Life in a small town

Resolutions

2010-12-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

My blogging has been sparatic to say the least... but I live in the country now and although I have internet it is SO SLOW.

My motivation to write today is a combination of wanting to put my New Years resolutions in writing and the results of my Wii Fit. Bet you know where this is going!

2010 was a pretty awesome year! I'd even say it was the best year yet! It included trips to Mexico, Vegas and the Vancouver Olympics. I met the man of my dreams and together we bought a house in the country and adopted a puppy. I'm happy and in love. However, like I mentioned before, all this being happy shit has made me fat. 22lbs to be exact. I'm 5'0... you can't hide 22lbs. I have definately noticed it, but have done nothing more than think about doing something about it. In all honesty I was in denial about how bad it really was. Then my mom bought me a Wii Fit for Chrismtas. I was pretty excited about it... until I did my first body test. I have 60lbs to lose before I end up in the normal range. That said, I would be more than happy with 45lbs. Talk about a reality check. I lost all this weight once before but like so many others, you lose the weight and then slowly, very slowly it creeps back. Too many meals out and not nearly enough exercise is problem. It's my own fault. Now I got to fix it.

New Years Resolution #1: Lose 45-50lbs. I just booked a trip to Cuba so I'd really love to lose 15lbs in the 3 weeks before I leave. It's doable but it's going to require 100% dedication and a lot of cardio. Chicken, Fish and Veggie diet and an hour to 2 hours on the treadmill each day. After Cuba, I can relax a little and lose the rest at heathier pace.

New Years Resolution #2: In 2010 I found out I have some food sensitivies. I am mildly allergic to gluten. I know I shouldn't eat certain foods but I do anyway and end up on the couch in pain or spending quality time with my bathroom reader. No more.

New Years Resolutrion #3: I think you should always have one fun one. This year I want to learn to swim. I know how to swim, but don't breathe properly so I can't do it for very long. I'm going to take some private lessons and get good at it. This I am excited about :)

Happy New Year Everyone! Have a Fantastic 2011

Getting Used To

2010-11-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

So since we moved in to our little house in the country, there has been some "getting used tos".

The first one I noticed was my earlier wake up time. I now have to drag my ass out of bed a whole 45 minutes earlier than when I lived in town. In town it would take under 5 minutes to drive to work. Now it takes25 minutes or more. More if the roads are icy, more if I get stuck behind the school bus, more if the puppy distracts me on my way to the jeep. The last one is my own fault... but not really... who can resist a puppy.

Then I noticed what a huge pain in the ass it is when I have after work committements. Monday nights I curl at 7:30, however I get off work at 5:30. It doesn't make sense drive all the way home to be there for 45 minutes so I hang around in town. Good thing I have friends that I can annoy.

Oh and of course there is lunch. I can no longer go home for a heathly and tasty lunch. I have been eating out quite regularly again which is hard on my midsection. I have to start planning my lunches and packing them to work with me. I suck at planning.

Other things I've had to get used to include:

Not hearing the neighbors snore or produce their own porn.
That diesel is no longer outside my window and running at 4am.
The all around peace and quiet
Sleeping in the darkness
Being able to see the stars - that's a tough one
The entertainment provided by the neighbors yelling lengthy conversations at people from the apartment across the alley.
Waking up to this:

Tah Dah!

2010-11-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

Garden Gnomes!

Speaking of halloween, I saw a story on the news last night about some dude in Ontario who dressed up as a KKK member. Which is politically incorrect but I'm thinking not much different than the buddy of Kevin's that dressed as Hitler. However Mr. KKK decided he'd take it one step further and include a "black" guy in shackles. If that's not bad enough the LEGION gives him top prize for orginality. It's Halloween, I think everything goes in good humor, but if there is a line then that dude crossed it.

Did you know female gnomes have giant boobs? They do. I googled it.

Hodge Podge #1254

2010-11-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Geez who would have thought that buying a new house, painting and moving would be such a stressful and time consuming process! We had 8 days from our possession date till our first house guests arrived. Yup it's as fun as it sounds. I was completely dillusional when I thought we could get everything done in 4 days. We're still not moved. We're moved in enough to live there but somehow I still have an apartment full of "stuff" to transport to the new place. Oh and one room and all the trim still needs a second coat of paint.

Halloween was awesome for the 2nd year in a row. I really love country dances. Only there can you see Saddam Hussien, Osama Bin Laden, Hitler and a Hutterite couple (done by twins) drinking beer together. Nothing really seems to offend anyone, ever. Which is pretty cool. I especially love the local band that plays at them. They have a playlist that includes a very large number of Corb Lund songs. Apparently the lead singer and I have a mutual love for Corb. (I have tickets to see my 7th Corb Lund show this December...EEEeeeeeexciting)

Back to Halloween... Kevin and I rocked some pretty awesome gnome costumes. I'll post some pictures soon!

I am stuffed... just like that turkey I ate only not as tasty

2010-10-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend! The things I am grateful for are too numerous to mention. My world is pretty good. Kevin and I move into our new place at the end of this month, Hank the Tank wonderpuppy is now with us, I have great family, super friends, a good job and time to do the things I love. I really am thankful for everything. Well except the 20 extra pounds, but who's paying attention...

My backyard paradise

2010-10-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

"It's my little foothill's heaven on this Northern Rocky Range... my favorite place to be and mr. that ain't gonna change"
- Corb Lund

We just bought our first home together. I am sooo excited! It's a little house on 10 acres in an area outside of town called Sunrise Valley. It's so beautiful, surrounded by rolling hills and views of the mountains in the distance with not a neighbor in site. I can't wait to move in!

Sweet Enough

2010-09-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

3 days ago I made the decision to cut sugar out from my diet due to my addict like behaviour. I ATE AN ENTIRE SOUP BOWL OF PEANUT BUTTER ICING. It was very tasty and very gross all the same time. So goodbye sugar. I am addicted to you and that is not cool. New plan: fruits and veggies are okay but anything with sugar added is not. The first 2 days of my new meal plan were complete hell. I got headaches, I was hungry ALL THE TIME. It was ridiculous. I'd eat a chicken breast and some veggies, my tummy would feel full but at the same time I would be hungry.

??????? Hell.

It's day 3. I'm feeling much much better. However, my new challenge seems to be the fact that sugar is in EVERYTHING. No pre-package or processed foods of anykind for me. Looks like I'll be making everything from scratch.

Meet Hank!

2010-09-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

Kevin thinks it's a good idea to do one major thing at a time. Meaning: He thinks we should buy a house and then start thinking about a puppy. I much prefer doing everything all at once. Meaning: Although the deal could still fall through on the house, I've found us a puppy and he's ours for the picking up Thanksgiving weekend.

Meet Hank! His mom is German Shepard X and his dad is a St. Bernard X.

How could I not! I'm totally in love with his face!

Fat & Happy

2010-09-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

My life over the past 7 months has been a whirlwind of awesomeness. I met a boy and I fell in love and although that in itself is pretty wicked, that boy and I are going through the process of purchasing our first home and adopting one extremely cute puppy. Life is great, so great that I've gained 35lbs! Not only am I happy, I'm fat. Fat and happy.

I want to do something about it. I want lose weight so I've been reading a bunch of blogs from people who are chronicling their weightloss journey. Problem is almost every blogger I've read, "LOVES FOOD" and I hate it. I hate to cook, so I eat out A LOT or I grab whatever's easiest which in most cases is the box of KD or whatever I can find that cooks in the microwave. When I get hungry I need to eat like now. So that handful of chocolate chips or chunk of cheese while I'm cooking my healthy meal is rather unproductive. I hate it that in order to diet, food has to consume my life. I need to plan, prepare and record. I can't handle all the thinking that has to go into eating. When I diet I do great in the beginning. I pick 4 or 5 different dishes and I eat them over and over and over again. It's great! Until life gets in the way of my routine. I'm not trying to make excuses, I know there is no easy way and I just have to suck it up and do it. However I am desperately looking for something that works for me and my busy, routine-free lifestyle.

