Happy Birthday Lisa!

I held back on putting up the picture of you as a Sunshine Girl! :)

Quick News
My cousin Angela is getting married. I knew the announcement would be coming, they've been together a few years. The family really likes the guy (whose name I've forgotten), and I've met him once. Seems like a good guy, he's really tall. What more can I say? I only met him for 5 minutes 2 years ago. The date of the wedding is January 2, and as I understand it, it will be a location wedding. I'm thinking it will be in Costa Rica, since he and Angela have gone there several times in the last few years. What an exciting adventure for them.

Everything seems to be falling into place for Meghan and Mike's move to Calgary. So that's great news too. I'm sure it's a huge stress relief for them.

We had a very nice breakfast yesterday at Le Peep with Erik, Rachel and their 3 kids. I of course ordered the cinnamonster. I do enjoy a good cinnamon roll. We then all went to Peet's for hot beverages. Peet's just put out a new Anniversary Breakfast Blend for their 39th anniversary. Very tasty, but because it's a rare blend, we won't be getting a tin of it. (Rare blend=expensive) It was so awesome to see them, but it made me miss them even more once we parted. Sigh.

So I have to use my free movie passes by the end of April, and I wonder if that will happen. Even if we took advantage of Nana (Diane) babysitting during her visit, we'd have to agree on a movie. Which will be a challenge. I just don't think I could sway Geoff into seeing Miss Congeniality 2. :)

Well I shouldn't press my luck with the boy; i don't know how much longer he'll sit quietly. I'll close with a quote from Miss Congeniality.

Victor Melling: Why is New Jersey called "The Garden State"?
Gracie Hart: Because "Oil and Petrochemical Refinery State" wouldn't fit on a license plate?

Apple=Evil?
From Geoff.

Weekend Update
Geoff remarked yesterday that our weekends aren't the relaxing, recoup time they used to be. I guess it takes getting used to that our lives will never be the same. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. A few years ago we were feeling left out, when all our friends were buying their own homes. And I was feeling left out a few years ago when everyone I knew was having kids. But I kinda feel like we're on a moving sidewalk now, and that things are going to start happening fast. In a little over a year's time we'll be moving again, and Geoff will be starting at a university. So we'll be looking to settle into a house maybe. Or maybe it will still be another few years. But time is already moving so fast. I feel like Elijah has been with us so long, and it's been 3 weeks.

I was reflecting yesterday about my time at KUCI. How there are things I really miss; the people, the interaction, the elite-ness of being in that scene. How I don't know if I have the energy now to do that if I could. But what a great experience that was.

Church service was amazing yesterday. It was emotional and the music was kicking. I got all teary and choked up singing Grace Like Rain (which was preceded by clips from Passion Of The Christ). Following service, we drove out to Mark and Shannon's for an Easter brunch and egg hunt. The food was excellent, and Elijah was so well behaved. He participated in the egg hunt in a small capacity, because really, he's 3 weeks old. But it was great and the weather hit 73 degrees. Ah, that's more like it (it snowed Saturday morning).

This week I get to look forward to time with the Karns and Kroliks. So I should probably tackle tidying the house up, at least a little each day. I think Elijah and I will walk up to Target today since it's still kinda nice out. So I'll sign off now with a quote from The World Is Not Enough.

Q: I've always tried to teach you two things. First, never let them see you bleed.
James Bond: And the second?
Q: Always have an escape plan.

Thank You Canada

No Worries Mate
Just didn't want you all to be left wondering, but the DMV trip went smoothly today. We got there before it opened, stood in line, got inside, went through the drill, and left with a temporary license (they'll mail out the real one). Geoff got lucky and didn't get the interrogation I got( re: visa stuff), so his license is good for 10 years, while mine is still set to expire once my visa does (2006). And Elijah slept through the whole thing.

Elijah and I then dropped Dad off at work and since he was sleeping I headed to the museum to show him off to Jeff & Rich. Everyone fawned over how sweet he looked (yeah, come see him at 3am when he's screaming), and it was nice just to see familiar faces. Then Rich asks when I'm coming back to work, and will I be there tonight. Me: "Tonight? What's tonight?" Rich: "oh yeah, you haven't been here" Tonight Jeff is having a potluck and slide show of his Egypt trip. I remember at the baby shower Jeff mentioning he was going to do it sometime in March, but since I haven't been around, I didn't hear that a day had been set. They told me I should go, but Rich gets that I have mom stuff to do. I may have gone if I had more notice, as I'm sure the pictures are amazing. What I find really funny is how I was at the museum for maybe 20-30 minutes, and in that time Rich complained about Jeff to me. :) Ah, just like old times.

So I was up at 4am with a wide awake baby, and since I'd spent an hour trying to get him to sleep, I decided if I have to be awake, I'm going to watch tv. Now let me tell you about the quality programming you can choose from at 4am. Infomercials. I did find that Aqua Teen Hunger Force was on, which I would have watched, except that Comedy Central had Creature Comforts. That's right, an Aardman production. It was a little odd, as I wasn't expecting to find anything good on tv. And when I returned to bed around 4:20 and told Geoff it was on, he said cool. He told me this morning that in the future I should wake him when I find Aardman stuff on tv. I told him hey since you were awake anyways, you should have some out into the living room. Well, looking at the Comedy Central website, they seem to be showing it on a regular basis. So maybe I'll make a point of taping it and then when I have to be up at ungodly hours, I have something good to watch.

Well, I should wake Elijah and get him changed and fed. Since Geoff gave me the car today, I have to go pick him up. And I don't want to go too late as I hate driving in the dark and in the snow. Thankfully it's Denver snow, so it doesn't stick to the road.

I'll close with a quote from Creature Comforts.

The Amoeba: I think I have a very intimate relationship with water 'cause I'm primarily composed of it. But I do think water is one of the great mysteries.

A Free Moment
I don't know how much time I have, so I'll blog as long as I can. He's a little mommy's boy and likes be held all the time. I've got him napping now, though I may pay for it later tonight.

