Warbride Reunion

This week I flew to Halifax with my Mom & Grammie to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Canadian Warbride. What a wonderful experience for us to share!

We headed out Monday morning for the Hamilton airport. It was my mom's first time on an airplane so she was a little nervous. Once we were onboard, I was disappointed to learn that we did not have seat-back TV's on our plane. :( Fortunately, I brought a book so I just did some reading.

When the flight attendant was passing out the snacks, she asked my Grammie if she'd like "jet mix". However, she thought she was offering "bread sticks". To her disappointment (and my amusement) it was a pretzel mix that was in the package...not bread sticks! he he...too funny.

As we were approaching Halifax, I noticed the trees looked like they had snow on them. "Hmmm, I wonder if that's really snow, or if it just looks like that because I'm up high?" Well...it was really snow. I couldn't believe it...we had left a beautiful day in Ontario (one of the FEW this fall) and landed to Halifax's first snow. It was really wet and gross. Fortunately it had turned to rain by the time we arrived in the city.

Our first night we were all pretty pooped so we had dinner at the hotel and relaxed in our room.

Dressing Up

Time for an update! Here are some photos from Halloween. I was an ipod and my friend Lawrence was "The Man In Black" Johnny Cash.

Reminiscing

I thought it might be fun to post the story of when I went to the Price is Right. I found this in a long-lost file in my e-mail. Hope you enjoy...I'm going to try and post the video soon!

Well, we did it! Our dream of seeing the Price Is Right & Bob Barker in the flesh (as weathered as it is) has come true! We had no idea how difficult and gruelling it would be to get on the show.... we showed up at 5:30am on the morning of our taping to wait in line for an hour... only to find out we had STAND-BY tickets...we hadn't gotten there early enough.
I guess the "hard-core" Price Is right fans arrived the night before and camped out. We were told to come back at 11:30am to see if anyone would not show up. (I'm not sure why you wouldn't once you have the tickets!) Anyway, we went back to our hotel for a nap and showed up at 11:30 to wait in line again...this time for about 1 1/2 hours. Keep in mind this is in an outdoor waiting area. We can't believe how many Canadians were there....those Canucks love their Price Is Right.
Well, the moment finally arrived when the stand-by people started getting tickets... would you believe that we missed it by 3 people?!!!! AUGH!!!!!!! Fortunately we noticed a group of red T-shirts that said "University of Guelph loves Bob" (for those of you from far away...Guelph is about an hour from London, where I live)

We went over to talk to them and told them our story. Our luck was changing... there was a group of 16 of them, but to qualify as a group you need 20 people. They had already given their 4 extra tickets away that day, but were coming back the next and said we could just meet them in the parking lot at 10am. (sounds like we were making some kind of illegal deal ...don't worry, its all ligit)

What a GRRREAT alternative to arriving at 2am and sleeping on the street just to get a ticket! We had a nice sound sleep in our hotel room and met the Guelph crew the next morning. Turns out one of the organizers won his way on stage only to be outsmarted by the secret X. Bummer. But he did get to spin the big wheel and keep the desk set from contestants row.

OK, we know we're in California, but the temperatures yesterday were COLD. It was overcast and raining and we waited 4 1/2 hours in this outdoor "shelter" with hard metal benches and a concession stand. Wow, talk about dedication.
The moment finally arrived when we were "interviewed" by the producer. Basically he asked our name, where we were from and what we did. Karla got the added question of if she watches the show. (what kind of a question is that anyway??? Like she'd wait that long for a show she's never heard of)

After we were ushered to more hard benches in a windy corridor, we were asked to sign a release form to be on the WAYNE BRADY show! (for those of you that don't know, he's the hilarious black guy from Who's Line Is It Anyway?) How cool is that? And then he walked by!
As you can imagine, the excitement was overwhelming. Not only would we be on The Price Is Right, but the Wayne Brady show too!

FINALLY we were allowed to enter the studio...about 10 minutes before taping began. If we have learned one thing on this trip, it is that NOTHING is as it appears on TV. (you'd think I'd realize that before since I work in the industry!!) The studio was SO SMALL. Like think small and then it was smaller. It was like a miniature set or something....crazy....and surreal.

After putting up with a cheezy version of the American National Anthem, the announcer appeared and "entertained" us until the man himself walked out on stage. Wow, what a moment! Because of the wild and crazy fans cheering, you couldn't hear anything the announcer said, including the names to come on down. There was a stage manager with signs that said the people's names. One of the first people called was the guy sitting directly in front of us from the Guelph group!!! It was so exciting to actually have someone to cheer on. He won his way on stage to lose an SUV in Lucky 7. However, he did well on the Big Wheel ($0.85) and was in the showcase showdown at the end of the show. He lost. However, the woman that won is a cute little lady that was across from us in line. She's from Minnesota and vacations in Yuma.

We were on the edge of our seats the whole time! It was exhausting! THEN Wayne Brady came out to tape some shtick for his show. He wanted to "come on down" and guess where he sat in the audience??? Yep, in the empty chair right in front of us! So, we will definitely be on the Wayne Brady show the end of next week AND on The Price Is Right March 3.

Bye Bye Bob

Today was a sad day in television history. I found out that Bob Barker is retiring from the Price Is Right after 35 years! Devastating news to fans of the show. I'm just glad I got to go when I did. Must head to bed but will post more tomorrow. :(

Congrats Nicole and Nelson!

On Saturday, I was privileged to witness my friend Nicole exchange vows with her (now) husband Nelson. The story of how they met was so cool (and you can read all about it if you check out her blog on the side of this site) I'm just so happy for them both.

Karla & I actually made the invitations for this affair. That was kind of cool to be able to be involved that way. The ceremony was really nice, she looked lovely. I loved her dress with the red...very cool. Now she's heading to YORKTON, SK!

The ironic thing is that on Friday I was watching Regis & Kelly as I was eating my breakfast. They were announcing the winners of their costume contest. The past few weeks, people have been sending in photos of their Halloween costumes. Well, the 2nd prize went to someone from Maple Ontario. I thought that was cool, that a Canadian got second. And then they announced the winner....it was Colonel Sanders riding a chicken and he was from Yorkton, SK! I couldn't believe it!! That's where Nicole is moving. Apparently it's not very big and it's in the middle of nowhere. Too funny!

