Journey & Adventure

Photo Courtesy of J - Bonaire, 2009

I may have mentioned in a post or two before that I love the greasy goodness of Denny's Restaurants.  I firmly believe the Grand Slam is a gift from a greater being. The downside of my love affair with Denny's is that they are only located in the United States and the only opportunities I get to enjoy them is when I happen to travel across the border. Imagine my surprise when I was on my way home this evening from London, Ontario (a mere 40 minutes away) and off in the distance, I spot a yellow glow.  As I squinted to focus in on the beacon of brightness, I slowly begin to comprehend what is before my eyes... I couldn't believe my eyes - there it was - at a truck stop along the highway.  A truck stop that I drive by a few times a month.  I started to squeal (yes squeal) and point.  J couldn't figure out what my problem was until his gaze followed my finger.    "Holy hell, you're going to be 400 lbs" was his response.  Some ...

I sometimes feel that I have a multiple split personalities.    There is the work me, the mom and wife me and the friend me. Typically, they manage to co-exist without too much friction, but there are times when I don’t get along well with any of the “me-s”.     The Work Me She is dedicated, hardworking and loyal.   She takes pride in doing a job well, likes to be busy and usually works well with others.      She is mature, confident, respectful and tactful.    Her greatest strengths include her high level of organization, multi-tasking skills and her ability to keep her mouth shut.   She is well skilled at cutting through corporate red tape and getting to the heart of what needs to be done.    Her greatest accomplishments include not managing to kill her sales team or verbally assaulting her co-workers.      She’s done well in her career, but looks forward to doing ...

Don't panic, it's a short list... Municipal Elections – It’s municipal election day here in Ontario.   It’s time to vote for our town mayors and council members.   Since no one has bothered to run against my current mayor, I don’t really care.   Thank goodness this day will soon be over.   I’m sick of hearing the smear campaign ads and I’m sick of election signs polluting the side of the roadways and intersections.    Bed Bugs – I’m tired of hearing about the spreading bed bug infestations.   Did you know, they are taking over New York, Toronto and they are coming soon to a town near you?   Enough already - as someone who loves to travel, it’s freaking me out and making me itch!

A few years ago, I discovered a wonderful spectator sport and have been hooked ever since – lacrosse. Actually it’s become somewhat of a family tradition – albeit not a traditional one, but at least once a year, my husband, son and I head into Toronto to attend a Toronto Rock Lacrosse game. With The Boy out of the house and time on your hands, J and I  have decided to purchase season tickets for the Toronto Rock Lacrosse games.  Should be fun...    Lacrosse is a game of skill, bravery and a little bit of insanity – o.k. maybe a lot of insanity. I haven’t taken the time to learn the rules of the game, but I have gathered that the beating of each other with sticks is totally acceptable; however if a player decides to use his fist and punch someone – that action is cause for a penalty (but using your stick to bludgeon someone across the head is o.k.). A penalty is also given if you grab another player’s shirt or stick (but just remember that it’s o.k. to use...

I’ve made a mistake.    I should have given the standard two weeks notice and then gotten myself the hell out of this place.   Instead, I had a moral dilemma and decided to give 7 weeks notice.   I thought by doing this, I would give them lots of time to get a replacement and perhaps even given me some time to train said replacement.   I was trying to be nice.  Mistake. I’ll admit, I might have been a bit selfish too.   I have holidays coming up and didn’t want to start with the new company and then take a week off.   I was worried it would look bad to my new co-workers and I certainly didn’t want to take it unpaid, which was what I would have needed to do.   Stupid me. So, here I sit in Week 5 of my notice period – bored beyond belief and aggravated by my stupidity.   They still haven’t started the interview process for my replacement, so instead of utilizing this time to train someone, I’ve been asked to writ...

Saying I woke up on the wrong side of the bed would be an understatement.  My mood says I woke up under the bed, with the dust bunnies. I'm cranky bitchy.   Don't ask me why.  Who the hell knows.  Who the hell cares.  I know it and I'm dealing with it (in my own way).  My mother used to say if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.  So with that little tidbit, I leave you with this (it made me smile - yesterday).     

I wish I had something fresh and exciting to report, but sadly I don’t, so instead a weekend re-cap. The weekend was nice, but is never long enough for my liking.   I find this time of year, the to-do list is always longer than there is time in a day.     On Saturday, J and I went for a long walk on the beach.   It was perfect time and place to take in the fall colors.   As you can expect from Canada in October, we had the beach to ourselves.     It was enjoyable – the sunshine, the fresh air and the best part - I didn’t get any sand between my toes (thanks to my rubber boots). The Bible says that Sunday is supposed to be the day of rest, but thanks to my dilly-dallying on Saturday, I had to do house and yard work on Sunday.    The bathrooms were scrubbed, the floors were mopped and laundry was done.     With The Boy off at school, I’ve had to pick up the slack and am sharing the lawn cutting duti...