Sunday I turned on the tv and while surfing I stopped on BET. They were playing Wishing Well by Terrence Trent D'arby. I stayed tuned in, and was rewarded by them playing more tunes I liked. Then they made me feel ashamed by telling me the program is called Grown Folks Music. Geoff laughed at me. But the music was really good, and I miss being able to watch videos for songs I actually know.

I took the baby for a walk this morning, to calm him, and I grabbed my iPod to keep myself amused. I find I'm not able to listen to music as much I did say a month ago. But as Geoff pointed out I should be able to listen to my iPod and keep an eye on Elijah with the baby monitor (it has lights). So I'm back to rocking out in my own world, but I'm holding back on belting out along with my music. I save that for the car rides. :)

While I was out walking, I was trying to put together my Top 5 Debut Albums. It's really hard. I have to consider many factors, mostly is it still an album I listen to on heavy rotation. While I love some albums, I don't listen to them all that often. I guess I would have to pick...(not in any order)
Bread & Circus - Toad The Wet Sprocket
Pablo Honey - Radiohead
Bargainville - Moxy Fruvous
Yourself Or Someone Like You - Matchbox Twenty
August And Everything After - Counting Crows

(disclaimer- this list is prone to change at any given moment)

Now I wanted to put Gordon (BNL) on the list, but I don't really listen to it all that often. It's a great album, and it would likely go on the list if I limited myself to Debut Albums By Canadian Artists. That list would look like...(not in any order)
Elevator Music - Splendourbog
Gordon - Barenaked Ladies
Lik My Traktor - Waltons
Bargainville - Moxy Fruvous
Outskirts - Blue Rodeo
(1st Alternate would be Novice - Easily Amused)

Saw Punk'd the other day, haven't watched that in a while, and really only tuned in to see Zach Braff get punk'd. I had read online that he cusses a lot, and in fairness to him seeing your Porsche get vandalized would set nearly anyone off. It was pretty funny though, better than some of the other pranks they have pulled.

Speaking of Mr. Braff, NBC ordered 3 more episodes of Scrubs for this season (whoo-hoo), which is supposed to coincide with the release of Scrubs on DVD in May. (A great Christmas gift for Melissa if anyone's interested)

I wanted to say I'm looking forward to Easter. It's a great time for Christians, celebrating the Resurrection. Good Friday is the anniversary of Geoff and I getting baptized in the Pacific Ocean (2000). It was quite a day, chilly but a lot of fun.

I had a strange dream the other night, that an old boyfriend showed up at my house wanting my advice on his relationship. So we went to Niagara Falls to talk about it. Geoff came too, but left to walk around. I got yelled at by some lady because I was distracting her from watching the light show on the falls. All I was doing was trying not to fall off a cliff. I really do have odd dreams.

Cindy is set to arrive here April 1 (no foolin'), and she says Abbie is so excited to see her birthday present (she and Elijah share a birthday). I can hardly wait to see them, it's been nearly a year.

Before I go, I wanted to brag that Kelly is having a short story published in Doublethink magazine. She's the fiction editor, and she submitted a work to them and they liked it. She said she missed writing fiction, having not done any since her time at UofA. I'm so proud! I'll have to pick that up once it comes out.

I'm going to try to nap so I'll sign off with a quote from Men In Black.

Zed: May I ask why you felt little Tiffany deserved to die?
James Edwards: Well, she was the only one that actually seemed dangerous at the time, sir.
Zed: How'd you come to that conclusion?
James Edwards: Well, first I was gonna pop this guy hanging from the street light, and I realized, y'know, he's just working out. I mean, how would I feel if somebody come runnin' in the gym and bust me in my ass while I'm on the treadmill? Then I saw this snarling beast guy, and I noticed he had a tissue in his hand, and I'm realizing, y'know, he's not snarling, he's sneezing. Y'know, ain't no real threat there. Then I saw little Tiffany. I'm thinking, y'know, eight-year-old white girl, middle of the ghetto, bunch of monsters, this time of night with quantum physics books? She about to start some s**t, Zed. She's about eight years old, those books are WAY too advanced for her. If you ask me, I'd say she's up to something. And to be honest, I'd appreciate it if you eased up off my back about it.
[pause]
James Edwards: Or do I owe her an apology?

Day To Day
Golly gee, wish I had something to post about. Things are good. Weather isn't as bad as it was supposed to be. The baby has been great this week, and my mom has been here since Tuesday (well practically Wednesday). Just been taking life day to day, not doing too much of anything. Making myself get out for a walk everyday for the exercise and fresh air.

Geoff mentioned that once I feel like I want to go back to the museum, he'll stay home Monday mornings to watch Elijah. That's good to know. And I'll think it over. I may be ready to do that soon, as I kinda miss that gang.

We went out on a date last night, left Grandma to have some bonding time. We went out to Macaroni Grill for dinner. And amazingly we didn't spend the whole time talking about the baby. It felt weird, like old times, but slightly different. The food was excellent, and the place was packed. I was surprised, it being a Thursday. Even with it being St. Pat's Day, I didn't expect an italian restaurant to be busy.

The month is more than over, and our driver's licenses are going to expire on the 31st (Which is Lisa's birthday). So Geoff put into process getting a letter to take to the DMV to avoid an incident like the last one. Once that gets settled, Geoff needs to renew his passport, and then we can start thinking about setting dates for our Alberta trip. I need to tackle getting Elijah's birth certificate and then getting him a passport.

Our friends Erik & Rachel are coming to Colorado to visit some other friends and we've set a date to meet for coffee/lunch. They moved from California to Idaho last year, but we saw them during our last visit to Irvine. It'll be fun to see them again. I'm in charge of arranging a meeting spot. Since they have 3 kids, I want to try to find a place that would be suitable to meet at. We'll hang out on March 29, and some time shortly after that, we'll be seeing Cindy, Abbie, Alec, and Alyssa. They'll be in town sometime that week, or early the following week.

Before too long, Geoff will be off to Providence, and Diane will be here to help out with Elijah. So many visitors! I don't mind, but when we get visitors, they seem to come in bunches. We can have huge dry spells, then a rash of visits. :)

Well since I got nothing else to say, I'll close with a quote from Wild Wild West.

