Randoms...

I know, I'm sorry I haven't done my Beaver Lake post yet. Bear with me. It's been a very busy and stressful week but it should start getting back to normal now.

• I wrote my final licensing exam today. If I don't pass this one, it's the end of the road for me. Just in case, let me know if you see any good job postings around.
• My ex is currently moving into a house within a few blocks of where I live. Good or bad? We'll see...
• I'm so tired right now that I actually forgot the 3 or 4 other things I wanted to say here. Shit.
• Addition to the previous story of my weird neghbourhood: the cops came by the other day and took someone away from the Redneck house two doors over. Can we all say marijuana grow-op?
• Last week was my first ever schmooze-fest in the Insurance industry - I actually had to stand at the tee-box on the 4th hole at a beautiful golf course and KISS ASS all day. It was cool but I'll never do it again. Unless they supply me booze. And a partner.

I promise y'all that I'm going to get some decent sleep and get my camping post done. This week.

Oh, and thanks to all my new visitors and especially Kris for sending them to my boring-ass blog.

The Wild Mountain Cow of BC

I'm back from camping, but still have the kids with me and we lost one in-law (mom flew home) but one is still here.
Will post something worth-while in a couple days I promise!
I'll leave you with a camping photo.

VIVA ITALIA!

And that's about all I have to say right now...

You Think You Have Weird Neighbours?

Welcome to my hood. AKA "The Ghetto".
I live on a middle-class cul-de-sac in the 'burbs consisting of the typical vinyl-siding homes built a decade ago. Your 2-storey pastel specials. Nothing spectacular.
You'd think that living on a cul-de-sac, it would be quiet, maybe full of children riding their bikes around. Not really. Every house on this street has a rented out basement suite. Which means there is a serious lack of parking. And wayyyy too many cars. Yes, my kids are allowed to ride their bikes but they have to stay on the sidewalk (I know - my bad. But it's only on this street that we have that rule). And if a car comes, they have to stop.
We even have a little park just about 7 doors up. It has two little playgrounds, kind of cute. Let me just note that by law, in park zones around here, the speed limit is 30 km/h. Besides, if you're driving into a little cul-de-sac and it's not a very long street, you'd think people would slow down. But no. Not on my street. People floor it. Not just young teenagers either. EVERYONE. It's scary.
Anyways, back on to the real subject of this story.
There's this house across the street from us. Probably the biggest house on the street. Owned by a middle-aged Asian couple. OK, now aren't Asian's famous for their beautiful Oriental gardens? Well, not these two. Their front yard consists of concrete. They've made the entire front of their yard a parking lot. And a makeshift sign sits right at the front near their front door with the words painted: No U-Turn On Property.
Now we've figured out that they must have two suites in their basement because one guy parks his big (pedophile-type) work van and then goes through the gate at the left side of the property and another guy and his little girlfriend and sometimes his son park at the other end of the parking lot and go through the fence to the right of the property.
The guy on the left seems pretty normal. Don't see him a lot. Probably mid-thirties, goes to work, plays hockey, we wave to each other, that's about it.
The guy on the right needs his own post. I'll try to shorten it and squeeze it in here though. HE'S A FREAK. Here's a typical evening with him coming home from wherever he has been:

• drives down street towards his house
• turns into driveway, full speed
• slams on brakes
• reverses, fast
• slams on brakes
• pulls forward, fast
• slams on brakes
• reverses again
• slams on brakes
• you get the point, he does this about 3 or 4 times each
• parks car, gets out
• locks car
• pulls on driver door handle, up and down, about 5 times
• pulls on rear d/s door handle, same thing
• walks around vehicle, pulls on rear passenger side door handle
• same thing, front passenger door handle
• you know the drill, walks around the car about 5 times doing this, staring into the car windows, sometimes he stops to look underneath the car
• finally stops, starts walking to his fence
• turns around, sprints (not walks or strolls but SPRINTS) back to the car, does the door handle thing one more time, looking in car, looking under car....
• FINALLY goes through the fence and inside.

He does this pretty much every night. We don't always see his car coming, sometimes we're just sitting in the living room watching TV and hear the frantic jiggling of his door handles and then we watch him. F-R-E-A-K-Y.

