Breezy

Things have been so laid back here in Calgary, it's nice. We had a great time in Banff, despite the intermittent rain. We first headed to Bow Falls, which I had never seen before. We got some great pictures (still have to wait to see pics until I get home), and then we headed to Melissa's for lunch. It had been over 25 years since the Armstrongs had been, and probably close to 20 since I had been. The food was yummy, and the restaurant was just as I remembered it. Following lunch, we walked around and window shopped.

Tuesday we drove downtown, and window shopped some more in the rain. I would have bought something had I found something I liked. We had lunch at Sunterra, and then headed home. That night we drove in the rain over to Meghan & Mike's new pile o' bricks. It's a cute apartment, lots of space. We ordered in Moxies and just let them bond with Elijah. We treated ourselves to dessert at Marble Slab. Geoff and I shared a Willy Wonka (double dark chocolate, chocolate chips, and hot fudge). Mmmmmm.

Today was very low key, just walked up to the shopping plaza near Glen & Diane's, fought off the mosquitos, and hit Safeway, Rona, Chapters, Crowchild Liquor, and then Timothy's. We're having steak for dinner, and a big bbq tomorrow night for Glen's lab. I'm treating myself to a pedicure tomorrow afternoon, it's been over a year since I had one, and my feet are all callousy.

I was reading Paul Bellows blog and he mentioned his albums were now available on iTunes. I figured it was only going to be on the Canadian version, but it's on the Yankee version too! I'm super stoked, and I think I'll be buying one of the albums on Saturday. Cause I'll be settled back in my routine by then. If you haven't heard any of his music, I would strongly recommend it.

Well dinner is nearly ready, so I'll sign off with a quote from Pirates Of The Caribbean.

Jack Sparrow: No. Not good. Stop. Not good. What are you doing? You've burned all the food, the shade, the RUM.
Elizabeth: Yes, the rum is gone.
Jack Sparrow: Why is the rum gone?
Elizabeth: One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire royal navy is out looking for me; do you really think that there is EVEN the slightest chance that they won't see it?
Jack Sparrow: But why is the rum gone?

Book Book

You're The Great Gatsby!

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Having grown up in immense wealth and privilege, the world is truly at
your doorstep. Instead of reveling in this life of luxury, however, you spend most of
your time mooning over a failed romance. The object of your affection is all but
worthless--a frivolous liar--but it matters not to you. You can paint any image of the
past you want and make it seem real. If you were a color of fishing boat light, you
would be green.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I'm happy with that, I love The Great Gatsby.

Sigh

Well, I'm back in Calgary after a whirlwind visit in Edmonton. Elijah has been an amazing little boy this trip, he's been so well behaved.

We got into Edmonton on Tuesday, and just sort of spent time getting settled. Wednesday, dinner at Uncle Kim's and Auntie Joanne's. Every visit with them, I enjoy their company more. I think it's also the most I've talked to my cousin Josh. He's graduating high school this year, he has his grad on Tuesday night. He's going to wear a white tux with tails and a monocle. :)

Thursday was lunch with Wendy at the Wonderful Garden (it was tasty) and then I made a spaghetti dinner for us at my mom's. Friday was Lisa's party, which was the best time ever! Lisa you rock, and thanks to all our friends who were there. I can't remember the last time I had such a good time. That is what's missing in Denver, our friends.

Saturday we went out to the farm, and Elijah met his great-grandparents. They adored him, and as always, Grandma put on quite the spread. We then went to Colin & Dawn's for the night, and when Dawn fell asleep, the 3 of us played some poker. Colin won, but I want a rematch!

Tomorrow we'll go to Banff, and Tuesday we see Mike & Meg's place. I may try to get Geoff to post some pictures, as I'm not near my server. Athena & Lisa also took pictures, so check their blogs in a few days.

I'll close with a quote from School Of Rock.

Dewey Finn: Sell my guitars? Would you tell Piccasso to sell his guitars?

We're Heeerrrreee!

We arrived in Calgary, safe and sound. Elijah slept through the whole flight. He seems a little out of sorts, but I'm sure he'll adjust after a few days. I can't complain about the trip, well I could, but I won't. I sure enjoyed having Harvey's once I landed. Tomorrow we drive up to Edmonton. We got a really cool rental car, it's pimpin'. :) A big Impala.