Please let me know if you have any pointers. Otherwise, stay tuned as I take the "fat" out of fat and happy.

Canada Day & July 4th

2009-07-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

OMG I love Corb Lund. It's no secret He performed, I watched, resulting in the BEST. CANADA DAY. EVER.

The show was put on by a charity group raising funds for solar panels. It started out with a local rock group called the Michael James Band, then we heard from a local punk band called Rejects. Both were ok. Nothing special but good listening. Then a band out of Vancouver named Hey Ocean! got up on stage. I've seen this band perform a small set once before and I remembered them being decent. So I was pleasantly surprised when they turned out to be much better than I remembered. Kind of a Feist crossed with Jack Johnson feel to them.

As for Corb he was as amazing as always, and the outdoor venue suited him. What I'd really like to know is, where he got his beer from? The venue was dry but Corb had beer. Corb always has beer. Loved it. It was my 5th Corb Lund show and I can't wait for the next one.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A hiking we shall go! Saturday was my first ever northern bc hiking adventure. We went to Tumbler Ridge where they have TONNES of great trails and some amazing scenery. There is just one catch:

I am scared SHITLESS of bears. I think if I ever saw one while wandering the wilderness, I would probably die of fear. I braved it, me and my bear bell. I'm glad I did, because this is what I saw...

Also I put on a bit of a mountain top gun show wearing my awesome I'm not Benny t-shirt:

Can't wait till our next adventure :)

My pretty little Lilianna

2009-06-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

When I first moved back, it didn't take long for me to realize I was bored. I needed something to do, I wanted a horse.

Lucky me, my mom has a whole pasture full of horses and she owes me one. I just had to pick one out. So I went out into the pen and had a look. In that pen was Lil, Jack, and Nifty. I spent some time and decided I wanted Jack. I told my mom and she replied "You can't have Jack, he's sold, you can have Lil" I didn't want Lil, I wanted Jack. I wasn't taking "second best" so I decided I would just buy one instead.

Well months went by and there were a couple of close calls but nothing worked out. Finally when everything at the horse sale went for more money than I could afford, and after a lot of convincing from our horse trainer, I decided that I would settle for Lil.

This is my Lil:

I've been riding her for just over two months now and she is awesome! Best. Horse. Ever.

My Amazing Adventure to Central Washington

2009-05-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

It all started with an email from a friend of mine: "Hey let's go to Sasquatch"

I love music festivals, love, love, love them so I bought tickets, booked a hotel room and waited. A long 3 months later, I was driving a rental car across the border, heading towards the Gorge in Central Washington. The 3 day festival included over 90 acts on 3 stages. I took in the first 2 days and a line-up that included the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kings of Leon, TV on the Radio, NIN and Jane's Addiction along with a bunch of bands I'd never heard of.

We stayed at a Motel 6 in Moses Lake which was a super cute little town about 35 minutes away from the Gorge.

It was my first trip to the Gorge. I was amazed, easily the best venue I've ever seen. The backdrop was absolutely breath-taking and the bowl was set up to hold 10s of 1000s of people with great sight lines from almost every spot. Access in and out was easy, no traffic or big line-ups. The event was super well organized. My only complaints were, no in and out access, $9 beer, and lack of food choices.

Blah blah blah... here are some pics!

My first redneck weekend starring the award winning fun destroyer: SNOW!

2009-05-19T12:50:00.001-07:00

May long has always been famous for it's unpredictable poor weather. But the second coming of winter? Is that necessary?

Despite it all I went camping over the weekend. We had a little redneck commune set up where we lived under a tarp and as close to the fire as possible. Alcohol (termed anti-freeze for most of the weekend) certainly helped and the trailer was warm for sleeping. So all in all, I'll have to admit it was a pretty good time. Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather been camping under the heat of the sun, but sitting around a campfire has got to be one of my favorite things.

Here are a couple of pics:

Our commune:

Watching Dean and the kids build a snowman:

Next weekend I'm heading to Seattle, for the Sasquatch music festival and to celebrate memorial day long weekend. eeeeee!! I'm excited. Let's just hope the weather is better.

Here I am...

2009-05-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

Were you worried? No. Oh...

This past week I've been so crazy busy that I haven't even had time for tv. TV. Is Issie going to die? And please tell me Adam is still singing every week?

I just got back from another whirlwind trip to Vancouver. I was there for a marketing conference and was able to pull quite a few really great ideas that I hope to implement. So I'm on my way and I'm in the airport in Grande Prairie, just sitting there reading my Harry Potter book when this gentlemen in his late 40s approaches the service desk. I eavesdrop, of course, and find out he's frantically trying to find someplace to leave his keys. He's called his wife and she is on her way to pick them up. The flight attendant is trying to understand his rambling:

FA: You need to leave your keys? Okay. Is your car outside?

Gentleman: No, my cars at home on the farm. My wife is shopping and she's going to come pick them up. I have a remote start here and it looks like a bomb detonator and I can't bring them on the plane.

***Brief moment of awkward silence***

FA: Oh. Did someone at check-in tell you that?

Gentleman: No, but it looks like a bomb detonator and I thought I'd better not bring them on the plane.

FA: Okay sir, tell your wife she can pick up your keys at the West Jet counter.

To the credit of the Flight Attendant, she did not laugh at him. I, however, had to put my book over my face so he wouldn't see me silently laughing my ass off.

Fire and Rain

2009-04-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

Whenever I hear the voice of James Taylor, the world stops turning:

Love.

Ouch

2009-04-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm in pain. It hurts to sit. You know the spot where your bum meets your thigh. Ya that part kills.

I rode a horse last night for the first time in 14 years. I used to ride all the time then my mom made me pick: a new horse or new skates. I choose the skates.

Apparently riding a horse is like riding a bike, you don't really forget, but if you haven't done it in a while, you're shaky and nervous to start with. In the end, everything went well, I stayed on and my bones are all still in tact. But oh how I wish to never have to sit again.

Brother to sister conversation

2009-04-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

My Mom handing me the phone: Your brother wants to talk to you, you are in big trouble.

ME: Yo! Brother! What is up?

Brother: Where were you today? I tried to text you and I got no response.

ME: Sorry, my phone was dead so I left it at home to charge. Did you need something?

Brother: I almost got hit by a car today!

ME: Really?! What happened

Brother: I was so depressed that you didn't return my text message that I stepped out in front it.

Somebody shoot me or a blog full of long run-on sentences just like my brain.

2009-04-01T19:03:00.001-07:00

I am driving myself crazy. I'm ridiculously stressed right now about the stupidest stupidest thing. It's so stupid I can't stand it.

I have another course tomorrow with Chris The Hot Instructor and I can't decide what to wear. EMERGENCY!

The course is in Grande Prairie which is about an hour and a half drive from where I am. I have to be there all day tomorrow for the course and then again on Friday to catch the plane to Saskatoon. So instead of driving 2 days in a row, I'm staying a night in the hotel, the same hotel the course is in, the same hotel Chris is staying in. Sooo I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to ask him to go to dinner with me, because he is so friggin cute and because dinner by yourself sucks way more than dinner with a cute boy, and because if I don't I for surely will end up with 40 cats, yelling at the neighborhood kids from my front porch with a broomstick in my hands. Because crazy cat lady is not a preferred future, it is of utmost importance that I look extremely hot whenever I am in his line of sight. THE PRESSURE IS KILLING ME!

