August

REALLY?! Is it really August?! OMG. I honestly can not believe how fast this summer has gone by. Every weekend, there has been something which is great. But I feel like I need days off for all the fun stuff over the weekend.

This weekend is slightly different. My husband is on pager so we can do family things around the house, but we can't really go out as a family. He's got to be home for when that pager goes off. And I don't want to take the kids to all the fun stuff as I'm sure he'd want to go too.

So, I've opted for a slower weekend this week. The only "work" I will be doing is volunteering at the Powell Street Festival tomorrow, some food shopping and some cleaning around the house. Other than that, it's lounge, chill with the kids in the backyard with their kiddy pool, picnics also in the backyard, movie nights and whatever else comes up.

Even though the kids are having a complete blast at their daycamp, they need some real downtime too. So, it seems like a perfect August long weekend to just chillax with the family.

Diseases

There are so many diseases out there...all bad in their own way. Let's be honest, there is no "good disease." But what never ceases to amaze me is how some diseases really knows no age and has no bounds. Cancer is one of them.

I'll be going in with my husband for his annual cancer check. As always, I hope everything will be ok. And heaven forbid, if it is not, I will deal with it. Simple as that.

But this year, I have someone else on my mind too. My girlfriend's mom just got diagnosed recently. I think she is still in shock. And I don't blame her. I think her parents were really sparing the kids the news, even though the kids are in their 30s. There is no judgement of their choice in doing that...but because of this, my friend was extra shocked when she found out the news.

I could only offer up a listening ear, provide a bit of experience and try to prep her for what will come. And how can someone really prep you for something like this as every experience is so different.

And really, everybody in this situation has a choice to make. Either they will come together stronger than ever and fight off this ugly disease as a family, or they can let the cancer tear the family apart. Knowing what I know about this family, they're going to kick cancer's ass.

The Weekend

Well, this weekend, I had 4 days off. That's unheard of for me, but I had a couple of flex days to add to my weekend this time around. It was awesome and stinking busy.

Friday was great. Had the annual eye exams for my kids. I think what's neat is this optometrist uses the newest in technology. So everything is very sci-fi. The kids eyes are good! Then it was off to my husband's work party. There was a successful launch of a recent product and the company (all offices around the world) celebrated on that day. We ended up being at a park that was very close by his workplace. It was a catered lunch (yummy!, and sports and entertainment was available for staff and their families. I didn't do the sports...the girls did the waterpark though. But the entertainment was great! They had a person doing caricatures and a clown.

Now, I have to admit, when I saw this clown, I was a little skeptical. He looked a little sketchy. But for 4 hours, he just joked with the crowd and made the most incredible balloon creations! Each person in that line up got something different. My kids got amazing bouquets, one was a ghostbuster, another an angel and I got a bunny hat...with the cutest toes!

The nastiest gift I got that day was a really bad sun burn. Literally, there is a V neck burn and I have a wicked farmer's tan on my arms. NICE. Well, I guess I have some long term memories of the event.

On Saturday, I went to Sechelt with the family to go and celebrate my kid's great grandma's 91st birthday. That's a milestone...especially since she broke her hip a couple of years ago. I wasn't quite sure if she'd recover. But she is totally with it, still funny as ever, and is not scared of dying. I love it. At 91, the only "problems" she has is that she has to walk around with a cane most of the time, and she's a bit hard of hearing. So I get to scream a bit into her ear and not feel bad. LOL!

Sunday was games day at my house. A nice bunch of friends came over. Totally casual, totally laid back, with good games and good food. I love games day because it's a day for friends to connect. But it's also an opportunity to try new games. Once again, I got to try a new card game that I've never tried before and loved it! And the friends that came over totally joined in on the fun and we all caught up indeed.

