Thursday, January 26, 2006

And because I'll be busy over the next few days...

Last Alcoholic Drink: Wine wine to celebrate the election
Last Car Ride: Home from taking Devon to a tryout karate class.
Last Kiss: Hubby, last night.
Last Good Cry: After a scrap with Hub, I stormed out and sniffled myself to sleep on the couch. (Stop laughing!)
Last Library Book checked out: Some book that was so bad I can’t remember the name of it.
Last Movie Seen in Theatres: Brokeback Mountain.
Last Book Read: The New Speaking of Sex: What your kids need to know and when they need to know it, by Meg Hickling.
Last Movie Rented: Some stupid Jeff Foxworthy stand up that Hubby rented.
Last Cuss Word Uttered: Goddammit!
Last Beverage Drank: Water.
Last Food Consumed: Wendy’s taco salad.
Last Phone Call: Hubby, talking about negotiating his job terms tomorrow.
Last TV Show Watched: 21 Jumps, last night.
Last Time Showered: About four hours ago.
Last Shoes Worn: Black leather boots.
Last CD Played: Kasabian-Kasabian.
Last Item Bought: A super cool veggie chopper from Pampered Chef.
Last Download: Cash Machine – Hard Fi.
Last Annoyance: The mess in my kitchen.
Last Disappointment: Bad news about my Auntie.
Last Thing Written: A depressing blog entry.
Last Key Used: My car key.
Last Word Spoken: “Yes, I will fix your General Grievous – now go get in the bath!”
Last Sleep: 9am, just before going to the gym.
Last Sexual Fantasy: Surprisingly, Hubby.
Last Weird Encounter: Checking out another karate school and the lady there kept calling me “Mrs. V>>>>>” Even though I made a point of saying “Ms. V>>>>>.” Then I noticed all the students refer to people as "Ma'am" or "Sir." Not sure if I'm so cool with that.
Last Ice Cream Eaten: A spoonful of Strawberry – weeks ago.
Last Time Amused: Reading the the local paper where Hubby is quoted in an article about the NDP candidate running a "dirty," campaign with personal attacks on his opponents.
Last Time Wanting To Die (figuratively): When we were watching Devon’s tryout karate class tonight with a group of other parents and Camryn announced loudly that “Something is going on with my vagina!”
Last Time Hugged: Hubby, before going to bed.
Last Time Scolded: Hubby, telling me to get my act together and start doing laundry.
Last Chair Sat In: My desk chair.
Last bowel movement: I don’t.
Last Underwear Worn: Black g-string.
Last Shirt Worn: White PJ wifebeater with pink sequins in the shape of a heart.
Last Webpage Visited: cbc.ca

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Bad news



My auntie Rita has been suffering with breast cancer for a couple of years now. Today she got the bad news that she has between 3 weeks and 3 months to live. This is just two years after we lost my Grandad (her father) to cancer as well.

She has two kids, age 7 and 5, and the nicest husband you could ever meet. I don't know what else to say. I'm feeling a little melancholy now...

Monday, January 23, 2006

The results are in


Harper wins Tory minority government, CBC News projects

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper will become Canada's next prime minister, as Canadians have elected a Tory minority government and ended a 12-year reign of Liberal rule, CBC News projects.

Am I lame for getting goosebumps when reading the italicized part? Goodbye, rotten Liberals!

Today is a big day!


Election day in Canada! Get out and vote!

And if you received an email that looked like it was from Elections Canada telling you you could vote on Monday AND Tuesday, be aware that it's a spam email and today is the only day you can vote!

Going to cast my vote later this morning, and like Carly said, for such an exciting moment, it goes all too fast to really cherish it!

I'm nervous and excited about waiting for the results to start coming in tonight!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Because I'm a big loser

Four things. Read Tequila Red's, had to do it.
(Yeah, I KNOW I've promised the babysitter story, and it's coming - just hold your pants on. It's a long one, it might take some time.)

Four jobs you've had in your life:
1. Copywriter
2. PR agency Account Assistant
3. Receptionist
4. WalMart minion

Four movies you could watch over and over again:
1. So I Married an Axe Murderer
2. Zoolander
3. Romeo & Juliet
4. What About Bob

Four places you've lived:
1. Winnipeg, MB
2. Vancouver, BC
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Moose Jaw, SK

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. 21 Jump Street
2. Desperate Housewives

I don't have anymore because I don't have cable and these are the only two I have on DVD.