The stupidest part: The guy lives in Saskatoon. THAT IS FAR. It's not like we are going to start dating or anything. Plus the odds of him having a girlfriend are super high. Especially since at the beginning of February, he did have a girlfriend who he watched Figure Skating with. Figure Skating. That sounds serious. Even if he did break up with that girlfriend, I'm sure there's another, cause the guy is just THAT cute. Still, even if there is a 1% chance that none of the above matters and I get the opportunity to have dinner with him and put my incredible charms to good use, then I need to take it and I need to look very hot while doing it.

AHHHHHH!!! *sob*

An observation, a confession: taking the long way to the point.

2009-03-30T15:55:00.001-07:00

I started this post with the intention of ranting about stupid women. Fact is I don't think they are stupid, just lost and a little unlucky. They deserve better. We all do.

I am astonished at how often I hear stories of women who allow the men in their lives to treat them badly. I'm not just talking about abuse, although that is the worst of it. I'm talking about men who stay out all night while the women is at home with the kids. Men who berate and undermine. Men who dictate what's allowed and what's not.

Huh? I don't get it. I don't understand how anyone could allow themselves to be treated like that. Yet it happens all the time or so I hear.

I've never experienced a situation quite like the ones above, but this is as close as I will ever come.

I was once in a relationship with someone who was extremely selfish. Right from the beginning he told me that he was who he was and either I went along with it or I could leave. At the time I was desperate to be loved, so I went along with it. While he never treated me poorly, he made it clear that he was the only one who was important to him. For example, he refused to make dinner for me EVER. He would make dinner for himself, but never for me. We were together for a year and he couldn't tell you the names of my parents or any one of my 3 brothers. I guess he just wasn't interested in me.

One Easter I had spent a few hours cooking us dinner. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, an assortment of veggies, gravy, dessert. It was a feast. I did it all myself while he sat on the couch and watched tv. It was time to cut the beef and mash the potatoes and I was only one person, so I asked if he could come help.
Me: Hey can you come cut the roast while I mash the potatoes
Him: No, you can do it
Me: What did you just say?
Him: I said no, I'm not doing it.
Me: (screaming) ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I COOKED THIS ENTIRE MEAL AND YOU CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO DO ONE TINY TASK!
Him: *Shrugs shoulders.*
I was irrate. I finished by myself, dished myself up some food and threw the rest in the garbage. Fuck him. Do you know what he did? Nothing. Made himself a sandwich and said nothing. I knew then that I was done. DONE. I did not want that to be my life. He was who he was, and I finally chose to leave.

I know how easy it is to end up in a bad situation. I'm sure that had I stayed, the situation would have escalated into something worse. I had such low self esteem and I was convinced that no guy on this earth would think I was attractive. I thought that I had to take what I could get.

WRONG

It all boils down to respect. Self respect. Every relationship in your life should be based on mutual respect. Partners, friends, family... every relationship.

If someone doesn't respect you, then they certainly don't love you.

That's the point.

Hard on shoes

2009-03-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

In the last 6 months since I moved to Dawson Creek, I've gone through shoes like a mother fucker. I'm hard on shoes under normal circumstances but nothing like this. I've thrown away 6 pairs of shoes. SIX destroyed beyond repair. That's a pair of shoes for every month I've been here. I have 3 more pair in the fix-it shop. One pair is an iffy fix, so that number could climb to 7.

It's sad, I really loved those shoes. Where am I going to find another pair of lime green pumps, or plaid pink platforms, or fake grey snakeskin slingbacks with buckles. WHERE??? Should I hold a memorial service of some kind? It feels like the right thing to do.

On a positive note: HELLO NEW SHOES! I think I will need at least two pair for every pair lost to ease the suffering. THIS IS GOING TO WORK!! I can feel the GLEE already!

Sure it's $$$$ but foot hotness is a major life priority.

A little snot

2009-03-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

It was recently brought to my attention that I have yet to post a follow-up to the blind date I had back in February.

Following the date, I was pretty certain that I was going to hear from this guy again. I was right. Even though he was out of town for the next 2 weeks at work, I heard from him 4 or 5 times via text message.

His messages were always this: "Hi. How are you?"

How freakin' lame? I mean how am I supposed to respond to that for the 3rd day in a row? I only responded to about half of those messages and only once. I complained loudly that I was annoyed he couldn't be bothered to be a little more creative in his attempts to communicate.

Don't worry, the girls at work put me in my place and told me I was being a snot. I tried to defend myself, but in the end I knew they were right. Truth is, had I liked him, I would have thought those messages sweet and been flattered that he was thinking of me.

Not long after my being knocked off my pedistal, he texted me to let me know he was back in town. After a couple back and forths I got the feeling he was fishing for me to ask him out. That wasn't going to happen. If he wanted to go out he was going to have to ask. He didn't. I never heard from him again.

Suits me fine, I wasn't keen on him anyway. I know I can be a little snot (my mother has said it, many, many times) so I didn't want to be too quick to judge and I may have given it another date. The out was there and easy so I took it.

Better luck next time.

I really would like to find someone. I'd like to have kids and I'd like them to graduate before I'm forced into retirement. I don't really know what my problem is... I'm outgoing, intelligent, semi-attractive, and I have a great sense of humor. WHAT MORE DO MEN WANT???? I don't get it.

Maybe it's me, maybe my standards are too high.

O... oh no, not here

2009-03-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blogs is COOKIE BITCH

Today Cookie posts about orgasm research. She's completely hilarious but a little off base. This might be too much information but I'm afraid that I have to agree with the second article. It can happen! Now ladies, don't get excited. It's an inappropiate reaction, so I wouldn't call it pleasurable - more like uncomfortable. Honestly, there are so many better ways to go there. I'm sure it's different for everyone but the hip flex does it for me.

A real lazy sunday

2009-03-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Andy Samburg

Yo Andy what's up!!! I'd like to start off by saying, I love you. I love to laugh and you make me laugh. I love you, I mean I REALLY love you. So please don't take this the wrong way, but your definition of a lazy sunday is a little, uhmm, let's say... ambitious.

You see, yesterday was sunday and *I* had a lazy sunday. I spent the entire day on my couch in my pjs. I rolled out of bed just after noon and wandered over to the couch. I left the couch only to pee and visit the refridgerator. I was even too lazy to drive out to my parents where my mom was offering a free home cooked meal. I turned down free food.

That my fine fine friend is lazy. You on the otherhand went for cupcakes and to a movie. Not only did you get dressed, but you left the house. When it comes to lazy, your effort is po. See how I'm even too lazy to finish the word poor, there's a lot I could teach you.

If you'd like you can come over and I could teach you how to be lazy. I am very good at it. Maybe after our lessons are through, you can take me to live with you in Awesometown. That would be awesome.

-Billie

PS - I love you. And no I don't spend hours searching for videos of you on you tube. That's just crazy.

Today I stepped into a time machine that landed in mid-december

2009-03-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

Pretty sure today is the first day of spring. Pretty sure.

A fairy tale with a tragic ending that's not at all tragic.

2009-03-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a blonde girl who wasn't really a blonde. Shocking, I know but it happens. That girl moved to smalltownsville, leaving behind Jeremy Hairdresser - King and supreme proctector of beautiful hair. 1200km is just too far to go for a hair appointment, even for a self-indulgent princess.

Blonde girl (not really) was forced to find a new stylist in smalltownsville. This is a near impossible task that requires a lot of trial and error. However repeated error combined with bleach leads to hair so dry that it is no longer bendy. Anymore error and blonde girl (not really) would risk a chemical haircut resulting in patchy baldness, so she did the only thing she could. She went back to being a dark haired girl.