Monday was a belated father's day dim sum breakfast with my dad. My stepmom went as did my kids. I can't believe how much dim sum costs these days, but my dad was happy with the food. Good enough for me. Don't want him complaining there isn't enough and it's not good tasting. I wouldn't hear the end of it. And of course, I gave him a red pocket. My parents don't like the traditional gifts. They like the money. And it's quite funny...whatever they buy with the money I give them, they always like to show it off to me. Usually it's some name brand clothing. Doesn't matter to me. My dad was happy...all that mattered.

So, it was a very packed weekend and I was very tired by the end. I really didn't want to go to work today, but I guess I have to at some point. The long weekend is just around the corner though. Off to volunteer at the Powell Street Festival. Good times!!! And hopefully some good entertainment and food again. Other than that, I think I'll get to chill...and maybe clean a little. My husband is on pager and we as a family can't go anywhere. Yeah, I'll definitely use that as an excuse to just chill at home.

Seattle Get Away

Ahhh…who can ever say no to a girls weekend away?! Not me!

I recently went on a quick get away with 2 of the most fabulous gals I know. I’ll refer to them as K and T on here. A weekend where all of us just wanted some good laughs, great company and some good food adventures.

It was off to a good start! The two ladies got to my place early! Yeah! They helped me pack up my staff, I said bye to the family and we were off well ahead of schedule. And of course, no thanks to the borders, whatever time we were ahead, we were somewhat behind now. We ended up being at the border for close to 2 hours. If it was more, I lost count. Really, much too long.

But there is a silver lining to everything. Thanks to the border wait, we decided for an early lunch. Oh, my lovely K said that we should stop off at Jack in the Box. Like I would say no to a sourdough melt or the chance of getting a new antenna ball. I achieved both! And I guess maybe the oriental ladies are a bit of a novelty at the local Jack in the Box.. I was spared the pick up chit chat with a staff member as I headed off to the washroom. But K and T had one of the crew chat them up. He was hoping to meet them in Canada or see them again when we were heading back home. Apparently, I wasn’t peeing fast enough for them to get out of the joint fast enough.

Then off to the Seattle Premium Outlets. We found it easily and we marched our way to the info desk for some coupons. I don’t miss the chance for getting a good deal! After that, I split up from T and K for shopping on my own. I was on a mission…a Christmas gift mission. I wanted to get a bunch of gifts and I didn’t want to drag those two around. In a couple of hours, I went into every store, found 4 different Christmas gifts and did some good shopping for me and the family! Mission accomplished!

After the outlet. down the I-5 and off to Seattle to find our hotel. Traffic sucked. But thank goodness for good music and good chats. We ended up finding our hotel with ease. I knew we had gotten a cheap chain hotel, but it was one of the hotels that could have 3 people in it for a minimum charge. But they must have tried to hide a dead body in the closet or something. When we entered, there was a sweet smell of cinnamon which was fine. But another 5 seconds went by and our noses were practically burning from the cinnamon. Dang. I’m surprised we didn’t succumb to the damn smell. But opening patio doors and windows helped a bit.

But it didn’t matter. We dropped of our stuff and headed off the main culinary event we wanted to go to called the Bite of Seattle. The way they advertised the event, it should have been similar to the Bite of Vancouver which encompasses unique food experiences, opportunities to learn behind-the-scenes, entertainment through celebrity chef cooking demonstrations and culinary competitions, diverse food, beverage and cooking related exhibits; and of course fantastic shopping opportunities. Ummmm. Well, let’s just say that the Bite of Seattle did “bite” and I don’t mean that nicely. And honestly, it just bit the big one. Holy smokes. The crowds made it look like it was this amazing event. But when we got there, it was if we were at a bad fair where there were food booths. None of the food looked appetizing. And there were no “smells” in the air to indicate good food. We actually ended up leaving the “event” because us Vancouver food snobs couldn’t muster up the strength to eat that food. Really. It made PNE food look gourmet.

So we ended up at the Cheesecake Café. Not a bad choice at all! But this is where I digress to the conversation of “this is why Americans are so large.” I’m no skinny girl, but I feel so skinny when I’m down in the US. Holy smokes. The portions of food we got were big. The people sitting next to us had HUGE portions and they pretty much finished all of it. I’m sure each of our neighbour’s portions were a good 3 servings. I was so full I didn’t even get a piece of cheesecake…and when was the last time I ever gave that up?!

