The Summary

Long time no post. Which is a bit odd since lots has been happening. So in point form, the following has occurred:

* Fancy and I briefly checked out Best Man dresses and I tried on one that made me look smokin'. You may or may not see it next year, we haven't decided yet.
* I had a housewarming tea at my not so new apartment for my family followed by a housewarming dinner for a few friends. Things went well - except where my cousin's gorgeous red corduroy jacket leaked dye onto my tan couch (got it out with much Folex and scrubbing) and where S and I spilt 3 times between us on my white tablecloth (also came out with bleach).
* Rod came back from Australia and brought me a super cool hat!
* I went to a conference in Merritt for work (and where I wore my super cool hat to a barn dance). It was pretty good. Attended various seminars, mostly on transplants and forensics, and made some contacts. I also drove the Coquihalla Hwy for the first time.
* Cooking lessons with my grandma continue and we held Thanksgiving dinner at her house. I made cranberry sauce from scratch and actually liked it. So much better than the stuff from a can.
* Lori and her family came to visit! Had lots of fun playing with the babies and visiting with her. We even had a board game night at my house - first time since January. Roddie got his fix. Pics.
* Birthday Festivus commenced on Oct 27 (I took the week off work) and Angie and I went to Rocky Horror at the Ridge theatre. Both of us dressed as Magenta, from different scenes in the movie. Had a blast.
* Angie and I went to Buffy the Vampire Slayer Sing A Long. Two episodes of Buffy, with the second one being a subtitled version of Once More With Feeling. And yes, the whole theatre sings a long. I love geeks like me. Angie only went because she knew I wanted to go as part of Birthday Festivus and she was quite surprised by how fun she found it.
* Hallowe'en! Woohoo! My favourite holiday. Dad decorated the house and this year we dressed up as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. I handed out candy and Dad scared medium sized children. My fav moment all night was when a neighbourhood kid, about 3 yrs old, took a half hour to come up the driveway because he had to look at absolutely everything (including the 11 jack o'lanterns from the pumpkin carving party). Pics.
* 30th birthday. arghblah. It was less painful than I thought. Actual birthday was spent at a family dinner, followed by drinks with Rod and Fancy. The next night, S threw me a party at her house. I discovered I lurv raspberry vodka and seven.
* Somewhere in here, I applied for a maternity leave position at my company in the business dept. I land an interview and then a short list interview and then the job! Starts December 10 and is all days. First time in nearly 8 years that I'll be working days. I wonder how I'll cope..... It will be pretty weird though - totally different than my last few positions that's for sure.
* Roddie and Fancy gave me a Buffy calendar (ymmmm, Spike....) and a ticket to the Oilers/Canucks game. The other ticket became Rod's Christmas present. The game itself was a bit slow (unlike the one in Edmonton tonight!) with a 0-0 score. Ends in a shootout, and ends badly for this Canuck fan. Yes, that's right. I converted!!
* I went to speed dating again - and had a blast. This story continues, but trust me, I'm having fun.

Best Weekend Ever

Spent the weekend camping in Elaho Valley, which is past Squamish. Something like 20 miles on bad road, plus 27 miles on gravel/pothole road. My car never would have made it, so I'm very glad S and C were willing to give me a ride. Got there quite late on Friday night, about 1030pm. Put my tent up by headlamp which was a first for me. Right on the sand, by the river. Spent the nights hanging out by the bonfire and the days just lounging around. Skipped some rocks, froze my hands washing dishes in the river which killed any possible ideas I had of swimming, took some naps, read a bit. I took some of those peanut butter blossom cookies with me, and they were quite popular. A dozen was not enough. Really, it was the perfect weekend. Got back around 7pm Monday and was just hated the whole work return thing. Pics if you are interested

Recipe post

1) Had a really good time during my weekend in Shuswap. Spent most of Saturday on White Lake, sitting on a barge. I'd swim in the lake, dry off on the barge while reading my book, and swim in the lake. The drive back was loooonnnggggg. Construction, plus rain = argh. And I was a sleeping passenger so I had it easy!