(Insert GASP here)

If you haven't guessed yet, blonde girl (not really) is me. It's been almost a week and I still cringe everytime I look in the mirror. I know I need to let it go, but its done a number on my self-esteem. I almost feel ugly. My hair is already 100 times healthier and it no longer makes that crunchy sound when I touch it, but I don't feel like myself. I'm having an identity crisis - who am I and where did my pretty blonde hair go?

Brown haired me:

I'll get over it eventually, but until then I'm just going to wallow in self pity and avoid mirrors whenever possible.

This is human nature... I think

2009-03-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from a friend of mine who was angry and looking for some support. First of all she should know by now that I'm no good at support. I almost always play the devils advocate, which was quite easy to do in this situation.

She was shopping with her baby in the stroller and went to try on some clothes. The big change room and the only change room that would fit the stroller had 2 ladies and baby in it. Now these ladies were taking their sweet ass time and she got impatient and tried to fit into a smaller change room. When she couldn't, she left angry. Angry that the group in the larger change room didn't offer it to her when obviously they could take turns in the change room while the other watched kid, so she could have the big one. Her baby even started to cry a little.

My friend is super sweet and probably would have done just what she expected the others to do.

It's a good thing my friend wasn't around when I read her email, cause I laughed out loud at her naivity. Even more hilarious is the fact that she would send it to me. I'm pretty sure she knows better but maybe having a kid has caused her to forget how selfish and cynical I am.

I have a deep hate for people who shop in small stores with big strollers. I hate them because most days I only care about me, and they get in my way and impede my shopping experience. Oh, and if the kid starts to cry, then I feel an inner rage which causes me to punch the mom right in the face. So far 100% of the time this has occured only in my head. So far.

This is a total double standard, because if I'm shopping with someone who has kids, I expect everyone else to get out of the way. I mean its obviously easier for them to maneuvre than it is for someone with a stroller! Geez! Even when I'm a mom I'll probably hate OTHER people with strollers. Imagine, 2 strollers trying to get by each other in a store.

I can see the headline now:

MOM WITH STROLLER TRAMPLES ANOTHER MOM WITH STROLLER FOR BLOCKING SHOE DISPLAY.

Cowtown

2009-03-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in Calgary this is the recap in list form.

AWESOME:

5) Lions and Tigers and Bears - OH MY! We went to the zoo. I didn't see a lion, a tiger or a bear. But I did see a girafe, a kanagroo a hipopotamus, an elephant, a gorilla, a Koala...
4) +10 temperatures.
3) SHOPPING! It's not what you think. I didn't get that much. Some hair product, a tv series on DVD, Lulu pants... All stuff I can't get here so it was exciting for me, now stop laughing.
2) Visiting with friends I haven't seen in WAAAY too long.
1) Riding the greyhound and coming out the other end with my head still in tact.

NOT AWESOME:

5) Going shopping and realizing that my ass has grown a couple sizes - literally.
4) The colorblind, non-english speaking hairstylist. How does "I'd like to go a little darker blonde, like Jennifer Aniston" get translated into a chocolate brown color? I keep telling myself I look mysterious but in fact, I LOOK HOMELESS!
3) My PUBLIC Guitar Hero skills... I swear I'm SO much better when no one's around.
2) All you can eat sushi which isn't really ALL YOU CAN EAT. 3 orders / 90 minute maximum with limited amounts on a reduced menu hardly qualifies as all you can eat. More than I could eat? Yes. But that's not the point.
1) A broken down bus and an additional 3 hours spent at the depot in Edmonton. Just me and about 6 people off of Canada's most wanted list. Cool beans.

Okay, so I'm off to make an appointment at the diet clinic and feed my new pet Koala - They'll let you take anything on a bus. shhh.

I hate people who think they are better than everyone else

2009-03-09T22:12:00.001-07:00

Situation:
I spent the day in a seminar for work. We sat in table groups of 4 discussing how we rate the different aspects of employee engagement. There was this smug idiot in our group who wanted to be better than everyone else and always thought he was right.

Instructor: Okay everyone, I want you to do the next task in your group and discuss as you go.

Me: I think...

Guy 1: Ya I think that too

Guy 2: Okay so what do you think is next...

Me: Hey Guy 3 why so quiet, what do you think?

Guy 3: Oh I have something different, I did mine on my own

Me: Ya okay but let's talk about it. What do you think?

Guy 3: I'll tell you when you are done.

Me: Uhmmm that wasn't the assignment. We are supposed to discuss. How about we trade you with another table for someone who follows instructions? It's not a competition.

Was that bitchy? I don't get it. There was no right or wrong answer, no benefit AT ALL to not sharing your answers. In fact without discussion, the course would be useless.

at least I kept myself from saying this to the same guy:

"Enough, can you stop talking when the instructor's talking. We aren't in grade school and you aren't funny"

I did say it though, 3 TIMES. IN MY HEAD.

Don't even get me started on the whiney girl at the next table who kept making sure the instructor knew how great she was and thought everyone was copying off her. I still have another day of these people. Help me.

Silly

2009-03-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I do things I don't even understand...

This morning I woke up at 5:30 to go to the gym. I get ready, and go outside. I open the door and OMG. ITS FUCKING COLD OUT! I'm talking the kind of cold that instantly makes your fingers sting inside your mittens. Thank your lucky stars if you've never experienced this.

My car barely starts, I obviously have to let it run for a bit before I can go to the gym. I go back inside the house for about 20min before I wander back outside and drive to the gym.

I get to the gym, park, open the door to get out... this is when it hits me. ONLY STUPID PEOPLE DO THINGS IN THIS TYPE OF WEATHER. So I don't get out, I close the car door and drive back home to get ready for work.

Now this all made perfect sense at the time... but the gym is not an outdoor facility, I was already there, the hard part was done. Why didn't I go in? I blame a frozen and obviously malfunctioning brain.

In fact I took a picture of myself this morning...

Cute eh?

When you're elegant...

2009-03-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

Funny things happen to you! I got this in a email today and it made me giggle.

BACKGROUND:A girl was out with friends having drinks on King St. in Toronto. This guy approaches (Dimitri) her and won't leave her alone - saying how cute she is. She finally gives in and hands the guy her business card.

Why do I feel like I've met Dimitri?

Wednesday, I'm in love

2009-03-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

He's soooooo dreamy! I just found him on the internet and hope to make him mine. Hopefully he's still available.

I'm in love!!!

Ha ha ha and a hmmmm

2009-02-28T12:15:00.000-08:00

Just now, when I logged in I noticed a comment on my last post. The comment was a simple, straight forward "fuckin grow up" from a guy by the name of peniswrinkle who has started a blog (with no posts yet) titled "Boobs"

Anyhoo...

I was on this site the other day. It's a video blog by a former co-worker and her husband. She lost her job this past week and has the best attitude about it all. She is an amazing talent so I have no doubt that she'll be more than fine. But her response to the entire situation got me thinking about attitude and how important it is especially during times of change. I stole this from the top of their page.

"Whatever you’re thinking about is literally like planning a future event. When you’re worrying, you are planning. When you are appreciating, you are planning…What are you planning?"
~Abraham-Hicks

pretty relevant, eh?

My mistake

2009-02-25T15:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, although technically it was today. I got on a plane. Said plane took me from a beautiful oceanside city set up against the magnificent Rocky Mountains and plopped me in the middle of no-where a place that might be considered the ass crack of hell if the fires of hell were made of ice!

I should never have got on that plane.

I love my family, and they actually LIKE living here, so here I am. Cold. Very Cold.

