Car Pickers

Lately I have noticed more and more people driving their cars in broad day light and picking their nose at the same time. Not a scratch... a full fledge pick.

All I can say to all you car pickers is: DI.GUST.ING

Seriously.... folks, just because you are driving all alone in your car, does not mean that other drivers cannot see you. Unless you have limo tint (the darkest of tints) on all your windows, you are still visible to the world... the car is not a closest, so please refrain from sticking your index finger so far up your nose that it almost chokes you, just to get a boo-ger!

What you do in the comfort of your own home is your business, and if you want to pick your nose and eat it at home, then by all means, go. to. town. BUT... do not bring your nose picking ways to the 417 or any other major traffic highway in this country - its wrong... completely and utterly WRONG.

Has anyone else noticed this... or am I the only non-car pickin' driver on the roads these days?

Tie & Belinda

Well... the news has been out for about a week now about Tie Domi's wife, Leanne, citing Belinda Stronach as the 'other woman' in her divorce application from the retired Maple Leaf. Whether Mr. Domi and Ms. Stronach are together or not, I could really care less, but what I found most haunting about the news was the fact that Leanne Domi was deamanding $15,000 per month in child support and $30,000 in spousal support.
GET A LIFE LEANNE.

So... let's say the man was having an affair on you... do you really think that you are entitled to $45,000 a month in order to live your life and raise 3 kids. Unless you are heavily addicted to some expensive line of drugs, I can't imagine what woman would need $45,000 a month (that's $540,000 a year) to get by.

Give your head a shake lady.

I know its reasonable for any divorce to get a little nasty, but I think 45K is a little over the top - whether or not Leanne Domi has a job of her own (I will assume not), I don't know, but if she did attempt to work after the divorce, she would definitely not need 15K a month just to raise 3 damn kids. Tie Domi may not be capable of being a good husband but I would like to believe that he can still be a good father, and look after his kids financially. I would also hope that raising 3 kids does not cost anywhere close to the neighbourhood of 15K, that's $5,000 per child - if that is case... Lord help me, I am not having kids anytime soon.

Leanne... we all know you're hurting, and my guess is your not voting Liberal in the next election, but let's try to be rational and close this divorce settlement with some dignity - for the sake of the children.

Move over Egg McMuffin

So... I'm out of town for one weekend and away from Tim Horton's for 3 whole days and they go and get a new menu item on me. This morning I stroll in my local Timmy's to read a new sign at on the door that says: introducing the NEW breakfast sandwich.

What the %?&*? The nerve... I mean, I am all for the new menu item, but I feel as a loyal customer to the franchaise, I should have been consulted or at least warned about the new arrival.

This morning I was thrown right off when I got in line. The entire 4 minute wait I was in a panic... trying to decide whether or not to desert my standard Everything Bagel with butter and cheddar cheese in exchange for the new hot breakfast sandwich. I had the exact amount of money in hand for my regular coffee & bagel order, but this new item was a bit more expensive, but looked entirely more breakfast-ish. It was before 9 and I was forced to make a choice without coffee: MOMM-EH!

I think the biggest thing that stunned me while in line was that I had to come to grips with the fact that Tim Horton's serves EGGS. This means Timmy's has to be factored into a lot more choices now. Before I would abandon Tim's for Broadway's breakfast because of the eggs, bacon, & homefries factor, but now, with Timmy's in the egg & sausage/bacon category, there is defintely more to consider.

I decided to take the plunge and try the new menu item, after all, as a faithful customer I need to know if it is good in order to recommend it to others... and also because of the sheer fact that I pride myself in being a preferred member of the Timmy's taste-testers demographic.

I've had 1.5 hours to eat and digest the new menu item and I must say, it hits the spot. I tried the sausauge & egg combo (as there is a bacon & egg choice) ... it comes with cheese on a toasted biscuit... I added a little ketcup and it is BETTER than an Egg McMuffin.

The best part is that (years ago when I use to work at an office) I would gather my little possi (Dal, Dania & Vero) and make two trips for breakfast in the morning, first to McDonald's to get a sausage McMuffin and then over to Timmy's to get my coffee... now the mornings that I do crave an egg style breakfast, I will only have to make one stop. Could life get any better? (actually... it could, but I won't go there today).

Two thumbs up Tim Horton.... the new sandwich is definitely a hit... it officially makes the CPC list... Coleman Preferred Choice list!

