Blissfully Unglued

Really?

2011-08-09T15:49:00.002-04:00

Has it really been since January since I've updated this blog? And was my last post really about freaking Jack Frost?

I am hanging my head in shame. The problem is this... I don't have ANYTHING exciting going on in my life, and I guess that leaves me with not much to say.

But, I will update what has been going on, for posterity's sake. This will be short, I promise. Maybe...

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Are You Calling Me Stupid?

2011-01-17T19:48:00.004-05:00

We were watching the most awesome movie, Jack Frost. (Sunday afternoon television. What can I say?)

Him: This movie is so stupid. Who watches stupid movies like this?

Me: Then why are we watching it?

Him: There's nothing else on.

Me: We could just turn it off.

Him: {silence}

Him: {silence}

Him: Uh...

Him: What did you say? {long pause}

Him: This movie is so stupid.

Me: Right...

My Top 10 of 2010

2010-12-29T20:07:00.012-05:00

It's been a... somewhat interesting/boring year. Since I didn't do much of the blogging, I'll give you a roundup of the best things/moments/stuff that happened this year.

10. Seeing a girl try to take a bike through a turnstile at Honest Ed's and get

stuck.(Image via http://www.discountcrowdcontrol.com/)

Think it sounds not that exciting? Trust me, it was awesome. I still don't how they got the bike out.

9. Finding a new favorite park near our apartment. It's so pretty and so close! Double whammy!

(Image via http://blogto.com)

8. New favorite restaurant: El Paisa Grill. Sadly, it's in West Valley and not Toronto. So delish, and good enough to make my top 10!(Image via http://tomzap.com)

You stuff all of that delicious-ness inside a tortilla and be happy until you explode. (Well, minus the shrimp, plus beef and chicken.)

7. Discovering Chaplin. We have discovered that we both are loving some Charlie Chaplin! Our favorite so far has been The Gold Rush.

6. Butter Chicken. I learned to make an awesome version of Butter Chicken. It kicks some serious booty. I'm making it tomorrow, so I'll upload a new pic then!

5. Painting the apartment! It's not white anymore! It's a beautiful gray-blue. Sadly, I have no picture of it. But it's kind of like this...(Image via http://housebeautiful.com)

4. I got a bread maker for Christmas, which I kind of feel like it's cheating. So I'm not all kneading it by hand, but having fresh bread all the time is pretty awesome!
(Image via http://gadgetrivia.com)

3. I visited the family for a bit during the summer. I miss them and it was so fun to be with the for a while. See you soon!(Old but good pic of me and Novalee.)

2. I got a new nephew at the beginning of the year! Axel is sure a cutie, and is such a sweet baby. Look at that face! I can't resist!

1. We went to the Bahamas! It was so fun and relaxing, and I wish that we could go back today. It's too cold in Canada.

That about rounds it up! Here's hoping for a Happy 2011! Cheers!

While I'm Waiting for the Washer Cycle to Finish

2010-10-15T14:25:00.006-04:00

We just had Thanksgiving this past Monday. I'm not sure that I'm quite used to Thanksgiving on Mondays and in October, but the turkey was just as good. I'm used to browsing ads after dinner and planning Black Friday shopping. Also, there's only three of us for dinner, so it's quite a small affair. We weren't sure if we were going to do Thanksgiving dinner, because we were considering a last minute weekend to Vancouver. We eventually decided to stay and do the whole traditional meal thing, and planned shopping for it on Saturday. But Saturday morning, water started pouring out of the exhaust fan. We frantically called the super, and he came down and explained the problem. He explained it, but I have no idea what he said. His accent is so strong, that I can only catch every third or fourth word. Anyways, after the plumber came and left, and with two new holes in the bathroom ceiling, we were too exhausted to brave the subway, the bus, and Walmart on Saturdays. So Sunday, we head to Walmart to find that the turkeys are sold out! And the adjacent grocery store is also sold out. We end up going to three other grocery stores, which were all sold out as well. Finally, we went to the grocery store closest to our house. I didn't go there first, because I was sure they would have none. Well, they had a freezer full of turkeys. Go figure. Anyways, the meal turned out nice, and I've eaten turkey for lunch for the rest of the week. Lovely.

Speaking of holes in ceilings... We had a huge leak in the bedroom/living room last month. (We live in a studio or what Canadians call a "bachelor" apartment." After calling and calling, they finally come and fix the leak. But the ceiling was so waterlogged that a huge chunk of ceiling fell down. It was like deja vu. This same thing happened last year. It was equally as awesome.

We would have taken a picture of the damage, but turns out our camera will only taking black pictures like this.

We thought that we fixed the camera, but it turns out it wasn't fixed. The following was the last picture our poor camera ever took. I'll miss you, dear camera. Of course, it was a test picture of my messy apartment. Not some sweet sentimental picture of puppies or kittens or Christmas trees. But I still feel the need to commemorate this last picture of our beloved camera.

There's good things that come from posting pictures of your messy house. I feel a overwhelming desire to clean the bathroom and close the kitchen cupboards.

And as for me? I'm doing well. I'm doing... laundry. So I better get back to it. I'll update more soon. Hopefully, this won't be like my journal, when I promise to write again soon, and drag it out two year later as I'm cleaning out my dresser drawer.

Good and Bad. Old and Bond

2010-06-11T02:15:00.006-04:00

Do you ever get sad that celebrities get old? I confess that I almost cry when I see current pictures of my favorite older celebrities.

For example, JM practically forced me (i.e. put the DVD in the player) to watch several episodes of The Saint a few months ago. Roger Moore is his favorite actor, and I must admit that I started to grow fond of the show and of the dashing Simon Templar. So of course, I looked him up on IMDB, which I usually do when I find actors/movies that I like. But...
he got old. He doesn't look so dashing anymore. Just... old. With old man glasses. (I'm sure he is still very dashing. I heard him in an interview and he was very clever.) It makes me sad.

On the other hand, there are some people that age beautifully. Sean Connery is a beautiful old man, and I don't feel sad when I look at him. I think he looks better now than he did in his forties.

See? Young Sean Connery? Eh...

Older Sean Connery? In a kilt? HELLO!!

I think this is all about my fear of aging badly. I am desperate to look 25 forever.

It's GOING TO HAPPEN.

2010-03-14T21:03:00.006-04:00

There are three things that can change JM's outlook on life. Three little things that change any sour mood to happy. I find them very useful.

1. A clean floor. The entire apartment can be in disarray, with dishes everywhere, clothes piled high on the dresser, and shoes piled up in a corner. But as long as the floor is shiny and clean, he thinks that I've spent the entire day cleaning. (When in reality, I've been on Facebook or Youtube.)

2. Oven fries. If he had a choice, he would have oven fries with every meal. They're not the quickest thing to make, so I don't like making them very often. But if I announce that I'm making fries with dinner, he immediately gets the biggest smile on his face and pronounces me as the best cook ever. It's kind of worth peeling all of those potatoes.

3. Scalp massages. I think he'd rather have a head massage over fries, actually. (He carries all of his tension in his scalp, oddly enough.)

Can I get cheesy for a bit? I told JM that I knew all of the things he needed to be completely happy, and listed all of the things above. He said, "No, you make me happy, baby." I wasn't even hinting around for that one...

We're All Plastic

2010-03-12T15:42:00.013-05:00

If you go here, you can mold yourself into a SuperModelquin. I was playing around with it today, and made JM into a modelquin. The product looks EXACTLY like him. See??

Of course, his actual self is better looking than the modelquin. But I think that I did a pretty good job. Mine, on the other hand, didn't turn out so accurate though.

*Sigh* Such is life...

Stop the Torture

2010-02-25T20:22:00.004-05:00

This is me, during a normal week.

Cheerful, domestic, well-maintained red-head. (Just go with it.)

This is me after 1 week of consecutive hockey and curling.

Scary. Don't look too close.

I'm losing my mind. More and more each day...

Tell me this:

When will the Olympics be over?

Shakin' What My Mama Gave Me

2010-02-24T20:17:00.004-05:00

Well, it probably wasn't my mom that gave me my abnormally large booty. I'm pretty sure that it comes from my dad's side. Anyways...

When I was in junior high and high school, summers were always the time when I was determined to lose a bunch of weight and show up the next year looking H-O-T. (Also dreaming that I would shrink a bit, but knew that was extremely unlikely.) Of course, summer fun takes over, and I didn't exercise or starve myself and never ended up looking any different. So going into a new school year, my self esteem was always at it's lowest. I never looked like any of the other girls. I never looked like any of my friends. I was too big. I was too tall. I stood out too much. I was so desperate to be like everyone else, in every way possible. This made my high school years filled with anxiety and depression. Such a waste...

The problem is... I guess I wasn't meant to fit it. And that is just clicking with me now. As much as I want to conform to "the norm", I can't. I will always be taller than most men, and bigger than most women.

I'm not a sweet, petite woman whom you can carry in case of a swoon. (Not that that is a bad thing. I would love to small enough to be carried around, like in some trashy romance novel.)

I am strong. I am independent. (Should I say "I AM WOMAN!" here?)

Anyways, the point that I'm trying to make is that I am on a journey of self-acceptance here. While I am exercising and eating healthier, I am trying to accept and take care of what God has given me. He doesn't make mistakes, so He must have made me freakishly tall for a reason. He must have made me "sturdy" for a reason. I guess I have to find out the reason.

(But I wouldn't mind, if on the journey to acceptance and healthy living, I became slightly more waif-ish. I really want to swoon and be carried to safety someday.)

Today

2010-02-18T18:50:00.003-05:00

A couple of things to say/ things I've been thinking:

- I've been watching Olympic skiing and snowboarding for the past few days. While it is interesting and inspiring, all I can think about is how much I want a blue sno-cone.

Do you see those blue lines? They look just like blue raspberry sno-cones. *Sigh* I wish it were summer.

- I have polygamist hair today, and there's not much that I'm willing to do about it. I'm rocking a braided bun, and a poof on the top. I didn't realized how 3rd wife-ish I looked until I was about to go out. Oh well.
-I've realized that you never get too old to say: "You're not my mom. You can't tell me what to do."

-We've been watching a lot of Olympics, like I said. Usually during the finals of any given event, we debate if JM will have to salute/bow to me if USA beats Canada or I'll have to salute/bow to him if Canada beats USA. We haven't followed through yet, but I think he owes me about 10 salutes.

-Opinions please... What are some good at home workout videos? I've got a couple, but I'm getting bored. I need some options until the weather starts warming up.

Still Going Strong

2010-02-15T20:34:00.003-05:00

I haven't given up my New Year's resolutions yet! Can you believe it? I've made a lot of changes to how I take care of myself. I really wanted to get healthier this year, and I'm doing much better than I was last year. A couple of things that I've been doing well:

1. Drinking 100+ ounces of water, depending on how long I workout that day.
2. Exercising 5 times a week for at least 45 minutes.
3. Switching to whole wheat bread. (It's so hard to give up that white bread.)
4. Eating out only once a week.
5. Eating more fruit.

Some things that I should improve:

1. Not putting cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar on said wheat bread. I'm truly my mother's daughter.
2. Not using the excuse that I NEED to eat more apple crisp because I had no fruit that week. (Whoops.)
3. Eating healthy meals all day, only to eat delicious chips for an hour straight. Chips are my weakness.

Overall, I'm feeling really good. I have a lot more energy and more endurance. Hopefully I can keep this going!

Pathetic

2010-02-08T12:36:00.003-05:00

It's sad that all I can think about is how much I miss cable. I discovered a love for a whole bunch of new shows. Our cable had OnDemand service, and I found about 4 or 5 shows that I want to keep watching, but now I can't. (Most of them are on break now anyways, but still...)

1. True Blood

I loved the books, and the series is a little more dramatic, which always makes for a good Sunday evening.

2. Six Feet Under

HBO Canada was replaying the whole series, and I fell in love. I saw the whole series, except for the last episode!!! AHHH!!! So... frustrating.

3. United State of Tara

I had not even heard of this show, and they put Season 1 OnDemand, and I started watching one day when I was bored. It's so clever...

4. Nurse Jackie

This one seems more realistic to me, more so than a lot of TV shows. Well, parts of it, anyways. It's about an ER nurse with a serious prescription drug addiction.

5. And we can't forget about Dexter. It's right up there with The X-Files. How sick and twisted am I?

I'm too poor to have such expensive TV taste.

Take a look, if you've got a minute.