It was great to see a few of my friends in the city. I wish I'd been by myself... I would have stayed longer, done some shopping, and spent some quality time at the spa. There's always next time, and I'm building up a good stock of long underwear!

Honey in my hair

2009-02-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

Blind date recap time! This was the definition of blind date, I knew very little about the guy and had not seen a picture or anything.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

Not cute, but not ugly. No immediate chemistry or attraction. However with me there rarely is. This is workable.

Older, 8 years older. A little outside of my comfort zone but not a deal breaker.

THEN IT GOES DOWNHILL:

Not a lot in common he likes to hunt, fish and ride his motorbike. The problem being that I would never do ANY of those things. I might go fishing, but I would never actually touch a fish soooo you'd probably just call that boating.

He didn't seem interested in getting to know me. He told me A LOT of stories about him. But didn't ask me about me and often cut me off. This could be nerves, but he knows next to nothing about me

He was trying a little too hard to impress me. For instance I know he used to compete as a body builder, he's paid for a bunch of things for his parents cars, house etc, he's always there for his friends... etc. These stories were NOT prompted, they were told randomly like he had a bunch of stories to tell me so I'd see how cool he was.

HIGHLIGHT:

Alright on to the fun stuff! I am awesome, I seem to make a spectacle of myself where ever I go. It's about 45 minutes into the date and we are arguing over the differences of a cattle farm and an elk farm. (don't judge, it's a perfectly normal topic of conversation... uh, yah.) Anyway as I was making a point I knocked my tea cup against the table a little hard. He makes some remark about me being angry. I, being the goof I am raise the cup above my head and bring it crashing down onto the table. The cup, much to my surprise, is not empty. Tea comes flying out and ends up in my hair, and all over my face and lap! I wish I could have seen the expression on my face. What did I do? I laughed and laughed... I am one classy gal! AWESOME!

Overall he was nice but after an hour and half of listening to him tell stories about himself I was bored. Is it worth a second date? I'm still debating that, he may have just been really nervous. At this point I don't really see reason to go out again. But I'm going to talk to cupid to see what she thinks before I fully decide.

Corb Lund aka my future husband

2009-02-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

Okay so maybe he only known as that to me, but I think that's enough.

I'm a HUGE Corb Lund fan, have been since I interviewed him working for a radio station in Olds Alberta. I think I'm such a big fan because he sings my story. An independant wanderer with strong country roots and a rockstar attitude.

These lyrics from "Especially A Paint" off Corb Lund's latest album say it best:

There's something about horses, especially a paint
Whenever I see horses it reminds me of what I ain't
‘Cause I am not your lover now and I may never be
But with a couple pinto ponies how things go we'll have to see
‘Cause they're hitched outside to the rail right now and their silver jangles free

Anyway back to reality and the reason for this post. Yesterday I've found out via his website that Corb's been signed to a record deal with New West Records, out of the states. It's the same label that represents Drive By Truckers, Steve Earle, and Kris Kristofferson. I'm so excited for him.

This is my first Corb song:

This is his latest release:

I think he's incredibly talented especially in the songwriting department. He's amazing.

Okay I'm done gushing :)

Me? Tall?

2009-02-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

So I have a date.

I've been set-up on a blind date and the only thing I was told about the guy is that he's a french newfie and he makes A LOT of money. Just for the record, I don't care how much money a guy makes as long as he can support himself. I'm perfectly self-sufficient. What he does know about me? I'm tall, blonde and not fat or ugly.

HA! Sure I'm tall, if you're a baby or a super midget! My hair is blonde but the rest of it is pretty subjective. The rest of it has me a bit worried, let's just hope he's worthy of the worry.

We are going for coffee, at a restuarant tomorrow. Stay Tuned...

V-day

2009-02-14T15:53:00.000-08:00

I wish today was not Valentine's Day for two reasons:

1) I had plans to spend the day with a friend of mine, who at 45 minutes after we were supposed to leave decided she didn't want to go because it was Valentine's Day and places would be busy. Did I mention I waited those 45 minutes for her? That was really awesome for me.

2)I have a message sitting on my phone from a guy who I'm being set up with. It's a blind date and I'm totally all for it. Problem is he called on Thursday and again last night and I still haven't returned his phone call. I want to, I just haven't because I was out late both nights. I could return his call tonight but it's Valentine's Day and it feels kinda lame. I might anyway cause tomorrow I'm having birthday dinner with my family and I really don't want to wait until Monday. DILEMA!

Other than that I'm having a great day enjoying some tv on dvd!

Long beautiful dark hair

2009-02-10T16:43:00.000-08:00

For the last few nights, my hair has been the focus of my dreams. Last night I had amazing, porn star long, dark hair, set in perfect ringlets. The night before it was a honey blonde and blowing in the wind. The hair dreams happen whenever I'm feeling restless and need a change. A change in hair signifies the need for a change in life. But really? Already?

It's been only 5 months since I moved from Vancouver to Dawson Creek. That's a big change, how could I be wanting another one already?

I've also been thinking a lot about living on a beach someplace warm... Perhaps I have a case of cabin fever. Maybe I need a vacation.

Either way, I wonder if I'll be a stunning red head tonight?

Times are tough

2009-02-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

So as it turns out I was right. The company I work for is closing down 2 departments and laying off over 70 people. I hate being right. But you know the news can't be good when they call a management meeting followed immediately by an all staff meeting. Not fun. The surprising thing is that this has nothing to do with the current state of economy and more to do with the refusal to change about 9 years ago.

Change is good, change provides opportunity to reinvent yourself, to be better than you were before. I feel for everyone that has lost their job but there is something different out there - a forced opportunity is still an opportunity. Good or bad -depends on what you make of it.

This is the best book I've ever read. It's an awesome perspective on change and it completely changed my attitude towards life.

Let's face it. I work in marketing and it's typically the first to go when times are tough. (I don't agree with that at all, but its a topic for another day) For now, I still have my job but I'm not naive enough to consider it secure.

I'll take why sunday's rock for $500, Alex

2009-02-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

What is Meatloaf: To Hell and Back THE MOVIE currently playing on MMM!

I love love love Meatloaf. One of the best concerts I've ever been to. Sure wish there was more of this stuff in the musical spotlight ...

I'm glad I'm enjoying this part of the day because I don't expect to enjoy the evening. There is a small chance I'm wrong, he's to that thought!

Probably too much information

2009-02-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

25 Things... it's flying around facebook like crrrr...AZY!

So here's mine, and I'm not going to lie, I love this kind of thing

1. I really love to sing and dance when alone in the car. I've even choreographed some sweet dance moves for the car. That's right, my car can break on the beat like no other.

2. I live by the motto: "Why do for yourself what others are willing to do for you?" I know it makes be a bit of a princess, but I'm okay with that.

3. I tend to get super obssesive over things I really like. This isn't always a good thing

4. Case & Point: I rented "The Painted Veil" and watched it 4 times IN A ROW

5. If I could, I'd never take my skates off... I'd skate everywhere - I love it that much

6. I hate women, or rather large groups of women... My best friends are female but I avoid large all-girl groups as much as possible.

7. I didn't think Napolean Dynamite was funny.

8. I can't wait to have kids, but up until my Grandpa died a few years ago, I didn't want anything to do with them. That event completely changed my perspective on life

9. I'm completely freaking out about turning 30 in a couple weeks and I've started a savings fund for future age reversing proceedures

10. When I was a kid I wanted to be "the boss" when I grew up. I still want that.

11. The older I get the more I appreciate my family and the amazing childhood I had. My 3 brothers are my 3 favorite people in the world

12. To date the best years of my life were those post-college. We got up to some seriously random shit but that was when I learnt how to have fun

13. Oddly enough, that was also the poorest time of my life. I had no money - to the point where I once wore a white garbage bag on my head so I could walk to work in the rain because I didn't have the $1.50 I needed for bus fair.

