Missing the Rock

Star Wars, the version you didn't see...

2012-01-21T08:09:00.003-05:00

If you have a fan of Luke, Han, Leia or Darth Vader in your family, you need to watch "Star Wars Uncut". It is the work of thousands of Star Wars fans to remake "Star Wars: A New Hope" into a fan film, only 15 seconds at a time. Fans were asked to recreate any 15 second scene from Star Wars, however they wanted, and then each of those scenes were pieced together to recreate the whole film. This is the result:

Iceberg Alley

2012-01-13T14:48:00.001-05:00

It is really had to beat the Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism ads; they are so beautifully done. But man! How they make me homesick.

I wish it was Christmas today...

2011-12-22T09:14:00.002-05:00

This update on their old tune almost perfectly sums up how I feel about today- two days left until Christmas break, and stuck in Ontario.

Messiah at the Mall

2011-12-16T09:39:00.001-05:00

You probably have heard of Flash Mobs even if you haven’t been present for one. A Flash Mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place to perform an unusual act like a dance, or a pillow fight, for a brief time; and then disperse as quickly as they appeared. Most times Flash Mobs are heavily reliant on social media and are often organized via cell phones, Twitter, Facebook and the like.

This past weekend, shoppers at the Avalon Mall in St John’s were pleasantly surprised by a Flash Mob. Members of the Philharmonic Choir of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra treated shoppers with a sudden performance of the famous oratorio from Handel's "Messiah." The video below was provided by Nine Island Productions. Thanks to my cousin Emily for the link.

The Muppets

2011-12-09T13:43:00.007-05:00

For a large chunk of my childhood I had a secret wish: I wanted to be a Muppeteer. It's not something I shared with many people because I knew almost everyone would think I was strange but I truly loved the little world and the quirky cast of characters that Jim Henson created. As a very young child I knew it wasn't real, but I loved The Muppet Show all the same.

We introduced Wilson to the Muppets when he was about two years old. Many of the popular song segments and special guest appearances are on You Tube. Wilson loves everything we show him - the music, the slap stick, the exploding Muppets, and the Swedish Chef. I am really looking forward to seeing the Muppet Movie with him over Christmas holidays.

So earlier this week when I heard about the frenzied tirade Fox News anchor Eric Bolling spewed about the latest Muppet Movie, I was instantly angered and offended. The moron suggested that the movie was aimed at planting the seeds of "class warfare to brainwash our kids". He took issue that the villain in the film a character named Tex Richman, a greedy oil executive who wants to drill under the Muppet's theatre.

Bolling's Fox News colleague Andrea Tantaros added to the flummery: "I just wish liberals could leave little kids alone." To which Bolling wondered aloud why the Muppets couldn't, for once, "have the evil person be the Obama administration" and then "Where are we? Communist China?"

I was going to put the link to a clip of the show here, but decided against it. Fox News doesn't need anyone else pushing up their viewership- even if it is only to see the new definition of stupid in action.

The Muppets are communists? Really?

I have never been a fan of Fox News. I reject their obdurate pursuit to redefine reality where all those who do not spew the same vitriol as themselves are somehow part of a large leftwing propaganda machine.

Just as I was starting to really work myself into a lather about it all- I remembered: It is Fox News.

Who gives a shit?

We have to Remember to Remember.

2011-11-09T09:13:00.008-05:00

Remembrance Day commemorates the sacrifices of people in all armed conflicts. Every year, we are asked to take a few short minutes out of our day to remember the sacrifices made for our freedom and safety. Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the few provinces who have made the day a statutory holiday. As they should.

As all provinces should.

It is a disgraceful fact that Ontario does not currently recognize Remembrance Day as a holiday. God forbid anything get in the way of the almighty dollar.

In Newfoundland, it is different. We still remember and honor those who fought. For us, Remembrance Day is far more than a 2 minute break in the middle of your working day.

We remember the stories of the “Fighting Newfoundlanders”, The Royal Newfoundland Regiment, "The Blue Puttees" and those who continue to serve with the Canadian Armed Forces. We remember the battle at Beaumont Hamel, in fact we still honor the Danger Tree- a tree half-way across No Man's Land. It marks the most forward position Newfoundlanders reached before they were shot down. We remember the merchant mariners, while not part of the armed forces, faced constant threat from enemy submarines, destroyers and aircraft. Some were killed at sea; still others captured and kept as prisoners of war.

I remember the stories I learned in school of bravery and ingenuity displayed by Newfoundlanders who fought in the Great War. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment received 280 decorations. Names like Tommy Ricketts, a Newfoundland awarded the Victoria Cross and Lieutenant Cyril Gardner, the only allied serviceman to receive the German Iron Cross. He captured an entire German Patrol and then stopped a British Officer who wanted to shoot the unarmed German prisoners. Mariner Edmund Wagg who after the oil tanker he worked on was attacked by an Italian submarine, rescued 18 of his shipmates before an Allied ship found them. Wagg received a commendation from the United States government for his efforts. We remember Newfoundland soldiers Justin Peter Jones, Cpl. Thomas James Hamilton and Pte. John Michael Roy Curwin, Cpl. Brian Pinksen, Sgt. Craig Paul Gillam, and Sgt. Craig Paul Gillam, killed serving in Afghanistan.

I remember my Poppy, Wilson Price, who served our country well and came home to build a life for his family.

I wish I was home this Remembrance day- because I would take my son to the Cenotaph and I would tell him about our troops. I would spend some time at the Legion and talk to the veterans there. Though their numbers are fewer now. I would go home and spend time with my family- thankful for the opportunity to raise my son in a country like Canada.

But I am not in Newfoundland, I am in Ontario. So I will be at work, like so many others this Remembrance Day. While I know I will take the two minutes asked of us to pay my respect, I wonder, just how many Ontarians out there in Cubical Land, or on a job site will do the same? I am not optimistic.

For all too many, this is just another day.

Prepare yourselves!

2011-11-01T11:21:00.008-04:00

Today is All Souls Day, so I guess now is as good time as any to warn you about the coming Zombie Apocalypse. I even have the Center for disease control to back me up on this.

The CDC is advising all its citizens of the impending Zombie invasion. Nope, not kidding.

It is a slick little campaign which attempts to connect with a younger demographic by tapping in to the current popular obsession with zombies. The article actually offers a useful set of preparedness tips which include stockpiling emergency medical supplies, food, water and tools.

All of the tips will help you survive a Zombie attack; even though there is no mention of a twelve gauge. These tips also come in handy for an extended power outage, a natural disaster, or (insert your favorite animal prefix here) ____ flu.

The over hyped prognostications of disaster, world wide panic and widespread infection of bugs like SARS or Bird or Swine flu have resulted in a population of people who are now immune to future dire predictions of humanity’s potential demise. Ironically, this creepy little campaign gets the message across without the fear mongering, and gets past our “I heard this crap before” censors. And let's face it folks, this whole idea is just plain cool.

Check it out at the CDC website.

Your Man Reminder

2011-10-25T10:55:00.005-04:00

As many of you know, October is the Breast Cancer Awareness month. No doubt, you have seen people getting their pink on this month. You may have sponsored a friend for The Run for the Cure or perhaps you ran yourself. Maybe you played Boobyball, bought a bracelet, or a pink t-shirt or other such swag. And good for you if you did.

It is important.

I support all these initiatives, however sometimes I worry that another message is lost in that sea of pink. It is a given that we need to fundraise cancer reasearch to beat this disease. However, early detection can be quite literally be in your own hands: checking your own breasts regularly ( or perhaps the breasts of someone you love- wink wink, nudge nudge) is profoundly important.

The folks at Rethink Breast Cancer have come up with an unforgettable, entertaining and stimulating way to make sure women remember do their monthly checks: the Your Man Reminder app.

That is right, hot guys in the service of your boobs is only a click away. Have a look:

Happy Thanksgiving.

2011-10-07T14:49:00.004-04:00

In honor of the Thanksgiving weekend, I give you this: "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"

Enjoy the long weekend everyone.

Damn you Plantar fasciitis! Damn you!

2011-10-03T14:14:00.001-04:00

Two summers ago I started a jogging program. There were many nights I simply wanted to jump in front of a bus rather than continue, but continue I did. I made it all the way to eights and ones (jog for eight minutes, walk for one, repeat this cycle a few times). It was an activity that was good for me, and I surprised myself by sticking with it.

However, I broke my foot that Halloween. I am still not sure how I managed to do it: one moment I was walking happily along, and the next I was suddenly tits up, and in a great deal of pain. Fast forward a few months past me hobbling around in an air cast, and then a few more months of physiotherapy, and then a couple of months of simply walking- I began the jogging program again. Starting at the beginning with twos and ones: walk two minutes, jog one.

About three weeks in, I was noticing pain in my feet. In the beginning, the pain flared up mostly after a period of inactivity, but as the weeks went by I noticed more pain through-out the day- especially after longer periods on my feet, in the middle of a walk, or halfway through my jog. It was getting worse. I thought it was just because I had broken the foot before, and it was always going to hurt when I was active so I ignored it as best I could. Tried to stretch it out.

One night, around 4 o’clock in the morning, I awoke to the sound of Wilson screaming- poor little shagger was having a nightmare. I leapt out of bed, and promptly fell to the floor, crying out in agony. I could not stand up.

The next day I went to the walk in clinic, and was diagnosed with Plantar fasciitis.

That was over a year ago.

The Plantar fasciitis is still not better.

Here is what I have done to address the Plantar fasciitis:

Rest: Stopped walking, and jogging. Which has been demoralizing.

Physiotherapy: Have been to two different physiotherapists. Mixed reviews on this. The first lady was very sweet and tried her best. She gave me a number of exercises to try. After a few months with her, I ran out of coverage, and was still not better. The second physiotherapist actually helped me reduce pain quite a bit, but has not gotten rid of the problem. She also gave me new exercises, did ultrasound and some sort of electric pulse thingie. But I have used up coverage with her now as well.

Sports Medicine: Went to a Doctor who specializes in sports medicine. He told me not to get the cortisol shot and sent me to a physiotherapist.

Massage Therapy: Again, two different masseuses. I find that they ease pain somewhat (though the session itself is painful) but massage really has not been a cure for me.

Strassburg Sock: Bought it at the running room. I think it helps a little. But is no cure. Have been wearing it about a month now.

Orthotics: $1000 wasted – I had a pair for my running shoes, and for dress shoes. I wore them for almost a year. No benefit. Zip. Ziltch. Zero. Matter of fact, I had the running orthotics remade three times. The last pair that was made for me are brutal. I can’t even stand in them.

New Sneakers: Outfitted at the running room. Meh. No big difference.

Ice/Stretches/Anti-inflammatories: daily, immediate relief only.

Chiropractic: Have just started this, and have only been at it two weeks. So far, I am not overly impressed but am going to hang in there until the coverage runs out for sure. He seems somewhat hopeful that he can fix this, and I am hanging on to that, because at this point I am terrified that this damn Plantar fasciitis is never going to go away.

What the heck am I doing wrong? Am I ever going to be able to go for a jog again? Cripes at this point I would settle for a long walk without crying from pain hours later. Have you ever suffered from Plantar fasciitis? What did you do to get rid of it? How long did it take? Did it ever come back? Is this thing curable or not?

Pure Energies and Rick Mercer

2011-09-29T10:51:00.004-04:00

This week on the Mercer Report, Rick was with Mike Holmes to install solar panels on the roof of a home in Oshawa, ON. David Suzuki makes an appearance as well. They are working with an innovative Canadian company called PURE Energies. Based in Toronto, this company was created by solar specialists who design, install, finance and operate residential rooftop systems. They offer a no cost profit sharing lease or the option to buy a system for your house.

I think this is a fantastic idea! While this is something I would seriously consider, I have to admit, I am still looking for the catch.

Also, I wonder how the solar panels will affect the cost of replacing the roof? Eventually those shingles are going to need to be replaced. Would I have to call PURE Energies back to first remove the panels, and then get them to come back and put those suckers back up once the roof has been redone? What about a leak? How much more would the panels complicate things?

Regardless, this is something I plan on looking into. Have any of you had experience with this kind of thing? Suggestions? Concerns?

Goodbye summer

2011-09-19T14:29:00.002-04:00

It was a good summer, but damn short. I don’t know where the whole thing went so fast, but I sure do wish I could have hit a pause button there somewhere. While the summer was short, it was productive. I got most of the house painted and new blinds installed. Don looked for and found a new job. My son grew at least an inch, and learned how to play baseball and soccer. And we were lucky enough to have visits from family back home, my parents (not one, but two visits with my mom!), an uncle and aunt and a side order of cousins. We also managed a short, but wonderful trip to Niagara Falls where I learned that my little boy loves thrill rides and room service. Little man after my own heart.

Now, back at work and in the grove, I am looking at how fast our days are passing. My son had his 5th birthday last week- how the hell did that happen? Wasn’t he just learning to walk yesterday? He just started hockey this weekend past and gymnastics starts up on Friday.

Don is back into Jujitsu, and I am contemplating starting up Yoga in the Fall. I am desperately trying to get rid of this damn Plantar Fasciitis so I can get back to jogging. Heck, at this point I would be happy to stand or walk for longer periods of time without wanting to chew my own foot off.

I had to say goodbye to a childhood friend this month, and I think that is playing with my mind some. Toying with my perception of time. I was helpless to do anything useful when he went missing- and I could not be there to say goodbye when he was found. It all hurt rather sharply.

The speed of life of late has left me feeling unsettled and nervous.

I sometimes feel like the proverbial hamster in a wheel, running and running, going over the same old track day after day, without the benefit of the calorie burn.

I have to work on finding that pause button. Until I find it, all I can do is appreciate the time that I have.

And I do.

Rex Murphy pays tribute to Jack Layton

2011-08-24T08:55:00.004-04:00

Well said Rex.

Well said.

Zombie Invasion

2011-06-27T14:31:00.005-04:00

The world is dealing with some wild, dangerous weather. Japan is still struggling with the aftermath of a devastating tsunami and recent earthquakes. Wildfires and flooding plague wide swaths of the US and Canada and Australia.

In Newfoundland?

A Zombie invasion.

According to CBC commuters were alerted via el ectronic signs of the coming invasion this morning.

No word yet on casualties.

A Game of Thrones

2011-06-08T11:52:00.007-04:00

Years ago Don and I wondered into a store in downtown Toronto called Bakka Booksand fell in love with the little bookstore. It focused mainly on science fiction and fantasy novels and featured write ups on a variety of different novels that the owners, employees and patrons favored. We really enjoyed reading the reviews and picked up some really great reads because of them. It became a monthly ritual to drop into Bakka and see what was new.

Don, the lucky bastard, went to Bakka one afternoon without me. I am not sure why we weren’t together but I missed out. Big time.

He walked in on a book signing. It was quiet, but a few people were gathered around a desk at the back arguing with a man about putting the books one the small screen. One kid was even offering screen play suggestions. Don looked at the books stacked to the side of the desk, and selected one: A Game of Thrones. He read a few pages and was hooked.

After purchasing the novel he brought it over to the author, George RR Martin, and asked him to sign it. Not having read the novels, or knowing much about the series, he was at a loss for words when Martin asked him what he wanted on the book. Martin took the book and scrawled across the page: “Don, Keep your sword sharp!” and then signed his name.

Days later Don began cursing himself at fairly regular intervals. “I cannot %^$#ing believe I met the guy who wrote this book! I had the chance to ask him a ton of questions and I could not because I had not read it yet.”

We both blazed through the novel, and read all the books that followed it in the Song of Ice and Fire series. We have been waiting for the latest in the series, A Dance of Dragons, for years. (YEARS MARTIN DAMN YOU! YEARS!)

And now the series is on television, and it is awesome. Unfortunately, Don’s self flagellation has once again become a problem: as soon as the end credits roll he once again starts in on the “I cannot %^$#ing believe I met the guy who wrote this book and I had nothing significant to say to him!”