There's nothing else going on. It's only appropriate to close with a quote from Airplane!

Hanging Lady: Nervous?
Ted Striker: Yes.
Hanging Lady: First time?
Ted Striker: No, I've been nervous lots of times.

The Law Offices Of...

We went to a law office this morning, after failing to get our letter notarized at the bank. The bank couldn't do it because we had the wrong verbage. Luckily there is a law office behind the liquor store, beside the King Soopers. They were very nice, edited our letter and notarized it for free. If I ever need a lawyer, I'll be going there.

Because the liquor store had a sign out front advertising a sale on Geoff's favorite beer, Flying Dog, we stopped in and bought a 12 pack. It felt weird buying beer at 9am. I guess it will be nice for him to have here once we get back. It's not like he won't be having beer in Canada, I mean who are we kidding?

So now all that's left for the trip is laundry, packing and going. Excited? Not really. Stressed? Not as much as I was a few days ago. I don't know how much blogging will get done in Edmonton. We'll have the laptop, but we need to find out where there is wi-fi, and if it's free all the better. I'll try looking online, but Chris, if you know a place, let me know. I figure of all the Edmontonians who read this, Chris would be the one who would know.

A few of my friends (Chris, Ashley, and Roland) posted a theology quiz on their blogs, and my result was 71% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. I'm not sure what it means, so I may look into that. Some of the questions weren't understandable to me, so I'd choose the middle. It was interesting though, and made me think about what I would answer.

Anyways, I'm going to close now with a quote from I.Q.

Albert Einstein: Are you thinking what I am thinking?
Ed Walters: Well what would be the odds of that happening?

Happy (Early) Father's Day

For My Geeky Friends

I am Mario.

I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble. What Video Game Character Are You?

Wish I Was There

I've been exchanging emails with Athena a lot in the last few days. One of the things we were talking about was traveling, and it has renewed the hunger in me to go back to Scotland. I miss it, I miss the freedom of having my days wide open to do what I please. I miss exploring a new town. Athena wants badly to return to Greece, understandably.

If I'm away from Edmonton too long, I miss it and want to go back to visit. But then as the trip looms closer, or once I'm there, I wonder why I wanted to go. I love my family, but these trips always bring stress. Mind you the Scotland trip had it's own stress. I guess I'd rather just have family meet us somewhere. I doubt seriously that would ever happen, and I don't think that would solve all the problems.

I have to remind myself that I only visit Alberta like once a year, so this may be the only chance some people get to see Elijah in person. But if we hadn't had Elijah we wouldn't be taking this trip. So I guess I should just suck up whatever bothers me.

Wow, this is pretty negative. I didn't really expect it to be so down.

Nothing else is going on here. Geoff is nearly ready for his trip. We need to get the letter notarized, but then that's it for us I think.

Father's Day is Sunday, and Geoff is happy he gets the best of both worlds, the morning with us, the evening with his Dad. We'll be playing hooky from church and treating him to breakfast at The Original Pancake House. I wonder if Geoff will order the Dutch Baby, it looks like this:


This will be the 2nd Father's Day without my Dad. It's a lonely feeling to not have your Dad, as Lisa and Kelly can attest to. i know it's really hard on Colin. I'm very much looking forward to seeing him.

I guess I'll sign off. Since I don't have to wait around today for Fed-ex, I'm going to go for a walk. I'll close with a quote from Family Guy.

Brian Griffin: Peter, only one gift was for charity. The rest were for the family.
Peter Griffin: No, the rest were FROM the family... weren't they? Aw crap, since when did they change the meaning of "for" to "from"?
Brian Griffin: I think they had a meeting about it last night.
Peter Griffin: Why wasn't I told?
Brian Griffin: They sent you a card, but it said 'For Peter' on it, so you must have thought it was FROM you, so you didn't uh... You know, it's just easier to call you stupid.

How Much?

