Ironic really

Apparently the hot weather we've had was too much for the ice pack to handle... so it committed hari-kari :S

Enough is enough

Well... here we are days after I returned from a 3 week extended vacation from the real world... and I've only just managed to return my life to some semblance of order. Translation: I finally cleaned out the cooler *gross* and I still have four or five loads of laundry to do ;)

It was an incredible trip, and while I'm not as sad that it's over as I expected to be... there is a melancholy... a quiet peaceful yearning that has settled into the space left by my two roadtrip companions. Don't get me wrong, I don't miss the long days we were putting in driving the road but I do miss the shared moments of awe and laughter.

The important thing is that I've decided that I've procrastinated long enough. So what I'm going to do, well what I'd like to do... alright my goal is, to do one day a night until I've told as many of the amazing, wonderful, and funny moments as I can remember.
 
As Vizzini in the Princess Bride said to go back to the beginning, that is what I'm going to do.

I hope you enjoy the adventure, I certainly did ;)

Somewhere in Wyoming...still alive! Haven't killed each other yet. But it *is* freakin' hot =/

There are boobs everywhere!

Super neat mammatus cloud formation I saw just the other day, *hehe* it's also known as a breast cloud ;)

Self, this is why I wear bike gloves

Came burnin' into tkd last night (yes I was a little late) took the corner, and hit some of that light gravel from all the rain we've been having... naturally it was just in behind an older couple who were almost at the door when my back tire washed out!

I came skiddin' in sideways like Kramer my left hand pavement surfing... as they whipped around with matching looks of horror and concern on their faces!

In my head it looked pretty awesome, until I tried to get up quickly and do the *I'm okay wave* ...and nearly tripped over my handlebars :p

*whistles* moving along folks, nothing to see here ;)

Painting the purgola

I found myself helping friends this weekend, which in the grand scheme of things with the number of times they've saved my bacon its the least I can do.  Mmmmm bacon...

Meet the purgola, which has many angles... and different sides depending which angle you're looking from... which makes it *really* hard to paint :p 

See... bottom left, I missed a bit.

Feelin' a little blue...

But that's okay because blue makes everything better!

So much for this being "The Sunny Okanagan"

Rain rain...go away.

Come again a-nother day. 

Sa-mantha wants to play. 

Rain rain GO AWAY!

It's been raining on and off like this for what feels like weeks now. The highway is washed out in Sicamous, and there are massive mud slides between Revelstoke and Golden. Revelstoke damn has now opened the flood gates twice! Our lakes are rapidly approaching maximum capacity and running out of places to keep all this water... at the rate things are going people are going to have to start storing it in their bathtubs and living-rooms... and that's gonna suck.

I'm a wet-coast girl, but I could be done with the rain for a little while. I hear Colorado is burning to the ground, couldn't we send them some of this water?

Please? *bambie eyes*

Just *do* it! Full training - Part "The Bike/Run"

We stagger out of the water... "dash" up to the car, and discover just how hard it is to undo let alone *remove* your wetsuit with cold fingers.

Precious transition minutes of fumbling later, and we both manage to get into our bike gear without flashing the mobs on the beach that are prudently staying out of the water... and discover our second "problem". How to put on socks and runners without the sand that has liberally applied itself all over our feet and between our toes.

I don't care how fast your transition is, if you have sand in your shoes I'm *pretty sure* you're going to wear your feet down to a leg nub! A squirty bottle of water and a towel off later we're back in business. Note to self for race day: extra rinse off water.

We joke about how great it is going to be on race day not having to pull two bikes out of the back of The Fit... when m&m asks the question that would spark the motto for the rest of this adventure "Where did you put your wetsuit?" to which I respond...

"In the transition area..." *smiles*

The bike was beautiful, we did a half hour subset of it and it felt pretty good... the transition, nothing of note... and then the run.

The run started out slowly, so slowly I thought that my legs had been cast from concrete and liquid lead poured through my veins... Other than that and the feeling that I had to pee *soooo badly* (which I didn't) it was completely uninteresting until we both finally admitted to being starving.  Apparently you need more than a six-inch sub from Subway to fuel a triathlon.

A quick dip in the lake *after* the bike/run sans wetsuit felt absolutely AMAZING!!! Why don't they do things in that order?!?! I'm telling you, it would be sooooo much better...

After congratulating ourselves on our epic "full transition training" we ducked over to the Blue Heron for dinner, and proceeded to eat an entire plate of calamari... two steak sandwiches with fries... and a full order of spinach salad washed down with an entire pitcher of water and a couple iced teas and cokes.

That ought to hold us till Sunday ;)

Just *do* it! Full training - Part "The Swim"

Today, 3 days before...

*ahem* The Triathlon

We finally did a little bit of everything training... including transitions. Alright, basically we sucked it up and did the lake swim.

Trying to get organized at lunch was a gong show, but we managed... you sure need a lot of stuff for this event!

Three minutes from the lake, and I'm psyching myself up for how cold I think the swim is going to be. Couple deep breaths... a little cajoling, c'mon you're Canadian what's a little cold water with a wet suit on? You've swum in the Pacific on boxing day!

It was perfect, we were able to park right on the beach, suit up... give each other that little bit of moral co-motivation, co-inspiration and uh a couple other words that end in 'ation'... and we were doing *it*.

Second step into the lake, and it is feeling fairly frigid... then it hit my wetsuit at mid-thigh and it wasn't nearly so bad. A few more steps and my wetsuit that I've owned since highschool is letting cold water in at the seams... I can feel it very distinctly. Every single stitch hole.