President Grant: Mr. West, not every situation requires your patented approach of shoot first, shoot later, shoot some more and then when everybody's dead try to ask a question or two.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Carl: You know, I was hexed by a troll once and a leprechaun cured that right up.
Lenny: Hey, you know what's even better is Jesus. He's like six leprechauns!
Carl: Yeah, but a lot harder to catch. Go with the leprechaun.

Who Needs Sleep?
Things are good. Weather is snowy, I sure wish it was warm. But I'll brave a little cold just to get out of the house, because I need the exercise.

Mark your calendars, I got my first taste of an authentic kung-fu movie. Much to Geoff's delight, Spike TV has started to show kung-fu movies on Saturday afternoons. This weekend we caught a bit of Twin Warriors. The only kung-fu type movie I've ever seen was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. So this movie was wacky. Geoff wants to plan his Saturdays so he can catch these movies. Everytime we catch Office Space on tv, and Peter and Joanna talk about their love of kung-fu movie, Geoff bemoans that they don't show enough kung-fu on tv. Well now he's got this. We'll see how long Spike TV shows them.

Sunday's service was amazing this week. Despite the big snow storm that hit Saturday night, and trying to get out the door with a baby, we made it to church pretty close to on time. The music was bang on, and they played a song that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Jesus, All For Jesus. During the song, they played some scenes from The Passion Of The Christ, and I started to get a little teary. But when Jesus said to Mary, "See mother, I make all things new", I lost it, and began to cry. Powerful stuff. The band then kicked it up a notch with their rockin' rendition of Nothin' But The Blood, sung by growly guy (it's what we call the bass player, because he sings with a growl, and really gets into the music.) The message was awesome, talking about purgatory. It was just a good service all around. Elijah slept through it all.

Colin & Dawn bought a house, and moved this weekend. Lisa's boys team she coaches won Provincials, so she's going to Nationals in May in Vancouver. Oh yeah, and Alberta won the Brier. Curling Rocks!

Well, someone is stirring, so I better go. I'll sign off with a quote from Meet The Parents.

Greg Focker: Just take a minute, take those little sticks out of your head, clean out your ears, and you'll see that I'm a person with feelings, and all I wanna do is do what *I* wanna do and not listen to you! And the only way I'd ever let you have my bag is if you pried it from my dead, lifeless fingers, okay? If you can get it from my kung-fu grip then you can have it, okay?

Bunnicula Adaptation?
Geoff is super excited about the fact that Wallace & Gromit are getting their first feature length film. It's The Wallace & Gromit Movie: Curse Of The Wererabbit. The plot sounds an awful lot like the children's story Bunnicula. In any case, we'll make an effort to see it, since you can't go wrong with Aardman films.

It's been an odd week. Haven't done much other than try to blog on the other blog, respond to the plethora of emails I've received, watch Blackadder, and catch up on sleep. We're hoping to take a trip up to Peet's today, we won't walk, I need to take it easy still.

My mom is coming here on Tuesday, and staying until Sunday. She's playing a bit of UPS, one of her suitcases is totally devoted to gifts people have been giving her to bring down here. I'm trying to figure out where I want her to sleep. With all of Elijah's stuff in the spare bedroom, I may ask her if she'll take the hide-a-bed. Much easier than trying to move his changing needs into our room. It should be a good visit, though we just saw each other 2 months ago, I miss talking to her face to face. Having family far away at this time has been both a blessing and a bummer. A blessing because we don't feel overwhelmed with people while we're trying to adjust to our life change. A bummer, because there are times when having someone around to help out would be great. It'll be such a stress relief to have Diane here in April while Geoff is off in Rhode Island. I don't think I could by that week without someone else here.

I started a new book last week, and I don't know that I'll get around to reading it. I seem to spend my free moments writing emails, or tidying the house. But I'm going to try. It's called Happiness by Will Ferguson (yep him again). It's a fiction book, which is a change of pace for me as I seemed to have gotten on to a non-fiction kick. I'm only 3 chapters into it, so I can't really say what I think of it. But I haven't returned the book, so that's a good sign. I can be a little impatient with books if they don't grab me within a few chapters. I have 2 other fiction books by my bedside, one I've started, and one I mean to. The one I started, Perelandra by C.S. Lewis, I've been pecking away at for well over 6 months. I'm having a hard time getting into it. It's the second in a trilogy, and Geoff says the third book is amazing, so I want to make my way there.

Well, I had better get on. I want to send a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who posted about the baby on their blogs. It was very sweet, and meant a lot to me. Also for all the comments. (Mike- you need to learn to spell your nephew's name! :) )

I'm going to close with a quote from Chicken Run.
Babs: Morning, Ginger. Back from holiday?
Ginger: I wasn't on holiday, Babs. I was in solitary confinement.
Babs: Oh, it's nice to get a bit of time to yourself, isn't it?

Hurts To Laugh
I will to try to post something relevant soon, but in the meantime...
When I read this comic, I was laughing so hard it hurt. Maybe it's my frame of mind, maybe it's the funny expression on Bucky's face.

Yep, It's True!
Thought I'd get the chance to announce it from the hospital, but was way too tired!
Elijah is here, please visit the baby blog for more details. The story will have to wait, but you can get your first peek at him, and get his stats.

Sunny Days
The weather has been so great, sunny and warm. I knew that groundhog didn't know anything!

Last night I slept great (in relation to how I have been sleeping). It's nice to be able to get in a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Gotta enjoy it while I can. I also managed to pull off a 2 hour nap today. I'm feeling good.

We're looking forward to going to the Squealing Pig tonight. We're watching the neighbors' cats today as Paula and Simon had to drive home to see Simon's mom in the hospital. They'll be back tomorrow.

Just thought I should post so you didn't think anything had happened. I am trying not to get too anxious, and to realize that I still have 8 days left. I am preparing myself for my appointment on Tuesday, that there may not be any changes. We just have to take it one day at a time.

For Lisa & Her New Computer Fred

Trend Setter
I know that posting this quiz is going to start a rash of it on the blogs of people who are almost family, but hey, I'm a trend setter. What would that family do without me? :) (I'm teasing you guys)

Not the answer I thought I'd get... but

You're Nova Scotia. People have spread rumours
about you and you have suffered from
stereotyping. Few people take the time out to
get to know the real you. You hate labels. You
are patriotic and loyal.