If you haven’t been watching the series on HBO, don’t start now. Go get the book, read it, thank me profusely for the suggestion and then watch the series. It is a fantastic world that Martin has created- but it is the characters that really make the novel sing. These are people you root for, mourn, love and hate. It also the characters that make the book better than the television series- and that is to be expected I think. You get so much more about who they are, what they are thinking and how they plan to act.

The series is exceptionally well done though, I thought it would be impossible to bring this particular work to the screen but they have managed nicely. We look forward to it each week- although I could seriously do without Don’s griping at the end. Come on Don, it has been about 8 years since you lost your only opportunity to speak with the author of one of your most favourite books in the world.

Let it go.

Dammit it Jim, You're a Doctor!

2011-06-03T10:50:00.002-04:00

Captain Kirk beamed down to earth yesterday to get an honorary doctorate from http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifMcGill University. At spring convocation Thursday Shatner joked:

"Don't be afraid of making an ass of yourself," he said. "I do it all the time and look what I got."

I want to go home

2011-05-05T20:02:00.001-04:00

How could you not love the Rock?

It is election season.

2011-04-13T16:39:00.002-04:00

So get your ass off the couch and vote!

News Junkie No More

2011-03-30T15:29:00.003-04:00

I try to stay informed.

Everyday I read the important bits from a variety of online newspapers. I listen to the radio news casts, and I also watch a variety of news stations and every night, it was our habit, my husband and I, to watch the National together before bed.

Not so much these days.

I have had to cut back on the television news in recent weeks. The disaster porn was just getting to be too much. Some stations are worse than others to be sure, but they all gleefully wallow in the misery. The misery that hasn’t really changed much since their last “BREAKING NEWS” update on the topic…an update on the update they pronounced ten short minutes ago.

So I gave it up for a bit.

My husband has kept to his news watching habits though, especially the National at 10:00 pm. While he is glued to the set I am puttering around getting things ready for the next day, or working on the computer.

I think he might be missing me a little because he seems somehow compelled to fill me in a variety of details while I am most doggedly doing something, anything, else. I could be cleaning out the fridge and hear him call out some random headline from the living room:

“They said the radiation not be as bad as they thought it was. Looks like a mistake”

“Some house exploded in Woodbridge!”

“Looks like the radiation is worse than they thought it was. It is in the groundwater”

And last night:

“Apparently there seems to be a trend in Nursing Homes now where seniors are beating each other up”

To which I replied. “Now there is something to look forward to”

I guess I should head back to the gym.

Tonight when the National comes on, I am going to bed.

We Have Come a Long Way Baby

2011-03-08T09:21:00.005-05:00

But have we come far enough?

Today is International Woman's Day, and yes, we have many things to celebrate and be grateful for but it is clear there is still a great deal of work to be done.

Women in Canada struggle with our lack of parliamentary representation and resent that our average wage is less than that of our male counterparts. We are more likely to live in poverty and become the victims of violent crime than men. However, we have recourse in many cases to try and address these issues- all the women who struggled before us have given us a voice.

We forget that far too many women in this world do not have a voice at all. Too many women on our planet live in a society where rape is a weapon of social control, where women struggle for reproductive rights and have limited access to education (if at all), where women continually suffer at the hands of men, in the name of religion and politics.

James Bond (Daniel Craig), traditionally the very example of a character who uses and objectifies women to further his own needs, takes a turn at highlighting many of the issues women struggle with daily- not just in the developing world- but everywhere.

The Force Still Moves Me.

2011-03-01T20:21:00.011-05:00

I was only around four years old when Star Wars a New Hope opened in theaters- and I was immediately hooked. Not just on the Star Wars franchise- but anything space, science fiction or fantasy related. Cripes, I remember having an unhealthy fascination with Boney M's Night Flight to Venus just because my mom told me they were all astronauts. She flashed the cover of the album just to prove it. I swear I never would have listened to that crap otherwise...honest.

When the disco glow of Boney M grew dim, my Aunt Catherine, desperate to hear something, anything, else introduced me to the Carpenters- who covered the old Klaatu song "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (the recognized Anthem of World Contact Day). I played it over and over and over again- it mesmerized me. Before the end of my visit home that summer my Uncle Billy snapped the album in half.

While I was jonesing for the next installment of Star Wars I was taken in by its more cerebral cousin: Star Trek. The reruns used to play at suppertime everyday on CBC- and I never missed one episode. I even watched Spock's Brain.

Twice.

Now that is devotion.

Most of my favourite books, music and toys had a space theme- with the only notable exception being all things Tolkien. All my stories and games I created in my head were set in the distant future where everyone knew how to fly, technology was a saviour and women could kick some serious ass. Especially the green women.

It appears I am not alone.

George Lucas created a winning formula: the ultimate quest with heroic and compelling characters who millions of people grew up with, rooted for and loved. Lucas took us on an intergalactic joy ride for those first few magical years and then brutally; without compassion or finesse, unleashed the prequels to the original series upon his unsuspecting fans- ramming the entire mythology down the crapper of popular culture. He didn't even bother to flush.

And yet, the magic of the original series still has power. It still speaks to millions of little boys and girls who tinker with Star Wars figurines long after bed time- hiding under the sheets with a flashlight and a makeshift rebel base made of stuffed animals and books. There, locked in a noble battle for the safety of the universe, they lovingly create their own star wars until sleep overtakes them.

And all those kids, myself included, who so loved the series as children hold a place in their hearts for it still. That is why Williams Sonoma can sell a mock up of the original lunch box, or ThinkGeek can hook you up with a Tauntaun Sleeping bag (it was on my wish list this year, but Santa didn't figure it was worth 100 bucks). We have also introduced the magic to our kids. Somehow, in this age of ADHD they don't seem to find Jar-Jar Binks as offensive as their adult counterparts. Star Wars, despite George Lucas' recent fumblings, remains popular; from the Clone Wars cartoons to the Star Wars Lego products it still speaks directly to our hearts.

This would explain why the recent explosion of genuine affection for the recent Volkswagen commercial. How many millions of parents have a little guy or gal at home exactly like this? How many of us could put ourselves in this pint size version of Darth Vader's shoes? A lovely little take on the magic of childhood, and the power of creative parenting.

For the two of you who missed it:

As with all good things on the Internet- there is a parody to be found as well. This time with Toyota at the wheel. Perversely enough, I believe I found this one even funnier then its forerunner. It has quite a different take on children today and creative parenting... and car companies?

May the Force be with you.

Always

Stream of Consciousness

2011-02-02T19:31:00.001-05:00

“Dadda has icicles on his car and when you eat them they go down in your belly. Dadda is a transformer and he gets the bad guys with his sword and the bad guys get on the fire truck and they go to his house and they break the windows and then I smack them with the light saber and they fall on the ground. Don’t clip my toes. I will put my toes under my bum so you can’t clip them. Ok. Not today. Tomorrow. Look at the woobbies on my toes Momma. They are silly. Get them off Momma. Don’t clip my toes. My red car is fast. It wins. The blue car is fast too but it doesn’t win. Dadda plays with the blue car. Sometimes when it snows outside you can make a snowball but you can’t throw it or you will go to the office. Noah was singing “Who let the dogs out..who who who who”. I like that song. And you dance like this .... put your bum out like this.

Momma, I have to go poo!”

By Wilson
Age 4

Life in a Day

2011-01-27T19:51:00.004-05:00

One of the most talked about movies at Sundance this year was Life in a Day. Dubbed an experiment in citizen film making, this documentary makes use of YouTube videos shared by thousands of people across the globe- sharing the silly, mundane, disturbing, poignant and achingly sad moments in brief snatches of time. The aim is to show the shared experience that is our lives in one single day (July 24, 2010).

The result can be seen tonight at 8 p.m., when Life in a Day is screened live on YouTube from its Sundance world premiere. Ridley Scott, and Kevin Macdonald direct.

I envy her the energy!

2011-01-26T16:16:00.002-05:00

Holy crap! Is this young woman from Kilbride, Newfoundland happy to be on the Ellen show or what? She is the second contestant. Trust me, you can't miss her!

Yer Spring

2011-01-20T20:04:00.002-05:00

I could use some Spring right now...until then, Hey Rosetta will do.

Yes it will do nicely.

Busy Bee

2011-01-07T14:15:00.002-05:00

I guess it is a little late to wish you all a Happy New Year as we are now at the end of the first week of January. However, I am going to do it anyway- I do hope this is a good year for everyone.

I have been far too busy the past little while. I don’t know what I was thinking back in September when I signed up for assorted committees (Grad, SAT, and the PRO), an online course, Skills Canada, and more recently to create a pilot course for the Adobe Creative Suite 5 package our board is considering buying. Seriously, what was I thinking? I have a family I need to fit in there somewhere!

I installed CS5 last night- we had to buy a new computer to load and run the sucker because this puppy is huge. When it finally loaded, I had a quick look-see and immediately started to panic. It is so much different than I am used to. The last version of Flash I worked with was Flash MX…same with Fireworks. It doesn’t even look like the same product. What is the difference between a Page and a State? Photoshop and Illustrator were not as terrifyingly different, but there is a still lot to learn. I broke out into a sweat just looking at the new tools and panel arrangement. I just used the plain old CS versions of those packages before and then only to manipulate a photo or create a graphic for a website created in notepad, or on an adventurous day- Dreamweaver- which has also gone nutso (in a good kind of way).

So lots to learn, lots to create, lots to prove, and little little little time to do it.

How is your new year shaping up?

Merry Christmas Everyone.

2010-12-25T14:23:00.001-05:00

It is difficult being so far away from family on the Rock- especially this time of year. Newfoundland is always beautiful, but never more so than at Christmas. On Christmas she shines with the love of families, tradition and the bright white of blazing stars against the blackest of nights. If you can't be with your family this Christmas I hope you are with people you love.

I am.

Booze helps.

Merry Christmas.

Nativity Story goes Digital

2010-12-16T11:09:00.003-05:00

The Nativity story for the digital age:

Dan Aykroyd praises Newfoundland

2010-12-09T13:10:00.002-05:00

Dan Aykroyd showed up on the Jimmy Kimmel the other night plugging the Yogi Bear movie, his very own brand of Vodka "Crystal Head Vodka", and the "most romantic place in the world: Newfoundland, Canada,”. Thanks Mr. Aykroyd, now pass the firewater over here will ya, it is cold outside.

Magic Santa

2010-12-02T12:55:00.001-05:00

So here we are, it is December once again. I had a small panic attack yesterday when I realized that it was December 1^st. I am nowhere near ready.

However, I am determined not to let the commercial side of Christmas weigh on me this year. I am not going to give into neighborhood pressure to dress the house up like a Griswold family Christmas card or suffer the crushing throngs of mad shoppers nattering over goods at the mall. I really want to focus on time with my husband and son this year. I would rather do more than buy more. It is not really about what is under the tree for me- it never was.

Although, I am sure I will be buying too.

My first Christmassy act of the season was done today. My sister sent me this link where you can create an online personalized message from Santa to your children. I tried it out with a junk mail account and it worked really well. I am looking forward to opening Santa’s email to Wilson with him later tonight- I can just imagine his little face now.

If this sounds like something your children would enjoy, check it out:

Magic Santa

Yes Codfather

2010-11-30T20:46:00.002-05:00

This Hour has 22 Minutes was in fine form this evening. Premier Danny Williams asks the Codfather for his leave, as Mark Critch laments his job security. My hometown's favourite son, Gorden Pinsent makes an appearance, as does Jake Doyle (Allan Hawco of The Republic of Doyle. Good bit of fun.

Our Fearless Leader Retires

2010-11-26T09:10:00.003-05:00

Well, it is over.

Danny has resigned.

And the timing is off.

Why now, with the ink on the $6.2-billion deal for a hydro-electric project in Churchill Falls barely dry? Williams modestly called the deal a "piece of mastery" and the "stuff of nation building." And yet feels no need to stay on and see it through- to ensure it does in fact happen.

Something is rotten in the state of Dannystan.

It reminds me of when I was a kid, and my dad would let a silent but deadly one rip and then would leave the room before anyone noticed it was him who caused the stink.

Little Ears

2010-11-24T13:18:00.002-05:00

I have never considered myself a very aggressive driver. Sure, sometimes I get riled up, but it is usually because someone has done something extraordinarily dangerous and stupid. You won’t see me lay on the horn because the guy ahead of me is daydreaming away the advanced green. I have never lost my mind over the fact the car in from of me has had its right turn signal on for the last 5 kilometers.

However, I do admit to talking to the drivers who annoy me, they can’t hear me, and it feels better to get it off my chest. I don’t swear and yell (usually), I don’t gesture. Instead I have a quiet one sided conversation with myself.

“See that little stick on the left hand side of your wheel? Yes, that is an indicator light- use it”

“Stop signs aren’t suggestions”

“You can put on mascara and drive at the same time? Talented”

“You are closer to my ass right now than my proctologist”

It is a simple little protest- and it keeps me from completely losing my cool.

But I have an audience on occasion, and I never really considered how much he pays attention to every little thing.

Until yesterday.

I left work earlier than is my norm to pick him up from daycare early so we could get to the speech pathologist on time. However, construction on the way to daycare delayed me. By the time I made it to the daycare, we only had about 15 minutes to make it to his session. Breathless, I rushed in to get the little guy, and as I was scooping Wilson off his feet to carry him to the car, I apologized for carrying him, but we had to hurry or we might be late.

And we were off.

Halfway there we are waiting behind a large truck at a stop light. When the light turned green the truck does not move because we are waiting to turn left. However, Wilson, strapped in his car seat in the back wants to get a move on, and as far as he knows “Green means Go” so he yells:

“Come on buddy! MOVE!”

The Gunner's Dream

2010-11-10T20:12:00.007-05:00

The Gunner's Dream, Pink Floyd.

Floating down through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now.
But in the space between the heavens
and the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream.
I had a dream.

Good-bye max,
Good-bye Ma.
After the service
when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines
in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel

And as the tear drops rise
to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream.

A place to stay
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes
shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
About your doubts and fears
And what's more no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue
kicking in your door.
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen
by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore.
And no one kills the children anymore.

Night after night
Going round and round my brain
His dream is driving me insane.
In the corner of some foreign field
The gunner sleeps tonight.
What's done is done.
We cannot just write off his final scene.
Take heed of the dream.
Take heed.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served for us.

We remember.

We honor those in service today.

For Fright Night

2010-10-31T14:23:00.003-04:00

I have always loved Halloween. It wasn't just the bags of free candy that had my attention, it was the the spooky stories and cool costumes. When I was too old for trick or treating, I turned to decorating the house, and scaring the coco puffs out of the neighborhood kids.

We had to tone back the decorating a little since my son came along- we are in "cute scary" mode these days. Nothing too threatening. But I still need my dose of the scary stuff. Don and I usually rent a few horror flicks, grab some food which would terrify a cardiologist, turn off all the lights in the house and head for the couch. Last night that is just what we did.

Note, I said horror films. That is not the same as a slasher flick. I can't watch slasher flicks, and not because I am afraid of them, but because I can't stand all the gore and I am not a fan of ripping flesh sounds.

I like films that mess with my head a little bit; leave a little something for the subconscious to play with later on. I thought I would share a few of my favourites- perhaps you are planning a little fright night of your own.

Paranormal Activity: This was last night's choice. For the first 15 minutes I hated it. I didn't like the characters, didn't like the sound, the script, the lack of camera shot variety...and then I was sucked in a little. I became more curious than annoyed. Curiosity gives way to a constant state of nervousness and claustrophobic tension. The film has a serious creep factor- a lot of what happens you don't ever see. Just glimpses. Just tidbits for the brain to fill in for you. I spent most of last night awake, listening to every little creak and groan the house could produce, and staring at the door.

'The Silence of the Lambs' : This is the quintessential thriller. Anthony Hopkins performance is almost hypnotic. His quiet, understated, and unblinking turn as the evil Hannibal Lector has never been equaled. Jodie Foster was also perfectly cast. I still remember the moment I realized Hannibal was not actually on the run- that he was literally under their noses. My stomach made an unsettling lurch and I actually groaned out loud in the theater.