That's Totally What I Was Going For

2010-01-29T12:50:00.004-05:00

Me (still wearing hair towel, finishing makeup): How does it look?

Him (glancing up from the computer): Um... You look like those people from that one movie.

Me: Uh... That could be a wide range of characters.

Him: You know. Pirates of the, whatever.

Me: You're saying that I look like a pirate? My makeup is pirateish?!?

Him: Oh, uh... That thing on your head looks like a pirate... Uh... Your makeup looks... nice.

Me: Right...

Parting Ways

2010-01-25T15:30:00.005-05:00

It had to happen. I'd been putting it off for far too long. I loved you. I still love you. But you are not good for me. It's hard to imagine my life without you, but I know that it's something I just have to do. We have to break up.

You know things haven't been well with us at home. Ever since the "other man" left me in December, it hasn't been the same. I feel a hole in my life without him, and he won't be coming back until September. There's just no point to "us" without him. I don't want to hurt you, but there are millions of other women out there for you.
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Anyways... you're much too expensive. I mean, we only get basic cable and I feel like you're way, way overpriced. Compared with American cable... Well, let's face it. You can't compare with American cable. You have to steal most of their shows and channels.

So, goodbye. I can't say that I won't miss you. But I'll only miss you because I'm often incredibly bored.

Ack!

2010-01-25T15:24:00.001-05:00

It's too overwhelming to try and play catch-up from the last time I posted. (Whoops!) So I'm just going to pretend that the 3-4 month break never happened, and continue on as normal.

Thanks!

P.S. It feels so good to get that off of my chest.

Don't Put That in Your Mouth

2009-10-15T11:59:00.006-04:00

Have you seen the commercial for the Nicorette Inhaler? I have seen it too many times to count. Here's the only version I can find.

All I can think of is "Why is that man putting a tampon in his mouth?"

Doesn't it look just like a tampon?

Can you imagine?

Man: Honey, I need a cigarette so bad. Quitting smoking is just so hard.
Wife: I heard that keeping something in your mouth really helps.
Man: Really? That could work. I don't have anything...
Wife: Oooh! I know. Let me see... (Rummages in purse) Here!
(Hands husband a tampon.)
Man: Well... I was thinking more along the lines of a sucker. But... a tampon would work. I guess. Should I take out the cotton part?

Things I love: Week 1

2009-10-07T14:58:00.002-04:00

Things I Love This Week

1. Reawakened, sore muscles from diligent exercising
2. The Smart Canucks. They save me so much money!
3. Red hair. I love it. I'm not so sure about the red hair on me yet, but we'll see.
4. Sweatshirt weather! I'm so happy to whip out all of my hoodies. I'm not ready for coat weather, so Fall, hang on as long as you can!
5. Carrot cake.
6. Aspirin Masks. Cheap and oh so effective.
7. Shoulder massages. See #1.
8. To-do lists!

What do you especially love this week?

More Small Updates to Love

2009-08-20T13:04:00.006-04:00

Firstly, I must rant. I am sadly addicted to the reality show, More to Love. I'm assuming that you know that this show is about 20 or so plus-size girls competing for the love of one lucky fella. Even though I can't stop watching, I find it even more sad/pathetic than The Bachelor, which I hate. But at least the skinny girls think that there is someone else out there who will love them. Most of these poor girls from More to Love, honestly believe that if they don't get chosen by this man, then that is the end. They will end up alone and probably with a lot of cats. Because they think, who else is going to love the fat girl? The ladies always talk about how they like Luke, because he doesn't care about their outside, only the inside. This shocks me. Don't they want someone who thinks they're attractive?

"I, uh, don't really like... uh, fatness... But I'm willing to overlook it, cuz you're super nice and funny."

Granted, Luke didn't say anything like that. And in fact, he likes his ladies a little bigger. That's just what I imagine someone saying in my head after hearing these girls talk. But to say that you want someone who doesn't care what you look like on the outside? No... All girls want to feel like they're beautiful. Maybe I'm just reading into what they're saying too much. (But they say it like every 5 minutes!!!)
In other news, my summer has been pretty uneventful. We've been going to a bunch of summer festivals, which is my favorite part of summer. This weekend is the South Asian Bazaar and the Chinatown festival. We're also going to a screening of a long trailer of Avatar. It had better be good, for us to drag out butts over there for a 15 minute trailer.

Have you guys heard of Old Navy Weekly? It's a site that you have to click all over to find discount coupons to Old Navy, and it updates new coupons every week. Ever since discovering the site, I have been going crazy. To get the good coupons ($75 off 100!!) you've got to be fast. That means getting on the site as soon as it updates, which is usually Thursday night. I haven't won a $75 coupon yet, but I have won $50 off $100, which is not too bad at all. I really shouldn't tell you all this, because that means less coupons to find, but I can't help but share the love! It's Thursday today, so I am getting excited!!

Lastly, I'm just missing my family. :( I love you guys!

Dear Diary;

2009-07-26T01:14:00.007-04:00

Can a journal be too personal? In theory, journals and diaries are just for you to get your feelings out of your brain and on to paper. But won't someone else besides you read your journal eventually? Does that make sense?

I've been writing in a journal off and on since I was twelve or so. I usually do pretty good for a week or two, then forget about it for six months. Repeat this cycle for ten years and here I am. Looking back on old journals, it seems like I only write in it when I'm super angry or depressed, or dying to share something uber-personal... (Or when I'm feeling fat and want to write down new goals.) *Ahem*

If I died today and my family read my journal, I'm sure I would die all over again of embarrassment. So if my children or grandchildren of the future read my journals, will they think I'm completely off? I don't want my future fam to think that I had such a depressing, angered life. Because I don't have a depressing/angered life. Maybe I should start writing happier things, and write when I'm not in a bad mood.

But if I write for someone else to read, doesn't that defeat the purpose of a personal journal?

My last entry in my journal was on July 7th, 2009. And I ranted about how I hated cleaning. Is that really a good use of paper? Does that give an honest glimpse into my life? Not really. I don't really hate cleaning. I'm just lazy. If I weren't so lazy, I wouldn't mind cleaning so much. I was just in a bad mood that day. Anyways, this one journal entry might give the impression to future readers that I am an angry, unclean, depressed person.

Maybe I should put in my will that no one is getting anything from my estate until my old journals are burned in front of my lawyer.

Then again, those entries that are happy... I don't want those to go away. For example, my birthday: May 4, 2007. JM and I had been together for about 8 months.

"Probably the best birthday I've ever had. We didn't do anything huge. Went to Wendy's (my idea) and saw Spiderman 3. Got some late night pizza and carrot cake from Future's. Oh yeah, and I got my ring today! He picked it out all by himself, and it's so cute. (I go on for awhile about this)... But I think the main reason it was so good was that I felt so loved, so important. So #1! I can't wait to marry him! If I ever get frustrated with life, I'm just going to remember today... I will feel tons better."

It all sounds so cheesy, I know. But reading this entry does make me happy. I think maybe I should make more of an effort to write down non-venting, happy things. And not for future kids. For me. So that I can read my old journals, and have happy, cheesy, butterfly feelings in my stomach. You can never get too much of those.

Meet The Time Traveler

2009-07-24T15:31:00.005-04:00

I love my neighborhood. There is an interesting mix of people here, myself included. Since we don't have a car, we walk everywhere, and therefore get to see these characters almost everyday. We have nicknames for many of them. Would you like an introduction? Alright...

First off, we have "Fat Cat." He's my favorite cat to pet as we walk to the store. He's big, fat, fluffy, and has the lowest pitch meow I've ever heard. I talk and he talks back. I know where he lives, and he always runs out when I walk by his house.
Next is "Mr. F-U." He is usually hanging out by the 7-11, but is often seen stealing rolls from the bakery. If he asks for change and you don't give him any, his response is usually some variation of "F*^& you." Lovely, right? He's also been known to sit in the library and yell random things until the librarian bribes him to leave. Five to ten dollars will usually get him going.
Next is "Stalker Lady", also known as "Yelling Woman." You see, sometimes she follows us around. Sometimes when she follows us around she yells a lot. And she doesn't speak English, so I'm not really sure what she's saying, or if she's saying it to us.

(No image for this one, I can't even begin to describe what she looks like.)

One my favorites is "The Time Traveler." He is an older gentleman who dresses like he was from the 1800s. He seems very polite and both JM and I think he seemed like he was from a different time. We like to see him walking about, and like to imagine that he is taking a stroll before running back to his time machine.
The neighborhood is mostly made up of normal people though. But normal people are boring. And boring people don't get nicknames, because I don't remember the normal, boring people. This just makes me realize how much I don't want to be boring or normal.

The Weekend in Google Images

2009-07-19T00:22:00.004-04:00

We didn't take many pictures this weekend, so I thought I could give a visual of my weekend via Google Images.

First off was a nice walk to downtown Toronto. We saw a lot of this.
And this...
Did I ever mention that the Toronto trash collecters are on strike? Along with all the other Toronto city employees? Yeah... it sucks.

Garbage is obviously hunger-inducing, so we went to get...

We headed home and watched an episode of:
I love this show.

Saturday, we headed out to the Harbourfront to check out this festival.

It was... different.

Next was a Mexico Festival, where there was Mexican wrestling starring this guy:

We came home and made:and watched an episode of

(We have a free month of TMN OnDemand. Can you tell?)

We realized that we both got a bit...
I guess we were watching Mexican wrestling longer than I thought.

I managed to make dinner, which was...

The rest of the evening was(Don't ask me. I type "uneventful" in Google and this is what I get.)

I hope your weekend was fun like mine!

Love,
(For more info on the ever-lovely Bonny, click here.)

What is Going On?

2009-07-12T17:03:00.004-04:00

I've been a bit overwhelmed with life, and have not had the energy to update the blog, but I must tell my beautiful niece, Novalee, Happy Birthday!

She turned eight today, and I can't believe it. I remember when she was born, I just knew that she was going to grow up and be a supermodel or something. She is so beautiful. And she's smart, too. How did I luck out so much to have such an amazing niece?

Anyways, Happy Birthday! I love you!

(I'm still working on the cat thing. I've almost got him where I want him.)

WANTED: Cute Kitty. Raccoons Need Not Apply

2009-06-15T17:20:00.009-04:00

I love animals. But I love cats especially. I think that staying in Utah where I was surrounded by cats wherever I went made me want a cat of my own. When we walk to the store or to the subway or wherever, and we see a cat wandering through our neighborhood, I can't help but stop and pet it. I think that this is getting JM to see how nice it will be to have a cat. He's never had a pet. Ever... How sad is that?

Anyways, we were walking to the subway last week, and I saw the cutest cat just sitting on someone's porch. I could only see the porch from where I was, because the yard was blocked from my view by some hedges. Of course, upon seeing any cat, I immediately move my voice a couple of octaves higher and say "Come here, kitty, kitty." I continued to walk on the sidewalk next to the yard, so I could get a better look at the cat, and so I could eventually crouch down to pet the cat. I had just past the last hedge, still calling the cat to me, when I looked down and saw what I, at first, thought was another cat. But upon looking closer, I realized that this "cat" was sitting on it's back legs and eating something with it's hands. It wasn't a cat, but a raccoon. And it was giving me a dirty look. I had to forgo petting the cat, which probably wouldn't have risked walking past the raccoon. And I was sad, and annoyed that JM was laughing at me for trying to call a raccoon to me. We walked quickly away, looking back to make sure that the raccoon wasn't answering my calls. Raccoons are very cute, I've decided. But I've also decided that they are most likely very diseased, too. The only time I ever see raccoons are when they are digging inside the dumpster behind my apartment.

So I've decided that I need my own cat, so I don't almost pet anymore raccoons. I'm trying to find different ways to convince JM that it would be awesome to have a cat. Any ideas?

Logan is Eight?!?!

2009-06-11T13:32:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that my nephew, Logan, is turning eight today. He is making me feel really old.

I had so much fun hanging out with Logan while I was in Utah. He is a super-cool kid. I wish that I could have hid him in my suitcase and brought him back with me!

Happy Birthday, Logan! Have tons of fun at your bounce party!

My Bad

2009-06-08T17:47:00.002-04:00

I haven't updated in a long time. I've felt bad, but not bad enough to anything about it. And I haven't commented on all of the blogs that I've been reading. I've wanted to, but my fingers just wouldn't type anything! I'll be better, I promise.

Let's see where did I leave off...