What Canadian Province Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Being Denied
I wasn't able to get on Blogger all day today (until now), and was getting annoyed. What if I had something to post about? Who would know? Funny thing is I don't have anything to post about,it's the principle.

It's gorgeous outside, 50 degrees (that's 10 Celsius). Just woke up from my nap in a sunbeam. I'm not sleeping well, so naps are my chance to refreshen. Even if it's only for an hour, I feel great afterwards.

The same day I posted about the decision to skip our high school reunion, got an email with more details about it. I may send them info on Geoff and I, but I doubt we'll schedule our Edmonton visit just to go. I still think it's too much money, and the odds of people being there that we want to see are small. I may try to arrange for us to get together for dinner or coffee with some of our old friends. It's been an eternity since we've seen James. Besides he, Jason and Kelly, we don't keep in touch with anyone from our graduating class. If they are on gradfinder.com or classmates.com, I'll look up where people in our class have moved on to.

I'm spending a fair amount of time trying to decide what to buy Geoff for his birthday. Even though it's in April, I want to have it bought and done with in advance. I have some ideas, and I have shipped out some ideas to family, but I always stress about his gift. I just want to get him something he'll like, and something practical. I already have his Father's Day gift picked out. See? I like to work in advance.

Pending that the baby doesn't arrive before then, we have dinner plans on Saturday with the Bendiaks. We're going to the Squealing Pig. Whoo-hoo! I love pub food.

Hard to believe it's been a year since we last visited Edmonton. And that I thought at that time we'd be back this time this year. :) I emailed Colin & Dawn about taping some of the Brier for me, and sending that tape down with my mom. I've been reading online about curling fans trying to get Canadian television to get their crap together and give the people what they want- good curling coverage, and lots of it! Way to go! You can sometimes catch curling on tv down here, but it's rare, it's limited, and the commentators aren't always great.

Speaking of sports, Denver has a lacrosse team, and we talked all season about catching a game since it's super affordable, but the timing didn't work out. I mean their next game is against Calgary, but it's on the due date. Who knows? Maybe we should go and see if that's what it takes to get this kid to come out. :) Seriously, I think we'll definitely go to a game next season. They have a few special nights where you can get 4 tickets, 4 beers, and 4 hot dogs for $40. And I know Paula & Simon would totally go with us.

Celebrity Poker Showdown was awesome last night! Did not see Brad Garrett winning it all, I had picked Malcolm Jamal-Warner. I knew he was doomed when he was Phil's pick too. :) Actually, he played amazingly to make it to the final, just didn't have it for the big game. Now I guess we wait a few months to see if there will be a 6th tournament. They were promoting celebrity pool, but I can't get into that. Sorry. What I am into right now is a show on Discovery called It Takes A Thief. Two ex-thieves show people how easy it is to be robbed, help them secure their homes, and then test them later by trying to break in again. It's pretty informative.

Well, I suppose I should sign off. I'll close with a quote from 3rd Rock From The Sun.

Officer Don: Hamlet? The story is as old as time: Pretty boy son has a rich daddy, and a good-looking mommy. The uncle knocks off daddy, marries mommy, and he cuts pretty boy out of the action. So junior goes crazy and he kills them all. Not a pretty story... but there it is.
Tommy Solomon: Isn't that the plot to 'The Lion King?'

Last 15 Songs Played On Pearl (My iPod)
Think - Aretha Franklin
What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) - Information Society
Leave It Alone - Moist
Nanci - Toad The Wet Sprocket
S.O.S. - Erasure
Black - Pearl Jam
American Pie - Don McLean
Humpin' Around - Bobby Brown
My Own Prison - Creed
Rasputin - Boney M
Grazing In The Grass - Friends Of Distinction
Roadside Attraction - Spirit Of The West
Soul To Squeeze - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Talk - Captain Tractor
Dirty World - Traveling Wilburys

Last 15 Songs Played On Plankton (The Computer)
So Long Marianne - Leonard Cohen
Enough - Chris Tomlin
Good Grief - Urban Dance Squad
Beautiful One - Jeremy Camp
Whatever I Fear - Toad The Wet Sprocket
We Can Funk - Prince & George Clinton
Everything's Alright - Jesus Christ Superstar Soundtrack
Liquid - Jars Of Clay
Sara - Starship
7th Avenue Revisited - Big Rude Jake
Here Comes The Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze
Beautiful Day - U2
Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies
Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing - Chris Isaak
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots

Just a taste of what's been in my ears the last two days.

Because You Need A Laugh
I took a quiz last week, and Geoff laughed so hard at the result, that I figured it was worth posting for all the world to know.

Your Famous Blogger Twin is Wil Wheaton

You're a friendly, funny guy (or girl) next door With more than a touch of geekiness

Who's Your Famous Blogger Twin?

I'm so disenchanted to learn that Wil Wheaton is my blog twin. I've read his blog. (moments of awkward silence) I don't know what else to say about that.

We watched the Oscars last night. I always like to print out the ballots they have on Oscars.com. We fill them out and see who gets the most right. I usually try to guess who I think will win, not who I want to win. I may make an exception in some categories, because I secretly hope it will go that way. I ended up with a total score of 12, beating Geoff's 10. He won last year. I honestly thought they were going to give the 2 big awards to Scorsese and The Aviator. Geoff picked Eastwood and Million Dollar Baby. We saw none of the movies nominated for any big category, so we were kinda just picking for fun. Chris Rock did okay. I thought it was pretty blatant that they were reaching for younger viewers by their choices for presenters. And Chris Rock had some good jokes, but I could have been spared the 2 and half minutes of him getting all political. Could have been worse, we could have had Michael Moore there. :) Fashion wise, best dressed was Salma Heyak. She was stunning. Renee Zellweger just looked awful! And I don't know why Mike Myers was going for the Zach Braff look. Only Zack can pull that off.

