Sometimes I Make My Life More Stressed...
And sometimes others do it for me.
I can be such a hypocrite at times, it's so disappointing. I have been procrastinating sending an email for well over a year, and I finally got around to typing it. I still haven't sent it, I am in the process of forcing people I love to proofread it first. So while I am not sending off an email telling someone how I really feel, I get worked up over someone not communicating to me followed by them lashing out at me. Now one of these situations has been resolved (at least I think so) so I don't have that stress. But I still have this drafted email to send. I often go on about the beauty of not living near family, and in this situation it is a blessing. It allows me to tell this person how I feel without having to do it to their face. I know, "Confrontational Melissa" doesn't tell someone what she thinks to their face? But it's true. What can I say, relationships are complicated. But the other situation could have been avoided had we live near family. At least I hope that would be the case.

I don't want to go into that anymore. Let's talk about something else. Lisa, Brooke & Laurel were on The Big Breakfast Wednesday morning, showing off their bowling (and coaching) skills. Lisa is offering to throw me a baby shower when I get to Edmonton this spring, which would be a hoot. I sure miss having Lisa around. Thank goodness for AIM and phone calls!

We asked Paula & Simon to feed Honey on Saturday while we jaunt off to the mountains. Simon is having surgery today, so he wasn't able to go to Vegas, as he had planned. Geoff was hoping to get Simon to bet on the Pats for him. They set a date for their wedding (November 5), and we have offered to watch the cats while they are gone. They are getting married in Cabo, with family & friends traveling there to witness it. They said they'll likely honeymoon there too. We're more than happy to look in on Gary, Monkey, and O.J., since they've been nice enough to watch Honey. Plus, I don't anticipate doing any traveling at that time. I want to get all our trips done this spring & summer.

I just have some chores on my plate today, laundry, dishes, making a list of what to bring this weekend. I may try to talk Geoff into a trip to Harry & David to get some Moose Munch for the drive home from Copper. Yeah, twist his rubber arm. For those who haven't tasted the goodness that is Moose Munch, it's caramel popcorn with almonds and cashews. You can get it with milk chocolate or dark chocolate (either partially covered or totally covered), or with white chocolate and macadamia nuts. You can even get it sugar free, or peanut butter flavored. For Fall/Thanksgiving they had maple/walnut flavor (which sold out really fast) and at Christmas it came peppermint flavored (yummy). They even offer Moose Munch flavored coffee. Glen is addicted to the Moose Munch Bar, "caramel popcorn confection, folded into our smooth chocolate truffle fondant with whole almonds, cashews and toffee bits – then drenched in sweet milk chocolate or elegant dark chocolate." I must say, I love that I'm considered "laid off", it means I still get a staff discount. :)

Well, that's all from me. Have a good weekend. I'll close with a quote from The Simpsons.

Groundskeeper Willie: It won't last. Brothers and sisters are natural enemies. Like Englishmen and Scots! Or Welshmen and Scots! Or Japanese and Scots! Or Scots and other Scots! Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland!

My Home & Native Land


"Yes, Canada. It was a frozen, hostile wasteland. And there was much work to be done if we were to survive the elements. After boring a hole through the ice to find food, my good friend Nantook and I would build an igloo to protect ourselves from polar bears. . .and flying hockey pucks. Then we would drink a lot of beer. Then when Nantook was ready, he would tell me the story of the Great Moose. . .who would say to the little squirrel, 'Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat." -Jim Carrey

I just felt like posting that. I like to perpetuate the myths about Canada. :)

Regents Won't Fire Him
From the Denver Post today:
Churchill said he is not worried for his job because he is protected by CU's guarantee of academic freedom. If he does lose his job over this controversy, he'll sue, he said.

"My problem would be fighting off the number of lawyers that would want to be involved," he said. "This is exactly what I'm protected from - an attempt to take my job on the basis of a difference of opinion on a burning issue."

You're Wrong Phil



I really thought Phil was going to call an early spring. I still think there will be an early spring, at least here in Denver. Maybe not for Pennsylvania though.

Copper Mountain High

We're going to Copper Mountain this weekend! Whoo-hoo! Geoff will spend Saturday skiing, we'll have dinner there and then spend the night, coming home Sunday. This will be my first trip to any mountain here in Colorado, and while obviously I can't go skiing, I will hang out by a fireplace with my book, or go for a swim in the athletic center there. What's the occasion you ask? Well, Geoff needs to make use of his ski pass, and we are celebrating 8 years of wedded bliss this month (Feb. 15).

Went to Peet's today and had a pot of Golden Monkey. Doesn't that sound like something that would make Bucky Katt go nuts? It was excellent, but I would never buy a tin of it. It's a rare tea, so it's very expensive. But I was able to enjoy a pot of it for $3 (plus tax).

I don't think I want to write about the whole gay-marriage issue going on in Canada, but I'm reading about it on CBC.ca. Chris wrote about it on his blog though. I also don't really want to write about Ward Churchill. It may not be big news where you are, but here it's huge! Here's the story, a professor at CU Boulder made some comments in a book he wrote (and also in an essay I think) where he likened the victims of 9/11 to Nazis. He also said that America was asking for the attack by the way they conduct themselves. I think that's the jist of the story. I am very curious to see what the Regents will decide tomorrow about him. The thing Geoff and I were wondering is whether or not he is imposing his views on his students. If yes, then he should be fired. But if he isn't, then do they really have grounds? I read a statement he published, and he still comes across negatively. The governor has called the university to can him, which Geoff finds a little funny as the state hardly gives any money to post secondary institutions. I'm so tired of people screaming about free speech. It's enough to make me not pay attention to the news anymore. Sigh.

Alright, I'm closing with a quote from Ed, which I am so hooked on.

Judge: Mr. Stevens, where's your attorney?
Ed Stevens: Actually, Your Honor, I'm representing myself in this matter.
Judge: Haven't you heard the saying, "He who represents himself has a fool for a client?"
Ed Stevens: Yes sir, I have, and I tried my best to convince me not to hire me to represent myself, but I simply refused to listen to me.

Which Angel Character Are You?


You're Doyle! You're on a mission to help out as many people as you can, provided it's not actually you doing the helping, of course. However, you know there' s a hero inside you.

Which Angel Character Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Good Eats
This weekend was filled with excellent food at our house. One thing can always be said about our house, and that it that we eat well. Saturday was our first Saturday in 3 weeks without lamaze class, so we were able to partake in tea at Peet's. This tradition had been sorely missed. After tea time, we walked over to Whole Foods and bought some yummy Australian cheddar cheese and a loaf of sourdough bread for lunch. For dinner Saturday night, Geoff made deep dish pizza, which was very tasty. Only topped by the BEST TURKEY DINNER EVER!!!! on Sunday night. All the elements came together perfectly to create a very moist bird, and the most outstanding gravy Geoff has ever made. There was no conversation, just "mmms" and sighs of contentment. To find out his secrets, you'll just have to ask him. But I do know portions of the recipe came from Alton Brown. I think I ought to send him a thank you note. :)

This summer I worked with a very nice girl named Rachel at DMNS, who spent September through December in Spain. It was an exchange program with school I think. Well, doll that she is she brought me back a beautiful pair of earrings from Salamanca. They are called "botones charros", and are traditional to the area. I love them, and it was very thoughtful for her to bring me back something.

Jeff is back from Egypt, and he had an amazing time. He spent an hour given us just a small idea of all he saw. I imagine we'll be hearing about it for weeks to come, but we're all anxious to see the pictures. It's just nice to have our department getting back to normal, with a lot of work to do. Since the Egypt exhibit has ended, we can pack it all away and get ready for the next one, which is Lewis & Clark. Also in museum news, Mary may be leaving. She is already committed at her daughter's school on a board, and she got a job offer somewhere else. While I was planning on taking a few months break away from DMNS, I always envisioned I'd continue to volunteer in some capacity. It just won't be the same without her. Ideally we'll keep up on our coffee dates. We'll have to see what happens. Mary may not take that job, nothing is certain at this point.

No big plans for this week. Mary & I are going to try to do coffee, but that's about all that is on my plate. I'm going to close with a quote from The Lost Boys (which was on the other week, and Geoff told me he's never seen it. Can you believe that?)

Edgar Frog: You did the right thing by calling us. Does your brother sleep a lot?
Sam Emerson: Yeah, all day.
Alan Frog: Does the sunlight freak him out?
Sam Emerson: Uh, he wears sunglasses in the house.
Edgar Frog: Bad breath, long fingernails?
Sam Emerson: Yeah, his fingernails are a little bit longer, um, he always had bad breath though.

Durak
I decided to Google that card game I enjoyed from high school, and found it's called Durak. But the version we played was way more cutthroat, and the rules we had were a little different. But that was the game.

Ah, I really do miss having people to play cards with. Sigh.

What's Wrong With Hollywood
Okay, so remember a few months back I said I would give up forever watching the Oscars if Michael Moore won Best Picture? Well, no worries now. Am I surprised? Not really. I was disappointed that Hollywood decided to play it safe and just nominate pretty much the same stuff that was honored at the Golden Globes. There were some pictures that I thought should have been acknowledged, that were not. Funny coming from someone who barely saw any movies this year (and yet I saw more than I usually do). I was super disappointed last year in the lack of acting noms for Return Of The King, and with no LOTR movie this year, I wondered what would I root for. Obviously I'm saddened the academy didn't nominate Mel Gibson, but they did give us 3 techie nominations for The Passion Of The Christ. But for Mike to get the big snub, that was awesome! :) Oh don't cry Mike, I'm sure someone will make some big political statement on your behalf. Or they'll invite you to present and you can get on your soapbox.