2) Dating. I've gone out with several guys as of late, but the only thing I have to say about any of my recent dates has been - "It's fine." Fine. And I don't mean, woohoo, he's fine, I mean, it didn't suck. They were all nice, easy to talk to, seem okay. But...... Something lacks!

3) I baked like crazy last weekend and froze most of it for the housewarming/tea party I plan to have in late September. And before you mock my tea party, most of the invitees will be family members and it's an afternoon thing. There will be the odd beer, but mostly Coke and cookies. And the whole point of this point is the following recipe, so amazing! It's on the back of the hershey mini kisses bag. And apparently it's warmer in my apt than I thought because I just got out the bag of chocolate and it's slightly mushy.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

* HERSHEY'S Mini Kisses
* 1/2 cup shortening or butter
* 3/4 cup creamy Peanut Butter
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 3 tablespoons milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* Granulated sugar (for rolling at end)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. 2. Cream together shortening, peanut butter in large bowl, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. 3. Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. 4. Bake 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 9 dozen cookies.

4) Going camping again this weekend. Probably the last trip of the year. Should probably get organized tonight, but I sense I won't.

Two in a row

1) I saw my first real skunk today. I tried to get a picture, but it ran away, and I do know enough to know not to chase anything that has the potential to stink that bad.

2) I mentioned I joined a new gym. Got in a couple of good workouts and did weights yesterday. Apparently overdid it as the muscles connecting my arms to my body HURT and so do my quads. Turns out I lift my arms a lot at work. A lot.

3) My grandma is so cool. I really mean that. I love hanging out with her. Tonight, my family had dinner with her and she told the following story (it's about 1942, England, and my great-grandfather was a policeman): On Saturdays, my little sister Gwen and I would go into town to attend the village dance. After the dance, our two soldier friends would walk us home and it was just walking. No funny business! In fact, I think they were married, but they liked to dance. One night as we were walking home, Gwen whispered to me, "Father is behind that tree!" I looked over and there he was! My Father, the bobby, was on duty and following us home! That night when I got home, I wrote in my diary that Spy Number 1 had followed us. The next day, my diary disappeared and it was never returned.

She laughed so much as she recalled that story. I love hearing stories about her growing up, working during the war, living in London during the Blitz, meeting my grandfather, moving to Canada....

4) Weekend!

Happy Move-iversary!

Wow, it's been one year to the day that I moved to Vancouver. It doesn't feel like a year, it feels like forever. My ten year hiatus in Edmonton is kind of dream sequence really.

So was this a good decision? Yes, clearly. I like my job (most days anyway!), I love love love my apartment, I like being near my family (dinner with Grandma tomorrow), and it's been great picking up where I left off with my high school girls. Am I 100% happy? Of course not. A certain something (someone) is lacking from my life, but this was the same situation in Edmonton (I'm working on it though, perhaps there will be good posts in the near future. Lots of "learning experiences" though. Although this will most likely only be a revelation to me, turns out I'm not at all attracted to guys like me, by which I mean techno/science geeks. If at any time on a date, I think "wow, we have a lot in common", it pretty much seems to mean he's doomed.). Am I happier than I was in Edmonton? Yes. I have trees and mountains and frequent hugs.

Do I miss Edmonton? No. Except sometimes I dream of the mall. And I do miss certain people and certain things. Post workout Booster Juice with Erin and Kim (Oh hey, I joined a new gym, more like WHC. Open late and only 2 blocks from work, so no more excuses.) Chats over tea at Cargo and James. Game nights at Lori and Rob's. Pool at BPs. Julio's nachos and margaritas. Anytime Jay tells me I missed pie night, I get wildly jealous - which is odd since I never went when I lived there. I think Edmonton people should roadtrip to Vancouver. I have a sofa bed!

This weekend is a big birthday party fest for 2 friends. I think I'll pretend it's an anniversary party for me!

The Camping Post

My only excuse is that I was on vacation. Well for part of the last month anyway. To make up for it, a Friday post!