Four places you've been on vacation:
1. Halifax, NS
2. Prince Edward Island
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Reno, NV

Four blogs you visit daily:
1. With a Turn and a Twist
2. Blogography
3. Warrick Brown/You Turn the Screws (even though he never freakin' blogs anything! Your link is currently under review, man!)
4. Penmachine

Four of your favourite foods:
1. Double-layer chocolate cake (Feb 13, here I come!)
2. Anything at Pepita's
3. Hot wings at Pappa Leo's
4. The Quarter Chicken dinner at Swiss Chalet

Four albums you can't live without:
1. Guero - Beck
2. Almost any Depeche Mode album from the 80's, and Violator
3. Kasabian - Kasabian
4. In Search Of... - N*E*R*D

Four vehicles you've owned:
I'm only on my third, but I'll count Hubby's -
1. My trusty 1995 Honda Civic hatchback
2. Black Honda CRV
3. Grey Honda CRV
4. Grey Honda Accord (Hubby's)

Four people to be tagged:
I don't tag. Just do it.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Conversations with a three-year-old

"I love you, Mommy."
"I love you, too, sweetie."
"And I love Daddy and Devon too."
"That's good, 'cause they're your family, right?"
"Yeah, and I love myself, too!"
"That's great, you should always love yourself."
"Yeah, 'cause I'm Camryn."
"I know, and everyone loves Camryn."
"Yeah...I love your ring, Mommy!"
"Thank you, baby."
"uh...you're welcome."

Monday, January 16, 2006

Into the dustbin of history

Hubs got on a cleaning kick the other night and insisted we clean clutter out of our living room. And since our photo albums were falling apart and we had nice new ones we'd gotten for xmas, we decided to stay up until 2am putting all the pictures in the new albums. Along the way, we found some we felt we had no use for.

We have to be careful because Hubs' dad is a clean freak and he actually went through their old family pictures and threw out A LOT of them. His criteria included things like the picture was off-centre, or blurry, or someone had a weird face, or it was too bright. So now Hubs doesn't have many pictures from his childhood left. Weird.

Anyway, I scanned a couple that we are throwing away:

When we lived in Vegas, we came back to Vancouver for a week for a wedding. While we were in town we visited some friends of ours and they had a chinchilla. And Hubby took a picture of it. Why, I don't know. Bye, bye, chinchilla.

Some of you know about our sordid past when we were in Amway. We used to go to all the functions and events. They were boring as hell, but the food never disappointed. This is a guy we met at a function, and we can't remember who he was or why he's been chillin' in our family photo album for the past 8 years.

This is one of Hubs' brothers at his parents' house in Dartmouth. He's about 18 or 19 here. He is now married, living in Edmonton and they are expecting their third child.

This is a shot of one of my best friends' wedding reception in 1999. They have since split up, and she is much happier now with someone else and they are the parents of two adorable children. I wasn't sure about keeping pictures from her wedding, but I decided it's part of our history, and I kept most of them. Plus I was pregnant at the time and had a really cute maternity dress on that day.

This is the Seattle Space Needle, circa 1997. Hubs and I were engaged, and we went there for the day with Hub's brother Jenson and our friend Tyson. We found a carnival and spent the afternoon going on rides, then realized we didn't have enough money left to go up the Space Needle.

This is the Mormon temple in Seattle, same trip. We were married there the next year. I have tons of pictures of this place, so I'm throwing this one out, because it's the only one without one of us in it. We aren't believing or practicing Mormons anymore.

Hubby went hiking with his friend Paul at Shannon Falls once. He took lots of scenery pictures. This was the least cool one.

I went with my family on a road trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, for my cousin's wedding. SLC is like Mecca for Mormons. I took this picture of the Church Headquarters. I have NO IDEA why. It's no architectural wonder or anything. The one picture my sister and I wanted was of us in front of the huge organ where the Tabernacle Choir sings, but while we turned out great, the background was completely black!

This dumbass picture is of the Hubs posing in front of a McDonald's in Las Vegas. Ha ha, look, it's a giant drink and fries! I thought the building looked cool. I don't anymore. Quite possibly one of the lamest pictures I've ever taken.

I have no idea who this nice couple is. But like Amway Guy, they have been hanging out in the family photo album for about eight years. I know we met them at our friends' wedding reception in Vegas, but neither me nor Hubby know who they were.

So long, vague memories!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

A great new way to wake my lazy ass up

I am not a morning person. So needless to say, alarm clocks are a big part of my mornings. The Hubs and I usually put our alarm clock in some strategic area, like in the walk-in closet under some clothes, or in the hallway, or in the bathroom in the sink, so that when it goes off, we have to find it, which means we wake up a bit more rather than just slapping a hand on the snooze button and inevitably sleeping in for whatever we set the alarm for.