Just wanted to give y'all an idea of what music I'm listening to the most. I'm sure people out there are cringing. :)

The 15 Most Listened To Songs On My iPod (Pearl)

1. Trust Yourself - Blue Rodeo (15x)
2. Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue (15x)
3. The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim (13x)
4. Cuban Pete - Jim Carrey (12x)
5. Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing - Chris Isaak (12x)
6. Waiting For That Day - George Michael (12x)
7. (Can't Live Without Your) Love And Affection - Nelson (12x)
8. The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead - Crash Test Dummies (11x)
9. Walking On Broken Glass - Annie Lennox (11x)
10. Laika - Moxy Fruvous (11x)
11. All For You - Sister Hazel (11x)
12. Some Fantastic - Barenaked Ladies (10x)
13. Everlong - Foo Fighters (10x)
14. Sympathy- Goo Goo Dolls (10x)
15. Ooh It's Kinda Crazy - SoulDecision (10x)

The 15 Most Listened To Songs On My Computer (Plankton)

1. Stacy's Mom - Fountains Of Wayne (10x)
2. Soul To Squeeze - Red Hot Chili Peppers (10x)
3. Change Your Mind - Sister Hazel (9x)
4. Does Your Mother Know - ABBA (9x)
5. The Real Sin Savior - Apologetix (9x)
6. To Last A Lifetime - Del Amitri (9x)
7. Parents Just Don't Understand - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (9x)
8. She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5 (9x)
9. Banditos - The Refreshments (9x)
10. Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space - Spiritualized (9x)
11. Just Between You & Me - Lou Gramm (8x)
12. Don't Do Me Like That - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (8x)
13. Ebay - Weird Al Yankovic (8x)
14. Do I Have To Say The Words - Bryan Adams (7x)
15. Ode To Calgary (Dance Mix) - The Unknown Poets (7x)

I have to say that the new feature I love the most about iChat is being able to display what I'm listening to. I wish I could see what everyone I'm chatting with is also listening to. But not everyone I chat with has iChat. :(

Conspiracy Theories And Other Annoying Things

Okay, seriously? Michael Jackson is not guilty? I will admit the defense gave me reasonable doubt, but he certainly is guilty of behaving inappropriately with children. Sleeping in the same bed as a child? I would never share my bed with a child, except maybe my son. Not even my nephew. I'm very disappointed. I thought for certain he would be found guilty.

There is a bird that I see in the Cherry Creek when I walk to the mall. The last 4 times I've gone with my camera, he's not there. Today, no camera, he's there! I think it's a long-billed curlew (except with a shorter bill), or at least that's the closet I can find. If only he'd let me capture his picture! I'm telling you he's conspiring against me.

We watched the movie Dodgeball this weekend. It was pretty funny, but the downside is having that annoying Milkshake song stuck in your head.

The only thing more annoying than the Milkshake song, is not being able to escape Tom Cruise on every channel. I kind of wanted to see War Of The Worlds (since I liked the book), but now I don't think I could take 2 hours of Tom. Just please stop waving your arms, jumping on couches, and stop trying to convert everyone to Scientology.

I guess I'll sign off. I'd love to sneak in a nap, but I doubt Elijah would go for that. In any case, I'll sign off with a quote from Dodgeball.

Cotton McKnight: It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the awkwardly feminine from the possibly Canadian.

Dwe Dot Dot Dwe Dow

Reruns of The Tick are airing on Toon Disney starting tomorrow! I think I still have like half the series on tape from back when Comedy Central aired the reruns. I sure wish this would get released on DVD.

It's been rainy here most of the last 2 days. Our church was supposed to have a picnic today, I guess it will get moved indoors.

This week's errands: get that letter notarized at the bank, do laundry, pick up iced tea for Diane, pick up lemon cookies for my mom. I think that's pretty much it. I may look at suitcases at Target, since Elijah and I won't be able to fit everything into my suitcase. We could if we still had the big suitcase, but that's the one the airline lost 5 years ago. I still have a picture of it. :)

Well, there have been some comments asking me to clear up my comment about not being in love with Canada anymore. I need some time still to form my thoughts clearly.

I'll close now with a quote from The Tick.

Tick: Well, once again, my friend, we find that science is a two-headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences... But the other head of science is bad. Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur. It bites.

Nobody's Perfect

This picture was taken 5 years ago when we visited Ottawa. That's me, back when I felt like I loved Canada. I have to remind myself that no country is perfect, they all have their flaws. Geoff and I hate that it feels like we are being treated as 2nd class citizens sometimes.