Speaking of soapboxes, what's up with Hollywood getting in my face about illegal immigrants being able to get driver's licenses? By now you all should know how I feel about illegal immigrants getting special treatment over those of us who come here legally. It drives me batty. I don't get any special treatment for obeying the rules. I do agree with Gov. Schwarzenegger who said “I want everyone to be able to drive legally. But it has to be a document that can’t be used to get another document.” Maybe I'm still just bitter about the treatment I got when we tried to get a license here in CO and the people at the DMV were so unreasonable. (Oh Joy! We get to go back to the DMV in March to renew our licenses. Better put Gov. Owens number on speed dial.) I'm just tired of celebrities telling me what to do.

So Comedy Central has put out yet another game show. They like to do this, and it drives me crazy. Because they always end up canceling it, or changing the host so it sucks. We used to love watching Let's Bowl. Not quite a game show per say, but it was funny. Anytime people bowl to decide who wins an argument has got to be good. Then there was Beat The Geeks, which was great until they got the new host, then it took a turn for the worse. Now their new game show is called Distraction, where contestants have to answer questions while being distracted. I tuned in for about 5 minutes, and the contestants were trying to put as many clothespins on their face as they could while they answered questions. You got extra points if you had the most clothespins on. Anyways, at the end of the show, the guy was competing to win a brand new car. For every question he got wrong, the ousted contestants got to trash the car. He missed some really easy questions, and as a result his new car needed a brand new windshield, and it had paint poured all over it. While that was funny to watch, I don't think I'd tune in ever again. Just seems stupid, and like these people are trying too hard. I would also like to bemoan the fate of Rock N' Roll Jeopardy (hosted by Jeff Probst of Survivor fame). I seriously wanted to be on the show, as it's a Jeopardy I think I could do well at. Vh1 used to air it, and I miss it.

Okay let's change topics. I spoke to Colin on the phone a few weeks ago, and he was telling me that Dylan is really enjoying the movie I gave Colin for his birthday. I gave my brother Airheads, which I think is hilarious. Well, now my sweet 5 year old nephew walks around playing air guitar. Colin asked him what he was doing, and he said "I'm Chazz". Ah, kids. One other Dylan story I wanted to share, he was at his day home (or it could have been at school), and the kids had to line up at the door, and Dylan was at the front of the line. One of the kids said "first is worst", and Dylan turned around saying, "no first is not worst, first is best. And my mom works for the government so that makes it final." Dawn said she didn't have the heart to tell Dylan she doesn't hold that kind of authority at work, but she thinks it's great he knows the government makes decisions. :) How cute is that kid?

I'm just going to hang about the house today, maybe do something crafty (i.e.- work on the stocking, or my Scotland scrapbook). I guess I'll sign off and close with a quote from Airheads.

Rex: We're gonna take the cops up on those demands they wanted.
Pip: We got a killer list goin'.
Rex: Yeah, check it out. We ask for airplay and whatever else we want, then we demand a whole bunch of weird stuff. This way we can plead insanity later.
Chazz: Where'd this come from?
Rex: Pip's idea.
Chazz: Way to go, Pip.

This Is Winter?
Okay, so I have to brag about the weather. With my poor friends Chris & Ashley suffering in Vermont, and my family and friends in Edmonton going through their cold spell, it's nice to live in Denver. Where it's sunny, and warm enough to have the patio door open. I did wonder if Chris missed living in Illinois this week.

Let's talk tv for a bit. first off, what a sad shock to turn on the computer after church and see Johnny Carson had died. He always seemed like such a nice man, and like Bob Hope, always willing to do his part for the troops. I admire that. I almost saw Johnny once, when my dad, Colin & I did the NBC studio tour (way back in the day). We had just missed him when we saw the Tonight Show set. We had just left before he walked in, the tour after us had seen him (we were told once we finished the tour).


Scrubs was back this week with a new episode, and in fine form. I loved that Turk & J.D. want to have a robot and that Turk has picked out the name Tupac. I think it's a great name for a robot! Next week's episode will be with Colin Farrell, and the previews make it out to be pretty funny.

Monk also returned, sans Sharona. I was trying to keep an open mind, but seriously! I'm supposed to believe Sharona would go back to Jersey with her ex? I don't think so. I thought it was totally out of character, and that she deserved a better send off than that. With that said, it was a pretty good episode, the new girl (Traylor Howard) is alright, she may just be a good fit.

VH1 aired I Love The 90s Part Deux and it was pretty funny. I enjoy watching it because it's funny to relive those years. We did find it to be way more (what's the word?) crude (?) than it has been in the past. The sexual innuendo wasn't subtle at all.

TBS has begun to air the series Ed which Cramer used to rave about, but I never watched. I tuned in to the pilot by accident, and have been laughing my butt off all week. My only complaint would be that they air it at 10am, and by 10am, I like to get on with my day. I may take to taping it and watching it in the evenings, if I can talk Geoff into it. If not, I'll just watch it in the afternoons.

President Bush had his inauguration this week (like you could miss that), and I wished I could have been there. I think going to an event like that would be cool. I had to shake my head at the protesters, it seems like a silly thing to protest. But then I only ever participated in a protest once, and that was in the 7th grade. A sit-in in the hallway at Ottewell Junior High. Everyone was there for different reasons, I went because I thought we we protesting the new rule the 7-11 (or it could have been the Mac store) posted saying no more than 4 students in the store at a time. It was due to too much theft, for which I blame Curtis. Everyone suspected it was Curtis' fault. But I digress. Yes, I was saying I wanted to go to the inauguration. I have hopes that someday I'll get to meet the President. But then I also have hopes Geoff will win the Nobel Prize and I'll get to go to that event. A girl can dream.

2005 is the centennial for both Alberta and Las Vegas. How weird is that? I'm excited to think about visiting Edmonton and hoping they'll be doing something cool for the centennial when I go. B.E. (Before Elijah), we talked about going to Edmonton for the Brier, but that was last March, when we thought that might happen. Okay I should clarify, I thought it might happen, Geoff lives in reality where we don't have money to go to the Brier. It would have been cool. We also don't have money for Vegas, but that hasn't stopped the Vegas fever that is rampant in our house. I'm not joking you, we're seeing signs everywhere that point to Vegas. It's driving us crazy, taunting us. And how would we ever do Vegas with a newborn? Sigh, we'll just have to wait until he's a little older, or until we can arrange for a sitter to come with us. One who doesn't expect to get a cut of our winnings.

Well, I guess I should sign off. I always feel like I have stuff I want to post about and once I sit down to do it I forget. Then I remember the next day, or even hours later. So I'll probably post again soon. I'll close with a quote from Johnny Carson.

Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president.

Animated Spaceballs?

I'm intrigued. Spaceballs is one of my favorite Bill Pullman movies, and the only Mel Brooks movie I can watch more than once. Sorry, I generally don't like his movies (Geoff loves Young Frankenstein), but I do love the tv show Get Smart, which he created. Which Brooks is making into a movie. There are some things which should just be left alone, and this is one of those things.

Misc Post
I had a strange dream last night, but then I'm always having weird dreams. In this dream I was eating in a restaurant in New Orleans or it could have been Vegas but a New Orleans themed restaurant, and Zach Braff was at the next table, and I was trying to find my camera in my bag to get a picture with him. There were also serving the weirdest looking nachos I've ever seen. I was afraid to try it, it looked yucky.

In watching That Thing You Do! I noticed an In-N-Out cup. They don't have In-N-Out in Erie, PA. :) I know the movie was filmed in Orange, CA, but it made me want an In-N-Out milkshake. We didn't make it to In-N-Out when we were in Vegas, so I'll have to wait until our next trip out there (hopefully this summer/fall). I almost got teary today thinking about how much I miss my WCC friends. Must be those pregnancy hormones.

So a date has been set for our 10 year high school reunion, it's at the end of June. There will be a dinner and dance. Geoff is adamant about not wanting to go. I kinda want to go, but I'd want to have my friends from the years before and after me at the reunion. While sure there is tons of stuff I hated about high school, there is stuff I can look back on and smile about. Like playing cards with my friends. I was trying to remember this one game we'd play. I don't remember what it was called, and I'm hazy on how to play it, but I'm sure it had a Ukrainian name, and it involved passing cards and at least a few decks. I think that's one of the things I miss about Edmonton, is our friends there knew the same card games we did. We always have to teach people how to play the card games we like (like bridge).

I finished reading Why I Hate Canadians and it was a great read. It's a good compliment to Will Furguson's book How To Be A Canadian. Now I'm looking forward to tackling his book Canadian History For Dummies since my recollection of Canadian history isn't what it should be. Fiction wise, I'm still reading Perelandra (C.S. Lewis), and I hope to start Tombs Of Atuan (Ursula K. LeGuin).

The Calgary Armstrongs and the Schmidts are in Panama this week. I imagine they are all having quite the adventure. I'm happy to be taking a break from travel for a while. If I have my way, 2005 will hold just 2 trips, one to Edmonton, and one to California. We'll have to get a passport for the baby (how funny is that?), so I've started looking into that. I'm worried I won't have much time to be on top of things once the baby comes, so I'm trying to look a few months ahead and set some things in motion.

Before I sign off, I want to brag about how beautiful it is here. It's 64 degrees (that's 18 degrees Celsius for my Hoser friends and family), you don't need a coat, and I have the patio screen door open.

I'll close with a quote from That Thing You Do!

Phil: I'm talking about *real* Rock 'N' Roll shows in Stubenville, Pittsburgh...
The Bass Player: [interrupts] Pittsburgh?
Lenny: Stubenville?

DVD News

Titus is coming to DVD! Seasons 1 & 2 are being released in September of this year. This was one of the funnier shows ever on tv. I'm super stoked. And Scrubs is due out on DVD this year too. I know what I'm asking for this Christmas. :)

Oh, I won't be watching the Golden Globes, I'm opting instead for Return Of The King. And we're going to bake a belated birthday cake for me. This week just didn't allow for time to bake a cake.

I'm going to close with a quote from Titus.

