Only three doors left on my chocolate calendar. I got all the shopping done last night and my bank account is now suffering the damaging effects of rapid weight loss.
I still have a little sewing and a lot of wrapping to do before I'm all done, but basically nothing to stress out about.
The big question today is to tip or not to tip. Generally I tip the Mail Carrier at Christmas time, but we no longer get mail delivered to our house, it all comes to a box down at the end of the Road on the other side of the Highway. I'm leaning toward no tip since I have to travel to pick it up and I've never actually seen the person who delivers it. At the office however, it's a different story. That guy comes right in and drops it off and he even bring cookies for the dogs everyday... so needless to say he's getting a card with a $20 bill enclosed. Do most people still give their mail carrier, paperboy, or garbage man a card with a small gratuity in it, or is that a lost tradition? My feeling is, I always tip the person who occasionally delivers food, so shouldn't I occasionally tip the person who always delivers mail?
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Five More Sleeps
Monday we left work at 2 and went out to the Vortex (Dre's word for the malls and box stores in the McCallister area.... I'm adopting it into my vocabulary) to shop. I hit fabricville first for a few things I needed there, while Darrell went to Canadian tire. Then we both headed over to the mall and wandered around. We picked up a couple nice sweaters at Sears, then had dinner at Swiss Chalet. We had the garlic cheese bread which is always awsome, and chicken pot pie, which was kind of bland and nothing to write home about.
When we got home I had a message from my Sister, Amanda, looking for addresses, so I called her back and talked for about an hour. I also got to talk to Cole for a few minutes. For a three year old he's really quite chatty on the phone and has a pretty good vocabulary. I asked him if he was excited that Santa was coming and he told me Grandma was coming home in three sleeps. Mom has been working out in the boonies for quite a while and comes home for a few days at Christmas, so she should get a kick out of knowing Cole is more excited she's coming than Santa Claus.
After I got off the phone I got to work on finishing my robe and an hour later it was done. It is sooooooooooo warm. I won't need to keep my blanky on the couch for watching tv anymore.
I still have a bunch of shopping left to do today and our house is a complete disaster area so there's lots of cleaning to be done.
I finally posted apicture of the second painting I did: I used Winnie the Pooh in this one. I'm not crazy about the way they photograph so I may go back to scanning them in sections and piecing them back together.
Here's the young porcupine a few days before Darrell moved him to his new home. I actually got really close to him to take the pictures but he didn't like it and waddled away as quickly as he could.
When we got home I had a message from my Sister, Amanda, looking for addresses, so I called her back and talked for about an hour. I also got to talk to Cole for a few minutes. For a three year old he's really quite chatty on the phone and has a pretty good vocabulary. I asked him if he was excited that Santa was coming and he told me Grandma was coming home in three sleeps. Mom has been working out in the boonies for quite a while and comes home for a few days at Christmas, so she should get a kick out of knowing Cole is more excited she's coming than Santa Claus.
After I got off the phone I got to work on finishing my robe and an hour later it was done. It is sooooooooooo warm. I won't need to keep my blanky on the couch for watching tv anymore.
I still have a bunch of shopping left to do today and our house is a complete disaster area so there's lots of cleaning to be done.
I finally posted apicture of the second painting I did: I used Winnie the Pooh in this one. I'm not crazy about the way they photograph so I may go back to scanning them in sections and piecing them back together.
Here's the young porcupine a few days before Darrell moved him to his new home. I actually got really close to him to take the pictures but he didn't like it and waddled away as quickly as he could.
Monday, December 18, 2006
The Weekend
We had a really good weekend. Friday night I got a lot of sewing done, and finished both pairs of PJs by Saturday. Saturday I almost destroyed most of what I touched, and managed to kill my standup mixer while making a cheesecake. It was one of those stupid things you do that you know is stupid while you're doing it and you can actually see yourself wrecking the machine. Needless to say I felt like a complete idiot.
I was making two cheesecakes to take to Brian Chisholms annual Christmas party that night and burned the mixer out on the first one, so I threw everything into the blender for the second one and that worked really well. I saw Bob and Deb at the Superstore doing their monthly groceries, at some point on Saturday, and got to visit with them in the isle for a while. Brian's party that night was fun as usual, but most of the people we knew left fairly early so we were home by 11.