'The Exorcist' I know that a lot of people these days, especially people younger than me, do not find this movie scary. I know this- but I do not understand it. How can you not find the complete and utter destruction of innocent and sweet little Regean horrific and disturbing? Just look at her face people! The voice! The backward walk down the stairs! I think if you were raised Catholic this film has a few special tricks there just for you- it really gets into your head, and it stays there.

Låt den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One In): It is subtitled film, and I do admit it starts off slow. But it has this sad, brooding atmosphere which settles into your bones like a cold winters night. Leaving you feeling chilled and exposed.

So those a just a few of my favourites. Do you have any you would like to share? Tell me, I am waiting here...in the dark.

The Once

2010-10-21T12:58:00.004-04:00

If you haven't heard of this Newfoundland band you are truly missing out. Check out this moving performance, Geraldine Hollett of The Once sings Marguerite:

Happy Turkey Day had by All

2010-10-12T13:25:00.001-04:00

Thanksgiving weekend this year gave me a much needed semi-rest. It seems like I started running at the beginning of the school year, and I haven’t stopped since. It has been nutso. However this weekend I refused to do any school work. And even though every free moment was taken up with cleaning, baking and cooking I still feel like I had a bit of a break.

My sister, her boyfriend and family friend came to stay with us a few days. I like having people over for holidays and special occasions, it makes the house feel more like a home. We did the usual Thanksgiving traditions: we ate, and we drank, and then we ate and drank some more. Before we passed out into a turkey coma we decided to have a few games of cards. There is nothing quite like a game of 120s or Asshole to get the blood pumping. A few oaths were sworn- but all in all most of us came out without scars. I wish we could all get together and do it more often.

What did you all do for the Thanksgiving weekend?

Hey you!

2010-09-20T13:40:00.001-04:00

Well it has been awhile since I blogged. I feel kind of out of touch now.

And rusty.

I have not written anything other than a grocery list and various lesson plans since my last post. Not very exciting stuff.

Part of the reason was a serious case of writers block. I just had very little to say. And when I did have something to write about I was too busy to get here and do it. I had to take a bit of a break from social media for awhile- no blogging, very little email, hardly ever at Delphi, and sadly I did not follow any blogs either. The only thing I did do on a semi regular basis was hop on Facebook. Facebook is a quick and dirty medium, the blog needs more time.

I missed this and I missed reading my favorite blogs. I am going to try to start posting on a regular basis now- maybe once or twice a week to start. Anyway, it is good to see you.

We will talk again soon.

Bad music, great video

2010-06-24T20:24:00.004-04:00

Man I find most of today's current "artists" annoying. The twat who sings Tik Tok has got to be one of the more aggravating ones making money right now. However, I can tolerate her music when someone creates something new out of it. In this case, a Star Trek music video for the song. Hey, the song is a joke, I say the video works as one too.

Visits from home

2010-06-14T10:09:00.003-04:00

My Mom and Dad are here visiting for a few days and it has been so good to have them here. My mom usually comes at least once a year; my Dad is a little more sporadic because it is harder for him to get time away from work. Having them both here at the same time is a treat. But there is a problem, Don and I don’t have any time to take off to spend with them, and this means my mom has a lot of downtime at the house- unsupervised. Dad is doing what normal people do while on vacation- he is reading, watching movies, going for walks and exploring the area. My mom- not so much.

On Thursday I came home to find the front hall painted. On Friday she plastered and painted the basement staircase and attempted to adjust my son’s curtains, only the lack of materials prevented her from completing the task. On Saturday, my sister came in from Kingston and we kept mom busy with a trip to the mall and a few other stores. This did not keep my mom out of trouble though- while we were buying mom a latte at Second Cup (they don’t have that back in GFW) she was in Bonnie Togs completing my son’s summer wardrobe- she bought one of everything in that store I swear. While we were at Bed Bath and Beyond, helping my sister pick out drapes, mom managed to sneak in an extra set of curtains for Serena’s place. On Sunday I came home with a new Duvet cover and a pair of shorts I didn’t know I needed. I am very grateful, however, I am a little worried about what to expect when I get home today.

If shopping were an Olympic sport my mom would win gold. She can sniff out a deal, find flaws in material, knows what is a good buy and what is not, and what time of year is the best to get deals on things like paint and furniture.

My son is being spoiled rotten. It is not just the new clothes, or the toys she and dad brought down for Wil, it is the sheer amount of love an attention they lavish upon him. He loves every minute- I am sure he will miss his entourage when they go on Thursday.

I know I will.

Kiss it bye-bye

2010-06-04T14:23:00.003-04:00

Imagine having the winning ticket to a multimillion dollar lottery- and voiding it. That is what happened to a customer at the Corner Store, in the Goulds (St. John's, NL).

The customer ordered 12 bucks in tickets, but the clerk printed up 27 bucks worth, the customer was either unwilling, or unable to pay for the 27 dollar ticket and thus the clerk had to void it.

It turns out that voided ticket was worth 30 million big ones.

Can you imagine? What kind of luck it that?

FNH

2010-06-02T10:00:00.006-04:00

I had the last of my tests done a couple of weeks ago, and finally, I have an answer about my liver. The lesions are a result of Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) which is the second most common tumor of the liver. The main things I need to to be concerned with for this diagnosis is the possibility of one of the nodules blocking my hepatic vein, or rupturing. Both of these possible outcomes are rare.

So no big C diagnosis, yayyy me!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by here with your thoughtful comments and emails. It was very comforting to me to have so many people in my corner.

Newfoundland Screech Comedy Festival

2010-05-28T11:15:00.003-04:00

If you are going to be in St. John's on June 5th-13th you might want to check out the Newfoundland Screech Comedy Festival. It looks like a good line-up. I would love to watch Louis C.K., that guy can make me laugh so hard my jaws ache. It would also be a treat to catch Shaun Majumder and Derrick Edwards. I have no idea what Mike Bullard is doing on the bill, as I thought this was a comedy festival- maybe he is an usher?

The Old Hag

2010-05-27T09:56:00.006-04:00

Have you ever had a nightmare where you were aware you were dreaming but unable to wake yourself up, unable to move, and in some cases unable to breath? It is a phenomenon that has been documented around the world; in Newfoundland we call it ‘The Hag”, scientists call it Sleep Paralysis.

The experience varies from person to person. Some people see a woman’s face in the distance but they cannot pick out her features. However the dreamer senses something is very wrong and becomes anxious. As the figure draws near they realize it is an ugly old crone. When the Old Hag finally reaches the terrified dreamer she slowly crawls up over the person’s body and straddles their chest; slowly crushing the chest cavity in, cutting off their breath. All the while the dreamer is hyper aware of what is going on: the fact that they are sleeping, that this is not really happening, and yet they can smell the Old Hag, they feel her leathery touch as she stretches over them and breathing becomes a struggle.

Sound like fun? Yeah right.

I have had this happen to me a few times, while I have only ever seen the Hag herself once, my experience with sleep paralysis is a little different. I usually do see a figure, but the figure is just out of my sight, watching me. Sometimes the figure moves closer but I miss the actual movement I only catch the change in position. That is when the panic starts. My breathing turns to desperate gasps for air. I struggle to move, to get away, to wake myself up- but I can't even move my baby toe. I try to call out for help, but I cannot make a sound. Eventually I wake up with a start, gasping for air, with sweat cold on my skin. Every time I have one of these dreams something awful happens in my life soon after. I know it is just coincidence, or my subconscious mind picking up on cues my conscious mind doesn’t want to see- but it is still unnerving.

Last night I had the dream for the first time in a long time and this morning it is all I can think about. I was hoping I could just write the experience of my system but so far it isn’t really helping. I still have that anxious feeling, like I am waiting for something.

How many of you have had a visit from the Old Hag? They say it can run in families, if you experience sleep paralysis, it is likely you have a relative who suffers these lucid nightmares as well. If you are not from Newfoundland, what do you call this type of dream?

What was that again?

2010-05-12T13:21:00.000-04:00

What’s the most overused line in movies? Check out this film montage.

Galactic Empire State of Mind

2010-05-10T10:39:00.005-04:00

I may be a huge science fiction geek but that doesn't mean I can't laugh at the stuff too. Check out this parody: Galactic Empire State of Mind which reworks Alicia Keys hit Empire State of Mind with the original Star Wars Trilogy. This is just too well done not to share. If you like this video there are a lot more at the College Humour website, check it out.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

What a mother knows

2010-05-05T20:44:00.008-04:00

It was story time at my house just a few short moments ago. Don just finished negotiating his way through the bedtime ritual where Wilson tries to finagle "Just one more book", and then "A drink of water please daddy?", and "Where is my Gaugi?" When all his demands were met it was my turn- it is my job to tuck him in and close the light. I also ask for the last goodnight kiss. Tonight the response was a nonchalant "Sure". Then he thrust his arms up in the air and raised his chubby little cheek to my lips.

In that moment, with his tiny little hands around my neck, I am reminded of him as a baby. It was a sweet moment, but it gave way to sadness, and a little fear. This is all going too fast. My baby is gone- he has grown into this soft spoken funny little boy who is trying to master the alphabet and Velcro shoes.

I just seems like months ago that I was desperately trying master being a mom to an infant. My first challenge was to breastfeed him. I had it drilled into to me by the Breastfeeding Nazis that this was best for baby and that everyone can breast feed- it is a matter if you care enough too. Besides, they stressed, breastfeeding is natural!

Yes, it might be, but some mothers in the wild eat their young. That is natural too.

To any of you ladies out there in cyberspace who are gestating right now, or perhaps your bun is just fresh out of the oven, listen to me: Breastfeeding is a learned behavior; it takes time and it can be painful. Do what is best for you and baby, sometimes the bottle is best for you both. I was foolish, I hung in there for nine months of breastfeeding- but man I suffered. He was feeding every 45 minutes, he had a horrible latch, and he would not take a bottle of expressed milk. I remember one afternoon, after a particularly long night, holding Wil in my arms and dreading feeding him. I was just too sore: cracked and bleeding sore. I looked down at this cute little bundle crying and thinking to myself: I don't know how much longer I can do this kid.

My sweet little babe just looked up at me and smacked his lips.

I lost part of my right nipple at one point. Not pretty.

As difficult and painful those late night feedings were I do miss that part of his life. I loved the feel of his little body tucked in close to mine. While he fed, whether it was the breast or later the bottle, he would rub my arm softly and would stare up at me until he passed out in a milk coma. For a little while longer I would hold him, rocking him slightly and trying to coax out any burps that might be bubbling within. I remember the soft whisper of his breath on my neck, the scent of his bath oil, and his tiny little hands on my chest.

More than once- as I stared into the blue of his eyes, I wondered to myself if he knew: if he could ever know, just how much he was loved?

And here I am, with Mother's Day approaching, as I tuck my young son into bed, suddenly wondering if there was a time when I was a baby, that my Mother held me in her arms and asked herself: "Does she know, could she ever know just how much she is loved?"

Yes mom. I do.

Thank you.

Mary Walsh for Rideau Hall!

2010-04-29T13:27:00.004-04:00

A lot of names have been bandied about for the PM's choice as the next governor general, including Captain Kirk (this is where inter-species diplomacy pays its dividends) Leonard Cohen (Hallelujah!), Mike Myers (the Goldmember of Parliament) and the man in motion himself: Rick Hansen. Today, I read about a new nominee, Newfoundlander Mary Walsh.

Yes, Marg Delahunty: warrior princess for governor general.

I could get behind that.

But somehow I don't think Stevie will go for it- he is afraid of strong women. Especially women who carry a bigger sword than he does.

photo take from http://bgalrstate.blogspot.com/2009/11/sarah-palin-wants-to-dismantle-canadian.html

Doing what you can

2010-04-28T14:39:00.005-04:00

Gosh I miss home. When I get homesick, I tend to read more news from home, a technique that doesn’t really ease the homesick feeling, but it does make me feel temporarily connected to the Rock.

One of the online links that keeps me in touch is the Grandfalls-Windsor Advertiser even though their online presence a little sparse. This week they had a great article on the front page about a really wonderful initiative by Barb Fifield. She is making dresses out of pillowcases to send to an orphanage in Haiti.

She started out alone- making dresses in various sizes using pillowcases she bought from the dollar store- and was soon joined by her sister Eileen Rumbolt in Port aux Choix. Ms. Rumbold enlisted the help of her quilting group who have been added to the running total of the little dresses. Each dress has a pair of underwear and a buckle loving tucked in the pocket.

What I love about this story is how it clearly demonstrates the power of the individual to affect change. What started out as one woman’s desire to help the children of Haiti inspired a much wider range of people to pitch in.

Gilbert and Yvette Saunders have a daughter working in a Haitian orphanage and they will be bringing the newly sewn dresses to Haiti when they visit. Friends, family, churches and local businesses are all chipping in by making dresses or donating supplies.

All because one woman wanted to do what she could to help.

There are a couple of different patterns online if you are a crafty person and think this is something you could do to help. I have provided a few links below:

A dress from Dad's shirt

Craftzine pattern

Pillow case dress

Things don't have to change

2010-04-22T18:24:00.006-04:00

This video is making the rounds on Facebook . I haven't been able to get this song out of my head since I heard this version (which might be a function of my current state of mind) but I have always liked this John Legend tune- and this young woman does a great job of it.

Waiting

2010-04-21T11:15:00.004-04:00

Ever wonder how much of y0ur life is spent waiting? I have been giving that question a lot of thought these past few weeks. Waiting on the phone, waiting in line, waiting in traffic, waiting for a late friend, waiting in the Doctor's office, waiting for test results...the waits never seem to end.

I waited quite awhile yesterday for my Doctor appointment, mentally prepared to hear the best outcome, and the worst, but not expecting what I did get- which was essentially more tests ordered and more waiting.

It turns out the MRI revealed more lesions on my liver, 5 to be exact. While the Doctor could not rule out cancer absolutely, he does not believe it is cancer at this time. My age, lifestyle, and blood work does not point him in the direction of the Big C. Which is good.

It would have been better if he could have said he knew for sure it wasn't cancer...would have been awesome had he been able to tell me what is going on for sure. Alas, I have to go and have yet another test. Something called a Sulfur Colloid test- which will make me radioactive for 24 hours. I wonder if I will glow in the dark after this?

The downside of this test is two fold: it means another injection and I cannot be around children for 24 hours, including my son because I will be radioactive for that long. Yes, I will have a half life.

And, as an added bonus, I have to have a follow up MRI in 3 months to have a look see at what those pesky lesions on my liver are up to.

So that is the update- not exactly bad news, but certainly not great news.

MRI

2010-04-19T11:03:00.005-04:00

I want to thank everyone for their kind comments and emails. It has been really something to get such wonderful messages of encouragement from people- friends I know and talk to in real life, and friends who I have gotten to know online. I truly appreciated it.

I had the MRI last Wednesday and I learned a couple of things.

The first: when your doctor asks you if you would like something to help you relax for the test the answer is YES. I was quite nervous about the test, the results, and the fact I would be injected with dye so I was pretty keyed up by the time I was in my hospital gown. However, when they brought me into the MRI room and I had a look at the machine I was about to inhabit for the next 60 minutes my knees were knocking.

The MRI looks like a giant dryer on steroids and it is long enough to hold a body. And the damned thing is loud. Put a few pairs of sneakers in the dryer and an alarm clock and there you have the sound it makes. Not on a consistent bases mind you, at intervals, odd ones too.

I lay back onto the bed and the technician put headphones on my head. He gave me a little ball to squeeze should I need to call for help, and then eased me into the machine. I had a moment of panic- one I did not expect.

I would never have described myself as claustrophobic, but I can tell you that the second thing that I learned last Wednesday is that I apparently have a touch of it- because from the moment he slid me in to the tube every molecule in my body was screaming to get out. The test did not hurt at all, the dye did make me a little sick, but it was a struggle for me to stay in the tube for 60 minutes, unable to really see anything but the tube, and flashing light, unable to move and unaware of how much longer I was going to be in there, and mentally trying to prepare for the next set of bangs and clicks. I had to talk myself down from full-on panic just before the end of the test. I was warm and stomach sick and scared.