Christopher Titus: My dad's third heart attack, he'd gotten so good at them, he decided to drive himself to the hospital because 'They won't let me smoke in the ambulance!' and 'You can't make a burger run.'

Leaving On A Jet Plane
So Mom flew home this morning. A short and sweet visit. But she'll be back in a few months.

I worked yesterday at Harry & David. It was so quiet, I spent the whole shift just checking the expiration dates on everything in preparation for inventory day. I gather from the staff I should consider myself lucky to not work inventory day. It's not supposed to be much fun. Well, anyway the money I earned paid for my birthday dinner at Old Chicago. Oh, I want to go back. Everything on the menu looked awesome. I had the deep dish Meat Me pizza. Not a "real" deep dish pizza (so says Geoff who's been to Chicago), but I loved it. Mom & Geoff also had pizza. (Chris, Geoff did not join the beer tour, but maybe next time he will. He says he doesn't want to drink crappy beers. I think he can just put those off until the end. But they do offer the beer he had in Glasgow, so I thought that might entice him.)

Wednesday we had quite the snow storm hit here. It thankfully had stopped snowing by the time I had to leave for work, so the walk to the bus stop wasn't so bad. And Mom said the sun came out that afternoon. I figure another few days the snow will be gone. The roads are in pretty good shape today. But it would not have been a good day to fly out yesterday. It took Geoff an hour to drive to work.

This weekend we have dinner plans at Mark & Shannon's, and lamaze class. Geoff bought me Return Of The King Extended Edition for my birthday, so I want to watch that. I'm very excited to see the new scenes. That may have to be on Sunday night. I don't have to go into the museum on Monday (holiday), but Mary and I will get together for coffee. Jeff is going to Egypt, so I told Rich if he needs me at the museum while Jeff is away to just let me know. Rich has classes on Mondays this semester, so I don't know if I'll be seeing him much.

Caught a bit of The Factor last night. We don't always watch it regularly, but sometimes we'll make a point of trying to remember it's on. Anyways, he had on Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, authors of the Left Behind series. Bill was complaining about Christianity not being inclusive of "good people", and how in Catholicism they have "baptism by desire". Which I think meant you don't have to be a Catholic, but if you are a good person, you can get baptized and saved. (I may not have that right, I'm going off my memory.) And the authors were saying there is no biblical basis for that, that the Bible is very clear that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus. And Bill was saying, so if a baby dies it goes to hell, because it didn't acknowledge Jesus? He said he can't believe that a merciful God would do that. That babies and "good people" should get to go to Heaven. And they said babies are washed clean by Jesus' blood, that God doesn't turn away those who have not had the opportunity to know Him. Which reminds me of one of my favorite verses, Romans 10:14, How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? They said in effect that if you know the law (what God asks of you) and you choose not to abide it, you will be judged by the law. But if you don't know the law (or know Christ) you won't be judged the way those people are. But there will be a judgment for all. It was pretty meaty for The Factor, and Bill was standing by his Catholic faith. (Did you know Michael Moore is Catholic too?) I'm not coming down on Catholicism, I'm just saying there are some Catholics who are very confused. Heck, there are some Christians who are very confused.

Alright, I better sign off before I get someone all worked up. I'll close with a quote from That 70s Show.

Leo: I met God one time on a bus. He told me the meaning of life and gave me a pretzel.
Hyde: So, what's the meaning of life?
Leo: ...I don't remember... but it was a pretty good pretzel.

Happy Birthday To Me!

I'm 28. It's weird, I was more concerned after I turned 27, but I guess since last year was so good, I don't mind getting older.

Let me tell you about my Saturday, as it turned out to be a pretty good day. First, I got 2 free movie tickets in the mail. I won them online from Frito-Lay. I periodically visit it to enter their contests, but this is the first time I won something. Then in the afternoon, Jen from Harry & David called and asked me to come in for a shift this week. Score, a couple of extra bucks. Then, my mom showed up on my doorstep that night. It was the strangest experience. Geoff left the house "to go to work", and when he comes home he has a suitcase in his hand. I figured that his co-worker Tammy gave him a suitcase. Then he says, look who I found, and my mom is at my door. I'm in shock, I'm dumbfounded. I actually believe that he just found her. So after a few minutes of sitting there with a confused look on my face, I welcome her in, and continue to be in shock. I ask Geoff if he knew about it, and he says what do you think? Everyone knew about it. It's been in the making for months. I was the only one who didn't know. How's that for a birthday surprise?!

I think we'll go out to dinner tonight, Old Chicago. Other than that, we'll just see what the day unfolds.

I'll close with a quote from King Of The Hill.

Bobby Hill: Why is there such a big fence, Dad?
Hank Hill: Well, millions of people come to America in search of a better life, and we've decided we don't need that many.
Bobby Hill: Did the Soupinusanphones come through the fence?
Hank Hill: No, Bobby, Kahn applied the legal way. Sometimes the system fails us.

Nothing New Under The Sun
I figured I should post, even though I don't really know what I'd post about.

It's been a cold week. We had 2 days of snow, and it's supposed to warm up this weekend. Warm up being relative to what we've had. It's actually not so bad, but the house gets kinda chilly.

My job at Harry & David ended last week. While I won't miss working 30 hour weeks, I will miss working, the paychecks, and the friends I made there. I miss the truffles too. :) So now with this free time, I can go back to volunteering at the museum, and catching up on my emailing. I'm also trying to look at all our stuff and how it can be better organized. I think it's called nesting. This feeling of wanting to get the house in order before the baby comes.

I also have a ton of movies to watch and books to read with all my free time. Geoff gave me the strangest look when I told him I wanted to rent a movie for my birthday. "You got a ton of movies for Christmas" were his exact words. But there were several movies that came out last year that I never saw in the theater, that he promised we could rent (i.e.- Garden State, Spider-Man 2).

We haven't been watching much tv, since most of the shows we like are still in reruns. But new episodes of Scrubs, Monk, and Celebrity Poker Showdown are due to start in the next 2 weeks. Also, VH1 is airing I Love The 90s Part Deux, which I'm stoked about. Let's talk about Monk for a second. This will be the start of new episodes minus Sharona. We'll see how the show is, I'm still disappointed. Scrubs is having Colin Farrell guest star this month. I don't really care one way or another about Colin Farrell, but the promo looked pretty funny. CPS is being pretty quiet about who will be playing in this new tournament, so we'll have to wait and see on January 25 who's playing the first game.

On the health front, I think I'm nearly recovered. I'm coughing very little, and I'd like to say the same for Geoff. But I can't. We can only hope he doesn't pass it back to me. I have my appetite back, which is great, but I feel cheated out of all the food I didn't get to eat in Canada. And we won't be traveling there again until the summer. I just wanted to eat at some of my favorite places, like Harvey's, or New York Fries, or Boston Pizza. Sigh. Another time perhaps. As for bringing home snacks, our suitcases were too full of Christmas gifts to bring anything back. But as I posted, we did get to enjoy Tim Horton's.

That's about all that is going on with me. On the friends and family front, Kelly is getting a lot published and she emailed me to tell me she recently went to Paris (for her birthday in November). Crazy huh? My days of jumping on a plane for a spur of the moment trip are behind me, at least for a while. I wanted to post a prayer request for Heather's mom who has a very important doctor's visit on Monday. Please pray for good news, and peace for the family as they await to see what Monday's appointment will bring.

I'm going to close with a quote from Zoolander, because we watched it last night.

Derek Zoolander: Do you understand that the world does not revolve around you and your do whatever it takes, ruin as many people's lives, so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied along the way, just so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied and dying along the way?

The Victoria Trip
Alright, I'm well enough to write about the trip. This darn cough is still lingering, but hopefully I'll either get answers at my doctor's appointment tomorrow, or it will just die.

No problems flying there, but can I say I love the Vancouver airport. All Canadian airports should be this well organized. You can totally tell it's a B.C. airport by the decor. It's peaceful, and very multicultural. And right beside our gate is a Tim Horton's. We have enough time to scarf a doughnut before we have to board. This is all the food we've had since breakfast.

We hop on a 16 minute flight to Victoria, it's up then down. I didn't see much from my seat, but I was feeling a little queasy, even with my Sea-Band on. Geoff said it was beautiful. Victoria's airport is tiny, kinda like the Long Beach airport. We are greeted by Glen & Diane, and we all hop in the van to see the island. We get a quick car tour of a decent portion of Victoria before we head to the condo.

We eat dinner at this great place called Christie's, it's a pub, and the food is excellent. Not just because we were hungry, it's really good there. And it's within eyesight of the condo.

Wednesday, we walk up to a quaint shopping district to get a few things and to see the infamous Penny Farthing Pub, where the family ate back when Meg & Mike were in Victoria. We head to Safeway to get a few things then home for lunch. After eating we walk to Craigdarroch Castle. I thought it would be a fun thing we could do, and it certainly was fun. It was all decorated for Christmas, and it was self guided so we could take as long as we wanted. I think we all got a kick out of it. There were two musicians playing celtic & Christmas music. Let it be said that Feliz Navidad doesn't sound good with a celtic flair. But the musicians were really good.

Leaving the castle, we stopped by Government House, but barely saw a portion of it. Definitely something to see in summer I'm sure. But the grounds look great, and I bet it's popular for wedding photos.

I start too feel my throat closing up that night, and wake the next morning being full on sick. Meg & Mike arrive that morning. Geoff went for a run that afternoon, and planned to meet up with everyone at Ross Bay. He felt like he was just getting warmed up by the time he hit Ross Bay, so he continued. He ends up running all the way to the Legislative Building, and then practically traces his steps back. Everyone is shocked by how far he went when he finally makes it back home. They were starting to worry, but I know my husband. He loves running at sea level, and he talks about how he can run forever. I knew he'd be okay, plus he had his phone if there were any problems.

The Armstrongs have their Christmas Eve Fish Fest, and I eat my scalloped potatoes in a box, since I can only muster to eat soft food. Plus I hate fish.