And while I have you here, Mr. Horton... in the future, I would at least like to be consulted on any future menu items that you plan on introducing- I mean seriously, the last thing I need to be is out of the loop when it comes to the Timmy's menu.

You're 18, right?

This morning on my way into school I needed to get gas, and when I saw the sign that said 78.2 at the Embrun/Vars exit, I drove in there like they were giving away free Krispy Kreme donuts!

Everytime I get gas, I usually make a point of getting a Cash for Life scratch ticket (I have this dream that one day I will win big and be able to quit French). This morning when I went into pay for gas, I grabbed a small chocolate milk and headed to the cash register.

The lady behind the cash and I have the following conversation:

Her: Just this and the gas ma'am?
Me: And I'll take a Cash for Life too?

Her: (Blank stare) Okay.... you're 18, right?
Me: Ahhh... yah, I hope so.

Her: Well you don't look it.
Me: Well... I'm 26... so I guess that's a compliment.

Her: You're not 26...no way?
Her: Shit... you look young.
Her: Holy... nice ring... you're married?

Me: Yup (thinking to myself: ya.. with a mortgage and a SUV... how much do I owe you LADY).

Her: Would you like to buy a 649 ... its 15 million you know.

Are you kidding me... first I don't look old enough to buy a scratch ticket, now she wants to sell me a 649.

All I could think when I left there was... maybe when I am 40 I will appreciate only looking 32.
HONESTLY!

Good morning... get to work.

So much for first anniversary bliss carrying over into the second year!

This morning PC and I awoke to the bloody mess featured below. PC had just poured himself a bowl of cereal when he yells upstairs to me: 'Sars -- look out the bedroom window'.

It appears that there was a GOD DAMN WIND storm while we were in Montréal this weekend, and the wind decided to have a little fun with our patio furniture... treating it like it was made out of rubber.

Our patio set, including our glass patio table, got blown off of the deck and SMASHED into a million -- actually make that a gizillion little pieces. The picture below was taken after we had already removed the chairs and table frame from the wreckage.

Its one of those things were just want to scream and cry all in one breath. But all you can do is clean up and bitch, and clean up some more.

PC and I spent 3 hours this morning, picking up glass, sweeping glass, racking glass, vacuuming glass out of the grass. The worst part is that we know we still didn't get it all... and to boot we don't have patio table any more - but we do have 6 rather lovely chairs, and a damn good table frame!

Grrrr... this one makes you mad... very very mad, but like many situations... there isn't much we can do! So... word to the wise, don't wear bare feet in our back yard for a few years... as we won't be held responislbe for any cuts or severed toes!

Lovely table frame! 

Grrr! 

Montréal weekend!

PC & I spent Saturday and Sunday in La belle province, celebrating our first anniversary.

Montréal never seems to fail us... time and time again we always seem to have a good time when we go there. Its like a little hideaway for us. I am not sure what it is about the city that I love so much, but there are parts of it that just make you feel way more wealthy and glamorous than you would in Ottawa.

The French culture in Montréal never ceases to amaze me... I love people watching (I am my mother's daughter for sure) and there are just so many different types of people in Montréal that you can never be bored... NEVER EVER!

So... onto the details of our trip. We got up at a reasonable hour on Saturday morning and decided we would do some shopping in Point Claire on the way into the city, but it was raining retardly when we left, and with construction, and everything else, we didn't end up stopping, but instead we made to our hotel by 11:00... and we were surprised to discover that we could check in to our room (sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet).

After checking in... we decided to go across the street to the Bell Centre to pick up our tickets for the game ... so we wasted some time there just checking out the facility... then we walked up to St. Catherine street and went our seperate ways... I to Jacob, PC to Golf Town (Happy Anniversary)! We spent a few hours shopping... we manage to both buy some new shoes, me boots, PC dress shoes (Happy Anniversary).

After the shoe purchases we went back to the hotel, changed our clothes and got ready to go to dinner. There were many restaurants in Montréal that are good, and that we would have loved to try, but we could not resist old faithful: Bâton Rouge, a stone's throw away from the hotel and the Bell Centre... it was like it was meant to be!

We enjoyed our dinner... not rushing, having a few drinks, appeitizers, and then way too much food, but it was good!