One last look at each other, with the taunt "Well? Are we going to swim or not?!?" and I dive in...

I'm pretty sure that my lungs come with very specific instructions, and that they say "Do not immerse in cold water. Ever." But they've long since been lost, and this wasn't cold water that was sneaking in the holes in my wetsuit, this was zillions of tiny frozen needles that were attacking me... aggressively.

I'm pretty sure my lungs are the biggest wusses ever, because they shrunk at least three sizes trying to hide from that frigid water. My brain initiated an emergency shut down immediately regressed to glacial swimming instincts: Get in. Get out. With a little luck it's enough to rinse the soap off.

With my decreased lung and brain capacity, I started hyperventilating and broke into a sprint swim. For the endless 10 seconds it took me to regain control of my senses. I waited for Michelle to catch up, and then alternated between repressing the urge to hyperventilate, and mediating the fight between my desire to practice swimming normally and my brains trying to avoid a brain freeze by staying as far out of that frigid water as possible.

First swim? Epic fail.
Awesome? Not doing it for the first time on race day.

Burlap Sack

I recently purchased an Explorer SportRack Car Topper on kijiji that no longer fit the needs of the nice family in my neighbourhood who had a new camper.

I was pretty stoked because it's regularly $219 at Canadian Tire, and I picked it up for $100... it was also wicked because I probably only need it for this roadtrip, and all the other car top carriers are in the neighbourhood of $500, which I would rather put towards a plane ticket... or a new guitar... or maybe a couch that doesn't suck and remind me of first year University after sitting on it for an hour.

The mounting kit which consisted of 4 smooshed U bolts, 4 backing plates, and 8 screw-on nuts with pretty twisty bits... as if I didn't have my own wrench set. And they wanted $54 dollars for putting it all together in a package!!

So, being the frugal cheap bordering on repressed starving University student tendencies... I trucked 'er over to the nuts and bolts and mounting section of the store, and found this:

Which was approx $1.60, and will fit my round roofracks much more nicely. I'm sure I can find something equally cheap, or creative to cover those sticky-uppy ends with too.

ZOMG!!!

I am too tired to tell you about the triathlon this morning, other than to say I survived.

in fact I was going to go straight to bed after turning my bathroom into a Chinese laundry, but then I shook *this* out of my towel!!!

I have no idea wtf it is, it looks almost like a hollow husk of a shell? But I threw a cup over it anyways and left it in the tub... I don't need that crawling around while I'm dead to the world.

Eeeyyyy *pulls collar*

Don't think twice...

Too late, that moment of indecision, should I go back or forward... by the time you've thought that it's already too late...

Now you've done it, you've gone and dribbled down the crack.

:p

The thoughts that you think

I like to look around while running and biking... especially when it's on the road, I mean it's not like any cantankerous old root is going to toss you off the trail. When I tree planted for a summer, one of the most important things I learned was that my body can do a LOT more than I think it can. So I like to let it do it's thing, while I let my mind wander...

I don't really know what most people think while they're training... or participating in physical activities. But I'm totally the kid that's standing out in the middle of the soccer field watching the swallows flit around... until the balls rolls by. Then you can't tell which position I'm *supposed* to be playing... in fact about the only thing that is certain, is that I'm not playing goal.

So the inspirational thought we had while training this week, was that

If this triathlon was a three day event... we'd be awesome!

We've done the full bike, which wasn't too bad... and we've done the full run, which has some *holy crap* hills in the middle of it... like I kid you not, uphill BOTH ways.  Now *I* was under the impression that a "sprint" distance triathlon was an introductory one, like I've decided to try something other than convincing myself that I'm "active" 3-4 times a week.

This could be the death of me.  Hmmmm that could explain why Mitts is more excited about it than I am...

Idle thought for the day...

If this damp rainy overcast weather keeps up... combined with global warming... Canada's going to turn into a rainforest.

That could be kind of interesting... wonder how long it would take the bugs to get huge... *eeyuck* ...and that's enough idle thinking for today.

It could be worse. I know this... but still.

For the most part I have exceptionally good luck and good timing, but when I don't... well it all slides.

This afternoon I went with Aaren to pick up an antenna tower he bought from another HAM operator out in Armstrong, I'd carpooled with m&m this morning so I just gave her my keys. Obviously I didn't think this one through very well.

I got dropped off at my house as I found out she was out at a piano recital. But it's okay, it wasn't really a big deal because they have one of those coded locks... so I walked the 30 seconds up to her house and punched in the code, tried the door, and it was still securely locked.

Punched in the code, listened ...and nothing. Punched in the whoops I just realized I'm moderately dyslexic ... code. Hmm third time, maybe the lock button clears it... punch. in. the. code. *beeeeeep*

Mukka hiya fungoweeee! I really hope that isn't hooked into an alarm system *feverishly texting* ... No, wait... it stopped. *phew*

So here I am standing outside... my spare car key is in my apartment, and my apartment key is attached to my car keys that are sitting on the kitchen counter just beyond this coded door. I really wish I was the hacking kind of nerd right now...

I give up. I didn't want to go to Zumba anyways. So there... *sigh* yeah I did :(

But it's okay, it's really no big deal. All the important people in my life have a spare... I'll just walk over to Shazam's...

Eyah. Not so much... they're at soccer *of course*. Just break in she says... the window over the hot tub, or the bedroom... alarm's off so you don't have to do the mad dash through the house. And "Hamburgers are in the drugs" this message brought to you by autocorrect. *smiles*

Sll*cht* ... sll*cht* ... hmmm or not breaking in. Apparently this is the one time that window is actually locked!?!?! Wtf over!?!?!