Edited entries from my camping journal

July 28 - Got to the campground early, but our site was ready anyway. Tents went up fast, but the tarp was difficult as the trees refuse to cooperate. After lunch, we explored the trails around the campsite for about an hour. Dad and I went for another walk in the afternoon through the interpretative area (with no signage) and the Trail of the Fallen Giants.

July 29 - Officially a family camping trip now as it rained. Walked from the campsite at Gold Creek to Lower Falls, wearing our rain ponchos. Basic trail, fairly popular, the falls were nice. Probably about 6.5K return. Back by lunch. Went for another afternoon walk with dad to the Tiarella Nature Trail, about 1.5 hours.

July 30 - Hike planned to Lake Beautiful today, starting at Mike Lake. First part of the trail called Incline Trail - 1.2K UP. And up and up... We then walked along fire access roads and short cuts through forest, including old growth. We got to the final turnoff to Lake Beautiful, after about 2.5 hours of hiking, to discover it was completely overgrown. We had lunch in a mosquito filled clearing (quickly!) and headed back. About 12K since we didn't go all the way up.

July 31 - Dad and I went kayaking in Alouette Lake in the morning. I had serious steering issues on the paddle out, and zigzagged my way along. It was way easier on the way back, even though it was into the wind and waves. Ended up with blisters on both hands! We walked back to camp via the Alouette Valley Trail and Menzies Trail. About 6K.

Aug 1 - Last full day. Did the East Canyon Trail from the Lower Falls parking lot to where it connected with Gold Creek. Very pretty. Had lunch on a rock/sand beach. Decided to go wading and discovered it's glacier fed! Managed to slowly work my way up to my knees over a 30 min period and it didn't seem so cold anymore. So I went swimming - for about 3 seconds. It was so cold, I practically forgot how to make my limbs work. Dried off in the sun and hiked back to a connecting trail (ie goat trail) that linked up with Lower Falls. Until today, had only seen a couple of people on the trails, but when we got to the Lower Falls trail, there were lots. We had only been spared them on the first day by the rain.

Had a really good trip. Couldn't believe how close to the city we were (about an hour from my parents' in light traffic), and yet it's all 80 year old forest. Beautiful.

So if this works, you should be able to click this link and see all my photos (44).
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11483&l=efe6b&id=551746582

Want to go kayaking?

Just in case you care, my latest version of my bedroom curtains turned out fine. I don't love them, but they work.

I had a nearly perfect weekend - the only thing that would have made it better would have been having Friday off. Saturday, I met up with an old college friend (Jen) for coffee. We probably hadn't seen each other in 3 years, but it's been 7 since we spent any quality time together. We spent a couple of hours together catching up and before I left, I met her new girlfriend who seems very sweet. We completely intend to get together again. That night, I went kayaking for the first time. I now have a new love and can't wait to try it again. Since I had zero experience, I went in the front of a double kayak, so I didn't learn to steer with the rudder pedals and really want to try that. I've got to figure out when I can go again. We finished around sundown, about 9pm, so I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Rod and Fancy. My kind of day - social and active!

This morning, I climbed the Grouse Grind again and am amazingly impressed with my new time. I felt slow, although I only stopped to let people pass and to take a water break at the 1/4 marks, so I was shocked to discover my new record was 1 hour 21 minutes. Shaved 9 minutes off! My goal of breaking 1 hr 15 seems actually possible. Afterwards I drove to my parents to borrow their driveway and hose to wash my car. I wanted to save a whole $10 by not taking it to the drive thru carwash, but I think the amount of effort I expended and the quality of the wash I did has proven to me that the $10 I spend is well worth it.

ohhhh - I know what I wanted to blog about! I parallel parked for the first time since buying my car last August! And it worked on the first try! Woohoo!! (Of course, when I had to parallel park again later the same day, it didn't go as well, but I'm still basking in the joy of my first one.)

Darn it, only 15 minutes until Monday.

Point by point

Point 1. I made curtains for my bedroom on Saturday. It looked terrible. 288 inches of hemming times 2 and it sucked. Remade them over the last two days and I am going to go hang them up after I finish writing this. If they suck as well, I'm giving up.