My Friend, The Giant

This is a photo of my friend Simon beside a car in Helsinki! It is actually smaller than a smart car (if you can believe it) I thought this photo was just too funny to not pass along! he he he.

Paul Brandt

Last weekend Char & I went to see Paul Brandt http://www.paulbrandt.com/mainindex.html with Jo-Anne & Nick. He is our favourite country singer (well, other than Johnny, but let's face it...he's dead. We're not going to see him in concert!) Anyway, we got our tickets a while ago to see him at the Norfolk County Fair.

We set off about 5pm and the concert was at 8pm...plenty of time. It was a beautiful day so the drive was nice. We took the beetle so Nick (who is 6'6" tall) rode in the front with me. That was good as he kept me on the right roads! We decided to stop along the way at Pizza Hut for supper. It has been a l-o-n-g time since I've eaten there, but the choices were limited. (so I thought) We had the Super Supper for Four. We left, stuffed full of Caesar salad, bread sticks, chicken wings and of course, pizza. It was about 6:45. As we were leaving town (which one, I have no idea) we drove past a Swiss Chalet. I was so disappointed we hadn't seen it first. I would've much rathered chicken than pizza. Oh well.

We got to Simcoe about 7:30. In my head I was picturing a big parking lot next to the fair grounds and a clearly marked path to the grandstand. Ha ha...funny how things in your head are so idealistic! We drove really far down a side street before finding a tiny little spot in which I had to parallel park! Driving a standard + parallel parking on an incline = not fun. However, I accomplished my task and was eager to get to our seats.

Once we entered the fair grounds, we asked at EVERY information booth we saw and no one really knew where to direct us. As we were fighting the crowd, we heard the music start! YIKES...I just wanted to be in my seat. We finally found the entrance to the reserved seating area and took our (wooden) chairs. What a great show. Except for the 15 year olds in front of us that talked through the whole thing and played games on their cell phones. What's up with that? How annoying.

The Cutest Couple Ever

On the weekend, my friend Amy & her husband Pat came over. I was hosting an evening of board games and they decided to make the trip from Mississauga. Amy & I went to highschool together, but more importantly, we worked at the Petrolia Discovery together one summer. It was our favourite job...working together on projects like organizing Canada Celebrations, dressing up like Darren The Oil Derrick and telling people from around the world about our little town of Petrolia.

We have shared some great memories which we re-live each time we get together. Our first trip to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, sending an apple pie to Halifax (on a plane with her brother) town-wide yard sales, Paul Simon concert, she's even the one that lured me to my surprise birthday party.

Well, sometimes we forget how things used to be, or could be, when people live in different cities. Saturday night reminded me of how much I treasure Amy as a friend and made me wish they lived in London. They are just the cutest couple ever. I only hope that I can find a husband with whom I fit with like Amy & Pat do.

And, the cuteness continues...they are having a baby in 5 weeks! Eeek! In fact, I'm headed to the "Due Date Party" on November 18. If there's no baby...we have a party. If there is a baby... we have a party and get to see the baby. If the baby comes on time, it turns into a waiting room party. You see, as Amy puts it: it's a win, win win situation!

SNOW!

I could not believe my eyes today when I looked out the window to see a complete white-out from the SNOW! Yes, that's right...it's October 12 and it snowed off and on all day. In fact, when I went out to my car after work, the windshield and rear window was covered. I thought I could just brush it off with the wipers and the defroster. Ha, not so fast! Old Man Winter had left his icy fingerprints on my windows and I was left without my defensive snow brush. Silly me, I hadn't moved it from the basement to my trunk yet. Fortunately one of my co-workers found one in his trunk amongst the golf clubs and rollerblades and I was able to borrow it! Let's just hope this was a fluke and we are in for some beautiful autumn days ahead. I mean really...it's my favourite season and so far it's been so crappy!

Footloose & Fancy Feet

A few weeks ago my mom & I booked a day together. We were going to start at the spa for a pedicure, do lunch and then go shopping. Well, some unforeseen circumstances arose which kept us busy until mid-afternoon, but we were able to move our spa appointment. This was my first full-blown pedicure, and it was amazing! We went to Adora Spa on Front Street in Sarnia. The really cool part is the pedicure chairs (kind of like big recliners with a whirlpool for your feet) face the window overlooking the river. A beautiful location. I think we should really try and do that more often as it felt amazing, and our toes were really pretty afterwards!

After our foot pampering, we went for dinner at Montana's. I know it doesn't really fit the mood, but it was good food in a relaxed atmosphere and we were able to enjoy catching up. Following dinner, we headed to see my Grammie. It was a nice way to end the evening as we always have so much fun together. I can't wait for Halifax...it's going to be a blast!

Halifax, Here We Come!

In November, I'm looking forward to a 4 day trip to Halifax with my Mom & Grammie. "Pier 21" in Halifax is where most of our immigrants landed. During the war, my Grandad was a Canadian soldier in England when he met my Grammie. They were married at the end of the war and soon after, she came to Canada as a "war bride". Well, Canada has declared 2006 "The Year of The Warbride" and on November 8, Pier 21 is having a big celebration. We are flying out for 4 days to take in the celebration and some additional sightseeing and fun. I think it will be a really good time to spend together. (and hang out by the ocean!)

Feeding an Addiction

As you probably know, when I find something I like I usually become very passionate about it. Well, I've found a new passion! This season I started watching Prison Break. It was quite by accident. I wasn't looking to add a new show to my roster. But, I happened to be at the cottage with my sister Jo-Anne when the season premier was on. She's a regular viewer so, of course, she wanted to watch. (so's my brother...must be a family thing) That's when I got sucked in!

The storyline is amazingly intricate and the characters are so well developed. The unfortunate thing is that I started watching at the beginning of season 2. After asking around, I found out that my friend Chris owns season 1 on DVD. YEAH!! For anyone that's watched TV shows on DVD, you know how great it is and how easy it is to become glued to the set! Example: an hour long show is shortened to 42-45 minutes with just dips to black where the commercials used to be. So, 2 episodes are just an hour & a half and three episodes are just over 2 hours. Well, I'm sad to say (especially after my last post about TIME) I've watched 14 episodes since last Wednesday! YIKES. But, it's SO good!! And, it makes stuff that's happening in season 2 make that much more sense.