Anyway, day 1 ended with some good chats, some more giggles, tv and sleep. I was so tired from mega shopping that when the lights went out, I heard some words and I was quickly in la-la land.

Day 2 started off with our free breakfast in the hotel. Nothing special. But they had this spam hash that was gross looking but oddly, really yummy tasting. And seeing that hunk of hash made us talk for a very long time about Spam and Chinese cuisine using Spam. Ahhhh…memories of spam and eggs.

We decided that we’d go down to the Public Market and Pike Place that morning. We ended up getting there just as they opened. Oh, all the food looked delightful and absolutely beautiful. Everything was so fresh, the colours were so vibrant and you could smell so many wonderful things! I was in total awe of the green onions and large lobster tails. The pepper garlands were lovely too. Samples everywhere and just so much organized chaos! I loved it. Definitely a hippy Granville Island feel.

Though I must admit, walking with K in a place like this gives me a whole new perspective on things. All I kept hearing was “is that even healthy?” And when I finally looked at the situation, she was bang on about the situation being unhealthy. I swear, she should be a food inspector. But then she’d shut everyone down and we’d end up with very few food choices. The best unhealthy sighting was when I went to go watch the little donuts being made with a much larger donut machine than I’ve seen in a long time. And she says “is that even healthy?” I had no clue what she was talking about. But then she pointed to the radio speakers which was next to the donut machine. It had layers of dust on it and it was flying around…right by the donut machine. Gross. I don’t care how you deep fry dust, it isn’t good.

Before we left, I had to try a Chinese steamed bun. I always try something Asian in each city just to see how it compares to Vancouver. I think T and K were more interested in me getting the bbq pork on a stick. Pretty funny stuff. I opted for a simple steamed Chinese chicken bun. Sigh. Even our sister city who is so close by can’t do it right. It was dry, the ingredients not so right and just meh. Ugh. I really am a Vancouver food snot.

After a nice morning, it was time to start returning home but not without a couple of pit stops including another outlet, Costco and my favourite, Target. Oh, Target, how I love thee! So much good snack food! It’s insane! And even better, I got another Christmas gift there. But it was really about the junk food. Did I say junk food? Hello to my new favourites: Cheddar and Jalapeno Cheetos and the Chex Mix Bold. Pure awesomeness.

So, for an insanely short trip, a lot of shopping and eating was packed in. And so many good laughs and stories. Seriously. My stomach was hurting by the time I got home because I had been laughing so much…or it could have been the onions that was giving me the ring of fire. I’ll just go with good laughs.

We all had such an enjoyable time that we are already thinking of our next stop. Portland…here we come!

High School

Well, it's hard to believe it's been 18 years since high school. Eighteen. That's a lot of years. Once I left high school, I never looked back and would never want to go back again. I never really kept in touch with anybody from high school. And I was even happier that I left high school so that I wouldn't have to see the many people that I did not get along with or couldn't care less about. I went to a high school where 99% of the population there was very affluent and snooty. And because I did not have that kind of background, I didn't quite fit in with high society.

Even with Facebook, I have no high school friends as contacts. And I keep it that way so I don't have to hear what people are up to. I have no stake in their life nor do they have one in mine.

So I was somewhat shocked this morning when I was reading one of my e-mails from one of my sites I visit. It had a full on article about this one person I HATED from high school. It's about her success, her business, her tv bits, etc. Obviously she's very successful and she's worked hard for it. I can totally respect that. And I even took a look at her company since it was featured and was thoroughly impressed. She's done well for herself and her family and I know that she will continue to do well. Kudos.

However, hearing her name alone was enough for me to think about high school trauma and the people I couldn't deal with. And it made me think about how much I didn't like her then and how much I will continue to not want to see her.

Seriously. I am not one of those people that would sell their souls to go back to high school. That would be my living hell.