When they finally slid me out of the MRI I was so relieved I was giddy. I almost hugged the technician. It took me about twenty minutes to get myself together and leave, my steps getting a little lighter the further away from the hospital I got.

Anyway it is done now. I will get the results from the Liver specialist tomorrow.

I am lucky. No really. I am.

2010-04-09T11:10:00.004-04:00

People have all kinds of different belief systems that help them explain how life works. Many believe in a higher power, God, Jehovah, Allah- the Easter Bunny. Others believe that there is nothing at all- no great puppeteer holding all the strings. I cannot pretend that I have it all figured out myself, but there is one thing I know for sure, I do not believe in coincidence.

Remember a little while back when I told you about my little kidney issue? One of the tests they ordered to have a look at my inner works was an ultrasound. At the time they noticed one kidney was distended. So they ordered a follow up ultrasound a month later.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Walk-in clinic with my son- who had another ear infection. While there, I asked if the results were in about my last ultrasound. The Walk-in Doctor filed through the papers on my chart, paused, and without looking at me said: “There is a spot on your liver.”

Nothing can clear the mind of all thoughts, sense of time, sense of place, even existence like: There is a spot on your: (insert your favorite organ here)

The ultrasound revealed that both kidneys were distended, and seemingly discovered by accident- a nodule on my liver. I am on a waitlist to get an MRI for this, and yes, I am pretty worried. My Poppy, the man my son is named after, died of liver cancer.

It has been a rough few months and it seems like the hits just keep on coming. A few nights ago Don was in a car accident. He made it out with a few bruises and a couple of nasty eggs nesting on his head, but he made it. The car- yes the Corolla we bought last September, (you guessed it- the one with all the recalls!) didn't fare so well.

When I look back over the past nine months or so, I can point to a lot of really crappy bad luck moments. Don getting laid off, Wil getting bitten by a dog, our cat dying, our daycare folding up shop with 2 hours notice, various bad news items from home, a broken foot, my kidneys exploding, etcetera, etcetera.

And I am tempted to wallow a little bit- except I know I shouldn’t.

The doctors I have seen so far have said they doubt it is cancer- I am too young and I am not an alcoholic nor do I have Hepatitis. At least I found out about the spot before I got sick- I don’t feel sick right now. That is a good sign right? They could have told me I have six months to live, but they seem hopeful. Also, Don might not have walked away from that accident the other night. But he did. So really, I have been lucky.

Now I just have to believe that luck will hold.

Happy Anniversary Newfoundland

2010-03-31T10:06:00.004-04:00

Newfoundland joined Canada as its tenth province at midnight on Mar. 31, 1949.
I am very proud to be both a Newfoundlander, and a Canadian.
Happy Anniversary!

Found this photo here.

Learning Skills

2010-03-02T09:37:00.005-05:00

One of the things we are working on with our little guy is getting dressed in the morning. He can do it on his own, but it takes forever, and early weekday mornings we just don't have the time. Our morning routine involves getting the boy up, putting new undies and socks on after the morning pee, and then putting his PJs back on. If you saw how he eats his cereal you would understand why we don't dress him right away. By the time Wil is done breakfast he looks like he stepped on a Special K landmine.

Well yesterday morning was a very busy one, and after the morning cereal bomb I wiped Wil down and told him to put his pants on while I slapped lunch together.

"Ok Momma" He said. And I attacked the sandwiches.

When I turned around his pants were on and he was struggling to get the shirt over his head. I helped him out with that, then with the boots, hat, mittens and jacket and we were off to the races.

Later that day when I went to pick him up at Daycare, his teacher Michelle hauled me aside and in a hushed voice asked:

"Do you realize Wilson has no underwear on today?"

Yes, that is right, my three year old son went to daycare Commando.

In corduroys.

I am the worst mother in the world.

It seems that when the poor shagger took his pajama pants off to put his pants on, his underwear came off with them, and he did not think to put them back on. I know this because when we came home said PJs and underwear were in a rolled doughnut formation in the middle of the kitchen floor.

I don't think either of us will make that mistake again.

This Olympic Closing Ceremonies are brought to you by, Mel Brooks?

2010-03-01T10:52:00.006-05:00

Was it just me, or were the Closing Ceremonies just a tad....oh man...so many ways I can go here....Let's just say over the top, with a hint of stale.

I don't really want to be too mean here. I understand that much of what we saw last night was meant to show the world that we have a unique sense of humor, a wide variety of talent, and an endearing ability to laugh at ourselves. All things I applaud. So I did expect the Mounties to be on display, the Hockey glorification, I could even smile at the dancing canoes, and red-clad lumberjacks but when the giant inflatable beavers lumbered their way onto center stage followed closely by giant boobs with maple leaves on their backs my smile cracked a little.

The Facebook feeds were funny to read...at first people were very pleased with what they saw. There almost universal consensus that Neil Young's "Long May You Run," was a beautiful way to extinguish the Olympic flame. Bill Shatner got a lot of good-natured laughs, and Micheal J Fox just heightened the level of pride people expressed. But as the night progressed I started to see updates like:

"Are there any stereotypes left? All they need is an igloo and a totem pole?"

"I have never done acid, but I am pretty sure this is what an acid trip in Canada looks like"

"Is it me or is this a little too much with the canned jokes"

At one point I mused what the over/under would be on Celine coming out of her crypt to perform. She didn't.

All that aside, it was a good night. We should celebrate all the athetic achievements, and all the hard work that went into this year's games. I saw some of the best hockey I have ever seen, and it is kind of depressing to me now that I have to go back to the Leaf's version of our sacred game.

Sigh, I guess you can't win them all.

Have you ever seen my home?

2010-02-27T22:04:00.002-05:00

Check out this Quidi Vidi Brewery Commercial - Music Video. It promotes the beer, the Island, the people and the band, At Ships End, all at once. Love the shots. Great song. Good fun.

Makes me long for George Street!

Song by: "At Ships End" Written by: Dave Whitty Directed, Filmed and Edited by: Phil St. Aubin

Something Positive

2010-02-26T13:20:00.006-05:00

Canada has been taking a lot of crap in the press these last few weeks. The Olympic games is the focus of much of the ire, with headlines from the UK like: 'Vancouver Games continue downhill slide from disaster to calamity"; Canadian organizers are responding to complaints about everything from the weather, protesters, ice surfacing and to the fence around the Olympic Flame, and the horrific death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the opening day. Add to that the scandal Premier's Danny William's decision to get surgery outside his own province, and worse, outside Canada. He ignited the debate about the quality of health care in Canada versus the United States on both sides of the border. And today, we have the hullabaloo over the gold winning Canadian Women's Hockey team daring to celebrate their win in such a "rowdy" way- drinking and carousing! How dare they? Had this been the gold medal win for the men's team such celebrations would not likely have made the papers; even if it did the finger wagging the girls received would be pats on the back for the men.

Yeah, our collective Canadian image is taking a bit of a pounding.

So it made me feel good to see this video circulating on Facebook. It is Canada, as seen through the eyes of American news anchor Tom Brokaw which was aired just as the games were about to begin. It is a very positive piece about Canada and our relationship with the U.S. I found myself sitting up a little straighter as I watched it- and I was very pleased to see so many shots of Newfoundland.

Thanks Mr. Brokaw, we needed this:

One language at a time

2010-02-18T13:18:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, my 3 year old son has a bit of a speech delay. He couldn't hear for much of his second year of life so he has to catch up a little. He is doing better, I see improvements every day. I have discovered that he can be pretty creative in trying to get his point across.

Take last night for example: bath time was over, and the bathroom floor was appropriately covered in soapy water and bubbles and Wilson was sitting on the counter top wrapped in a towel, swinging his legs back and forth. He was waiting happily for me to brush his teeth- I usually let him have a go at it and then I do the real cleaning. But last night I was in a bit of a rush- so I just put the toothpaste on his brush and started in.

I noticed almost immediately Wil was pulling away from me a little as I brushed, which is odd for him. Finally he put his little hand on mine and push it away gently- a confused look furrowed his brow.

"What's wrong buddy?"
"Momma, it's smokey in my mouth"

It took a second for this to register. He quite often will say something that seems out of left field but when I think about it a bit I can usually glean some meaning out of it. The problem was that in my haste to get the bedtime ritual underway I used my extra strength whitening toothpaste instead of Wil's toddler toothpaste and the poor shagger was feeling the burn. I felt so bad.

But he had another little verbal surprise for me just minutes later. He has been kicking a cold the past few days, so I have been rubbing Vicks Vapor Rub on his chest just before lights out. He usually looks up at me when I have finished applying the smelly goo and says: "That feels better Mama"- last night though he had something else to say.

"Gracias Mama"

Aw geeze kid, let's master the English language first 'eh?

The Stones

2010-02-16T14:18:00.006-05:00

About two weeks ago I had a little health adventure, and I have been getting caught up on life and worked missed since then- hence the dry spell for Missing the Rock.

It was Thursday, Feb 5th, my little guy was not feeling so well and I wasn’t up to my usual superhero status either. So after work we marched ourselves to the Walkin Clinic and had a little check up. Wil had an ear infection, and I was told I had a UTI. A trip to the drugstore later we were home and into the evening ritual of food prep, mealtime, bath and bedtime.

Around 4:07 am Friday I awoke with a lurch and a small cry. And then I promptly vomited on myself. I tried to get to the bathroom so I could vomit in the toilet but the searing pain in my left lower abdominal was preventing that.

I slid to the floor, landing with a thump and dry heave and crawled my way to the toilet. Wondering the whole damn way: “Was it something I ate, is it a reaction to the medication? and “What in the name of holy hell is causing the pain in my side?” Once I got to the toilet I held myself there in a bizarre combination of the praying and fetal positions. The pain was still bad, but squat like this, holding my head up on the toilet bowl I felt a little better. That is to say I no longer felt like cutting a hole in my side with toenail clippers on the sink and pulling out the small rodent that was gnawing its way through my inner plumbing.

I am not sure how long I sat there, I believe I may have passed out. At some point I tried calling out to Don. He was sleeping in the guest room- banished there for snoring offenses. When he got to the bathroom I was standing in the door frame, holding myself upright by clinging to the door. He told me after that I looked yellow- all I needed was a blue dress and blue hair and I was a dead ringer for Marge. My eyes were bugged out like hers too.

So off to the emergency room we headed. We were very lucky Wil’s daycare opens early so we had one less worry to think about. Don dropped him off- literally. He opened the door, handed Wilson off to the first worker he saw, told them we were on our way to the hospital and left. Daycare drop off is usually a 10 minute ritual- this was about 7 seconds.

As we were driving to the hospital in Ajax my stomach started to really ramp up the pain. I turned to Don at one point, crying inconsolably and whimpered: “I think I just ruptured something.”

That was when the first accident nearly happened. Don just pulled out into oncoming traffic cutting off several early morning commuters in the process. I reached out with a shaking hand and put on the four way flashers and mentally decided not to update Don with any further developments until we reached the hospital.

Well I tried not to anyway. The second accident almost happened while we were on the one lane stretch of road that spans the little divide between Whitby and Ajax when I yelped like a cat whose tail was run over by an 18 wheeler. And that was when Don tried to pass first by darting out into the oncoming lane, and veering back, and then by edging over to the soft shoulder. But my frantic screaming at him to stop put that in check.

When we finally got to the hospital we got lost trying to find the right way in. They are renovating right now, and the signage is lacking. By the time I was finally seen by a Dr, I was pretty much incoherent. I have heard the phrase “the pain was blinding” used before but never really understood it. Now the definition is very clear.

The nurse tried to get me settled and helped me into one of those useless hospital gowns. The Dr came in poked and prodded me, asked a few questions, scribbled on my chart, and started ordering the battery of tests I was to undergo. Then he said the magic words: “The nurse will give you something for the pain”. Now, I don’t know how many of you know this about me, but I am afraid of needles. Pass out afraid. But when the nurse returned to my room with three needles on a tray and a look that said “Bend over lady”, I just rolled over on my side and lifted the gown up. Had she told me that the injections had to go in my eyeballs I would have consented to that too.

Blood work, an ultrasound, a cat scan, one shot of Toridal, Demerol, and Gravol later it was determined I was passing a kidney stone. The pain was a result of it leaving my kidney and going for a little jaunt. The cat scan reveled another little surprise, I had an additional kidney stone still in my kidney. Waiting there. No time line. Just a little something to look forward to- like root canals and colonoscopies. Also, my kidney is distended, which may be a result of the stones or it could be something else.

They released me later in the evening, with the chilling phrase: “We think this is small enough to pass on its own” and a directive to see my family doctor. So I am in the midst of more testing, and I am feeling a lot better. However, I am still waiting for stone 1 to pass, my Dr feels it may be sitting in my bladder, and of course there is stone 2 who has yet to make its presence known.

I did learn two things from this ordeal:

The next time we have that kind of emergency we are calling an ambulance.
If you want to be seen by the ER staff right away you have to include chest pain in your list of symptoms.

But I still have several questions. I am hoping someone who has been through this before will offer some advice. Is it possible I passed the stone without knowing it? And cripes, if the stone that caused all that initial pain was “small enough to pass” what in the hell is going to happen to me if the other rock drops and it is bigger?

Reduce? Reuse? Recycle? Repair? Repay.

2010-02-03T15:17:00.005-05:00

You know, I do my best for the environment. I recycle, I reuse what I can, I even compost household waste. My husband and I try to reduce what we consume as well. We buy what we need and we make it last as long as possible. In the past few months I have come to wonder why I bother at all.

Before Christmas my watch died. At first I thought it might be the battery, so I had it replaced. The new battery did not bring the watch back to life so I brought it in to be repaired. As I handed the watch over they quickly surmised they could not fix it at that location; it had to be sent away. It is a pretty watch, one my husband gave to me a few Christmases ago so I agreed. “We will call you with a price before we fix it” they promised. Somehow I was not comforted.

A month later I get a call- it can be repaired for the bargain price of $85.00! It needed to be retooled. Ok. Don might have paid 150 for the watch when he bought it. I just blew 30 bucks on a new battery, and now it will cost me even more bones to fix it? At this point is it not cheaper to buy a new watch? I gave them the go ahead to repair it because it is better on my wrist than in a landfill.

Around that same time our TV died. We could still get a picture and sound, but with the added bonus of a high pitched whine- like a cat being skinned alive a few houses down the road. We bought this TV, a Slim Fit Samsung CRT, in 2006, it should still be working as far as I am concerned. But it wasn’t, and it was our only boob tube, so off to a repair man it went. That was last November.

Last night he called to tell us it had been repaired- for a cool $285.00 plus tax. Mmmmm. A CRT TV- the kind not even being made anymore, will cost over three hundred bones to be repaired. Meanwhile I can go to Crappy Tire and pick up a new 42 inch LCD TV for less than $500!

A friend of mine bought a new computer a few years ago, and with it came a fairly decent printer- one with great photo printing. When the ink ran out he went online to buy more; he found out that the ink was so expensive it was cheaper to buy a new printer. So that is what he did. The old printer was given away.

Indeed, Dell printers won’t even allow you refill their cartridges- at least not the model we have. We got away with it once, but on the second refill the computer no longer sees the cartridges as full- and the only way around it is to buy new Dell cartridges. Such a waste.

It drives me nuts. You can’t walk down a store aisle anymore without being smacked in the face by some green version of your favorite products- with a higher price tag. The garbage men on my streets won’t even pick up your recycling or garbage if you haven’t packed it just so. And anyone caught in a grocery store having forgotten their reusable bags is looked upon with scorn and derision when they have to ask for plastic. I must have about 20 “Green Bags” because I just cannot bear that look from the cashiers. I cave and buy yet another reusable bag.

Yet, no one is raising any kind of a stink when it comes everyday items we have in our homes. Business don’t seem to have a problem with the fact it is more cost effective to buy new than to repair the old, and their customers seem to accept this as fact. It is just the way things are.