Tonight, it's back to the future as season 2's next episode is on. And it doesn't hurt that my favourite con: Fernando Sucre (who it SO hot) is riding around on a big Harley. Sweet!

Time

A few weeks ago I heard someone say "where you spend your time is where you place your value". Seems like a simple enough concept, but it really hit me. I want to spend my time on things I value. Things like playing Candyland with my 3-year-old niece, having tea with my Grammie or making pie with my Mom. You can see a common theme... my family is important to me and I want to make them a priority. I also want to spend more time with good friends and learning new things. I'm going to try and say "no" more often to things that are not a priority and not worry about it.

Out of Africa

Last week my friend Sheri came over. She's just returned from 6 months in Africa! Yep, she was living my dream!! She travelled all over the continent, spotting every animal native to the region. I even saw a short video clip of an elephant chasing her car! There were so many pictures of beautiful scenery, adorable children and just a fascinating culture. I don't know if I'd be able to eat a "smiley" (sheep head) but other than that...I'm dying to go. Sheri is a Registered Nurse and was able to work in an orphanage and with Mercy Ships. http://www.mercyships.org/site/c.agLOI4OFKrF/b.1676795/k.2408/Flash_Main.htm She was captivated by the people and how generous they are. Sheri is definitely a free spirit and not afraid to take risks. She is solid in her faith and such a giving person. I love having her as a friend. She is inspiring.

A Wedding and a Yoko

On Saturday I headed to Toronto for the wedding of my friend Joe. The ceremony was at 11am at the UofT so I had to leave quite early. I made it with time to spare! Unfortunately it was looking like it might rain when I got there. I decided I better take my umbrella with me. This in itself is not unfortunate. The unfortunate part is that is a Scooby Doo umbrella. Carrying it in to a wedding doesn't look very chic. However, I think I pulled it off quite well. : )

After about a half hour delay, the ceremony started. It was absolutely beautiful. You could tell a lot of attention had been paid to details. A string quartet serenaded the bridesmaids down the aisle. Then, it was time for Karyn and her dad to enter. The music stopped and Joe strapped on his guitar and SANG her down the aisle. It was so sweet.

Between the ceremony & reception I was able to scoot over to Ryerson and see Yoko. Then back to the reception. I must say an hour of mingling with people I don't know in uncomfortable shoes for cocktails & hors d'oeuvres is not my idea of fun. But, I managed to survive. It was actually really nice, complete with a jazz pianist. The reception was about 10 courses long!!! There were lots of interesting things on the menu including shark fin! We were well entertained by multimedia presentations, stories, toasts, etc. It was a beautiful wedding and I wish Joe & Karyn all the best!

Be my, be my, be my, be my Yoko Ono, woah-oh-oh-oh.

Yesterday I spent the day in Toronto at a wedding. Between the ceremony & reception, I was supposed to get together with my friend Simon. However, since he's moving today, he decided he better stay home and pack. So, I decided that I would walk down to the Ryerson Theatre and try and catch a glimpse of Yoko Ono as she arrived for the premiere of The US vs. John Lennon. When I first got there, hardly anyone was there. However, that quickly changed. There was probably 60-70 people trying to get an autograph and a photo. I was lucky enough to get both. Don't get me wrong, she's not my favourite person...seeing her in person was pretty cool. I'm interested to see the movie when it comes out at the end of the month. While I was there I also spotted Christina Ricci & Michael Moore. cool.

Techno-Genius

I don't consider myself a computer geek, but today I completed a task I am most proud of. Well, I actually started on Sunday...

I finally bought a printer. Yes, I've been printerless all this time. My parents actually gave me money to buy one for my birthday, but I've procrastinated until now. On Sunday I was at Michael's and saw the Staples next door. I decided "back-to-school" would be a good time to purchase a printer. So I did.

I came home and started hooking it up myself! Surprisingly, it was quite easy. However, I didn't realize I needed to buy a USB cable until after I got home. That's why I couldn't finish until today. Anyway, I succeeded!

During the time I was setting up my new gear, I listened to The Ongoing History of New Music. It is an awesome radio show that I usually listen to on FM96. My friend Jeff informed me last week that you can listen to complete past episodes online! So cool. I listened to "What's the deal with The Smiths" "7 Mysteries of Morrissey" and "100 Top Moments in Rock History pt. 1" For a music-lover, it is grrreat! Check it out http://fm96.com/station/ongoing_history_of_new_music.cfm?ell=6743&pge=1

Long Weekend

It was a long weekend and I definitely packed a lot in...considering I worked yesterday! Friday night I headed down to Sarnia to see Beck & Carla Raes. It seems like I haven't seen them in forever and since Beck moved to Ottawa yesterday, I wanted to see her before she left. We headed to the Coffee Lodge...the local hangout in Sarnia. I got to hear all about Beck recent run of blind dates!

After that, I headed out to my parents. My nieces & nephew were having a sleepover and there was a note for me when I got home: Abby would like to sleep with Auntie Janice tonight. Well, Auntie Janice didn't get a lot of sleep...she twisted and turned all night long. More than once I felt a little foot on my back!! In the morning my mom made waffles, which for a 7, 5 and 2 year old, was VERY exciting!

In the afternoon, Mom & I headed into Sarnia with plans of doing some shopping states-side. Unfortunately, traffic was backed up to Christina St. so we turned around. Instead, we went to visit my Grammie. It's always fun going to Grammie's, but I particularly like it when my mom & Grammie are together...good times! We stopped in at Connie & Steve's on the way home, long enough to do the hokey-pokey with Madison. :) And then in the evening headed over to see my Aunt Peggy. Whew! What a whirlwind of activity!!

Sunday afternoon Jodi & I had an "end of summer ice-cream" at Marble Slab. She got Key Lime with fresh strawberries, I opted for the ultra chocolatey dark chocolate with Skor bits. Yumm. And, the cool thing was I got it for free...my frequent buyer card was full. :)

My friend Amy stopped by in the afternoon. It's hard to believe but we haven't seen each other since my surprise party! That was the same day she told me she's having a baby. Well, I got to see the evidence for myself. She has a very cute yet pronounced "bump". It was great to catch up and re-live some memories. I got to see photos of the nursery which is absolutely adorable. I hope we're able to get together again soon.