We finished with enough time to go over to the game early, to get a few pictures in the prime seating!!! The game itself was really exciting, and I hate to say it, but Habs fans really put Sens fans to shame... for a pre-season game, these fans were nuts... they are true supporters of a hockey team, not band-wagon riders! It was really something to see... everyone in the building had a Habs shirt or hat, or flag -- chanting & cheering throughout the entire game. The Leafs fans that made it to their seats, were heckled the entire game -- something worth seeing, as well! The Leafs ended up winning the game 4-3.... but as we exited the building, all you could hear was "LEAFS SUCK, LEAFS SUCK, LEAFS SUCK" -- the entire city was roaring!!!

After the game... PC and I hit this little Irish Pub on a side street near the hotel... and it was a lot of fun. They had a live band - and it was just our scene... we ended drinking quite a bit, and luckily for me, I didn't wake up with a hangover (another reason I think Montréal is so good to us)!

The next morning... we headed to Cora's for breakfast.... if I wasn't catholic, I would be swearing like a trucker describing the breakfast I had... to DIE for... seriously... I fell in love with the concept... eggs, cheese and ham sandwiched between two slices for french toast with syrup over the top --- piled high with only my favourite fruits.... grrrr, I want it again - it sounds a bit disgusting, but trust me, it was 'THE' Best - a great way to top off a very good weekend!

We toured around the historical part of the city before calling it a weekend -- and of course shopped at the Winners & Home Sense in Point Claire, before heading to Maxville for dinner Mom & Dad Coleman!

All in all is was... a fabulous weekend... a memorable first anniversary! Here are a few pics form the Habs game!

Centre Ice 

PC @ Ice Level! 

Warm up! 

FINAL SCORE 

LEAFS 

HABS 

ONE YEAR TODAY

We made it... PC & I have been married one entire year as of this day!

It's hard to believe its actually been a year since we said "I DO" but it has and we survived the year rather nicely, if I do say so myself!

We spent the weekend in Montreal celebrating our first anniversary... and since I am too tired to post anything tonight, I will vow to have the details of our trip up soon!

Stay tuned!

September 24, 2005

PIVOT

Since I won't have much time to post anything today, I thought I would link to this hilirious clip from Friends that my friend Erin sent me from YouTube. I am sure many of you have seen it, but you will die laughing over and over at the intensity in Ross' voice!

As well... the 22nd is a special day for my in-laws Mom & Dad C... as they celebrate their 33rd Wedding Anniversary (I believe its 33... but I am going on Peter's math, so don't shoot the messenger if I am off by a year!!) Happy Anniversary!!!

Alright... onto the PIVOT clip!
Enjoy!

Hold The Phone

That's right... hold the phone as in: DON'T TRY TO CONTACT ME TONIGHT.

Why?

Two words: Grey's Anatomy.

I have been preparing for this season premiere for 3 loooooooooooooong months, and I am not about to let anything get in my way - especially not a phone call. There is no getting around this one... I will definitely be screening calls all night long. Don't try to call before the show, don't try to call after (as Six Degrees & ER are both on after), and don't try to call between commerical breaks - I will be UN. A. VAIL. A. BLE!

Great... now that we've got that cleared up... I don't really have any news to report. PC & I went to the Sens games last night (thanks to Sparty Cat's main squeeze). Leafs were in town and beat the Sens 3-1 ... Boooooooooooo! But it was only pre-season, so nothing to get too excited or upset about.

Other then that... I am still miserable in French. I have never felt more disconnected from my life then I do when I am in French. I sit in class all day long and think to myself: what is my purpose in life? If I didn't know better I would be shoe-in for a suicide commercial (and sometimes I think suicide would be consider a vacation these days - I know NOT funny!) but seriously... French is depressing. I think they've sent me there to see just how much I can take before I got skit-zoe! And trust me... I am damn close these days! Thank god for Grey's Anatomy... and a team retreat with my peeps from the office tomorrow, or else I might not make it to my first anniversary!

Enough about that b.s ... I am going into hibernation to take in Grey's... and for those of you who enjoy Grey's... she is so picking McDreamy (in the long run).

I. Can't. Wait.

Aren't the trees LOVELY?

Since I am in a bit of bitter mood these past few days, I thought it would be appropriate to go off on the trees today.

Why you ask?

Because... the morning while buying the newspaper... the lady at the check out said to me 'What a beautiful fall morning, aren't the trees lovely?

Lovely... ya... sure... whatever!