By the time I'd tried both windows and decided that I might as well attempt to squiggle around in my utility skort and let myself gracelessly into my bathtub window, they were on their way home...

I know it's not "one of those days" ... the weather is warm enough, it's not raining, and I have people who love me, but it kinda feels like one of those days. My outlook was much improved by that burger in the drugs fridge though ;)

B-9... BINGO!!

I found some remote town in some state... somewhere in the US... and I think my cerebellum has fused, short circuiting the neutronzian reactor causing an emergency shutdown  which has forced an emergency discharge of legacy intelligence... I just forgot everything up to and including highschool.

*wheeeeee*

Ummm I don't think I'm doing this road trip planning thing properly *squints* I can't even see straight I've been looking at the map for so long...

Going on a roadtrip!!

If I haven't mentioned it before now, I am about to embark on a roadtrip of epic proportions... Vernon BC to St. Louis MO.  I've got three weeks booked off and approved for the middle of July. It promises to be one for the books, another chapter in the adventure of my life *grins*


View Larger Map

I was having some trouble planning, there are so many things I want to find and in this age of the internet soooo many resources... but there isn't really a good way to pull them all together. I basically had things spread haphazardly all over my living room.

It was complete and utter chaos and it was getting worse at an alarming rate.

Now the trouble with the coffee table was that my laptop was at an awkward height, I'm either hunched over from the couch (which I considered pulling forward) or I'm sitting on the floor until my butt goes numb, followed shortly by my legs...

Then it hit me! I am the only one who lives here!! I can do whatever I want *wherever* I want to do it. If I want to take over the entire kitchen for road-trip planning, and not clean it off for dinner, I can! So there Dad *sticks out tongue*.

And thus, the road-trip planning command center was born. Isn't it beautiful? *smiles* My laptop is hooked up to an extra monitor for Google mapping locations. I've got my rechargeable cordless mouse, and speakers for inspirational motivating tunage!

Now I can use Google maps to quickly find map locations from the BCAA Travel Guides and sticky note them on my map... and look up images and additional information, and cross reference *everything*.

It. is. AWESOME!

Supernatural Beautiful British Columbia

My English teacher would probably have something to say about that title not being correct with all caps, but it really does deserve it... I mean look at this!

Shuswap falls

I realize it's pretty much the weekend, and I still haven't posted these from last weekend... but check out how gorgeous it is here. Can you believe that I actually *live* here?!?! I mean really, these were taken about an hour away, a lazy Sunday afternoon drive hour away.

Abandoned house just before Mabel Lake

Looking through these again makes me think another trip is in order this weekend... with the canoe.

Mabel Lake

Perrrrrfect rock skipping conditions, and the beach had a handful of suitable flat rounded pancake rocks.

Gorgeous end to an absolutely beautiful day... Oh wait, no... first we grabbed pizza in town, then we went to the Starlight Drive-in movie theater near Enderby. That was a fantastic end to the day, crammed the hide-a-bed mattress in the back of the Fit, it was like being the only ones at our own private movie theater... Totally awesome :)

Breaker breaker... One-Niner

I think we've got ourselves a convoy!

Super cool nerdy surprise to start the morning off, today can't be anything but awesome!! :)

Thanks Aaren VA7 AEJ

First world dilemma

So as you may recall I had a plan. The plan was that I was going to grow my hair out... Because you know, it's been a long time since I've had anything outside of the super-short pixie cut to hockey hair range... and long hair just looks sooooo gorgeous when you curl it, and omg *giggles* look at all the cute things you can do with it!?!

*Ahem* sorry, my inner valley girl snuck out for a second.

Anyways it was going pretty well, well it was going relatively well... alright so it wasn't in a pony tail (the only condition the Approval Committee had when I said I was growing it out) but it *was* twisted and flipped up in a hair clip most of the time. Yes, that is a HUGE step up from pony tail for me.

Right, so I had realized that this long hair things wasn't nearly as cool as I had hoped... but I knew I had to give it a fair chance. So a couple weeks ago I got it coloured and had a style cut into it.

 
Super cute right?? Then I got suckered into had my rubber arm twisted  into playing ball in that tournament in Kamloops... Well it was frizzy and all over the place and then all up in my face when I was driving with the windows down and that was it, I'd had enough... I was done with the long hair.

Chop it all off!

Since then, pretty much everyone I know, has said in the most diplomatic way possible... "You look waayyy better with short hair" So not that I care what anyone else thinks... but I love it! Sooo it's back, and by popular consensus it will most likely stay back...remind me of this 5 weeks from now when it has turned into unruly hockey hair and needs to be trimmed *again*

Creature of habit

This is what happens when my parking auto pilot gets interrupted by someone in my spot *before* I've had my first cup of coffee!!!

Apparently they forgot to tell the new hires that's *my* parking spot ;)

Sound the trumpets, cue the fanfare!

Zoom in a bit, um a bit more...

This was the excitement of the day yesterday... as I caught a motion out of the corner of my eye I heard Connie running at mach 1.5 down the hallway, and saw this little scraggle-muffin trucking through the back yard.

First tourney, and games 2-9 of my season...

I. Hurt. *everywhere*. Even my hurty bits have bits that hurt.

I'm pretty sure my core body temperature has dropped while just sitting at work, as all available resources have been shunted to repairing the damage incurred this weekend.

All said and done though, it was a darn good fundraiser ball weekend... barring the fact that at night it's still fricken' freezing Mr. Bigglesworth!!!!

