Oh the joys of naming your child

Let me first tell you that T doesn’t take naming our child seriously. However, he has enforced the following rules:


1. The name has to be gender specific. Therefore the name is not something both a male and female could be named – I.e. Kelly, Cory, etc

2. The name can’t also be a thing or verb. I.e. Colby is a cheese, Hunter hunts animals, and Chase is a verb.

3. The initials can’t spell something stupid like FAT or ART or CAT.

4. The name cannot be a name suggested by a family member (specifically his mother). All family member recommendations will be black listed.

5. The name cannot bring back a memory of another person who has that name.

6. The name should be able to have a nickname (the cooler the better) if possible

7. The name cannot be shortened or lengthened by adding ‘Y’ at the end of it. I.e. Kimmy, Tommy, etc.

8. The kids name cannot rhyme with anything that would allow other kids to pick on our kid.

So you can see this task is not an easy one. Especially when T will randomly tell you two letters that he thinks should be in his child’s name…, or will randomly toss out names like Roland, or Warren etc to wind me up.

This is probably another reason for the high blood pressure!!

A recent before bed conversation went like this:

Me: “Do you have short-list of boy names yet?”

T: “No, I haven’t had time to think about it”

Me: “You’ve had over 8 months, what are you doing now?”

T: “What about Russel?”

Me: “T”!

T: “What about Neil?”

Me: “Can you be serious please?”

T: “What about Dan?”

Me: “Nope, I made out with a Dan once”

T: “Well, we can’t just rule out names of people you made out with or there will be no names left!”

Me: “T!!!!” and slapped him.HARD.

T: “How about you just give me a list of names of people you haven’t made out with?”

Me: “T, shut up and go to sleep”

Then there is silence and I think he’s fallen asleep……….

T: “I think I should be a comedian”

Me: "SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP”


I let 24 hours pass and again last night approached the topic. And again he tried to be funny but I told him it is now ‘crunch time’ so he told me that in the end I would be the one picking the name anyway…. at least he knows that now and I won’t have to fight with him at the end!!!

What is up?!

These days – everything. That’s why I’ve been MIA. Too much to do!


Here is a little sneak peak at the nursery:

I could show you the rest but it is currently a disaster area and will be until after my showers are over and everything gets sorted and put away… hopefully in some ‘nesting’ phase everyone keeps talking about.

I’m attempting to get all, that’s right ALL of my Christmas shopping done before December 1. I had about 70% of it done before November 1, but I’ve started slacking as when work is done and I get home I hit a wall of exhaustion and nothing gets done. So daytime online shopping it will have to be…

Only.. I don’t have a lot of time anymore to online daytime shop as I’m attempting to put together some kind of organized training binder for my mat leave coverage as up until this point I’ve only had jotted notes in my ‘If I get hit by a bus’ folder. I officially have 34 days of work left to do all my work, plus quarterly end work, plus training of a new person who hasn’t been interviewed/hired yet, AND on top of that miss work for a million upcoming appointments….

Speaking of the million appointments – it was discovered at my last appointment (3 weeks ago) that my blood pressure is on the high side, too high to finish out those 34 days, so I’m monitoring it, but I can’t say it’s getting much better. Oh how I used to love stress as I worked and performed much better under it, but now if it’s going to cause medical issues with the baby it has to go. I’m thinking I’ll hit the couch and import my hottie waiter from last Christmas’ trip to Mexico.

But before I give up any kind of social/fun/on the go lifestyle I’m going to a book signing event for Jann Arden tonight. Now for those of you Americans who don’t know who Jann Arden is…

You can find her website/blog HERE.
And you may recognize this song (my 14 year old broken heart sang it repeatedly and it's still a classic when I play sad song dj):



And for shits & giggles she actually sings a song called ‘Janeen’ – which is definitely NOT about me :)

Jann is probably my favourite Canadian female artist, and I’m all about Canadian music. Maybe an upcoming blog entry will focus on it? I’ll add that to my list of things that need to get done!

The Crib List

So much like the “101 Things I had to do before I turned 30 list” I had also made a ‘Things that need to be accomplished before a baby arrives list”. I made it probably a year or so before we started taking the whole having a kid decision seriously as I knew it was a big list and there were going to be some major items on there, and well I’m happy to say they are all checked off with 74 days left to go!


First was the trip to Mexico. I wanted to go somewhere all-inclusive and drink and eat and not worry about anything for a week. I had also never done an all-inclusive and knowing myself I know the next time we go (hopefully Jan 2013) I’ll be worrying about the baby who will be being watched by my mother. Not that I don’t think she’ll do fine, it’s just part of being a mom I guess. So going away – Check!

Second was new dining room furniture. The table & chairs we had were hand-me downs and were scratched and looked too country-ish for my taste. I shopped and shopped and compared prices and finally made the big purchase – see THIS blog entry. Since that entry I’ve added a buffet to make space in the kitchen cupboards for baby items. New dining room furniture – Check!

Third was to have zero debt with the exception of the mortgage and possibly a new vehicle. We had a line of credit from when we bought the house two years ago and had purchased all our appliances and renovated the kitchen/laundry room. I wanted to eliminate any extra costs that we could before my salary takes a hit for year on maternity leave. Thanks to T’s bonus in August another check!

Fourth was a shed. Our garage was jam packed with anything we couldn’t fit in the house or things we didn’t know where to put and all gardening things. It was all too much and made for a tight squeeze getting in and out of our vehicles. How on earth would I ever fit a stroller or kids toys in there? So one amazing deal, a fully assembled shed making an hour’s trip on a trailer and 4 guys a very tight squeeze between our house and the fence later and ta-da! One shed jam packed with all of our yard stuff – check!

Fifth was a new job for T. This was a difficult one as T and change sometimes don’t go well together. He had been with his company for almost 8 years and was very comfortable with the employees, customers, and work environment. However his company was bought out a while back and due to a lot of changes company morale was hitting the floor, employees were jumping ship, and T wasn’t enjoying the job he was doing and they weren’t being flexible about moving him into a new position. So as of today T has also jumped ship! He starts Monday at a new company doing what he went to school for and leaving behind a lot of stress! I’m so happy for him and know he will do incredibly well. Check!

Sixth & final was a new vehicle. As previously noted the cavalier was not safe for transporting the alien anywhere if it was ever needed and with T’s new job we needed a more reliable, safer, bigger vehicle. I did a lot of research on safety standards and cargo space and fuel consumption and last weekend T & I picked up our brand new Hyundai Santa Fe! New wheels, check!

So all major things done and done! And well you know how crazy insanely organized and want everything done way in advance so I can be prepared for EVERYTHING I am. All my Christmas gifts are bought, wrapped, and sitting in my living room waiting for Christmas. Now to find art for the nursery and I’ll be good to go! 74 (HOLYCRAPPINGMYPANTS) more days!

Here is a thing or two about pregnancy…..

I’ve officially hit third trimester, and while I can’t complain that anything bad has happened there are a few things to note:

1. I’m tired of peeing or scheduling around peeing, or not having to pee and then the moment you stand up you have to make a run for it or you are going to wet your pants. Getting up out of bed in first tri to pee was easy, getting up out of bed in third tri takes skill and determination. What I would do for a pair of ‘holy shit’ bars to be installed on the wall or the side of my dresser for me to be able to pull myself out of bed over the mountain of pillows I require to sleep comfortably. I almost enjoy it when T is away or sleeping downstairs as I just roll myself off his side of the bed.