Contemplations in the moonlight

I read this the other day on my friend Claire's blog. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and I hope she doesn't mind me re-posting it here. Enjoy.

I found myself thinking about the moon the other day. The moon always gets a bad rap for having no light of its own. A celestial second-class citizen, standing by just reflecting. I remember a science teacher somewhere back in my school days scoffing that men of old thought the moon was a light source when really it's all second hand illumination. But I was wondering the other day if reflected light is really so bad?

Sure the sun is fantastic and powerful and creates its own light, but it occurred to me that you can't look at the sun. It's there and you feel its influence but you can only glimpse it from the corner of your eye. It's so bright, but you can't really see if for yourself. The moon is reflected light. It doesn't control the seasons but controls the tides and you can actually look at the moon. You can sit there gazing at it, contemplating it. It's not enough light to get a sunburn, but it's enough light on a clear night to find your way.

And I wonder if we're a little bit like that with God. God is huge and awesome and knowable but incomprehensible. He's too much for finite minds. Maybe we're a little bit like the moon -- reflections of a light that's not our own. I wonder if that was part of God's intent in making man in His own image, giving us a version of Himself that we could stand to look at, something we could begin to comprehend? I'm reminded of the story in the Old Testament when Moses is on the mountain and wants to see God and God basically tells him "if you saw me, you'd die". And so God hides Moses in a space in the rocks, and covers him as He walks by and even that barest brushing past is almost more than Moses can stand. Like staring right at the sun only so much worse.

I know that I am not God, I cannot manifest light of my own. But I can reflect it, on a clear night.

It's Cottage Time!

IT'S COTTAGE TIME, IT'S COTTAGE TIME...THE SKY IS DRY, THE SKY IS DRY!

OK, it's been a while since I've posted and I apologize. I recently discovered that people DO read this and keep on the happenings in my life. However, since none of you leave comments...

Anyway, last weekend I went to my Aunt Penny & Uncle Cliff's cottage. I went with my sister Jo-Anne & my nephew Jesse. Uncle Cliff has always been my favourite as he's so hilarious! He kept us laughing all the time. Of course, Jesse took quite a shine to him too. It was a nice time to relax, do some reading, catch some movies, etc. The cottage is really nice...they've done lots of work to it to fix it up. They even have a huge 42" TV that Cliff fanangled from work for $100!!! It was used in their board room and has a few "burnt-in" images, but overall...a fantastic deal.

Last Saturday I met up with the family I used to babysit. Josh was playing hockey in London, so I went over to Western Fair Grounds to meet them. It was a little crazy to see them all grown up. Emily is turning 15, Josh is 12 and Ashley is 10. They are such great kids. I used to love babysitting there...they were really cute and well-behaved. I remember teaching Emily who the Beatles were when she was about 1.5 years old. he he. Cute.

On Sunday I headed down to see my Aunt Peggy. I hadn't seen her since her heart surgery a few weeks ago. I'm glad I went. We had a 2 hour visit. Then I went over to my parents. My mom was babysitting Madison so I got to see her too. It was nice to have a mom-cooked meal and she even sent me home with a piece of pie!

I'm going to see Paul Brandt in October. I'm looking forward to that. He's one of my favourite country artists. I took my sister Jo-Anne last year for her birthday and we both loved it. This time I'm going with Char, Jo-Anne & Nick. It's at the Norfolk County Fair. Lookin' forward to it!

Globe Trotting

My friend Simon & his wife Claire are leaving in September to travel around the world. Can you imagine? They sold their house & cars, quit their jobs and are leaving in September. You can check out their adventure at http://www.threeappleshigh.ca/abroad/ I'm so jealous!! I'm sure they'll have the time of their lives! Have fun guys.

Star Struck

Last Thursday night Char & I were checking The Clog & Thistle in Ingersoll (on the recommendation of Bob, our Harley pal) The atmosphere was really cool but the service was horrific. The waitress was totally disinterested in us as customers and didn't say a word when she brought the food. However, after sitting there for about 10 minutes, my evening perked up considerably.

Four people walked in and I believe one of them was Christopher Plummer. Unfortunately, they were seated behind a room divider so I couldn't tell for sure. When we were finished, I did the rubber-necking walk by to "go to the washroom". I was convinced it was him, Char was not.

When we walked outside, I said "well, it still makes for a good story to say we think we saw Christopher Plummer." Then we saw a fancy red convertible sitting right in front of the restaurant. I was sure that was his car....'til I saw the decal on the back that said "Cowgirls of America". Um, ya...maybe not.

OK, so maybe it wasn't him. We got in the car and started out of the parking lot when we saw another fancy car sitting there with a driver sitting there reading the paper. That was enough to convince me that it was, indeed Captain Von Trapp inside. Although I did have to drive by once more for Char to see the driver through the dark windows. :)

note: This was my second time seeing Mr. Plummer. A few years ago I saw him at the Toronto Film Festival, but there's something exciting about randomly running into him in INGERSOLL!

Holiday Weekend

This weekend wasn't a long one for me as I worked on Monday. I didn't mind though...there's never much going on and you get paid lots of money. We even played a game in the evening!

On Friday night I headed down to my Grammie's. At some point I must've mentioned that I like spaghetti because she had some ready for me when I got there. We hung out and she told me some old stories...like the time Grandad agreed to buy a duck from a co-worker "for Sunday dinner". When the duck arrived, Grandad was working and Grammie had to deal with a LIVE duck until he got home to take care of it. He was annoyed and said the duck was supposed to be "dressed" when he got it. Well, being from England, Grammie had never heard that term before and wondered what he was supposed to be dressed for? ha ha ha .

On Saturday, I headed over to Connie & Steve's to hang out in the pool with Madison. She had just taken a week of swimming lessons and I can't believe the difference in her! Before she didn't want to leave the steps, now she's JUMPING in. She basically went from jumping in to the steps and back to jumping in...all afternoon! It was really nice to spend the afternoon in the pool and with Madison. After the swim, I headed out to Mom & Dad's for a steak dinner. Mmmm, yum. BBQ steak is my favourite food and Dad picked up a few steaks at the butcher shop the day before. It was gooood.