14. I really badly want a dog, a big dog just like my brother's Husky.

15. I'm addicted to coffee but only need one cup a day... I look forward to the first sip of the first cup everyday

16. I hate going home to an empty house, and everyday I do my best to find other things to occupy the between time of work and sleep.

17. I love Corb Lund - everything he does is brilliant

18. My Dad is an incredible guy who I credit for many things including teaching me all my awesome dance moves. If I ever get married, the best part of the day will be the dance I share with my dad.

19. I hate lifting weights but I often dream of super strength and winning fitness competitions

20. NPH aka Barney Stinson is my hero. For real.

21. I love live music. I am super super excited about attending the Bonnaroo Music Festival this year

22. I find it a little weird living in a town where I run into people I recognize all the time. I never say anything because I'm certain they don't remember me.

23. I never remember movies, I can watch a movie I've seen before and not even realize it until halfway through. It drives me crazy to not be able to quote the funny lines like everyone else.

24. I miss my friends and the lifestyle I had in Vancouver, but getting to see my family on a monthly rather than yearly basis is worth it.

25. I think that this list will be fun to go back and look at in 5 years time

We're not the worst!

2009-01-23T14:49:00.001-08:00

We're not the worst! AWESOME!!

OMG! I've been sooo busy this week. We got back from Kelowna at 7:30am on Monday morning, I crawled off the bus and managed to make it to work by 8:30am the same day. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I got to indulge in some sweet instructor eye-candy whilst learning about effective communication and the power of optimism. It's now friday and I'm back at work trying to do a whole week's worth in one day. Needless to say, I'm going to be here for a while.

Kelowna was fun! Except for the bus. Buses are never fun but they are way less fun when your driver is a complete freak. Not only did his excellent driving skills cause me to launch outta my seat on MULTIPLE occasions... he seemed to have some serious "issues" and needed to stop and use the washroom every 45 minutes or so. Sometimes, he'd just pull the bus over on the side of the highway and use the bus bathroom. COME ON! It's the middle of the night and I really want to yell "PLUG YOUR DAMN ASSHOLE AND STOP JERKING ME AROUND - I'M TRYING TO SLEEP" The poor girls at the back of the bus.

Competition went great, we skated super well. We can't really compare to the big teams that do Synchro full time but we managed to beat a team from Victoria to come in 4th so we were stoked!! We weren't the worst. :)

We skate to a Lion King theme...

That's some great hair - am I right??

I picked up soooo many jewels from the courses I took over the last 3 days and I'm certainly going to share, but right now I need to get back to work.

I'll be back...

So much cooler online

2009-01-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

Sooo online dating in Dawson Creek is not so hot. I got a few emails but nothing local and nothing that made me want to arrange a face to face.

Here is my list of deal breakers
1) Profile pictures containing dead animals
2) Any reference what so ever to "hooking up" (Dude, we've never met and I ain't that hard up... even if you are)
3) Do not set yourself up for a joke and then get offended when I crack the obvious cause you basically asked for it. (I like to crack jokes at the expense of others - can't deal, go elsewhere)
4) Do you have kids: Prefer not to say... Uhmm either you have kids or you don't and if you didn't you'd just say no. So why not say yes? Are you ashamed of your children... AWESOME - that's the kind of guy every girl wants to date.
4) Finally... (this isn't really a deal breaker but certainly astonishing) Hasn't ANYONE in this part of the country seen Flight of the Conchords? Isn't it time you came out of the bush and said hello to reality??!!

Seriously. I think there were a total of 6 guys from here in my age range with about 25% of them worth talking to. Lots of guys in neighboring towns so I might try again in the summertime when travel is possible.

I'm off to Kelowna this weekend for a skating competition! Should be fun!

Uhmmm... you're kidding, right?

2009-01-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

Since when are headless bloody animals a turn on?

Just one of many and I mean many.

I'm speechless.

Whadya think?

2009-01-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

I was thinking maybe I could get some feedback. Below is what I have for the "about me" in my online dating profile. Should I be more specific and more creative? My theory is that guys don't really read, they just look at the pictures and decide whether or not to contact you from that...

Hey there! I'm an outgoing girl who's sweet and fun and always up for an adventure. I love live music and plan on spending the majority of my vacation time this year attending music festivals - I'm most excited about Bonnaroo!

I'm active, I hate sitting at home, I'd much rather be out socializing and doing things. I love to skate and do so on a synchro team

Oh and I'm always looking for the humor in life, I love to laugh so I have one question... Are you a hiphopopotamus or a rhymenoceros?

Any feedback would be helpful, I'm sure!

I'm scared

2009-01-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

So here's a real knee slapper... Thanks to some prompting from the girls at work, I've decided to check out the world of internet dating.

(After all, being almost 30 and unmarried in this town means I must be in desperate need of a dude - right?)

I know LOTS of people do it and its become a pretty popular way of meeting new people - especially over the last couple of years. I, however, am not a good candidate for internet dating. I know this because I tried... a few times. The dates have NEVER gone well.

Here's the tale of one date to illustrate my point:

Just under 2 years ago, I had an account on lavalife and had found myself e-chatting to a guy, who's name I no longer remember but lets call him Frank. Frank was from Saskatchewan seemed like a great guy and after just a few emails and a couple phone calls I decided to take him to a football game. At the time the football game seemed like a fabulous idea; we got a game out of the deal and if all else failed there'd be plenty of football action to talk about. BOY was I wrong. The date started off with him giving me really bad directions, as it continued I found out he was agreeing with me about everything. Uhmmm, where'd he leave his personality?? I actually had a bit of fun after I realized this. Overall, it was incredibly painful and after 2 hours when half time finally hit I thanked my bladder for a welcomed break. I went to the washroom and as I'm heading back to the stands, I feel this super strong urge NOT to go back. I think to myself "Leaving would make me a horrible human being, but then again that might be something I'm willing to live with" I call Tara and get her okay and then beat it outta there. PHEW!!!

Afterwards I got an earful from a friend who told me you never do more than coffee for the first date. Which I tried without success.

Being the analytical soul that I am, I've given this a lot of thought. I think that internet dating doesn't work for me because it takes me a long time to warm up to people. It also freaks me out when I feel like someone else has expectations that I'm not ready for and I run... even if I like them! How messed up is that?

If I look back, I tend to fall for people who I've had the opportunity to chat with without a romantic thought of anykind. Those I work with or are unavailable to me in some way are my typical targets.

As I write this, I'm beginning to think I need professional help...

Anyway, the issue is mine and I know this. I'm taking this information and giving the internet one last shot. Plenty of Fish. 3 dates...

wish me luck

Something for the holidays

2008-12-26T22:25:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays and being with friends and family! There's something particulary magical about watching kids at Christmas. From the 5 year old who is so excited about everything he gets to the 6 month old who can't get enough of that shiny paper she's allowed to rip.

My mom kept calling our Christmas boring so I kept telling my mom that we are NOT boring... just cause we're old (all 20-somethings), doesn't make us boring. However, Christmas is so much more exciting with kids. I'll never admit this anywhere else, but if I'm being honest, I can't wait to experience Christmas with kids of my own.

Anyway, the holidays are over now. Which in a way is sad because I now must face the task of losing the 15lbs I've gained over the past few weeks. Me and the treadmill are going to start dating and mmmmmmm 3 times a day is how much I love egg whites and broccoli!

Torture starts in the morning.