My apologies... the camera was having as much trouble focusing in the dark as Randy was!

We (and by we I mean my team) executed a text book brilliant triple play as though we had practiced it a thousand times. It was so beautiful I almost cried a little bit. Just to put it in perspective though, Terry, a guy on our team that is older than dirt who's been playing ball for like 37 years said that was the third time he'd seen one...*ever* and he spends a lot of time on the ball field.

The second highlight (some would argue first) was that I took out a guy at second base... What?!? Don't look at me like that, *he* was in my way!!! 

It isn't nearly as bad as it looks...

So there I was standing on second looking down at him as he rolled around writhing in agony, his face all contorted...  Until I said "Duuuuude, are you okay?" I even had a genuine look of concern on my face as I offered him a hand up. Although I'm not going to lie I was giggling a little on the inside. 

You would not believe how quickly he wiped all of that unmanly emotion off of his face and picked himself up and dusted himself off when he realized he'd been run over by a girl ;) You could almost hear the tattered remains of his ego flapping in the breeze, as he attempted to wrap the remains of it around himself.

Seeeeee not so bad, barely worth mentioning here.

By the time we made it to the final game however, our team was played out. It was wet, and cold and raining... most of us were just starting our season and we were ready to go home. We dropped the ball in the last game. Literally, among other things, but at least the loss was a total team effort, just like everything else we did this weekend... but one of my favorite things about it, was when we were all texting our friends and family the bad news and Jesse piped up with "We may have lost the last game, but we came in second in the A division... out of 22 teams. And we were undefeated until the final, that's not too bad guys!"


When you put it like that, it really isn't :) Thanks Goonies for another crazy fun-filled weekend!

Sitting up at the lookout

Sometimes I forget that I live in such a beautiful place... and then I stop and sit down for a moment and watch the world turn with a friend.

Thanks My Kim :)

I love spring in the Okanagan

We were out walking last night instead of training... and we found this tree filled with clusters of beautiful :)

Priorities

Couldn't waste a perfectly good day for fishing on a new haircut ;)

Alllllmost there!

I think I'm on the cusp of awesome... the brink of brilliance... so close and yet so far away!

Teasingly tantalizing... like Scritch (the Squirrel in Ice Age), so close to the acorn he can almost *taste* it... and yet just out of reach.

That, is how programming is going today. I think I almost understand the black magic

*maniacal laugh*

Genius... or what?

Mothers Day, that time of the year when it can take some fairly creative family conspiracy to pull it all together. Subtle and not so subtle hints dropped and eventually received, sometimes approaching Roman court intrigue and manipulation in their delicacy and intricacy... I would love to tell you the intimate details, but my family reads this blog from time to time and I don't want to give away ALL my secrets...

...but at least our family has never done this. "This" I overheard in the change room at the pool this morning and it made me giggle in that "I can't help but overhear your conversation and laugh with you at your expense" kind of way.

Apparently it was this woman's birthday, and her son was born on the same day, who of course naturally thinks that day is all about him now. In any case she'd gone on to the Lululemon website and ordered herself a bunch of new clothes a couple days ago using the business/"aka secret emergency retail therapy" credit card...

Then while opening her presents stopped. *realized* and went waitaminute... This is all the stuff I just ordered!?!?!?! You guys just wrapped everything I just bought myself?!?

Like are you kidding me?!?

So while we may conspire to remind each other to phone and wish you a happy mothers day, and coordinate flowers and dinner cooperatively in the background... we haven't done "this"... although I must say it *is* fairly ingenious, and you would get exactly what you wanted ;)

Happy Mother's Day Mom, I appreciate you :)

Awoooga Awoooga!

I don't know what happened yesterday but it was like everybody decided to start working at... oh say around 2 o'clock.  It was like a delayed reaction to the full moon or something... I literally had 4 people with 6 different problems talking to me at the same time via messenger, phone and our new trouble ticket system AT THE SAME TIME.

I think I was dirty dancing with the boundary of my multi-tasking a.d.d.d.d. limit, it was a little scary... and a little exciting all at the same time... and by exciting I mean juggling an entire carton of eggs in the middle of a mine field.

A lovely dinner, followed by some after dinner entertainment and taekwondo and I'm relaxing on the couch with a purple freezie... it tastes like grape, but I wouldn't call it grape... I mean how much grape can it actually have in it if it tastes the way a scented marker smells *and* turns your tongue purple? It can't possibly be good for you :p

I think though, my favorite part of the day was the apres dinner entertainment consisting of an introduction to "The Pig Family" *ahem*

M: "I'm the Daddy pig George" *SnorT*

A: "No no I'M the Daddy pig!"

M: ... "and I'm the baby pig" *snort*  *heh*

M: ..."and now I'm Mama George" *sng-iggle* *cough* *wheeze* "Oops I said Mama George!"

Mom: "Okay honey let's let A who doesn't have asthma do the introductions" *rubs back*

A: "This is the Daddy pig" *SnnNOOOoORT!!*"

*giggles*

A: "This is the Mama pig *SNORT!!*"

*GIGGLES!*

... by this point it had devolved into everyone was giggling those deep infectious belly giggles ... which is about one of the

Knowing what I do now... *grins*

Granny: "There are things I never told my parents..."

Me: "Really?!?"

Granny: "Oh sure, and I know there are things my children have never told me, and you know what... there are things as a parent that I just never need to know..."

Me: "Thank you Granny, that's really good to know" *impish smile*

Oh the things you can do...

When you don't live at home... wait, you always live at home... but the things you can do when you are left to your own devices unsupervised.