A year ago I was praying for beautiful colourful fall trees this time of year, and I couldn't so much as pay the weather man to predict warm days and cool nights in early September to cook up some lovely fall foliage for my wedding day.

However, a year later, late September is full of fall colours... and not one person I know is walking down the aisle to enjoy it! This would have to be the way --- not my way.... because of course this is how my week is going... someone else's way.

Now, it may sound like my wedding day was a bit of disappointment, but to the contrary, it was the best day of my life, and I thought things went perfectly... just perfectly. But this week, since I have the 'I want to kill the world' attitude going for me, I thought I may as well speak my mind as I have had this 'damn you fall foliage' thought everyday this week.

There... it's out... and if I hear one person say 'aren't the trees LOVELY?' this week -- I will comtemplate assualt with a weapon causing bodily harm on that person.

So... let the record show... you've been warned!!

Winds of change

What a difference 365 days can make. When I think back, and compare this Tuesday to the same Tuesday a year ago... the winds of change have definitely set in.

365 days ago my parents and sister were in town. Erin and I had the kitchen table utilized folding, hold punching, and tieing sage green ribbon to 200 wedding programs. My Mom had 60 some gift bags lined up on the living floor inserting little treats and wedding information for all of our hotel guests, and my Dad & PC were assembling the personalized lables onto the 300 wedding water bottles.

Thinking back to that night it was complete and utter organized disorganization. We were up well past my mother's bedtime (usually she's down for the count at 8:30 pm) and although it seemed like a lot to do in one night, we accomplished everything. After finishing all the tasks, I remember lying in bed that night and letting out a big ***Ahhhhhhhh *** and thinking to myself.... the big day is almost here!

Tonight, I let out a big sigh because I realized that today I practically did nothing worth while - and everytime I have a french thought I want to cry.

I didn't go to school today because of the sheer fact that I am completely frustrated and upset at my French school. I learned late yesterday that I was only 3 right answers away from acheiving my C level in my comprehension test - 3 FREAKIN ANSWERS... so naturally when I found this out, I wanted to scream. The head cheese director at the school hasn't so much as said BOO to me over my results, and the teachers keep plugging on through the schedule as if I'm already a fluent frenchie! Yesterday, I had enough, and I decided right then and there that I would be far more productive from the comfort of my own home studying French from my own living room - and I was (if you call productive watching the movies Zoolander & I Am Sam in French).

A year ago today, I was feeling confident, accomplished, and somewhat of an important person on this planet. However, 365 days later... I literally think driving the garbage truck would be far more rewarding than learning french.

I know its just a phase, and my nasty little attitude will pass.... but why can't I be as blissfully happy as I was just a short year ago.

Excuse me for the rest of the evening, while I go back to the couch to feel completely sorry for myself. I can only hope that one of those World Vision commericals comes on to bring me out of this funk!

TEST RESULTS

In the thick of all of this curling, I almost forgot to post some important news.

I received the results to my writing and comprehension exams late Friday night (1:00 am when I got home from curling).

I passed!

For you peeps out there that know the system.... I got BB in both writing and comprehension. I need to get a C in comprehesion before the end of my training, but according to my learning plan right now, I am to be at the B level, and that is what I acheived, so I am pretty excited!

Obviously I would have liked to get a C right off the bat, but I am really satisfied that I atleast acheived the B's!

My writing levels are finito.... so that is one chapter closed.

I will revisit the comprehension exam at a later date, but right now my focus is on my oral interview that is scheduled for October 16th.

Let the stress continue!

Pocket change!

Well... we had a good start to the season, making a little pocket change for the year... $500 cash!

After qualifying first in our pool yesterday, we lost this afternoon in the semi-finals... which was a bit disappointing because we didn't really bring much of our game, or any game today, but nonetheless our team was pretty happy with the start to the season!

Now we have a week and a half off before we take to the ice again for our regular leagues. Just enough time to let the muscles tighten back up before I need to rip them out place again!!

I. CAN'T. WAIT.

A little tired today... PC ended up being the kitchen bitch tonight because I was to lazy to do anything with myself, but he made a mean steak dinner - which was a lot better than the bowl of cereal I was dreaming of!

Amazing Race 10 starts tonight.... so I will hopefully get to watch that before I crash!

Seasonal Marriage Now In Effect

This week has marked the first week of the seasonal marriage arrangement that PC and I opted for when we exchanged vows almost a year ago (yikes... time flies).