There is a really young porcupine who decided to take up residence somewhere on our property, and if it wasn't for the dogs, we would probably let him stay. However one encounter with him could portentially result in a blind dog and a huge vet bill so he had to go. For a basically nocturnal animal this little guy was really quite brazen and Sunday afternoon he was wanderin around the yard without a care in the world. Darrell got a big cardboard box and a long 1x3 and headed outside. I put the box down on the ground and backed away like big wuss, while he used the long board to guide the porcupine into the box. We popped a couple carrots in there with him and Darrell drove him out to the middle of nowhere, with no houses for miles, and he now has a nice new residence with some wild Apple trees around, where he won't encounter cars, people, or our dogs. Our dogs can now go outside without us having to worry as much
Sunday night I started making myself a bathrobe out of the artic fleece I bought this time last year. I'm most of the way done and only have the left arm, closing the sides, and hemming left to do.
I was making two cheesecakes to take to Brian Chisholms annual Christmas party that night and burned the mixer out on the first one, so I threw everything into the blender for the second one and that worked really well. I saw Bob and Deb at the Superstore doing their monthly groceries, at some point on Saturday, and got to visit with them in the isle for a while. Brian's party that night was fun as usual, but most of the people we knew left fairly early so we were home by 11.
There is a really young porcupine who decided to take up residence somewhere on our property, and if it wasn't for the dogs, we would probably let him stay. However one encounter with him could portentially result in a blind dog and a huge vet bill so he had to go. For a basically nocturnal animal this little guy was really quite brazen and Sunday afternoon he was wanderin around the yard without a care in the world. Darrell got a big cardboard box and a long 1x3 and headed outside. I put the box down on the ground and backed away like big wuss, while he used the long board to guide the porcupine into the box. We popped a couple carrots in there with him and Darrell drove him out to the middle of nowhere, with no houses for miles, and he now has a nice new residence with some wild Apple trees around, where he won't encounter cars, people, or our dogs. Our dogs can now go outside without us having to worry as much
Sunday night I started making myself a bathrobe out of the artic fleece I bought this time last year. I'm most of the way done and only have the left arm, closing the sides, and hemming left to do.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
How to Spoil a Perfectly Good Day.
First off the weekend was a lot of fun. I got my painting all finished off, varithaned, boxed up and shipped away. I also got started on the two little sewing projects that I have for my Nephews. Saturday night we went out to the SJTC christmas party at the Summerset with the Bonds. It wasn't all it was cracked up to be in the e-mail but was really fun regardless. There was another group there having a Christmas party as well, so it felt basically like Karaoke Night at the Summerset pub, which it basically was. It was really nice to see everyone and sing a couple songs though.
The week so far has moved along very slowly. It seems like it should be over already but it isn't. I have 10 more doors to open on my choclate calendar before the big C. I'm still working on my sewing projects and really only just got down to cutting and sewing last night.... the weekend was basically prewashing and ironing. I didn't buy enough piping so I had to stop into Fabricville on the way to work.
So how do you spoil a perfectly good day? Turns out I had to kill some time because Darrell was recording a Voice over, so I popped into Michaels to see if they had any Batman buttons that I could use on Cole's Jammies, but they didn't so I headed to the Dreaded Walmart. Stepping into Walmart is enough to ruin any day, but try doing it in December in the morning... it's hell. I honestly hate going to Malmart for anything to tell the truth and we absolutely avoid the place the like the plague if it can be helped, but they are one of the only other places that might have had batman buttons so I had no choice. The worst part of the search was the fact that the sewing section is at the very back of the store.... so you have to navigate your way through all the completely clueless people wandering around looking for nothing imparticular. It shouldn't be that hard, since Walmart has big huge isles, except they piles islands of crap up in them so you can only get around them single file... heaven help you is someone decides to stop and chat with someone coming the other way. I could rant about how much I hate the place for hours, but suffice to say I hate the place and going there for any reason is like stepping into hell. They didn't have what I was looking for either so I soothed my pain at Futureshop by buying the Christopher Reeves Superman Collection DVD box set.
The week so far has moved along very slowly. It seems like it should be over already but it isn't. I have 10 more doors to open on my choclate calendar before the big C. I'm still working on my sewing projects and really only just got down to cutting and sewing last night.... the weekend was basically prewashing and ironing. I didn't buy enough piping so I had to stop into Fabricville on the way to work.