In so many ways our lives have been improved by the things we own- the technology we have acquired in these past few years is really astounding. The calculator you have at work has more computing power in it than the computers that were used to send humankind to the moon in 1969. And yet, somewhere along the way we forgot how to make anything that will last. Anything that can be easily upgraded. Collectively society seems to have lost a sense of pride in what we create, manufacture or service. These are concepts that seem to have died out with a wind up watch and manners.

All the while, despite all that desperate recycling, the vilification of plastic bags and the many green, recycled and organic products that have invaded the modern marketplace, the landfills continue to grow.

It has been that kind of week

2010-01-26T19:27:00.004-05:00

Haven't been blogging much of late. Too much going on at work and home to keep me busy. It has been a stressful few days. The worst thing is I am powerless to really do anything about the things I am stressing over.

So today I came home, plunked my little guy in front of the TV, put supper on, and promptly took a small crowbar to the stupid wooden border around the mirror in the powder room. The the dingbat who lived here before us nail gunned and stapled the "decorative border" around the mirror on the wall. And by the way, said dingbat previously had this bathroom painted puke green and purple haze...so I guess I should be grateful for the baby shit brown she threw on the walls to get the house ready for sale. (Hey maybe I could quit teaching and move into the naming paint colors industry?)

Anyhow, I had no plan, few tools, and no one to help out. I got the wooden border off (and a few good chunks of the wall off too- you know- just for shits and giggles), but I cannot get the damned mirror off the wall. It is clamped and glued. I have wrenched the clamps free, but the mirror still stands there.

Suggestions?

Somebody better have one for me, because the next tool I am going to take out will likely be a sledgehammer.

Newfoundland at Hand

2010-01-15T10:14:00.007-05:00

One of the things I do for extracurricular activities at the school is prepare my students for a competition called Skills Canada. I have been fairly lucky, a few years back a student of mine- one of the most hard working kids I have ever taught, John Matienzo, competed in the Web Design competition and won first place provincially and then went on to place fourth Nationally.

Last year I brought another group of students to compete- we went as a team with other teachers and students from our board. Gerry Goulding was one of the other teachers involved and he is originally from the Rock. The night before the big competition the team went out to a group dinner and it was then that I noticed Gerry’s ring. It was a beautifully crafted gold ring with the shape of the Island on its face; is bolstered by the Newfoundland flag on both sides. I just had to ask him about it.

It turns out Gerry makes the rings himself:

“I got into the business of rings after I came back from Newfoundland one summer. I had purchased a Newfoundland ring from Trinity, Trinity Bay. It wasn't the nicest designed ring, however, it still caught the attention of any fellow Newfoundlander that happened to be in viewing range of my finger. A few people even asked that I purchase them one the following summer. When I visited the place that I bought the ring from the previous summer I found out that they did not make them any longer. I made a decision right there and then that I would design an even better version of the Newfoundland ring that would be both gold or silver and capture both our Island Map and the flag of Newfoundland.”

It is one thing to come up with a great idea, it is quite another to make it a reality. Gerry comments: “It sounds simple to come up with the idea of a Newfoundland ring, however, there were many design hurdles to overcome before I arrived at the current version of the ring. Finding the right people to cast and mold the design proved to be an eye opening experience for someone who was very green to this type of business. Although I do not come from a business background, I have enjoyed the challenge of designing a product and bringing it to market. “

Until recently, Gerry found the best way to sell the rings was using sites such as Kiijii and Craigslist and had a fairly good response. Recently, he set up a website Home Pride Jewelry which showcases the ring and other products he offers such as versions of Irish County Rings custom jobs. I told Gerry I may ask him to a Newfoundland brooch for my mom, as she collects brooches, he was very receptive. He plans to expand his line to include other items such as pendants, bracelets, and earrings. “One of the driving forces behind my motivation to sell Newfoundland jewelry is that we are definitely a flag waving, proud people and love to let everyone know where we are from: the best place in the world! My ring motto is," Newfoundland....always close at hand!"

Thanks Gerry- now get to work on that brooch there are only 343 days left until Christmas!

Just a big thank you!

2010-01-11T09:58:00.006-05:00

Stephen Eli Harris is the man behind The Newfoundland and Labrador Blog Roll. He tracks and promotes all the sites you see on the lower left hand side of the my blog under the Newfoundland Flag. I imagine it is a lot of work - thankless work at that. Recently he created an award for the best Newfoundland Blog and was interviewed about it by the lovely Angela Antle on the Weekend Arts Magazine. The pod cast for that interview can be downloaded here.

Missing the Rock is in the running for this award but is as far from winning it as Tiger Woods is from reconciliation with his wife. Karen, John, and Barry are kicking major ass. As they should- they do outstanding work. If you haven't checked out their sites you are missing out. Go grab yourself a beverage of your choice and have a look- and while your at it check out a few more on the Roll: Townie Bastard, Product of Newfoundland, and Oh Me Nerves just to name a few. Then go the the Blog Roll and vote! It is your duty as a Newfoundlander!

The best thing about this award is that it has highlighted all the quality work that Newfoundlanders are contributing to cyberspace. It is amazing to see the quality, variety and heart that is put into the work. I really encourage my regular readers, and you over there in the pink sweater dropping in here for the first time, to check out some of the blogs on the Roll. You will be delighted by what you find.

Thank you Stephen for doing this for all of us! And to those who have cast your vote in my direction, I sincerely appreciate it.

Christmas is in its box

2010-01-08T11:52:00.010-05:00

Well it is all over for another year. Christmas is back in its box slumbering until next year. The halls have been undecked, all the trim is put away, and the tree has been tossed to the curb. The only things I have left of the Christmas accoutrement are the two flaccid Poinsettias dying in my living room. It is kind of depressing.

Don and I have only purchased a real tree for Christmas the past two years. The first two years we lived here we lived in a junior one bedroom at the corner of Bloor and Jarvis. There was barely enough room in that apartment for a couch and a bed, so we could hardly get a tree. Real or not. We had a Christmas plant though. I think it was a rubber tree; we decorated it with a bit of garland. Come to think of it, that was sort of depressing too.

For our Christmases in Whitby we bought a small fake tree decorated it with Star Wars ornaments and snowflakes. We tried to keep the cat away from it. However, we woke up one morning to find the Wicket perched in the tree with Yoda in his mouth. He growled at us when we tried to take the ornament away from him and clung to the branches when we tried to wrench him from the tree. This became a tradition every year actually. Wicket would scale the tree and claim a new ornament as his own. After 6 years of an 11 pound cat scaling the PVC tree it no longer had the classic Christmas tree shape. It was still somewhat triangular but the center section had a gaping hole in it that bowed quite a bit. When we moved to the new house the fake tree did not come with us.

For our first Christmas in the new house we decided that a real tree was in order. We made a day of it, Don, Wilson, my sister and I went to a tree farm to cut our own tree and discovered it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. Don was too sick to do the cut-your-own this time around so we went to Sheridan Nurseries instead. They stored the trees in an outdoor greenhouse but they did something I had never seen before- and when I compare it to the lively experience at the tree farm, this was downright creepy.

All the trees were hanging. Hanging from a rope wrapped around the greenhouse rafters.

It was like stepping into a forest of suicides.

All of them hanging there, swaying in the soft breeze, oozing sap and dropping needles. I wanted to take them all home; save them from this dismal end. Alas, we left with one Fir tree, the one that looked like he had the most to live for. We brought him home, shoved a tree stand up his ass, rammed a snowflake on his head and light him up with LED lights. He was beautiful! He had a good life as a Christmas tree.

And now he is on the curb, pondering the end that awaits us all – the chipper.

P.S. Anyone have any advice on how to keep a Poinsettia alive?

The Republic of Doyle

2010-01-07T13:14:00.015-05:00

The Republic of Doyle debuted last night, and while I wasn't wowed, I will watch again. It was the pilot episode and you could certainly tell. I can't really put my finger on exactly why, other than to say the episode seemed to lack some polish. It came off a little raw- like we were watching a dress rehearsal as opposed the the start of what is supposed to be CBC's new hit series- if you believe the hype.

I liked that fact they we were not subjected to any fishing scenes, stages or ridiculously outrageous stereotypical presentations of Newfoundlanders. It was wonderful to see the beauty, color and personality of the city of St John's displayed the way it was; almost like it is part of the cast. Another character to get to know and love. I see a lot of potential for the show. It could be a good ride.

I wasn't a big fan of Jake's wife Nikki, or Jake's possible hook-up Leslie (the female Constable). His wife overacted a few scenes, and the constable defined the term one dimensional. It would be impressive if The Republic of Doyle avoids the trend other shows follow where the male and female leads end up hopping into the sack together. A relationship of intellectual equals should develop between them. Yes, the sexual tension can create a few sparks and a few laughs, but a sense mutual respect and restrained professionalism should prevail.

Consider the following to be a public service announcement aimed at the Republic of Doyle writers: Please never allow Jake and Leslie to cross that line. I am telling you this for your own good because as soon as they do the horizontal bop The Republic of Doyle becomes just like every other show. It is usually a death knell. Think Mulder and Scully. Maddy and David. Bert and Ernie...ok maybe not that last one.

Still I liked it...I will give it a few more episodes before I decide if the show becomes a keeper for me or not. Have any of you seen it yet? What did you think?

It's resolution time again

2010-01-05T09:47:00.003-05:00

It's resolution time again. Common resolutions like losing weight, quitting smoking, spending more time with family and less time at work are likely to be on the top of many resolution lists. I have not made New Year’s Resolutions these past few years because they rarely stick, and there is nothing more pathetic than a lie you tell yourself.

I asked friends how successful they were with resolutions in the past and the question is met mostly with laugher followed by an unconscious bow of the head and a sheepish admission that most of the resolutions they make don’t make it past February. Why is it so hard to keep those promises to ourselves throughout the year?

It is simply a lack will power; or is it unrealistic expectations? Whatever the answer may be I have decided I am going to make a resolution this year. And here it is:
I am going to take better care of myself and enjoy the time I have.

Yep. That is it.

Now I know a lot of you are asking what that means- and I am not sure I can really quantify it for anyone. Actually, I think that is part of the point.

I can say it means if I have to make a choice between mopping the floor, or coloring with Wil before he goes to bed- I am going to break out the Crayola. It means I am going to eat breakfast most days of the week rather than just on the weekends- but I am not going to flog myself if all I can manage Monday morning is a mug of tea when I get to work. I will reduce my portion sizes, try to drink more water, and as soon as my foot heals, I am going to exercise again. Not to lose weight, or to look better, but to feel better. To be around as long as I can with the people I love. However, I will have the occasional cookie with my son after school but it is more important to me that we will bake them together.

I don’t know if it was the four soldiers and the first Canadian journalist who were killed over Christmas in Afghanistan , or the poor men sent to the winds on a scaffold Christmas Eve but I have just decided that I don’t have the time to waste of worrying or berating myself over things that really have little meaning.

This is one New Years Resolution that I really hope I stick with.

Welcome 2010

2010-01-04T11:58:00.004-05:00

Where is my flying car?

I always thought as a kid that when 2010 arrived we were going to be zipping around the planet on our own personal flying cars, eating replicated food, and taking off to the moon for the long holiday weekend.

While we aren’t quite there yet, our home had its most technically advanced Christmas yet. Don gave me the new Iphone, which I have named Noodle for some reason. I gave Don a Blue Ray player, which he refuses to name, and we upgraded our satellite to HD TV. His mom gave him a GPS for the car and my parents sent us a new gynormous LCD television as our old CRT finally gave up the ghost. If I was looking for the 2010 space monolith this year, I certainly found it- it is sitting in my living room with a Blue ray and an Xbox 360 attached to it. It is huge! I think Don is in love.

Wil didn’t get any new technology really, and that is fine with me. He was so happy with the gifts he received, but certainly caught on to the fact that the bigger gifts have toys in them. Anything in small package was pushed aside in favor of the big boxes, even if they weren’t his. He had to help you unwrap the “big one”. It is funny watching him open gifts. If he likes what he opens he wants to play with it right away. He would jump up and down saying “Open it Da da!” All his other gifts could wait as far as he was concerned; he wants to play with the new toy now!

Watching him Christmas morning makes Christmas away from family and friends back home on the Rock almost bearable. He was so happy to have the both of us home with him, to play with his new toys, and to have his cousins visit. It was good to have some time off- we needed it.

I am hoping the New Year finds you all happy and well and most importantly that Santa was good to you!

Christmas Carols for the Psychologically Challenged

2009-12-22T15:04:00.004-05:00

1) Agoraphobia – I heard the bells on Christmas day, but wouldn’t
leave my house.

2) Amnesia – I don’t know if I’ll be home for Christmas

3) Attention Deficit disorder – Silent Night, Holy..oooh, look at the pretty lights…can I have some chocolate? Why is France so far away?

4) Borderline Personality Disorder – Thoughts of roasting on an open fire

5) Dementia – I think I’ll be home for Christmas

6) Manic – deck the halls and walls and house and lawn and streets and stores and office and town and car and buses and trucks and trees and fire hydrants and…

7) Schizophrenia – Do you hear what I hear?

8) Multiple Personality disorder – We three kings disoriented are.

9) Narcissistic – hark the herald angels sing about me

10) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle…

11) Oppositional Defiant Disorder – I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus so I burned down the House

12) Paranoid – Santa Claus is Coming to Town to get me

13) Personality Disorder – You better watch out, I’m gonna cry, I’m gonna pout, maybe I’ll tell you why

14) Senile dementia – walking in a winter wonderland miles from my house in slippers and a robe

15) Social Anxiety Disorder – Have yourself a merry little Christmas while I sit here and hyperventilate

The sounds of Christmas

2009-12-07T10:52:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of Christmas songs which have been done and redone by various artists over the years. Some renditions are a lot of fun, some are very powerful, others are just plain unbearable.

In the very powerful category we have Mahalia Jackson singing, well, anything. Her version of Oh Holy Night brings tears to my eyes. It is a song I will forever associate with my Dad- he plays it over and over every Christmas, and he loves her version the best.

I found a copy of it on Youtube, but the video isn't the best, but the song is worth it.

All things Christmas

2009-12-04T09:10:00.006-05:00

Holy crap it is December! Although you would never know it from the weather. We haven't seen a flake yet and that is fine with me for now. Not only because it means I don't have to shovel it but because with Don driving to work and back on the 401 each day, it is one less thing I have to worry about. I will be a little sad though if we don't have a little of the white stuff for Christmas.

Christmas. GAWD! I am so far from being ready. This year it seems everyone around me is super early this year, they are already done, and I have yet to buy wrapping paper. All these early finishers seem so bloody intent on letting everyone know they are all done. In the clear. Sitting back with a pitying eye for those of us who are lagging. Yesterday I wished them all crotch lice for Christmas. Not exactly a festive message I know. But the pressure is getting to me.

I have been busy with work, a little personal crisis here at home (our daycare provider had a family crisis and suddenly could no longer watch Wilson so we were scrambling for a few days); throw a broken foot in the mix and you have a few of the reasons why I am so behind. More importantly though, I haven't really been in the mood. It might be the lack of snow. It might be because I am homesick. Or maybe I am just tired. I do know I need to get it in gear though. I have a little guy who deserves a little Christmas magic.

Anyway, I figure the only way I am going to get through the season is do do things in baby steps, and I need to get into the spirit of things. So this morning I brought in some pottery as a present to the family our class adopted for Christmas - I am taking care of the gifts for the mom and my students are providing the gifts for the kids. That felt pretty good.

I think tonight I might try a little Christmas baking- that might be something I can do with the little guy and it will make us both happy. The Toronto Star has a little Cookie Advent Calender. Every day you can open a recipe for cookie you may want to make for the holidays. Check it out, you might discover a new family favourite.

Special Potatoes

2009-11-30T13:35:00.000-05:00

Continuing on with the "Cooking a Turkey Dinner" blog series, today's entry is a very non-low-fat tasty version of mashed potatoes. What is great about this recipe is that you can make it a day ahead and put the whole deal in the oven to warm through about 30-40 minutes before your big Turkey dinner is served. This gives you more time to spend with your family, guests, or that nice bottle of Shiraz you have been saving.