I was looking for a job and staying with Crystal, and missing JM a lot. Well, I got a job shortly after my last post. An incredibly low-paying job. I only worked there for approximately three weeks before quitting. I missed JM too much, and came back to Toronto at the beginning of May. It's nice to be home, but now I'm missing my family a lot! It was so much fun to stay with Crystal and her kids. Thanks again, Crystal!

I missed a lot of events that I would normally blog about. Here's a summary of things that I should have been saying.

Kathy's birthday was in April. She went to Wendover with my dad for the night, and I got house/dog sit for them. They have a huge great dane named Lily, and a terrier mix named Taz. They were great company and I think that Kathy and my dad came back a bit refreshed!

My mom had her graduation and my grandad came up from Mesa to go to it. I was so proud of her! I almost started to cry when she walked out!

I also missed my own birthday post. I turned 25 and am officially feeling quite old, although it seems like I just graduated from high school.

Katrina turned old on May 3, the day before my birthday. We all went to Olive Garden for a joint birthday party/graduation party. It was fun making Gunnar stick breadsticks up his nose. We had another joint birthday party at my dad's the next day. There was "a huge feed," including hamburgers, hot dogs, enchiladas, and various snacks. It was a lot of fun.

Mother's day came and went. I have a fabulous mother and an awesome step-mother. Everyone should be so lucky! Love you Mom and Kathy!

Robert's birthday was at the end of May. I'm pretty sure that he also turned old this year. I wasn't there for his birthday, so I hope that he had a fab party!

Happy Birthday you guys!

I think that's all the celebratory blogs that I should have written. I'll write more details of my Utah adventures later.

As a side note:
JM and I were taking a Sunday stroll yesterday and I noticed a flyer for a garage sale. I'm not sure why I stopped to take a look, since there are lots of flyers everywhere.

"Garage Sale

Saturday May 30

Address: -------

9-3

Lot of stuff, including furniture, clothes, appliances, etc."

I guess that it's your average garage sale flyer, except for at the bottom it said:

"FREE POT WITH EVERY PURCHASE." Next to that statement was an illustration of a cannibus leaf.

Classic...

Did You Eat A Lot of Paint Chips as a Kid?

2009-04-02T00:30:00.010-04:00

The past month has been hectic, yet boring. I find that I have plenty of time to write blogs, but not enough brain capacity to write something worth reading. Example: This blog entry.

I am still looking for a job! Who would have thunk that it would have taken me so long? While I wait for future employers to reject my applications, I have been doing several things to keep me busy:

-Helped my sister paint her kitchen. It was not as easy as expected, and I got paint in places where one should not get paint. Also, it taught me to never paint in a room with no fresh air. Crystal and I inhaled a bit too much of the paint fumes. I'm hoping that there was no brain damage.

-Listened to my sister's cat go in and out of heat. This cat, coincidentally named Hannah Montana, has been having an incestuous affair with her "brother" (not related by blood), Jackson. It is quite the scandal in the Maia household. She will be getting fixed very soon, as should all creatures named Hannah Montana.-Went shopping with my mom. This should not be done often. It has been said, that when going shopping with my mother, one spends too much money. I should remember this the next time we go bargain shopping. (Seriously, I always get really cute stuff when going shopping with my mom. I must spend money.)

-Helped my dad sort papers and receipts from the past fifty years. One never knows when a receipt from Olive Garden in 1996 will be needed. (Thanks for keeping me company, Dad!)

-Experienced the joy that is Disney on Ice. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Gunnar, dressed as Stitch, chase after Logan with Peter Pan laser swords around the Delta Center. (Oh wait, Energy Solutions Arena.)-Lastly, I have been ruining Crystal's healthy eating by encouraging as much junk food and late nights as possible. The photo below was taken much too late just before a run to Iceberg for much too large shakes, so it's good that the picture is mucho blurry.
Keep your fingers crossed for a good job for me! Love you guys!

Not Again

2009-03-19T15:27:00.003-04:00

Well, I did it again. It was my dad's birthday on Sunday. He turned, like... really old. This is a picture that I found of him, taken when he wasn't so old.

For his birthday, he was nice enough to share the celebrating with his kids by taking us all to Disney on Ice. My dad enjoys taking us to all things Disney. It's his inner kid coming out. My nieces and nephews had so much fun.

So, Happy Birthday Dad! I guess you're not really that old.

Not an Excuse, But an Explanation

2009-03-11T10:12:00.004-04:00

Little Miss Julia has infected me with an awful cold. (And Crystal, please stop apologizing. It's not your fault!) But my brain has turned to mush, and I neglected to post about my mom's birthday!

She turned 29 last Saturday... *Ahem*

She went to Mesquite to get all massaged and to lay out by the pool with some of her friends from work. For which, I am completely and totally jealous.

Did you know that my mom will be finished with her last class to get her Master's degree tonight? How awesome is it that she's getting it all done at the ripe old age of... 29? *cough*

Anyways, happy birthday Mom. I love you and I'm glad that you got to relax in the sun, while I suffered in the cold. (I'm really not bitter at all.)

(BTW, Mom, I almost posted about what you used to say when we were going through the reservation on our way to Mesa and were being too loud. I decided against that. Do I get some sort of reward for that?)

I Believe the Children Are Our Future

2009-03-04T01:45:00.005-05:00

I've spent a lot of my time hanging out with my nieces and nephews. And I've had so much fun. We've played a lot of hide and seek, lava monster, and Wii. Also, Julia did my hair and makeup on Friday, for which I was ever so grateful.

"Bonny, you are going to look so rock star. You look so much better than before."

She is an amazing artist. She drew a house on one cheek, and a person on the other cheek, shown below. She made sure to have a good base of bright pink blush and plenty of bronzer. I'm pretty sure it's going to be the next trend in makeup artistry.

Today, I hung out with Katrina and her kids. Harley came with us to get some sticky fingers from Wingers. Bring on the wet-naps!

I'm looking forward to lots more play-dates with the kids!

One Week

2009-03-02T10:19:00.003-05:00

I'm here in Utah and all settled, somewhat. It's been good to see my family.

But I forgot to write about how much I loved the movie One Week! It was totally Canadian, with Canadian references about every 5 minutes, but very clever and funny. The music in the movie is awesome, and apparently by all Canadian artists. It's about a man who finds out he has stage 4 cancer. He is just thinking about life, in general, and decides to go on a road trip from Toronto to Vancouver before he starts chemotherapy. I'm not sure if it's even being released in the States In that case, you might have to wait until it's on DVD.

Reality Bites

2009-02-24T15:01:00.008-05:00

I'm going to keep it short today. I need to purge, though. I'm leaving in a few days, and both of us are moping around, and feeling generally sad. We don't do well, being apart. Thinking of leaving puts knots in my stomach, and immediate tears in my eyes. Life seems easier when we are together, and I will miss him a lot. But I've already set up a temporary phone in Utah, so we can talk about seven hours a day, as usual.

Wish me luck this week! Let's hope that I get a case of dry eye. I hate crying in public.

Here We Go Again

2009-02-19T17:01:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm off to Utah again next week. JM is staying in Toronto, and I'm off to Salt Lake. I'm excited to see my family again, but will miss JM a lot. We both have a hard time when I leave, but hopefully this will be the last time that we separate for longer than a week or two.

When I'm in town, I seriously want to get together with all of you people that I keep saying "We should get together!". Just know that I have a phone phobia, and if I don't end up calling, it's not you. It's me. For real. I do much better with emails and/or Facebook and even in person, so let's plan on communicating that way. I tend to be very awkward when it comes to personal calls, probably because I am slightly socially retarded. Anyways, email me so we can rehash old times, and bring back all of my painful, adolescent memories. Er... I mean, bring back the memories of the best years of my life...

...

Meanwhile, for my last week in Canada, I have a lovely case of probable bronchitis. I get this at least once a year, and it makes me completely miserable. I have the ugliest cough known to man. It has often been compared to a seal barking. And I can totally understand how it would sound like that. (I keep going off on these incredibly boring tangents, and I'm so sorry.) I really wanted to enjoy my last week here with JM, and my cough is preventing me from even going outside. But I'm going to try to make it to the screening of One Wee k tonight. It looks pretty good, and I got free passes too. I'm worried about coughing and having everybody glare at me, though. Also this weekend is the IceFest Festival, where I guess they're having a bunch of ice sculptures and ice sculpting competitions. I really want to go, but the cold air might not be the best for my poor lungs.

That's a basic rundown of what going on. I hope to see some of you in the next month or two!

I Heart Michael-Aidan-John Corbett-Smith

2009-02-14T14:53:00.008-05:00

Last month, we upgraded our cable. I now had the Food Network, and I am in love. I've had it before, but have never fully appreciated it until now. My favorite show is "Chef at Home," hosted by Michael Smith. I have a foodie-crush on Michael Smith. He's six foot seven. He makes the most delish-looking food and he looks and sounds just like Aidan from "Sex in the City." Can you see the resemblance? Here's Michael Smith.

Here's Aidan, AKA John Corbett. (I never understood why Carrie would choose Mr. Big. Aidan was obviously the better man.)

I'm being lazy, again. I want you to fall in love with Michael Smith, too. Here's him talking about food.

(Even with Mr. Smith being all cook-y and so tall, he has nothing next to JM!)

Should Put Title Here

2009-02-10T14:13:00.005-05:00

It's been an incredibly stressful/busy couple of weeks. I've not had a lot of time to write. And our computer has been out of commission for awhile, and it's finally fixed! I've got some posts rolling around in my head, hopefully to be posted later this week.

Meanwhile, here's a somewhat oldie of me and Betty, in honor of Valentine's Day. Enjoy!

Julia Gulia

2009-02-03T14:01:00.005-05:00

My dear niece, Julia, turns five today. She is Crystal's youngest daughter/child, and she is so sassy! I haven't seen her for almost six months, and from what I hear she is getting so tall!

I just realized that I've missed most of my nieces and nephews birthdays for the past three years. That sucks. I love going to kid birthday parties. They're much more exciting than adult birthday parties. So have a fun birthday party, Julia. I am guessing that it's either a Disney princess party or a Hannah Montana party. (But I could be totally wrong.)

I love you!

Old Man Winter Is Kicking My Pasty White... Butt

2009-01-28T12:48:00.006-05:00

A brilliant junior high school friend once said, "Mr. Hart can kiss my pasty white ass." This statement has stuck with me for quite awhile. One reason is, Mr. Hart was a smart but difficult math teacher, who I often wished would kiss someone's butt, so I that I could point and laugh at him. Another thing is that I while don't really like getting images of other people's extra white butts, making references to my white butt or other people's white butts really seems to get people interested. Which is why I like to use the phrase as often as possible. In this case, picturing Old Man Winter kicking my sun-deprived bare butt into a huge pile of snow, really gives a graphic mental picture that I hope won't leave anyone's head anytime soon.

It has been brutally cold lately, but we haven't had any major snow situations for a couple of weeks now. It's been so cold, that even thinking about going outside, just makes me want to put on another sweatshirt. So I try not to look outside as much as possible, so I can pretend that it's probably summerish outside.

But I just looked outside for the first time today. (Sad, I know.) And there is so much freakin' snow! I mean, when I was out last night, there was just remnant ice all over. And now the roads are white, snow plows are swarming the streets, and I don't see many people on the streets. My plans for wearing shorts and flip-flops to the grocery store are completely gone. Good thing that I went to the grocery store last night, and now I won't have to leave my apartment for at least two more days.

I'm so sick of winter. Winter can kiss my pasty white... Oh wait. We've already been over this.

The Most Fabulous Harley

2009-01-20T13:08:00.004-05:00

My beautiful niece, Harley, is turning six today. I can hardly believe how old she is getting. See how little she used to be? Well, check her out now.

She's practically an adult. (And this picture is almost a year old, too!)

And she's hil-arious. Beautiful, funny, and clever? What more can you ask for from a six year old?

I don't know. Ask her mom. Happy Birthday Harley! I love you!

Really? I Can?

2009-01-20T12:38:00.003-05:00

I just finished watching President Obama's inaugural address. I couldn't help but feeling inspired and hopeful for the future. Is that naive of me? Perhaps. But I don't care! I've never felt so inspired to help and to do my part to serve my country. And I guess that's what makes a difference. If enough people want to make a change, change will come. And that why I love America. Anything is possible.

"Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."