2. The alien movements are odd. At first I couldn’t tell if they were movements or bad gas, but let me tell you the alien does and moves where it wants when it wants. However, the alien is stubborn and will kick up a storm until T wants to feel it and then Alien goes back to sleep! Alien is head down so it likes to punch my nether regions and let me tell you that is NOTHING like I have ever experienced before and would be ok if it never happens again.

3. Heartburn lights EVERYTHING on fire. So far only anything with tomatoes starts the fire, but that is unbelievably horrible for me as I crave most things Italian constantly – no more pizza, no more spaghetti, etc. I’m sure my thighs and waistline will thank me for giving up those cravings now but I’m having no luck finding anything close that replaces them. A big serving of lasagne set all fluids in my body on fire to the point where I was ripping off my clothing and contemplating putting ice cubes in my cold bath water. T refers to that evening as ‘The Turning Point’.

4. Kids are expensive – even before they come out! Do you know how much crap one baby needs – it’s insane. You think stroller, car seat, crib etc, but what you don’t think is attachment for stroller, plus accessories for stroller, extra base for car seat, car seat cover, seat protector from projectile vomiting, etc. And don’t even get me started on diapers, wipes, bottles, breast pump stuff – it is just way too much shit. We got a shed to clear out some of the garage for outdoor baby items, and are now purchasing a bigger vehicle to transport baby and all its shit. The list never ends.

5. Braxton hick’s contractions are zero fun. To date I’ve had two and they feel like someone is expanding your stomach as big as it will go, while at the same time getting a massive cramp and feeling like the Alien is trying to make its exit out my belly button. The last contraction happened while I was in Pottery Barn – way to make shopping un-enjoyable Alien!

6. Pregnant ladies and old ladies are two of the same. Our pants are pulled up to our boobs, we pee the same amount, we eat the same stuff as to not upset our stomachs, we don’t sleep well, we walk the same pace, and we all shop for diapers. I could seriously join one of those bus tours and fit right in - and I'm sure I'd win the fight to sit closest to the bathroom!

But on the brightside 13 weeks or 91 days to go!!!

To: My car that won’t die.

Die already. You have had a great life, a really good go. You have been reliable and a VERY good car to me, but it’s time you retire. You see, your glory years have long since passed…

You were exactly what I wanted when I bought my first car. I was picky and wanted your blue color and I wanted your tinted windows and I even wanted your manual roll down windows for my crazy fear of driving into water. You were a Chevy Cavalier sitting on a Ford lot, sitting behind the building waiting to be cleaned – you weren’t even technically for sale yet. You didn’t have a cd player, but the dealer paid for me to have one installed and you were great on gas.

We moved to the big city and you got me through the crazy commute across the city from home to school, or school to work. Your trunk even made an excellent make-shift closet when I split up with my boyfriend and lived on the couches of friends.

I remember the one and only windshield chip you received from a rock thrown from under a truck on the 407 one morning on my way to school.

When I moved from the big city there was nothing you couldn’t move. You have moved many Ikea ‘as is’ items I’d find including a chair and coffee table already assembled. You’ve moved a 36 inch television and stand in the same trip! You’ve provided me with more than enough space to hold everything I’ve ever wanted relocated. Once you even held all my most valuable possessions in a parking garage while I went to a concert in another part of the city – your tinted windows never revealing the contents. You also smuggled a wooden bench and hundreds of dollars’ worth of shower gifts across the border without so much of a blink of an eye from border security.

I drove the crap out of you and you let me. You never got me stuck in snow; never left me abandoned anywhere, and always started.

Three years ago I handed your keys off to my new husband so that I could drive the ‘safer’ car on the highway and since then I’ve watched you deteriorate. Your gas gage stopped working, your windshield cracked, and your air conditioning gave up. However, nothing major has gone wrong, nothing that would justify us giving you up.

You back-fired recently scaring T into keeping you parked only to have the mechanic re-set your computer and your gas gage issue resolved itself – you are not getting worse you are getting better! However, last night I found a piece of you that had rusted so badly it had fallen off. I give you it was a small piece, but I’d hate to have T have to Fred Flintstone it home from work one day – well actually, I wouldn’t hate it if I got to watch it go down from a distance!

Anyway you have been a very, very good car. You are almost 13 years old and have over 250K km’s on you. As much as T has faith in you and won’t let you die I cannot trust you to move my upcoming spawn from point A to point B if we were ever in a pinch.

I will be very sad to see you go. You were my first car, and you have been very good to me. Thank you for all the great memories, you will be missed.

This is a pic taken during the cavalier's last long distance trip to Cedar Point. 'Pittsburgh' the giant penguin T won decided to take a turn driving.

My current love(s)

I haven’t been around much – completely apologize. When the summer hits I feel like we don’t sit still, or we try to sit still and it doesn’t happen. But this summer has been filled with lots of wonderful things that have become my favorite things. Think Oprah, but miraculously these items will not appear in front of you – sorry about that.

#1. Pinterest. This website is seriously an artsy/craftsy/designy/fashiony/chefy persons crack. Say you are on the internet and you see something that is completely awesome and want to share it with everyone – you ‘pin’ it. Then it’s kept on your board and is put out there for others to see also. You can follow people who have similar ‘likes’ as yours or be followed. You can even tag someone in the item you see so they see it. I tell you it’s crack and has brought back out the hidden Martha Stewart in me I buried years and years ago.

#2. One Republic’s song ‘Good Life’. It comes on the radio and I feel the need to crank the stereo and sing at the top of my lungs. It also  saved a few employees from being ripped a new one last week by streaming it through my headphones at work to block out the world.

3. Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks. People I can’t drink and it’s the summer and it REALLY sucks. You’ll often find me at home after a horrific day at work drinking passion tea lemonade out of a wine glass just to pretend. Sad I know, but I’m really missing my wine, and rye, and cocktails.

4. The Big C. This is a series on showtime about a woman who gets diagnosed with cancer and how her life alters in good, bad, and humorous ways. It is realistic and witty and it saddens me that showtime series seasons are so short. It’s not a chick show, it has a bit of everything and you should definitely check it out, and while you are at it watch the first season of Shameless (the US version) – it’s also great.

So there you have it -  a few of my favorite things. Have anything that you absolutely love right now?

Alien Landing

Remember way back when, when I told you I was making some major decisions that would be updated later. Well, call it hell freezing over, my age 30 freak the F out, or just pure insanity, but T and I decided reproducing would be a good idea. You’re thinking we were drunk at the time because that would make more sense? Nope, we had many, many, many sober conversations.

I decided that as our lives progressed I’d like a new job and a baby in whatever order they decided to come in and well the baby came first, and the job is another to be updated on later subject. But no, I will not be a stay at home mother.

And just so you know I’m not going to go all sentimental baby crap on you. I’m not like that. I actually dislike pretty much everything that is too babyish cutesy. I’ll never be that person in Babies R Us going ‘awwww’ or ‘oohhhhh’, I’ll be going “does it serve a purpose? Will it make the baby stop crying or sleep? And how much space is that going to take up in my house?”