You will need the following ingredients:

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (reduced fat is fine)
1/2 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup butter (I prefer butter)
less than 1/4 cup cream ( I use 5%)
1 teaspoon onion powder (this is optional, but it adds a lovely taste.
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
2 tablespoons butter

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cook potatoes as usual in salted water until tender. Drain. Now some people swear you get lighter fluffier potatoes if you push them through potato ricer. I have no such device- so I simply smash the heck out of them with my masher.

I have a lot of aggression that needs to be worked out people. Potatoes don't bruise.

2. Add cream cheese in pieces. Add next 7 ingredients. Go easy adding the cream. This will thin out your potatoes a little. It is a "to taste" ingredient really- you could omit it all together if the potatoes are wet enough for you.

Now beat the mixture like it owes you money.

3. Now taste it. What does it need? Salt? A little more cream? Pepper? When you have adjusted the seasonings, empty it into a casserole dish.

4. Place dabs of butter here and there over the top of the potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika if you want a garnish or a little color. I never bother though.

You can stop here, if you are making this ahead of time- put it in the fridge and take it out about 30- 40 minutes before you need to serve the meal. However, if you are rearing to go now, cover the casserole dish and place in a 350 F oven until heated through (around 30 minutes).

Sooooo good.

Sarah Palin meets Marg Delahunty

2009-11-25T19:27:00.004-05:00

This week on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mary Walsh's character, Marg Delahunty, travelled to Ohio and confronted Sarah Palin at a book signing. I would have preferred her Warrior Princess character had challenged Alaskan Freakshow, however, this encounter was funny in "Oh-my-God-she-is-actually-serious" kind of way.

I am not sure what terrifies me more: the fact this woman may actually have another shot at running one of the largest most powerful countries in the world, or that she honestly didn't know the Mary Walsh was absolutely provoking her for the inane and horrifyingly earnest response she gave.

"Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit."

I'll take ‘Huge Blunders' for $200, Alex

2009-11-24T13:02:00.003-05:00

I saw this article/podcast in the Globe and Mail this morning and it really got me thinking about a few incidents in my life where describing myself as a Newfoundander did not exactly put me at an advantage. I often wondered about how the situation would have played out had I kept my place of origin out of the picture. The best example I can think of is a decorating show my husband and I appeared on. That story will have to wait for another day, because it is one that requires booze to tell. Lots of it.

The writer of the globe story, Trevor Janes, appeared on Jeopardy awhile back. He has lived and worked in Ottawa for the past 20 years but is originally from the Rock. However, while filling out the contestant information sheet for the show he wrote down that he was from Ottawa. He explains: "Besides being a mild-mannered software developer, I'm also a giant, gushing Jeopardy! fanboy, and I knew that Alex Trebek had once lived in Ottawa. Hoping to share a brief connection with a famous person I admired, I wrote Ottawa as my place of origin. I figured that back in Newfoundland, my parents and relatives wouldn't mind, and nobody else who was watching would even know. We taped the show and I began the two-month wait for the broadcast."

Not surprisingly, months later as people from home watched the show, expecting to see the home boy represent, some were surprised and perhaps hurt to learn he did not say he was from the Rock. Mr. Janes takes great pains in his story to apologize for that error in judgement, and I have to admire him for that. It is an interesting read, and some of the reader comments are quite telling. They range from the usual "Just another Dumb Newf" rants from some knuckle dragging dingbats, to the reassuring "Don't sweat it" comments. I thought about weighing in and then decided to do that here instead.

I wonder, has being from Newfoundland ever held you back in anyway? Affected people's perceptions of you?

Turnip Puff

2009-11-15T17:33:00.001-05:00

Here is the first in the "Cooking a Turkey Dinner" series. Turnip Puff.

Most people don't get excited when you tell them turnip is on the menu. I realize it is not every one's favourite root vegetable, but it can be quite tasty believe it or not.

In Newfoundland, what we call turnip, mainlanders call rutabaga. It has a waxy purplish outer skin, yellow flesh inside, and it is a bitch to cut up. Cut it you must. Cut away the waxy skin, and dice up the turnip. You will need a larger size turnip for this recipe ( or two smaller ones I guess), enough to get about 5 to 6 cups of cubed turnip. For you visual learners out there, no smaller than a softball folks, bigger is better.

Bigger is always better. Ahem.

Once you have the turnip peeled, rinsed and cubed , put it in a large pot of salted boiling water and cook until fork tender. Drain and mash. Let it sit while you get the rest of your ingredients together.

2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar,
1 teaspoon baking powder
salt and pepper and 1 pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup finely crushed crackers
2 tablespoons butter

Add butter and eggs and beat well. (If you are worried about creating a large meal all in one day, you can stop here with this recipe, cover it, put it in the fridge and finish it the next day. Otherwise, as you were).

Next, in a little mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, seasoning and nutmeg. Crush into turnip mixture until mixed through. Pour into a buttered casserole dish and sprinkle your crushed cracker crumbs on top. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until the crumb topping turns light brown.

It is the best way to eat turnip!

Conan O'Brien Screeched In

2009-11-14T20:48:00.004-05:00

Many of you have heard of the Newfoundland tradition of "Screeching" people in: meaning to make one an honorary Newfoundlander. Perhaps a few of you have even been screeched in yourself. There is a pretty specific ritual that is performed each time, it may vary somewhat from community to community, but real screech ins all take place on the Rock. It doesn't count otherwise. Also a shot of Newfoundland Screech is required. There will be a few Newfoundland sayings to repeat, a few questions to be answered, perhaps a jig to be danced, and you have to kiss a cod. It is possible the screechee will have to complete all these tasks while they are wearing a sou’wester. It is silly. It is embarrassing. But it is a lot of fun.

The liquor helps.

If you want hint of how the ceremony might play out you can look at this video of Natasha Henstridge screeching in Conan O'Brien. While she doesn't get the ceremony anywhere close to correct, it is a funny little bit, and it is great to see her bring up her Newfoundland roots. However there were a few things she mentioned I was not aware of, and I was wondering if any Newfoundlanders out there in the void might be able to enlighten me. Natasha says that Newfoundlanders do this for luck, for wedding anniversaries and such. Indeed the reason she says she has chosen to screech Conan in is for luck on the birth of his first child. Pardon?

Can anyone confirm or deny this? I never heard of us doing this to our own for luck, or celebration? Have you? I thought this was something we did for tourists- make them feel welcome and make them laugh a little. What say you folks? Have you ever heard of this?

Have a look at the clip though, it will put a smile on your face.

Thanks to my cousin Ron for showing me this, I am sure I would have missed it otherwise.

Cooking a turkey Dinner...in parts.

2009-11-14T14:56:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine asked for my help recently, she wanted to know how to cook a turkey dinner. She is not much of a cook- more of a baker, and she is a vegetarian as well. So cooking a bird was not something she knew, and the side dishes were also a mystery for the most part. However, she was going to host Thanksgiving at her home this year, and that meant she was on bird duty. So I gave her the few tips I could, I am by no means an expert, and recipes to some of our favourite"Sunday Dinner" dishes we used to eat a lot back home.

Her dinner was a success, her kids even enjoyed the turnip dish I suggested, a minor miracle apparently. So I figured I could slowly post a few of those recipes here, complete with pictures.
Just keep in mind this is not going to be some fancy schmancy production, just some down home cooking. Cooking anyone can do, and everyone will enjoy.

Tomorrow, I will post the recipe for the first of our side dishes: Turnip Puff.

Take time to remember

2009-11-11T09:32:00.002-05:00

It is the least we can do.

In this video, Canada's troops get recognized at BC place for their dedication and sacrifice at the November 6 2009 game.

Free Falling

2009-11-09T11:13:00.006-05:00

I am a little bit of a klutz. I don’t really require anything to trip up in; I have been known to fall over nothing, heck, I have even fallen up the stairs (on more than one occasion). Some people can sing, others can dance or swallow light bulbs; this is my talent.

I remember one Christmas going out to Sears with my mom to help load up the car with some of her catalogue purchases, the most important one was my brother’s Christmas gift, a DVD player. It wasn’t that she bought a lot, but she had some bigger boxes coming and needed the extra pair of hands, plus we had to get groceries on the way back.

We loaded the van without incident or injury and arrived back at the house safely, even though a pretty good winter’s storm had picked up while we were shopping. Unloading the van in the white of a storm was a bit messy and you would think that if a person was going to fall this would be the time they would do it- but not me.

We were almost finished when my brother came home. He helped us bring in the last of the groceries in the back of the van, but thankfully did not see the boxes in the front. Mom, worried he might see his gift, told him to go inside and start putting the groceries away. There was a problem with that plan though, part of the kitchen is open to the foyer, and if Cas was in the wrong spot at the wrong time he would see his Christmas gift. As far as my mom was concerned that would completely ruin Christmas.

So mom handed me the DVD player and she grabbed the rest of the stuff. She ordered me to hang back a bit until she gave the signal for me to move out. On my tip toes behind her, bundled in a large marshmallow like winter jacket with my hood pulled down tight; I waited stealthily at the end of the walkway in the blowing snow with the player in my arms. She was inside now, I could hear her talking. Then her hand jutted out the front door, one quick ‘come in’ gesture. I was ready.

I made it across the icy walkway and up the steps and to the threshold, and then I was airborne.

You know the old Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons where the poor Coyote always ends up getting the utter and complete crap kicked out of him? Where at least once, every show, he ends up falling from some great height and landing with a puff of smoke and an ACME anvil on top of his head? At the beginning of every fall though, he has that moment where he pauses mid air and looks at the camera as if to say: “I am so screwed” and then plummets to the bottom of the canyon. Got that visual?

I am not sure exactly how I achieved the height I did, or why I was perfectly horizontal when I got there, but I do know there was a fraction of a second where I paused mid flight and looked at mom with that “I am so screwed” look on my face and then I landed in the middle of the foyer with a groan and a thud.

There I was, flat on my face and splayed out on the ceramic tile. However, my arms were miraculously straight up over my head with the DVD player held in them still. Somehow I had not dropped it, landed on it, or let it hit the ground.

I believe my first words were: “Did I break it?”

Mom did a quick check to see if I was ok and then wrenched the player from my outstretched hands leapt over my prostrate figure and vaulted over the stairs with the gift before Cas could come out to see what was wrong. She is pretty nimble.

When she came back down she helped me up, and then started laughing. It was quite the fall to witness but once she knew I was ok, and that the gift was safely stashed away, she was free to laugh. She had a hard time stopping.

Most of my falls have this effect on other people. There is a story Don tells about one of my more memorable flights into painland that makes people cry laughing- especially when he does a step by step re-enactment.

The reason I bring this up is because I had actually been doing ok for awhile I hadn't had any major story worthy falls in quite sometime. It was enough of a break in routine that Don actually commented on the fact I had been fall free for months.

I think that is what did it actually. The cruel bastard jinxed me.

Considering the number and severity of falls I have had over the years it was a lucky and remarkable thing that I never broke anything. Well that situation has been remedied my friends.

Two Saturdays ago I had a fall and fractured my foot. I am currently in an annoying aircast. I wish I could tell you how exactly I fell this time but the truth is I have no idea how it happened. I was walking back to the car and all of a sudden the pavement was rushing toward me at an alarming rate and then I saw sky.

In the process I rolled an ankle fracturing my right foot, and landed on my left knee followed closely my left arm and then the back of my head. The story of my experience at the clinic will have to be for another day because that one is a long one. And right now, I haven’t got time for the pain.

Oink Oink

2009-10-30T16:05:00.004-04:00

If this H1N1 flu pandemic is a test case for the way the Canadian government and health agencies will respond to a super bug pandemic then it looks like we are totally screwed.

It is not like this “second wave” of Swine flu just crept up on us. It cannot be said that we did not know it was coming, and yet, it seems officials are running around in a blue ass panic.

The roll out of the vaccine is too little, and far too late. Small makeshift clinics set up in old fitness sites (as is the case with Whitby anyway), 5 to 8 hour long line ups in the cold and wet (that sounds smart) and inconvenient clinic times for most working people, make this whole vaccination plan seem like someone hastily drew it up with red crayon in a tree house over recess time.

Today’s news did little to make the situation any better. I can only imagine what this will do to the current line-ups.

According to the Globe and Mail, Ontario will no longer give out H1N1 flu shots to the general public because of a shortage of the vaccine- high risk candidates only. The CBC is reporting that Provinces get less H1N1 vaccine next week because the producers can’t make it fast enough.

“The problem is the maker has a single production line but had to stop producing adjuvanted vaccines to make the unadjuvanted type. Adjuvants are used to boost effectiveness, but can have unwanted side-effects in some cases.”

Mmm. really? So I should hold out for the side effect free Non-Adjuvant version?

The hope now is to get the vaccines all in for everyone who wants one before Christmas.

Merry Christmas Canada, here is a vaccine you needed in September! Oh, you don’t need it now? You are immune? You already had the flu?

I am sure there is some country we can regift it to.

For Wicket

2009-10-28T14:59:00.006-04:00

The first year we moved to Ontario , we lived in a very small Junior one bedroom apartment on Jarvis Street in Toronto. It was cramped and noisy, and all kinds of interesting characters came out to play at night…well mostly at night. I was missing home pretty bad- everything here seemed so crazy to me, the speed of life, the insanity of some of my neighbors, and the lack of community. I was having trouble adjusting to life in the big smoke. Even though I had Don, I was lonely.

Shortly after the New Year, I got a really bad flu, and I was home for days. It was January 8^th and bitterly cold. I remember crawling back into bed that afternoon, Don tucked me in set a glass of juice on the side table and told me he was going to the store to pick up a few things. I promptly passed out in a Tylenol Cold induced haze.

I woke up to the sound of Don unlocking the apartment door. He had a kind of grin on his face that made me worry; I was about to ask him what the heck he had been up to when he produced a cage from behind his back. Inside there was a little black and white fur ball we named Wicket. This little kitten was to be my birthday gift- even though Don is allergic to cats, indeed Don never really liked cats. As Don was handing the little kitten over to me he made sure I was clear on one condition: “The cat cannot be allowed in our room. That has to be a cat hair free zone; I need to be able to sleep”. That sounded reasonable so I agreed.

The first night Wicket cried and cried and cried to be let in our room. It was a long night.

The second night, Don said: “Maybe he is lonely, let’s let the cat in the room but not on the bed. He can never get on the bed.” That sounded reasonable so I agreed.

It wasn’t long that night before the cat scaled the bedclothes and crawled on top of the bed. Purring the whole time. Don would pick the cat up and put him back down each time until he finally gave up. Wicket was both persistent and smart. Those first few nights Wicket wisely slept at the foot of the bed. But as days and weeks past, he slowly moved up to sleep at our knees, then cuddled into the small of our backs, and finally we woke up one morning to find Wicket between us, with his head on the pillow and his body tucked under the sheets. He was smart I tell ya. Strangely, Don was not suffering any allergic reactions.

This cat did not know he was a cat. He was part dog I am sure, perhaps that is why Don did not have any allergies to Wicket. Our cat would fetch. If you threw a stuffed toy, he would run after it, pick it up in his teeth and strut back to you like a lion on the Serengeti. When he reached your feet, he would drop his kill at your feet and step back proudly, waiting for you to pet him and toss it again. He could do this forever.

If Wicket found something interesting or when he really wanted your attention, he would stand up on his two hind legs hold his paws up like a Prairie Dog and sway back and forth like a cobra. He could hold this stance for a long time, and it unnerved many a guest to the apartment. Also, he did not meow- he trilled. It was the oddest little noise.

When we moved into our new home in Whitby we noticed more of Wicket’s interesting little quirks. Wicket loved all dogs, was not afraid to run up to the biggest of them on days he escaped outdoors, sniff them, walk along side them. Try to talk to them. Most dogs shied away from him at first, but warmed up to him before long. Cats however, were a different issue. If a cat came to our door, or to our back patio Wicket turned into a feral little creature. His eyes would get black and wide, he would puff up to twice his size and make this woofing sound, sometimes even throwing himself at the door in a desperate attempt to get at the cat on the other side. It was scary to watch Wicket go bye-bye.

