I'm not saying they have nothing to complain about. And what if the kids are reading all of this crap? Ugh.

It might be time to do another deletion of folks of my Facebook.

Block Party 2010

Oh, another year, another block party. This year was a little earlier than usual. And I love going these block parties...but it also lets me know the passage of time. i.e. the summer is coming to an end real fast!

These parties are always a nice reminder that we do have some great neighbours. I get to catch up with people, the kids play on the street and there is always good food and conversation.

Honestly, people's lives are just so uniquely fascinating. I just find my neighbours to lead interesting lives and they have interesting jobs. There is one couple that are performers and they travel around the world. One neighour used to be a spy. One is a cop. One is a stay at home dad. One is a scientist. Totally neat jobs and great stories to go with it.

This year, my husband outlasted me and he stayed out way later than I did. And good...he seems to rarely see our neighbours.

So, to another great block party. Time to enjoy the rest of the summer before it's back to school for the kids.

Trip Planning

Seems like I've been helping all my co-workers plan their trips this summer! I should be upset that I'm not going anywhere. But I'm suprisingly not. I'm having fun telling them all the places I visited, happy to talk about my adventures while there, the food, the culture...all of it.

And I'm extra happy as they are starting to get excited about their own trips! You can just see that they can't wait to get going. It'll be great when they come back and I get to see how the cities have changed.

Travelling and seeing the world is an amazing experience. In hindsight, I wish I did more and lived more in the moment while younger. Can you believe it, I was busy trying to save money?! I can't wait for these folks to have amazing adventures!!!

Loans

The idea of an RV is really awesome. I just like the fact that it would be a ton more comfortable than camping. I'm just not a good camper. But even the smallest RV can be quite expensive. Thinking of getting a rv insurance quote is enough to make me cry. Money leaves my wallet all the time...do I need to spend more? Probably not. And I have no place to park the damn thing.

Oh well. I guess I will have to stick to camping. Boo.

Disney DVD

I sent in for one of those free Disney DVD planning DVDs. It finally came! It also came with some pamphlets to let me know about all the new things at Disneyland.

Seriously, within the first 3 minutes of the DVD, I was already tearing up. Everything is so magical...even the DVDs they do! But thinking about how my girls are just going to love this place. It really will be incredible and so magical for them.

The best part is, when we decide to go next year, it'll be a suprise. We'll have everything to go and put them in a car and tell them we're going someplace. They're going to be shocked! I can't wait!!!

Until then, I will have to hold onto my enthusiasm, make my list of antenna balls I want to get, and not say a word to the girls! FUN.

Winnebago Man

I know this is sad...but there is a show called the Ultimate Trailer Show and I just LOVE it. Basically it's a half hour show with a host who is quite funny, and the whole premise of the show is movie previews. Yep, a whole 1/2 hour of previews.

Today, I was watching it and they were talking about a documentary called the Winnebago Man. The title sounded terrible but I thought I'd just see what it was all about. Basically it's a guy that did commercials about RVs but it's the out takes that were the best things to watch. They made a movie about this guy, his life, where he is now and how pissed off a guy he is.

Now remember, he's supposed to be selling RVs. But all the out takes has him swearing about rv loans, how the door isn't working, swearing at flies because they are in this way...just think, CRANKY old guy with a severe attitude. But yet there was something about him that was actually quite endearing.

So thanks to the Ultimate Trailer Show, I'll be watching Winnebago Man in the near future.

Information Management

I was telling a co-worker about my fun times at the Powell Street Festival. One of the things I was telling him about was how the guy sitting next to me also worked for the government but was in the field of information management.

My co-worker and I talked about how this field really is the future. There is just SO much information out there. And unless it's tagged/catalogued in a meaningful way, it's not useful.

One of the forms of management my co-worker would like to see is document management. He works with a large group of folks and they all have a shared network drive and each person has a folder full of documents. But he mentioned that at least 1/2 of it is duplicate information, if you're searching for stuff, you don't know what's most recent, and how one copy is different from another. TOO much information but no way to use it properly.

Seriously, information management is the future.

Cigars

I was watching a movie and some guy was smoking a cigar. I figured that this kind of item would have gone out of style...especially with so many cities banning smoking in any public area. I personally love the ban but that's me.

But sure enough, cigars of all kinds, including cao cigars are keeping millions happy still. Well, good for those folks I suppose.

But until I have to travel somewhere where smoking cigarettes and cigars openly, I'll enjoy my clean air here.

Mirrors

I have a co-worker who is just adorable. But I walked by her desk and noticed she now has one of those convex mirrors on top of her computer monitor. I guess she needs to see who is coming towards her. I hope it works for her!

But I'm sure I would be distracted. LOL! Is someone coming to talk to me or give me work? I'm ok with the talking bit, not so much with getting extra work. I have enough, thanks.

Or maybe she's trying to figure out who is stealing those supplies from the First Aid kit!!!Maybe I should pay her a couple a bucks a month to find out for me.