-President Obama

She'll Always Remember

2009-01-19T09:20:00.006-05:00

JM and I had a good laugh while watching CNN this morning and they were recapping the Inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial. They were showing pictures of the Obama family watching the concert. All I could see was the kid in the background who was sleeping.

It was a different picture than this, but it was all I could find. Here's a close up.

I mean, this little girl is OUT cold. It just goes to show you that some babies can sleep anywhere.

I'm So Bad

2009-01-14T12:56:00.003-05:00

Seriously... I am such a lazy butt. And I'm having a huge brain fart. I keep thinking about things that I want to write about while I'm cooking or doing the dishes, and when I actually sit down to write something, my mind goes blank. So I'll just do some word vomiting, just to get the process flowing. (I love using bodily functions to describe things other than bodily functions. It gives such a great mental image.)

Ahem...

This new year really got me going. I did the whole resolution thing. Workout, eat better, clean more, blah, blah, blah. And I've been good so far. I've kicked out carbonation, have only eaten out once, worked out a lot, cleaning... not so much. Oh well. I really wanted a change this year, so last weekend, I freaked out. On my hair. I chopped it off and colored it red. I know, I know. It's drastic, but I was beyond bored with it. It's not as bad as it sounds. I kind of like it. It's nice for a change. I'll post a picture as soon as I take one. Who knows when that will be.

JM got me an mp3 player for Christmas, and I'm finding that I'm much more enthusiastic about cleaning when I wear it. I told this to him, and now I'm finding my mp3 player strategically placed around my messy apartment. I shouldn't give him so many details. He's using my words against me.

My computer has been acting wonky since Christmastime. I think we need to take it to get all cleaned out. It's been hard to get online for the past couple of weeks, which is another reason why I've not been updating as much. But on the bright side, with the computer out of commission, I've been getting a lot more done.

I've got nothing more. That's it. All I can think about is the Wendy's Chili that I'm going to make tonight. Yum...

Too Long

2009-01-02T12:19:00.006-05:00

I haven't written in forever. It's not that I was busy. It was more that I was enjoying the holidays with JM, and didn't stop to think to write. He had a couple of days off of work, and it was so nice to spend time together without thinking about his job.

Our Christmas went really well. We had my family's tradtional breakfast: cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and juice. (Normally, we have corned beef hash too, but I couldn't find it anywhere here.) Then we spent the rest of the day watching movies and playing with the stuff that we got for Christmas.

I dragged JM out of bed at 5:30 to go shopping for Boxing Day. He didn't complain or anything. (Well, not that much!) We got some really good deals, and came home exhausted.

I introduced JM to Jelly Belly jelly beans. I love Jelly Bellys. They are, indeed, a superior jelly bean. And no, they weren't Bernie Botts beans either.

We bought too much stuff that we didn't need, including tons of clearance Christmas candy, a 3 foot long box of cookies, and a jumbo universal remote that I can't program. (It was only 99 cents. I couldn't resist.)
Nothing too exciting happened. I missed my family a lot. I am crossing my fingers for spending Christmas with everyone I love next year.

Oh, and JM and I think we see our ghost in this picture that I took.
Can you see it? Or are we just paranoid?

Almost Ready

2008-12-17T09:41:00.017-05:00

We're all done decorating for Christmas. We don't have very many decorations, but we're starting to build a small collection.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I am pretty much ready except for the Christmas cards I need to send out to family. (Which I really need to get on. Mail is slow here.)

We made a gingerbread house from a kit my dad sent last week. (Thanks Dad!) It turned out rather sad, though.

I've never been good at making frosting in general. In this case, all I had to do was add water, and I still ruined it. Oh well...It didn't look too bad next to our mini tree.

One week to go! Merry Christmas!

Pause for A Moment of Hysteria

2008-12-15T14:26:00.010-05:00

There is this gift bag that is stalking me. I swear that it is. I keep putting it away and it always ends up back on the kitchen table. I'm not exactly sure who or what is doing this. *cough* JM.*cough* (He's trying to drive me crazy, I think.) I normally wouldn't mind it too much, but it is starting to freak me out. Hopefully, you'll understand what I'm talking about after you see this picture.

You still don't get it? At first glance, this Superman bag might seem harmless. But it's childish fun is so very deceptive. I'm finding that I'm being stared at while eating breakfast and it's very disturbing.

His piercing blue eyes won't let go of mine. I can't look away. During meals, I would just stare and stare. JM would look at me like I was crazy. But I'm not crazy. I mean, Superman is obviously staring at me!

Can't you feel yourself being sucked in, too? Even as I write this post, I feel like it's watching me.

Which is why I just hid that bag in the cupboard under the sink. It will never be seen again. Sorry, Superman.

It's All About the Layers

2008-12-12T14:40:00.008-05:00

When will I learn that it is cold in Canada? I mean, I know that it is cold, but I don't know remember how to dress properly for the cold sometimes. A couple of nights ago, we were going to the grocery store for a couple of things and I thought that I dress appropriately. I wore some heavy jeans, thick socks, boots, a long sleeve t-shirt, a jacket, wool coat and a hat. Apparently this was simply not enough to keep out the cold. I was freezing!!! So last night, when we were going to go out, I prepared my self.

First layer: My favorite warm pajama pants.

Next were a pair of capri pajama pants. Hey, I'm working with what I've got. And that is TOTALLY me in the picture, BTW.
Finally, after that I wore my basic jeans.

On top: Old Navy long sleeve thermal shirt.
On top of that was my Pirates of the Caribbean t-shirt from Disneyland.

I wore what JM likes to call my "ghetto" jacket.

All covered up by my generic wool pea coat. I also wore my scarf, hat, fake Uggs from Target, and two pairs of socks.

The final product:

The only thing I forgot was gloves. But I was still warm.

All of this for a 10-15 minute walk and back. *sigh*

Random Samplings of My Early Years

2008-12-10T15:57:00.008-05:00

As a child, I secretly wanted to marry Michael Jackson. Well, maybe it wasn't such a secret, as my sisters would tease me constantly about this. It should be noted, that this is when Michael Jackson was still very attractive and not ghost-like. *sigh* Those were the days.

I have two older sisters. They were very bossy and never cleaned their (or my) room. This is why they deserved it when I would discipline them with a wooden spoon.

I became horribly afraid of bees as a child, and it has never worn off.

Once, I asked for homework to do over the Christmas break. I was such a nerd. I think I ended up doing a report on cheetahs. Dork...

My favorite pet every, was Nana. She was named after the dog in Peter Pan, and was part Great Dane. She was loads of fun. One of my best memories of her was when we all sat around watching Nana carefully play tug of war with Crystal's pants until they were ripped off. I'm sure there are pictures around here somewhere... When I was eight, Nana "did not have enough room to run around," she was "taken to a farm when she would play with other Great Danes and have lots of space to run." I was so sad, but happy that she would be happier. It was when I was NINETEEN, my sister was talking about how sad it was that Nana had cancer (or something) and had to be put to sleep. "WHAT?!?!" Nobody told me that! I had pictured her running in fields of daisies for so many years. Lies and deceit! Shameful...

We moved to Orem, Utah when I was ten. It was so exciting to live in a place with not only fast food restaurants, but with stoplights and a city full of elevators! Oh, how I loved elevators. (Now, they're avoided at all cost. I say that it's for my health, but really, I feel kind of claustrophobic in them.

I learned how to ride public transit from my grandma at age twelve. We rode to the mall and back. It was terrifying. Little did I know, that public transportation would become the only way I would get around. Thanks, Grandma Rena. You were so smart.

As a pre-teen, I thought I was pretty clever. I found a bunch of funny quotes, and printed them out in "cool" fonts. I cut them out and taped them all over the walls in my room. My sister moved back home and into my room, and didn't like them at all. I guess that they made the room look like a garage sale. (Huh?)

This same sister once stopped me mid-sentence and said "You know, Bonny, when you start talking, I stop listening." I was horribly offended, and she felt so bad. I like to remind her of when she said this as often as possible. (It's true that I did ramble on and talk very fast. It was hard to keep up sometimes.)

Christmas Movies

2008-12-07T16:16:00.007-05:00

First of all, I sincerely thank everyone who commented on my last post. I didn't write that, expecting responses like that, but it sure was nice. So, thanks. You guys make me cry!

The Christmas season has been very busy around here, so far. The stores are all stuffed full, the malls are stuffy and crowded, so we're trying to stay out of these places as much as possible. On Friday night, we stayed home and watched my Disney Christmas DVD. It has short movies on it, including The Small One, Pluto's Christmas Tree, and Mickey's Christmas Carol. Has everyone seen these movies? We used to watch these movies often during Christmas time and watching them now instantly takes me back to sitting next to the tree at our little house in St. Johns, Arizona.

As JM and I were watching Mickey's Christmas Carol together on Friday, JM looked at me and laughed. "This is a kids' movie! You're just a big kid!" I guess that it's true. It's hard for him to get into the movie when it's not attached to any memories. Just like I can't really get into the stupid cartoons that are on right now. But I could watch Garfield or the Ghostbuster's cartoon and really enjoy it... Tangent. Sorry.

We had a VHS tape growing up, that was filled with recorded Christmas movies. I think that it had It's a Wonderful Life, One Magic Christmas, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (although it wasn't the clay-mation one, it was just a regular cartoon), and The Nutcracker Fantasy. I'm not sure why my mom decided to put these specific movies together, but I love them.

Anyways, these are my absolute favorite Christmas movies. If you get a second, and need some Christmas cheer, here's the full video for the version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that is my favorite.

Enjoy!

My Jumbled-Up, Self-Absorbed Post

2008-12-05T13:26:00.008-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about life in general, so pardon my spiel.

I would say that my life is very different than it was five years ago. Five years ago, I was going to UVSC, living with roommates in Orem, and was working hard at a crappy job. I was scared of the future and confused about life in general. Now, it's all changed. I'm not the same. I have different views and some different beliefs. Isn't that how everyone is? Can people really live life and say that they're the same person that they used to be?I know some people don't like the changes that I have made in my life. And I understand that. But it still stings. And I've lost a couple of friendships. And a lot of it is my fault. I've been so afraid that people will not like me now, that I didn't share myself with them.

But I'm not completely different. I still love my family and friends. I adore my nieces and nephews. I'm still an X-Files freak. My nostrils still flare when I laugh too hard. I'm still shy and awkward with people I don't know. Animal Cops still makes me cry. I still love a cheesy romance novel, and am obsessed with all things Scottish.

Here I am now. I'm in a different country, to be with the man I love. We're engaged with no date even close to being set. It's not the perfect situation or life, but I'm happy. I'm excited for the future and excited to see what I'll learn in five more years. And that's something that I couldn't say five years ago.

I'm Cheap (In More Ways Than One) ;)

2008-12-04T08:55:00.009-05:00

There hasn't been anything too exciting going on lately, but I'll give you a rundown on all of the boring stuff.

-Even though we missed shopping on "Black Friday," we did get some good shopping deals over the weekend. We went to Old Navy and got a bunch of super cheap clothes and then went to Sears and got an almost free kitchen grill ($4!!!).

-I discovered that they recently opened a Bath and Body works in Toronto! I love their cheap lotion sales.

- I also got an excellent deal on Olay body washes. Six for two dollars. I was pretty excited. I love almost free things. And coupons.

- We got our Christmas tree and decorated it. It looks kind of bare, and I need to buy some more ornaments and lights. This was our mini tree from last year. Our new tree is bigger, which is good, but we don't know where to put it.
-Speaking of last year's Christmas, I wrapped a present for the ghost that we think lives in the bathroom, and we think it was happy. (It says "please turn off the sink", because the faucet in the bathroom sink would turn on by itself!) I need to do it again, to keep the ghost happy.
- We went to Toronto's "Cavalcade of Lights." It was tree lighting party, and it was okay. There was lots of cheesy music which included "It's Holiday Time in Toronto." It pretty much just named all of the neighborhood in Toronto and good places to drink beer. The mayor got on stage to give a speech, and everyone booed. I guess people don't like him much. But he was still full of Christmas cheer as he talked about all of the sponsors. Because sponsors are what Christmas is all about!

- I don't understand Canadian politics at all. There was an election for prime minister in October, and the present PM was re-elected. But now the other two political parties that lost decided to join together and try to get the PM out of office. Or something. I'm so confused. I didn't know that was possible.

- Wow, life is pretty boring right now. Hopefully, I'll have something exciting/important to say sometime soon. Although, it is looking to be unlikely.