On Sunday I headed to the church I grew up at. It was really weird to see people I've known most of my life...and they're getting old! Of course, time stands still for me :) In the afternoon I babysat for my brother & his wife while they went to get a puppy. The kids were lots of fun. We did everything from make window stickers to pretend camping! I had to laugh when we went to see the chickens. Josh was commenting on how big they've gotten. (the last time they saw them they were fuzzy little chicks) He said "they used to be like 2 marshmallows stuck together". Ha ha ha. Josh always makes me laugh.

In the evening, we had a bonfire at the farm. It was so nice for everyone to get together. It was Jesse's first campfire and the other kids really liked the hotdogs & marshmallows. Of course, when the puppy arrived, it was VERY exciting! I have to admit she was pretty cute. An 8 week old Beagle, her name is going to be Daisy.

Heat Wave

Since Sunday, there has been an oppressive heatwave. Temperatures have been hovering around 36°C and with the humidex it feels like the mid-forties!! (speaking of humidex, what is it? If it feels like it's 42°C...why isn't that the temperature? any thoughts?) Anyway, it's been hot. My house is not air conditioned. In fact, it is more like an oven. Thank goodness my brother-in-law Nick gave me their old one and installed it for me. WHEW! Jodi & I have been hibernating in our respective bedrooms, staying cool.

On Sunday, my nephew Jesse turned ONE! We had a delightful little party with family, food and Winnie the Pooh everywhere! It is so cute to see all the cousins playing together. Josh (5) is very big-brother-ish to Jesse...quite adorable. I will post photos soon.

Thanks for all your prayers for my Aunt Peggy. Last Thursday she had angioplasty and it was very successful with no complications. I went to see her that night and she looked great and was joking around. The nurses said she was their star patient that day :) She is now discharged and staying with my cousin Esther.

I have found a new musician that I LOVE! As you know, I like to share new things I'm passionate about, so check out Xavier Rudd. http://www.xavierrudd.com He's from Australia and is like a Paul Simon/Dave Matthews/Jack Johnson with a little didgeridoo thrown in. I'm hooked! I've downloaded all three albums onto my i-pod and enjoying them while I work. Sweet.

Speaking of work...if anyone has any great ideas for a new career for me, let me know! After the CHUM layoffs a few weeks ago, I've felt vulnerable. The television broadcast industry is changing dramatically and I'm not so sure I want to be involved anymore. As of January it's going to be so depressing to come into work...it will be so empty here. The more I think about, the more I welcome the change. I just need to figure out what that change will be. :)

Birthday Bonanza!

This week is filled with birthdays! Happy Birthday to:

Carla Raes - July 22
Chris Parr - July 23
Jim VanHorne - July 24
Chris Mortensen - July 25
Bob Smith - July 26
Scott Drennan - July 27

And finally, my nephew Jesse is turning ONE on July 30. I can't believe a whole year has passed since he was born.

The Lake, The Lakehouse and the Pool

Last weekend, I headed down to my parents on Thursday night with Jo-Anne & Jesse. It was nice to sit out on the deck and enjoy the quiet stillness of the country. I loved it! And it was nice to just sit and talk and not have somewhere we needed to go. On Friday morning, Jo-Anne & I picked up Abby & Josh and headed to the river for a picnic.

It was really nice by the water and the kids really enjoyed counting the seagulls and watching the boats go by. When we were done, we stopped by Grammie's for a few minutes and headed on to Sarnia to the animal farm. Always a big hit...we toured the various birds, bunnies, donkeys, etc. It was REALLY hot that day so soon it was time to hit the beach. It was a beautiful day and I love spending time with the kids, so it was great. We got back in to Petrolia just in time for swimming lessons. I was glad I got to see them in the pool for a bit...very cute.

Since Nick was in Germany, I stayed at Jo-Anne's that night. I'm glad I did because Jesse was up with a fever. Poor little guy...I sat and rocked him while Jo-Anne was on the phone with telehealth. I realized the only songs I know all the words to were Simon & Garfunkel, Beatles, Carpenters, etc. but he seemed to really enjoy them! cool. The next day he was still a bit off but not as feverish.

Sunday I spent at Char's pool. It was so hot, it was nice to get cooled off. In the evening we went to see The Lakehouse with Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reeves. http://thelakehousemovie.warnerbros.com/ I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I ended up really liking it. Definitely worth checking out.

On Monday I had lunch with Richard. We used to work together until a couple of months ago. It was great to catch up and just laugh. He always makes me laugh. Incidentally, we met at this awesome little Italian place. I fell in love with it! Food and drinks both excellent! http://www.coppadigelato.com/v2/ In fact, I met Marty there the next morning for coffee. It's really close to work, so it works well. And the coffee is mmmmmgood!

The times, they are a-changin'...

I thought I'd post an update on here so those of you that heard about CHUM's restructuring and sale, can see how this has affected me.

On Wednesday, it was announced that as of January 2007, our control room will be run by an "overdrive" system. Although I'm still discovering what this means, basically all of the positions formerly held by humans, will be done by a machine. This resulted in the layoff notice of 40 positions in our newsroom, including camera, audio, lighting, floor director, PA, director, etc.

Wow, I thought last June was bad when our noon news was cancelled and 13 people lost their jobs. This is devastating. Although my position was not eliminated, it is still very upsetting to realize I will not be working with these 40 people anymore. After working 5 days a week for 7 years with these people, you establish relationships and friendships. The announcement definitely signaled the end of an era.

On top of the announcement of the restructuring, it was also revealed on Wednesday, that CHUM was bought by Bell Mediaglobe. It is very likely that they will, in turn, sell us again. What this means to the rest of the employees, I don't know. However, it has me re-thinking my career-path. Television broadcasting as I've known it for the past 7 years is changing.

It was very sad when I saw a story on CBC about some of the CHUM stations out west that eliminated positions, effective immediately. There were cameramen who had worked there for 30+ years, and they were showing them unloading their truck and handing over their keys. What a devastating blow. I understand that business is business and if you can run your company more efficiently, then that is, of course, what you should do. However, the human element of this really sucks. Kim, my friend from college, worked for the Barrie station and was laid off on Wednesday. Having just had a baby last year, I'm sure she is shocked and lost as to what to do next.