PC dusted off the reffing gear and I the curling gear, and we parted ways ever so lovingly Tuesday morning!

Our last conversation went like this:

PC: See you tonight?
Me: No.

PC: Why, what do you have to do?
Me: I have a curling meeting, but I will be home around 9.

PC: I have hockey at 9.
Me: I see... soooooooooo...

PC: See you tomorrow then?
Me: Ya... actually no... I have curling at 6:30.

PC: And I am reffing at 8.
Me: Okay... see you Thursday then....?

PC: I have to meet a client at 3, so I will working late.
Me: I have to...... ahhh... alright then, see you in the spring?

PC: Yes... that works, love you, bye.
Me: Love you too... bye.

And just like that we went our seperate ways.

This pretty much how our schedules will go for the next 8 months. When we exchanged vows almost a year ago, we agreed that seasonal marriage was for best... and well, neither of us is complaining yet... so I guess it was the right decision (aside from the fact that this is only the first week of the seasonal contract)!

We didn't exactly discuss the fine details of the seasonal marriage, perhaps I am not responsible for his laundry anymore... and maybe he's not responsible for the garage anymore.... I am sure PC is loving life right now, wondering just how far he can take our little seasonal arrangment.
So PC... if you are reading this right now... YES... YOU STILL HAVE TO CLEAN THE BATHROOMS!

Rossi Possi

Well... it has come to a close... Rockstar Supernova crowned Lukas Rossi from Canada the new lead singer of Supernova (read story here)!!!

Rockstar has been my favourite show all summer... the music was great, far better than any Canadian or American Idol could ever be (in my opinion). Lukas impressed everyone all summer long... and although I liked Toby and Dilana too, Lukas is a good ol' Canadian boy... so it was nice to see him get a great opportunity like this!

He has many fans out there who are part of his Rossi Possi... so hopefully his eye shadow and crazy hair hold up for the Supernova World Tour that is coming to Montreal in January. Who knows, since this has been a concert going year for me, I may just have to go see them!!!

In other news... although I am happy to report that my curling team was rather impressive in our first game of the season last night, my quads are currently cursing (ear-muff style) the game of curling.

It was a pretty successful game on our part... we excuted, we stuck to a simple game plan, and when we had to... we made some keys shots. Our skip didn't mind working the front end either... she would drive out of the hack like a turtle, releasing the stone with barely enough weight to make the rings, and Trish & I (being the little work horses we are) would rip every muscle in our upper body to get the damn rock in the top of the house and force the other team to take a single point. This happened not once people, but twice in last night's game - so much for taking it easy during the first game!!!

The good news is once your rip open your muscles for the first game, they are rarin' to go for the next 198 games of the season!!!

Our next game action is Friday night at 5pm, followed by an encore presentation at 9pm. Complete standings of the event can be found here. But don't worry... I will keep you posted on our progress!

Ouch!

Tonight my curling team takes to the ice for the first time this season, and all I can think is ... OUCH! We have entered into a little pre-season cash spiel... which months ago, seemed like a great idea, but as start time draws near, my muscles are already complaining.

Why is it that muscles go into hibernation over the summer? I mean I play baseball, the odd game of tennis, a bit of swimming, etc. ... to say the least I am active, but yet every year at the start of curling, I wake up two days after my first game practically in tears.

I am really excited to start the season up, because I love my teammates, we work well together, and we get along on & off the ice, but as I sit quitely thinking about this spiel, my shoulders and thighs are screaming: DON'T DO IT.

Awwww... the joys of a new season!

For the hard core curling keeners out there who are just dying follow this weekend's cash spiel, results can be accessed here or here. We are Team Cafferty.

God & his holy peeps will now be accepting prayers on behalf of SC for 'glorious curling wins resulting in minor pain'.

Hands together people ... now get down on your knees!

If license plates were radio stations...

I have had this thought before, but this morning after sitting in 45 minutes of stop n' go traffic, I really wish that license plates were radio stations, and that while in your car, you could tune into the car in front of you just by dialing into the person's plate number on your radio.

I know... you are probably thinking, I have gone crazy, but in all seriousness, I would like to know what people are doing in their car, and if I could hear inside their car, then it would probably make more sense to me, and in fact I would go as far as to say that this notion would probably reduce road rage (and make the morning commute a whole lot more interesting for me)!

