Sechelt

The weekend was awesome! Well, I didn't have to go to work. I love my job, but really, I'm ok not going to work. Secondly, got to head up to Sechelt with the family to celebrate the kid's great grandma's 92nd birthday. No smeal feat! And it was extra great because other family members were also there.

Lunch was provided by my husband's aunt and uncle who are just the loveliest people. Lunch was awesome! It was good to catch up with them and the other family members too.

While we were waiting for great grandma to come downstairs and join the festivities, me, my family, my brother in law, sister in law and their son also came down to the beach to hang out. Great grandma's place rocks because you walk down the stairs from her place and you are on this beautiful, pristine beach. Usually, the only people there are my family members. It's like our own island. My girls just love exploring the beach, all the creatures...especially the starfish. We love skipping rocks and playing battleship. And this year, we found a make shift swing on one of the beautiful trees down there. The girls kept on swinging.

What made the beach part so perfect was that there was no outside noise. Just us and nature. It was sunny, but not hot. Everybody was relaxed, we chilled. It was such a simple afternoon on the beach, but it really was perfect. In fact, after we went back up to enjoy lunch and cake, we came right back down to the beach to have a little more "perfect" time.

Great grandma enjoyed the visit by all of us! Though I'm sure it was overwhelming. But she was grateful that all of us could gather for her special day. Happy 92nd Great Grandma!

Census

This year, I got the short census! Yeah! That was easy to fill out...and now that it could be done online, it was done even quicker! And though it may seem like a "hassle," there are real benefits to filling out the census. So I didn't even think twice about having to fill it out.

For the others that have yet to fill it out, could you please put me out of my misery and complete it?! ROFL! Like seriously, how many radio ads have I heard about the need to fill out a census, by law you need to fill it out, a representative is coming to you to assist you, blah, blah. Even the long census does not take that long to fill it out. It's for your benefit.

And really, save me some tax dollars so that the radio ads can stop! Thank you.

Katy Perry

Last week, I got to go to the Katy Perry concert with my friend T. She's such an awesome concert go-er and it's always good to chill with her. I'm glad I went, but I can honestly say that I wouldn't go again.

Was it a terrible concert? Nope. Was it awesome? Nope. It was ok. I think what was a sign that it was just ok was that I sat for 1/2 the concert. I never sit at concerts unless it's a very slow song. But seriously, sitting that long for Katy Perry?

Some of the imagery was terrible too. Some of it was just very odd, gross and actually horrifying. I thought I was going to get some bad dreams.

As for the opening acts, there were 2 of them. One was an artist I didn't even know. But I didn't like her at all. In fact, my other friend who I went with made a comment that was perfect about this act..."I'd rather be watching a riveting chess game than have to sit through this." Yep. I'd have to agree.

The second act was a DJ. If you were young and never been to a club, this would have been pretty cool. But I sat through some of it...and then ended up walking around with T until the break.

So, definitely not a NKOTBSB high. I can say I've seen her and I'm planning to save my money for when she comes next time.

Nails

Every summer, I get one of those e-mails from people about what to do with your toes to make sure they look good. How about you folks just look at my hand nails instead. They look much better.

What will make my toes look better? Not sure. Maybe a dead sea nail kit...maybe it's got nutrients that would make my toe nails look awesome. Maybe I need a new shade of polish? Maybe I need a proper manicure. Maybe I just need to stop tripping over my own feet.

Really, I think the last one applies best.

Treatment

Man, I've got to update my degree or read up on my DSMIV again. Holy smokes. Terms for different conditions have totally changed. People don't really use bipolar anymore. People with two different issues can now go through dual diagnosis treatment.

But when you're not working in a particular field though you may have studied on it, you lose touch with that field very quickly. However, the principles do stay with you. Which is a good thing. But sometimes when I open my mouth with some of the terms in my field, it's like I'm the dinosaur in the room.

