The Big 4-oh.

I can't believe it, but today my favourite (and only!) brother John turns forty. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were planning a surprise fortieth birthday party for my DAD! Time does fly, doesn't it?

John is pretty special to me. He is one of the sweetest and kindest people I know. He has a truly gentle spirit and would never intentionally hurt anyone. I have always felt honoured to call him my brother.

When I was born, John was really disappointed that I was a girl because he really wanted a brother. Who could blame him? He already had TWO sisters. However, with some time, he grew to love me and we became pretty good pals.

Many hours were spent exploring outside and learning from my all-knowing older brother. John is an outdoorsman, so he always had interesting tidbits to share while we wandered through the bush or were fishing in the ditch across the road.

To celebrate this monumental birthday, I knew I wanted to do something special. Not only is John an outdoorsman, but he is also pretty sentimental. Combining these traits I believe I created the perfect birthday present for him. I documented 40 memories on strips of paper, rolled them up and stuffed them into empty shotgun shells! The shells were contained in a little box specifically for such a thing. I knew he would love reminiscing when he unrolled each one. He did :)

Happy birthday Johnny Boy.

The Many Faces of Janice Mills

Apparently I have hyper-expressive facial expressions. I guess I have always been aware of this fact, but over time, it kind of faded from my memory. After all, I don't actually see my face a whole lot.

Several months ago, my friend Duane started commenting on my extreme facial distortions. In fact, he started numbering them... as in "oh, that was a number 9 with a bit of 7 thrown in"  He also started to mock my expressions which, without fail, makes me laugh out loud. I'm pretty sure I don't look like Duane on a regular basis but it is pretty funny.

 This has become a standard and ongoing joke between the two of us and has been the source of some hilarious statements from Mr. Duane. Last week he declared I have "a smorgasbord of events on my face" and yesterday told me to "get my face off my face". I love Duane...he's hilarious.

All of this talk of my face and its contortions has caused me to be a little self-conscious about what exactly I'm doing as I talk to people. I have to admit, I'm a little more cautious as I'm listening to a story or reacting to news. I have, on more than one occasion, been told that I remind people of a muppet. Some might take offence to that, but since I LOVE the muppets...I'll take it as a compliment! In fact, there is already a muppet named Janice. Ironic? Maybe not. And, I do recall something in my college video yearbook about my crazy faces and how they can never be repeated. Oy. All this time I've been a freak show. Thanks for pointing this out Duane.

This might be a good time to re-post my photo of the day project from 2009. Although I didn't pull any crazy faces, it is kind of fun to watch. Perhaps 2011 should see a photo of the day - each with a different expression?

Winter is Here!

Janice Mills loves being a Canadian, but this snow is a tough trade-off. Good thing I look cute in a touque.

This is my current Facebook status and it's so true! Yesterday, London got even more snow...so much that as I was driving out my lane today, the snow on either side of my car was level with the bottom of the window of my car! Wow. Fanshawe College was closed today which meant I could write my one and only exam online at home. Sweet!

I am so glad I didn't drive to Sarnia on Sunday as I had planned! I had purchased tickets to take Grammie to see a Celtic Christmas with the Barra MacNeils on Sunday at the Imperial Theatre in Sarnia. Last year we went for dinner and went to see The Nutcracker. It was such a nice evening, we decided to make it a tradition. However, our resident weatherman Ross kept warning me last week that the weather was going to be "hellish" on Sunday and Monday and I shouldn't go. After waffling back and forth about whether to go (I didn't want to stand my Grammie up!) I decided it was pretty nasty on Sunday and I would not make the trip. It worked out that Karla & Mark could use the tickets and I could stay inside. Best decision. Ever.

Monday morning I woke up to find out the 402 was closed and Lambton County was declared a state of emergency! Over 200 people were stranded on the highway...it even made it on CNN! Yesterday some of that snow made its way to London and made life miserable. Although, I gotta say...my beetle is really standing up in all this snow. I haven't really been stuck once. I had help to get in my drive-way once but that is all. Now, let's just hope that is all the snow before Christmas!

Let it Snow!

For the first time since the year I was born, London has had it's biggest one day snowfall. The snow fell....and it just kept falling!

Sunday afternoon was our kids' Christmas party for /A\ employees. I set out around noon to set up for the party and although it was snowing, it wasn't treacherous. As 1pm passed to 1:30pm we started to wonder where the party participants were. People started showing up and telling us it took an HOUR to get across town. The snow was coming down fast and furious and the roads were a mess. Surprisingly, there were only 4 kids that were registered and didn't show up. Perhaps a comment on how awesome our party was!

On Monday, the first day of my internship was cancelled and a test at Fanshawe turned into an online submission. It was officially a "snow day". Unfortunately, working in the newsroom means there never is really a snow day for us. I had to venture outside mid-afternoon, find my car and make my way through the streets of London to get the news on the air. As is typical, we took the story and ran with it. Our entire first half hour was coverage of the snow and every angle we could think of. My friend Lisa offered to drive me home in her 4 wheel drive Escape and I accepted the offer. I left the poor beetle buried in snow.

The snow just kept coming and Tuesday was also declared a snow day. Even city buses were pulled off the roads! I stayed inside and baked cookies while listening to Tony Bennett and Karen Carpenter croon the holiday classics. It was a great day until it was time to go to work :) Lisa picked me up and we headed in for day 2 of groundhog day. More of the same snow stories. It was getting really ridiculous...the snow was really piling up!

Tuesday evening, Fanshawe confirmed that classes would be cancelled on Wednesday. So, another day at home. It was great. I took advantage of this one to complete my InDesign/Writing assignment of a 6 page newsletter. I also took the beetle in to Autobahn to get my brakes serviced and ask about snow tires. I think I'm going to take the plunge and get a set.

Anyway...the snow has now subsided...for now. Ross says there is another storm coming on Sunday. Great!