We called Passport Canada to get an update on Geoff's passport application. There was a problem with his picture, so they sent him a letter on Wednesday (which we obviously didn't get). After being frustrated by the plebe on the phone, he asked to speak to a manager. well he was on break, but Geoff insisted that he'd wait on hold. I'm sure you know how it's easier to solve a problem if you can talk to a real person, and if that person has some authority. To sum it all up, this guy is going to handle it personally. Geoff is going to resubmit a new photo, and his passport will be sent to Calgary. They are returning his ID so he'll be able to enter the country.

We were talking about it last night, and I was telling him how I wasn't looking forward to taking the trip without him. Elijah and I were still going to go regardless of Geoff's status, since he needs to meet his Grampy, along with the rest of the family (and friends) who haven't met him. We're much less stressed now that there is a solution working it's magic.

I guess now I can get excited. I probably won't feel that way until my feet hit Canadian soil. Or at least until I am standing in line at the Harvey's in the Calgary airport. :)

I don't know if you are hearing about this where you are, but a Denver police officer was killed last month by an illegal immigrant. He ran to California, then back into Mexico where his grandma turned him in. Mexico has a policy of not releasing criminals if they face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Canada, as I understand, will also not release a criminal (or suspect) if they face the death penalty. I couldn't find anything about their stance on life imprisonment without parole. I don't think that's fair for them to decide that the person should be eligible for parole. Geoff said if he sits in Mexico prison for the rest of his life, he doesn't mind. I guess I just hope the family can have some closure. Like I was saying earlier, no country is perfect.

I'll close with a quote from L.A. Confidential.

Ed Exley: I'm talking about the gas chamber, and you haven't even asked me what this is about. You've got a big "Guilty" sign around your neck.

Just Gets Weirder

I'd like to say life has gotten back to normal but it has not. I may post the latest on my neighbors in a day or so, I just need to process some stuff.

Onto nicer topics, we went out to dinner last at the Macaroni Grill. Elijah did alright, slept through half the meal, but then we had to take turns with him outside. I think it was the lighting in there that he didn't like. Because once outside where it was light, he was happy. Anyway, I wanted to post because I tried something I've been wanting to try for a while. I had Prosciutto Bruschetta (Toasted bread topped with mozzarella cheese, prosciutto and our brown butter and sage.) Yes, it was as tasty as it sounds. Always watching Mario cook with prosciutto, I wanted to try it. A word of caution, if you order it from MG, it's a fairly big dish. I paired it with a caesar salad. Geoff had Chicken Cannelloni (Hand rolled pasta stuffed with roasted chicken, cheese, spinach and baked in an Asiago cream sauce. Topped with red sauce.)

Well, not much has been done this week. I went to the museum picnic yesterday, and it wasn't all that. Mary was late, so I skipped on the trip to the zoo, and we sat under a tree eating lunch. Her girls were happy to see Elijah, and he was happy just to sit in the shade. Geoff has to work this weekend, so I may be taking a trip to Peet's by myself on Saturday.

Alright, I'm going to sign off and close with a quote from Grosse Pointe Blank.

Marty: They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"

Bad Girls

Toot Toot, Yeah Beep Beep

You gotta love Donna Summer. What brings to mind this song? Well...

I got an interesting letter in the mail today. It was a thick envelope, from someone I did not know. I opened it and got quite the surprise. It turns out that our newest neighbors, who've been here only a few months have been very busy making "friends". Friends who pay for "services". Yep, our neighbors are ladies of the evening. That's the nice way of saying it. Surprising? Yes. Even though we long suspected that was the case. There were too many signs pointing in that directions. The signs were practically neon. The letter was from a company who has been keeping them under surveillance.

I took the letter next door to ask Paula if she got one too. She hadn't and was shocked by it. We agreed that I should take the letter into the office and let them know. They had gotten the letter too, and were surprised that I had received a copy. They wondered how many other people in our building got it. They informed me they have given the ladies notice to move out.

I had quite the time discussing the situation with Ryan, since Geoff wasn't online and Paula wasn't home. I wanted advice. Ryan suggested talking to the neighbors, letting them know about the situation. As of now, they still aren't home. Will I talk to them? Doubtful. Since the office visited the website they were advertising on, they were content with the proof they needed. It's still all so weird to me. Even with living 10 minutes away from two girly clubs, I didn't expect to encounter something like this.