Now I get to my initial reason for this post. It's a beautiful, sunny, hot Saturday morning. I'm tidying up my house (OK, more like going into the kids room and throwing out some of the crap they have that just takes up space but don't tell them). I catch sight of the middle-aged Asian owner of the house across the street, washing his car. Normal thing to do, right?

But today is special. He's dressed special. For this, I needed to grab my camera and take a picture.

Yeah, that's right folks. He's wearing Daisy Dukes! How short are they?

For this, I took a close up:

I mean really: who else gets this kind of view right from their living room window?

GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!

Hi - I'm alive, don't worry. I am studying for my final exam (tomorrow morning - AAARGH) and trying to keep up with MY TEAM in the World Cup. Sorry folks, I'll be back. I swear!

Must....go....watch....now....

Supahstar!

Our beloved Munson, Prima Ballerina style:

The whole class of 2-3 year olds surprised us all by behaving very well the whole time backstage and in the dressing room and then FLOORED us by behaving just as well on-stage. No mishaps, no tears, one girl fell but I think it was because she was giggling so hard. It was a hoot! And so darn cute...I must say.

And now, little Munson wants to wear make-up every day (especially lipstick!) and has asked me twice today when she dances again. I just tell her when she starts pre-school. ~sigh~

Come On Why Don't You

Got this email from Julie, thought it was funny, so hear y'all go: http://www.callme.nm.ru/.

Here are some pictures from yesterday to buy me some time until I do a real post.

We went bowling for Evan's birthday party. Yes, Olivia is wearing a pirate hat. And check out how cute her little bowling shoes are! (notice how the cheeky little buggers all refuse to even look at me when I take a picture?)

Is this not the coolest pirate cake EVER? No, I didn't make it myself. It cost about the same as a small wedding cake, but it was pretty cool.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....matey. His actual birthday isn't until July 8, which, coincidentally, is the day after Pirates of the Caribbean II comes out. Guess what he's doing for his real birthday. When he's older he can go down to the beach with a bottle of rum and dance around a bonfire. For now, he'll have to settle for pirate lego and pirate-themed bowling parties.

New Adventure

It's set. July 16, we leave for Beaver Lake Resort for 6 days of camping with all 3 kids and the in-laws. I'm looking forward to it - it looks like a nice place. I've never been to this campsite, I found it on-line, so hopefully it's as nice as it looks. Besides, I'm sooo ready for a week off and a little vacation down-time. Although camping is still a lot of work (you're still having to make beds, make breakfast/lunch/dinner and clean up) it's just fun. And getting the kids to help is a little easer (we use paper plates, so no worry about them breaking stuff!). And I've decided to keep a little journal this time. Actually, it's something I want to start doing for every vacation we take from now on. Now that I'm into the scrapbooking thing, I need to record what's going on to coincide with all the pictures.

We'll see how it goes - a month from now, when I'll be posting in between loads of campfire-scented laundry! Ahhh...the joys.

Don't Stop Believing

I know, I know...I've been a bad girl. It's mainly because nothing interesting has been happening in my life. Really. Here's all that's been going on:

• my ex has decided that he doesn't have enough money now to satisfy his habits, so he's going to move into a house with two of his mook friends. With two kids?? Over my dead frickin' body! The only way I can stop it is if I catch him doing stupid shit (which he does all the time - it's the catching him thing that's hard!). I am currently recruiting spies. If interested, apply via email.
• my daughter has her first dance show coming up. She had her full dress rehearsal last Sunday and danced on the stage for her very first time and did great. Keep your fingers crossed that she's not going to be the kid that has the ultimate meltdown on stage and runs off crying.
• I got 58.5 on my midterm. Out of 60. I think it was the highest mark in the class. I'm not usually a bragger but DAMN I'm good! Final exam coming up in a few weeks - if you don't hear further on it, don't ask...
• my current favourite show: So You Think You Can Dance. I'm so glad it's back. It's making me consider taking dance lessons starting in the Fall. We'll see how far I get.

I now need to get some work done but I promise I'll be back. With a topic, next time.

PS - No one has guessed who my favourite band is. Am I going to have to start giving hints?

New Stuff

Again, I've been tagged...