Like soldering in the kitchen! :)

Note to self: Unplug the smoke detector *before* starting next time...

Pardon me...

... while I eat my baby moose mousse for dessert ;)

Obviously a professional would have left something for perspective in this picture... but I didn't realize until I started eating it that it was served with a baby spoon too!

It's about the size of a shot glass mug... it's just widdle, and soooo tute and it was the perfect amount!

Thank you Duffy's in Kamloops for curing my chocolate craving without overdoing it in such a way as to eliminate the necessity of applying it directly to my hips with a spatula.

Spring training

Today is the first day of training... I'm doing my first triathlon at the end of June with Michelle. It's a sprint triathlon which is supposed to mean it's a nice easy distance you can do while holding your breath...

The Kal RATS Sprint Triathlon: (750m swim, 18.5k bike, 5k run)

We did a nice little half hour warm up type run today... and we thought we weren't doing too badly until some dude with his golden retriever ran past us at mach 5 and made it feel like we were moving *backwards*

Thanks dude. Thanks a lot.

Nooooooooo!

Somebody (yes that would be me) thought it would be a good idea (had my arm twisted) to play ball last night!

So I get on base... and took slightly more of a jump on the hit than I should have... because second base caught it, and I had to make an effort to get back to my bag. Which I accomplished with a large jump step/land in a slide position. Unfortunately I landed directly on the pin holding down first... and literally blew a moccasin..

My cleat proceeded to eat up the infield at an alarming hungry-hungry-hippo rate... *nom nom nom* and I had to shake it out every time I left the infield, just so we still had something to play on!

Short of players (hence the arm twisting) an inning later I was finally able to run to my car and fix it!

Man I love duct tape! ;)

It's a good thing too because I immediately got a home run and had to run all the way around the bases... which were further apart than they needed to be! I also got a solid double that *should* have been a home run, except it rolled under the fence... *whispers* don't tell anyone, but I was okay with not running the bases again ;)

*shhhh* I wouldn't normally tell anyone about the ball that I missed... except that I totally made up for it with my double footed jumping backflip roll catch! (which promptly made everyone forget about the one I missed  ;)

It was pretty cool if I do say so myself *buffs fingernails* ;)

My body doth subtly protest the antics of the previous evening... the white noise of stiffness. Not enough to take the good drugs, but just enough to remind me that winter is over... and it's time to go play outside!

Us +5 Fissies +5... I think this calls for a rematch!

I'm so glad that good company is like the heavy-weight champion when it comes to taking on and anihilating the puny and insignificant details of my day... sending them crying to their Mommies with a sternly spanked bottom.

It was absolutely gorgeous out, spring has finally arrived and the cabin fever everyone had been experiencing was now being shared in the confines of an aluminum boat... I suppose it's a successful day though, when everyone caught something... and nobody was helped out of the boat *before* we got to shore ;)

Get in mah bellyyyy!

I'm gonna getcha little fissy! I'm gonna eatcha little fissy! *grins* I think this is the beginnings of a be-a-utiful supper :)

While we in for a pee break I totally scooped the comfy captains chair, and by default was captaining for the remainder of the evening. Which I thought was pretty cool :) ... and pretty easy meandering around in the middle of the lake... this really being my first time driving this boat and all, you see usually I fish, help eat the chippys, and maybe have a beer or two...

We had just kicked 'er up a notch to compensate for the wind picking up to head home after Michelle finally broke her two year dry spell... and then we couldn't keep them off her line! I think the funniest one, was mid-story she's leaning back and holding her rod up and Ed says "Hey Shell, I uh think you got one" and she says "I know! But I had to finish my story!!"

Awww look he's just a widdle hotdog fissy!

Those *were* the funny moments of the day... until we actually got back to the boat launch. Because it was much the same as with flying, it isn't the flying that's the hard part... it's landing. So I'm cruising in, and of course as with any good sport there are spectators spectating from the comfort of their van... and the peanut gallery up front.

We're almost in and up front hollers "log!" So there I am executing evasive maneuvers off into the rushes, with the motor balancing unhinged and ready to kick up... you see the thing is, it's too shallow to just cruise right in... and it would be faaaar to easy to paddle the last little bit. I would also like to point out that as soon as you change the axis of the propeller EVERYTHING changes, left and right are no longer what they used to be!

Suddenly it's as if we've been transported into an electrical gyroscope with a bug in its internal gravity sensor... suddenly we're in reverse at full throttle... The peanut gallery has collapsed in on itself in a helpless pile of giggles, Eddie's screaming "AHHHHHHHHH" and laughing almost as hard as the peanut gallery.

I calmly assessed the situation, kept twisting and pushing things until I could finally give the order to the mutinous engine to abort, and head for deeper waters... to... regroup, and try again.

The second attempt was far less entertaining, until Michelle's feet hit the water and she had to pee again *grins*

... thanks GORD!

... but at least my team *made* it to the playoffs :p

Yes, I am aware... I am very, very spoiled!

It's that time of year again... when everything has thawed out and it's time to go play outside!

 We went for a hike this weekend out at Kalmalka Lake, which as I understand translates to "Lake of many colours"... I can see why. These photos of course don't even do it justice, it was gorgeous!

Treasure and Robyn

 If you look carefully, you can *almost* see a rainbow in the gradient...

It affects us all

"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection."

~Dalai Lama

I'm still not most people

Most people have trouble figuring out what they are going to write.

I am not most people.