Summer Fun

Really? Is it already midway through July?! This is INSANE! I've been waiting for the summer for a very long time. And it seems that everytime I blink, another week goes by.

And I think the summer is going by faster because there is so much to do and so much that has already been planned! From shopping in the states, to 91st birthdays, to celebrations in general, to just fun with friends, etc. It seems like every weekend is filled with something and it's just a go-go summer!

I'm not complaining. It's great just to do things that are fun and have a more chilled and laid back schedule.

I better not blink again, another week will pass by!

Reunions

I just went to a reunion last night. It was for us Coke buddies that worked at the Olympics together. Those that didn't work it won't understand the type of bond that we have. Granted, this is true of any unique experience and group of people you work with...this just happens to be mine.

Though we talked about the Olympics, it was also great to see these people and listen to what they are doing in their current lives. So awesome! Everybody had a pretty neat job. There were those that were younger and who are still in school. There are some that are travelling...one person just did an archaelogical dig in Jordan! And it goes on and on.

The funny part is that if it wasn't for this program, I wouldn't have met these people at all. And really, the world is full of amazing people, including these ones.

S is for Summer

It's hard to believe that we are finally getting a summer. The letter S is also for slurpees, sunshine, sprinklers, sno-cones, snappy tunes and sunblock. All of these things relate to the season we have been waiting for.

It's stinking hot today, but I'm actually enjoying it! Who knows when it will go away. I got the kids to run out in the sprinklers for an hour. They were just having the best time of their little lives! We had slurpees to cool ourselves down. Really, what better way to enjoy a summer night? My house is still a stinking mess, but it will always be. Summer however won't last forever. Might as well enjoy it!

LMFs

LMFs are my low maintenance friends. These are folks that I may not see for months at a time. We may hear from each other in terms of phone calls and e-mails. But there is an understanding that we are all busy in our own ways.

I may not get invited to all the special events such as their kid's birthday parties and vice versa. No one gets mad at that because we also understand that kid's parties can only be so big. And it should be what the kids want not what the adults want.

We have made an agreement that we don't buy each other's kids Christmas gifts and probably not for the adults either. It's about the spirit of Christmas, and kind words on a card.

Sometimes, my LMFs are even too busy to do a quick Facebook status. But that is just life. And the beautiful part about my LMFs is that whenever we do get together, it's like a day hasn't passed and we catch up on everything. There is no judgement, no comments on "why didn't you call me or why haven't you bothered to get a hold of me," there is no guilt. Even when there are "bad" things that have happened to our individual lives, we talk about it because it matters. But it's not negative. We're just talking about life. And we're all grateful for all that we have and our moments of getting together. This is not to say that my LMFs wouldn't come to my assistance if I needed it because they have. They really are just laid back, don't need hand holding from me and can function just fine without hearing from me all the time. I'm not saying I'm not important, but that's how they feel about me too.

We always end up laughing and just loving each other's company even though it's so rare. Great friends don't have to be high maintenance ones with tons of drama.

Long Weekend

Canada Day was on a Thursday this week. I thought I'd take the 2nd off and then I'd also have the weekend too. Four straight days off. Sweetness.

On this Saturday, the family and I ventured down to the aquarium. That's such a neat place and my kids never get bored of it. The octopus finally came out today for the girls to see. Of course, my youngest was totally freaked out about the suckers. Don't blame her. We went to go see the belugas. And I don't think it really clicked in with my kids that the youngest whale recently died. They talked about it while we were there, but they weren't sad or anything. But we saw everything we wanted to see which was great.

We then headed off to lunch at one of my favourite sushi restaurants. The kids liked it too. Though, they seemed to enjoy the mints at the end way more!

Then we headed up main street for some shopping and bubble tea. Even went to Solly's for some awesome cinammon buns for home.

It was such a neat and free day for the family. Just loved it!

Furniture

When I pick up a flyer, it really gives a sense of where the fads are these days.