10 Favorites

Favorite Season: Fall. The air is so nice in the fall and when it's sunny, it's that orangey colour - I love it!
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Time: That time after the kids are in bed and Adam and I are alone.
Favorite Food: Too much to choose from: sushi, Indian, Greek, pasta...
Favorite Drink: Caesars
Favorite Ice Cream: Orange Sherbert
Favorite Place: Punta Cana (so far - I haven't been to too many places)
Favorite Sport: Golf.
Favorite Actor: Joaquin Phoenix and of course Johnny Depp.
Favorite Actress: I love Joan Cusack. She's way too cool.

Currents

Current Feeling: Tired, sore, pissed off that I'm sore
Current Drink: Nothing at the moment. Glass of water pretty soon.
Time: 12:01pm
Current Show on TV: TV is off right now. Last night I watched So You Think You Can Dance
Mobile used: Nokia for personal use, Sanyo for business
Windows Open: Yes - it is muggy.
Current Boring: My reading list - I have to finish my text books before I can get to anything good!
Current Clothes: Grey capri workout pants and black t-shirt.
Current Thought: Is Olivia sleeping? She's supposed to be napping but last time I checked she was playing.

Firsts

First Nickname: Kiwi
First Kiss: Jesse Bouma, grade 7. I swear I saw him in a bank commercial!
First Crush: I think it was Travis Dolan. Lived a couple doors up from Kristin.
First Best Friend: Nikki.
First Vehicle I Drove: Oldsmobile Delta 88
First Date: Mike Paprocki (sp?) - he took me to a dance at my Junior High School. My mom loved him because he went to Catholic school. It didn't last.
First Pet: A kitten named Datsun. I wasn't allowed to have pets so my boyfriend kept her but we ended up giving her away because he couldn't handle it.

Lasts

Last Drink: A Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks
Last Kiss: My daughter as I tucked her in.
Last Meal: an egg salad sandwich yesterday evening
Last Web Site Visited: BringBackBritney.com.
Last Movie Watched: Derailed.
Last Phone Call: My mom.
Last TV show Watched: So You Think You Can Dance

Have You Ever...

Have You Ever Broken the Law: I guess speeding in my car counts.
Have You Ever Been Drunk: Yes.
Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: Yes
Have You Ever Been in the Middle/Close to Gunfire: No!
Have You Ever Skinny Dipped: Yes.
Have You Ever Broken Anyone's Heart: Yes. I'm so ashamed.

Things

Things You Can Hear Right Now: Brent doing dishes
Things You Can See Right Now: My computer and surrounding area.
Things On Your Bed: Nothing - cleared it off before I came down here
Things You Ate Today: Part of a croissant - Olivia decided to eat the remainder.
Things You Do When You Are Bored: Blog, watch TV, read, take a nap

Places You Have Been Today: My kids' daycare, work, the doctor for Olivia, the bank, Europe Bakery and Starbucks

Things On Your Desk Right Now: My camera, empty drink containers, a BBQ lighter, pens, various crap...

Choices
Salt or Pepper: Salt
Hot or Cold: Cold. Easier to adjust

Place You Want To Visit: Greece. Those white buildings with the blue water and the sun and the beaches - looks too nice.

Pure Madness

Last weekend, for some strange reason, I allowed myself to get invited to a Martini party at my friend Tricia's house. I was supposed to be studying for my mid-term. I somehow got it in my head that I'd still be able to do this(?). Fuck, whatever.
Adam had to work the next day, so we arranged that he'd drop me off at Tricia's house and then I'd cab it back later so that I could sleep in a bit and still be home for Claudia. Incoherent is fine, she's 10, she can handle it. Apparently I can't.
The evening started out slow - for a while, there was just 4 of us. The good bartender Amy made us a melon-type martini - very yummy, went down a little too quickly, don't know how that happened. We chatted, gossipped, music low in the background. Amy made us a second. A little stronger - more like your standard vodka martini. That one was more of a sipper. A couple more ladies arrived. Music started getting louder. We got into the spread in the other room - lots of yummy food (and the strawberry brie from M & M's is to DIE for!). Then we suddenly started gunning. I honestly don't know how it happened. But there was a lot of mixing involved, which probably had a lot to do with my tummy troubles the following day. By this point, the music was blaring (I heard the words "as long as we piss of the bitch next door I'll be happy" somewhere along the way as well). We started grooving. A certain nurse got provoked into calling in sick for her morning shift. 2 cabs arrive and off we go - to the Foggy Dew. Good times.
Kelly goes home some time around 3am. Barely manages to brush her teeth and somehow crawls into bed. Wakes up some time around 10am. Feels like shite. The rest is a blur, but I somehow manage to crawl back into bed around 11:30 and sleep 'til 2pm. Then get up and decide it's time to do some housework and study and feel like shite some more.
Am I bad? Yes. Still have a bit of that headache today. But was it fun? Definitely! Will it be done again? Absolutely.