Being pregnant has been pretty easy on me. I never experienced morning sickness, or many food aversions, and I’d often forget I was pregnant. So far all I’ve experienced is sleepiness after midnight, an increased appetite, and some pretty intense cravings lately. Also, if you talk to T, he’ll tell you I’ve been a little lot on the emotional side lately. Any patience I did have is gone and I’m starting to have to wear fatty clothes. I call them that because I have yet to find anything that I would normally buy to wear if I wasn’t pregnant. Maternity fashion does not exist.

The baby from here on out will be referred to as ‘The Alien’. Did you ever see the movie 'Men in Black' where the human-like person was controlled by the little alien inside? That’s me. We are not finding out the gender because if I’m going through medicated hell at the end of this I damn well better get a surprise at the end, AND a rye & pepsi – what I would do for a rye & pepsi!!!!

Speaking of the end, The Alien has a sick sense of humor (probably mine)- my original due date was Jan 1^st. It’s like it’s going “hey, you know how much fun you used to have on New Years, remember how much fun Mexico was? Haha screw you!” Not cool Alien.

However, The Alien is measuring a little further along than scheduled which is impossible in my books, and when my OB told us this T stated “I better have not been on the road”. Good thing the OB has a sense of humor. I signed up with her for the end of it as wit is something I’m going to need a whole lot of. Anyway, as of last appointment The Alien is now scheduled to land Dec 27^th, and this will probably change again next week.

I could go into all the fun details of the instrument they use to determine all of these lovely dates, but I’d hate to put the fear into those of you who wish to have children in the future.

So that’s it, that’s kind of why I’ve been MIA. However, I’m still the same J9 with a little less filter.

eReader Fail.

I love books - no secret there. This might stem from the fact that my mother has read to me basically from birth on. I love the children’s Dr.Seus and Robert Munsch books that I have read and re-read a million times over the years. I love “chick” books as T calls them. I’ve read every book by Emily Giffin or Marian Keyes. I also love autobiographies of random people such as Nikki Sixx or Eric Clapton. I loved the Steig Larsson trilogy.

I also love the physical book. I love that you can stick it in your purse, or beside your bed, or next to the bathtub or basically anywhere that isn’t flammable. I love the smell when you walk into a library and millions of aging books line the shelves. I love that after you read a book that you absolutely loved that you can hand it to someone else who you know will love it also and discuss it later. I love how you can tell your favorite books from the creases in the spine.

I love creating endless summer reading lists and losing hours in a book.

I do not love eReaders.

I read my first and probably last book ever on the ipad2 over the last long weekend. I had seen the trailer for ‘One Day’ at the theatre and decided I wanted to read the book before (as always) so the quickest way to get this book was to download it. The cost was supposed to be around $10 through Kobo - $10 for a book I wouldn’t physically have, that I couldn’t share, and would just end up being a $10 file on my computer? No thanks. I could swing by Walmart or Costco and find it there when last minute a coupon arrived in my inbox.

(If you are female read this book and see this movie!)

$8 and a few handfuls of hair later the book appears on my bookshelf on the ipad. Perfect, toss it in the purse and off we go.

My first impression is good. The screen adjusts to the light and I can adjust fonts and can be beyond lazy and just tap the screen to turn a page. However, I still have to prop the ipad up to read it and that can be awkward after long periods of time.

Something flashes – what an email coming in? A distraction out of the corner of my eye that pulls me from what I’m reading, and oh wait another flash the battery is dying and needs to be charged. So now I have to either get to an electrical source soon to charge my book to continue reading or call it a day. Not cool.

After a full charge we hit the beach the next day. I’m terrified of sand or water getting on the ipad and on previous tropical locations we would often leave our books on our chairs and go for a swim. Someone steals a book – so what? $10-$30 later you got yourself a new one. Someone steals your eReader and it gets pricey real quick. So taking an eReader to the beach, or on a cruise, or to a park – probably not your best idea.

Realistically I can only see these being good for people who only ever read in their homes or on planes – just make sure you don’t leave it in the pocket of the seat in front of you.

So there once again in my opinion in which I like to share and it probably makes no difference that I also love a physical copy of Saturday’s newspaper in my hands.

Then again I am getting old and probably not embracing all the new technologies like I used to back in the day….in my twenties J

Independence backfires….

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve always been one to want to do things for myself. Being told I can’t do something only makes me want to do it more. I’ve always had the mentality that I don’t need anyone’s help, that I can just do everything on my own.

For the most part this has worked for me. I’ve fixed my own computer virus, changed a fan belt in my car, built and moved furniture, and paid my own bills always. I loved being independent knowing I could make it on my own and needed no one.

T & I started dating and he travelled a lot so I still had my independence, we moved in together and because I was used to taking care of everything I took care of everything. I remember the first night I handed him a plate of steaks to bbq he had to YouTube how to do it properly – which drove me insane clearly. What man doesn’t know how to bbq? Or clean toilets? Or fold clothes properly?

That’s right – one who dated and then married me.

After purchasing the house I continued on my insanely organized path keeping everything on the straight and narrow and have really only delegated cutting the grass and taking out the big (not gathering the little) garbage, setting the dinner table (if he’s home) and unloading the dishwasher occasionally. That’s it.

I hate to say I crashed & burned, but I kinda did. I got fed up with me clearing clutter and cleaning non-stop and him doing close to zero and started to make a fuss about it. I flat out said “I could use some help”. I swear it fell on deaf ears. So I started boycotting things. If T’s laundry didn’t make it into the basket I didn’t clean them. If his dishes didn’t make it into the dishwasher I didn’t load them -as much as this drove me batshit crazy. He has only partially clued into this scheme and does his own laundry when he runs out of clean underwear.

However, he agreed on having a cleaning service in once a month – which helps me out, and in turn gets me off his case. So you would think with that lessening the workload it would make the other tasks become much more manageable?

Only slightly. Asking him to go to the grocery store last night to help me because I have a sore back was like the world was coming to an end. He did offer to go and do it all by his lonesome, but I knew he doesn’t know enough about brands etc. to know what we usually get or where to find it. Explaining this to him was like talking to a tree and by the end of the entire ordeal I was threatening to pack a pair of cement shoes for him for our trip to the lake this weekend.

So women, those of you in your early twenties who think “I can do it all, be all, and don’t need anyone”. That is perfectly true, but as life throws more at you, you are going to want to delegate some stuff and a man that’s never had to do anything will show great resistance. So even if you don’t want the help ask for it early and get them into a schedule, it will pay off in the long run.

Just one of those "If I knew then what I know now moments".....

The art of commuting

Tailgating, invisible blinkers, inconsistent speed, road construction, ever changing weather, and pretty much anything else in the book can be thrown at you if you commute.
I have the joy (and I say joy because I love a good highway commute) of commuting to and from work exactly 26minutes each way. I experience no road rage unless of course a transport decides he (and I say he because 99% of transport truck drivers are guys) absolutely needs to pass the transport in front of them (when they are governed anyway) and passes at a snail’s pace backing up traffic who will all follow insanely too close to each other eager to be able to step on the gas the moment that truck clears.

The trick to a good commute is a good on gas, peppy, heavy vehicle that can handle all weather situations. By all means don’t go get yourself a ‘smart car’ and put good tires on it. One windy day and the back tail wind off a transport is going to put your ass in the ditch. Also you know that really gross greeny-yellowish bug that commits suicide on your windshield on summer nights? That is what could be you on the front or back of a transport when the roads are icy. I drive a Volkswagen Jetta and let me tell you the thing is a tank. It’s so heavy wind doesn’t move it and tail wind doesn’t exist.