Returns

Gosh, life insurance is difficult. But when you have a family, you need to have it. I can't imagine putting my family through major hardship if I had to go tomorrow. But there are so many kinds. And I have different types. One that has a return of premium life insurance. Basically, I pay into it...and if nothing happens, by a certain age, I get all my premiums back. I think it's like a forced savings account. And that's ok. I don't want to actually ever have to use it as it would mean I wasn't here!

Obviously, each family must consider their own unique situation and determine what is right for them.

Ads

I should read up on how Facebook generates ads for users. Is it through our profile information? Is it through our choices? Is it what people sends us?

Because I really do wonder how I get certain ads. I get the safe weight loss pills, but nothing on more profile or choices in viewing information in FB would be diet related. I get ads for women in my area. Really? Ok, I have girls on my list of friends, but that may be the criteria?

I may have to try Google+ just to see if I get as many ads. hopefully less. That would be a good enough reason to switch.

Dentist

It's about time for me and the family to head to the dentist again. Not so concerned about my teeth. But I am concerned about my one kid who has lost quite a few teeth lately. The adult teeth growing back are TERRIBLE. Ka-ching! Can we say at least $5,000 to fix those teeth? OMG. She has a set of teeth where one is growing out of the gum and one tooth behind two teeth and in between the gaps. I can't explain the positioning of teeth as I'm just not a dentist.

I sure hope my dentist buys from a wholesale dental supplies store as my one kid will need a ton of supplies to fix her teeth. They're that bad.

Celebrations

Last night, I went to a party with my family. My husband wanted us to go because this couple is someone they knew and they were celebrating a ton of things. In fact, they were celebrating an engagement, the woman in this couple was celebrating her birthday and this same woman was celebrating that she was now cancer free. For a young 29 year old woman, she basically had a huge shock finding out she had it...then went through chemo...and then had her lung punctured 5 times while in the hospital for treatment.

Not sure about you, but these are amazing reasons to celebrate!!! So I went because my husband wanted me to go. I also wanted to celebrate all these wonderful milestones that this couple was celebrating. But part of me didn't want to go because I didn't know anything about this couple, nothing about their friends, knew 1 other couple at this party (my brother in law and sister in law)....and that was it. Going to a party where I basically don't know a soul is a bit daunting for me.

But I kept saying to myself that this party had nothing to do with me. It was about being there for this couple. Put my "hey, nice to meet you face" on and went to this party.

I am so happy that I went! When I met the woman who we were all celebrating, I congratulated her on all the different things I needed to congratulate her on. We had a quick chat...but I was so moved by her spirit, her courage and her zest that I was tearing up when chatting with her. I finally met her fiance and had a great chat with him. One of things we chatted about was being the bystander while your loved one is going through treatment/illness. The difficulty in balancing everything, ensuring that your partner is getting what they need, keeping things normal for your kids, etc. It's a huge responsibility and it's taxing. But he made it and I see that he is also a survivor.

The rest of the people there were just as amazing and fun to talk to. I actually didn't want to leave the party! Yeah...it was that much fun with strangers!

So in the end, really glad I went. Great conversations, met great people. And most importantly, was there to celebrate some great milestones for this couple. Love it!

Atlantis

I am absolutely amazed by space travel. If I were smarter in my younger years, perhaps I should have spent a little more time studying and maybe I would have been closer to my dream of being an astronaut.

As that's not going to happen anytime soon, I will have to settle for watching all things space related...including the final mission for Atlantis. It is hard to believe that for most of my life, space exploration and travel has always been there....at least the NASA program has been.

And so I'm pretty sad that Atlantis is taking its last flight. The space program in the US as we know it is ending. I'm going to miss seeing the videos and hearing the songs that wake up the space crew each morning (they pick the best and the most appropriate songs!!!). I will miss seeing the beautiful launches. I will miss the experiments and the amazing stories that come out of astronaut's mouths. I will miss the spirit of this program. I'll miss it all. There is nothing like this type of exploration and there is nothing like this to remind us of how just how small we are on this little blue planet.

God speed Altantis.

NKOTBSB

My girlfriend T bought tickets for this concert for the both of us about 7 months ago. And we have been WAITING for this show! For those that have no clue what I'm talking about, it was for the New Kids on the Block and Back Street Boys concert. It was TOTALLY worth the wait and worth every single penny and more!!!