Christmas Day we all get spoiled, and then take a walk down to Gonzales Bay. This is my first time at the ocean this trip. The day is kinda cloudy, but it's somehow suited to the beach. Christmas dinner is turkey, and I am able to enjoy it. :) I love turkey.

Boxing Day (or the 26th for my Yankee friends), Geoff and I go out for coffee with my Auntie Laurie and her husband Gene. They take us to a great place, Ogden Point Cafe & Dive Shop. The food smells awesome, but I just have a hot chocolate. Geoff and Auntie Laurie enjoy a bumbleberry crisp, and Gene has carrot cake. We sit in a closed in patio overlooking the breakwater. It's so good to see her again, and to spend time with Gene. After coffee, we go downstairs to the dive shop and Geoff is able to talk to them about diving. Getting the scoop on things, he is armed with what he needs to know about diving there. Essentially, you can dive with the wetsuit he owns, but you'd be MUCH more comfortable in a dry suit. We then walk up to the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater to see two divers enter the water. Along the way all I am able to see are starfish, but it's so beautiful out there. We head back, and then go home to the condo. I tell Auntie Laurie I will for sure call her the next time we come up.

That night we have reservations at Butchart Gardens for dinner. Everyone is anxious to relive the holiday display they put on every year. Geoff has never been to Butchart Gardens, and I have never been in the winter. It's quite the display they put on, it's hard to capture in pictures. Once we finish viewing their display of the Twelve Days Of Christmas, we head to the Dining Room for dinner. It's a lovely place, and I wish I had felt better. As it was I just had salad for dinner. Geoff and I enjoyed a huge pot of tea each after dinner. If we'd known how big the tea pots were going to be, we'd have shared a pot. Giant silver tea pots. I really wanted to take the heavy duty tea strainer with me. I think if it were in the gift shop, I may have gotten one. I am so exhausted from our outing. I think it may have too much, but I wanted to go.

Our last day in Victoria, and I'm far to beat to do much. I do take a trip up to Safeway with Geoff just to get some fresh air, and exercise. The rest of the family heads to downtown, but I knew that would be too much for me. Next trip, I'll do downtown. I want to rest up since the family wants to the Penny Farthing for dinner. After eating there (I was able to eat a hamburger), I deem that Christie's is a much better pub. I mean yeah this place had ambiance, but the food was better at Christie's, and I like the atmosphere better over there. But it's always good to break out of your box once in while.

Our journey home begins at the Victoria airport at 11am with a 12pm departure. We get there and most of the flights are delayed or cancelled. Joy! We have a connection in Vancouver at 2pm, and we brace ourselves for the worst. We get out of Victoria on a flight at 12:30ish. So we're only 30 minutes behind our schedule. The problem was bad weather or fog in Vancouver. Once we get to Vancouver we fly through the airport, through security and customs. As we make our way to our gate, we know we're doing alright. We pass a Tim Horton's and once we get to the gate Geoff leaves to get us 2 doughnuts each and some water for the flight. Since we know from the flight there they won't be feeding us. We eat a doughnut and then it's time to board.

We get home safe and sound, and being the planners we are, there is food in the fridge to eat for dinner. There are even gifts under the tree. Turns out the housing office put any packages not picked up by Christmas Eve inside people's front doors, which is where our tree was.

So that was Victoria. I'm hoping to do more next time, and maybe we'll go in the summer next time.

I got a bus load of books for Christmas, and the first one I am reading is Why I Hate Canadians by Will Ferguson. It's hilarious. I also got his book Canadian History For Dummies, because I retained so little knowledge of what I learned in school. And I want to be able to give my boy facts about his parents' home country. I'm going to close with a quote from This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

J.B. Dixon: At this time, we need to look to Canada's poets for inspiration. And when we think Canada, when we think poets, we all think... Trooper!

No Work For Me
Well, I'm not making it in to work tomorrow. I still have a very scratchy voice, I'm still coughing, and I'm still not sleeping through the night. For those wondering why I don't go see a doctor, it's because I'd have to pay my co-pay, and I already have a pre-natal appointment for Tuesday. So I'm trying to hold out for that.

Now for some more bad news. Geoff thinks he may be getting sick again. This is not good. It took him forever to get over whatever he got in Vegas, and a house with 2 sickies can never be a good thing. It's a frightful thought to think of Honey taking care of us. Also, Geoff just can't afford to take any more time off work.

I really really hope to be well enough to work on Saturday. I hate feeling like I'm letting the store down (even though Caroline said it's been really quiet). I know Jen understands, but I still feel bad. If only I could do work there out of the public eye. Then it would be alright.

Since I've been feeling like death warmed over, I'll close with a quote from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Ferris: You're not dying, you just can't think of anything good to do.

Home
We're home. I'm trying to get on the mend. Jen was awesome enough to not schedule me in until Friday, so I have 2 days to recoup. But she did tell Geoff if I wasn't well enough Friday to call her. Geoff is at work today, I'm taking it easy at home. Was able to dig out my approved medications list and was thrilled to see Robitussin on the list. So Geoff went out this morning before work to get me some as well as a few boxes of Kleenex. I have the best husband ever!

I'll try to post about more about Victoria tomorrow, I need to kick back today.

I'm going to close with a quote from one of my Christmas movies, Swing Kids. I hope to watch it today or tomorrow.

Arvid: You think that just because you're not doing it yourself, you're not a part of it? Well, I'm sick and tired of doing my part.

Homeward Bound
We are leaving Victoria today to head back to Denver. I am still sick, but I think I may be getting better, though it certainly doesn't feel that way. I will likely call my boss tonight and ask to take tomorrow off as a sick day. I'm still coughing far too much to be able to be in public. I'm sure I will be very miserable for the flights.

I can't believe we were able to fit everything into our suitcases! It's a very tight squeeze, and I tried to pack light on the way here. Most Christmas visits require us to mail home a package, so I guess we're ahead of the game.

It feels weird to think that next week will be the new year. I know 2005 is going to hold so much, and hopefully less travel than this year did. If I'm lucky enough, I'd like there to be only 2 trips in 2005, one to Edmonton, and one to California. But time & money will tell.

Well, I have to go hack up a lung. I'll write again tomorrow. Pray for safe travel, and better health for me.

2nd Christmas and Yes I'm Still Sick
We celebrated Christmas (again) and a good time was had by all. What a haul we all got. I got a tons of books and DVD's. Easy to pack up and bring home.

WARNING! The next paragraph may be too graphic for some readers.

I am still sick. Food is mostly staying down, I'm mostly coughing up phlegm. I was able to get a bit more sleep last night, but I coughed enough to make food come up at 3am. I sound awful, but when I'm in between coughing fits, I feel more like myself.

I do hope to be even 20% better for tomorrow since I will be seeing my Auntie Laurie, and the family has plans to visit Butchart Gardens and enjoy a fancy dinner there. Auntie Laurie is not really my aunt, she's a friend the family has known forever. She went to high school with my dad. I haven't seen her in close to 15 years. That would also be the last time I saw Butchart Gardens. We've gone a few times as a family, but this will be Geoff's first time. It will be great to share this with him.

I'd love to post some pics from the trip thus far, but I am unable to. You'll have to wait until Wednesday.

I'm going to close with a quote from one of the movies I got for Christmas, While You Were Sleeping.

Priest: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to...
Lucy: I object.
Saul: Oh, geez.
Priest: I didn't get to that part yet.
Jack: I would have to object too.
Priest: What about you?
Peter: I'm thinking!

Merry Christmas!

"Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Being Sick Sucks
I'm sick. I don't know what's wrong with me, but my throat closed over last night, I had a headache, and a pain in my ear. When I woke this morning, I just felt hot and achy all over. I had a Five Alive, and that came up about an hour later. I don't want to eat anything, so I'm sticking to fluids for now. I hope I feel better by this evening, since we have dinner plans.

Gotta go get some more rest, but I did want to post there is talk that Uma Thurman will replace Nicole Kidman in The Producers. This idea sucks. They should just get one of the actresses who played the role of Ulla on Broadway or in he L.A. production. Why does it have to be a big name actress?

Please keep me in your prayers as I hope to recover from whatever this is quickly.

Victoria

I just wanted to post that we made it here alright, no problems with planes. The connection was tight in Vancouver, but at least there was a Tim Horton's right beside our gate. Canada has redeemed itself. :)

Today we'll get out and see stuff, yesterday we mostly drove by stuff, had dinner and then kicked back. Driving by some of the buildings reminded us of Glasgow. The picture above is of their Legislative building, and that's pretty much how it looked when we drove by it last night. Very nice.

I'll close with a quote from That 70's Show.

Fez: I just wish that there was someplace in the world where prejudice didn't exist.
Michael Kelso: Well, that's Canada... Yup, good ol' Canada. They don't make generalizations about people because they're too busy playin' hockey or gettin' drunk or puttin' maple syrup on their ham.

Oh Christmas Tree

This is our Christmas tree, as it looked Christmas morning (which was today). Since this is my only day off until Victoria, we woke up and celebrated by opening presents and stockings. As you can see, we had a few gifts that were here early enough to make it fun. Next Saturday, we'll do it all again, but with the family in Victoria.

I am well pleased with the gifts I got, Geoff completely had me snowed on what I was getting. I thought for certain it was one thing, but it was something else all together. I got a foot spa (which I really love) and I bought him a nice cutting board and a silpat (it's used for baking). Santa brought us the entire Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events books. I've read them all and Geoff is on the 11th book, but I am looking forward to rereading them. :) Honey got a bag of new treats, and even Elijah got a gift from Colin, Dawn, and Dylan.

After opening gifts, we took a walk up to the mall which wasn't so frightful inside as the parking lots were. We were thankful we walked. Geoff wanted to pick up some mineral oil for his cutting board, and some new toys from the Apple store and Radio Shack. We picked up some fixins for dinner tonight, we'll be having stew. Then we did some laundry.