Caught a story on the news last night about Ward Churchill. Shock! The ACLU is backing him! Didn't see that coming a mile away. Geoff thinks that this may come to bite the ACLU in the end. I guess the deal is they think no teacher should ever be investigated for their words or actions. Now Geoff said that means, if they win, couldn't science teachers start teaching Creation? Oh wouldn't the ACLU LOVE that! :) Seriously, everyone needs to be held accountable for their words and actions, even tenured professors.

We didn't make it out to Golden this weekend. We opted for a relaxing weekend around the house. Did Peet's on Saturday (as usual), and I sampled their latest tea, Snow Leopard. this is my first taste of a white tea. I generally stick to only black teas (don't care for the green teas). Geoff says white tea is the latest craze, which I hadn't heard. But it was pretty good. I may get it next time I go, instead I had a Mocha Freddo. Wanted the chocolate! But the guy we spoke to said he thinks it's excellent as an iced tea. Me, I like my iced tea to be of the sugary variety, not real tea.

Tomorrow night is the championship game on Celebrity Poker Showdown. I was pretty good at picking who would win the games to get to the finals (Dave & Phil got nothing on me!), so now I'm not sure who to root for. But I'm betting on it being a great game.

I'm gonna close with a quote from Strange Brew.

[Bob and Doug are on stand, in the courtroom]
Bob McKenzie: I do.
Doug McKenzie: I do.
Bob McKenzie: I guess we're married Clark.
Doug McKenzie: Oh.
Bob McKenzie: Where's the honeymoon?
The Judge: Order, Order.
Bob McKenzie: Gimmie a toasted back bacon, hold the toast
Doug McKenzie: Don't make me laugh, eh.
The Judge: I remind you not to speak, until you are spoken to.
Bob McKenzie: He's startin' to sound like the old man, soon he'll be sending me out for beers.

Grandpa & The Health Care System
Found out that if you want the info, you have to go to Auntie Dianne. Why I didn't think of it before, I don't know. She used to be a nurse at the Royal Alec. Anyway, Grandpa had an angiogram on Friday, and it looks like he may even be home this weekend. Here's what the problem was: before the chest pains, he'd been having some symptoms that sent him to the health center. His blood pressure was really low, so they gave him some medicine, and sent him home. The next day he'd be back, with the same symptoms, they'd give him medicine, send him home. This went on for nearly a week, before the chest pains incident. So the problem? He's 81, and when you get to be that old, your body and metabolism don't process medicine as quickly as they used to. The chest pains were due to them over medicating him for the low blood pressure. So they've cut back his dosage, and he's doing much better. It's so nice to have a nurse in the family, and I will furthermore go right to Auntie Dianne when I want answers. But looks like Grandpa is going to be okay. I will get my next update probably Monday when I call my mom.

I don't get how it took so long for them to figure out they were over medicating my grandpa, but if I have learned anything from living in two different countries, it's that no health care system is perfect. They are all flawed in their own way. You just have to relish in the moments when they get things right. Kinda like people. :)

I also wanted to mention that with the due date being 2 weeks away, if I'm not posting for a few days, it may be due to a trip to the hospital. There may then be an audio post, on this blog not the baby blog. Just FYI.

I got the Blackadder series out of the library again for us to finish watching it. So I'll close with a quote from that.

Samuel Johnson: This book, sir, contains every word in our English language.
Blackadder: Every single one, sir?
Samuel Johnson: Every single one, sir.
Blackadder: Oh. Well, in that case, sir, I hope you will not object if I also offer the doctor my most enthusiastic... contrafibularities.

Update On Grandpa
I called my Grandma yesterday, and she wasn't there, but she called me back last night. I'd like to say I am more aware of the situation, but that's not entirely true. Does no one in this family ask questions? Grandpa is going into the Royal Alec today to get a test done, then he'll go back to the Fort. What test? Geoff and I are assuming it's an angiogram, assuming because Grandma didn't know. So I guess I just wait for news. Grandma thought we called because the baby had come.

This is pretty much all the info I have. I will nag my mom and Colin to stay on top of it, and to keep me informed. But I guess we're lucky that my uncle Ron was around to take Grandpa to the hospital, since he just got back from a trip to South America on Saturday. I don't know why they went to South America, but it's their thing they do now. The family likes to travel there. I think my cousin Angela went there for Christmas with her boyfriend.

That's all the news I have to share. Geoff is off to donate blood today (we're blood donor people). He felt like if something were to go awry during labor, and I had needed blood, that he had done his part. I'm looking forward to being able to give blood once I'm not pregnant. I know some people can't, and some people won't. But it's a great feeling to know you are doing something to help someone else.

Unpredictable
I don't even understand what the deal is with the weather. We were supposed to get rain and snow all week, courtesy of Southern California. Hasn't arrived yet. It's sunny, but a little chilly.

My grandpa is in the hospital. I don't have a lot of details right now, but he was having chest pains, and now they are holding him for observation. He supposed to have some test (or tests) on March 2nd. I'm going to try to reach my grandma and get more details. I'm a question-asker, and I like to have as much info as possible to be at ease. I'm mildly concerned. I mean Grandpa is in pretty good health, and he's beaten cancer, so he's a tough cookie.

Colin got his stitches out, and is suppose to start rehab soon. He's expected to miss another 4-6 weeks of work (which he's not happy about). He says he's really, really bored.

Kelly has added another title to her growing business card, she's the fiction editor for Doublethink magazine. She has more jobs than anyone I know. But she loves it.

Honey Cat has been suffering the last 2 weeks from hairballs. She won't cough them up, she just hacks and coughs then swallows them. We feel bad for her, we'd clean them up if she'd just expel them. I'm trying to make more of an effort to brush her everyday as I read that is supposed to help.

I've given up on the idea of going to our high school reunion, solely because I doubt it would be worth the $40/person they are charging. I don't think it's money well spent, and I'm cheap.

Well, I'm gonna close with a hoedown from Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Colin Mochrie: The other day I stole something, it really was a sin / It was a little revolver made of gelatin / It was a really bad idea, something I should have slept on/ 'Cause I was arrested for carrying a congealed weapon.