It started off 2 opening acts which I was suprised at. The first one was a Canadian band called Nerverest. Not bad but I don't think I'm a fan. But I wasn't so annoyed by them that I wanted to leave. That's always a good sign.

The next opener was Matthew Morrison who I was looking forward to seeing too...I love him on Glee and saw some snippets of a video he was working on for his new album. Figured he could dance and sing on tv, but could he do it live?

The first 2 songs, I wasn't thrilled. He sang them well, but they were just songs from other people. His dancing was great though. But the 3rd song, he spoke about how he had written a song...and he had a ukulele with him. Huh. Wasn't expecting that. And it was GREAT! He also sang Gold Digger and that got the house rocking! And for his last song, he played Don't Stop Dancing (his tribute to Grace Kelly, Patrick Swayze and Michael Jackson...people he looks up to) and that was AWESOME. His dancing tribute, amazing! What a great way to end his set!!! I am now an even bigger fan of him!!!!

Time for an intermission. But you could feel the buzz around the building. People were having a fun time...lots of giggles, excitement and pictures being taken.

Then it was time. The show started with a montage of photos on the big screens...the build up was so intense and then BAM! They were there on an elevated stage getting ready to ROCK! Everybody was screaming their heads off!!!! Frenzy, yeah, absolutely. Totally isane!!!

This concert was really about singing the greatest hits from both bands. There were mashups of their songs which I wasn't expecting but totally worked. And the pace of the show was incredible...basically back to back, the groups took turns singing while the other one rested. So there was no real break! Just song after song after song. I think I counted and there were over 20 songs. At one point, they were just talking about different cities and how Canada/Vancouver was the best (yeah, I know you say that in every country and city, but I'll take it!)...and then Joey from NKOTB wanted to sing a song just for the city. Well, he chose the Canadian anthem. Hearing so many people sing our nation's song with them was a definite highlight and so much fun!!!!

The boys all still had it with their choreography too!! Oh, the awesome part was I still remembered some of the moves and they did all their routines from years past. These guys also looked better now than they ever did. Oooo yeah!

The crowd was just totally awesome too!!! Yes, there were some significant others that were there just because they were dragged their. But they weren't drunk, they didn't throw up near us unlike last time, they behaved and didn't diss anybody that was there. The remainder of the fans were so fun to be with!!! EVERYBODY was singing EVERY song. And I mean, EVERY song...nice and loud. People were dancing, cheering and having an amazing time!

I could go on and on about what I loved about every song and every act. But it's just too much. If anybody watches V, it's like being blissed by Anna. I'm still blissed.

After the concert, my friend T and I kept going oh my god...oh my god, it was so good. And the periods of silence in between were us just remembering about the show and the incredible time. Yes, I even bought a slick program to remember the night.

This morning when I woke up, my husband was very sweet and asked how the show was. I mean really, these boy bands are nothing he listens to. But he was laughing because I was just like a teenager gushing over the show and all the boys...and then he even entertained me by letting me show him the program and even a video. My kids asked and I did the same with thing.

It's almost 5 in the afternoon the day after, and I still feel blissed. After 7 months...the show has come and gone. Seriously worth every penny.

Bliss, bliss, bliss....

Coupons

I LOVE coupons. Saving is a good thing. And with a family, I think it's even more important to save where possible because these kidlets are expensive.

But it's even nicer when you can get coupons for luxury items. Ok, I'm not talking cars here. But chocolate covered decadent strawberries? Or other items like that are luxury items to me! So when I saw a link to get coupons for Cherries Berries, I had to check it out.

Not bad of a coupon and I may try it out!

Gadgets

After Radio Shack changed to The Source, I haven't paid too much attention. But the other day, I was at the local mall and decided to go in as I did want to browse, but I also needed to pick up a cable.

Looked at the converter digital boxes...don't know why since I don't need one. Looked at the gadgets and had a good time with those. Picked up a couple of items for Christmas gifts. Yes, I'm probably 3/4 done my Christmas shopping....but I digress.