Caroline from work is going to come take care of Honey for us while we're gone. It doesn't feel to me like I'll be traveling in a few days. But I have already started to think about what I want to pack. One of the things I like about traveling to a home rather than a hotel is laundry facilities. I know I can pack very little, because I'll have access to wash my clothes. Which will be good since I'm sure we'll be bringing home a lot of stuff. One thing I like about staying at a hotel is having access to a pool. But Diane says there is a pool near their place, so I still may bring my suit with me just in case.

I meant to post a while ago a link to our Christmas letter which is on my website. I actually thought I had posted it. If you somehow didn't get one, you can view it here.

I'll close with my favorite quote from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Charlie Brown: (shouting in desperation) Isn't there anyone out there who can tell me what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you. Lights, please. (A spotlight shines on Linus.) "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men'". That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

I'm Not The Only One
Apparently, I am not alone in my disappointment in the Legend Of Earthsea miniseries put out by the Sci Fi Channel. Ursula K. Le Guin (the author) isn't a big fan either.
I couldn't get into it, it just wasn't true enough to the characters or books for me.

Work was much better today, for those who wanted to know. :)

Sigh
It's only Wednesday, and I wonder how I will see it through to the weekend. I was in a great mood once I got work. Even after getting there and finding out we would be having someone help out our staff from another store, someone who was there yesterday and apparently didn't think much of the staff at our store, I was still in a good mood. I was determined to be the one to keep the morale up. Even angry customers calling on the phone and hanging up vehemently on me could not break my spirit. You see where this going? One lucky old lady got to be the one to break me. To put me in such a negative place, I couldn't climb out of it. First off, it's fine she wanted to take 30 minutes to figure out what she wanted to buy. I can sorta deal with that. I could deal with her getting mad at me for not being able to read her mind and figure out what she wanted. What I could not deal with was her hitting me. That's right, she smacked me. It was quite a shock. Like a small child reaching for the oven knobs, she smacked my hand hard. What did I do to deserve this? I touched her coupon. Even our regional manager (who stopped in today) was in shock. He came out to size her up, as I passed him and mentioned what had happened. I was just so relieved once she was done deciding what she wanted, paid and left. I just couldn't bring myself to smile the rest of the day. I just felt numb to it all. I did not feel like myself. As I left for the day, my boss was very upset because she had heard her mom just got admitted to a hospital and has to have heart surgery tomorrow. So the air at work was just awful.

Waiting to take the bus home, my mind started to wander, and I started thinking about my dad. I wanted to start crying, but not in public. So I just kept it in. The other day at work, I had the same thing happen, sort of. I saw a lady who was coughing, and it reminded me of the days before my dad died. At that moment I was praying for any customer to come and take my mind off of it, because if I started to cry at work, my face would be all red and blotchy for hours. Christmas is just hard. I miss him so much.

On the walk home from the bus stop, my iPod played a song that made me smile, and made me fell like this bad mood could be lifted. The Real Sin Savior by The ApologetiX. Now that I'm home, I'm in my jammies, listening to the ApologetiX, and I can curl up with my kitty cat and put today behind. Who knows what tomorrow is going to bring, but I'm determined to go into work tomorrow with a good attitude. Grumpy customers beware! :)

We saw a preview for House Of Flying Daggers when we went to see Ocean's 12. Geoff is so stoked, and I'm lukewarm to the idea. True I liked Crouching Tiger, but not to the same degree Geoff did. He always wants to watch it. I think I'm going to have to see House Of Flying Daggers, since he was nice enough to take me to Ocean's 12.

Brag Moment: Kelly had an article published in the Washington Times. Check it out!

I'm going to close with a quote from Office Space.

Joanna: So, where do you work, Peter?
Peter Gibbons: Initech.
Joanna: In... yeah, what do you do there?
Peter Gibbons: I sit in a cubicle and I update bank software for the 2000 switch.
Joanna: What's that?
Peter Gibbons: Well see, they wrote all this bank software, and, uh, to save space, they used two digits instead of four. So, like, 98 instead of 1998? Uh, so I go through these thousands of lines of code and, uh... it doesn't really matter. I uh, I don't like my job, and, uh, I don't think I'm gonna go anymore.
Joanna: You're just not gonna go?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Joanna: Won't you get fired?
Peter Gibbons: I don't know, but I really don't like it, and, uh, I'm not gonna go.
Joanna: So you're gonna quit?
Peter Gibbons: Nuh-uh. Not really. Uh... I'm just gonna stop going.
Joanna: When did you decide all that?
Peter Gibbons: About an hour ago.
Joanna: An hour ago... so you're gonna get another job?
Peter Gibbons: I don't think I'd like another job.
Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and...
Peter Gibbons: You know, I've never really liked paying bills. I don't think I'm gonna do that, either.

'Tis The Season
Last night we watched Merry Christmas Mr. Bean, which is still one of the funniest things you can watch at Christmas time.

I'm working all week, thankfully just during the day, so I do have my evenings free. I am looking forward to the museum Christmas party on Friday night. I spoke with Mary last night, and she said I am very sorely missed on Mondays. That things are not the same without me, and that Rich is sore that I haven't been emailing him. Ha ha. I laughed I thought that was so funny. Well, I'll make sure to say hello to him on Friday. Geoff is going to come with me, as Mary said spouses were welcome. She's bringing her husband, whom I haven't met yet.

So due to my schedule, and because Geoff has to go to Boulder on Monday, looks like Saturday may be the day we celebrate Christmas. I will try to take a picture of the tree to post. That means we have to find time this week to make cinnamon buns, as it's an Armstrong tradition to eat cinnamon buns Christmas morning.

The Golden Globe nominations came out this morning, and while I wasn't totally surprised to see them overlook Passion Of The Christ, I was shocked to see them nominate Zach Braff for best actor in a comedy!

I think this is their first ever nomination for a Golden Globe. Maybe this will get the Emmys to acknowledge that the whole cast is outstanding. No new episodes until January (late January). But the DVD is supposed to come out next year. Can't wait!

Oh yeah, Nicole Kidman quit the movie remake of The Producers. Haven't heard yet who will replace her, but I'd love to see the actress who played Ulla in the L.A. production we saw take over. She had a fabulous voice.

Gotta go to work. Legend of Earthsea is on SciFi tonight. I'm going to try to tune in, though it doesn't look like they are sticking that close to the books.

I'll close with a quote from the Simpsons.

Homer's ghost: Marge you gotta help me, I have to do one good deed to get into heaven.
Marge: Well I got a whole list of chores: clean the garage, paint the house...
Homer's ghost: Whoa whoa whoa. I'm just trying to get in, I'm not running for Jesus.

Ocean's Twelve
Such a good movie! I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I'll hold off on saying anything I liked. But it was a great movie, definitely worth the matinee price we paid to see it. It merits being watched again. I will have to get this on DVD.

I'll close with a quote from the movie, but I'll leave out who says it.

"it's almost like this kabbalah stuff doesn't work!"

Bad Shopper
I went against my own rules and bought myself a gift before Christmas. I know, I never do that, I hate when people do that. But it's something I honestly believe no one would buy me, so there is little danger of getting it as a gift. What did I get me?

Christmas With The Rat Pack. It's a great cd, we listened to it last night.

I also went over my budget for Geoff's stocking stuffers. But only by a little bit. But it's hard. Working at Harry & David there are so many great gift ideas.

I am done shopping, save one tiny thing I need to get before I mail off Kelly's gift. Everyone else is done! Sigh. All that's left to do now is open gifts. :)

The noisy neighbors moved out. Not the ones below us, but the ones that were kitty-corner from us. The girls from NY. And they were just starting to be quiet regularly. Oh well, we can only pray the next neighbors are quiet.

We watched School Of Rock the other night, since Geoff hadn't seen it. I think it's hilarious, but it has caused me to have Immigrant Song playing in my head over and over.

I'm going to close with a quote from this week's episode of Scrubs.

Dr. Cox: Carla, Carla, have you seen newbie?
Carla: Oh you mean he got off your leash?
Dr. Cox: Ha, give me a break. The kid's like like a, have you ever seen a drunk baby? Eh, it's a long story involving my son, rum cake, and a low counter. Suffice to say, as it turns out, at first, it's endearing to watch them bounce off of the walls, but then you take your eyes off of them for one second and BAM! They've got a bucket on their head and they're plowing right through your brand new flat screen TV. God save me, it was barely out of the box. The point is...newbie is MY drunk baby.

An iPod In A Pear Tree
Geoff said he nearly bought another iPod when he was shopping on Sunday. But fear of me kicking his butt stopped him. He's very enamored with the photo iPod. Myself, having seen the U2 iPod in person, am in love with the black.

Often while I am walking and listening to my iPod, I laugh out loud at the music it chooses. It is permanently on shuffle, so I never know what I am going to get. I almost wonder if I shouldn't be ashamed of some of the stuff on it, but I have no shame. I like to listen Bryan Adams on my iPod. If that is wrong I don't want to be right. :) Alright, I'll post the last 15 songs my iPod played.

Out of Touch - Hall & Oates
I Believe - REM
Let It Whip - Dazz Band
Every Day - Phillips, Craig & Dean
Can't Stop This Thing We Started - Bryan Adams
Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
This Time Tomorrow - Captain Tractor
Are We Afraid - Toad The Wet Sprocket
The Boy Is Mine - Brandy & Monica
A Girl Like You - Edwyn Collins
Push It - Salt-N-Pepa
Call Me - Blondie
Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meatloaf
Better That Way - Easily Amused
She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5

Okay new topic.