In fact I have the opposite problem, I have too much to write about. So much that I worry about leaving out some juicy detail, as if you would even know... ;)

*sigh*

As my week progresses ever forward at the rate of a rapidly dwindling roll of toilet paper I get more and more anxious that I haven't captured these intimate details of my life.

What if I forget them?!?

Then I take a deep breath, and calm down. There are moments that are with you for the rest of your life, and you don't always get to pick which ones... but that is why Granny always asks if I had a good time... and responds with "Well that's all that matters" when I answer to the affirmative.

Enjoy yourself now, she says... and I have been... sometimes I just wish I could find more time to write about it!

You'd almost never know...

That we had FROST this weekend!!!

Finally! Just goes to show that there's still hope for spring to grace us with her presence ;)

McDickwad's

Pardon the early morning rant, but I was driving last night and too tired to do this when I got home... Rant part one.

I am aware that Timmy's does not have the best gourmet coffee by *any* stretch of the imagination... I appreciate that it is average Jo ;) and that I can get a double double made exactly the same anywhere in Canada for a decent price.

So don't complain to me about how it tastes. Buy something different.

It. Is. Your. Choice!

Rant part two.

Following the reason for rant part one, we drive through McD's for their "gourmet americano" oooOooohhh *rolls eyes* ordered two double doubles, got to the window and the kid handed us cream and sugar packets.

This. Is. A. Drive through. Seriously? If I wanted a build my own coffee adventure I would have come in! The last thing I want to do in my car is take the lid off of the 500° coffee and add stuff to it!!

This is why I drink Tim Hortons. And they're nice at the window!

Sent... While running around ;)

Dr. Seuss tree!

Investing in the ta-tas

I am still recovering from bra shopping.I've never been in and out of a bra that many times in a single day, let alone multiple different ones. Ever. I mean I must have tried on more bras than the entire cast of a Burlesque show!

My Friend: Did you find what you were looking for?

me:  Yep. I have a new bra.

My Friend:  just one?

me:  it's an investment.

I mean really, I thought $40 was a lot to pay for a bra... but HOLY CRAP good bras are expensive!!!  

Okay, but really, looking great because you're feeling great *and* being comfortable? Well, that's priceless ;)

It was also pointed out however, that while they may cost a lot, they have a big job to do! Turns out what I thought was a double D (like my coffee)... isn't, it's in fact an e... an E for fricken enormous? Who came up with this scale?!?

One of the guys I worked with at the University once, was dared to go ask a dancer if her boobs were real. Being on the opposite end of the spectrum from most male Computer Scientists, he did. I have never forgotten her response.

She placed his hand on her boob and said "Yeah they're real, real expensive" ;)

Minus minus... does not make a plus

Apologies for the extended hiatus.

Lately I have felt like poo-schmoo scraped off the bottom of your shoe... its been like trying to get up from a bottomless abyss *every* morning. An abyss filled with sunshine and flannel monsters...  Oh sure, it hasn't been the end of the world or anything... I'm not at the "I'm going live in a shack with a million cats at the top of precipice and die alone" stage... but still.

It hasn't even been for lack of inspiration, I have more than a few things I need to write about... pictures to share, I've just had negative motivation. 

Yesterday I sacrificed one of Mom's chocolate bars to the insatiable pms monster. They're actually quite delicious! Sorry Mom, it was an emergency... I knew you would understand ;)

And really, it was your chocolate bar... or someone's head on a stake.

Purple... like a purple nurple!

I got my purple belt! *glowing*

This was the first belt test with a board break... sliding side kick. I wasn't really that nervous about it because I've been hauling firewood and breaking kindling since I was old enough to walk... and they are beautiful boards with a really nice grain... 1/2 inch ;)

I totally rocked my poomsae and my kicking, and my self defense other than the moment of startlement when I discovered that the girl attacking me had *much* shorter arms than the guy I usually train with ;)

The board break was sooooo cool!!! But I might as well have had my eyes closed, I just about kicked Trevor in the hand *blushes* but the second try was all business. Like the first oops had never happened ;)

Silver lining to the stupid time change...

 Is forgetting to reset your watch and then realizing you're an hour closer to home time on a Monday than you thought you were!!!!

Sent... While running around ;)

The basics of Ultimate... when you get right down to it

I kid you not, this is a conversation we had this morning on the way to work talking about endurance vs. sprint muscle types...

m&m: "That's why in Ultimate I was a handler..."

me: "What does the handler do?"

m&m: "Throws the Frisbee."

me: "So what does everyone else do?"

m&m: "Catch."

I spit on you... *haauughch-tuu!*

Tuesday, the Universe took great pleasure in reminding me that I'm not one of the big kids on the playground ... and that it's most definitely *not* my turn on the monkey bars by pushing me off, spitting in my face, and making me bleed my own blood.


It hurt. A lot. I might've even said a bad word... but then I stopped, collected myself, and promptly got angry that I was bleeding through my new Christmas sock. That was followed shortly by my calm zen jumping out of the car without warning and doing the chinese fire drill... One of those moments, when time slows down and and the entire universe comes crashing in on top of your head... when an entire days worth of asstasticness snowballed into a colossal hairball and barfed itself up onto the carpet.

Okay, so you're thinking "Ow!" but it's just a stupid stubbed toe right?

No, it was the beginning of THE END OF THE WORLD, and NOBODY LOVED ME... and I was going to GROW OLD AND DIE ALONE. With *hundreds* of cats.  I know that I don't have much in life to complain about. So the fact that I wanted to curl up in a ball on the carpet and dissolve into tears over a stupid stubbed toe, just made me feel guilty that I was being so pathetic about the whole thing... which needless to say, didn't really make me feel any better either.