<- that could be you!

The next thing you need is RAIN-X. I cannot tell you enough about the joys of rain-x. You’re driving down the highway and BAM the sky opens and you’re hit with a torrential downpour and you’re freaking out trying to close windows or the sunroof etc, but in the mix of things you don’t even need to think about turning on your wipers. The rain will just bead and fly off. All the other cars will slow, some even put on their 4-ways, but you can maintain your speed and not use your wipers even once. Just keep up with the rain-x maintenance because you don’t want to be caught without it. I make sure it is reapplied with every oil change.

If you wear a low cut top or a skirt that reveals ANY leg be prepared for dirty truck drivers to radio ahead and you to be starred at as you fly by and the glances are so disgusting you want to shower the minute you walk in the door – ugh.

Also have a great radio station or selection of music you enjoy. Crank it up and sing until you lose your voice, it’s therapeutic. And, if someone in another car sees you – who cares? You are likely to never see them again.

If your commute involves city driving I feel bad for you. As that is where my road rage is unleashed. Don’t get me wrong, I love being down town I just wish it wasn’t so stressful and expensive (parking) to get in and out. For what you are going to pay to park in a decent lot I would prefer to hop on a decent transit (street car or subway) if possible.

The first cause for stress downtown is the people who refuse to signal. Like I am supposed to psychically guess where it is they are going and either yield to them cutting me off or slow down for the turn I didn’t know they were going to make. I secretly wish for someone other than myself to rear end them to teach them a lesson.

The second cause for road rage is the city bus drivers. Just because they are big they figure they can do whatever they want. They NEVER signal and just throw themselves back into traffic – then they spot some moron who missed the stop running beside the bus and decide that it’s a good idea to come to a dead stop to let them on and then hold up traffic even longer to make sure the idiot they let on the bus has the fare! However, in the city I work in drivers have been busted texting while driving amongst other things are ticked so I’m sure they do whatever they want to purposely piss us off more!

Also how about those idiots on major roads who decide they need to go left where there is no left turning lane and back up traffic when they could go an additional block to a light or turning lane and back track a bit and cause all the other ticked of people behind them to try to get over into another lane causing a slowdown/back up in both lanes. I hate those people.

Wow. I have rage just thinking about the rage and I’m staying in the city after work – wish me luck & Happy Commuting!

Language of love?!

Hello there. Long time no talk. It’s all the post turning 30 relaxing like old people I’ve been doing… I wish!

Ever heard of ‘couple speak’ or I guess maybe a couple’s ‘language of love’?! T & I over the last almost 6 years have perfected communication on all of the somewhat minor things, of course there are still duelling battles over major aspects of communication.

For instance I have communicated to T that underwear/clothing/towels etc on the bedroom floor do not put me at ease, nor make me relax, which is the point of the bedroom. So when I see that T has left items on the floor I feel that he is communicating with me that he does not want a relaxed wife. End result - he pulls back the covers at the end of the day to find his dirty clothes piled on his side of the bed and underwear on his pillow (I’m nice like that). I’ve also communicated a new rule (new rules are created in my house daily mostly by T) that if clothing is not in the hamper it is not washed. I haven’t washed T’s clothes this year, and you can’t see the floor in his closet. I solve that eye sore by closing the door.

I’m not so much a clean freak as Bree Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives, but I have my days.

Now, the minor parts of communication T & I have down pat.

We’ll be out somewhere and he’ll start walking funny, one glance from me and he’ll say “IBS”. I know what you’re thinking - irritable bowel syndrome. Luckily neither of us suffers from that. What he’s telling me is “Itchy bum syndrome”. Until he can get somewhere to politely itch he walks like he’s bee probed. So to stave off embarrassment I’ll drop what I’m doing and search out a less public place.

For me, my stomach can turn at any time anywhere for no reason at all. I don’t have a clue what triggers it, but it’s not a good time. May be a sign of old age I guess, but definitely not a cool one. The stomach will flip, I’ll get super-hot and go pale and T will look at me and I’ll say “P or P” and he knows to help out immediately. P or P means poop or puke. One of the two or both inevitably has to happen VERY soon. He also knows how much I dislike public washrooms so he’ll take crazy driving measures if he has to (usually he drives like a REALLY old man) to get me home.

Anyone else have any weird ‘languages of love’ or are T & I just odd. It’s ok if we are; life is more interesting that way.

#.34 Declare your birthday a national holiday

I haven’t broken out in the sweats or had an anxiety attack, or thrown myself off a bridge like I had expected at the beginning of all of this. I think lately I’ve just chosen not to think about it. I haven’t planned anything major, I’m just going to do what I want to do.

Tonight I’m shopping and having dinner with my mother (tomorrow is her birthday too), tomorrow morning I’m sleeping in, then golfing and catching an afternoon matinee of ‘The Hangover 2’, followed by dinner with friends. T has gotten me an ipad 2! So I’ll probably play a few rounds of angry birds. Saturday the fun will continue with shopping in the states with my sister and probably another dinner with friends, followed by Sunday where I’m finally going to meet a friend’s new baby. I’m thinking that’s a pretty perfect birthday weekend.

I’ve done all 101 things. It’s been a learning experience, some items were easy, others more difficult, but I enjoyed the challenge. However I’ve also found that some days I’ll have something I’ll feel overly passionate about sharing but it in no way relates to any of the 101 things. So in a way I’m feeling released to tell you about anything my heart desires – so be prepared. There's your forewarning.

I am going to miss my twenties. They started with a broken heart, followed by years of getting to know myself (without the boy craziness), followed by finding T and setting up our future. I miss not getting hangovers or not having dark circles under my eyes, or being able to tolerate loud dance music with strobe lights for long periods of time. There was a period where I had no one to answer to but myself and it was glorious. I never thought I’d become domesticated, but somehow owning a house and having a husband has transformed me into keeping a clean house and making sure there is food in it, and often cooking that food!

I’ll never look back at my twenties and regret any of my choices. They were all learning experiences and I’m grateful to have had the experiences in the first place. To never experience life’s challenges is to not have lived. Years from now I’ll tell my children how I lived within walking distance of the party row of bars in the city, kissed a lot of frogs before I found my prince, took crazy road trips, wore unbelievably low cut clothing, and cut my own path the way I wanted to.

My thirties will be my ‘grow up’ years. I’ll become more responsible (maybe...), create more stability, and hopefully see a bit more of the world. I’ll definitely have another freak out at age 35, and then again at 39. I only hope these years don’t fly by as quickly as my twenties did.

As much as I’d like to agree with the saying and tell you ‘age is just a number’. It’s a number, followed by another number, and another number. Don’t take anything for granted, live everyday to the fullest, and for f#%k’s sake – wear sunscreen.

#10. Travel Solo

Driving solo is something I absolutely love to do. It is also probably the best for me and the safety of others that I drive alone. I am one of those people who should hand out personal protective equipment of ear muffs so you don’t have to listen to my singing or swearing at other motorists.

Staying in a hotel solo I don’t do so well. T is in hotels across North America so often whenever we do stay in a hotel it’s free due to his points. He makes every hotel room into his own comfort zone and seems to stay in hotels for weeks with no problems as long as I’m home when he calls to ward off being lonely.