While Wicket fiercely guarded the house from other cats he was very welcoming to other visitors. If you knocked on our door Wicket would be there to great you and once you were in the house you were going to be cuddled. He insisted. He would see you out too- walk you to the porch and all.

Because we bought a new house, and because we bought one from Liza homes, that first year we had a steady stream of contractors come in to repair or redo things around the house. Wicket was an indoor cat- so we had it on our standing orders that if a contractor came to our house; they were not to let the cat out. One day I happened to be at home when one of the contractors came by to fix the leaking bathtub upstairs. Wicket watched the guy the whole time, and when he was ready to leave followed him downstairs. The man came and spoke to me about the repairs, and commented on how friendly Wicket was: “He sat there the whole time” He said. “He purred all the time, and just sat at my feet”. He looked down at Wicket who was circling his legs while he spoke, and petted him. Then he gathered his stuff and headed for the door. I was making supper so I figured he could see himself out. A few moments later I realized that the contractor was still there; he had opened the door and closed it several times, but had not left. I peaked out, my hands full of dough. The contractor looked at me, a little chagrined he said: “The cat won’t let me out”

Then I saw the light bulb over his head. He started laughing.

“This is the House!” he said. His face red, tears streaming down his face”. This is the house they were talking about!

By this point I was curious and laughing myself, the guy was just howling and it was kind of infectious. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Kirk was here last week fixing your ceiling I think, and he had to call the guys from the site to come let him out. He saw the order not to let the cat out, but the cat would not leave his feet long enough to let him open the door and squeeze out. We asked him why he didn’t just pick the cat up, step out and then toss him back in, and he said the cat was not normal. He would not pick him up.”

Apparently Kirk was teased mercilessly about having to be rescued from a cat, and the story had made the rounds.

As Wicket got older he started to get a series of bladder infections which caused him to pee in places he should not. Antibiotics and special food only kept him clear for so long. The poor guy had all the fur licked off his paws and his belly was raw from licking. A few weeks ago we noticed a furball on the top of his head. We let it go, because Wicket usually works those out himself. But he hadn’t, and he wasn’t himself. His infection was back we thought at first. When Don tried to cut the furball off himself we discovered a lot more was going on.

Wicket was put down two weeks ago now. I still find myself listening for the sound of his paws patter across the floor at night and waiting for him to hop up on the bed. Don has to stop him self from making sure all the toilet seats are up and clean (Wicket would only drink out of the toilet). I have a cold now, and I miss how Wicket seemed to know I was sick, he would stay near me all day, and sit on my feet to keep them warm.

I will never have another pet. Telling the vet it was ok to put Wicket down was very difficult. Saying goodbye to Wicket hurt. But boy am I grateful I had that little furball in my life. I know some people will laugh at this and wonder why someone would get so upset over a cat- but the thing is he wasn’t just a cat to me; he was a member of the family.

Communication Breakdown

2009-10-27T08:56:00.000-04:00

Our little guy has a bit of a speech delay. At a year old he began getting ear infections and they never went away. He lived on various forms of penicillin. Both ears were constantly infected, and my little guy spent much of his days isolating himself. Wil became very withdrawn and stopped responding to his name. Worse, my quiet little guy was becoming increasingly frustrated by is lack of ability to communicate.

When we finally got him into an ENT we discovered that he had no movement in his ear drums, which meant he could hear very little, if at all. He had to have surgery to stop the infections. Thankfully, he has not had an infection since the surgery, and his hearing has improved a great deal. His speech is coming along, but slower than we would like. At three years old, there is still a lot of gibberish, but he is putting sentences together, and seems to be understanding a lot more than he did even a month ago. More importantly, he is trying to make connections between the words he knows and the ideas he is trying to express.

The other night at the dinner table he passed gas. I looked at him expectantly, he knows he must say excuse me when he coughs or burps and I had assumed we covered the emissions from his bottom as well. He looked back at me, knowing I wanted something from him, but clearly unsure what that something was. So he said:

“I burp in my bum”. His face serious; searching mine. I tried not to laugh.
“No buddy that is a fart. Say excuse me.”
“Scuse me.”

Now I am sure someone is going to tell me I should not have taught him the word fart, I should have used the phrase “passed gas”. And I am not sure why I used the f word. All I know is, it is much better than “I burp in my bum”.

Christmas on Thanksgiving

2009-10-26T10:52:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, I live far away from my family. We are all spread out, with the bulk of the clan living in different parts of Newfoundland, and everyone else is spread out all over Canada. The only relatives I have here in Ontario are my Uncle Brendan and his family in Oshawa, and my sister Serena in Kingston. It makes holiday times kind of lonely. While all family gatherings that I miss are difficult, missing Christmas in Newfoundland damn near kills me. I spend much of the holiday in a bit of a funk, prone to spontaneous bouts of weeping. Even Christmas commercials get to me.

You may be wondering why I am talking about Christmas so early this year, and the answer is that I had my Christmas this past Thanksgiving weekend. The plan was that my parents were going to fly up and my sister was going to drive in from Kingston to spend the long holiday weekend together. I was really looking forward to the holiday- even if only half my family could come.

However, my mom is a bit of a sleeveen. Unbeknownst to me, she had arranged for the entire family to be together. Mom, Dad and my brother Cas all flew in to Toronto together, and my little sister Cassandra flew in the next day. It was the first time we were all together in 3 years. It was wonderful.

We spent the time playing cards, spoiling my son Wilson (he is the only grandchild), laughing and teasing each other, and eating. We were all together, enjoying each other, we were busy making memories; in short, it was Christmas for me. Who knows, maybe, with a little luck, we can make this a new tradition for the family.

Thanks Mom, Merry Christmas.

Newfoundland Marshmallow Cookies

2009-10-20T09:48:00.003-04:00

Here are two of my favorite cookies from Newfoundland. It has been a while since I had any of these delights, and I got a hankering for the chocolate version of the recipe last night. I didn't make any though, because I just went down a size in pants and have no desire to start filling out the older bigger pants again, and neither my husband nor my son likes marshmallows. So had I made them, I would have had to eat the whole pan. That would not have ended well.

I thought I might work the craving out of my system by sharing the recipe with all you special folk. These are quick, easy to make, and freeze well.

Chocolate Marshmallow Roll

1 cup semisweet Chocolate Chips
2 tbsp Butter or margarine

1 egg beaten
1 cup Icing sugar
2 1/2 cups of small colored marshmallows
1/4 cups maraschino cherries, chopped
1/2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Coconut for coating

Instructions: Melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat until soft. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Add beaten egg, icing sugar,marshmallows, well drained cherries & walnuts and combine. I like to do this next step on waxed paper. Sprinkle some coconut over the waxed paper and fold the mixture onto it. Using the paper form the mixture into a roll. Tossing a little more coconut on it to ensure the outside of the roll is well coated. Roll up the cookies in the wax paper (it should look like a little chocolaty coconutty tube of gooey goodness). Chill well before attempting to slice. I sometimes toss it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing as it is much easier to cut. It makes a really pretty cookie.

This next version of the cookie is also tasty. I cannot decide which is best!

Here is the recipe:

Graham Marshmallow
3 cups mini marshmallows (coloured or plain)
2 cups of graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup maraschino cherries cut up
15oz can Eagle Brand milk
1 tsp vanilla
Few grains salt
2 1/2 cups coconut

Instructions: This one is even easier to make than the first recipe. All you have to do is blend marshmallows, condensed milk, salt, graham crumbs, vanilla and cherries together. Then, line an 8x8 inch pan with half of the coconut and spread marshmallow mixture on top and press firmly.
Sprinkle remaining coconut on top and press down gently. Refrigerate for 24 hours before cutting in squares.

Yum!

Too much!

2009-10-14T13:37:00.000-04:00

Last week the Work Fairy shat out a large steaming dump on my desk and at the same time I had the perfect storm of school activities land on my head. Seriously, I have not had much time to do anything other than work, and it is beginning to get to me. I am starting to get that bug eyed look. People in my life are taking on a vague hazy sheen. I seem to be forgetting where I am from one moment to the next. I don’t remember the drive in to work. I just seemed to arrive here.

Last week, the one and only time I made it to the gym ended in embarrassment. It was a minor miracle I found the time to haul my ass there, remember my gym bag and shoes. I did manage to forget my MP3 player, but hey, you can’t win them all. I changed and locked up my gear in the locker room, and got on the treadmill. I was mentally congratulating myself on my dedication, my perseverance, my inner drive…and yet, something was not quite right.

I tried to ignore it. Tried to focus again on how good I was being. I mean here I was, at the gym, I had made it a priority! Even though I still had mounds of marking, that Grad was looming in three days, that we still didn’t have the rental chairs, that I had a SAT meeting, a CLIP meeting and a Staff meeting to prepare for, that I had yet to find a babysitter for Wilson for Grad night- I still made time for exercise. I was moving at a pretty good pace too- considering I had all this on my mind.

But hey, I missed that music in the background. Music keep me on pace normally and it distracted me from the fact I was exercising. Yeah, I wish I had that MP3 player. It seemed awful important to my workout now that I had forgotten it. Suddenly I found that I could not stop thinking about it- why the heck was that bothering me so much?

Well because I don’t use a combination lock. I use one of those little gold locks. You know the kind with a key. And do you want to know something else? I keep that little key tied to the wire on the earphones of my MP3 player.

The player that was left at home.

I had to go to the gym office, and explain to them what happened, and have them cut the lock. It was so embarrassing. But that is the way my mind has been working of late. Which is to say, it has not been working well at all!

Time sings the praises of the Rock

2009-10-02T21:10:00.003-04:00

Time Magazine did a little piece on Newfoundand yesterday, and I thought you all might like to check it out. The article described the Rock's as: "astonishingly photogenic. Its blend of rugged landscapes (icebergs, mountains, forests, fjords, beaches and coastal trails) make it a playground for nature fiends. You don't have to be Grizzly Adams to enjoy a break there though: culture and revelry are on hand at the convivial capital, St. John's." It then went on to outline five of the Islands attractions. Check it out.

Tom Brokaw researching Gander 9/11

2009-09-18T13:00:00.004-04:00

Tom Brokaw has been in Gander interviewing residents of Gander and nearby communities about their profound display of generosity and trust during the Sept. 11 attacks. It is funny, but during a time when people were the most afraid, the most paranoid and uncertain, Brokaw says Newfoundander's were telling strangers: "That's my house, it's open and there's lots of towels in the bathroom, you can go take a shower, I won't be home, but it's fine. And by the way, the fridge is full."

We are a fine crew I tell ya. A fine crew.

***

Edited to add:

I notice this particular post is getting a lot of hits. I am not sure why exactly. Just wanted to say:
A) Thanks for the visit!
B) There is a little bit of an update to this post here:

It has been a busy time!

2009-09-14T13:20:00.001-04:00

I have some good news to share: Hubby got a job! Wahoo! He started on September 3rd, and really enjoys it so far. The only problem with the new job is that it is in North Toronto, so unless he wants to spend 3 hours of his day on the Go train and GO bus system, he has to drive. So we had to buy a second car- something we never planned on, or even wanted to do, but hey, he got a job! I am not going to complain.

I always try to buy local where I can, and a big purchase like a car is no exception. We wanted to try and buy domestic as we did with our first car, and later the van we traded her in for. But for this new purchase we had two main concerns: safety and fuel economy. Don needed a car that can take the daily commute to the Big Smoke, won’t cost us a kidney in gas and won’t fold up like a beer can smashed on a frosh’s forehead when involved in a collision. So naturally we asked people we knew making the daily commute what they would suggest and we did a little research on the topic. I have to admit, very few North American cars made anyone’s list. Still, we wanted to try.

We did not have time to go back and forth with all the dealerships we planned to visit, so we gave them all the same spiel, and it went a little something like this: “We are buying a vehicle this week; we will be test driving for the next two days, and making a purchase on Monday. So give us your best deal- with any bells and whistles you care to throw in NOW, because the only dealership getting a repeat visit is the one we wish to buy from.”

We had to cross Pontiac off our list completely- they are not being made anymore after this year and resale value will be affected by that. We crossed Chrysler off our list because we had a horrible experience with our Neon. So the Cobalt was the North American car in our price range to test out. We selected a 2009, figuring we would get a better deal on last year’s model. It was a cute little car with just the basic options. With our down payment, we could have bought the car for $315 a month. Not bad. The test drive did not blow us away, but it had enough pick-up for what Don needs. This combined with a recommendation from a friend stating how much she liked hers and good gas mileage made it a contender.

On a whim we tried a Kia Forte which turned out to be a tinny little ride. It had all the creature comforts added, and it was a 2010. It came in at $368 a month which was a little more than we wanted to spend. And while this car boasts great gas mileage it is a new model and no one really could recommend it. Best we could get from people on the Kia cars was: “They have come a long way”. Not exactly a rousing endorsement.

Next up was the Honda Civic. This one we were a little excited about, because it made almost all the professional lists for good commuter cars, and several friends said they were reliable vehicles. However, a lot of thugs and “gangsta” wannabes think so too- as it is one of the most often stolen vehicles in Canada. Our test drive went well, but it was odd to have the dealer in the car with us. Not many features added to the base model and it was a 2009 it came in at $335 a month.

After that we went to Mazda. I have to admit, I am partial to Mazda products. My parents flipped their MPV with my little sister and her friend inside. The van was totaled as it flipped over an embankment about 7 times before landing on its wheels, every window was blown out, but all occupants safe and relatively unhurt inside. Then there was my other sister, who was rear-ended on the highway in the Mazda Protégé, again, that car was totaled, but both my sister and her friend suffered minor injuries. So I had this in mind when we test drove the Mazda 3. Don loved the sporty feel of the car, and I was comfortable in it. The only problem is it is a little short on space in the backseat. That little car was also a 2010, and came in at $319 a month, well equipped.

Our last car was the Toyota Corolla, a great ride, but not a lot of extras on the base model. However, the gas mileage was excellent. It came in at $330 a month. We had been told great things by family and friends about Toyota, we knew it could handle the pounding of the commute and has great resale value.

Since Kia was out of price range, and was an untested car, and Cobalt and Civic were all last year’s models at this year’s prices (What the hell is up with THAT?) we narrowed it down to the Toyota and Mazda vehicles. We could not decide. So we called our insurance agent to find out which vehicle would be cheaper to insure and the answer was the Corolla. So that is what we bought.

It helps too, that the Corollas are made in Ontario. And it was a great bonus to find out, since we bought at the end of the month, and picked up the car two days later, we were entitled to the discount for September which lowered our monthly costs by about 10 bucks. So if you are planning on buying a car, do it at the end of the month!

Of course all the Dealerships we visited are calling us now, saying they can work out a better deal. I had the pleasure of telling one of them they missed the boat big time- we already bought with someone who gave us the deal we wanted, when we asked for it.

Blueberry Grunt

2009-08-19T19:11:00.003-04:00

My Grandma used to make this dessert at the end of every summer after filling buckets and buckets with blueberries she and Granddad picked. There is nothing quite as sweet and fresh as blueberries from Newfoundland. This dessert doesn't exactly have the most appetizing name, but top it with some vanilla ice cream and drizzle of a blueberry wine reduction and you have a dessert fit for royalty.

BLUEBERRY GRUNT

What you need:

1 quart blueberries
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups flour, all purpose
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp butter
2/3 cup milk

Directions:
Heat blueberries, water and sugar slowly until blueberries begin to soften; then bring to a boil. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes. As it simmers make the dumplings.

Dumplings: Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter and add enough milk to make a soft dough.

Once the dumplings are mixed, drop dumpling dough by the tablespoonful onto hot berry mixture. You should have anywhere from 8 to 10dumplings. Cover tightly and cook 15 minutes without raising lid. Dumplings will double in size and will make funny noises in the pot- hence the name.