On the way into work, I would say that, on average, I am behind 30-40 different cars every morning. Some cars have young families in them, other have business men picking their nose's, single woman putting on make-up, or a couple hand talkers discussing the topic of the day. Whatever their story is, I believe it could be interesting to many.

Every time I pull up behind a new car, I often wonder to myself, what in the world people are doing.... some people are belting out the words to a good song on the radio, some couples are having a minor disagreement, and other people just look so nervous to be in city traffic that they want to drive off the road. If I could just tune into their thoughts and hear what is going on, I might be a little more curious as a driver, or at the very least, be in better humor when I arrive at school/work.

Think of the movie What Women Want with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.... do you remember how Mel could hear the thoughts of women, and how he used it to his advantage.... well I don't exactly want to use anyone's thoughts to my advantage, but with some driver's I would really like to know what the hell they are thinking when they are on the road!

With technology like satellite radio I am sure this idea has big potential. If you didn't want your license plate to be accessed by others you could pay an extra fee to have a restricted plate number --- just like restricted phone numbers.

This could be a whole new era of reality radio... and who thought of it first, MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I know... its just a theory, but in my opinion, its a damn good one. What do you think... are you with me on this one???

Take this job and shove it!

Yes... that's right, the big man (a.k.a my dad, a.k.a Timbo) has finally called it a career.

After 33.5 years of service with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Timbo has said: See ya, Check ya later, Aideious, Toot-a-lu, or as my Grandma Bellerose use to say Cheerio!

Thursday night PC and I arrive in the bright lights of Thessalon to begin celebrating Timbo's retirement tour. We were up early Friday morning to head to the Soo to enjoy a little office luncheon for the big guy. He received a few plaques for his years of service, one in particular signed by our good buddy Dalton McGuinty (apparently he was too busy to attend the luncheon himself, so he sent a plaque in lieu of an apperance - typical Ontario government fashion... the feds would have never done that!).

My sister and I prepared a little speech for the luncheon... with a few of our memories of Timbo on the road... here is a little excerpt:

The one job that stands out so vividly in our minds is the job he worked on repaving the stretch of 4 lane highway near Bar River. That summer, we happened to be taking swimming lessons in the Soo, and that meant traveling between Thessalon and the Soo on a bus full of kids for 2 weeks straight. Every time we would hit the construction, Erin & I would be glued to the windows looking for that guy with the white hat. We wouldn’t rest until we saw him…. we had our windows down and were hanging both arms out the window waving as if he was Mick Jagger, screaming to all our friends “that’s my Dad, that’s my Dad”. He was a pretty important guy in our minds. That image of him has always stuck with us.

The luncheon wrapped up with a lot of well wishes and a big honkin cake! It wasn't long before we were leaving the restaurant to start planning day 2 of the tour. Erin, Mom, and I did some last minute grocery shopping, PC ensured Timbo was too busy to notice what were doing, and we went about putting together a little surprise come & go party on Saturday afternoon (the plans had been in motion for a few months, but we had the last minute stuff to do!).

All plans went well, until small town Thessalon got the best of us, and a lady at the golf course spilt the beans. Nevertheless, we had to tell him sometime, so perhaps she took the pressure off us by letting the news out a few hours early.

The afternoon soiree turned out to be very good, I think Timbo really enjoyed himself and was glad to see everyone who attended. Afterwards, we headed back to my parents for a good meal and some more drinks! I was pretty tired by the end of the night, but was pretty happy that the weekend was a hit and that PC and I could make the trip to attend all the events!

It hard to actually believe that my Dad is retired now. Its makes a girl feel a little old (I can only imagine how he is feeling!). However, I know my Dad won't have any trouble enjoying his new lifestyle... he has always been a doer, and so between camping, kayaking, curling, and the great outdoors, I am sure he will live to enjoy his retirement... after all he has earned it!

And of course, I have a unfinished basement that is desperately calling his name... so if all those activities don't keep him happy, I know where he can find work!!

To my Dad, I would just like to say, that I am very proud of you, you have accomplished so much during your career with the MTO, and I only hope to be as successful, hardworking, and as good of role model for my kids, as you were to Erin and I! Congratulations on a wonderful career.... I love you!

A little self-absorbed

Well the exams are done. over. finito.

Give me a moment here.... I still am in shock.

OKAY... now there is nothing left to do but the cryin, and trust me that will probably some of that come next week when I get the results.