The silver lining for my co-workers is that they still have 6 months as employees to figure out what their next move is. However, it will not be pleasant during those months, I'm sure. Yuck. Hopefully my next post is a little more upbeat. :(

Canada Day 2006

Catching Up

Hmmm, what to post? So much has been happening lately that I say "ooh, I'll put that on my blog" and then I never get around to it. Well, I have a few minutes so I thought I'd post what's been going on.

Last weekend was Canada Day. I will, eventually, get some photos on here, but for now... text only! It was a fun day. My friend Sarah came from Toronto around noon and we headed out for lunch at TJ Baxters patio. The patio itself was nice and it was a gorgeous day, but the food was not the greatest. Just a little tip for you! And their drinks seem watered down. A little disappointing. However, I had been telling her about my new favourite place, http://www.marbleslab.com/, so we decided to head there for dessert. If you like ice cream (and I LOVE it) you'll love this place. You get to choose the flavour of ice cream you want and then choose "mixins" which include everything from crushed up Skor bar to fresh strawberries! Then they mix it all together on a "marble slab" and put it in your cone. It is AWESOME and the best part (or worst part...depends on how you look at it) is that it's just steps from my house! I already have a frequent buyer card with several stamps. :)

Anyway, Sarah & I headed back to my place and finished off some last minute party preps. Before long people started arriving. Although it wasn't the blow-out that last year was, it was a good time. Good food, great friends and an awesome holiday.

Unfortunately the weather was a little "iffy" when it came to the fireworks. We started walking down to the park and it started to rain. We contemplated turning around, but decided to continue on. We sat for about half an hour waiting for the wonderful display to light up the sky...but nothing happened. Well, nothing but the drunk teenagers beside us shooting roman candles out of their hands. Geesh. Apparently they had postponed the fireworks due to the weather. Bummer.

On Sunday, Char & I were planning to head to the drive-in. However, when I checked the website, it was $13 for FOUR movies. What? Who sits through 4 movies? The last one didn't even start until 4:10am!! Craziness. Anyway, we decided that since we only wanted to see the first one, we'd wait and go on a Tuesday when it's $5.00 (and it's a good job we didn't as it poured rain) We did watch Firewall with Harrison Ford. I liked it...very "Harrison Ford-ish" but I enjoy that.
Monday was planned as "Beach Day" We headed out for Port Bruce...however after taking a few wrong turns (oops, need to pay attention instead of talking!!) we ended up in Port Stanley. It was kind of overcast and ended up getting quite cool...so unfortunately, I didn't get the tan I had wanted. :)

Hangin' With Grammie

This weekend I headed down to my Grammie's after work on Friday. I got there about 8:30 and she had waited to have supper with me. :) The table was all set with cold cuts, sliced tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, etc. When we had finished and got our cup of tea, we headed into the living room. I had made her a copy of the interview Sarah had done with her several weeks ago. It was so cute, she kept telling me the same story in real life as she was telling on the video. AND, she would laugh at the exact same spots in the same way. It was quite cute.

After we had finished that, we looked through some old photos and I heard more stories about her family and growing up in England during the war. She's had so many incredible life experiences, I love listening to that stuff.

The next morning we slept in a little (her more than me!!) and got up, had some breakfast (more tea) and got ready for the day. We were heading to the Huron Country Playhouse to see Cotton Patch Gospel. Unfortunately, we got there a little late and had to slip in the back. However, there's not a bad seat in the house, so it was just fine. At intermission, we headed out to the washroom and then decided to get an ice cream. (Haagen Dazs) While we were purchasing it, they made an announcement that the program would start in 5 minutes. "Do we have time to eat it?" Grammie wondered...I said I thought we did and the woman in front of us assured us we could take it in with us.

As we approached the Playhouse, we saw that same woman standing outside eating her ice cream next to a sign that said "No food or drink allowed inside" So, we stood and ate our ice cream. As we were standing there, the woman that had taken us in late to the first half of the performance, came over and closed the doors and gave us a look as if to say "can' t you 2 get it together?" Ha ha. We had to sit in the back again for the second half, but that was fine. It was a great play.

We headed back to Sarnia and when we got there, we weren't too hungry so we stopped in to Sears for a few minutes. Grammie was thrilled to find 2 tops that were on sale AND when she scratched her card at the counter, she got an additional 25% off!! We then headed to Swiss Chalet where we made a pact that neither could order our "usual" quarter chicken dinner. We ended up getting Shepherd's Pie and it was really good. We finished off with strawberry shortcake back at Grammie's. I had a great time and I know Grammie did too. I'm so lucky to have her!

Get Your Motor Runnin....

Some time ago, I wrote about a special birthday present from my friend Char....a ride on a Harley. Well, the time finally came. Last Saturday, I donned my Harley T-shirt and headed off to St. Thomas to meet up with our "biker buddies". Char's mom has a single-rider Harley and arranged for 2 of her friends to take me & Char on the back. We met in the Tim Horton's parking lot and got suited up with Harley jackets and helmets. Char rode with Bob and I was with Burt. (I was kind of glad I was with Burt as his bike was black...much cooler:)

We headed out of town and started our 4 hour adventure. It was GREAT! I just love the feeling of being on a bike...the wind in your hair (and face!) the roar of the engine...it's awesome! We toured around Port Bruce, Long Point, etc. and ended up at Turkey Point for some lunch. Then we headed back.

Bob & Burt were great. You can tell they just love to ride and were glad to get out on such a beautiful day. They even said they'd take us again. Wahoo!

IKEA...I think I've got it!

This weekend I was staying with my sister while her husband is in Germany on business. One of the projects she had on the list was to assemble a storage unit from IKEA. No problem. I love doing this type of thing. I know, it doesn't seem typical of me, but I become a little obsessed when I have all these parts spread out infront of me with the promise of "building" something. Anyway, I opened the box and pulled the pieces of wood out onto the livingroom floor. Since I was home alone, I decided to turn the TV on to keep me company. As luck would have it, Dirty Dancing was on. It's been a LONG time, so I decided to watch it while I assembled my masterpiece. (incidentally, the first time I saw that movie was at a birthday party when I was about 10...hello? inappropriate!!)