Serve hot, spooning some of the blueberry mixture over dumplings, and top with cream. Tasty!

New Social Media

2009-08-16T12:56:00.005-04:00

It is amazing to think of the changes we have seen in the way we live, work and connect with media. Gone are the days when the newspaper and your local news cast were your most often chosen forms of information. The newspaper is terminally ill and may soon be going the way of cave drawings- where perhaps the writing on the wall may also warn of television's possible demise.

Simply migrating those two sources of information and entertainment to the Internet has not saved them, but it has put them on life support. The interactivity the Internet provides has given them a chance to push on through to the next technical leap- but only if they can let go of old ideas, and get ahead of the new ones.

I thought this video was neat because it shows just what kind of an all consuming monster this "New Social Media" is, how fast it is spreading and becoming a part of our daily life. From Blogs, and Facebook to HULU and YouTube, and the way it reaches us in our cars, on our phones, on the internet, and at the office. We are connected to everyone, all the time, everywhere.

The Royal St. John’s Regatta

2009-08-03T13:47:00.005-04:00

Though people will argue that the Regatta started much earlier, the earliest documented mention of a rowing competition dates back to 12 August 1816. According to the Royal St. John's Regatta website: ”the first 30 to 40 years of Regatta history the races often took one, two, even three days to complete. Some challenges were for sailing while others were for racing. Crews and boats had to be classified or matched so that all challenges could be met. Sailing matches were initially held in the Harbour with rowing matches reserved for Quidi Vidi.” As years passed and the harbour became too busy to hold the event and the races moved to Quidi Vidi for good.

I have a special interest in the race this year because I know one of the people racing in it. Angela Antle, Host of The Weekend Arts Magazine, is one of six talented and busy woman to form a team for this year’s event. They all work full time and have families to raise so finding time to exercise can be about as difficult as nuclear physics. However, each of the women made a commitment to themselves and to each other to start a rowing team, and as Angela put it: “...we carved out a little bit of time for ourselves and no one died or got a divorce...yet.”

Most were newbies to the sport and the team goes by the moniker “The Unfit Mothers”. Angela explains: “We're all out of shape...in fact...we didn't want to row with anyone in shape!” But they did have one person with experiece to mentor the crew. Jackie Cains is the Cox. She rowed since she was 15 and agreed to take the team on; getting up with them to row at 6:30am every day for 13 weeks on a VOLUNTEER basis. Angela jokes: “She is 5 ft nothing and she gets in and stands over us with her mug of Tim's tea and says "OK ladies...get in time, Give me 10 good ones, C'mon I know you can do it...slow down number 2!" Also on the team is Victoria King who as the team’s "stroke" she sets the pace. Clara McCue who Angela describes as “very strong” remarked to Angela once that rowing is “great because the exercise is a consequence of the activity ...not the focus...there's so much technique going on you don't even realize you're working hard”. Artist and teacher Elayne Greeley manages to keep the team laughing and focused. Dr. Joy Tilley is also a member of the team who says she's NEVER had so much fun getting exercise. Finally, there is Debbie Hynes who is a secret weapon for the team.

This group of women are determined ladies to be sure. They improved their times by one whole minute from St. John's Day to Time Trials and are the only team that didn't get a sponsor. The ladies split the $800 rowing fees and their own t-shirts printed: “ …because we didn't want to lose our name and have to be the shopper drug mart team or whatever...and the fees themselves were cheaper than weight watchers or a gym fees for the summer!”

Ladies I shall be thinking of you all on the 5th. Race hard.

May the wind be at your back.

One day down

2009-07-29T12:22:00.011-04:00

I don't know what made me say yes, but when Sherri asked me if I wanted to do the learn to run program with her, yes is what I said. She did the program last year, and because last winter was crazy with snow and ice, and because she is crazy and has three young kids who all participate in activities while she works full time, she did not run much over the winter and wanted to start it up again.

Anyway, when she brought it up I said yes, because in my heart I am a hopeful gal. I try to suppress it- but sometimes it gets the better of me. I was a little worried though. I am so out of shape. Well I guess a circle is a shape but not the kind of shape that looks good in a bathing suit. If summer ever comes to Ontario again, I may actually have to get in a bathing suit, so, I figure I have to do something about the circular nature of my being. I know it is going to be a painful process, and I am worried that I am not doing it with someone who is at my level. Sherri has done this before, even ran in a 5K race, three kids and all.

So it was with some trepidation that I showed up at her house yesterday evening to have our first "Learn to Run" session. Over a series of weeks, we will meet 3 times each week, and gradually increase the amount of actually running (or in my case s slllllloooooooow jog, then crawling and by the end of it almost slithering) each week.

Last night Sherri explained that we would walk for 2 minutes then jog for one, and we would repeat that cycle 10 times. I looked at her like she was on crack- that seems like a whole lot of jogging for a 5000 pound whale to do on her first night out of the aquarium. All Sherri said was: "We will work through it".

Ok. I thought to myself. Wondering if I should give her the number to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans so she could call them to haul my carcass off the road when we were done.

Before I knew it we were off, and the first few repetitions were ok. Not easy for me, but I could do it. I was breathing like an old man in a lingerie shop but I was doing it.

When we got to the 5th repetition of our 2 minute walk 1 minute jog, I began to notice that the 2 minutes seemed infinitely shorter than the 1 minute jog interval. That one minute was getting longer and longer and I am not even jogging fast. There was a baby learning to crawl on their front lawn as we jogged past, and the infant made it to the light pole at the end of their property before I did.

The 6th repetition was pretty painful. My legs were starting to feel it, and my breathing was gone to hell. I am sure there were points where I wasn't breathing anymore. Didn't really care to either. At around the 8th interval, I was praying for death and looking for a truck to jump in front of, but Sherri's neighborhood is pretty quiet. So I kept going. I wondered how much pounding my legs could take before they just said "Screw this" and fell off.

The last interval was difficult, I was really lagging by this point. Time was going backwards, and my tongue felt like a furry pillow with cat hair all over it. I was hot, I was sweaty, my legs were on fire, but I was done with day 1 of the Learn to Jog Program.

I was pretty proud of myself.

I woke up this morning in complete agony- but still pretty pleased I had done it.

We do it all again on Thursday night. Wish me luck.

Made in Sweden

2009-07-26T22:00:00.003-04:00

Some time next week, Don’s mom, his Granny, his sister, her husband and their twins will become coming to visit for a few days. Naturally, the first question I had is, where the hell is everyone going to sleep?

We have a spare room furnished with a double bed which will help but is nowhere near enough sleeping gear.

We had a blowup mattress until a few months back when our cat peed on it. That animal has no idea how close he is to becoming a lovely side order of Chicken Chow Meow. I tried to salvage it, I really did, because at the time my sister Serena and my Mom were coming for a visit, and I needed the extra bed. So I scrubbed the bejesus out of the air mattress; I even let it sit in cleaner for a couple of days before blowing the sucker up again, and it seemed to be fine. I set it up for my sister in our home office, dressed the bed and fluffed the pillows, I even laid a mint on the turned down bed sheets. Serena was snug as a bug on a rug when I said good-night to her. She woke up around 2 am on the floor, the air mattress a flaccid pancake beneath her . Cat must have done more than pee on the mattress.

Which brings us back today’s problem: sleeping arrangements.

I spent the better part of yesterday going from furniture store to furniture store looking at futons- too big for this room, sofa beds- too expensive and some new fangled doohickeys called Klick Klacks.

You see when a mommy futon and a daddy sofa bed have strong loving feelings towards each other, they get married and have a Klick Klack. It is an ugly child, most often sporting “Baby Ka-ka Beige” coloured micro-suede and it makes a funny clicking sound when you move it.

But there was one place left for me to look for something different: Ikea.

My sister-in-law Sherri and I got up this morning and made the trek out to Vaughan and had a look at what the Swedes had to offer. Honestly, they export more that just good hockey players. That warehouse off the side of the 407 is a veritable hockey arena of goods. However it is the oddest shopping experience I have ever had. Like rats in a lab maze looking for cheese, you thread your way around the showrooms, write down the items you want: then go to the warehouse at the end of the maze and pick up your cheese…er..boxed items.

I always looked at the Ikea catalogue when visiting Sherri. I marveled at the time how nice things looked and how reasonably priced things seemed. Now that I am no longer an Ikea virgin, I understand those prices.

You do all the work.

From shearing the lamb for the textiles and sanding down the 2X4 for the sofa then schelping the items off the aisles and into your van- it’s all you baby.

You, an Allen Key, and stick men diagrams.

It was those stick men diagrams that really got to me. No written direction whatsoever. They are kind enough to show you little detailed line drawings of all the items in the box, but they are a little vague on all the piecing them all together details. Each page of the 10 pages of "instructions” shows two men completing one step of the process. Step 1 seemed clear enough, until Don and I completed step 1, and realized it was backwards. Steps 2 through 4 were somewhat clear and we managed to get through them will minimal blood shed. I lost a toe, but I have spares.

Steps 5 onward have a place reserved for them in Dante’s Inferno.

Seriously, we could not figure out what in the name of holy hell the stick men were doing. There are all kinds of arrows that zoom out to close ups of the screws, but no indication of what to do when and what part these screws really belong to. Worse still, in step 5 I can’t tell if Stickman 1 is trying to align Stickman 2’s back or if this is a picture of said stickman at the local Rub and Tug. They do look noticeably happier and loose in step 7.

Anyhow, 2 ½ hours and a call to the divorce lawyer later, the Lycksele sofabed thingie is complete. I am happy it is done, I think it will serve us well, but this rat won’t be going back into the Ikea maze again any time soon. I have had my fill of stickmen.

Beautiful

2009-07-19T22:24:00.007-04:00

For the longest time I had my life planned out. I was going to be a Marine Biologist when I grew up: move to Vancouver, work at the aquarium and swim with the Orcas. However, I also had thoughts of becoming a puppeteer (and work with Jim Hensen), an environmental lawyer, and an anthropologist but none of those flights of fancy came to fruition either. The marine biologist dream lasted the longest though, from about the age of 9 to 16, and it is the one I still think about often. The one I always wonder about. Especially when I see videos like this:

Absolutely stunning.

It was shot at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. The main tank called the ‘Kuroshio Sea’ holds 7,500-cubic meters of water. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank

I like to move it move it

2009-07-17T11:11:00.005-04:00

About four years ago I got really serious about getting healthier. I had the time, had a little disposable income and I really wanted to make a change. I signed up with Executive Fitness & Wellness in Toronto, under the care of personal trainer Domenic Mirabelli and nutritionist Angela Carte. They were great! My progress was very slow, but I lost weight, got stronger and felt wonderful. I even started jogging, which for me was nothing short of a miracle. Ever see a mountain move? That is me jogging.

The funny thing is that while I hated cardio, I really enjoyed lifting weights. I discovered that was so much stronger than I thought I was.

And then I got pregnant, and it all went to hell.

Since having Iron Will, a couple of things happened. Disposable income? Gone. Free time? A memory. And when I do get the free time where the hell do I get the energy?

However I do want to get healthier, I would like to get that sense of strength and wellness back. I know it will take twice as long as last time, and it will be twice as hard but I do want to do it.

One of the things that helped with cardio was my cheap little MP3 player. I normally listen to classic rock. I don’t like a lot of the new crap that is out there, and country music? I would rather floss my teeth with my own spine than listen to that twangy caterwauling. But for some reason, when it comes to music to work out to, I could stomach some poppy tunes, and even techno. If I got the right songs on there, I could walk faster. And here is where you come in. I need new workout music!

The songs I used to have lost their punch for me, I need some new suggestions. Right now the only songs I am going to keep are: “Twilight Zone, Radar Love, and the Vampires Bar Dance Club song from the movie Blade (weird choice I know, but that song really got me going!). I need new suggestions.

What do you listen to when you are working out? What songs really get your blood pumping? What do you have on your IPod or MP3?

How cool is this?

2009-07-10T12:51:00.005-04:00

Anyone remember Mr. Mugs?

I never really liked the Mr Mugs stories when I was in school, because I found them too boring. There was little story and zero character development (yeah, I was a geek, but then, I was a kid who read). But there was this one Mr Mugs adventure I really liked. I think it was called Mr Mugs Goes to the Moon, or some such inventive and creative title *ahem*. Anyway, it focused on space exploration and the future. Even the cheesy drawings of Mr Mugs in his space suit didn't turn me off. I was fascinated by it, I loved all the possibilities it postulated. It presented a positive version of the future, and made it seem like when I grew up, this was how life would be.

As I got older I continued to be drawn to science fiction, and fantasy. My parents gave me the book the Hobbit when I was about 7, and that pretty much sealed the deal. When my dad introduced me to Star Trek, I was convinced that when I grew up, we zip to the moon just like people hop on a plane today, and I couldn't wait to go.

Even today when I see movies, I marvel at future technologies and wonder, when will we have something like that?

Don't laugh.

Your cell phone is very much like those old communicators from Star Trek. Skype much? Jules Verne predicted this video chatting technology in his novel In The Year 2889, which was published in 1889. Michael Crichton’s 1972 thriller The Terminal Man: the implants in the main character's brain were not unlike implants later developed to help deaf people hear and blind people see. Bradbury’s classic dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451″ predicted that large home theater mounted on your wall in 1953.

And now XBox is building on predictions made by authors like Tad Williams, and Phillip K. Dick with it latest generation console. It makes the interactivity of the Wii look a little like Pong. The possibilities for future applications are exciting, and a little scary. Either way, I think I am going to want one.

Take a look.

Williams willing to risk Gros Morne's UNESCO status

2009-07-07T13:03:00.008-04:00

Williams willing to risk Gros Morne's UNESCO status.

No, no need to read that a second time. Trust me, your read it correctly the first time around.

Dan has another grand plan.

He wants to build 40-meter high transmission towers through Gros Morne to bring power from the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project to the island. A move that could cost Gros Morne its designation as a World Heritage Site, and more importantly, forever alter its face. Adding a scar of progress and power strewn across the stunning landscape that is Gros Morne.

Going around the park adds, according to the Premier, $100 million to the cost of the project.

So, we bull doze our way through the park with the Transmission lines, or we take the long way around it with a higher price tag. Well open your wallet Danny, because defacing that beautiful landmark is not going to happen.

If we must look at this in terms of dollars and cents we need to ask: How much money does Gros Morne bring to the province? How will this kind of development affect that? And let us look long term here while we are at it please. Because this kind of mistake will cost us way more than $100 million; it will cost us more than just money.

Making nice with an old friend

2009-07-03T21:54:00.004-04:00

Tequila and I had a parting of ways over ten years ago. It was nasty. It was an out and out brawl.

It resulted in me hugging the toilet bowl for about four hours, all the while reciting: "Never again, just let me make it through the night, and I promise never to drink tequila again".

I kept my promise...until a few months ago. My friends Marie, Leah and I went to a local Mexican restaurant, and Margaritas were on the menu. And I was thirsty. So very thirsty. I ordered something I had not had before, a Golden Grand Margarita, and it was fabulous. Tangy, and fresh. I stopped myself at two.

So yes, we are on speaking terms again. We keep our visits short, and sweet. No shots mind you- never going back there again. We don't want to overdo it. We are just taking things slow- nice and easy over ice. With lime and Grand Marnier...Come on, you didn't think I was drinking that ready made slushy crap now did you? You know me better than that.

Come on, have one with me won't you?

Golden Grand Margarita

Ingredients:
•1 1/2 oz Gold Tequila
•1/2 oz Grand Marnier
•1/2 oz lime juice
•3 oz sour mix
•dash of orange juice (optional)
•lime wedge for garnish
•course salt for rimming glass (optional)

Now I just pour it all over ice, and enjoy...

methinks there might have to be a part two to this post...maybe a demonstration? Mmmmm?

Happy Birthday Canada!

2009-07-01T11:05:00.004-04:00

The best country on earth!

You gotta be happy

2009-06-30T16:43:00.002-04:00

I needed a pick me up today. Buddywasiname and the Other Fellas gave me a laugh and I hope it does the same for you.