Borrowed Alphabet
It's circulating on the blogs I read, so I jumped on the bandwagon. :)

Melissa from a-z:

A Age: 28
B Bands: Toad The Wet Sprocket, BNL, Captain Tractor, Radiohead, ApologetiX
C Career of Future: Who knows?
D Dad's Name: Wayne
E Ethnic Background: Scottish
F Favorite Song at Moment: 'Mr. Brightside' (The Killers)
G Great Escape: Napping
H Hometown: Edmonton
I Instrument: Voice (but someday I want to learn to play the Bodhran)
J Job Title: Volunteer, or maybe SAHW (Stay at Home Wife)
K Kids: Honey Cat, and Elijah (will be here soon)
L Last Person You Talked to On the Phone: Lisa
M Mom's Name: Carey
N Number of Siblings: 1 - Colin
O Oldest Living Relative: Grandpa Kuhn (81)
P Phobias/Fears: Fear of falling, bugs & reptiles
Q Favorite Quote: "Dude, I never went to college and check me out. I'm kick ass! "-Lance Brumder (Orange County), Romans 10:14
R Religion: Christian
S Song You Sang Last: 'Roses' (Outkast). I'm kinda embarrassed to admit that.
T Time You Wake Up: 7 am
U Unknown Fact About Me: Golly, I dunno. A lot of people don't know this, but I added spinach to my diet. A big deal for a picky eater like me.
V Vegetable You Hate: Pretty much all of them, fruits too.
W Worst Habit: Leaving my socks in the living room, checking my email a gazillion times a day
X X-rays You've Had: Just dental x-rays.
Y Yummy Food: Potato chips (can't live w/o them!)
Z Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Boom Baby Boom!



I am The Evil Midnight Bomber what Bombs at Midnight! What Tick villain are you?

Brought to you by Leggman; Leggman's Tick Fansite.

Not As Nerdy As I Thought I'd Be

Nothing New
There really isn't much going on here. Just waiting for the baby to come.

Two weeks ago, I got the urge to watch The Stand. So I dug out the videotapes and watched it. It's a good movie, and I realized that in this day and age, tracking is not something anyone should have to deal with. Eventually I think we'll be purged of all our old VHS tapes. There are so few we still watch, so I think maybe I'll keep those until we buy them on DVD, and just donate the rest to Goodwill.

Speaking of "in this day and age", I also need to be freed from my cassette tapes. Yes, I still have cassettes, and I listen to them. Geoff is so embarrassed by that fact, being the gadget geek he is. He bought a device to transfer the tapes into mp3s, I just have to get off my duff and do it. In all fairness to me, I have been slowly purging myself of these tapes for years. I was waiting on trying to find them on CD, or waiting for iTunes to make them available. Just last week I noticed iTunes added Digital Underground to their library. :) But it's harder to find Canadian artists on the U.S. iTunes store (like Barney Bentall, or Age Of Electric).

Last week, I was complaining about the weather, then Thursday it was gorgeous. Today I have to go to the doctor, the library, and the grocery store, and we're supposed to get rain and snow. I'm hoping it will hold off until I'm done my errands.

It's really going to happen...we're going to get a visit from one of our California friends. Well, not so much friend as family. Cindy is going to come visit in April, and she's bringing Abbie, Alec, and Alyssa. She's coming out this way to visit family in Colorado Springs, but we'll be hosting them for a night. I'm very excited.

So I guess we had a pretty good long weekend. We did chores, we had company over Saturday night, I got to nap, and Geoff finished reading his book. We also did some work on the baby's room and Geoff made homemade vegetable soup. Mostly it was a laid back kind of weekend. This Sunday, depending on how we feel we may go up to Golden to celebrate Buffalo Bill's birthday. They have cake, games and lookalikes. I think it might be fun, or maybe we'll go next year with Elijah. If next year is our last year in Colorado, I want to get as much out of the state as possible. Actually, the festival I want to check out, I can't talk anyone else into. Frozen Dead Guy Days. I mean come on, it's a guy who's frozen in a Tuff Shed that they plan events around. Who doesn't want to check that out?! This year it would be foolish to try to go to the festival, it's the weekend the baby is due. But I've got a year to try to talk someone into it for 2006. :)

Well, I better get started on my day, so I'll close with a quote from The Tick.

Tick: Everybody was a baby once, Arthur. Oh, sure, maybe not today, or even yesterday. But once. Babies, chum: tiny, dimpled, fleshy mirrors of our us-ness, that we parents hurl into the future, like leathery footballs of hope. And you've got to get a good spiral on that baby, or evil will make an interception.

Hockey Humor

A Brighter Outlook

I'm feeling much better about everything after a good night's sleep and a evening with our couples group. The girls just took a pad of paper and made a list of what they figure we may yet need, and are going to go shopping. It was very sweet. They also are going to part with some of their baby stuff they don't quite use anymore, like a wipe warmer and a swing.

It was fun to have everyone over here, though I was wondering how we'd fit 8 people into our apartment. But it worked out. We ate, talked, and played Shout About Movies. Now that Geoff & I have played through the whole DVD, I think I try to trade with Colin since he has a different disk.

I just wanted to post to let everyone know that today is much better, and for those who prayed, thank you. :)

Rely On God

Sigh. We knew becoming parents would change our lives, and that kids are expensive, but I didn't think it would be this financially painful. :) I hope (I really hope) now that we caved and bought the last (I hope it's the last) of the essentials for the baby's room, we can return to not using our credit card so much. It's just really hard to have all your family in Canada, and most of your friends in Canada or California. People always tell you that people will be giving you free stuff all the time. I don't know where these people are. Everyone I know has given away their baby stuff because they are done having kids, or they just had a kid in the last year.

This coming year will truly be a time for us to rely on God to get us through. And we can trust Him, because he's lead us this far. And He's always come through in the past. Like when we moved to CA, and had an apartment we couldn't afford, and I couldn't work, and we had to take a loan from the Armstrong bank to get by. We wondered how we would survive. Then God came through and we were able to move into student housing, break our lease with no consequences with the expensive place, and live off of Geoff's paycheck. See, God delivered.

Please just keep us in your prayers. For God's will to be done, for us to trust in Him to provide for us. And while we're at it, for God to bless our family and friends, whatever they may be going through.

Psalm 67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face shine upon us.