Work is busy. I haven't been to the museum in a month, but I made sure I got the evening off that Jeff & Rich scheduled the Christmas potluck/party. I really hope my friends will be there. I don't know what I will bring to share, perhaps some of the infamous Harry & David Pepper & Onion Relish. It's a dip you mix with cream cheese, and it's infamous. It's much more likely I'll bring something I would eat, since who knows if anyone else will. :) Picky eaters rule!

I've been a strange mix of emotions. Weird things set me off, I can't really predict how I will respond to stuff. I guess specifically, I find myself being more sensitive than I ought to be. I feel hurt by things more easily than usual. We all know the culprit of this. But I truly hate that. I don't like being so sensitive. I am usually the first one to point out when others are being too sensitive. Well, nothing to be done about that. I thankfully have Geoff to talk sense into me.

Speaking of feelings,last week, I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was feeling I used to get when I worked downtown in Edmonton. The feeling was always because I thought I was going to see someone I didn't necessarily want to see. Why I had this feeling in Denver is what is odd. Who could I possibly see in Denver that I didn't want to? Maybe it's just a mall vibe. :) My dreams are still being weird.

Saturday we spent 2 hours writing out our Christmas cards & letters, and I dropped them in the mail on Monday. It's nice to have that off my to-do list. It was a lot of work. Our apartment building is having a contest for the best decorated balcony. It's inspiring ( or tempting) us to do more to our balcony. We currently have some lights on it.

Speaking of lights, Brock Skywalker wrote on his blog about his dislike for Christmas lights. He essentially said the only place he feels that does lights right is the Legislative Grounds. Those words made me feel lachrymose (I have a thesaurus!). There are few things I miss about our first apartment in Edmonton. But the big thing was having the Leg grounds for my backyard, and walking through it in the early morning or in the evening at Christmastime, when there were no other souls about. And the lights were perfect, the air was quiet, save for the music they would play over the speakers. My favorite song they would play, that would make the grounds seem magical, and bring a smile to my face, was Waltz Of The Flowers (Tchaikovsky). I do cherish that Christmas tradition we had. Walking the Leg with Doug. :)

I'll close with a quote from a Christmas movie, Scrooged.

Earl Cross: All day long I listen to people give me excuses why they can't work. My legs hurt. My back aches. I'M ONLY FOUR.

Oh Canada!
So I read on a few blogs that the CBC put out a contest for people to pick who they thought was (trumpet sound) The Greatest Canadian! There were names on the list I didn't know, and names who are way unworthy. But it was funny to look at.

Last night, I was flipping through the channels, and I saw a familiar face. It was Rick Mercer (#50 on the list). He was on a PBS program NewsHour, along with Mark Kingwell, a professor from Toronto, and Margaret Wente, from The Globe & Mail. I had my doubts that there would be intelligent thoughts coming from The Globe & Mail, as the only other person from that paper I saw on American television was a tool. But Wente, Kingwell and Mercer all presented themselves terrificly. Even though I did not agree with some things they said, they could at least say it intelligently. The best comment I heard was something I've been saying for a long time, but it doesn't always get through to people. Margaret Wente said Canadians don't understand the U.S. as well as they think they do, and Mark Kingwell agreed. But Kingwell added that Canada is far more different from America than Americans think. My other favorite comment, again by Wente was, "I think sometimes Canadians tend to be too obsessed with the past". That's so Canada! That's me, that's people I know! :) You can read a transcript of it here.

Speaking of Canada, it's still chilly here. We haven't gotten any new snow, but the temperature has been cold enough that the ice isn't quite melting. I slipped on a patch of it today while I was doing my errands. I'm fine, my hand and butt broke my fall. I wasn't paying attention to walking, which I should be doing with my growing body.

I am nearly done my shopping! I really have only Geoff's stocking stuffers to buy, and a gift for my favorite cousin. We got gifts from Colin, Dawn & Dylan yesterday and they are sitting under the tree. I'm hoping to post a picture of the tree maybe this weekend. The Christmas letter we send out is practically done, but I haven't begun to think about what we're doing about cards. In past years I stamped my own, but wasn't up to it this year. I can't believe how large our Christmas card list is, we need to stop making friends or something. :)

I have Saturday off work, which is nice. Geoff and I will be able to observe our Peet's ritual. That's all that we really have planned for the weekend.

Kevin Smith is super excited to be doing a guest spot on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He says it's fulfilling a life long dream. Dude, that is hilarious. I now have to close with a quote from The Drew Carey Show that sums up Kevin's life long dream.

Kate O'Brien: Yeah, is pathetisad a word?

Let It Snow?
So, I'm posting early today because it was far too snowy outside for me to justify taking the bus to the museum and having no one there. It's been coming down out there since Saturday night, and I couldn't bring myself to go. I will have to venture out to go to the bank today though and deposit my paycheck.

So, big big shopping weekend in the U.S., Thanksgiving weekend. It was busy Friday, even more busy on Saturday, and the snow kept people away yesterday. Saturday we bought a few more Christmas gifts, and a tree. We decided to fake it this year, since we will be going to Victoria. We usually get a real tree, but we figured it would just be easier this way. We can a real tree next year with Elijah's first Christmas. We've already settled on staying in Denver for next Christmas. So, back to shopping, I ordered some gifts online. So really, there are only like 3 more people left to buy for. I need to wrap and package up some of the stuff we bought. I still have to buy some of Geoff's gift, and his stocking stuffers, but these are things that can wait. Due to our departure date for Victoria, we'll be celebrating Christmas on the 20th just the two of us. Kinda fun, and weird to think about doing it early.

I'm still kinda going off a high from our Vegas trip. I can't remember the last time I got to spend so much time with Lisa. And well, I've never spent that much time with Chad, he's a lot of fun to hang out with. I like that I can look back on those moments we had to share a laugh. It really was a great trip.

What do I have going on this week? Working 3 days, I hope to make an appointment at the salon, and Saturday I think we may be going out to Mark & Shannon's for dinner. We'll have to see what the weather holds. If the snow holds out, I doubt we'd venture out to Elizabeth.

We rented Elf last week, and that was a pretty funny movie. So I'll close with a quote from that.

Buddy: I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.

Busy Beaver
Sorry I've been so quiet. A whirlwind few days at H&D. I will post tomorrow when I get home from the museum. Just know we're all doing okay, we're just slowly being buried in snow. :)

Viva Las Vegas
Sunday

Geoff is up way early (5am) because he's so excited about Vegas. I get up around 7:30. We plan to leave some time after 12:30 for the airport. Our flight leaves Denver at 3:10. We get to the airport with no problems, and it appears our flight may be delayed. But we get to the gate and it looks okay. We find out the Las Vegas flight before ours hasn't left yet. It's been delayed, and is now just boarding. Geoff asks them if it will impact our flight, and they say yes, we won't be leaving until 6! So he asks if there is room on this flight, and lucky for us there is. We get two seats together in the very last row of the plane. That flight leaves and we arrive in Vegas at nearly the same time we would have if our flight had been on time. Thank goodness. I really wanted to see Lisa!

It's pouring in Vegas, and we're kinda bummed. We meet up earlier than anticipated, but not by much. There is much rejoicing, and we come to find that Chad & Lisa also encountered flight problems. They were supposed to arrive around 12 or 1, but had delays in both Edmonton and LAX. But we're all together now, and all hungry so we hit the buffet. It's buffet food, so I don't need to go into detail, but Geoff discovered they use pretty hot horse radish, and we talk about hockey, Canadian politics, and general catching up. Even though it was still raining and we couldn't go to the strip, the hotel offered plenty of options. After dinner, we go check out Lisa & Chad's room to see what the new tower looks like. They are on the 20th floor (there are 21 floors) and Lisa doles out goodies for me from her and my mom. The view from their window shows the Palms and the Rio. Hanging out in the room makes us tired, so we go downstairs to gamble. Geoff, Lisa and I hit the Blackjack table. Chad cheers us on, and after a few hours of play, I'm up $45, Lisa is up, and Geoff is up $15. We're all pretty tired, so we decide to go to our rooms.

Monday

Geoff and I go downstairs to the Courtyard Cafe for breakfast. We are able to find affordable food, and it's pretty tasty. We go back up to our room, and Lisa had called to say they were going to the strip, and we'd all meet up at M&M World to see if we could get tickets to a show for that night. We had a 10am appointment at the spa, so we arranged to meet at noon. At 9:30, Geoff and I head down to the spa. We don't need to bring anything with us, the spa provides everything. We go into our changing rooms, and I open my locker to reveal a robe, some sandals, and a towel. I take a shower in the large shower there. There are bottles of water chilling on ice when I get back to the sink area, and I grab one and go wait on the couch for Geoff. He took advantage of the Jacuzzi in the changing room, I only could have soaked my feet if I wanted to. Once he joins me, we have a few minutes before our masseuses come get us. We are led to our private room, and they leave us to get under the sheets. My table is all padded and I have a pillow to rest my head rather than the face hole Geoff has. The two ladies return and the massage begins. It's so peaceful and relaxing. I didn't know how tense my back and shoulders were, but it all feels so wonderful. The music playing reminds Geoff of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The 50 minutes didn't feel so short, which I feared it might. Once it's over, we don't want to get up. We just want lie there for a while. But we get up and go. We go back up to our room and get everything we need to head to the strip. We catch the shuttle and then book it to M&M World to meet Chad & Lisa. When we get to the half price ticket place, they have no tickets for the show we wanted to see. We shrug and then continue with our day. First stop is to find food. We're all starving. After seeking out a few different places we settle on a food court in Excalibur. Lisa and I have McDonalds, and the boys have Quiznos. We then check out the Krispy Kreme, but the hot light isn't on, and no one is up for donuts, so we make our way to the Luxor. After seeing the pyramid from the inside, we head back towards the strip so we can visit the Coca-Cola Store. My favorite. I offer to treat everyone to a Coke, and we sit for a spell and enjoy a nice cold Coke. I buy myself a little something, and then we head towards the shops at the Aladdin, where I promised Geoff I would buy him something if I had won $40. We seek out Hilo Hattie where I try to buy Geoff a shirt. We look and look, but there was nothing he really liked. I'm disappointed, since I planned this for a while. But I guess I'd rather buy him something he really likes, than something he just sort of likes. We are all feeling tired from walking, so we go back to the shuttle to get to the Orleans. Chad is debating going into the pool and hot tub outside. Geoff wants to get in some Blackjack before dinner. Chad decides against the pool, and we all head to the casino. We manage to convince Chad to play some Blackjack, but the cards are not being nice tonight. I get out while I am ahead (up $47), but everyone else is less lucky. For dinner, Lisa is keen on taking in the Player's Choice at the Courtyard cafe, prime rib or 16 oz T-bone steak for $10.25. Geoff was able to earn the two if us free dinner there with all his gambling. We're getting the hang of how comps work. Geoff and Lisa have the prime rib, I have the steak, and Chad has jambalaya. We decide that we are going to go 10 pin bowling following dinner. Lisa gets her shoes, and we all change into something better for bowling. The first throw of the bowling ball, I fall down. I didn't think that trying to bowl like normal would be a problem. So now I have to adjust my bowling method. I am able to get the ball to go down the lane a few times, but my form is all awkward. This makes me sad. I love to bowl. Lisa is awesome (as always), Geoff kicks butt, and in the second game, Chad beat Lisa! We had fun, it's nice to do something different. We go back down to the casino and play the slots before we all crash at 10:30.