What I miss most

2008-12-22T22:25:00.000-08:00

Okay so I was just on facebook and my friend Emily, has posted a list of her favorite shows of 2008 which got me thinking about my favorite shows of 2008. I am without a doubt a live music junkie and one of the best things about living in Vancouver is the endless talent and entertainment available. It hasn't quite set in yet but I'm really going to miss that.

So here are my picks... Top 10 performances of 2008

10)SHAWN HLOOKOFF
9)STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
8)MATISYAHU
7)IRON MAIDEN
6)EXCLUSIVE BRYAN ADAMS PERFORMANCE
5)JANET JACKSON
4)FOO FIGHTERS
3)MICHAEL BUBLE
2)SATURDAY AT PEMBERTON (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Hip, My Morning Jacket, Sam Roberts)
1) WHISTLER MUSIC FEST: THE ROOTS AND THE INCREDIBLE ELVIS COSTELLO (the rest of it was pretty swell too)

There were another 5 or so shows that could have made this list but for various reasons did not. I saw about 25-30 shows over the past year and it was a fabulous year for music.

I'm not going to have that same opportunity in 2009 but I figure I'll maximize my time by hitting festivals: Whistler, Pemberton and maybe Bumbershoot... that's if my festival buddy is up for it. Can't wait!!!!

Toe pick

2008-12-19T21:03:00.001-08:00

I'm a clumsy old lady. At least that's what I felt like on the ice tonight. It was a last minute decision we made as a team to perform at the Annual Christmas Skate. I wasn't ready. I didn't make a complete fool of myself but it was pretty close.

About 4 weeks back, I ran into a girl I used to skate with 12 years ago. She mentioned to me that the synchro team was looking for more members and if I was interested I should come out.

It sounded like a great idea, so I dug out my trusty skates and laced up. Little did I know that synchro has become just a wee bit more complicated than it once was, with tricky formations and intricate footwork. The team had already been skating together for a number of weeks when I started, so I had a program to learn and some serious catching up to do. Add that to the fact that my skates haven't seen the outside of box in 5 years and you begin to understand my challenge.

Oh and it's also worth mentioning that the girls on my team range in age from 12 to 22, I'm 29.

Even though, I'm a clumsy old lady, I'm a clumsy old lady who LOVES to skate. Why else would I put myself through such ego deflating torture?

Next up is a big competition in Kelowna in mid-January. I'm determined to work my ass off to drop the clumsy from my current title. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about being old.

Brrrrrr

2008-12-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

It's effing cold! Nope, it's fucking cold... there's no sugar coating that. There were times over the weekend where the temperatures hit below -35 celcius with the wind chill. Not cool mother nature, not cool. Actually too cool, waaay too cool.

My friend, Tara, from Vancouver will probably never come back here because her insides froze solid in mere seconds each time she stepped outside. Our activities were limited to indoors and it's Dawson Creek so there are not many to begin with.

We did manage to get up to a few shenanigans - especially on friday, where the night was to say the least - memorable. The highlight, a rousing game of scrabble we played before retiring just after midnight. Yes that really happened, but no that wasn't really the highlight. I know how to have a good time - really I do!

Yippeeeeeeeeeeee

2008-12-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

Tara is coming, Tara is coming!!! Tomorrow I drive to Grande Prarie to pick Tara up from the airport! She's coming all the way from Vancouver to visit me in Dawson Creek in the middle of winter! Now that's a friend!!!

In preparation for her arrival, I've been busy racking my brain for things to do while she's here.

We are going to go out on friday night... I'll show her all the local dives and we'll have some fun. Saturday is the Jann Arden concert and Sunday we have Breakfast with Santa. Somewhere in there, I'll probably take her to the farm - cause city people like to look at horses, right? If the weather's right, we can go sledding or something.

No matter what, I'm excited for this weekend.

LET THE SHENANNIGAN'S BEGIN!!!

Open the door for me

2008-12-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke in hell, only it had frozen over. I got up, got dressed, brushed a foot of snow off my car, went to skating practice, brushed another foot of snow off my car, went home, got ready for work and yet again cleared the car of snow. I get to work and someone has parked in my spot. ARRRGGGGHHH! So I find a spot, and trudge ALL THE WAY across the parking lot through 3 feet of snow (in stylish but completely inappropiate footwear) to grab my morning coffee at the gas bar AND, I have to open my own door - twice WHA???? YOU'VE GOT TO BE FRIGGIN KIDDING ME!!!!

Snow on my car, someone in my spot, my feet: cold and wet, that I could handle, but the door... The door is supposed to be opened for me as I come and leave... They started it, I did not ask for the special treatment, so how dare they take it away. Apparently its VERY important.

who knew

My car actually looked like this on 3 occasions this morning!

Today I'm a ramblin man...

2008-12-07T15:00:00.001-08:00

Last night I wanted to go out, drink and people watch, something I used to do 2-3 times a week in Vancouver. Just for the record - alcohol wasn't always involved. Anyway, I couldn't find any company and by the time 10pm rolled around the urge to try it on my own went away.

What I'd really like to find in Dawson Creek are some people like me. They'd be guys or gals around my age who are single, career driven, like to socialize and enjoy a good time. The question is, do those kind of people exist here?

Come to think of it, I probably have an option or two with the "younger crowd" but how young is too young? The kid who comes to mind is maybe 21 tops and is so unbelievably sweet. I'll bet he has no idea I'm as old as I am. HA! To be honest, I really really like him. Not in the same way I'd like him if he was about 4-5 years older (if you know what i mean) but he's a pretty awesome kid. When I was 20 boys weren't like that.

Oh wait, wait...

They may have been if only I'd given them a chance. Man, thinking back I was a super bitch... I stood guys up, avoided phone calls and was just downright mean.

Anyway, back to the point, I'm sure I had one, oh right... where's my crowd? I guess I'm still looking for it, but maybe I need to broaden my search? Perhaps I'll try taking friendship where I can get it, without an age, career or marital prejudice. After all I'm not in Kansas anymore.

Friends :)

Gonna drink till the money's gone...

2008-12-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

The guy who lives in the apartment below is a PARTY DUDE. At least 3 nights a week he's has people over and the music is thumpin. It's annoying. It's annoying because, I want to be him.

Last night, as I fell asleep to the musical vibrations coming from below, I decided that tonight, I will party. I'm not quite sure where or with who yet... but even if I have to fly solo, I'm going to get my drink on. Realize that unless I find a friend or one of my brothers show some pity on me, the night will grow old super fast. The thing is, I haven't really felt the need to go out since I left Vancouver over 2 months ago. It's time.

Buy me a present...

2008-12-04T21:09:00.000-08:00

I did it!!! My first ever Christmas tree is up and I've started to look for some gifts to put underneath. Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year!

Now, I'm not going to lie to you, I love Christmas because of the presents!!! I love buying them, wrapping them and of course getting them! I'm especially fond of getting presents from unexpected places. These make me feel like I did 25 years ago when I woke up Christmas morning amazed that Santa had actually arrived.

The only thing better than experiencing that feeling is passing it on to someone else. That's why my absolute favorite part of Christmas are the gifts I give to people who are not on my list. I don't plan these gifts, most of the time they just pop into my head as I'm shopping. I give them because I can, because I want to, because it makes me happy... merry even!

I challenge you to try it this year. You don't have to spend a lot of money or put a lot of thought into it. Don't overthink it. It works like this:

You're out shopping and a tape dispenser that looks like a red high heel catches your eye. You think to yourself... hey Sally in accounting loves shoes, she would love that. So you buy it for her cause tis the season. Or (true story) you're surfing the internet and an ad for World of Warcraft figurines pops up on your screen and at first you think how lame... who would want that? Then you remember the nerdy boy who reads the news is always talking about newbs and pooning. So you buy it cause tis the season.