So how do you spoil a perfectly good day? Turns out I had to kill some time because Darrell was recording a Voice over, so I popped into Michaels to see if they had any Batman buttons that I could use on Cole's Jammies, but they didn't so I headed to the Dreaded Walmart. Stepping into Walmart is enough to ruin any day, but try doing it in December in the morning... it's hell. I honestly hate going to Malmart for anything to tell the truth and we absolutely avoid the place the like the plague if it can be helped, but they are one of the only other places that might have had batman buttons so I had no choice. The worst part of the search was the fact that the sewing section is at the very back of the store.... so you have to navigate your way through all the completely clueless people wandering around looking for nothing imparticular. It shouldn't be that hard, since Walmart has big huge isles, except they piles islands of crap up in them so you can only get around them single file... heaven help you is someone decides to stop and chat with someone coming the other way. I could rant about how much I hate the place for hours, but suffice to say I hate the place and going there for any reason is like stepping into hell. They didn't have what I was looking for either so I soothed my pain at Futureshop by buying the Christopher Reeves Superman Collection DVD box set.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Friday December 8, 2006
Appetizer
Which language would you like to learn and why?
French. I live in a bilingual country and many of the projects we do have to be translated into french. It would make my life a lot easier if I had more than just a vague idea about what was being said.
Soup
What's the funniest thing you've heard or read so far this week?
I saw a picture on Garth Turner's website of Stephen Harper and George Bush, but it is made from the Brokeback Mountain Movie poster. I read a couple jokes in my e-mail that made me laugh, and I heard people on the radio debating the same sex marriage law again.... I find that funny because I'm stunned by the sheer ignorance of some people and the way they can wrap up discrimination and intollerance in a pretty little package and call it "Family Vallues".
Salad
Which movie was so bad you couldn't watch the whole thing?
Black Hawk Down. It sucked hard.
Main Course
If there were a holiday in your honor that didn't use your actual name, what would the day be called?
I don't know what it would be called but there would be lots of vodka.
Dessert
Name one movie which is coming out soon that you would like to see.
The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will & Jaden Smith. It's based on a true story and looks like a really good movie.
Which language would you like to learn and why?
French. I live in a bilingual country and many of the projects we do have to be translated into french. It would make my life a lot easier if I had more than just a vague idea about what was being said.
Soup
What's the funniest thing you've heard or read so far this week?
I saw a picture on Garth Turner's website of Stephen Harper and George Bush, but it is made from the Brokeback Mountain Movie poster. I read a couple jokes in my e-mail that made me laugh, and I heard people on the radio debating the same sex marriage law again.... I find that funny because I'm stunned by the sheer ignorance of some people and the way they can wrap up discrimination and intollerance in a pretty little package and call it "Family Vallues".
Salad
Which movie was so bad you couldn't watch the whole thing?
Black Hawk Down. It sucked hard.
Main Course
If there were a holiday in your honor that didn't use your actual name, what would the day be called?
I don't know what it would be called but there would be lots of vodka.
Dessert
Name one movie which is coming out soon that you would like to see.
The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will & Jaden Smith. It's based on a true story and looks like a really good movie.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Raining
It's raining and 7 degrees...so bye bye snow. (For now)
There are seventeen unopened doors on my chocolate calendar until the big C.
Still so much to do and very little time to do it if I want to get stuff in the mail on time.
There are seventeen unopened doors on my chocolate calendar until the big C.
Still so much to do and very little time to do it if I want to get stuff in the mail on time.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Snow & Ice
So the rain in the morning quickly changed back to snow and continued all day long and just like that it was winter in New Brunswick. It suddenly got quite cold to go with it. To be honest I really love the first snow fall, it makes everything so bright and clean looking. In fact I love the first snowfall of winter almost as much as I love the last snowfall of winter... now if we could just work that global warming thing into making them a little closer together that would be awsome.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Snow?!
Well it had to happen to us eventually. Thankfully the snow fall last night was no where near as bad as the western side of the country, and on the bright side everything looks so pretty with a nice blanket of snow on it. It's raining now so the snow is pretty much gone, but it was kind of nice to wake up to it.
The weekend was good and it started a day early. I didn't end up going into work on Friday although I had planned to. Darrell had a doctors appointment later in the morning Friday so he went in on his own to that and then stopped by the office to work on a DVD project that has been giving him grief. By the time he got home it was too late for me to turn around and head in so I didn't. Instead I spent an hour on my eliptical trainer (I can sing most of the Cabaret soundtrack while working out now although still a little breathlessly near the end) then puttered around.
Saturday I basically painted, and not much else. I got Seth's painting finished completely by the end of the day.
The photo is before a few little finishing touches, erasing pencil lines, and varithane, but it gives you the idea. Once the Varithane was on it the colour popped a lot more, but the shine reflects the flash on the camera. The painting contains all his information; the calendar has his birthdate, the clock has the time, Daisy Duck is sitting on a scale that has his weight, The Blocks spell out his name on the fronts and on top they have his middle and last initial.