Anyways, it was a better experience at the store than I thought which was nice. And yes, I even remembered to pick up my cable.

Discussions

Motherhood is truly one of the toughest jobs out there. And yes, maybe some folks have done a lot of babysitting, but it's still not motherhood. Then there is the balancing act of being a mother and working full time. And then all the other duties and roles that there are to play, it really can be challenging to balance everything.

However, discussions of being a mother and being challenged by many different roles and responsibilities is one that I only have with select people. I don't like it when I know someone is trying to make themselves the perfect mother. Really, there is no perfect mother. So I really treasure those moms and friends in my life that I can be so brutally honest with in terms of motherhood and balancing everything in one's life.

I was fortunate today to go out with a co-worker for lunch before she went on an extended leave. This person is not one that I go out to lunch with often due to schedules. But when I get to go with her, it's a great conversation. We spill the beans on our own lives, our challenges, what we're going to do and we also learn from each other. And I always tell her how much I value our relationship and the way we can just spill...and how we don't even try to show that we're perfect mothers. It's awesome. Every working mom needs one of these people.

Milestones

This week was full of milestones for my youngest. Time really passes quickly with kids in ways that I could never imagine.

She finished with her daycare that she has been with for close to 3 years. I bawled when I left because I really will miss those women that I have learned so much about and become friends with.

She also got her first loose tooth!! Oh, I'm not ready for her to be toothless and looking like a hockey player. Those little chicklets in her mouth are cute and they are just adorable on this kid. But losing her teeth really does mean she's growing up.

And she's starting at her new daycare in preparation for kindergarten tomorrow. She is so ready to take on the world and I'm just secretly hoping that she slows down in growing for just a little bit.

Yeah...just slow down a little please.....

Canaday Day 2011

My husband was on pager so he wasn't able to join us in celebrating this year. So me and the girls made our way to our city's Canada Day celebrations. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. We all wore our red shirts with maple leafs. We had our little Canada Day flags!

The girls and I just really enjoyed wandering around the party site, seeing what was there. We even enjoyed a picnic while watching a show. Though this show was quite odd...even my kids thought it was odd enough for us to leave the show. Thank goodness it was out in the open so it wasn't obvious that we were leaving.

After leaving the celebrations, we went off to Chapters, no...not for me, but for my eldest as she wanted to get her birthday gift. We let her choose now. And I as thrilled she chose something that was educational (and she doesn't even know it). She is having a ton of fun with it which is even better. And she's even thinking about how fun it would be to be a scientist, geologist, and researcher! Yeah, I'm ok with that!

The rest of the day was some rest, some much needed downtime and a bbq with the family. Great day.

And let me just say, I love Canada. It rocks. I'm so thankful to be in a country where I can vote, make a living for myself and my family, not having to worry about many of the other things that so many others in the world have to worry about. I have health care. I can speak my mind. I can wear whatever I want. I can go on and on and on about the greatest thing about living here in Canada. Wherever I go, I will wear that maple leaf proudly. Thank you Canada!

Selling

I'm looking at my house and I'm thinking about all I want to sell. This includes a ton of baby stuff, some clothing, some techy stuff. But I also noticed that I had some gold chains that are broken and I was thinking of selling them instead of fixing them. I saw an ad for selling gold jewelry at goldfellow.com and thought maybe that's an option.

I'm hoping to do a big sale thing either as a garage sale or at a swap meet. But the thought of hauling all my stuff together is daunting. But the thought of having all that stuff just invading my space is crazy too.

We'll see how motivated I am to make some money.....

Gaming

The other day, my husband came home with something! He was so excited!!! Yes, ANOTHER xbox. I was confused because that's our third fricken one! Granted, the first one is the first generation one. However, it's cheaper to keep and use as a dvd player because I tried selling it back to game places...they would give me $5 for it. Whatever, a dvd player it will be.

But our next one is fairly new as we use it for the Kinect system. I figured that was enough. Apparently not!

My husband seems happy. Good enough for me.