I left the exams feeling not horrible, but then again, I was feeling confident either ... time management was a factor, definitely... and lets not forget the general comprehension & application of 4,357 verbs + proper conjugations.

I swear that if I ever come across the loser who wrote the rule book on the French language... I... I... I dunno what I will do, but it won't be pretty, I can tell you that!

These days I have been asking myself a lot lately.... is this really my life?

Anyways... after the exams, I ran into few disgruntle readers (who happen to be bloggers themselves: A prego lady & her boss), and it was brought to my attention that I've been a little self-absorbed lately thanks to these exams... some might say, so self-absorbed that I have abandon my readers altogethers.

So... to that tune.... I offer my deepest apologies. But to add to my self-absorbed manner, I am taking off for the Soo (in 2 horus) to attend a retirement luncheon for my Father tomorrow... so it's highly unlikely that you can expect a regular half bitchy/half sensible post until Monday.

Again... S-O-R-R-Y.

All I can do is ask you stick with me, in good times & in bad, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer... in sickness & and in health.... (and here PC thought he was only one taking those vows me!!). With this post, I thee blog!

Ramblings

So much on my mind this week, so little time to report!

Thursday (this Thursday, 2 days away, not that I am counting) is the date of my french exams (writing and comprehension), so this will be the main reason for sparatic rants and incoherent ramblings this week.

Although there is NO reprecussions for failing these exams (at least none that I have been told of.... YET) its my first crack at them and so naturally I would like to pass and spare myself the disappointment of hearing that I'm a FAILURE.

However... what will be will be... and I know I can only do my best and yida yida yada, but GOD DAMN IT, I want to pass and move on with my life. Moving on would entail moving from french training in writing and comprehension, to french training solely in oral interaction - still french training but its BABY STEPS PEOPLE.... BABY STEPS!

In other words, this week, french is my business.... H to Izzo.... shizzle my nizzle!

The other thing that I wanted to mention was the death of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin (who, by the way, shares the same birthday as my Dad - freaky). Honestly... what a fitting way for a man like this to go... and I mean that in a serious way. With a name like 'the crocodile hunter', you wouldn't want this guy to die in a car accident or from some form of cancer, but rather by having his lung punchured by a stingray while doing what he loved most, being dangerous for the sake of entertainment. I bet the man is smiling from above as I type this!

Anywho... I just got in the door from baseball, I should be doing a french practice exam, but Rockstar Supernova is on, and like hell I am going to miss that show for French (please feel free to copy and paste this phrase in an email and send it to me when I report that I have failed!).

2 more sleeps until doom day... I apologize in advance if posts are irregular this week.

The World is Flatt's!

Well... we're back from the Rascal Flatts concert... and all I can say is WOW!

It was by far the best outdoor concert I have ever been to. Rascal Flatt's put on quite the show complete with fireworks, blowing confetti, and video add-ons that completed the whole set. I would definitely consider seeing them in an arena setting.... their vocals were unbelievable... these boys know how to sing their hearts out.

The highlight for me was when they sang Bless the Broken Road, as it was our wedding song. I proclaimed before the concert started that if they didn't sing our wedding song, I would charge the stage, so I was glad I didn't have to do that!

Here is a little video clip from that song:

Erin and I predicted the encore performance would be What Hurts the Most & Life is a Highway... and we were bang on. The best thing about the concert is that after the encore all three members of the group hung around the stage signing autographs, and shaking hands with the crowd.... most bands would bolt backstage, but not these guys! It was just an all around great show!

Gary Allan opened for them, and he was no disappointment either. The man has been through some pretty rough times in his life, but he funnels that anger into music, and it makes for great entertainment!

The New York State Fair is definitely something people in Ottawa should consider doing. The price is reasonable, the drive is short, and the music is amazing not to mention all the other things that come along with a typical fair. It is definitely something we would do again next year.

As well, the day following the concert we headed to Waterloo to do some serious shopping (8 hours worth of shopping)... and the Premium Outlets did not disappoint... all day long it was DEALS DEALS DEALS... PC and I were both in heaven! Again, another trip that people from Ottawa should consider if they need a shopping getaway!

This trip is really hard to put into words, because we had such a good time. Erin & Barry were lots of fun, and since we didn't get searched at the border, we were definitely happy campers!

Here are a few other pics from our little trip!

Waitin on some booze! 

Air & Bar-dog 

Boyder 

PC & Me 

Ready for RF