What's Going On
Golly, where should I start? Not much is going on, but I had stuff I wanted to post about. We spent a quiet night in, since we kinda already did the anniversary celebration at Copper Mountain. We had leftovers for dinner, and watched Celebrity Poker Showdown & Scrubs.

We caught a mouse in the trap Geoff set in our balcony roof. There is a big hole in the roof of the balcony, and we awoke Monday morning to see a little mouse body hanging down from the opening. Disturbing, and almost a little comical in a morbid sense. No more have made their way into the house, much to Honey's dismay. But that hasn't stopped her from looking for them.

Since we are in the home stretch of the pregnancy (4 more weeks), we're just trying to make sure the house is ready. I think we'll have to take some stuff to Goodwill this weekend.

Sunday was a pretty powerful morning at church. I broke down in tears during worship, since the band played I Can Only Imagine. I can usually hear the song on the radio and be okay, but there is something about hearing it in God's House. Also, it was prefaced with a video by the guy who wrote the song talking about losing his dad to cancer. The message was equally powerful, and I felt like the Scripture verse and message were directed right at me. Pastor Jim talked about relationships with God, and how there are 3 kinds of people. Those who are drowning, those clinging to the boat (or surfboard), and those who are in the boat. The key verse, that summed me up, was Mark 9:24, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief. I'm totally clinging to the surfboard in the water, getting bashed around. But I should be in the boat. This may not make sense to some of you, but to some it may make perfect sense.

A conversation on Sunday also made me realize just how blessed I am. I found out this couple we know who are pregnant, are going to lose their baby. They've known for months the baby isn't going to live, he has a neurological problem. Once he is delivered, he won't survive on his own. The wife is going to carry him to term, and get induced a few weeks before the due date. They already have a year old daughter. But my heart just broke, because they were so excited about this baby. And this couple is amazing. This has only brought them closer to each other and the Lord. I hope they will be able to try again, and I just wish I knew if there was anything I could do for them. I feel overwhelmingly blessed by the fact that our baby is healthy, and that we get to have a son in a few weeks.

Okay, I think I should change topics. What the heck is going on in Canada? (No offense to my fellow Canadians) Vancouver is going to give away heroin to addicts for research? Sigh, that's Canada for you. Land of the wacky ideas. (To defend Canada, Vancouver is a strange place. It's like an American city, except it's in Canada)

The stir around Ward Churchill has quieted down (FINALLY!). It's nice to not have to hear about it every day. I guess the big thing on the news these days is the boy from NC being found guilty for killing his grandparents. I didn't really follow this story, but I thought the idea of them blaming it on an antidepressant (Zoloft) was a bad defense. Geoff thinks we should be calling this the Blame Generation, since it seems everyone is so quick to point blame rather than accept responsibility for their actions.

Did you read about what Chris Rock had to say about the Academy Awards? I think he's a odd choice for host, but we'll see how he does. I don't know how much of the show will hold my attention, since I'm not really rooting for any particular movie.

The weather sucks here. It was really nice for a while, and I wondered if I would be able to put away our parkas. But it has turned cold again. I get spoiled by good weather, and then I wimp out when it turns cold again. It's still not as cold as Edmonton, so that's my silver lining.

I'm going to close with a quote from The Mummy Returns.

Evelyn: No harm ever came from opening a chest.
Rick: Yeah, no harm ever came from reading a book either. Remember how that one went?

It Had To Be You

We are celebrating 8 years of marriage today. Look how young we look! This may sound cheesy, but the truth is our marriage gets better with every year. Being married isn't easy, everyday isn't all sunshine and roses. But we have been blessed by God and we constantly pray for His presence in our relationship. We doubt we would be where we are without Him.

I'm going to close with the lyrics to a song that makes me think of Geoff.

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do, it's me and you

Boy, and as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

EEK! A Mouse!

Had a mouse in the apartment today. I was terrified, Geoff was off at breakfast with his mens group. So I hid out at Paula & Simon's and Simon & Honey took care of the problem. Geoff came home with some traps which we've set, and maintenance guys fixed the huge gap under our front door (which is where they think the mouse got in). I'm still a little paranoid, but I'm sure that will eventually fade.

Poor Geoff I called him crying and hysterical, "come home now! There's a mouse in the house". I guess in the future, I shouldn't be calling him and starting my sentence with "come home now!" Poor Simon, I'm knocking on their door crying and he thinks he's going to have to deliver the baby.

What can I say? Rodents freak me out.

The Bermuda Triangle
Jay: Well, this is fate! She's divorced, we don't want to redo the cabinets, and you need a wife. What do they call it when everything intersects?
Sam Baldwin: The Bermuda Triangle.

Yesterday was a strange day for coincidences. I was reading on edmontonjournal.com about the former Edmonton Chief of Police plotting to set up an Edmonton Sun writer. And while I'm reading this story, I'm thinking, that's entrapment. Then that afternoon I was watching Ed (because I had taped it) and the woman Ed was defending in court was being accused of entrapment. I thought that was weird. Later in the evening, I was watching The Factor, and Bill's guest was talking about Churchill (you can't turn to any station without hearing about Churchill) and how Churchill said that smallpox was given to the Native Americans by blankets from the government. That they intentionally infected these people. It's being disputed by some, and I don't really know anything about that to say it's truth or fiction. Wouldn't it be hard to prove? But last night, in reading my Canadian History For Dummies, Will Ferguson said the British may have done that exact thing to the Natives in Canada (in 1763).

I just thought it was a strange set of coincidences.

As I said, every channel is talking about Churchill. I'm getting really tired of it. I just want it to stop. This morning, Gov. Owens (whom I generally like) said something that set Geoff off into "scream at the tv" mode. He (Owens) said he didn't want to pay Churchill's salary, that he signs his paycheck. The truth is that the state barely gives anything to the University. It contributes like nil to the post secondary institutions, and is always cutting what little funds it gives. Mary says the UC schools also get the least amount of money from their alumni in the whole U.S. They just don't breed loyalty. I think it would be best for the Gov. to just stop talking, and let Churchill just keep talking the noose around his neck. We'll see what happens.