You Asked

Further to Carly's comment about my inability to update this blog (shit, I hadn't even checked emails in 4 days!), here's my response.

#3) (Coles notes version)
Once upon a time, there were these two friends. Kind of like Thelma and Louise. No, more like female versions of Matt & Ben.
One of them decides that she's going to go into the office and catch up on a little work on Saturday morning. The other had just met some cool guy from Whistler and he was in town with his friends for the day and she wanted to hook up with them so she was going to catch a ride into the city with her friend and then they'd catch up together later.
So, uh, for the story let's just call the first one Kelly, heads out Saturday morning and picks up uh, oh, let's just call the second one Carly, at 9am as planned.
The two are driving down the empty highway and Carly, for some unknown reason, pulls out a mickey of Tequila from her bag and suggests a drink. She may have been half-joking, I don't know. Kelly, half-seriously, says "Hey, I have a glass!" and proceeds to dump the change out of the glass that somehow left the bar with her one evening and was just sitting in the cup holder.
By 9:30am, there's an empty bottle of tequila on the floor, Kelly's day of playing catch-up at work is completely shot and if the liquor store had been open that early in the morning, the two of them would've been completely incoherent before noon.

The End.

*This story based on actual real-life events. Names have not been changed because neither one of these girls is innocent so there's no reason to protect anyone.

#2)
Does anyone reading this know who my favourite band EVER is? (Carly, you're not allowed to answer until other's have had a chance)

#1)
Carly is fascinated that I have an assistant. She's not a PERSONAL assistant, she's just supposed to do a lot of the clerical stuff for me when I'm on the road. Either way, Carly appears quite amused by this fact. So Carly, I'm handing the podium over to you now. List 10 things that you would like to make my assistant do.

The Arctic Zone

This is my office. At least it feels that way. And when the weather is nice and hot and sunny outside, it's worse inside my office!

So I come to work in a pretty skirt and short-sleeved sweater and open-toed shoes and freeze my butt off.

Even my tea is cold now.

I'm going to make some cup-of-soup and tomorrow, I'm bringing my Magic Bag to work. Not just for my cramps, but to keep me warm.

I can only quietly complain on here - if I say anything in the office, they'll crank the heat and then I'll be sweating to death. So I'll just keep quiet and plug in the little heater under my desk and continue my cup-of-soup diet.

If You Only Knew

Yesterday we went to the combined birthday party of Munson, Claudia and my big brother Dean. It was at Dean's house, which I'm grateful for. We barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers, played a bit of Bocce, ate cake and enjoyed a few beverages. Good times.
Not to mention all the gifts. It's great - I don't need to shop for the girls until back-to-school shopping begins.
And the previously mentioned cake? Not bad... it even came with a little necklace.

All I can say now is, thank GOD the month of May is almost over. There were 10 birthdays for friends and family this month and, now that I'm completely broke, we can work towards July and the other 8 or so birthdays we have to look forward to....

On A Roll....

So I wandered around that website and found this one and HAD to do it.
Only I hate white chocolate....

You are White Chocolate

You have a strong feminine side with a good bit of innocence thrown in.Whether your girlish ways are an act or not, men like to take care of you.You are an understated beauty, and your power is often underestimated!

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

Oh well, it's not a bad description!

Nothing More

You Are New York

Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the newest in food, art, and culture.You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you.You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed. Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen

What American City Are You?

Munson Turns 3

You know how they always say you spend a fortune buying kids wonderful presents for their birthdays or Christmas and then after, you wonder why you spent so much on them because they end up spending more time playing with the box?
Not Munson.

She prefers the bubble wrap.