Thanksgiving Special

2008-11-27T11:59:00.008-05:00

I got tagged to do one of these things by Caroline last week, but I decided to save it for today. I've got to list one gripe and one (or more) things that I'm grateful for. So here we go!

My Gripe: I hate that I can't be with my family during the holidays this year. Today, I'll miss all the kids running around and yelling during dinner. I'll also miss, browsing through ads with my sister and my mom, planning where to get the best deals, and talking the latest gossip. On Christmas, I'll miss the beautiful tree that Kathy will decorate to bring the Christmas spirit. And going to my dad's and having his dog knock everyone over as we try to open presents. And I'll miss the smell of cinnamon rolls at my moms house as the kids play with their new toys. I'll miss the cats running for safety, so that their hair/tails/ears won't get pulled. But if they do get caught, Shadow won't bite. (She's the "nice" one. Cali is the "mean" one.) I'll miss all of these things. These are things that I can't recreate here. Things that I can't bring to my house, as much as I wish that I could.
I'm Grateful for: The chance to start new traditions and new memories with JM. I think that it should be fairly interesting. We did a bit of Christmas celebrating last year, but I wasn't hear for the whole end of December, so it wasn't the same! I've got a lot of plans. This weekend we're going to the tree lighting ceremony and then ice skating. Maybe this can be a new tradition.
I'm Grateful for: Boxing Day! If I don't get "day after Thanksgiving shopping", at least I'll get "day after Christmas" shopping. Supposedly, these sales are just as good. So I'm crossing my fingers, that they really are as good.

I'm Grateful for: the internet! What would I do without it? I wouldn't be able to talk to my family and friends as much as I do. I don't feel as far away, when they are just a phone call, or email away. (See me on the internet below.)I'm Grateful for: a safe country to live in. Canada may not be the U.S., but it's the closest thing to it! As much as a complain about Canada, it is pretty great. There are a lot of great things to do, nice people to see, and they speak English (for the most part.)

Now, there's a lot more that I'm grateful for, but I should start making my replacement Thanksgiving dinner: Buffalo wing and chocolate chip cookies! Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

Explaining Christmas

2008-11-24T09:14:00.006-05:00

First off, the heat is working now! Hooray! I'm so relieved (and warm). Okay... on to the actual post.

JM and I have been together for 2+ years now, but we've never been able to spend Christmas together until this year. Things just have worked out that way, and with airfare prices and the economy sucking a lot, we're not going to be flying out to Utah this year.

JM has never celebrated Christmas in any way until he met me. He been around people that celebrated it, of course, but has never really been involved in the whole Christmas spirit thing. When he was growing up, Eid was his version of Christmas. We sort of celebrated that this year, but I don't really know what you're supposed to do with Eid, so it sort of fell flat. Internet research can only go so far...

You don't have to be Christian to celebrate Christmas, and this year, JM is looking forward to learning more about it. I actually had to explain Santa Claus to him. I mean, he's seen him around, and assumed that Santa had something to do with Christmas, but never really asked about the logistics of it. Wow...

So it's pretty much up to me to make Christmas for our family. I want to make it special this year. I want the air to be dripping with Christmas spirit. So I need some help. What do you do to make it feel like Christmas in your house, and do you have any suggestions for me? Do you bake until you gain ten pounds? Have a ten foot tall Christmas tree? Do you do the whole twelve days of Christmas thing ? Read the nativity story? Or do you shop until you drop?

I'm thinking that simple might be better. Maybe I'll start off with a visit to Santa at the mall. Grown-ups can still sit on Santa's knee, right?

My Crappy Apartment

2008-11-19T16:35:00.006-05:00

My crappy apartment has no heat. NO HEAT!! It has been like this since I moved in. After telling the super that there was no heat, they gave us a space heater. Does anyone actually use these for heat inside? I thought that they were mostly for garages, or log cabins with gas-powered generators. So we used that for the last two winters, and ran around with sweaters on all the time.

But there is a new super in town. He is very nice (and very chatty). We told him again that there was no heat, and he actually came to look at the heater! But there is a problem. This very nice man, has a very strong Mexican accent. I didn't understand hardly anything that he said. He said something about some man coming and "pushing out the hair." I think that he might have said "air" because I didn't see any clogged hair in the heater. I mean, it's not a shower drain! I just nodded my head and smiled and he left promising someone would come to fix it. (Oh, and he brought another space heater.)

Jump to the next day, the repair man comes with tools (also Mexican), and all he does is feel the pipe near the heater and say something about how it is working, and there is no "hair." It runs on water. (Huh?) Well, guess what bozo? I'm still cold! The heater is not working! And the extra space heater you dropped off? Doesn't work!!

*deep breaths*

Rant over.

My Birthday Boy

2008-11-16T14:37:00.003-05:00

It's JM's birthday today! We have a busy day planned, but I wanted to take a timeout on my blog to tell him Happy Birthday. He doesn't like to make a big deal about it, but he deserves a day all about him.

We're going to see the new James Bond today, because those are his favorite movies. His favorite James Bond was Roger Moore, seen here.

JM, of course, loves Indian food. But other than that, he is a chocolate addict. He loves anything chocolate, but chocolate cake is what he chooses if there is a choice. Does that make sense?JM has never been to California, but really wants to go. I think that Disneyland is practically calling his name.His favorite color is green, just like mine. That's how I knew we were meant to be.
JM really wants a pet cheetah. I told him that it might bite his face off, but he doesn't seem to care. He's so brave.JM obviously has great taste in women.
JM is an all around awesome guy! Happy Birthday babe!

Helping the Man Decorate

2008-11-14T23:52:00.012-05:00

JM has a lot of great things going for him. He's handsome, funny, sweet, a good dresser and likes to buy me candy. But one thing he has trouble with is home decorating. When I first met him, this was pretty much the only decoration he had in his apartment.

While it is a very cute Santa candle, I would hardly say that it is appropriate for the entire year's decor. But he had it proudly displayed for all four seasons. He likes it so much and so I felt bad making him put it away for the whole year. So I was thinking today, how could I make this Santa celebrate all the seasons of the year? I pulled out my "craft kit" and got to work. Let's see... Easter?
Umm... Cinco de Mayo?
How festive! What else...The fourth of July. Awesome. But wait... I'm in Canada, so I really should celebrate Canada Day.
And last but not least, we really need a Halloween Santa.Maybe I should do this with all of the Christmas decorations... It would make my life so much easier.

My Mom's Visit... Uhm, Revisited

2008-11-12T09:05:00.021-05:00

I had been planning on posting pictures of my mom's visit for awhile now, but my grandma passed away shortly after my mom left. That post got put on the back burner, while my brain spit out some sillier posts.

My mom came on a Friday night, and we just hung out at home and talked. She was tired from her flight, so we didn't really want to go out too much.

But she really wanted to go to Niagara Falls while she was here, so we headed there on Saturday. We went to Chinatown first. That is where the bus stops anyways, so we went a bit early and looked around a bit. My mom got a really pretty wall hanging for like three bucks, and I really wanted to get a cute knock-off purse, but I resisted the temptation.

We ate at our favorite buffet in Niagara Falls, and then headed out to see the falls. It was a beautiful day and we just took tons of pictures.

We were able to get some nice people to take a picture of all of us. Awww... My mom is so beautiful!JM finally smiles normal for a picture. (He told me it was an accident. I was making fun of his fake smile and he laughed. I guess that is what I'm going to have to do that all of the time now.)The weather was awesome this day, but it turned cold the next weekend.After getting home from Niagara Falls, we relived our youth and played around with costumes at the drugstore. (Well, it was mostly just me. I guess that I'm immature like that.)

The next day we had Thanksgiving! It was Thanksgiving in Canada, and I was glad that my mom could be there. The turkey turned out pretty good, and so that makes two turkeys that I haven't ruined! My mom was loving the turkey, too. Can't you tell?
After dinner, we walked off some of that turkey to go see Casa Loma. It is this huge castle-like building up the street from my apartment.The weekend went too fast, and she had to go back on Monday. I loved having her here, and I miss her a lot. Love you, Mom!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2008-11-10T13:29:00.004-05:00

I've lived in Toronto for awhile now, and it seems that I haven't seen many of the things that Toronto has to offer. And since it's getting cold out, I needed to think of things that I've been wanting to see and visit, so I'm making a goal to do most of this list by the end of the year.

1. Bata Shoe Museum. It's a museum dedicated solely to shoes. I love shoes. I don't like to wear shoes around, but I like to put on pretty ones and look at them. I've heard that they have a lot of "historic shoes." Like Egyptian shoes or Greek shoes. We walk by this museum all the time, but I think I may have a hard time dragging JM into this one.2. The Royal Ontario Museum. I can't believe we haven't gone here yet. We walk by this one all the time, also. It's kind of hard to miss.You see what I mean? We went to the re-opening party, but didn't actually go inside at that time, because the line was so long! But it will be a nice winter activity. It's starting to get cold now, and outdoor activities are starting to get too cold.

3. Skating at Nathan Phillips Square. I've only been ice skating once. It was for Young Women's at 7 Peaks in Provo. I fell down so much, that I haven't been able to bring myself to go again. But JM has been wanting to go, and this is a gorgeous place to skate. It reminds me of Christmas movies in NYC, where people fall in love while ice skating in the city. This is going to be a fun one, I think.4. Allen Gardens. This will be awesome to do in the winter too. They're a bunch of greenhouses that I've heard is beautiful. AND it's free, which is always a bonus. The outside is gorgeous, and I hope the inside is even better. It might just cure some of those winter blues.5. Art Gallery of Ontario. We're going here this weekend actually. It's their grand re-opening, so it should be fun. (BTW, the Santa Claus parade is this weekend also, along with JM's birthday. I don't think that he wants to do either all that much, so it's even more sweet that he's willing to do it on his birthday. He's so great.)Those are the main things that I've been wanting to do. I'll be sure to update with pictures as soon as we go there!

Uh-oh... Almost Thirty

2008-11-08T17:06:00.002-05:00

Today is Crystal's birthday. She is my oldest sister and she is turning 29. This is the last year that she can say that she is in her twenties. That's kind of scary. I mean thirty is like... old. ;)

Crystal is a great sister to me. And a great wife/mother/daughter/human to everyone else. She's had a busy and difficult year, but she is still happy and working hard to take care of her kids. I hope that she gets a relaxing and stress-free weekend! I love you Crystal!

And Now It's Time for... A Little TMI!!!!!

2008-11-06T12:04:00.003-05:00

I have this problem...

I cannot burp. Great, right? Wrong! Humans burp for a reason. To release trapped hair. I have no way to release this air, and it makes me sick to my stomach. I first noticed this condition after spending a day on the rollercoasters at Lagoon. I felt so sick on the ride home, and knew that I was going to throw up. I held a cup to my face in case I didn't make it home. I didn't make it home, I threw up in the car. But, when I threw up, it was all air. Which was a great relief to my friend, who had borrowed her mom's car to drive us up to Lagoon. (As a side note, when I got home, I found out that my sister had finally had Novalee! It's weird how you remember things, sometimes.)

And now it happens often. If I don't drink carbonation, I can avoid it almost entirely. If I can prevent the need to burp, I won't feel sick later. But over the weekend, we were bored and went to see The Haunting of Molly Hartley. (It was so stupid. Don't ever, ever see it.) At one scary point, we both laughed out loud. And a huge belch came out! It was so loud! And considering that the theater had about ten people in it, I'm sure everyone knew that it was from me. I was completely mortified. And Junaid couldn't stop laughing. But this NEVER happens. Why does it happen when I'm in a public, and quiet movie theater?
I feel that sharing this most embarrassing story is important. I think it might make us closer. Or you might think that I'm really gross, and you'll never talk to me again. It was a risk I am willing to take, though. I think that you should share an embarrassing story, just so we can bond completely (or take some of the focus off of me). Pretty please?

Ninja cat

2008-11-03T12:34:00.001-05:00

This video helped cheer me up last week. Jay Leno showed it during a funny pet video segment, and I love it! Enjoy!

Question of the Year

2008-10-30T19:44:00.007-04:00

On to lighter subjects... What to do with my hair!!

Options are blonde or medium brown. I've had both. I'm currently a blonde with too much regrowth! So I need to decide if I should stay the same or I'm up for a change.