I picked up some home furniture flyer and it had all these tv stands. But most of them were the ones that were close to the floor or had really wide openings because everybody is buying a big flat screen tv. But these stands are not that wide either because technology has made these tv screens so thin.

Impressive how our entertainment technology has improved so much.

Equipment

I work close to an area of medical clinics and places that sell medical equipment. Once you hit the border of Broadway and Cambie all the way to about Willow, it's ALL about the clniics and medical equipment.

I went by recently and I was window shopping. Not much to shop for when it's all equipment. Though I did see a billboard for the new Michael's that will be coming around. SWEET.

Anyway, there are pieces of equipment that I hope that I have never have to use. From wheelchairs, to respironics oxygen concentrators, to those crazy toilet seats. BLEAH.

But obviously there is a market for all of this stuff. I do remember even having to go in while I was pregnant. I had carpal tunnel like symptoms due to the swelling of my body and I bought some wrist braces. Cost me a fortune, but these medical equipment places only sell the good stuff and they worked like a charm.

I'm hoping that I won't have to go to any of these places for real soon. It's actually depressing and took the shopping drive right out of me.

Cleanses

I know many of people that have used colon cleanse products. Whether or not they work is debatable. But of course it's a personal choice. Some cleanses are much more healthy than others. And some really hardcore ones that are for numerous days on end are only provide about 450 calories per day.

Well, 450 calories, yes, of course my colon would be clean and I would shed a ton of weight. Because I'd have barely any nutrients in me. I'd also have to say that I would would be the biggest cow in the world too. And on some days, I'm already a cow and have proper calories on me.

And my husband has gone through a number of colonoscopies and chooses to see what's inside of his colon. He swears there is no build up, etc, and will never ever choose to go on one of these diets.

Again, it's a personal choice and if it makes you feel better, then go for it. But please go for a healthy one that allows you to eat and go slowly on the cleanse.

Schools

I'm confused. Those that become medical office assistants go to some type of medical office assistant school. So why in the world does the US call it a medical assisting school? We all live in North America, so why can't we call one thing the same?!

Seriously. The US has already driving me crazy with how they spell color...it's COLOUR. Or how about meter...no, it's metre.

I love the US, but some of your terms and spelling just don't make sense to me.

Reviews

When I'm looking for information on products, I like to see the good and the bad. Sometimes, when new products come out on the market, all I see is the "good" stuff, never any of the bad stuff. That turns me off a product completely. And if a product really is that awesome, I don't believe it when the stuff people write sounds contrived and not an honest review.

So I was reading someone's blogs and they had articles on nuphedragen reviews. I thought I'd click on the article to see if it was one of those spam like/infomercial, all good stuff type of article. And I liked seeing that it wasn't all good. Though it still seemed commercial to me. But I had a bit more respect for the article because there was some not so good stuff.

I'm not saying I don't believe products can be good. But I really can't stand it when it's a PR firm writing everything rather than just a person saying what they really think about a product. I guess that's marketing.

Diet Pills

Recently, I saw an ad for the ephedra diet pill. Ummmm...call me crazy, but didn't they ban ephedra for health reasons? And for those that took it, didn't they gain some crazy weight back?

That scares me that something that was banned is on the market again. Or maybe they've made it "safer" whatever that means. Well, even if the market hasn't banned it yet, I don't think I've heard any good things about this product which makes me very "scared" for those that are taking it.

Hey, I watch Oprah and Dr. Oz enough to know this might not be the safest product for anybody.

Supplies

Recently, our office switched suppliers for regular office supplies and for office furniture supplies. Can we say gong show?! Someone ordered a lock up file cabinet for the boss because she needed one.

Seemed like a pretty easy task. You see it in the catalogue, you order it with the order number, it gets shipped, we get it and we pay. But we cancelled the order because the office credit card was full. The person would then buy it the next week when the card would have some room on it.

Well, this company couldn't handle it. Long story short, and whatever the goof up was, it's been over 5 weeks and the company hasn't figured the problem out and the file cabinet is still not in.

My boss is not pleased.