She does, however, really like her gifts as well:

Like her new Nemo fish tank. It's the cutest thing! We had bought one for her cousin for Christmas and when we went to their house on Boxing Day, she had it all set up and Olivia fell in love with it. So I bought her one a week later. But being the mean mom that I am, I waited until May to give it to her on her birthday. I refuse to buy my kids stuff during the year (except necessities, of course), but I have a closet full of stuff that I've bought them and wait until their birthdays to give to them. And now I also have a secret drawer.

Back to Munson - when my dad asked her what she got for her birthday, she told him "Cake". The kid LOVES cake. Today is the birthday party at my brother's house and on the way, we'll be picking up the Strawberry Shortcake decorated-birthday cake from Safeway.

Here's her other favourite present (and should I be worried about skankdom?):

Her new bikini and her new flip-flops. We bought them yesterday and as soon as we left the store, she sat outside and took off her running shoes and socks and asked me to cut the tag on her new "slip-flops" so she could wear them right away. At least the bikini she waited until she got home.

I figure I can wait until September to refer to her as my pre-schooler rather than my toddler. ~sigh~

Munson is growing up so fast...

Snip Snip

Guess where Dante (er...Dumbass) is going in 3 days....(Evil laughing in background)

Will update after his little operation is complete. Mwahahahahahaaaaaaa

(sorry guys, I've been swamped lately and must go do some actual work now and read some of my textbook afterward. I promise I will be back with something interesting to tell soon)

Welcome to The Ghetto

Last weekend we had new neighbours move in next door. We hadn't really met them - they were busy moving, we didn't want to bug them (yet!). Until tonight.
Dumbass (my new name du jour for little kitty Dante), decided to explore their roof. And not be able to descend. Hence his new name.
Adam and I tried calling, using our little stepladder to coax Dumbass down. To no avail. So Adam said he'd knock on the door, introduce himself and ask if he could go to their upstairs to try to call Dumbass to the window. Didn't work, Dumbass decided he'd get more scared and crawl further up into a corner of the roof, away from the window.
So, I then asked our nice, friendly new neighbour Sammy if he had a ladder. He said yes. I put on my brave face and said "Ok, I'll go get him". I HATE heights.
I shakily climb up the ladder onto slanted roof (with nice, strong clay tiles....that I can hear moving beneath my feet). Did I mention I'm wearing crappy little slip-on moccasin-type shoes? I grab Dumbass, who is also shaking, queitly crying, and suddenly VERY clingy. And now I have to climb down the ladder with him? Are you kidding? Adam, barefoot and all, climbs halfway up and, a few scratches later, I manage to pry Dumbass's claws out of my back AND my front at the same time and hand him down.
I'm calling the vet tomorrow to book Dumbass in for his "operation" in hopes it will calm him down.
I must now go apply antibiotic ointment to my wounds.
Oh, and I'll order some flowers and have them sent to my nice new neighbours as well.

I Thought This Would be Easier

Carly has assigned me the letter J to work with - I must now list for you 10 words starting with the letter J and what they mean in my life. Here it is:

Jacob - My favorite store for buying work clothes. Classy, lots of black & white, classic...my best clothes come from there.

jell-o - I used to L-O-V-E the stuff. Now I just love making it with Evan - I have to let him do the stirring. I DO like jello shooters, though.

jasmine - funny, I was talking with my dad about this earlier today. We were reminiscing about sitting outside at my Grandma's house in Ventura, playing cards and the smell of jasmine in the breeze. If I think hard enough I can almost smell it.

Johansson - as in Scarlett - she is so HOT.

Joaquin Phoenix - I think this is why Carly assigned me the letter J. Ever since Inventing the Abbots this mysterious man has piqued my interest. There is this deep, dark, gloomy air about him that I find absolutely irrisistible and incrediby sexy. ~sigh~

January - my birth month. No explanation required.

Jeopordy - I love this show. I'm like Rain Man when it comes to Jeopordy. I hate it when I miss it.

Juneau - my kitty, not Alaska. He's my sweet boy - he's pretty, all big & fluffy, and loving and friendly.

Julie - I met her at my horrible job at HBT. She made it not-so-horrible. Fun, sweet girl - love her to pieces.

Japanese - gardens & food. Love them both.