Point 2. I made cushions for the chair to match the ones that came with the couch. They look great. And they should. $59 of fabric = 2 cushions!

Point 3. I swallowed a bug while running tonight. I hate that.

Point 4. I saw Transformers on Sunday with my sister. Highly recommend it. 4 stars, easy! But I would like to know why in the hell the only washroom at the Strawberry Hill cinema is at the far end and up the stairs! Practically a marathon when you are missing a movie you like.

I feel like I should have a Point 5, but it's too frickin' hot to think anymore.

Happy Belated Canada Day

Busy long weekend - especially since it started Thursday with my dad's birthday. Had supper at my parents and treated my dad to Pirates 3. Pretty good, definitely a fun movie, but it could have used tighter editing in the beginning. It did not need to be 168 mins long.

Friday, Rod, Fancy, Holly and I went to the Richmond Night Market. It's kind of a giant flea market, but with new goods instead of used, and fairway food. Fancy bought a Winnie the Pooh wallet and a scarf. Rodney bought lamb on a stick. :)

Saturday was a great day - Pitch n Putt in Stanley Park (I suck! Par 3 and I averaged 5 strokes per hole. My best was a 4) followed by a walk on the seawall. Dinner and drinks on the Milestones' patio, watching the sun set over English Bay. I don't associate Vancouver with the water for some insane reason (mountains, trees, yes, but I forget about the ocean *L*), so it was a big reminder to why this place is so beautiful.

Sunday was a productive day. Caulked the bathtub (way messier than I ever thought possible! I knew the caulking tube was old - from the Edmonton apt - but it had been properly sealed. The caulk itself was perfectly fine. Too bad the plastic making up the tube was not. As soon I started squeezing, the back seam burst open! I managed to get enough caulk to finish the tub, but I was covered in Gloss White). Painted behind the toilet (somehow got missed when the room was done originally and every time I had a bath, I could see it). Patched the kitchen ceiling from when we changed the light fixture (still need to paint it, maybe Thursday). Patched and painted the bedroom window from the damage caused by jamming a too big blind in a too small space. Fixed my desk drawer so now it doesn't open by itself. Finally hung all my paintings. I'm actually getting moved in around here. Most of the stuff left on the to-do list requires help. Finished off the night hanging out with Rod, Fancy and Holly at BPs.

Today I went for a walk on Bowen Island with my family. To my shock, the non-rain continued (I think it's called sunshine) and we went for a 3 hour stroll along Killarney Lake. I took my pack with about 20 lbs in it, just to make things slightly more challenging. Should have added more weight, since I really want to get used to my centre of gravity being off when I have a full pack.

There is a meme going around that I think sounds fun. If you are interested, I will make a picture post. Ask me to take a picture of something/anything (ok, within reason, it's got to be something I'm willing to post on the net) in my world and I will post it here.

So in the spirit of Canada's 140th birthday, I will end with some useless facts. Canada Day was originally called Dominion Day and the name wasn't officially changed until 1982. Red and White became our official colours in 1921, but we didn't get the maple leaf flag until 1965. Aren't you glad you know that now?

Update

Oops. Two weeks since my last post. I swear it's not my new addiction to facebook, but the incredibly lousy internet connection I've been suffering from. It's been so bad that I've been doing other things. I spent a large amount of time on the phone with my service provider last night though, and it appears (fingers crossed) to be fixed.