Sunday I went to work on the painting I'm doing for my cousin and got most of it blocked out. I can probably finish in one more sitting.
The weekend was good and it started a day early. I didn't end up going into work on Friday although I had planned to. Darrell had a doctors appointment later in the morning Friday so he went in on his own to that and then stopped by the office to work on a DVD project that has been giving him grief. By the time he got home it was too late for me to turn around and head in so I didn't. Instead I spent an hour on my eliptical trainer (I can sing most of the Cabaret soundtrack while working out now although still a little breathlessly near the end) then puttered around.
Saturday I basically painted, and not much else. I got Seth's painting finished completely by the end of the day.
The photo is before a few little finishing touches, erasing pencil lines, and varithane, but it gives you the idea. Once the Varithane was on it the colour popped a lot more, but the shine reflects the flash on the camera. The painting contains all his information; the calendar has his birthdate, the clock has the time, Daisy Duck is sitting on a scale that has his weight, The Blocks spell out his name on the fronts and on top they have his middle and last initial.
Sunday I went to work on the painting I'm doing for my cousin and got most of it blocked out. I can probably finish in one more sitting.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Superhero test
This is kind of fun
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
| You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky & have great power and responsibility.  |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Halifax
The curse is broken! I traveled to Halifax and back at the end of November with no snow! Or rain for that matter. In fact you couldn't have asked for a better day to drive. My appointment was for 12:20 so I left at 7 am to get there early. I stopped in at Aqua creations on Quinpool road once I got to Halifax and had a look around at the various salt water fish etc. (We're still considering doing a salt water tank). I picked up a really good book on reefs and equipment that will help make our descision easier. Then I headed over to the hospital and up to the Clinic floor. I was about half an hour early but lucked out and went right in. I also lucked out at the hospital pharmacy and got my medications right away so I was back on the road home by 1 O'clock. I didn't even have to drive in the dark this time around, I made it home by five.
I've been seeing the doctor in Halifax because of the drug coverage program that allows me to get all those extrememly expensive drugs for just a dispensing fee, but that is now a thing of the past. This is the last time I will be able to do that. The NB government has started paying for antirejection drugs now so NB patients don't have to go to halifax. Most NB patients didn't have to go for quite some time now, but I had to because I'm not on welfare medical so my drugs weren't covered that way. So that was my last trip to Halifax to see the doctor and I will start seeing him when he does clinics in Moncton.
Darrell ended up having to work an all nighter last night to get the Outstanding Business Achievement awards videos done intime for tonight's ceremony, so I popped into the office and picked up the dogs, then stopped at Future shop and got the Superman Returns DVD. I never actually went out and saw this movie at the theatres so last night was the first time through for me. I'm generally a pretty easy sell when it comes to comic book movies though... so long as they don't really screw with the chracters. Generally the movie was pretty weak in my opinion. I liked the characters but could've done without the Lois Lane with Superman's kid thing... that was completely unnecessary. Lex Luthor was portrayed too much like the old 1960's lets keep it light and simple comic villan and his plot to build a new continent so he'd own all the property was pretty lame. I'm wonder why they even bothered to try and make this a sort of continuation of the other movies... why not just pull a batman and start over with a more modern style Superman closer to today's comics? Having him "Gone" for five years without so much as a goodbye is stupid, because Superman wouldn't actually do anything that selfish to begin with. Oh well... I score it a 6... a little better than average and a good moive all things considered, but I'm glad I didn't blow the money on it at the theatre... plus the DVD has so many extras.
I managed to catch the Mercer Report before putting in my Movie and they used my picture on the show which was really cool. They don't say your name or credit you in any way, but it's still neat to see something you whipped off in photoshop in half an hour make it on TV over the other submissions that came in. Especially considering I've only actually done the Photo Challenge three times and Twice they've used my image on the air!
Here's the original Howard Dean Image
I've been seeing the doctor in Halifax because of the drug coverage program that allows me to get all those extrememly expensive drugs for just a dispensing fee, but that is now a thing of the past. This is the last time I will be able to do that. The NB government has started paying for antirejection drugs now so NB patients don't have to go to halifax. Most NB patients didn't have to go for quite some time now, but I had to because I'm not on welfare medical so my drugs weren't covered that way. So that was my last trip to Halifax to see the doctor and I will start seeing him when he does clinics in Moncton.