So I did the only thing I could think of, and called my Dad... and had a little cry. "Aiiii stuBBDed myyyyyyyy toooooOOoooe *snurfleuppagus*" After he figured out that I was more upset than injured he did the best job of being my Dad and making me laugh through my tears like he's always been able to.


Thanks Dad, thanks for being there to talk through my sniffles and hiccups, about all the silly little things in the world, and laugh with me over bleeding on the carpet for the first time in almost 30 years. We certainly were well trained growing up ;)

Your local friendly shop of little horrors

First she pressure washed my gums, right off my teeth.

Then came the miniature meat hooks, which she scraped between my teeth... mostly... except for that little bit right *there* yeah the reason it doesn't sound like that scratchy scrapey almost chalkboard sound is because that's what is left of my gum, note the tearing flesh sound... and the, yep there you go, see that part that was still attached, it bleeds... when you hit red you've gone too far. Just so y'know.

Alright alright stop *sobs* I'll tell you anything you want to know!!!

We've interrupted this interrogation... to bring you the handsome dentist!

The skies opened up and the angels sang, and one of them spoke to me! He gently poked and prodded and then in a sparkle of pixie dust was gone *dreamy sigh*... what bleeding gums?

"So I'm just going to check your measurements..."

I can tell you that! I'm ~5'8 and about a 36D, now just put the fish hook down cause I'm not gonna be your 170lb sucker!

Yeah the translation for "check your measurements" is I'm just going to jam this thing into the last thread of what's left of your gums, and see if I can make you sneeze by tickling your brain.

Now to finish up we're just going to do a light sanding... but would you like the buff and polish as well? Well, actually we have this new polish in. We paint it on, you wait 15 minutes and then just brush it off! It's so convenient.

So simple!

28 hours later after miraculously not drowning in my own saliva, I was finally able to scrub off the wax varathane. *not impressed* I will gladly take the two minutes of suffocating foam trays any day over that ick.

Come back here and take what's coming to ya! I'll bite your legs off!

After watching the bassett hound slide around the floor on her magic carpet ears, I think I know where the inspiration for the Black Knight in Monty Python came from...

Nom nom nom

I'll give you three guesses as to what I'm doing... and the first two don't count!

Like sunshine burning off that low morning fog

I had the following exchange the other night with a friend of mine, and belatedly realized you really don't need any other reason to do something!

me:  *s* for reals you wanna come visit me?

my friend:  YES!!!! you make me happy!  

me:  *grins*

Its the little things that matter

"I know it doesn't sound like much, but my kids are wearing matching socks again" :)
~T

How to say "I wove you" in puppy dog

It's Valentines day, and I find myself literally surrounded by loving puppy dogs. If they could talk, I'm sure they would have plenty to say.  I'm sure it would be along the lines of "Oh how I love youuuooouuuoouuuuu" ...let me show you all the ways...


That extra secret ingredient that makes everything taste so much better? It isn't love... it's dog hair. And while it may be a condiment in this house, it also works nights as a fashion designer that can help you accessorize *every* outfit you own.  And for that little something extra special, you should try the faux fur look, there's nothing quite like a basset hound wrapped around you!

I will pour myself horizontally into your lap or nudge my head under your arm when I think you aren't paying attention.

I will patiently sit and watch you, even when I don't know what you're doing just because I want to be with you. The fact that you're in the kitchen preparing something that *might* be food, has nothing to do with it.

I will help you clean up around the house, you know food on the floor... pizza on the table... roast beef on that pan that was *totally* going to fall onto the floor... I'm just sayin'

I will let you blame stinky farts on me, and put on my best "What?!?" face when everyone looks at me instead of you.

I will leave you little reminders of how much I love you, kind of like sticky notes... except well I can't write, so I hope you know what I mean when you find one of my dog hairs.

I will not get jealous of that black boxy thing that takes up your entire lap, I still fit.

When you've done something stupid... I will be morally supportive, and I will console you by licking whatever bare skin I can reach, even if it's your butt crack. I love you that much.

And just in case you still don't know how much I love you, I'll give you "The ear kiss"... after a big ole drink of water.

Catch-22

So apparently this morning I didn't actually put the fresh coffee grounds into the coffee maker... In my defense I was pouring into a black travel mug, I thought the last little bit looked funny, but couldn't put my finger on it until I poured the sugar in and could still see it sinking all the way to the bottom.

Note to self: it works wayyyy more better when you put the freshly ground coffee *in* to the coffee maker.

Thank goodness for tea bags...

So simple... so why does it take so long?

One of the things we don't usually learn, is how to accept a hand from someone... even when we need it. We get most of the way there, then pull back with a "No really, I'm okay... but thanks" and a smile.

Even when we're not.

Oftentimes only our best friends hear the intimate details of how things are really going, and sometimes only because they ask twice. You know, that deceivingly simple question, asked with a subtle change in tone and that look that says "I know you better than that, so don't bullshit me... but I'm letting you start".

Well sometimes I don't know someone well enough to ask that second time, but I wish I could make things a little bit easier for them... Sometimes I just want to give them a reason to smile... and every once in awhile it's for purely selfish reasons like not wanting to eat lunch by myself.

No matter the case, I've been trying to find ways of giving or helping people out in such a way that they don't feel like they owe me something.

Why am I telling you all this? Well because the other day I experienced the coolest thing! With a gracious smile the simple phrase "I will accept your charity and I thank you for it"... You grasped a hand held out in friendship, and shared a piece of your character with me that I shall never forget.