So - weekend one. Cooking lessons! My grandmother taught me to make bread. Sooooo yummy. I'd made bread on my own before, but it was always heavy and non-fluffy. I learned some tricks (scald the milk and let cool) and how to knead properly, which is what makes the real difference. Darn it, I shouldn't be typing about this. I know I still have two loaves in the freezer. On Sunday, Rod and I did the Grouse Grind, his first, my second. It was much easier the second time, as the mental energy was there. I knew what was ahead and I knew I could it. Rod had a difficult time though. I waited for him at both the 1/4 and 1/2 marks, but once he made the 1/2 , I knew he'd be able to finish and arranged to met him at the top. My total time was 1h 33min, slightly slower than before, but that includes my wait times. I don't want to just minus the time I waited because I was more rested for the next sections when I started again. Later that day, my sister and I made dinner for my parents for Father's Day. Peanut chicken skewers and roasted veggies. Poor dad - had to watch us kids use his bbq :)

Weekend two - went camping with various people. So much fun. I love being outside. I used my new backpack and carried most of what I needed - 43lbs on my back. Didn't have a cook stove though or a water filter, as I borrowed those. Got to use my new sleeping bag - so warm, thank god, as it hailed our last morning. Went for a nice hike on Saturday and we really lucked out with the weather. Most of the weekend was dry.

Long weekend approaching! Holly is coming to Vancouver for the weekend. I also want to work on my To-Do list that I've been ignoring for months. We'll see what happens.

June, part deux

Spent the last three days sleeping, so no time to blog. Can't believe how unconscious I wanted to be all the time. Hard to type when your eyes are closed. Started Sunday night, after my family went out to celebrate my sister's college graduation. Clearly, they slipped some serious knock out drugs into my food because I went to slept at 930pm and over the next 36 hours, I slept 30.
Up until that point, my weekend had been okay. Spent most of it with S, my friend of 25 years or so (and last weekend's bday girl).
Saturday morning, S and I climbed the Grouse Grind. My very first time. It's hell I tell you, sheer hell, and yet I'm already planning to do it again. It's a 2.9 km (1.8 mile) hike, straight up. 853 meters (2800 ft) gain in elevation. The closest thing to flat you experience is maybe 2 or 3 steps in a row, and I think that only happened once. The trail is marked into quarter sections. The first quarter is evil incarnate. I kept thinking I was going to die. I started wheezing 30 seconds into it and never stopped. How and WHY do people do this? S was waiting for me at the quarter mark and told me it was the worst of the four, that if I could do that section, I could finish it. Thankfully she was right, because if any of the following sections had been like the first, I might have considered trying to roll back down the mountain. The second section was probably the easiest, the third the prettiest (although hard to tell as it was pouring rain), and the fourth required me to activate Monkey Mode and use all four limbs to get up stairs/rocks. Some sections are log steps, some sections are rock fall, some are (muddy) dirt path, but they all involve serious incline. More than a few times I wasn't sure my stumpy legs would stretch far enough. My time - 1 hr 30 min. Apparently the average time. I'd love to get that down to 1 hr 15. The gondola ride back down the mountain was great, I see why it's a tourist thing (even in the rain).
That night we went to a friend's 30th birthday party in Burnaby. After the party ended, we went to a bar in North Van, one that I had never been to before. As S put it - always make sure you are drunk before going there. Eep. To those you know me well, I can best describe the situation by telling you I started drinking beer. Vile stuff, but required.
The following pic was taken at my sister's grad dinner on Sunday. So either I was definitely getting sick or I've recently died and no one has notified me. I like the pic itself, but I had no idea how pale I am. Ok, yes, I knew I was pale, but Anne Rice material? Admittedly, my dad has a tan from working outside, but still.....

Really, June?

The weekend summary: Friday, I worked but got off early enough to do some baking. Rod and Fancy came over and kept me company while I cooked and I got to admire her bling. Her engagement ring is very pretty and almost made me like diamonds.

Saturday was possibly one of my weirdest days ever. I got to be both a hard core geek and a party girl in the same day! I drove to Vancouver (for only the third time since I moved here, it's scary!) to pick up JDG for our second date. He picked something that I was totally, completely, utterly into (and all my Vancouver friends have mocked me hard for). A friend of his runs an independent video store and was hosting an event at a local theatre - a showing of 2 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer including a sing-a-long to the Once More With Feeling musical episode! Ok, stop laughing now. I own the soundtrack and love it! To his surprise, the 200 tickets had sold out, but we managed to buy a pair off someone whose friends did not show up (first really perfect summer Saturday, why be inside unless you are geek). We watched Doppelgangland (hmmm, telling a guy you own the Evil Willow costume on a second date... good idea or bad idea? *L*), had a trivia intermission, followed by Once More with Feeling. JDG hadn't seen it before, but I had, numerous times. Singing along and laughing with 200 people is such an amazingly weird good time. Almost Rocky Horror like, but less objects thrown. I hadn't realized there were going to be 2 shows, so when it ended, I had to hurry to get to my evening plans and drove him home.