In other neighbor news, the guys downstairs are moving out, so says Paula. I'm not so sad to see them go, though they haven't been as loud as the one time we reported them. They've been cold towards us since then, even though they admitted that party had been out of their control. Let's just hope the 2 new sets of neighbors we get will be as nice as Paula & Simon.

I guess it's only appropriate to close with a quote from Pretty Woman.

Edward Lewis: You make $100 an hour and you have a safety pin holding your boot up?

Tunes and Politics

Getting mail is fun. After an offer was placed before me, I took it, and I got a package in the mail. Awhile back I posted about Brock Skywalker's album, and that I thought it wasn't his best work. Brock posted a comment on my blog offering to send me a copy of the album. And today Cerebral Re-Runs by Brock Skywalker & His Irregular Heartbeats was in my mailbox. It's good. The snippets I heard before didn't come across as well as the album does. Naturally some songs I like more than others. But I gave it a listen through, and I'll likely give it a few more plays. I'd recommend it if you like Brock's work with Captain Tractor.

I spoke with Diane on Sunday, and she was telling me about an incident in the Canadian gov't that took place a few weeks ago. It prompted me to read up on it online. I figure if I can read a few different sources, I may be able to get a full picture of it, not something one-sided. I still don't think I have all the facts, but it's left me wondering about myself. I have never been a feminist, and I don't feel oppressed. Maybe it's the way I was raised, maybe I just don't see myself the way other women see themselves. I guess just chalk it up to another thing I don't understand. Anyway. I'm digressing. Diane was saying that the media was turning into a sexist issue. That a man can change parties and not get the kind of criticism that this woman got. Like I said I don't think I have all the facts, so I shouldn't form an opinion on it. My dad always said don't discuss politics and religion. There is a reason for that. But I like those topics. :)

Let's talk weather! After a weekend of rain, it was sorta nice to have sun. It's a little hot for me. I know, I know, I lived in California for 4 years and I complain about the sun here. I am hoping for nice weather for our trip. Speaking of the trip, I have to line up a cat sitter. I may try Paula, but I fear she may have a bit much on her plate right now. I'll be seeing Mary on Wednesday at the museum picnic, so she'll be my back-up. If it weren't so much trouble, I'd bring Honey with us.

Well I'm going to go try to start dinner and do some laundry. I'll close with a quote from Dogma.

Bethany: Were they sent to Hell?
Metatron: Worse. Wisconsin. For the entire span of human history.

Nothing New To Report

Not much is going on here. I'm going to lunch with Shannon and Kaylynn at Chick-Fil-A, and I'll be hitting Hallmark to buy Father's Day cards.

Last night on NBC they had a show I swear was made just for me, Hit Me Baby One More Time. It's like Bands Reunited, but then they compete against each other. It was pretty entertaining, at least to me.

The weather has been alright this week, some rain, some shine. I've blistered up my feet pretty good this week, you have to love summer for that. Geoff says I should just always wear my hiking boots like he does, but it's too hot for boots. And boots certainly don't go with shorts unless you are camping. At least that's how I feel.

I'm not yet looking forward to our Alberta trip. I will get in the mood once everything that needs to come together does. I have faith it all will.

I was able to get in touch with my friend Adam, finally. Got the short version of what he's been up to the last 10 years or so since I've seen him. If time permits, I want to see him for coffee. If I am able to see everyone it would be a feat, and the first time that's ever happened. Lisa is doing a lot to make that feasible. I mean we're only in Edmonton for 5 or 6 days, so it's a whirlwind trip. I pretty much have everyday booked. A little frightening, and I'm sure Geoff will be annoyed by that. he likes to be laid back, I like to squeeze everything in. Mind you, Elijah could be dictating my days, and I'll have to work around that.

I guess I want to mention that I don't understand how people can view Mark Felt as a bad guy. I mean there has to be accountability for our leaders, and he did a great service to the U.S. people. That's my opinion anyway. I love the movie All The President's Men, and I tried to read the book, but didn't finish it.

Anyway, I'll close with a quote from my favorite movie about former President Nixon, Dick.

Henry Kissinger: I'll take responsibility here. I'll be the only person in this administration who's willing to take responsibility for anything.

Encouragement

In a world where too many people don't take marriage vows seriously, it's encouraging to see this couple. Geoff said on our wedding day he wants us to be married for at least 75 years.