As I slid the first two pieces together with the notch & groove, I thought "sweet, I'm going to have this finished when Jo-Anne gets home and unveil it for her ...hmm, why is this hole not lining up with the screw? Let me try it this way...nope, that's not working either. Let me try another piece. Uh oh...we got a mis-drilled set. This is not good...nothing is fitting. Guess I'll just sit back and watch Patrick Swayze do his thing."

However, seeing the unassembled pieces staring at me from across the room, I had to go back to it. For the life of me, I could not get the pieces to match. I threw down the allen wrench in frustration and finished watching the movie. When Jo-Anne came home, she found me enjoying the final dance number surrounded by IKEA parts. I explained that she got a "bad one" as it doesn't fit right. She assured me that I was just having a "duh" moment and she would get it to work. Mmhmm....let's see...
About half an hour later I was on the IKEA website desperately searching for instructions or help of any kind. I ended up calling IKEA and talking to a guy that thought I just needed to "flip" one of the pieces. I assured him I had tried all possible combinations. He then promised he would e-mail me explicit instructions. (and why do they not include explicit instructions with the unit in the first place?) The e-mail took about 10 minutes to come through and I was sure he had written down my address wrong, but it finally appeared and I was able to print them out. That's when I had my a-ha moment. I DID just have to "flip" one part around. It wasn't long before I had the unit assembled and my Everest for the day had been conquered.

Give it a TRI, and other adventures...

This weekend was full of good times. I'm exhausted, but good times. On Sunday, I went to my first triathlon. No, I did not participate...just there to cheer! My friend Sarah is a triathlete-extreme and she decided to start a triathlon group at our church. She trained 3 women to do their very first race. My friend Sharon was one of them, so I decided to go and cheer them on. It was kind of cool, even if I had to get up super early on a Sunday morning. There is a whole subculture of athletes out there that I didn't even know existed! I even saw one guy running in his bare feet. Considering most of the race was a gravel road...OUCH! It was really neat to finally see Sarah actually competing as I've heard about it for so long. Most times the races are a bit of a drive, but since it was just in Lakeside (about 30 minute drive) I could go!

Friday night I hung out with my friend Adam. We went to this really cool restaurant on the waterfront in Sarnia. It's on the top floor of a tall building, so you can see the whole bay... beautiful. There is a patio up there too, but since it was quite chilly, we stayed inside. I'm anxious to go back when the weather is nice to hang out on the patio. Cool. After dinner we headed to the casino where I was CARDED!! A bit of a compliment I guess! Despite our best efforts, we could not find an ice-cream place that was open. So, we settled for chai tea.

I stayed at Connie & Steve's on Friday night. Saturday morning I got to hang out with Madison for a bit...we had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Sweet! Madison is very excited because they just put a pool in. It's not ready to swim in yet, but still very exciting for a 3 year old!

The rest of the day I hung out with Karla Ann. We headed over to Port Huron to do a little shopping. While we were there, we went for lunch at Olive Garden...mmmmm, yummy. It was good to hang out and catch up. We don't see each other enough anymore. After bumping into Debbie & Rebekah Raes in the mall, we headed back to our home and native land to play a round of Scrabble. Not surprisingly, KA won.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Warbrides

Next Tuesday, the province of Ontario is honouring warbrides with a ceremony at Queen's Park. My Grammie will be among those attending. She's so excited...in fact, I don't know when I've seen her this excited about something. She'll be heading down on a bus with other warbrides and I'm sure many stories will be exchanged.

Yesterday my friend Sarah (who is a reporter) did a story on warbrides, featuring Grammie! It was a very nice piece and the bonus is the 20+ minutes of interview that I dubbed to DVD for posterity. In case you missed the story on A-Channel, I have it on DVD.

It really is amazing when you think of what she had to overcome...she was only 19, pregnant and coming to a totally new country! She couldn't even pick up the phone and call home. I admire my Grammie tremendously. What a wonderful woman.

Kitchen Makeover

Over the past week, I've been preparing and painting my kitchen. Wow, was it ever a big job! It all started when I started stripping the wallpaper. Yikes. It was super-hot weather and I have no air-conditioning. So, needless to say, this was not a fun job. However, I got it done and Wednesday night I started with painting the ceiling. I had taken Thursday & Friday off work, so the real painting began on Thursday. Priming, priming, priming...it took a long time! Fortunately, I have great friends... Bruce stopped by on Thursday afternoon and helped me get the priming done. Then I was ready to move on to the actual painting on Friday. I went from having dingy white walls (one with yucky wallpaper) and SMURF blue trim to having "brown teepee" walls, white trim and "bear rug" cupboards! Check out the photos, I love it!!

Friday morning, Elvin came over to help with edging and in the afternoon, Bruce returned and my friend Emily came over to help too! By Saturday I was in business...the walls & ceiling were done and the cupboards & trim needed a few more coats. (the cupboards actually took 3 coats of paint + a coat of primer) Emily returned and helped in the afternoon completing the very frustrating radiator.

By Sunday afternoon/evening, I was cleaning up, moving things back into place and enjoying the fruit of my labour. My roommate Jodi was away for the whole process and I was looking forward to seeing her reaction, but unfortunately, she beat me home last night, so I missed it.

This process has made me appreciate my job and the fact that I don't have to do manual labour...I'm afraid I'm a bit of a wimp.

happy birthday, dear hottie, happy birthday to you...

It is my belief, that Lenny Kravitz is the hottest celebrity out there. Today is his 42nd birthday. So, happy birthday Lenny!

Long Weekend

Well, this weekend was the "unofficial kick-off" to summer. However, it certainly didn't feel like it! The weather was chilly and wet. I did manage to squeeze in a number of movies though. In fact, I haven't watched that many movies in that short of time since May 24 weekend of 2002! I watched Hotel Rwanda (very moving) Alfie (not worth the time to watch it) DaVinci Code (pretty good) and Shakespeare In Love (can't imagine why it swept the Oscars) I'm not a big movie-watcher so it's good to get caught up on a few that are on "the list".

On Saturday I was able to wash my car which was nice. It hadn't been washed since the fall! YIKES. I didn't realize how dirty it was until I started washing. I was quite annoyed when I went out later in the day and had a big splotch of bird crap on my door.

Some of my friends from Sarnia came on Saturday. That was fun as we never get a chance to hang out anymore. Karla, Carla and Beck came for a BBQ and a rousing game of Settlers. It was nice to relax and catch up on what everyone's up to.