The reason I was in a hurry was Saturday night was a surprise party for my best childhood friend and I had details to take care of! It was being held at her house, so we had to decorate while she was out for dinner with her boyfriend. He gave us the heads up call just before they left the restaurant, blind folded her, drove her home an indirect route with lots of turns, and piggy backed her down the driveway so she wouldn't realize where they were. She really had no idea because we could hear her talking as they came around to the back of the house where we hiding - "I can't believe you are making me wear a blindfold in public, what if someone sees me!". We were really dying from the effort not to laugh, but as he took off the blindfold, we all yelled surprise while she did the classic double take and started hitting him. The rest of the evening was nice, presents, pie instead of cake, a few drinks (just a few, really, I swear!). My weird looking appetizers that I baked Friday were apparently tasty as there were just a few left - Savory Cheddar Cookies with Jalapeno Jelly. Sound weird, look weird, but they are basically baked cheese balls rolled in crushed pecans with hot pickle centers. Okay, they really sound weird. I'd make them again though, I liked them. Had an odd moment somewhere after midnight. If you had told me on June 2, 2006, that one year from then I'd be in Vancouver, I would have told you that you were crazy. If you had told me that I'd be in Vancouver listening to ALAN JACKSON, I would have told you to stop taking drugs. It was bizarre. Bizarre, yet fun.

Had my first Starbucks frappucino in years yesterday when us girls met for coffee. Soooo good. I want another one. Now.

Oh - and happy birthday wishes go out to Kirsten who also had a birthday on June 2. Hope you had a good time!

First Hike of the Season

Finally went hiking this year! Three of us have new packs and decided it was time to break them in and do some training for more serious hikes later in the year. We went up to Lynn Headwaters (near my parents' place) and hiked up to Norvan Falls. About 15km round trip. It was absolutely perfect. The sun couldn't quite break through the clouds, so it wasn't hot at all. Tshirt and pants weather. Only put on my fleece jacket while we had lunch in the shade, sitting next to Norvan creek. Took us about 5 hours, including 3 generous snack breaks. My legs were a bit sore coming back on the gravel road, but not too bad. My pack was about 18 lbs so next time out I'll add maybe 5 more lbs. My sleeping bag for starters, got to figure out how to stuff that thing properly so it fits in the designated spot for it. I also want to buy a camera case that I can attach to the front of my pack. The only suitable pocket for my camera isn't accessible when the pack is on, so I hardly took any pics since I had to take my pack off first.

Spent Saturday night in NV as my complex had a sewer back up in the building across the lot. I wasn't affected at all, but no flushing allowed! It was pretty lucky actually - my parents had picked up my refinished coffee table (it is absolutely amazing! Looks brand new with a gorgeous dark red finish) and drove it out to my place. They were the ones who discovered the note explaining the situation and called me on my cell to tell me not to bother coming home! When I got back Sunday afternoon, all was well. Spent the rest of the day playing with my music on the computer, ripping CDs and trying to sort it all out. I need new music for the car, for those evil rush hour days.

Random!

Facebook, baby. It's where all the cool internet addicts are these days. Join, so I can tag you in photos more easily!

Why do all my fav shows end on a cliffhanger?! I promise, I'd come back anyway. I love you, TV. And *cries* - Crossing Jordan and Veronica Mars have been canceled. At least I still have a bunch of VM eps sitting on my computer still to be watched.