Tuesday

We all manage to sleep a little better, and Lisa, Geoff and I meet up at the Courtyard Cafe for breakfast. Chad doesn't feel like eating, he spends the time walking around the casino. A quick bite to eat and we head back out to the strip. Before we leave the hotel, Geoff calls Top Of The World (the restaurant at the Stratosphere) to make reservations for lunch. We head in the opposite direction of where we went last time, but this time Geoff and I get to look around the Forum Shops at Caesars. We make our way to the Venetian, and I cannot convince anyone to go on the gondola. But I don strike a deal with Geoff, he owes me a gondola ride. Either on a future trip to Vegas, or he takes me to Italy. The shops here are so upper class, we feel underdressed. We hop in a cab to go to the Stratosphere, knowing we'd never make the walk there. It's only $10. Once there, Geoff takes advantage of some coupon and plays 2 hands of Blackjack. He wins $15. We check in for our reservation, and have to pass through a security check before we can ride the elevator to the restaurant. Top Of The World is a revolving restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere. The views are amazing, and the food was pretty good. Lisa, Chad and I have cheeseburgers, Geoff has the Ahi Tuna. I am almost willing to forgo lunch and head straight for dessert. They have a chocolate Stratosphere for $15. It looks divine. I had to take a picture. As soon as we finish lunch, we take two flights of stairs up to the observation deck. It's a hazy day, but you can make out the strip. We congratulate ourselves on planning a lunch here, because it's something like $10 just to take the elevator to the top. It was free for us because we had lunch there. We take some pictures, and watch people scare themselves on the rides at the top of the Stratosphere. We hop in a cab back down the strip, getting off at Treasure Island. On the cab ride, we pass by the Crazy Horse Too. I nudge Geoff and we share a chuckle, and wonder if Charmaine is working. At Treasure Island, we look around the pirate ships, and then go next door to the Mirage. We try to peek around and see what there is to see for free, but it's only a sleepy white lion. We go back through the Forum Shops at Caesars so Lisa can buy her girls some souvenirs, and then we visit the conservatory at the Bellagio. We hope to catch the 5pm fountain show. We stake out a great spot, and wait for the show to begin. It has gotten dark, so Geoff and I are happy to see the show at night. This is Lisa & Chad first chance to see the show. The pop music stops, and the fountains start to rise. The music begins. It plays
The Vice Of Killing from For A Few Dollars More. It's fantastic. It plays so well with the dancing water. It's far too short, you want the magic to continue. We leave the strip, and catch the shuttle back. Lisa & Chad plan to leave the hotel by 9 to catch their midnight flight home. Geoff and I play some Blackjack together, and end up getting the fun dealer from 5 months ago. Lisa plays at the $3 Blackjack table, and seems to be doing well. Chad goes between the two and roots for us. Geoff and I quit while he's up $65, and I'm down $10. We grab dinner at the buffet since all of Geoff's playing the first night won us our meals free. We meet up afterwards with Chad & Lisa to take them to the door to say our goodbyes. Geoff and I decide just to turn in, since he's starting to feel under the weather. I stop in at the gift shop to buy us each a litre of water to drink. His throat is starting to bother him.

Wednesday

Geoff is full on sick. I go downstairs to get him some orange juice, and I grab myself a croissant. We leave the hotel at 9:30 to make our 11:30 flight. When we get there, we find there is an earlier flight for Denver leaving right then. We get on it, and head home. I drive home from the airport since Geoff is sick, and even at 2pm, the traffic is crazy on the 225. We get home, Geoff goes to bed, I take care of laundry and calming the cat down. She is trying to tell me she needs food, but the neighbors already told me they fed her that morning. That's it, that our Vegas story. We had so much fun, but it's great to be home, and it was nice to get in one last trip before Elijah comes.

I'm closing with a great quote from Futurama.

Nibblonian : You are the last hope of the universe.
Fry : So I really am important? How I feel when I'm drunk is correct?
Nibblonian : Yes - except the Dave Matthews Band doesn't rock.

Blogging From Vegas
I am going to try to blog from Vegas, so you all will know we're doing okay. We leave tomorrow afternoon, and we return Wednesday afternoon. Until then, remember you always split aces and eights.

Something Like Life
What's new? Well, Rod was scheduled to come to Denver to visit, but his mother-in-law isn't doing so well, and his wife is out of the country, so he stayed in Texas to be in proximity should something arise. We're both bummed, but I'm sure we'll be able to reschedule. We're so excited at the idea of a California friend coming to visit, and because it's Rod. He's like family.

I picked up another shift at work this week, so I worked Monday & Wednesday. Now I'm off until after Thanksgiving. It's been really busy at work, which is good. But I'm very pooped by the end of my shift.

In Vegas news, Lisa got the scare of her life. She called the hotel to confirm their reservation, and she was told it was cancelled! When Lisa booked the reservation in September, she asked to be sent an email as to when a deposit would be needed. No email came, and so according to the lady Lisa spoke to, she lost her reservation by not doing the deposit in time. They told her they could offer her the only room they had left, a $229/night suite! At some point Lisa got to book with one of the Orleans sister hotels, but it wasn't for the price she wanted. She took it, and then started looking online for a better deal. When she found one, Lisa called back the hotel to cancel. They said, but you just made this reservation. When Lisa explained the story to them, they said they would honor the original reservation, 2 nights at the Orleans for $20/night. She even gets to stay in the new tower they just built (I don't know where we're staying). Poor Lisa! A half an hour of drama, and I wasn't home to talk her through it. Naturally Geoff made me call to confirm our reservation, and it was okay. Thank goodness. I'm in no state to deal with that kind of garbage.

So we're almost set for Vegas. The neighbors are going to look after Honey, I made up my packing list, and I started doing some laundry. All we need now is for the snow coming on Sunday not to delay the plane.

Yesterday I had a really bad allergic reaction. Very similar to the one that hit when Heather visited. Ugh, I hate feeling like that. Right now it's slowly dying down. I don't need to carry the kleenex box around with me, but I feel all red and blotchy. I don't know what brings it on.

I finally made it to Hobby Lobby this week to check out fabric. I want to make a table runner for Christmas, so I picked out the fabric I like, I will go buy it the first of December. Need to hold off on spending money. We had to buy a new power adapter thingy for Geoff's laptop, his adapter died. That was a $80 expense we weren't expecting. Also at the beginning of December, I need to get my hair cut and highlighted. It's been over a year since I had it cut, and even longer since it had highlights. Unless I kick butt in Vegas, then I'll get it done sooner. :)

Did you know BBQ-flavored peanuts is a Canadian thing? I had a craving for some, and when I asked people if they had seen them, no one had seen them. They thought it was weird I thought I could find that at my local Safeway. On a BBQ related note, I can't wait until next summer to go to Edmonton, and be able to get some flavored popcorn from Too Corny. My favorite? Getting a bag of half bbq, half pizza. Gross? Mmmm, not to me. :)

So we're hoping to catch The Incredibles next week. I already know tons of people who have seen it, and I certainly didn't need their approval to go see it. It's Pixar, that's enough for Geoff & me. I will need more time to get sold on Cars, but they have time to sell me on that. In other Pixar news, Disney has decided to go ahead and make Toy Story 3, without Pixar. Since they own the Toy Story franchise, they can do what they want. But I hear they are having a hard time selling Tom Hanks & Tim Allen on coming back. Good on them!

So AFI is putting together ANOTHER list, like that's what the world needs. This one is 100 best movie quotes. I'm going to close with one of Geoff's favorites, from The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

Man With No Name: You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.

In Dreams
A few nights ago I couldn't sleep so well. I was thinking about this couple I know whose marriage has ended. While we weren't close, I still felt a connection to them. And it pains me to think the marriage couldn't be saved. I don't know any of the details, all the info I get is one sided. In a dream I had, maybe that night, maybe the night after, I tried to speak to the wife. To ask her what was so wrong that couldn't be fixed. She just smiled she didn't say. I am almost compelled to try to email her, find her email first, but I likely won't. It isn't my place.

Sunday night and last night I dreamt about Colin. We were just hanging out. Sunday nights dream lead me to a building which a fabric store, but before that it was the school where I took dance (not in reality, just in my dream). I am trying to use my walkie-talkie to tell Colin to come help me because there is a wild ferret trying to bite me. The ferret is green, and larger than normal. At some point there is also some animal that is a cross between a badger and a bear. I am able to lock that in a room to get away. I have some really weird dreams.