Mary stopped by this morning to take me to lunch. It was quite a nice surprise. We went to Gunther Toody's which is a neat little diner. A lot like Ruby's (for those who've been to Ruby's), or Johnny Rockets. The menu offered quite a bit, and the prices were reasonable. Our waitress was Rizzo, and she almost had enough flair on to rival Brian.

Well, nothing else is going on. I wanted to point out I have been adding to the list of blogs I read, some new ones have appeared, and I organized them by gender. No real reason for that, just it was looking odd to me. Feel free to peruse them at your leisure. I'm going to close with a quote from Mulan.

Mushu: OK, let's see what you got. "From General Li. Dear Son, We're waiting for the Huns at the pass, it would mean a lot you if come to back us up." Hmm, that's great, except that you forgot "and since we're out of potpurrori, perhaps you wouldn't mind bringing up some." HELLO. This is the army. Make it sound more urgent please. You know what I'm talking about?

The Railroad?
Thanks to Roland for posting this quiz, though I thought I'd be more exciting. :)



The Disneyland Railroad: A real steam powered
train, like the old mighty Santa Fe, on a
picturesk route like no other! You take people
from the turn of the century to Frontier-era
New Orleans, to the bonifide hometown of Mickey
Mouse, and into then into the world of the
Future, passing through the Grand Canyon,
Jungles, Forrests, Fantasyland, and the ancient
world of the Dinosaurs along the way. Always
on time, you are steady, reliable, orderly, and
a practical form of transportation for your
passengers in the park. You greet visitors as
they enter and say goodbye to them as they
leave tonight. You have an eye for old world
detail and craftsmenship, even as you represent
the industrial age and the spirit of American
ingenuity. An old icon of progress, you may
not be the fastest ride or as sleek as your
Monorail cousin, but you can rest assured that
you are just the kind of magical experience
that Walt Disney himself liked best.


What Disneyland attraction are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Down From The Mountain


We're back from our weekend in the mountains. We left Saturday about 9:45, and Geoff was on the slopes by noon. While he spent the afternoon skiing, I spent my time riding around on shuttles trying to get where I wanted to be. I got us checked into the FoxPine Inn, which was right off the slopes in East Village, then met Geoff for lunch at Jack's in Center Village. Once Geoff went back out skiing, I did some browsing in the shops before heading to the Athletic Club to go swimming. After my swim, I headed back to the room, and Geoff was already soaking in the hot tub. I went out to visit with him, but could not enjoy the hot tub because it's a no-no when you are pregnant. We took the shuttle back out to Center Village to look around, as Geoff never gets to see what's there, he's usually on the mountain. We decided our best bet for dinner would be JJ's which is in the East Village. We enjoyed a tasty dinner, then retired to our room. Watched a little tv before we fell asleep. We woke the next day, grabbed some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and parted ways. Geoff was back out skiing, and I went to check us out of the room (check out is at 10am), and go back to the pool. After leaving the pool I went back to Center Village to check out the shops I missed the previous day. When Geoff called me to meet up for hot chocolate, I was just a few shops away from him. We waited outside Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for five minutes until it opened, then ordered two dark chocolate hot chocolates. We found a bench in the sun and enjoyed the mountain air. Over our drinks, we decided to grab some lunch to go and head home. The skiing wasn't as nice as the day before, and Geoff felt he was okay leaving. I talked him into going to Grand Hall Market for lunch, as there were signs everywhere saying they had lunch specials for $3.99. GHM is located in East Village above JJ's. It turned out to be a great deal, and Geoff says he'll go back there everytime. Once inside the building, the food smelled so good, we decided to stay and eat. We were on the road by 12:30 and home just about 2pm. Copper Mountain does offer a lot to do if you don't want to ski. I was pretty impressed. Being pregnant, I couldn't take part in those activites (tubing, skating, and curling), but I found I had plenty to see to keep me busy. It's pretty family friendly, it's affordable, and I would totally recommend it. I only took four photos while we were there, but I posted them for you to see.

We watched "The Big Game" yesterday, and I was so happy to see the Eagles give the Pats a game. I was rooting for the Eagles, as I don't really like Tom Brady (but his portrayal on The Simpsons following the game was bang on), and the Patriots have already won enough times, I wanted someone else to win. (*NOTE: This idea of "having won enough times" does not apply to USC). My favorite commercial was FedEx Kinkos, even though I dislike FedEx, followed by NFL players singing Tomorrow (from Annie). As I sort of mentioned, we did tune into The Simpsons, something we haven't done in a while. We feel like it's not what it used to be. But the episode wasn't so much funny as it was true. At least that's how I viewed it.

Colin Update: He's doing okay. They had to sew his cartilage together, his bone was stuck in it. He's in a full leg cast (one of those blue things) from his thigh to his ankle. He's on crutches, and off work for several weeks, if not months. He's annoyed because he can't do anything, and more than anything just wants a new knee. I may give him a call today. I feel bad for him, because when he was out with his arm injury, he could still go out and get around. Please pray for a speedy recovery, and for him to have the patience to let himself heal.

Well, that's all I know. This week I have a doctor's appointment, and our first baby shower is on Saturday. It's going to be an "unshower", meaning no baby games, and there will be beer. It should be interesting. I'll close with a quote from Intolerable Cruelty, which was on tv yesterday.

Miles Massey: "Dismiss your vows, your feigned tears, your flattery, for where a heart is hard, they make no battery..." Mrs. Rexroth, do you know those lines?
Freddy Bender: Objection, your honor.
Judge Marva Munson: Grounds?
Freddy Bender: Uh... poetry recitation.

Not Again!

Colin was in the hospital today having surgery. Again. This is his 3rd surgery in the last 18 months. This time it's on his knee. I will have more details later. Here's what I know now:

(from Dawn:) On Monday his knee locked and he has not been able to walk on it or extend it since.  He is in the OR right now...they figured he tore cartilage and now the bone is stuck in the cartilage.  They couldn't tell us much more until they sent a scope in to look at it.  We don't know about recovery time or anything as the doctor can't really see what is going on until he goes in with the camera. (end)

He's only 26. I just don't know what the deal is with his body. Or maybe he just wants some attention.

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?