Darrell ended up having to work an all nighter last night to get the Outstanding Business Achievement awards videos done intime for tonight's ceremony, so I popped into the office and picked up the dogs, then stopped at Future shop and got the Superman Returns DVD. I never actually went out and saw this movie at the theatres so last night was the first time through for me. I'm generally a pretty easy sell when it comes to comic book movies though... so long as they don't really screw with the chracters. Generally the movie was pretty weak in my opinion. I liked the characters but could've done without the Lois Lane with Superman's kid thing... that was completely unnecessary. Lex Luthor was portrayed too much like the old 1960's lets keep it light and simple comic villan and his plot to build a new continent so he'd own all the property was pretty lame. I'm wonder why they even bothered to try and make this a sort of continuation of the other movies... why not just pull a batman and start over with a more modern style Superman closer to today's comics? Having him "Gone" for five years without so much as a goodbye is stupid, because Superman wouldn't actually do anything that selfish to begin with. Oh well... I score it a 6... a little better than average and a good moive all things considered, but I'm glad I didn't blow the money on it at the theatre... plus the DVD has so many extras.
I managed to catch the Mercer Report before putting in my Movie and they used my picture on the show which was really cool. They don't say your name or credit you in any way, but it's still neat to see something you whipped off in photoshop in half an hour make it on TV over the other submissions that came in. Especially considering I've only actually done the Photo Challenge three times and Twice they've used my image on the air!
Here's the original Howard Dean Image
Here's what I did to it (It's actually elements of about six or seven images combined)
Monday, November 27, 2006
Little Hamster
I had a very productive weekend. I managed to get the house all cleaned up after a week of total neglect on Saturday and get started on a couple paintings I have to get done in time for Christmas.
Friday while I was at the gym running, I couldn't help but think of a little hamster I used to have when I was kid. His name was Lee and he had a little wheel in his cage and would get on there and just go forever never getting anywhere. Of course then it hit me that I have turned into that little hamster...running my ass (and hopefully my gut) off on the treadmill and going nowhere. So, it prompted me to hook the leashes on the dogs Saturday afternoon, and take a walk up the road. I figured it would be easier to walk to the end of the road and then run back since the dogs would have time to get over their "oh what's that over there" phase of the walk. I didn't go to the end of the road though, because it occurred to me that there was a house with two dogs that weren't always contained and I had no desire to deal with that, so I stopped before I got within range of their driveway and ran the rest of the way back home. Running outside on the pavement, with the hills, and the wind, and two dogs who don't understand what's going on yet, is considerably different than running on a soft treadmill in the gym, but I really enjoyed it. As long as the weather allows it I may make a habbit of it. It is a little disheartening though, when you're going along, out of breath just trying to get to the end, then you look down and the dogs are trotting along beside you completely unphased and not even having to break into a run to keep up. But they seemed to enjoy it and I can't complain to much since I'm new to the whole running thing.
Sunday I cleaned the kitchen and then I sat at my painting table and worked away at the first of two baby announcement paintings on my list. I got a lot of it finished and I can probably get it done in one more sitting. It's amazing how fast the time goes when I'm painting. I get so lost in it, that I feel like I've only just started and a couple hours have passed. I should do it more because it's very relaxing, and I probably will do it more, now that I've managed to clean a path to the table and get everything set up.
I went onto Rick Mercer's blog, followed the link to his show last week, and took the photo challenge. This weeks picture was of US Democrat Howard Dean, so I downloaded it and using elements of about 6 other images I did a picture of him doing George Bush's Hair. On Friday I got an E-mail from Nik Sexton at CBC that said they liked the picture and might use it on Tomorrow night's show, so I had to fill out a release for them. If you're a Mercer Fan watch the show and you may see my picture. I'll post it on my blog later.
I'm off to Halifax Tomorrow for my regular check up, so expect snow. If it can snow when I have to drive to Halifax it usually does, so be prepared just in case. Hopefully I will be home in time to Catch the Mercer Report.
Friday while I was at the gym running, I couldn't help but think of a little hamster I used to have when I was kid. His name was Lee and he had a little wheel in his cage and would get on there and just go forever never getting anywhere. Of course then it hit me that I have turned into that little hamster...running my ass (and hopefully my gut) off on the treadmill and going nowhere. So, it prompted me to hook the leashes on the dogs Saturday afternoon, and take a walk up the road. I figured it would be easier to walk to the end of the road and then run back since the dogs would have time to get over their "oh what's that over there" phase of the walk. I didn't go to the end of the road though, because it occurred to me that there was a house with two dogs that weren't always contained and I had no desire to deal with that, so I stopped before I got within range of their driveway and ran the rest of the way back home. Running outside on the pavement, with the hills, and the wind, and two dogs who don't understand what's going on yet, is considerably different than running on a soft treadmill in the gym, but I really enjoyed it. As long as the weather allows it I may make a habbit of it. It is a little disheartening though, when you're going along, out of breath just trying to get to the end, then you look down and the dogs are trotting along beside you completely unphased and not even having to break into a run to keep up. But they seemed to enjoy it and I can't complain to much since I'm new to the whole running thing.