Back in elementary school when the bullying became too much I was pulled from school and sent to live with my relatives across the country. I had driven out with my Aunt & Uncle and had to make the return flight home by myself. I was of course nervous, but I knew there was going to be family at the other end. I’ve also taken long train rides, but there is always someone there at the other end.

I had the option given to me at work to travel to TO and stay in a hotel for two nights while attending software training during the day or I could participate in weekly webinars and not go anywhere. I chose the webinars (which are a joke). I didn’t fear the drive, or the training, or really being on my own in TO as I once lived there, I just didn’t want to be there alone. I didn’t want to have to eat alone or find stuff to do on my own so that I wasn’t sitting in my hotel room.

Now that being said, I often do some of my best shopping alone. Sometimes prefer it. Grocery shopping I’ll stick in some headphones and make an hour or so out of it. Clothes shopping if looking for something specific is easily done alone.

Would I go to a movie alone? Maybe…. I haven’t really had that opportunity arise. Would you? Say you had a few free hours and a movie only you wanted to see was playing nearby, would you go?

Over the year I’ve wondered if I could just jump on a cheap flight and go explore Boston or San Francisco alone, as I’ve always wanted to see those places, and the answer was always ‘No’. I want someone there with me to share the experience.

#7. Draw & Frame a self-portrait.

My original plan had to buy a pack of crayons and a cheap frame from Ikea and have arts and crafts day to do this but I kept putting it off. I hate pictures of myself for a million reasons. I timed my smile wrong, or my smile is too fake, or it’s taken from the wrong angle or in the wrong light etc. etc.

So drawing a picture of me has not exactly been at the top of my list. Let alone any list but this one. Let alone framing it and putting it somewhere.

So in paint on my computer this is what I have come up with:

I am NOT that tanned – just not good with creating custom colors. I did get some sun over the weekend, but not that much. I’m usually a very pasty white. That is more me when I returned from Mexcio. Also my hair is brown, blonde, and redish – also hard to draw. But it is that frizzy today, I've been driving around with the sun roof open willing the sun to come out.

So shrinks who can look at this picture and determine what it tells you about me, let me have it!

#25. Track down your best friend from kindergarten

This is a really easy task considering Facebook tells you where everyone is, what they are doing, and you can have instant contact with them at any time. The book was written before Facebook so it makes this task seem much more difficult.

As much as kindergarten was a magical place filled with new friends and new toys and storytelling and show and tell, my best friend at the time was still my sister. I was horribly sad to leave her every morning to go and happy to return for play time every afternoon.

I did however find a friend that had the same name as my sister and lived in our neighbourhood. She was close enough to visit and be home before the street lights came on and we both liked Barbie’s a lot. It worked out that we would often be babysat by each other’s parents and would end up driveway chalking or having shoe kicking contests.

We went through public school, high school, and part of university together. She now lives in another city and is getting married.

I rarely go ‘home’ to my home town, but it is strange to drive by the homes of childhood friends that no longer live there. Their families have moved and new people occupy the houses and they change things, and we all know how much I don’t overly enjoy change – especially with childhood memories. However, when I moved to the small town I am in now I not only moved to a town where a childhood friends parents had moved to, but I moved onto their street! It’s surreal and comforting to see them out for walks or in the grocery store as it feels like a little part of ‘home’ is where I am now.

As much as I often hate Facebook for the bombardment of stupid updates and how it wastes so much of my time. I love being able to see what people I have met over the years are up to and congratulating them on their life events.

However, the one person I don’t need Facebook to get updates from as I get emails and phone calls and texts daily is my sister. My best friend in kindergarten and my best friend now.

#1. Swim Naked

There is nothing more thrilling than stripping down to nothing and jumping in water.


My first memories of swimming naked were when my parents had put a pool in our back yard and we discovered that if you weren’t wearing any bathing suit bottoms then you would slide down the slide much faster. Being seen by the neighbours made it even more thrilling so we’d run to the top of the slide and throw ourselves down at warp speeds.

Next memory of swimming naked came during a camping trip with high school friends. We had all run down to the lake one night and thought skinny dipping might be a good idea. Of course the girls kept their distance from the boys and we all kept our clothes on a floating device so the boys couldn’t steal them, but there was still a level of excitement. If I remember correctly the boys had their clothes taken by another friend and they had to run back to the campsite completely nude. Ahhhh, good times!

Over the years we’ve skinny dipped at the cottage. Often there would be a drunken late night chat around the campfire where someone who had gotten sun burned during the day would bring up how nice a cool dip would be and we’d all drop the clothes and run. A male friend of my sisters after skinny dipping got his campfires confused and ran back to the neighbour’s campfire instead of our own!

Over the long weekend Lake Huron was too chilly for swimming naked. Call it old age, but the most I got into the lake was my big toe. Maybe I’ll make an attempt again in a few weeks, but for the time being I have swam naked, but really don’t feel like checking into a hotel for a night to attempt to swim naked in public before I turn 30. Again, blaming this one on old age.

Swimming naked has always occurred at night and I always think of this song whether clothed or not.


If you have never swam naked, add it to your bucket list, it’s a good time!

#17. Know the other mouth-to-mouth

When I was a kid my mother made my sister and I take swimming lessons. I remember the first lessons vividly as I feared my life ending from the amount of water that was going up my nose and down my throat. I was petrified of swimming – especially in the deep end. I desperately wanted my water wings back and the safety of my parent’s arms.

Fast track a few years and I had graduated through all the colored levels and had started into the Canadian Red Cross’ Life saving levels. In these levels you build up endurance for long periods in the water and practice saving others in the class from fake drowning. I hated this. Not that in a life or death moment I wouldn’t run into the water to save someone, I would. But the un-necessary touching and fake CPR techniques and being that close to someone you barely know just wasn’t my thing. Nor did I like being the one to be ‘saved’ who knows what that person would grab to try to get you to safety?!

The only thing worse than practicing on other people (where often groups were doing this at the same time) was practicing CPR on a dummy with EVERYONE watching you, and the teacher teaching while you are trying not to vomit from the taste of rubbing alcohol in your mouth. A rubbing alcohol and chlorine cocktail was not one of my favourite concoctions.

However I passed all courses up until Life Saving 3. Then I believe I quit due to wanting to spend my evenings taking art courses instead of swimming lessons. I have never refreshed those CPR skills however they have been ingrained into my brain and if in an emergency situation I am confident I could pull them off.

T & I were sitting in the cottage over the weekend and were both startled by a loud bang. T jumped to his feet and told me not to look that a bird had hit the window. I of course wanting to save the poor creature wanted to check for vitals, and try and save him. It was only when T explained to me that it hadn’t moved since it hit and there is no way it’s neck could have survived impact that I knew bird mouth-to-mouth (I was thinking with a straw!!) was out of the question.

So there folks. I know CPR and am willing to even try it on birds!

#58. Have a Mantra & #18 Be your own muse.

Mantra (defined by wiki): A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation" (cf. spiritual transformation).Their use and type varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra.

For me this one word would be ‘breathe’ as I often forget to. Minutes and hours and days go by and I don’t often sit still long enough to just breathe. If I am sitting still my mind won’t shut off so I’m constantly thinking, planning, organizing, slowly driving myself insane I’m sure. However if I remember or if T notices I’m not 100% relaxed the word ‘breathe’ usually a command from T “J9 breathe!” will do the trick.