I may never tell you, that you've taught me something I may never be able to repay you for. I came here with knowledge but I will leave with understanding.

Thank you so much

*loves*

Usually I ignore Valentines day, but having my friend's daughter wish me happy Valentines day in her early morning Cindy-Lou voice just melted my little heart...

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

*loves* and *hugs* ... oh and *big sloppy wet puppy dog kisses*

The curse of the ages

Mom,

You don't have to wish that "One day I'll have kids like me"... I already do, think I left my own bowl at work the other day and it's driving me crazy!

Sent... While running around ;)

Rawr!

 

Absolute fricken genius!

I love the article, but this site also has some brilliant baby sleep positions that anyone who has tried to sleep in the same bed as a baby... can relate to.

If you can't be good, be great!

It's always awesome when I learn that something I've done my entire life... often times things that made me that weird outlier dot on some graph, are scientifically 'discovered' to be a great thing to do!

Everything he mentioned is why I don't like watching the news, I never have... I'd much rather hear about all the things that make us, as a community of human beings incredible.  There are so many inspiring people around us every day, and by surrounding yourself with those people you can create your own average to raise yourself up to.

 "When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves." -William Arthur Ward

I, am an anomaly unlike anyone you've ever met before... that's just part of what makes me amazing ;)

LA the city of lights - The Beginning

I hardly know where to begin the tale of my pilgrimmage to Xenacon 2012. I think partly because doing so means I'm writing the conclusion... and the conclusion means you've come to the end.

I don't want it to be over. But here they are, my collection of thoughts

Flying into LA at night was amazing, the city spilled out over the hills in all directions flowing densely through the valleys. In some places the lights were crystal clear, and in others they were twinkling as if you were looking at them through salt water mixed with fresh. The smog was so dense, it turned the plane window into a portal to another time and place.  

 

The highways, byways and freeways pulsed to the distinct rhythm of the city, two continuously flowing streams of red and white blood cells.

As a testament to how busy LA is, I finally witnessed Einstein's explanation of perspective in relation to moving bodies. Nearing the airport we passed another plane traveling in the opposite direction, and although we were traveling around 500 mph at the time it felt like we were barely moving, and it looked like the other plane was doing mach 10... it was soooo fast!

Absolutely incredible! I'm totally the kid who left nose and finger prints on the window...

So this is what that feels like...

I held off posting this while I was at the Xena-con, and it's been so crazy this last week I hadn't even looked at it. But reading it again tonight, I still feel the need to post it... so here it is.

Last Friday, at 2:30 we were all summoned to a meeting in the training room.  There was no hint or indication as to why... shortly after everyone was settled the President began.

He told of the journey that had begun long before many of us joined the company. He told of the struggles they faced being a smaller company filling a specialized niche in our industry, and of the plateau we had reached and thus far been unable to ascend above.  He said they had been searching for a partner to back us up and allow us to spread our wings, and that with a little luck we would soar higher than we ever could have climbed.

Of course none of it was quite like that, in fact none of it was even as it first sounded...

It took four intelligent, pointed questions to determine that we are no longer working for a private family owned business... In fact this partner is not just the majority shareholder, they are now the sole shareholder and own the company we work for body, brand and soul.

If he had turned into Willy Wonka and announced that the entire training room was actually a glass elevator, and then hit the subterranean button I don't think I could have felt more like the floor had been pulled out from under me, or like my stomach was any further from my abdomen.

Judging by the rest of the room I wasn't the only one in free fall.

They didn't say that there were no plans or discussions regarding shutting down the company... it was simply presented as a "Here's how it is..." then everyone with the remotest inkling of what was going on left for our biggest most important tradeshow of the year.

In the void left by "Nothing can be confirmed or denied..." rumor and speculation escalated exponentially to fill the need to talk about what had just happened.

The one thing that was consistent across all departments was "Well you know, when a larger company takes over a smaller one like ours is the first one to go..."

The brightest glimmer of reassurance came from the Vernon Star on Monday... Yeah, that's right we had to wait all weekend for a quote from the CFO... in our tiny little local newspaper:

"We remain committed to the facility and the workforce there," he said, adding that no changes are anticipated"

That was all most of us needed to hear and it probably would have made the weekend a little less stressful. Instead many of us got the advice from friends and loved ones to dig out and polish up their resume, and get a head start on the job search.

I think the one thing, that while it doesn't surprise me... definitely disappoints me, is that the last few years many employees sucked it up and toughed it out, but to find that the raises we didn't get went towards solvency so that the company could be sold for more than a little profit sucks donkey. The fact that there is now no longer any thanks owed or any implied debt monetary or otherwise... just shattered my last remaining misplaced belief in loyalty to an employer.



The slate which has been wiped clean with the sale feels like a swift kick in the ass with a frozen boot, and for the time being has left the acrid tang of a bitten tongue in my mouth... the kind you chomp on for a week after every time you have something to eat.

All of this isn't to say they haven't been a fantastic company to work for. But while people may forget what you did, and they will usually misquote what you said. They will always remember how you made them feel.

Only time, will reveal the true intentions of our new employer, and I hope they fall closer to the awesome end on the scale of scuttlebutt and scandelosa.

I know you're not supposed to write about your work on your blog, as it may lead to dire consequences such as being fired. But I find myself in the Vancouver airport, both excited for the upcoming Xena convention and mildly concerned, that maybe the money I've spent could be more useful in the case that I come back to find that my position is... redundant, or that they have an entire team of highly trained professionals to do what I do...

Firing or not, some things just need to written about.