Sunday I cleaned the kitchen and then I sat at my painting table and worked away at the first of two baby announcement paintings on my list. I got a lot of it finished and I can probably get it done in one more sitting. It's amazing how fast the time goes when I'm painting. I get so lost in it, that I feel like I've only just started and a couple hours have passed. I should do it more because it's very relaxing, and I probably will do it more, now that I've managed to clean a path to the table and get everything set up.
I went onto Rick Mercer's blog, followed the link to his show last week, and took the photo challenge. This weeks picture was of US Democrat Howard Dean, so I downloaded it and using elements of about 6 other images I did a picture of him doing George Bush's Hair. On Friday I got an E-mail from Nik Sexton at CBC that said they liked the picture and might use it on Tomorrow night's show, so I had to fill out a release for them. If you're a Mercer Fan watch the show and you may see my picture. I'll post it on my blog later.
I'm off to Halifax Tomorrow for my regular check up, so expect snow. If it can snow when I have to drive to Halifax it usually does, so be prepared just in case. Hopefully I will be home in time to Catch the Mercer Report.
Friday, November 24, 2006
No Walkin
I don't know why I bothered calling the last post new personal best, because it occurs to me that I will be shooting for a new personal best everyday, and today is no exception. Today I made it the entire 20 minutes without walking for a total of 1.4 miles. The odd thing about it is, I actually found myself looking forward to getting my run in today....who even knew that was possible?
New Personal best
Yesterday at the gym I managed to run five complete laps on the treadmill before walking out the last of the 20 minute timer. A total run of 1.25 miles with about a half lap walk at the end. Okay if anyone would have told me I would be running without something terrible chasing me and actually liking it I would have told them they were out of their minds, but there's something kind of addictive about it.
Friday Feast, November 24, 2006
Appetizer
Have you ever changed a flat tire by yourself?
Yes of course. If you can't change a tire by yourself you shouldn't be driving by yourself.
Soup
Do you have an "innie" or an "outie" belly button?
Innie
Salad
Name a new paint color and describe it.
Emerald Sea - Named for the Pacific Ocean around Vancouver Island a deep green with a dark blue base (Would make a great wall colour in a bathroom with white marble tiles)
Main Course
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Since we moved to the East Coast and it's only the two of us, we don't really have any holiday traditions. New Years Day I usually make Eggs Benny for brunch.
Dessert
If you were a cookie, what kind of cookie would you be, and why?
Oreos with double stuff... if you gotta be a cookie you might as well be the best cookie!
Have you ever changed a flat tire by yourself?
Yes of course. If you can't change a tire by yourself you shouldn't be driving by yourself.
Soup
Do you have an "innie" or an "outie" belly button?
Innie
Salad
Name a new paint color and describe it.
Emerald Sea - Named for the Pacific Ocean around Vancouver Island a deep green with a dark blue base (Would make a great wall colour in a bathroom with white marble tiles)
Main Course
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Since we moved to the East Coast and it's only the two of us, we don't really have any holiday traditions. New Years Day I usually make Eggs Benny for brunch.
Dessert
If you were a cookie, what kind of cookie would you be, and why?
Oreos with double stuff... if you gotta be a cookie you might as well be the best cookie!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Welcome to the Jungle
I'm back to work today after taking yesterday off to recover from tuesday's Guns N Roses Concert. I'm not really a fan of the group, but Darrell is, and we got free tickets. It was a really really long night. The concert was good but Guns and Roses never even hit the stage until midnight. The first of three opening acts was called Die Maniquin and they may have a been good, I don't know for sure because the sound was so bad you couldn't hear a word she sang. The drummer was really good though and you could certainly hear him. Their stage show was stiff and contrived with no real spontanaity to it.
The second act I could have done without completely though I'm sure the rest of the guys in the audience would disagree. It was a burlesque act called Suicide Sisters. Five girls with pasties doing various strip teases.. blah blah blah.