I tried putting this product called Soft Claws on Fuzzy tonight. They are like nail covers that grow out with his nails and last about 4-8 weeks. They keep his nails from doing any damage and are supposedly very very safe. It's been about 15 minutes and he's managed to remove at least 3. We'll see how it goes. I like my new couch and would prefer to not keep putting double sided sticky tape on it to keep him from scratching. Totally my fault though, I let him claw the 1970s couch to his heart's content, so teaching him that the new one is off limits is quite difficult. He's doing pretty good so far, just despises the sticky tape and avoids it.

And...... I have a date tomorrow. I leave you with that tidbit.

Weekend

Weirdly nice long weekend, considering that I had to work. Friday, after work, I went to my friend's house, where we amused ourselves by watching the guys drink and by baking cookies. Even though her oven sucketh (who has ever heard of an oven that is 350F on the dial, but 400F on the thermometer and the temp goes up when you turn the dial down??), the cookies turned out mostly okay. They looked good, but watching 3 drunk guys devour cookies is no indication of the tastiness. I had to try one for proof. For future reference, always make your cookies with chocolate chips and skor bits.

Working Saturdays would actually be great, if it wasn't Saturday. Super busy, followed by gentle lulls where you can take a relaxed break, followed by super busy. After, Rod and I went out for Thai food.

Sunday was spent at the Vancouver Aquarium with my old roommate, Heather, and her friend Sarah. The aquarium is seriously cool - although my favourite had to be the jellyfish. And the belugas. I could watch both for ages. The jellyfish make better pics though. I loaded them on my facebook account since there were just too many for my geocities account to bother.

I think there should be places where you can order chocolate for delivery.

Oh - and valuable lesson learned. My smoke detector is RIGHT outside the kitchen and it's super sensitive. I was making fajitas and heating the tortillas. I saw no smoke, smelt no smoke and suddenly the alarm was wailing. Open windows, open doors, stick the frying pan on the balcony, stand on chair and wave fresh air. Goodgod, it's loud. It eventually turned off thankfully, but why in the world would it be right out the kitchen door?

Month long summary

Wow, I've been a lousy poster this past month. I blame facebook. Stupid addiction.

Where to begin? It's only been a whole month....

Ah yes, did you know hell froze over? Yes, that's right. Rod and Fancy have set a wedding date! September 2008! Congrats you two and many hugs! (You know I'm mostly kidding about hell freezing over *g*)

My couch and entertainment cabinet have arrived and are in place! I just need my coffee table back and maybe an area rug to complete my living room. I need to put up my blinds (I intended to do it tonight, but my drill wasn't charged!) and my last few paintings as well.

What else - my parents returned from their month long cruise/trip to Italy with a fantastic souvenir for me. White wine glasses from Murano, Italy. They are hand blown glass, all in one piece, with a smooth goblet and a twisted stem. To me, the top of the stem sort of looks like a dragon claw holding up the goblet.

May 4 was my sister's birthday and we decided to have a birthday weekend. Friday, I had to work, so she went out with my parents to a greek restaurant. Saturday, we had dinner at my parents with cake and presents, followed by a SINGLES pub crawl in Gastown. About 40 people, mostly in their late 20s/30s. Blarneystone, Lion's Pub, Steamworks, and Shine. The first three were more or less pubs, but Shine was a dance bar. I had a blast. I think she did too. She was drinking and dancing anyway :) By the end of the night, there were about 6 of us hanging out together and I actually asked one of the guys for his number. I eventually got up the courage to call him and asked him to do something. He said yes, but we are having some scheduling difficulties. I get the feeling he's "just not that into me", which is fine. Much easier to ask out a guy you've only known for about 4 hours than someone you actually know and like! No feelings to get hurt yet.

*L* I'm going through my pictures trying to figure out what I did this last month.

Last weekend was crazy busy. Friday was my mum's birthday. She went to her mum's for dinner first, which worked for me, as I got to go watch my friend's softball team. I'm kind of a sub, but that was the first game I've been able to go to due to my work schedule and they didn't need me. I got to score keep though. Went to my parents for cake and presents and as soon as my mum mentioned her need for sleep, I went back to my friend's house for the post-softball beers. Saturday was May cooking lesson day and we put together dinner for my mum's bday/mother's day. Seared scallops, salmon or beef wellington, veggies, with apple crisp and strawberry mousse for dessert. Sunday was actual mother's day which meant dinner at my parents' with my grandmothers. Basically, I used a lot of gas money!