Horse Races

About 2 weeks ago, there was a tragic accident at the local race track. Quite sad. The horse basically ran into the winner's circle...something about the blinders not letting him see properly. Some folks got hurt too. Scary stuff.

But I wonder if something like a horse tack could have helped? Or maybe we shouldn't have horse races. I never really understood it. But to each their own I suppose.

Well, hopefully no more freak accidents like that happen again. I hate those stories.

Backstreet's Back!

Oh, the dissing from friends. Well, at least it's friendly dissing.

I recently went with a friend to the Backstreet Boy's concert. Yep. Boy band lover! And the great part was that she loved them too. She made me look like an amateur boy band lover though. But just knowing that you can share an experience/like with someone and not be dissed is awesome. And really, for any concert, you can't go with someone that doesn't like the group.

For example, the guy sitting behind me. After the opening act, someone tapped me on the shoulder. She said that I need to be careful because the guy behind me (who she was sitting next to) had fallen asleep with a food tray on his lap...that was slowly slipping down his leg...and it had a full cup of beer in it. It was definitely looking like it was going to spill. So I just sat closer to the edge of the seat hoping to not be spilled on.

Thank goodness his girlfriend showed up. When she did, you could hear her asking "why are you so wasted? What's wrong with you? Do I have to take you home?" At that point, I turned around just to push his tray a bit and I just said to the girl that I didn't want him to waste his beer. She was good about it.

But the next thing you know, the guy is puking his guts out. Yeah, he's behind me, puking on the floor. Nasty. So the girl that originally tapped me on the shoulder told me to go get security. She was nice enough to say to the guy's girlfriend that it wasn't her, but it was him and this wasn't acceptable. So off to report this guy. A bit of chaos and a hair check for puke. But in the end, the guy and his girlfriend were removed.

I felt terrible for his girlfriend because he ruined a great night out for her. Obviously he didn't want to be there. And she probably forked out a ton of money for the tickets, drinks, etc.

But even though it was literally a yucky situation, my friend and I got bumped up to 10th row. The other girls around us also got bumped up. I met some gals that were very nice. Enjoyed a much closer view of the Backstreet Boys. And I hope that was the opportunity for that girl to dump that loser boyfriend.

So, despite the drama and the dissing from friends, I must say, the Backstreet Boys have grown up, cute as ever, sounded good, had the moves and were just FUN to watch! Yep, I'm not too shy to say that I sang my little heart out, cheered, swayed, pumped my arms. It was a totally fun concert that I would do over again.

LOL! Though this was a great time to think about my younger days and how much I loved them, my body is definitely not able to handle late nights and I felt old when I woke up. I felt jet lagged. But well worth it for a fantastic concert and great time with a buddy!

Vitamins

Recently, I had lunch with a girlfriend and she told me she was pregnant for the 2nd time! Yah. She looks amazing and she is doing well. But I felt bad for her when she told me about her prenatal vitamins. I think it's the iron content that's probably a tad high for her...but basically, she wants to throw up everytime she takes them.

And of course, because she's done it a couple of times, chances are, her body is just used to not wanting them in her body and as a reaction, she just gags.

Pregnancy and kids is a great thing and I realize it's not for everybody. But sometimes I wonder why pregnant women have to "suffer" so much during their pregnancy! I mean really, toting around a watermelon for a long period of time, not being able to sleep, not being to eat properly, and then having a misshapen body for the rest of your life... and then you can't even eat your supplements without gagging just seems cruel.

Supplies

I'm currently a First Aid attendant at my office. As part of my duties, I need to ensure that the First Aid boxes are up to date and the appropriate supplies are in it. Or more like, ensuring that there are enough supplies because people haven't pilfered through it thinking it's their own medical supply box.

So I checked the box recently, and some items are missing or not correct. I went to a local place that sold medical supplies and asked to buy the missing items. Unfortunately, every medical company sells specific items under different names. And this guy had no clue what I was asking about and couldn't help me.

So, I called another medical supply place and I left a message. They couldn't be bothered to call me back.

I asked our finance person if we could order online. Well, the one place is for industrial supplies but I'd have to order in bulk. Nope. We don't need 600 of the conforming bandages.

I'm off on my own time tomorrow hoping this next place will have the basics for the First Aid kit. I just hope that nobody needs the supplies until the box is refilled. Worst First Aider's nightmare.

Old Stuff

I was cleaning up an area of the house that needed to be cleaned. I know, me cleaning is quite suprising! But I have my limits on yuckiness in the house too.

I fell upon an old binocular set. The case is just falling to bits. And everytime I see it, I think of when I was younger, spying on all the neighbours. That's what kids do! I never saw anything interesting from the neighbours. But I just remember the awe I felt when I was younger using them. It was so neat to just see so far away.

I'm sure my kids will get a kick out of spying on neighbours too.