When I’m lost in a million thoughts and have made a million mental lists for the next day and it’s WAY past my bedtime if I can trigger myself to focus on my breathing I can often fall asleep. And yes, when I was younger I was hooked on Faith Hill’s song ‘Breathe’ and her flowy bed sheets she was trying to pass as a dress, whatever, she looked good.

Obviously years ago I couldn’t look to myself as any kind of muse for anyone, let alone myself. There was nothing in myself I found inspiring. Reading back through my diaries the only other common theme other than boys was determination. I don’t like being told I can’t do something. That then becomes a challenge and I’ll work my ass off trying to accomplish it. This I absolutely love about myself.

When too many things pile up on my plate, or things don’t go my way, or I wake up in a horrible mood and there doesn’t seem to be an end to it. I know that tomorrow I will wake up and it’ll be a different day and I have the strength and ability to put anything behind me and move on, as hard as that is sometimes.

I also very much find inspiration in my ways to create creativity in all situations. I enjoy a blank canvas, and if I had the funds oh what I could do! Now I’m no Martha Stewart, but I enjoy arts and crafts and one project inspires another which inspires another.

When all else fails and I remember to breathe, my strength and creativity can pull me out of any slump!

#73. Own a toolbox with all of the basics

What do you consider the ‘basic’s’ of a toolbox? A hammer, screwdriver, tape measure, and some nails? If that’s it then I have more than conquered this task.

You see T is the furthest thing from handy. If you need your computer fixed, or some high tech gadget hooked up then T is your man, if you want something hung, wired, fixed, assembled etc. then that is me.

Furnishing my apartment in my early twenties consisted of numerous trips to Ikea allowing me to become the master of the allen key. This little silver weapon of construction allowed me to build stools that ended up being ‘display only', or tables that had a slight slant. I built numerous bookshelves that if not attached to the wall had a slight tilt – but oh did I love that feeling of accomplishment.

Now since I’ve moved roughly 3,865,258.2 times in the last 10 years (according to my father), these wonderfully built Ikea pieces have had to be moved. Often the pieces that were less than sturdy before the move become more so afterwards prompting me to invest in a drill. The drill allows me to put screws places that aren’t in the design and allows me to hang pictures much quicker than a hammer would.

The trusted drill also allowed me to wire the television in my bathroom. It took me 4 hours, I split cable from the bedroom and ran it through a wall and the back corners of my bathroom vanity, and well it’s not the prettiest job – but it works.

You would think that seems as it took me 4 hours to hook up a TV that I might put the tools away and not take on any more tasks?

Well check out the backsplash that I bought all the tiles and tools for and am installing myself. The finished product will also have a beautiful wood countertop - however, my trip to Ikea with a truck to pick it up hasn't been done yet.

And, I did assemble my new table, and all the chairs!

For Christmas T’s father gave me a handheld sander, so I think next I’ll refinish a dresser or something, or maybe build a shed instead of buy one?!

So yes, I’ve got plenty of tools, and I somewhat know how to use all of them!

#91. Read your old diaries

My first diary entry was June 7th, 1990. I was 9 years old and was in grade 4. By far reading through my diaries has been the most daunting and exhausting task. There are years of entries – some I had forgotten, some I had a good laugh at, and some that I didn’t want to remember.

Of course like any other young girl the topic s of my first diary (and well basically all of them) was boys, and of course every boy has the potential to be ‘the one’. Reading these entries takes you back to soccer fields or high school hallways where a glance or a smile would create pages of entries about my newest crush. I have discovered that any male that showed first interest in me I didn’t like, there had to be a chase and excitement to make boyfriend material.

There’s an entire section where I was being bullied in public school. I had kind of forgotten how bad I actually felt at the time. The entries are short, and sad, and are hard to read. My self confidence was definitely on the floor and it seems like only high school and meeting a new set of people/friends with the chance to be an individual and not one of the ‘crowd’ finally helped me be me.

On Oct 17, 1999 I was 18, working in a sleezy bar as a second job and I ended my journal entry with this: ‘ I am going to be one of those old ladies that lives with 11 cats and is very cold never finding the love of her life. Life is cruel, long and stressful. This world is extremely sad. I look at the people who come into the bar, I look at their lives, and I feel bad for them. They really have nothing to show for their time so far – they just drink their money away. I’m going to be and do so much more’. At the time I wrote this I was in a relationship, and had been in numerous relationships and couldn’t get over an ex from high school, so all relationships afterwards were unsuccessful and I figured I would end up alone obviously! I remember getting home from the bar after 3am reeking of smoke falling asleep thinking of the people I had served that night and trying to grasp the concept of that lifestyle being appealing to anyone. I guess I’m happy I listened to my 18 year old self and got out of there. I quit working at that bar 9 days later.

The college years are filled with new friends, heart break, different jobs, and the difficulties of balancing all of them. My early twenties I was trying so hard to be independent and make it on my own and it was such a struggle. Now with my thirties on my doorstep I’m hoping they are filled with more stability and less drama.

I haven’t written in my diary since November 11th, 2008 and really I have no excuse as to why. The last entry gives details of T & I’s wedding, says Barak Obama had just become president and states the economy was bordering a recession. We were hoping housing prices would drop and were planning our overdue tropical honeymoon. I note that I’ve kept my diaries hidden from T – I’m not sure why other than him finding out just how boy crazy I was?!

So I’m thinking a massive update is called for, it will be odd hand writing something as I feel like I haven’t done that in ages. I’m not sure if my kids will one day find these diaries entertaining or think their mother was a complete nut job? But they are sure good to have as a reference to certain periods in my life as much as reading them is one hell of an emotional rollercoaster.

#59. Research your family’s medical history

I cannot stress to you how important it is to know your medical history. If something medically were to arise the first thing the doctor wants to know is if there is a history of it in your family.

My family seems to have a mixed bag of everything.

On my mother’s side we have heart problems, high blood pressure, and miscarriages. However, the women on that side of the family are strong, have amazing memories, and live far into their 90’s. My great grandmother and her sister died of starvation because their bodies had given up on them, and they had no further will to live. So in the hospital they just stopped eating. My grandfather however, had triple bypass surgery 17 years ago and was given 10 years to live at that point. Then just recently his heart acted up again, nothing he couldn’t handle! A pace maker and a stint and he’s back in action! He even somehow managed to be bedridden for the entire Masters weekend and the opening of baseball season – two of his favorites.

My father’s side seems to be healthy. There is possibly a case of dementia with my grandfather, but his heart and lungs have somehow survived years of pipe smoking. My grandmother has trouble with arthritis, but otherwise they are both healthy. My father has an issue with his kidneys, but it was caught early and has been treated and he’s in the clear. My sister, brother, and I have all been tested and we are in the clear.

Did you ever see the episode of Oprah where they introduced this company called 23andMe who were doing genetic testing to determine what you could be prone to? I have always wanted to do this, however it used to be $1,000 now it has become much more affordable. The only thing holding me back is T. He seems to think I'll worry too much with the information I'd find out and I kind of agree. Is it better to know or not know?!

The last time I was at the doctor my blood pressure was text book and everything checked out. So I think I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and hope for a long healthy life!

#86. Stop slamming other women

I am 100% guilty of this when someone has ticked me off. T is usually the one who gets the earful and it usually starts with “Can you believe”…

Now, the petty comments over what so and so wore, or how their hair was etc all ended in pretty much high school. As well as the being concerned about who was dating who as the dating pool expanded greatly once I left the small town. However the gossip around what famous person wore on the red carpet has never ended, and sadly, I don’t think it ever will.