Heather's coming out to Vancouver this weekend, so perhaps there will be a story or two coming soon....*L*

I promised trip details didn't I?

First off - to any Vancouverites who read this: We do not have any potholes in this town. I've heard some whining, even did some myself, but then I drove in Edmonton again and remembered what real potholes are like. Compared to those, we only have the occasional dent in the road. At one point, I thought I was driving on an unpaved road but it was a university side street that I clearly recall having pavement before.

Driving in general in Edmonton was odd. I so rarely drove when I lived there that I was quite proud I knew where I was going at all. I found Southgate, Toys R US, Erin's and Lori's without getting lost once! A major achievement as you know. When I first left the airport in my rental, I thought something was wrong with the alignment of the car as I was fighting it constantly to stay in my lane. Nope, nothing wrong with the car - it was the wind pushing me around! The bitter COLD wind. I left +20 C Vancouver to spend the weekend in -8C with wind chill Edmonton. Seriously people, if you needed proof I missed you, it's that I picked April to come visit.

Friday night, Erin and I met up with everyone at BPs for a standard night of drinking and bullshit. A lot of fun because pretty much everyone showed up! Kim even played me a game of pool. Saturday, a couple of us had brunch at the replacement for Keegan's - Route 99. I spent the afternoon with Lori and baby Jacq, who is super cute in that baby way. That night, Erin and I went to Julio's for supper and spent the evening on Whyte, browsing through Chapters and having tea at Cargo's. It was a bit cold to keep walking so we rented a chick flick and watched that as well. Sunday, we did a bit of shopping on Whyte and then I spent the afternoon with Lori again, playing with Mason and ahhh-ing over Jacq. Lori and I have decided to have a girls' weekend - possibly next year :)

For me, it was a great trip. I did everything I planned, except West Ed Mall and I didn't actually need anything from there. What I did find odd was how at home I still felt there, like I hadn't really left, like it hadn't been seven months since I had seen these people. But I feel so at home in Vancouver as well, like I've always been here. It just seems strange.

Home Sweet Home

I fully intended to write a long detailed post tonight, but you'll have to settle for the following:

I've been told my blog is boring. I know. But I really am this dull and I really am obsessed with the colour of my walls. I promise to try harder to find a life. :)

Edmonton was fantastic. I had a great time. There are many pics over at my main page.

Tomorrow - motivation starts. The plan - to run a 10K run this summer. It's now official as I'm telling the world.

Ok, bedtime.

Off to see the Wizard

I am beyond excited for this weekend. Pics and post on Monday I'm sure!

A belated birthday message to Roddie - hope 31 treats you well. For his birthday we went to Anton's in Burnaby - absolutely amazing food, should be shared between 5 people *g*. We had dessert in Vancouver at Tru Confections and I highly recommend a drink called Vancouver Fog - vanilla, Earl Grey Tea and steamed milk.

Only 2 more games until playoffs!! Yes, I'm cheering for the Canucks. I'm even hoping to get playoff tickets this year. We shall see.

Happy Easter to all.

My living room is naked.

By that, I mean I lack furniture. It looked sad before, with only a day bed and a tv sitting on top of a coffee table, but now it's down right pathetic. My parents came today and took the coffee table away with them. This is a good thing as it's off to be refinished, but now my tv is sitting on the floor. It will be another 4-7 weeks before my entertainment cabinet, my sofa and my chair show up to make my living room look like it's lived in!

My parents were extremely helpful this morning and we got lots done. The china cabinet is stable and full of china (although my mum stole a drawer so the furniture guy can try to match the stain for the coffee table). My towel rods are up, the kitchen shelf is up, I can watch tv in my office, and the majority of my pictures are hung up on the wall (only ones left are the living room ones which can't really go up until I have furniture).

I love days off.