The Trews were on Third and they gave a really good show. I didn't realize I knew so much of their music until I heard it. Then there was a huge long delay between them and the resetting of the stage for Guns n Roses.
When Guns N Roses finally hit the stage the crowd went insane and they really rocked. It was a good show, but I had a hard time getting past all the compression and effects on Axel Roses' Microphone. He sounded like you hear on the albums, but without all the studio tech etc it all sounded computerized, so now I'm curious as to whether or not he can actually sing. Considering that with modern technology in the studios most of today's "singers" are mediocre at best.
Don't get me wrong I was ultimately able to get past it with the help of several beers, and have a good enough time I had to take the next day off to recover.
The second act I could have done without completely though I'm sure the rest of the guys in the audience would disagree. It was a burlesque act called Suicide Sisters. Five girls with pasties doing various strip teases.. blah blah blah.
The Trews were on Third and they gave a really good show. I didn't realize I knew so much of their music until I heard it. Then there was a huge long delay between them and the resetting of the stage for Guns n Roses.
When Guns N Roses finally hit the stage the crowd went insane and they really rocked. It was a good show, but I had a hard time getting past all the compression and effects on Axel Roses' Microphone. He sounded like you hear on the albums, but without all the studio tech etc it all sounded computerized, so now I'm curious as to whether or not he can actually sing. Considering that with modern technology in the studios most of today's "singers" are mediocre at best.
Don't get me wrong I was ultimately able to get past it with the help of several beers, and have a good enough time I had to take the next day off to recover.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Weekend
It was another rather quiet weekend. I started it off with a personal best at the gym. Since I've only just started running, I've been taking it easy and not overdoing it by running a lap then walking half a lap, running a lap... walking half a lap and so on. Friday however, I hopped on the treadmill, started running and four laps later (1 mile) I walked half a lap before running out the rest of the time on the clock. Today I will try to forgo the half lap of walking all together.
The weekend itself was fairly uneventful. Did a little house cleaning, got the baords up for the closet door frame, and caught up on laundry.
The weekend itself was fairly uneventful. Did a little house cleaning, got the baords up for the closet door frame, and caught up on laundry.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Opening Night
I went to opening night of Noises Off with Brian and Helen last night, and I can honestly say I'm glad I didn't participate in the show this time around, otherwise I would have missed the opportunity to just sit in the theate and be totally entertained. The show ran smoothly which is a testament to the crew, and the cast was fantastic. It was hilarious and well done. There was so much going on on stage that I almost think I should go see it again to catch all the little things I missed the first time around. Plus it was nice to watch a show without being behind the sound board with voices wispering in you ear through the headset the entire time. I could have done with the woman sitting behind me chawing on her gum in my ear throughout the entire first act, but short of shotting her a couple dirty looks there wasn't really anything I could do about it.
Brain and Helen were sitting in row K and my ticket was row J, but there was an empty seat beside Helen so after the first intermission I escaped the gum lady and sat beside Helen. Unfortunately I had a guy witha giant head, who kept lifting his arms up into the arm for some unknown god forsaken reason, sitting in front of me there. I simply could not win. We need to educate our audiences better about theatre etiquette. If you have big hair tone it down and maybe slouch a little in your seat, if you can't chew with your mouth closed... don't chew period, if you have a cold... stay home or come with already unwrapped cough candies so you aren't coughing through the quiet parts, if you have a cell phone leave it in the car... you're not that important, And go to the bathroom before the show starts for Chirst's sake. Just a few simple little things that would make the experience better for everyone.
Thankfully Noises Off was so well done and such a good show that the seating unpleasantness was only a minor distraction. It was a long show though so I didn't get home until 11:30, then I stayed up to watch the new episode of Smallville (it just isn't Thursday without a dose of little Superman).
Brain and Helen were sitting in row K and my ticket was row J, but there was an empty seat beside Helen so after the first intermission I escaped the gum lady and sat beside Helen. Unfortunately I had a guy witha giant head, who kept lifting his arms up into the arm for some unknown god forsaken reason, sitting in front of me there. I simply could not win. We need to educate our audiences better about theatre etiquette. If you have big hair tone it down and maybe slouch a little in your seat, if you can't chew with your mouth closed... don't chew period, if you have a cold... stay home or come with already unwrapped cough candies so you aren't coughing through the quiet parts, if you have a cell phone leave it in the car... you're not that important, And go to the bathroom before the show starts for Chirst's sake. Just a few simple little things that would make the experience better for everyone.