BlondePros: It's fun! I think being blonde is fun. I like the look.
Cons: 1- It's hard to upkeep, as it's not super close to my natural color. Even a week after I get back from the salon, I hate looking at my brown roots. 2- It's also expensive, as I need to get it done every 6 weeks, and I hate dropping $80 every six weeks on my hair. 3- The bleaching kills my hair! Just when I think my hair has finally stopped freaking out from the bleach, I've got to do it again!

Brown
Pros: It's so easy to upkeep. I don't have to stare at the color difference all the time. I also should embrace what God gave me, right? I've been blonde for too long, and a change might be nice.
Cons: I'm afraid of getting the wrong shade of brown, and making my pale skin look pasty and sick.

So what do you think? Take the poll on the sidebar! And lurkers, (you know who you are) please vote! I can't rely on my own opinion right now!

I Shall Use My Time

2008-10-29T14:17:00.005-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about life in general this week. With the death of my grandmother last week, and the passing away of a close friend's father the week before, it's hard not to think about these things. I've just been thinking about how I always think that there is more time. I thought that there would be more time to see my grandma before she died. I had been planning to make a trip down to Arizona to see her, when I visited Utah next. But the next thing I know, she's gone.

I couldn't afford to fly to the funeral. Last minute airfare is so expensive. So all weekend, I was so torn up that I didn't get to see her before she died. I feel better after talking to JM and my mom about it. And I decided that I could learn from the experience. I've decided to make an effort to not wait to do something that I could do today. I have no guarantee of more time, none of us do. I don't mean to sound morbid, but I want to take advantage of the blessed life that I've been given!

I was hopping around blogs online over the weekend, to distract myself, and I found this poem and it was like a spark. I put it on my sidebar, so I can see it often. It is so inspiring. I love it so much, I'll put it in this post also.

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

-Jack London

Zombie Walkin'

2008-10-25T16:28:00.015-04:00

Last Sunday, we went downtown to watch the 2008 Toronto Zombie Walk. It was very interesting. Basically, anyone who wants to, dresses up like a zombie and stumbles around downtown. Some one these people really get into it, and it's awesome.

I think that this man was the scariest one we saw. I mean, he wasn't all bloody or anything, but he sure was creepy.This guy was fishing for brains! He had a good catch!I couldn't quite catch one of them in a picture with me at the same time. I didn't want any of them to eat me, so I had to act nonchalant.
This man was giving me an evil look. He totally creeped me out. And then, there was the usual super-bloody zombies. We can't forget about them.

I think my favorite zombies were Spiderzombie, and dead Betty Rubble.

I'm gonna try to convince JM to dress up and walk next year. It was so fun!

What a Week

2008-10-22T11:32:00.006-04:00

I found out that my grandmother passed away this morning. She was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year, and her health has gone downhill since then. She was a wonderful grandmother, and I have great memories of her. I don't really have the words to express my feelings right now, but I will miss her a lot.

Love Never Fails - Prop 8

2008-10-21T09:45:00.002-04:00

I don't usually like to get political. I find that politics often bring out the worst in people. I have been debating about writing anything about this at all. I know that most people who actually do read my blog will probably disagree with me on this. Everywhere I look, many of my friends and family are showing their support for what they believe, so why can't I? (I usually just try to avoid conflict, so no one yell at me or anything, okay?)

I am not living in California, so I don't get to vote. But I still want to show my support. This video gave me goosebumps and it's totally beautiful.

Just a Thought

2008-10-21T09:18:00.008-04:00

I was watching Robert Wagner on Jay Leno last night. Jay showed a clip from when Wagner was younger, like in his early 20's, and he looked so familiar. Just like the currently popular Zac Efron. I'm pretty sure that Zac is the illegitimate grandchild of Robert Wagner. Or something like that... Or I'm just delusional.

Hostess with the Most(est )...Garbage

2008-10-15T08:48:00.004-04:00

My mom came to visit last weekend for (Canadian) Thanksgiving. It was great having her here. The time seemed to go by so fast. I loved spending time with my mom and showing her around as much as possible.

The time went by too fast, and before I know it, I was dropping her off at the airport. After she left to catch her flight, I just couldn't seem to control my emotions. All the way home, I would balance between being fine, crying a little bit, and glaring at the people who were staring at me. I mean, have they never seen a grown women cry in public?

I think it just hit me how much I miss living close to my family. Hopefully, we can move a little closer to them soon. I mean, at least within the same country. It's not really that far, though. A four hour plane ride away is all. If only plane tickets cost like $20. I mean, how awesome would that be? Maybe if they could fuel the plane with something we have too much of. Like... garbage. If we could fuel planes with garbage, I think it would be much cheaper to fly. And it wouldn't have to be sorted garbage. It could be plastics, paper, compost, general litter. We could just go to landfills and scoop up a couple of tons for the day. I mean, I would donate all of my garbage. DONATE it. Isn't that gracious of me? So someone needs to come up with some sort of arrangement for garbage fuel.

Wow... Tangent. Sorry about that. (But, seriously, wouldn't that be cool?)

I took lots of pictures, and I will post them as soon as I can either figure out how to do it, or when I remember to get JM to do it.

Obsessions

2008-10-09T17:35:00.004-04:00

What I should be doing right now is cleaning. My mom is coming to visit tomorrow, and my apartment is a disaster. But I will do anything to avoid scrubbing any dishes. I really have to be in the mood to clean. Some days I just obsess over cleaning and pull everything out of the cupboards and scrub and then reorganize everything. But, these days don't happen that often, so more often than not, I'm obsessing with everything else besides cleaning.

Do you ever just get moods where all of your thoughts revolve around one thing? And all of your free time is devoted to that one thing? You dream about it, research it, and tell your closest friends all the details about it?

No, not that. I'm talking about things like: Scotland, X-Files, Alias, crocheting, reading, Harry Potter, hair and makeup, etc. Well, maybe those are just some of the things that I get obsessed with. But I know some of you who read my blog have obsessed about some of these things as much as or more than me.

When my love for Scotland began, I can't pinpoint exactly. It might have begun after I saw Braveheart. Or it might have been after I read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. (You really should read these books. They are amazing!) It was around the time I was in junior high. I was determined to meet and marry a Scottish man. And not just any Scottish man. He was to have red hair, and have Viking lineage. I was pathetic enough to even make up a fake future Scottish husband. I tried to think of a very Scottish sounding name. I came with Colin MacDougall. *sigh* How sad. This phase has mostly died off, but Scotland will always hold a special place in my heart.

You know what? I think my whole X-Files phase began when I was in junior high, too. It was a very trying time for me, I think. I needed things to distract me, so I didn't have to stress about all the crap that was going on in my life. And boy, oh boy, was Mulder ever a distraction. I have this memory of riding the school bus, I think on a field trip, and telling my friends, Jessi and Amy, about the episode that was on Sunday night. They looked at me like I was crazy, and I went on to day-dream of the almost-kiss between Mulder and Scully from the previous night. (It's sad that I can remember the episode that I was telling them. This is a clip from that episode.)

I go into reading phases every couple of months. I read constantly for days on end. I just finished a reading phase. I read a bunch of books in about a week and a half. I put about fifteen books on hold at the libary and they all came in right away. Ten of these books are now just sitting in my closet, not being read, because I'm just not in a reading mood anymore.

I'm also currently in a Sex and the City and Felicity phase. They are having reruns on CosmoTV, and I can't seem to turn away from these shows. I'm thinking that I really need to live in New York for a year or two, just to get the desire out of my system. JM has talked about moving back there, and I wouldn't mind it, as long as it was short term.

I'm trying to force a cleaning mood right now. But it's not possible. You can't force these moods/phases/obsessions. Which is why I probably won't be cleaning tonight. My cleaning mood will come naturally when I realize tomorrow that my mom's flight will be landing in an hour.

I Want A Free Purse!

2008-10-06T10:11:00.003-04:00

Over at Handbag Planet, they're going to be giving away a free purse an hour for 24 hours. I guess it's like a promotion to raise awareness of the website. But the bags are way cute, and I want one. I'm thinking of buying one there, even if I don't win. If you want to a chance to win, go here. Good luck! (Although, I hope that I have better luck than you! :P)

This is one of the bags that they're giving away. Cute, right?

I Have a Confession

2008-10-04T01:39:00.003-04:00

It's been eating away at me for a year. And my last bee post, reawakened the guilt I feel. I need to confess...

Last year, I got on the subway after a long grocery trip, my arms laden with my good grocery deals. I like to people watch on the subway, especially when all the seats are taken. I get a better view. As I was looking around, I saw something moving on a nearby woman's hair. I looked closer and I realized it was a bee!

What I should have done was tell her that there was a bee crawling around on her head. But I didn't. I inched further and further away from her, never taking my eye off of the bee.

I really would have told her if I only had to ride one stop. But I had to go 5 stops. What if she freaked out when I told her and the bee went crazy and stung someone? Like a small child, or an elderly person? (Or me?!?!)

So I waited until my stop, and I ran. I was afraid the bee would chase me out the doors, smelling my fear. I heard that bees can smell fear. I'm not so sure how reliable that source was, (Betty), but I'm not taking any chances.There, I said it. I feel horrible. But it's nice to get that off of my chest. Next time, there is a bee on someone's head on the subway, I'll make sure they know. (Probably via someone else, so I can get on the other side of the train.)

Gunnar is Three

2008-10-04T01:29:00.005-04:00

This is not happening. My youngest nephew, Gunnar, is turning three today. He is so the cutest little boy. And he has the most gorgeous eyes. See?I think that he gets them from his mother. See?
Gorgeous. Both of 'em. They make me sick.

Oh yeah... Happy Birthday, Gunnar! I love you!

Attack of the Bees

2008-09-30T16:02:00.004-04:00

I hate bees. Whenever a bee is near, I run the other direction. They're just so fast and scary and... swarm-y.When I was younger, a friend that lived down the street from me told me that killer bees were coming to our town within days. The way she talked about it, it seemed like it would be the end of the world. I had no idea what killer bees were, other than that they were bees, and obviously, they killed people. She sounded so afraid, and she worried because she wouldn't be able to make it to her dentist appointment. I ran home when I found out about the bees, I ran home only to find that my parents were going on a date that night. I would be left with a sitter. I was hysterical, certain that when my mom returned home that night, I would be dead in the back yard, being eaten by bees. I cried and cried, but she still left.

I don't think the killer bees ever came to St. Johns. But I am still so scared of them. For the last hour, I have been hiding in the corner of my apartment, after seeing a bee inside! I had no where to hide. I armed myself with a bunch of magazines, and every time the bee came into my vicinity, I hit it with the magazines. The magazines were too wimpy and were just making the bee madder. So I got the DVD case for Ghost Hunters: Season 3, and started whacking the bee with that when it came at me. Finally, I knocked the bee unconscious and as I crept toward the bee for a closer look, I realized that it wasn't a bee. It was just a large fly. Now it's a large dead fly, with the DVD case for Ghost Hunters sitting on top of it, until JM gets home and gets rid of it.

I hate flies.

Hero Worshop: Part 2

2008-09-29T15:54:00.001-04:00

Please go here. This woman is totally my idol. That's all. Just go.

Randomly...

2008-09-25T17:35:00.010-04:00

I am wearing a black etalk t-shirt (that I got for free during the Toronto Film Festival) and pink yoga pants along with gray flip-flops from Old Navy.I am reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I just finished The Handmaid's Tale and it was way good.I am hearing rush hour traffic outside, and the subway coming and going. (We live just above the subway.)I am learning new Photoshop tricks. I am totally addicted, but I have no new photos to play with. Anyone have any pics that they want me to Photoshop?I am thankful for JM, my family, flip-flops, coupons, garlic, Motrin, free stuff, chapstick, Mr. Clean.I am hoping that the economy won't freak out anymore.I am eating something with chicken for dinner. It's always something with chicken. We don't eat pork, or like beef that much. So it's always something chicken. Tonight, I think it's something chicken-y with rice.I am bringing beauty to my home by trying to become crafty. I've never been too crafty, but I made a couple of things this week, which I think are pretty cute. I won't show pictures, because they're only cute to me. Others might disagree, and my dreams will be shattered.Around my house is a lot of Mr. Clean and Magic Eraser. There was a good sale with coupons and I got a bunch of stuff for free.Outside my window is a cat that I want to take and keep.
I am thinking about a career change.One of my favorite things is my new mascara.A few plans for the rest of the week... Going to see Eagle Eye, moving JM's dad to a new apartment, no grocery shopping!, maybe finish unpacking all the way. We'll see.