Well, I think I might have met my match:



The alarm clock blowfly works like a "blowfly" that at the desired time it escapes from a cage in your room. It starts moving and producing sound around you - to turn it off you should catch it and put it back in the cage.

You guys, this thing flies around the room making noise until you get your sorry arse out of bed and catch it and put it back in it's cage! Holy crap! Who would want to go to sleep after that, you'd be so mad!

Check out this little sucker here.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Top 10 Reasons Why I'll Never Be a Cowboy


Carly and I saw "Brokeback Mountain" last night. I won't get into my utter disappointment in the movie itself, but I did learn one thing: I will never be a cowboy. Here's why:

10. Always smelling like campfire smoke.

9. Being dirty. (And I ain't talking about the nookie.)

8. Wearing the same dirty-ass clothes every day for weeks.

7. Way too much denim.

6. Bathing from a bucket by the river.

5. Eating food that was cooked in a can.

4. Scuzzy bosses that spy on me and the other cowboys while we're having a tussle in the grass, and use phrases like "stemming the rose."

3. Sleeping in a canvas tent in the rain, snow, hail, and whatever. Yuck.

2. The only other person to make out with is another cowboy who's as dirty and smelly as me.

1. Other cowboys who say things like, "I need more than what I'm getting from this relationship!" Ugh.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Now my iPod's not naked

 

I finally managed to find a nice case for my nano that I like. I bought one on Boxing Day but I didn't like how it opened and it didn't leave an opening for the USB so I'd have to take it out everytime I wanted to update it or recharge it. Annoying. So I exchanged it for this one, and I love it! I like the cute little racing stripe on it, too.

Ginger's tucked in all nice and cozy.

What do you think? Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Feeling bookish

Last year I was listening to CBC radio and heard the host talking about the Whitbread Award winner for 2004, a book called "Small Island" by Andrea Levy.



I was so intrigued by the story, set in post-WWII (my favourite time period), about a Jamaican couple who come to England to make a better life for themselves based on the wonderful things they had always been taught about "the Mother Country" in Jamaica, and the "scratched record sound" they experience when they arrive. I promptly picked it up from the library and read it. It was funny, quirky, educational and thought-provoking. I enjoyed every minute of it!

So naturally when I logged on to CBC.ca today and saw that one of the headlines was about the Whitbread Award for 2005, I wanted to know more. And now I have a new book to add to my "to read" list, "The Accidental" by Ali Smith. And after visiting the website and going through the lists of past winners, I am finding more books that I either recognize or will be adding to my requests at the library.

However, now the Whitbread Group is passing the torch:

Whitbread Group announced last year it would no longer back the prizes, which were founded in 1971 and are open to residents of Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The search is on for a new sponsor.

The company, once Britain's largest brewer, said it doesn't have any products carrying the Whitbread brandname anymore and therefore, doesn't need to promote itself through the awards. Whitbread owns restaurants (Costa Coffee, TGI Fridays), hotels (Marriott, Travel Inn) and fitness clubs.


I hope they find a new sponsor, and I hope the new sponsor continues to award books like "Small Island." I'll be looking for a winner to add to my list next year!

Monday, January 02, 2006

The Good Blonde



I love Pamela Anderson. She seems to get how she is seen in the celebrity world, and she runs with it. She doesn't pretend to be something she isn't, and has fun with what she is. She plays the dumb role, but you can tell she isn't dumb.

I didn't always like her. I was very skeptical about her until I saw her on Jay Leno after she split with Tommy Lee. He asked her, "Do you think there's any chance you'll reconcile?" and she paused, then teared up and shook her head. Jay offered her a tissue, and she didn't say anything for a moment. I could relate, because everybody has dated a loser at some point, and even when you break up, it can still be tough. She suddenly seemed "real" to me after that.

I also read her advice column a few times in Flare magazine, and I thought her advice was actually good. She seemed really honest and didn't try to sound like an expert on anything.

And I also think it's really cool that she came to the Grey Cup and was Grand Marshall in the parade in Vancouver.


Paris Hilton, on the other hand, makes me want to puke. She is stupid. Anytime she opens her mouth my head hurts from what comes out.

So naturally it made me laugh, when I read this story in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader (Hubs gets one for Christmas every year from my mom and it is our sole reading entertainment for weeks after the holidays):

While dining at a fancy restaurant with Pamela Anderson, Hilton threw a temper tantrum when handed the menu. "I hate reading! Someone tell me what's on the menu!" Anderson told the story to GQ magazine, concluding, "I'm blonde, too. But c'mon."