Do we all remember this epic fail? Now, I give points for creativity – but it was too much.

(Bjork - 2001 Academy Awards)

If I ever talk to someone about someone else it is always the case that the person who is the subject does not know or have any connection to the person I am speaking with. I generally ask for advice as to how to react to a certain situation, or respond to something that has thrown me off. As much as T thinks he gives good advice he does not know women, and that’s where I’ll often turn to my sister.

However, to stop any kind of ‘slamming’ I’ve decided that if I am ever to talk about another woman in any light – positive or negative to speak as if she is in the room. It keeps you honest and since I’ve decided this roughly a month ago, T has only thought he caught me once, when in reality the facts were required for the point of the story.

So, so far it’s going well.

You know the old saying ‘if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all” – it works. Also if you erase negative thoughts from every day, life is generally a lot happier.

However, I make one exception – Reality Television. Those people set themselves up to be slammed. There will never be a day where I can say anything positive about the show or cast of Jersey Shore.

#56. Disagree out loud & #100. Be Notorious for something

Man, am I good at this. It is an understatement to say I’m opinionated and it’s definitely something I’m notorious at. When did I discover that I can’t blatantly lie to someone’s face and have them not notice? In 10th grade when I started working in the women’s clothing department at Zellers. Day in and day out women would come out of the dressing room and ask me “Do I look good in this color”, “is this dress too tight”, etc. And I didn’t have the heart to say ‘yes’ to make a sale. I guess it helps that I wasn’t on commission. Now I would say “let me grab you a size bigger for comparison” or “let me pull another color” and hope they would figure it out on their own, but I just couldn’t say ‘yes’.


So if you are ever in need of an honest answer – just ask away!

As for a few current things I disagree with:

1. The thought (even though by the time I’ve posted this it is no longer) of Donald Trump for President of the USA. All kinds of things are wrong with that. He thinks because he owns a bunch of fancy buildings and a line of mattresses and has a TV show he can be president? Now I can’t say that I’ve researched this but sometime around the Rosie/Donald war wasn’t there reports of him going bankrupt? If so, he’s definitely not qualified for presidency.

2. A bereavement policy at my work that doesn’t give you any time off of work for the death of a great grandmother/great grandfather. Hello, if it wasn’t for your great grandmother or great grandfather you wouldn’t be here!! We are a company that revolves around farming, and farming revolves around family, and this policy needs to be changed.

3. Wind turbines in lakes. I agree that they are an eco-friendly way of generating power, and for those farmers that wish them on their properties they are fine. I do not agree with anyone being forced to have one put on their property or the idea of putting them out in the lakes. Our Great Lakes are challenged enough environmentally than to purposely cause more damage. Also, have fun enjoying a beautiful sunset over the water with that nonsense going on. No.Thank.You.

4. Boys/Men wearing skinny jeans. I don’t get this fashion trend at all and I wish it would go away. They look all disproportional and sick looking. With the skinny jeans and Justin Bieber hair and often a toque when it’s not required temperature wise they only remind me of the character in the books ‘Where’s Waldo’. Aren’t men supposed to want to look strong and protective, not like they’d blow away if a strong wind came up? I don’t get it.

5. Justin Bieber. Being Canadian I should be proud of his accomplishments. In reality I wish he would just go away. He is annoying on every level. My only hope is that is voice changes and he fades from stardom and isn’t replaced by something more annoying before my future children reach the stage in their lives where they look for idols.

So there are a few, and I mean the smallest amount as this list could actually become the start to my daily blog posts. I tell it as it is (for me anyway) to anyone who wants to hear it. I’m notorious for it, but it’s better than keeping this s$%t bottled up!

#97. Give props to a teacher

There have been many ‘teacher’s' that I give credit to leading me on the straight and narrow. Some have led by example, others have shown me how to overcome bumps in the road and some have straight out shown me what NOT to do!

I’ll give ‘props’ to my Aunt Kim. She is only 10 years older than me, the youngest aunt I have, and therefore the coolest. She was always two steps ahead but not too far that I didn’t take note as to what she was doing. She got an education, followed her heart, got a good job, got married, bought a house, and travelled. When her life wasn’t going as planned she divorced, sold the house, moved across the country, got a new job, a new house, and a new boyfriend. She’s done everything in her life on her terms and I respect that.

When my twenties began I was working a few jobs one of them being grounds crew at a golf course. In a male dominated line of work my bosses were two women – twin sisters Jodi & Julie. They worked outside day in and day out with their hands cutting grass, fixing lawn mowers and tractors, putting in extremely long hours. They wanted an all-female grounds crew as “women pay particular attention to detail”. The two of them worked hard and the course was exceptionally beautiful, yet they still had time to sit and relax and laugh about things that had happened. The women taught me how to independently be successful and good at something without the help of men others.

An actual teacher that I would give ‘props’ to would be my third grade teacher – Mrs. Lidstone. She was more like a grandmother than a teacher. She encouraged creativity and reading and writing. She was soft spoken, rarely cross with the exception of one incident involving a pair of spandex shorts (not mine!). I don’t remember a lot from her class other than spending a large majority of time writing and illustrating books that I still have and look back at and laugh. I’ll give credit to Mrs. Lidstone for my passion of bringing creativity into everything that I can and my passion of reading.

Have you noticed the theme of all female teachers? Me too. I’m not sure why that is, and I’m sure if I let the list go on and on, a male would pop onto the list somewhere. But those women are my top three. I credit them for who I am today. Sadly, I’ve never told any of them this, maybe I’ll get on that?!

#55. Watch the sunrise & set on the same day by yourself & #15 Build a raging campfire

I’m not sure how the weather has been where you all are at recently but let me tell you it’s been a big bag of crap here. A winter that seemed to drag on forever has only led to a horrible rainy spring. An entire day without rain is near impossible. For that reason finding a day in which to watch the sunrise and set on the same day and get a decent picture has been impossible. I’ve decided that if there is a place somewhere where you can watch the sun rise and set over water on an island of some sort I want to vacation there.


Anyway, due to some pretty crazy sleep patterns I was awake to see what should have been sunrise if it wasn’t for all the fog over the weekend. Here is an eerily foggy beach, and I was alone until the early morning dog walkers took over.

Sunset was more exciting. The lake was calm, the breeze was warm, and the only sounds were of children playing down the beach.

Just after the sun went down I prepared my raging campfire which I absolutely loved doing. Of course my friends in attendance thought I was crazy, however the excitement of finding an entire tree to torch was like an early birthday present. Here is my set up:

And the lighting…

And full on raging campfire!!!

The night was topped off with an amazing show of confiscated fireworks put off on the beach by some off duty OPP. Another May long weekend come and gone, but definitely a great one for the ‘memory’ books!

#30. Exorcise the words ‘like’ and ‘you know’ from your vocabulary

Over the past few months I have really tried to pay attention to my vocabulary to see how often I use “like” or “you know”, and it’s not often. I believe if I ever used the word ‘like’ excessively it was probably dropped by about age 25. I absolutely can’t stand over use of the word.

And now that I’ve been paying attention to how much it is said it is commonly over used on the local college radio station, on my guilty pleasure 90210 TV show, and by two very young friends of a friend that I spent last Friday night barely tolerating.