Short Book Reviews

2008-09-22T14:28:00.006-04:00

I haven't been productive at all lately. (I did end up getting that smell out of the table, only to have it come back 2 days later. Whatever... I'm buying a new table.)

I've been doing a lot of reading, though. I looked around online a couple of weeks ago for book recommendations. I found like 15 and put them all on hold at the library. Most of them had no wait, and came to my local library right away. So I have to read fast, before they're due. So in the last couple of days I have read three books.

First I read On the Left Hand of Darkness by Ursala K. Le Guin. It was... an interesting book. I'm not saying that I didn't like it, but I just wasn't into it. It's about a man who goes to a planet of... hermaphrodites, I guess. The inhabitants of this planet change from male to female and female to male. It's possible for them to father children, and give birth to them as well. This man goes to try to get this planet to join the Federation of planets. Well, not like Star Trek Federation, but I think that's the general idea. I think he kind of falls in love with this guy/girl, but they can't really be together... I don't know. Weird book. But it won a bunch of awards, so maybe I'm just retarded.Next I read The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. I really loved this book. A woman struggles to have a relationship with her mother, who was born and raised in China. Her mother is getting older and getting dementia, and it gets harder and harder to deal with her. The daughter finds a memoir of her mother's life in China, and she learns a lot of stuff she didn't know about her. It's a really good read. I read it in like 2 days.
I just finished Peace Like A River by Leif Enger, recommended by Jenna. It was really good. I needed a good uplifting book. It's about a boy and his family, as they go through some major trials and tribulations. I totally loved the ending. I just finished it like an hour ago, so I'm still processing it a bit.Next up is either Gilead by Marilynne Robinson or The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I hear both are good, but we'll see.

EDITED TO ADD: I wanted to make sure that it is known that I suck at telling what books/movies are about. My summaries don't even make sense, let alone give an accurate description of the books. Just so you know...

Back in The Swing of Things

2008-09-19T15:42:00.004-04:00

I've been home for over two weeks now, and I still haven't had a deep cleaning session with my apartment. I know that it needs it.

I see cobwebs that need to be taken care of, but I'm scared that there are spiders lurking somewhere there.

There is a funky smell coming off of my glass dining table. I tried cleaning it with Mr. Clean, and then baking soda and vinegar, and then eventually just bleach, and the smell is still not gone. I am at a loss for what to do. I'm going to try the bleach thing again. Maybe I diluted the bleach too much.

I think that I still have a suitcase that needs to be unpacked. I realize now that wherever I go, I over-pack. I didn't wear most of the clothes that I brought with me to Utah, and I just had to lug them back, and still not wear them.

I keep telling myself that I will start cleaning after I finish a chapter in the book I'm reading (Peace Like A River), or after I read a certain article online, or as soon JM leaves to run an errand. But those things come and pass, and I'm still sitting on my butt.

I'm a poor excuse for a "housewife." Oh well, at least I can say that I'm well read.

What an Idiot!

2008-09-16T16:48:00.002-04:00

I found this online, and I just had to share. It's a real voice mail left by some idiot trying to pick up a girl named Olga. Here's is a reenactment of the voice mail. So funny!

Message 1

Message 2

I'm sad to say that this guy is probably from Toronto. Idiot...

Happy Birthday Carrie!

2008-09-16T16:43:00.002-04:00

It was also Carrie's birthday yesterday. I hope that you get some time this weekend to celebrate, Carrie!

Two Years

2008-09-16T15:48:00.004-04:00

I can't believe it! Yesterday was our second anniversary. It seems like so much longer than that.

I normally don't like to get too cheesy, but JM is seriously an amazing man. I am so lucky to have him. We had a hard summer, but it only brought us closer together. I love him a lot, and am excited to have more years together!

Mmmm... Indian Food

2008-09-13T18:15:00.017-04:00

I wish that I could be as cool as the Pioneer Woman. She takes awesome pictures while she's cooking and those pictures just make my mouth water. I attempted to do take pictures while cooking, and it didn't work out so much. I think it was because: A- My camera sucks. She has a really cool one. B- I did not have sufficient natural light, so the pictures weren't as high quality as they could be. C- I'm just not as cool as Ree.

I made chicken tikka masala. It's JM's favorite food that I make, and I think that it's pretty yummy. I feel sorta stupid now, as I decided to take pictures after I had already made the marinade for the chicken. But that step is pretty easy. Just throw plain yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, cayenne pepper, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, and salt, in with some bite-size peices of chicken breast and let it sit for at least an hour. (The longer the better though.) This is what you end up with.Okay... next step. Mince one garlic clove, and one jalapeño and dump it in a large skillet with one tablespoon of oil. Saute that for a minute or two. (We like our food hot, but if you like it more mild, you can cut out the insides of the jalapeño or just add a half of one.)Then you add some spices. Add some cumin, paprika and salt. It should be kind of paste-y.
Next, add 8 ounces of tomato sauce.And then 1 cup of heavy cream. (I never said that this was healthy!)Stir it up really good.And the let it simmer for about 20 mintues.
While that is simmering, lightly oil your grill. (My mom uses the George Foreman grill. At home, we don't have a grill, so I usually just broil the chicken.)
Toss your marinated chicken onto the grill. It only takes a couple of minutes on this grill, but it can vary, I guess.
It's okay if they get kinda brown. That crispy-ness is super good.When all of your chicken is cooked, stir it into your sauce. My mouth is totally watering.
Let it all cook together for about 10 mintes, and you're done!
Again, I apologize for the sucky quality of the pictures, but the food is really good! Here's the recipe.

1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat a grill for high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on grill and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.
Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 1 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

(I got this basic recipe from here!)

Canadian Versions

2008-09-11T15:40:00.006-04:00

For every American reality show, there seems to be a Canadian Version.

Canadian Idol=American Idol

So You Think You Can Dance, Canada=So You Think You Can Dance

Decorate My Space=Trading Spaces

Are You Smarter Than a Canadian 5th Grader?=Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader

And the list goes on... I can't remember any more, as my brain is about to burst from my ears. TMI? Sorry.

Generally, the winners of these shows seem to be somewhat mediocre compared to their American counterparts. Maybe it's just my country pride, but I'm pretty sure that it's true.

Except for last night on Canadian Idol, they chose the new Idol. It was Theo Tams. His single that will be released is called "Sing." And I think it's pretty good, and I also think he's better than some of the American Idols we've had. What do you think?

And he's singing one of my favorite songs here:

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack...

2008-09-03T14:43:00.004-04:00

Well, I got back to Toronto on Monday. It was an exhausting day, but I am so glad to be back. I've been relaxing (mostly, minus the rewashing of every dish I own) and just enjoying seeing JM again. I missed him a lot.

Thanks, Mom, for letting me stay with you while I was in Utah. I loved spending time with you and teasing the cats together.

Hero Worship: Edwin McCain

2008-08-29T09:27:00.004-04:00

I have been listening to Edwin McCain's Messenger album a lot for the past week. This is kind of random, but I just totally love that album. Whichever song I listened to last, gets stuck in my head for pretty much the rest of the day, and it's totally not a bad thing. "I'll Be" is one of my top five favorite songs. I was completely obsessed with it in high school and was sure that it would be my "wedding song." Ummm... before that, in junior high, I had decided that Shania Twain's "From the Moment" was my wedding song, and then I got sick of it. Now that I'm actually getting married, I wonder if people still have wedding songs. I think it's more like a first dance song, or something... Wow, sorry, I got off base for a second. Anyways...

"I'll Be" is an excellent song. Rather than posting the usual music video, here's a version with Spongebob in love.

He makes really good romantic songs, which actually just make me depressed lately. "I Could Not Ask For More" is another good romantic song. And it's WAY better than Sara Evans version. Why do country people have to steal really good songs and ruin them?

But he does other good non-romantic music too. "Go Be Young" gives me goosebumps, everytime I listen to it. In fact, as I was watching the video just now, I started crying. But that being said, I am an emotional wreck, so...

And last but not least, here's a video for the song "Anything Good About Me." It uses clips from my guilty pleasure, Degrassi. If you haven't seen Degrassi, it's like Saved By the Bell, but more dramatic times ten. If you don't like Degrassi, you should listen to the song, anyways.

So, here's some stuff to look at if anyone gets bored. But I highly reccommend buying Messenger. I can't get enough of it.

The End of It All

2008-08-28T09:23:00.003-04:00

Today is my last day at my dreaded job. I am more excited than I can tell you. I keep thinking about all the things that I want to do today. Is there anyone I really just want to swear at? Should I throw yogurt at the guy who does nothing but hang out in the cooler all day? Should I take my lunch break, and then never come back? Take thirty minute breaks? I debating all of these things, but in all likelihood, I won't do any of them. I'm too chicken.
After I stopped getting bruised up so much at work, it really wasn't all that horrible. I think that hardest part was, coming home and JM wasn't there. I've really missed him. This is by far the longest we've been apart since we've been together. And so I'm very glad that I get to see him in four days!!

One Week!!!

2008-08-25T10:31:00.003-04:00

I'm leaving in one week!! I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it.

I'll be just in time for the Toronto International Film Festival! Wish me luck!

(Oh, and I only have three days left at my own personal hell: the dairy.)

Happy Birthday!

2008-08-23T20:17:00.000-04:00

It's my grandma's birthday today! It's been a long time since I've seen her, and I was hoping to get down before I go back to Toronto, but I can't make it. My grandma is pretty much the most awesome lady ever. She always has the best advice, and was so fun to play with when I was little. Not to mention she is still so beautiful! Happy Birthday Grandma Rena!

Adventures on My Day Off

2008-08-20T00:04:00.007-04:00

Crystal and her kids came home from Brazil today! I missed all of them a lot!
I picked them up from the airport and then we went to go see my dad. Logan and my dad's dog, Lily, missed each other so much. Lily was so excited to see Logan. The sound isn't working, sorry!

When I was going home, Katrina called and said that Gunnar had fallen off of the bunk bed and wouldn't walk anymore! So I went with them to the emergency room to keep them company. He was a very good boy and hopefully he'll be fine soon.

Random Thought But...

2008-08-15T09:18:00.009-04:00

As I was trying to go to sleep last night, the strangest thought popped in my head. And it was bugging me for an hour or two, trying to figure out the best answer.

What fictional character (film or book) would I most trust my life with?

I know. Totally random question. But here are some of the people I came up with:

The Terminator. Sure, a robot might not be the best conversationalist, but he can take a bullet and not die. So if I was in a situation where I was being shot at alot with guns and bazookas and bombs, or whatever, the Terminator might be a good choice.

Jacob from Twilight. I don't know if any of you are super-weird about Twilight like me, but I love it. But I don't really like Edward that much. I like Jacob a lot more. Anyways, he seems to be able to protect people pretty well, heals fast, runs fast, and is tall enough to cover me completely in case I got shot at. (Am I paranoid of being shot at or what?)

Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid. I would trust Mr. Miyagi with my life without question. If there was no shooting involved, and just plain hand-to-hand combat, I'm pretty sure Mr. Miyagi would kick some serious butt. But if I were to choose Mr. Miyagi, I would have to be sure that there was no guns involved.

Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. If there were swords involved, I would definetly choose Aragorn. I mean, he lasted all three of those movies/books without dying, all while protecting other people. He must have been pretty good, so if I were in, like the middle ages, he would be my number one choice.

Dumbledore from Harry Potter. Whenever I read the books, I felt like if Dumbledore was there, it was safe. More or less. So generally speaking, if there were magic involved, I would feel the most safe with Dumbledore.

I seriously thought about Batman, but then I remembered the last movie and what happened. Bad idea.

That was pretty much what I was thinking until about 1 or 2 last night. Now, I know what you're thinking. Superman would be the best choice. He can do all of those things better than any of those people. I know, I know. Superman is invincible and super-strong. But honestly, how realistic would that be?

Who would you choose?

Why Katrina is Wonderful

2008-08-14T10:45:00.004-04:00

My sister, Katrina, is wonderful. Here's proof.

(Hint: Katrina on the left, doing her best Popeye impression.)

If you need more proof let me know.