On Sunday I stopped at Home Depot to buy paint for my kitchen. Next week I'll be doing a little home improvement project. I'm really looking forward to the end result but not so much the work in getting there. Jodi, my roommate, will be in Florida so I'm on my own! I started on the weekend by painting a shelving unit from the kitchen. It looks good now, but ended up taking way longer than I expected. (lots of nooks & crannies) I'll be sure to post a before and after photo of my handiwork. :)

Well, I must go...we are awaiting the arrival of Prime Minister Stephen Harper here in the A-Channel studio. Wow, my first time to see a PM in the flesh. Cool.

The Hippies

YEAH!! Hippies rule! For all of you Amazing Race fans, I'm sure you were jumping for joy with me as BJ and Tyler inched past the Frat Boys to claim the $1 million. Wahoo! This was such a great example of good overcoming evil! If you watch the show, you know that Eric & Jeremy AKA The Frat Boys (who ended up being college drop-outs...not Frat Boys) were absolute PIGS during the race. Unfortunately, they stayed at the front of the pack for most of the race and won lots of trips and extra goodies. For more info. you can check out ttp://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race9/bios/bj_tyler/

Pot Pourri

Wow, what a busy week. Work has been crazy this week and my evenings are all filled up so by the time the weekend comes, I'm exhausted. I had my first test in Photoshop this week. I don't know the results yet, but it seemed pretty easy, so I think I'm ok.

This weekend is Mother's Day, so of course, I'm going home to see my Mom. We spent last Saturday together scrapbooking. It was her first time so she was a little nervous, but by the end of the day, she was quite pleased with the results. It was nice to be able to just hang out and not have to worry about an agenda.

Tomorrow night I've organized a "Girls Night Out". A bunch of us are heading to the Palasad to hang out for the evening. Should be a good time and might even turn into a bit of a tradition!

Paul Simon's CD came out this week. I LOVE it. It has a great sound that is different than anything he's ever done. I particularly like "Beautiful" and "Outrageous". He's on SNL tomorrow night and hopefully about to release some tour dates soon.

As I was talking to my friend Murray this week about Paul Simon...he made a comment that I liked the sound of. Nothing I hadn't been told before, but the way he said it I thought was cool... He said when I was born, there was a tear in the fabric of time. Meaning, of course, I should've been from a previous generation.

Blog Catch Up

Well, yet again, I've left it a while between posts. My sister e-mailed me today to tell me to update. hmmm, what's new? Well, I started my photoshop class last week at Fanshawe College. It is 10 weeks and I think it will be really cool (and challenging) I'm also continuing my line dance lessons. Last week was the first week I felt like I was "dancing" rather than just methodically moving my feet while counting 1-2-3-4. It was fun.

Last weekend Char & I went to the Petrolia townwide yardsales. It was great fun, despite getting up super-early. I actually got some great deals including a blender, deluxe scrabble, Trivial Pursuit 90's edition and an IKEA storage unit. It's always a fun tradition. 

This weekend my mom is coming down. It is the first time she's actually staying over at my house. It is part of her birthday present from me...we are scrapbooking all day on Saturday at the Scrapbook Studio. It should be a good time!

Does anyone watch Amazing Race? Last night's episode was the best one I've seen in a while...the ending was amazing! (pardon the pun) I so want the Hippies to win...and not just because they're hippies. If not them, Ray & Yolanda. The Frat Boys and Mojo need to go...NOW. Next week is the finale of my favourite show Gilmore Girls. I'll be so upset if Lorelai & Luke break up!! Rory & Logan should split though...don't like him. (I know, its just a show)

Guess what happens on May 9? Paul Simon's new CD "Surprise" comes out! I'm so excited! He'll be on SNL on the 13th and will be touring sometime soon. Wahoo! Matt Costa is coming to Toronto this summer (twice) I'm hoping to see him.
Well, that's all for now.

Wow, so much has happened since my last post! One week after the surprise party at Wayne & Sharon's, EIGHT bikers were found murdered just down the road from them! Crazy stuff! I got called in to work and was shocked to hear why. That week, Lynne Harper's body had been exhumed (a high-profile murder case in our area from 50 years ago) and I thought there was some kind of announcement that they had found some DNA to clear Steven Truscott. It was quite exhilarating to be in the newsroom during such a huge story. We were fielding calls from news media from all over...it even made news in China, New Zealand and England.

In other news, Char & I started taking line dance lessons! he he. I know most of you are probably laughing, but it is pretty fun. And difficult. Many times, I'm just standing there with a lost look on my face. I'm hoping the whole experience gives me some rhythm and a little confidence on the dance floor.

Next week I'm starting a Photoshop course at Fanshawe College. I'm pretty excited about it. It all came about after my Performance Development Review at work. I suggested that everything I do in photoshop has been self-taught and could be much better if I had proper training. So, the next week, I was signed up for a class at Fanshawe. I start next Wednesday and will perhaps post some of my projects here.

Also in the last few weeks, one of my favourite co-workers left the company. After a lot of bullying and personal belittling, he had enough and decided to call it quits. He's one of the funniest people I know and I miss him tremendously!

SURPRISE!!!

When I said I'd like a surprise party for my 30th birthday, I had no idea how surprised I'd be. That's because it was 11 months and 2 weeks early!!! Last Saturday was conveniently April Fools Day, and I made it through most of the day without any pranks. However, at about 7:30pm...they got me!

I had planned to get together with my friend Amy that day. She was coming down from Toronto for a long-overdue visit. However, it wasn't until after we had made our plans that she discovered she was being pulled into a web of deceit. :) I was quite impressed that she didn't spill the beans as we both have trouble keeping secrets and we were together all afternoon. Way to go Amy!

Apparently Char approached Jo-Anne before Christmas with the idea of having a party this year. Special thanks to Char, Jo-Anne, Nick, Wayne & Sharon who pulled off the whole thing without a hitch! It was really awesome to have so many of my friends (who don't necessarily know each other) all together. Thanks to everyone who came and to those of you that missed it...I missed you!

PS...sorry it took so long to post, but I didn't have any pictures until today. I didn't think to bring my camera to my surprise party! So, if any of you took pictures, please e-mail me!! Thanks.