Last week, courtesy of the library, I watched Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and The Butterfly Effect. The former was a better movie. I laughed a lot, and it was pretty harmless. TBE was darker than I anticipated it to be. I don't know why I thought it would be lighter than that. I didn't stop thinking about it the rest of the day. But I'd be reluctant to recommend it to anyone, only because it dealt with such dark issues. The acting in it was pretty good though.

Speaking of good acting, I love Scrubs. Last week's episode provided a hilarious scene where Turk was white. In the episode Turk got a new phone number, and if you called it that night during the show you could speak to the cast and crew. I wasn't aware of that, but I called the next morning and got to hear a message from "Turk" (Donald Faison), urging fans of Scrubs to vote in the People's Choice Awards for which Scrubs has a few nominations, and Zach Braff is up for favorite movie actor. I'm excited to see that Matthew Perry is directing and guest starring on Scrubs in 2 weeks.

Speaking of Matthew Perry, Celebrity Poker Showdown finished up another tournament Sunday. The championship game had Matthew Perry, Kevin Nealon, Neil Patrick Harris, Mekhi Phifer, and Dennis Rodman. They will be taping another tournament the next few days, there may even be a taping the day we arrive in Vegas, but since we get in late afternoon, I doubt we could get tickets. I will settle for the hope of running into Phil Gordon or Dave Foley. :)

Yep, Vegas is just days away. Let me tell you how the level of excitement plays out. Geoff is the most excited, followed quickly by Lisa, then me, then Chad. It's going to be so much fun!

I'm going to close with a quote from last week's Scrubs.

Cal Turk: Cal Turk here. We don't sell insurance, we sell peace of mind. But only to white people (Winks). Would you like some milk?

Christmas With The Ladies
A pretty good album. If you can get past the first track (Jingle Bells), which I thought was awful (and may be why Kelly thought I was talking about Steven Page (see November 4th post)), Barenaked For The Holidays makes for a great addition to your Christmas music collection. Favorite tracks for me were God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings with Sarah McLachlan, Sleigh Ride, and I Have A Little Driedel. Their original songs are also really good. Geoff thought their effort on Oh Holy Night was pretty poor, and I didn't mind so much.

Mostly RIYL Barenaked Ladies. If you don't, you probably wouldn't like the album.

Scott Peterson Guilty
I'm happy with the way the trial has ended, I suspected he was guilty, but was glad the jurors found it to be so in their eyes. Now they have to decide whether to give him the death penalty or not. I do not envy them, that is not a decision I would want to make. I think it's fitting to close with a quote from Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.

Frodo: It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance.
Gandalf: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

So Go To Canada You Big Whiner!
Rich and I sort of had it out yesterday. He was being really obnoxious, and I was getting tired of it, so I let out that biting side of me. I can say things sometimes and it comes out much harsher than I intend. I'm not saying he didn't deserve it, but I was just getting tired of him bringing down my natural high. I should start at the beginning.

I got to work and was in a great mood. My iPod was playing some great tunes (Bobby Brown, Tom Petty, 10,000 Maniacs, Guns N' Roses), and I had baked a cake for break time because it was Jeff's 50th birthday. Well Jeff was kinda grumpy, and Rich seemed to be a little grumpy. I was able to keep the mood light with everyone, making up songs (Melissa, huh! What is she good for? You know the song that goes War, huh! What is it good for). anyways, 10 o'clock comes, and we go to break, and we eat cake, and Rich starts going off on the election, and how he wants to immigrate to Canada. I'm like, see ya! Bu-bye! So I'm trying to change the topic, since everyone is sitting around looking uncomfortable. Rich is still going on about how he hates Kerry and Bush, and then big closed minded jerk says the "A" word. (The "A" word is in reference to the President.) That just gets me really upset. And he's saying how he doesn't morals, and he doesn't like Bush making decisions based on morals. Now in my head, I'm thinking of the conversation I'd have with him if there weren't 7 other people sitting around the table. So I'm still trying to change the topic, and every topic I hit, he's got something negative to say. I finally get tired of it all and I say to him, "Oh my eyes hurt so much looking up at you on your high horse." Everyone started to laugh, breaking the tension a little. Thankfully it was 10:30, so break was over. But when I left for the day, he had the nerve to say he expected me to bring him chocolate next week (since Harry & David truffles are amazing). My response was," I expect you to have an open mind next week. Which do you think is going to happen?" He proudly declared he isn't changing his closed mind.

I like Rich, he can be a lot of fun. And I can be friends with people who have a different opinion than me (I learned that at KUCI). But I think we need to sit down and have a serious talk. He was out of control with his attitude, and it did not make for a comfortable nice break for all. I'm debating whether I should email him, or if I should talk to him next week.

I was so pooped yesterday, working at the museum in the morning, than H&D in the afternoon. But it was good. Thank goodness Geoff came to pick me up from the mall, since the sun is setting here at 5pm, it would make a dark walk home. I do have the option to take the bus, so don't feel bad for me.

I'm still having weird dreams. I dream about people from my past life (by past life I mean high school, or B.G.- before Geoff). Last night, I dreamt I was still living with my mom and Hans, yet I was married. It was 3am, and I couldn't sleep, so I got up and my mom was awake, watching tv in her room. I unlocked the door, and left the house, going next door where someone from the past was living. I just knocked on the door, and was let in. For whatever reason, I figured the solution to my not being able to sleep was to talk to this person. The weirdest thing is whenever I speak to this person in my dreams, one of the first things I say is why didn't they acknowledge my father's death? I'm not sure why this bothers me so in my dreams. I'm a weird person. That's pretty much the dream.

I was speaking to Lisa this morning, and telling her this, and I guess I expected people who knew me would have responded to my dad's death. Do I honestly believe people read the obituaries everyday? I did, when I lived in Edmonton. But when I hear about the death of someone I know, I try to send a note, even if all it says is I'm sorry. Maybe it's all just residual anger or resentment I felt at the funeral. I was angry, I was mad that I didn't register on people's radar. That all they talked about was Colin, and Dylan. I wasn't mad at Colin and Dylan, but part of me was mad at myself. For not being around the last 4 (now 5) years. I hated that it was like I wasn't his child. I guess I have some issues that time needs to heal.

Sunday at church we sang I Can Only Imagine, and I couldn't sing it. All I could do was stand there and cry. It's funny because I can hear the song on the radio, and I'm fine. But being in worship, the emotions were too raw. Plus I've been thinking about Grandpa Jim, Grandma Bessie, and Auntie Pearl. I miss them so much. They were just so loving towards me, and making me feel like I was truly their family.

Alright, I'm done. I'm going to close with a quote from Wag The Dog.

Stanley Motss : Why Albania?
Conrad 'Connie' Brean : Why not?
Stanley Motss : What have they done to us?
Conrad 'Connie' Brean : What have they done FOR us? What do you know about them?
Stanley Motss : Nothing.
Conrad 'Connie' Brean : See? They keep to themselves. Shifty. Untrustable.

You are Sir Bedevere! Wise and creative, you are
able to counsel others as well as come up with
some really ingenious plans of attack...sort
of.


Which Monty Python & the Holy Grail Character are you REALLY?
brought to you by Quizilla

Musical Musings
So there is a band I adore, and one of the band members released a solo album. Initially, I thought this might be a good idea. For example, I love Paul Bellows' music and Paul came out of Splendourbog. I love Glen Phillips' music, he came out of Toad The Wet Sprocket. Well, I gave some of the tracks a listen to, and to say I was disappointed, would be an understatement. It's an album I definitely wouldn't buy, or even recommend. Oh well, not everyone can branch out on their own. I won't name said artist, but they annoyed me even further by making comments about President Bush.

Speaking of musicians and their political leanings, Sheryl Crow called our house in the last week, and Geoff hung up on her. He also hung up on Bill Clinton. I'm a little jealous, I hung up on just Coloradan politicians. I'd have to say in the last year with all the election hoopla on both sides of the border, a musician's political stance has been enough to make me not want to listen to their music. It's one thing, if they have always been open about where they stand (REM, Beastie Boys), but if they just decide now to choose sides, it makes it hard for me to listen to their music. Am I being silly? Perhaps. I'm hoping we all can get back to normal.

I struck a deal with Geoff that may affect the rest of my entertainment life. I told Geoff that if Michael Moore wins Best Picture at the Oscars in 2005, I will never watch the Oscars again. He was giddy, asking if it applied to all award shows. In all fairness, that would leave the Emmys and the Golden Globes. I do wonder how you get to have your picture nominated for Best Picture. Is it enough for Mr. Moore to say he wants the prize? If they want to get all controversial maybe they should nominate The Passion Of The Christ. They certainly wouldn't award Mel Gibson that prize, they like to give out awards to people who are controversial in a different way (see Roman Polanski).

50 days until Christmas. Eep. well, I have a list of what I'm buying everyone, except Mike. Mike, what do you want for Christmas? Now I just have to peck away at buying this stuff, and ship off some of it. But first, I have to get past Dylan, Dawn & Colin's birthdays. So really, half the battle is won. I know what I need to buy. :)

16 days until Vegas. Oh Yeah! Chad is now in on the trip, so he can get excited. He wasn't mad at Lisa, which was her concern. Well, he was annoyed (or disgusted) by the cake she made (Lisa, Geoff thought it was gross!). We're trying to decide if we want to spend the money on seeing Penn & Teller. I think it would fun, but $155 worth of fun? Hard to say. We will likely take in a movie at the theatre in the hotel, we're thinking of seeing The Incredibles. I have to call and book my massage soon.

I guess I'm done. I'll close with a quote from Grosse Pointe Blank.

Debi : You're a psychopath.
Marty : No, no. Psychopaths kill for no reason. I kill for *money*. It's a *job*. That didn't come out right.

Gotta Love Election day




I hate, hate, hate that I can't vote. :(