Movie Review: Sliding Doors

2008-08-10T22:53:00.002-04:00

I have been watching too much television. My mom has like... every channel known to man. It wastes too much of my time. But on the good side, I've been getting to see a lot of movies that I've been wanting to see. (I just love HBO.) And one of those movies was Sliding Doors. I thought it was such a great movie!
Alright, basic plot. A woman (Gwenyth Paltrow) misses her train, but you get to see what would have happened if she hadn't missed it... and caught her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Yikes. It goes back and forth between the two different lives. This movie was just so funny and sad and romantic and awesome. It also has John Hannah, who I love. He's super funny in this movie. He plays a good guy, not the stupid jerk who would even consider cheating on Gwenyth. John Hannah is Scottish, you know. And we all know my obsession with all things Scottish. So it was like an added bonus for him to be in it.Anyways, if you ever get the chance to watch it, please do. You won't regret it.

It's Been How Long?!?!

2008-08-05T10:04:00.009-04:00

It's been over six weeks since I've seen JM. I'm just about to go crazy. I miss him so much. I think he misses me too. We talk on the phone whenever we have down time, but it's not even close to being the same, you know? I'm hoping I can make it home to Toronto before September. So if I can last a couple more weeks, I will be fine.
I miss Toronto, surprisingly. I decided the I really liked riding the subway. Cars suck now. Except for when I'm grocery shopping, in which case, cars are very useful. But I love the big city feel that Toronto has. My mom's neighborhood is so quiet. There are no crazy/drunk/high people wandering around her neighborhood, yelling or screaming randomly. Is it weird that I miss that? It was kind of exciting.
I miss buying cheap crap from Chinatown. And that smell! Rotting fruit and seafood in the open air? You just can't get that experience in Utah.
This is one of the menu items at a restaurant in Chinatown. Along with squid and ducks hanging proudly in the window. Looks yummy, doesn't it? Too bad I only like fake Chinese food.

100 Posts?!?

2008-08-01T12:18:00.003-04:00

I just realized that my last post was my 100th post on my blog. Wow. It feel so old.

As a parting gift for today, I'll leave the PostSecret card that I would have sent, if I ever had the guts to send one. This person read my mind.

Milk: Does a Body Good?

2008-07-31T23:15:00.000-04:00

I give up. I was trying to be all sneaky-like, not telling what my job is. It's too hard to complain on my blog without knowing details. Let's just say that I work at the dairy of a local, huge, grocery store. And the job is getting better, I guess. I don't really have any new bruises, so that's good. But I'm having a harder time eating/drinking dairy products since I've started there. Here are some reasons why me and the dairy section are soon not going to be friends anymore.

1. When I was in high school, my mom borrowed my car, for some reason, to go grocery shopping. On her way home, a gallon of milk was spilled in the trunk and she cleaned it up as best she could. But she NEVER TOLD ME! It was winter when it happened, so I didn't realize anything had happened until it started to get warmer. It started to stink in my car so bad. I couldn't figure out what it was. I cleaned out the entire car, except for the trunk. I didn't think that it could be from there, because I rarely used it. I was complaining to my mom one day about the smell and she says "Oh yeah. I borrowed your car a month or two ago, and a gallon of milk broke in the trunk. Sorry." Thanks Mom. Needless to say, when I opened the trunk, a most powerful odor erupted, and I almost puked. Apparently, the milk has spilled into the spare tire hole thing and curdled. I cleaned it out as best as I could. For most of my senior year, my car smelled like a mixture of spoiled milk and Febreeze. My car wasn't the popular car anymore. Poor Laverne (my car).

2. A couple of weeks ago, I was throwing away some yogurt that had been returned. I had to dump out the yogurt and then clean out the inside of the container (don't ask me why). This is a very messy job to begin with, but it just got worse. Not one, but two, yogurts cups exploded in my face. It was so disgusting. There were chunks of fruit all over me. I haven't been able to bring myself to eat yogurts since then.

3. Throwing out milk that has expired/is about to expire/has not been in the cooler, is gross. It gets all chunky and smelly. I'm starting to feel nauseous just thinking about it.

4. Cottage cheese. It looks and smells like vomit. Need I say more?

5. I don't know how much longer I can think about this.

6. Did you realize that eggs are in the dairy section? Have you ever really thought about what eggs are? I won't enlighten you if you haven't had some serious thoughts about it.

I can't do anymore. I don't want to ruin dairy for myself completely. I still love cheese and butter. Please, no one tell me any horror stories about cheese and butter. I don't know if I can handle it.

I'm a Nerd

2008-07-30T10:45:00.002-04:00

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I am pretty much a nerd.

I am an X-Files freak. I was so excited for the new X-Files movie to come out. It was definitely the most anticipated movie of the summer for me. Well... I was so disappointed. It wasn't scary. The storyline wasn't outrageously strange like I was expecting it to be. I kept on reading reviews that it was just like a really long episode. And I thought that I would be okay with that. But I wasn't. It WAS like a long episode. One of the more boring ones. It was nothing like the episode where the inbred family bludgeoned the local sheriff and his wife to death. Or the episode where a Jodi Foster was a jealous tattoo that wanted the bearer to kill Scully.

I miss that TV show. (I watched the below clip and I seriously almost started to cry. I'm so
pathetic.)

Next on the nerd list. The Twilight series. Admit it, if you've read these books more than once, you are a nerd. Defend yourself all you want, but it's true. I guess that I'm just a sucker for cheesy dialogue or something, but I really love these books. And I plan on buying the next book first thing Saturday morning. Before I work at seven. If I can resist not running to Wal-mart at midnight. Like I said. Nerd.

I'm Pooped... Small Updates

2008-07-22T18:40:00.004-04:00

I love to say that I'm pooped. It makes me laugh inside.

But I really am completely pooped. My new job is killing me and I am trying to get used to it all. I have a bunch of new bruises. I seriously look like I was in a car accident or something. I guess that I am just so clumsy, I keep running into things.

What else.... I am still crazy-missing JM. We haven't been apart for this long in... awhile. It's harder than I thought it would be.

Ummmm. Wow.

Seriously? That's all that is happening? My mind is blank. There is nothing else going on in my life. How boring. I need to shake things up a bit. Who is up for cow-tipping?

Another One?!?

2008-07-12T00:55:00.003-04:00

It's Novalee's birthday today! She's having an Enchanted themed party. Well, either that or Hannah Montana. I can't quite remember. Sorry, my brain is dissolving into a pool of goo...

Anyways, Novalee is turning seven, and is already beyond boy-crazy. Apparently, she is going to marry a boy named Bryan. I'm not sure if this is him or not.

She is too funny! Happy Birthday, Novalee!

Work is Hard

2008-07-10T00:24:00.003-04:00

So it's been approximately a year and a half since I've worked. And I forgot that it's, like, not easy! I worked my first REAL day at my job on Tuesday and it was totally brutal. Let's just say I lifted a lot of stuff and smelled a lot of bad smells. And got a lot of bruises. I wish I had my camera right now. But the worst bruise looks very much like this, but about two times bigger. Have you ever gotten your skin pinched between two very hard, heavy, metal/plastic things? Oh, the joys of lame jobs. But I am pretty much ecstatic to be kept busy though. Also, I'm pretty sure that working at this job is considered an extended workout. I am sore from my shoulders down. It's like an added benefit that they didn't cover during orientation!

I'm hoping that when I work my next shift, I won't drop things on myself as much. But considering this is me we're talking about, I expect at least one more similar bruise for Friday. Wish me luck!

Updates!

2008-07-07T18:16:00.003-04:00

I realized that I never really explained my Utah trip. I am working here for a little while, since I can't legally work in Canada. Just for a month or two. I'll be going back to Canada to live until we figure out where we want to end up in the long run.

I just got a job, and it's not that glamorous or anything. It works for now since it's extremely close to my mom's house. I haven't had to experience the horrendous gas prices until this week, and I'm so glad that I won't have to drive very far and waste gas.

Crystal is going to Brazil for 6 weeks to see if she wants her and her little family to move there permanently. Her husband has a job there, and has been there for a couple months. She is dying to stay home with her kids, and living there may give her to opportunity to do that. I hope that she finds what she needs. (As long as she comes back and visits sometimes!) I took her and her kids to the kids to the airport in her car. She's letting me borrow their fabulous car while she's gone, which is so helpful and thoughtful. Thanks Crystal! I'll take really good care of Venom, I promise.
I think that is all the major stuff that is going on here in Spanish Fork. I still miss JM a lot. Hopefully the time will go by REALLY fast.

Orange Chicken: A Love Story

2008-06-26T16:15:00.016-04:00

There are lots of things that I missed while in Canada. I am bound and determined to get my fill of them while I'm here. (This list is not in order of most missed, just so you know.)

1. Panda Express. Yes, it's true. I love fake Chinese food. I don't really like authentic Chinese food. But you could stuff Orange Chicken down my throat any day of the week. I wanted it so bad. JM is more than sick of hearing me tell him how delicious it is. I forced Carrie to go to Panda Express at the Denver airport in between flights. It was just as good as I remembered.

2. My kitties. My mom has two very fat cats that I love so much. They are lazy as sin, but are very good company when you're feeling lonely. Thanks Calli and Shadow!

3. A washer and dryer in the house. The last time I went to do laundry in the basement of my apartment building was a very traumatic experience. There were about 5 or 6 roaches running all over the laundry room floor! JM went to go tell the super, who said, "Well, there's only less than ten. If there were more than ten, I would call the exterminator." WHAT?!?! Don't you realize that those gross little suckers hide in the shadows!!! ( I won't put a picture of a roach here. I don't want to see them ever again!)

4. My neices and nephews. Oh, how I missed being a human trampoline. My five neices and nephews have too much energy, but hopefully by hanging out with them, I can steal some of their powers. Mwah ha hahaha...

5. My sisters. Crystal and Katrina are pretty awesome as far as older sisters go. Sure, they used to tease me mercilessly as a child. Sure, Crystal was vicious with her fingernails. And, okay, Katrina tricked me into saying swear words a lot. But I guess they must have grown out of these mean traits. I, of course, have always been sweet and nice. I never used to threaten them with a wooden spoon to clean their room or else. NEVER.

6. My parents. I missed both of my parents a lot. I missed my dad being embarrassing. Is that a strange thing to miss? Sure, then you have a lot of good stories to tell later. Like the time, he shyly waved to the random guy in the car next to us, and then howled with laughter as the guy sped away, almost running a red light. Should I have not told that story? Oh well.

I missed my mom's sense of humor. I think that I got my silly sense of humor from her. Try mentioning the Japanese-speaking mission to Australia to her, and you'll see what I mean.

So, I don't miss any of these things/people anymore. But you know what I do miss?

It's So Strange

2008-06-23T18:07:00.005-04:00

Just a few thoughts.

I'm back in Utah for a bit, and I have to say that it feels a bit strange. I think it's going to take me awhile to get used to the quiet. It seems so silent.

I missed the mountains. They look so huge, and I'm anxious to do a bit of hiking.

Why is it so hot? I don't remember it being so hot. And dry.

I miss JM a lot. We've been together almost constantly for awhile now, and it's hard not being able to look around the corner and see his face.

Downtown

2008-06-18T12:00:00.007-04:00

One of my favorite things to do in Toronto is going to Dundas Square. There is usually some festival going on every weekend and always a lot of street performers too. But the BEST thing about Dundas Square are all the crazies. Last year, we went to Desifest, and there was this older gentleman just dancing around. He usually gets in front of people that are performing and totally takes their audience away! We've seen him several times since then and love to watch him dance. We got him on video, but we can't seem to get the video uploaded. I looked around on Youtube last night and found about ten videos of him dancing. Here are two of my favorites.

There are a lot of other crazies too. This guy yells "JESUS will save you!" and "BELIEVE in the Lord" randomly and will scare the crap out of you.

If you get some time, you should watch the clips. I'll leave you with a chalk drawing from a guy that is "saving for his fiance's ring." Right. Last week, he was fighting ninjas for money. We took this with a camera phone, so the quality of the photo is not so good. But you can tell that the art is gorgeous.

What The

2008-06-16T08:56:00.003-04:00

I love Craigslist. I browse it all day, looking for good deals. I love to look at the Beauty forum there. You can find a lot of great stuff on Craigslist.

As I was looking through the free section this morning, I came upon the following ad. I thought that it was an excellent sell, and wanted to share it with you.

"free cat must go ASAP (dt)"

"Siamese cat three years old. might be knocked up so don't be surprised later on. likes to get into its food by it self i'm serious. needs a strict diet and may attack u when hungry. not friendly with kids. and if u pet it to long it will attack u out of the blue. u can reach me at 416-###-####"

Sounds like a pretty good deal, eh?