“You know” I am far guiltier of using. However, I seem to have replaced it with “just saying” which is basically the exact same thing.

And to get off topic because that’s what I feel like doing there are a few words in the English language that drive me up a wall for no apparent reason, I just cringe when I hear them.

1. Bonspiel – I hate this word, hate how it sounds, hate everything about it. For those of you who don’t know it’s a curling tournament. I want to know why it can’t just be called a curling tournament? There are hockey tournaments and baseball tournaments, why does curling have to make up such an annoying word for the EXACT same thing.

2. Buzzy – I don’t technically know if this is a word, but Microsoft word didn’t try to correct it. My sister and some friends used to use this word to describe things when they were young and thought they were cool – which obviously they weren’t.

So far I can only think of the two, but I’m sure there are more.

Oh wait – Ridonculous (Ri-donc-u-lous). NOT actually a word and people think they are cool for saying it and the only thing they are is ridonculous themselves.

And if people are pregnant they are PREGNANT, not preggo. Preggo is pasta sauce!

So in conclusion - because obviously everything above requires something to conclude this entry. Don’t over use “like” and want to be taken seriously unless A – you live in West Beverly Hills California, or B – you haven’t graduated from a post-secondary institution yet. “You know” is more forgivable, but only if your are not lazy and it is preceded by the word "well" - in my books anyway.

#32. Write thank-you notes for everything

I was beginning to think thank-you notes had gone the way of the dodo bird. Kind of the same way hand-written letters are never received from anyone from anyone other than my grandmother. Like clockwork after every wedding shower, wedding, or baby shower a cute thank-you card would be received in the mail within a few weeks.

I for my wedding being the overly organized person that I am had a spreadsheet with names, address', what the gift was etc that could all be exported into the label wizard and printed to easily address the cards. For EVERY gift a card was sent with a personalized note thanking the guests for their generosity.

There has been one wedding that I attended that a thank-you card was never received and it was the talk of the attendees for months after the wedding and years later is still brought up often in conversation. I ALWAYS make sure people are thanked.

At work I’m not so much a thank-you card, however I am one of those annoying people who end 99% of their emails with a “Thanks!.” Or often I’ll add one of these:

I’d also like to thank you as I’ve been MIA lately. There are a zillion things on the go and well only 10 days until the big 3-0. I have drafts of posts and ideas and jotted notes all over the place, it’s just finding the time.

So thanks for your patience, be prepared to be bombarded the next 10 days, I have 17 more things to do.

#47. Be a gracious guest

Sad to say but T & I don’t really spend the night other’s houses very often. One of us will stay sober and drive home because we love our bed so much and love sleeping in and not feeling weird about it. Is it just me or when you sleep at other’s houses do you hear everything so therefore not really get a good night’s sleep at all? Not to mention if you wake up earlier than everyone you question if you should stay in bed or wander out and watch some TV? I have found having a book in your bag works wonders for avoiding this awkward situation.


However, over Easter weekend marked the first time I had ever gotten to go to my sister’s place (yes she used to live with us) and spend the night. I thought about not visiting at all, let alone spending the night as less than seven days prior to my visit they found a snake in the house! I don’t know about you, but when I see a snake I lose my s$%t. They also live in a town with no Tim Horton’s – did anyone think a town like this even existed anymore?! I thought all Tim Hortonsless towns had become extinct?

However we were arriving late, and leaving early as we were cross border shopping early the next day to return back to my parents with enough time to enjoy an early Easter dinner. So it would just be an evening with a few drinks, a hockey game, and great conversation.

I made sure we arrived right on time and brought our beverage choice with us as to not have to venture out to find alcohol. They had mentioned their computer had become so slow they wanted to toss it out the window so T spent some time fixing the problem.

When it was time to go to sleep my sister had shown us an upstairs bedroom we could have that she had just cleaned and made the bed. There were also two couches in the living room and had provided blankets in case one of us wanted to sleep on a couch (the bed was small compared to our bed and we don’t like to touch). So instead of disturbing her perfectly set up guest room we each took a couch.

In the morning we were up and dressed and out of the way before the rush to get out of the house took place.

While we were considered guests in my sister and her boyfriend’s house, I don’t think you can ever be a guest in a family members home – it’s more like an extension of yours.

#.64 Adopt an awkward teenager

Does my brother count?!

I have no options of awkward teenagers; I do however have one homeless brother who just happened to find a summer job in my town for the summer. He is working for Bell so any of you Canadians who are pissed with your telephone or internet service and want to take it out on somebody – I’ve got a sitting duck.

Will living with my brother be awkward? I would say definitely. I haven’t lived with my brother since the 90’s when we were forced to live together. He was so tiny we weren’t allowed to swear, Santa and the Easter bunny were still real, and my mom still picked out his clothes.

Now he’s turning 24 next month and occupying a spare room. When he moved in he brought groceries – a case of pepsi and a bag of bacon. He comes to me straight from living with four other guys in a house where posters of naked chicks on the walls were the norm.

The kid (and I can call him that because I’m so old) can eat. There will never be leftovers in my house. I ‘don’t do’ left overs, but this will probably cause T some discomfort when he can’t have a piece of lasagne or a taco for breakfast.

Speaking of T, he loves this new living situation. A live in friend to watch sports with, drink beers with, golf with, and play video games with, is the best thing that could happen to him. I myself, got a quote to get a bathroom installed in the basement, hopeful that if I put a fridge and a bathroom in they’ll never leave the man cave.

When my sister lived with us it was great. I had a chick for chick flicks, chick TV shows, shopping, and late night conversations, now I’ll have to ward off all the manliness from taking over as I’m outnumbered.

Wish me luck!

#80. Care about where your food comes from

It’s almost time for local farmer’s markets to get set up and start selling all of their produce and I can’t wait. With the cost of fuel going through the roof, and the fact that the majority of produce is delivered via truck, the price of food is going to increase.

So why pay higher prices for produce in the grocery store that come from Mexico (nothing against Mexico, I LOVE Mexico), when you can support someone locally and support your economy instead of Mexico’s – they get enough of our tourism dollars.

I am talking produce only. I am guilty of going over to the US and purchasing everyday groceries. Do I care that I am not supporting my local economy? no. Most items in the US are 20% cheaper, they have greater selection, and when they have a sale on something compared to the price here it feels like you are stealing it. The scene from the Ikea comerical when the lady comes out running "start the car, start the car!!" is exactly how it feels.


Sure there is gas at insanely high prices to get there, but fill your car up over there. You’ll thank me.

I have found that Canada has certain health regulations on products that the US doesn’t. For example their milk and cheese products – see THIS article. Just don’t buy those products if you are concerned. Or read the labels, if you know exactly what you need to avoid you can still find the products that meet Canadian regulations and they are still cheaper than here.

I also don’t tend to purchase meat in the US (as it is not supposed to come across the border), I always purchase a side of beef with my parents and stockpile our freezer once a year. I find that this option is great as you know where the cow came from (my parent’s friends), it is cheaper to buy in bulk, and lasts forever.

My aunt also has chickens so we trade empty egg cartons for full ones every time we are in the area.

Am I going to pay the insane prices for ‘organic’ produce? Not until the label ‘organic’ is regulated. The local farmers will continue to receive my produce purchases. I think your health and wallet will greatly appreciate it if you inform yourself of what you are putting in your body.

And, no matter where you are – buy local produce (if possible) !