Easy! Merry Christmas!!!

PS... Here is my favorite Christmas Carol - it's an orginal:

"Buy me a present, put it under the tree, Christmas is for giving, so spend lots of money on me!"
-erin skye

Quote of the Week

2008-12-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

Here's your Christmas Bonus and your clothing allowance for 2008... Nothing says Merry Christmas like clean clothes.

- Carolyn

Hahahaha hahaha aah ahahahhahahahaha!!!!!

Waaay

2008-12-02T22:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended my first ever antique auction. I bid on a hand-painted wardrobe, unfortunately there was someone else that wanted it more - waaay more.

Tomorrow I finish decorating my Christmas tree that been half done for the last 3 days. It's my first tree and my ribbon judgement was off - waaay off.

Now it's past my bedtime - waaay past.

Coalition - eff off!

2008-12-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

I am angry. I'm not Stephen Harper's biggest fan, but why go through the process of an election if you're just going to do whatever the hell you want anyway. Where's the democracy?

My biggest beef is that no one can be sure where ANY of the so called coalition parties stand anymore. Concessions are being made all over the place - for what? For power.

Guess what MPs it's NOT OKAY for you to disregard the platform you were elected on.

NOTICE TO ALL POLITICIANS: If and when you are deserving of a majority power, Canada will elect you to that priviledge. Until then, maybe you should stop plotting your facist takeover and start working on a leader and party worthy of a majority.

Dear Universe

2008-11-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

I think the universe is trying to tell me, I'm old. Well universe, you can CUT IT OUT!

The other day I offered to babysit for a friend of mine for an hour while her babysitter went to the dentist. As it turns out, during my college years, I used to babysit the babysitter. She was 1 year old. I swear I graduated from college just a couple years ago, so how can it be that she is now 12 years old? That's a dirty trick universe, a very dirty trick.

And while I'm at it, I like male attention, I really do. But the next time you send a gentlemen caller, can you please make sure he is at least shaving? There is a decade difference, an entire decade, and that is pretty malicious - even for you. The boys are incredibly sweet, and I'm flattered. I truly am. Now, knock if off.

I'm old, I get it, so, you can stop pointing it out repeatedly.

Thank-you

BFF

2008-11-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

So during a moment of extreme boredom, I started watching Paris Hilton is my new BFF... and it's my new favorite show. Seriously. Okay, you can stop laughing now. It's completely fake and totally ridiculous and that's what I love about it. I love sitting in my PJs on the couch and yelling at the moron's on tv who behave as if Paris Hilton's actually going to become their new BFF. I hope Vanessa wins because I think Paris deserves a crazy stalker chick as her new BFF. Vanessa, stop the crazy-eyed swooning - its Paris Hilton. Really, how good of friend could she be, if she needs a reality show to find people who want to be her friend?!? Actually, the show makes me feel really good about myself, cause even though I have no friends, I would never lower myself to that level.

Speaking of BFF's Tara's coming!!! Tara and I met on a reality tv show... HA! I'm super excited, that she is coming all the way from Vancouver to visit me in Dawson Creek. Yes, Tara is coming to Dawson Creek!!! YIPEE!!!

Ahhh!

2008-11-23T00:40:00.001-08:00

I should be sleeping right now, but thanks to my very itchy legs, I'm not. Nope instead I'm applying lotion every 5 minutes with an intolerable Miley Cyrus song running through my head, over and over and over and over and over and over. It's been 2 days.

This is probably a torture tactic used in secret military operations...

Thoughts

2008-11-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling pretty anxious right now. I guess things aren't going the way I expected them to. My life is not the same, and although I knew it wouldn't be, the reality is more difficult than I expected.

I moved here to be closer to my family. I don't regret that for a minute. Over the last 10 years I've had some pretty awesome experiences and met some incredible people. I've worked hard, played harder and lived well. I've learnt so much about myself and how to enjoy life. It would've been easy to indulge myself and continue living that way for another 10 years. But I think there's more to life than self-indulgence and that's why I'm here. (I dunno, maybe it's selfish/greedy of me to want more)

It's an adjustment, but it's so much more than just learning to live without sushi and an underground music scene. It's learning accept this new version of myself, and that's going to take some time.

Gotta love mom

2008-11-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

I'm just getting over a stomach flu, I, like most of the sane popluation, hate being sick. But being sick is waay better at Mom's then it is anywhere else. My whining falls not on deaf ears, she always has the right type of medicine, and I get tonnes of great advice. I also get a good amount of unsympathetic beaking... it is home afterall. It almost makes being sick tolerable.

I know, right?

2008-11-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

What doesn't affect you should not concern you. It's none of your business so don't worry about it. How many times have I said that lately?

Today marks the start of my rapid ass growth...

2008-11-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

...and I intend to enjoy every minute of it in ignorant frothy bliss.

I love sundays especially lazy sundays. But this sunday is my favorite one of the entire year. What a wonderful surprise as today had all the makings of a super crappy one. I spent about 4 hours sorting invoices at work and to be honest I'd rather stick glass in my eye. However, this sunday my life got about a zillion times better. That's right!! IT'S EGG NOG LATTE SEASON AT STARBUCKS!!!

Whoever thought of combining frothy egg nog with a shot or two of espresso and a sprinkle of nutmeg is a freakin genius who I credit a great deal of material happiness to. Time is limitied - I have only about a month and a half to enjoy the ultimate of seasonal delights...

Egg Nog Latte, you are AWESOME & worth the enormous amount of sweat that will be required to reverse the damage you'll do to my ass.

Lions play in western final on saturday

2008-11-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

Grrrrrr! Playoff football should always be accompanied by friends and beer. Friends at this point are a BIG stretch. The beer I could do, it would be rather pathetic but I could do it.

Worth it

2008-11-11T22:35:00.000-08:00

I grew up in Dawson Creek, I graduated from high school and couldn't wait to get out. I swore I'd never be back. A decade comes and goes, priorities change, and I'm back.

It's my brother's birthday and Mom has made dinner. My parents, 3 brothers and I are enjoying a familar round of funny insults, witty comebacks and random banter. Davin's (the youngest brother) recently allowed his large mouth to contribute to the loss of his two front teeth, which provides enough material to last all night. It's a non-stop comedy show. In a moment I remember the exact reason why I gave up my busy, active, friend filled, life in the city... there is no place I'd rather be.

Did I miss something?

2008-11-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

How sad is a world where simple personable interaction can be mistaken for romantic intent.

Long story made short.... Somehow, someway, without me knowing, I managed to "hit" on this guy at work. Hmmm, that's a little awkward. I mean if I'm interested in someone, I should know right??

Perspective

2008-11-11T21:22:00.001-08:00

I went for coffee with a friend the other day who has also made a move from the big city to Dawson Creek. He said something that made a lot of sense...

"If I'm going to be here, I'm going to be here, involved and busy because if I spend my time here wishing I was someplace else then what's the point?"

Time to get involved.

The Big Move

2008-11-11T19:12:00.000-08:00

I walked outside today and could see my breath in the -10 celcius cold, and for the 400th time since I moved here a month ago, I asked myself ... "What the hell have I done?"

I used to live in Vancouver, I used to spend saturday nights out on the town, I used to have hobbies, hell, I used to have friends. Now, I live in Dawson Creek, population, somewhere between 12,000-15,000. Now, I have no friends and on a saturday night chances are, I'll be at home with my best friend Molly. Molly is a cat. More times than not, I wonder how I ended up here and then I realise this is what I choose, what I wanted. A return to my roots, to the place I grew up, to my family. SUPER.

The last month has been, well... interesting, but I if I can survive the cold hard life of the city, then I can adjust to life in this small town - right?