Thankfully Noises Off was so well done and such a good show that the seating unpleasantness was only a minor distraction. It was a long show though so I didn't get home until 11:30, then I stayed up to watch the new episode of Smallville (it just isn't Thursday without a dose of little Superman).
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Noises
Yesterday I got a good workout in, I ran a mile then worked on legs and shoulders. I weighed myself at the gym and have lost that unwelcome ten pounds....yay! Now I'm at the perfect weight for my height, and all I have to do is move it all around so it's spread out better, and not contained in my stomach area.
After work we met up with Brian and Helen for dinner at Romanos and then later on that evening we popped out to Dairy Queen for a sundae. I know it sounds like a quest to refind that unwelcome ten pounds again, but it's okay to do that kind of thing Occasionally. Occasionally being the operative word.
Tonight I think I'll tag along with Brian and Helen and see Noises Off. I know everyone is working really hard on it so it's bound to be a great show. It's kind of strange, I thought I would be happy to not be doing sound this time around, but I'm actually feeling a little out of touch with everyone. Maybe I'll throw my hat in for Sound on the Glass Menagerie.
Congratulations to Stephen and Sandra on the safe arrival of their new son Alexander Frederic Jamie Tobias..... and congratulation to Mister Bill on becoming a big brother.
After work we met up with Brian and Helen for dinner at Romanos and then later on that evening we popped out to Dairy Queen for a sundae. I know it sounds like a quest to refind that unwelcome ten pounds again, but it's okay to do that kind of thing Occasionally. Occasionally being the operative word.
Tonight I think I'll tag along with Brian and Helen and see Noises Off. I know everyone is working really hard on it so it's bound to be a great show. It's kind of strange, I thought I would be happy to not be doing sound this time around, but I'm actually feeling a little out of touch with everyone. Maybe I'll throw my hat in for Sound on the Glass Menagerie.
Congratulations to Stephen and Sandra on the safe arrival of their new son Alexander Frederic Jamie Tobias..... and congratulation to Mister Bill on becoming a big brother.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Quiet Weekend
We had a very laid back weekend. We took Friday off and really didn't do too much. Brian and Helen came over Friday night and we all watched a movie.
Saturday we got to work at pulling the drywall otuof the closet door frame and cutting the wood to go into it. Darrell started cleaning out the little back room and sorting out what would be returning to it and what would not... no small job there.
Sunday we stained and urithaned the wood for the closet doorway. I'm still in the middle of the urithaning process and will do the third coat tonight after work. You get the best results if you do several coats with a light sanding in between each.
Monday we came into work and it was a very quiet day since most people were off. Darrell rearranged all the wires and connections in his editing suite and I worked on my 3d model of canaport.
My nose is still alittle stuffy but for the most part the cold is basically gone. I'll be getting back to the gym today. I went once last week but was still so stuffed up I could only do tenminutes onthe treadmill before callin it quits and heading home.
Saturday we got to work at pulling the drywall otuof the closet door frame and cutting the wood to go into it. Darrell started cleaning out the little back room and sorting out what would be returning to it and what would not... no small job there.
Sunday we stained and urithaned the wood for the closet doorway. I'm still in the middle of the urithaning process and will do the third coat tonight after work. You get the best results if you do several coats with a light sanding in between each.
Monday we came into work and it was a very quiet day since most people were off. Darrell rearranged all the wires and connections in his editing suite and I worked on my 3d model of canaport.
My nose is still alittle stuffy but for the most part the cold is basically gone. I'll be getting back to the gym today. I went once last week but was still so stuffed up I could only do tenminutes onthe treadmill before callin it quits and heading home.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Found these
I was going through some old backup disks looking for a particular picture of Darrell with his Camera when I came across these images.
This one is of Darrell and me on my 27th Birthday, May 19,1998. I was in the BMT Isolation Ward in Halifax and had just finished three days of High dose Chemotherapy, followed by three days of full body radiation, followed by the transfusion of my Donor Bone marrow on May 14th, five days before this Picture. My hair hadn't even started to fall out yet. Tragically it is also the day of the Columbine shootings in the States.
This one is of Darrell and me on my 27th Birthday, May 19,1998. I was in the BMT Isolation Ward in Halifax and had just finished three days of High dose Chemotherapy, followed by three days of full body radiation, followed by the transfusion of my Donor Bone marrow on May 14th, five days before this Picture. My hair hadn't even started to fall out yet. Tragically it is also the day of the Columbine shootings in the States.
This one was taken a couple weeks later when my Mom flew out from Calgary to stay with me for ten days
It seems so long ago now.
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