Journey & Adventure

May you, your family and friends have a very Merry Christmas or if you prefer, Joxieux, Feliz Navidad or Happy Holidays!

Well, I've been back from Hawaii for over a week now and last week was a whirlwind.  The other  two ladies in the legal department are out until the New Year with pneumonia, so that has left me doing the work of three people and that itself hasn't left me much time for anything - especially not blogging or Christmas stuff. I guess it was Wednesday when it dawned on me that Christmas was less than two weeks away.  Here it is now Saturday and I'm still just thinking about Christmas shopping. I know I'll pull it together before it actually gets here, but honestly, I'd rather be back at the beach...(which I'll report on in detail later)...

Don't get excited, I'm not leaving permanently, just departing on a little vacation to Hawaii. I hope to actually have some time stop in and say hello. See you soon!

So here I am…in body and spirit.   I know it’s been awhile since I’ve been around and you’re probably saying to yourself “who cares”.   Well, I’m back to entertain (or not)…at least for today.   I have lots of excuses as to where I’ve been, but the biggest issues in my life right now are the fact that during the day work has been hectic and in the evening I’ve been busy preparing for my Christmas jewelry show next weekend and since Santa hasn’t provided me with any sweatshop elves, I’ve been on my own.   So, now that I done with the whining part, let’s get on with the cheesiness…   I was busily working away on some stuff here at work and needed to do a little research on some “legal” disclaimers, when I happened upon this great time-wasting website ( www.coolsig.com ).   Here are some of my favorite disclaimers…I wonder if anyone will notice when I imbed them within the fine print…     Government ...

That's it...nothing going on, so I won't bother you with the drivel. In other boring news...it snowed today and with that my life is on the downslide until May. On that happy note - have a GREAT weekend!

So, in response to the question - what is a toque?  Here is a repost I had done awhile back about Canadian fashion attire...enjoy the beauty of it all....(jealous aren't you?) There is no escaping the crap that is a Canadian winter and there is no denying the fact that – I am a terrible Canadian. I detest winter so much that I daydream that the Canadian government would realize how terrible of a Canadian I actually am, kick me out of the country, ban me for life from watching hockey and revoke my god-given right to wear a toque or a dickey for the rest of my life. For those not familiar with Canadianisms a toque is a hat, which is most likely made of wool, knitted in a hideous pattern and colors and perhaps with a baseball size tassel adorning the top. These wonderful items are worn with pride, pulled down as far as possible, to cover your ears and most of your eyebrows, essentially hiding the identity of the wearer. In honesty, there is no pride in wearing t...

I realize it’s technically not winter yet, but I’m fed up already and I haven’t even seen a snowflake yet.     With only one month remaining until I vacate this country for the sunny south, here’s my top 10 list which might indicate you also need a vacation to a sunny, warm destination…   1.        “Wind chill” is suddenly the new catch phrase. 2.        You go to work in the dark and you come home in the dark. 3.        It’s the first day of November and you have appointment to have your snow tires put on. 4.        It’s the first day of November and Christmas has thrown up all over the mall. 5.        It’s the first day of November and Vegas bookies have started taking bets on when the first Christmas carol will be played on the radio. 6.        You’ve b...

I’m tired today.   I’m tired a lot lately and I can’t explain why.   I usually get a decent night’s sleep – some are obviously better than others, but for the most part I get a solid 8 hours per night.  Even with that much sleep, I still wake up feeling drained and worn out.   I know my current weight probably has something to do with this feeling of exhaustion, but honestly I’m too tired to even think about exercising in the evening.  It’s a vicious circle – I’m too tired to exercise, but the excess weight is causing me to be too tired to do anything else with my life.   I’ve always required more sleep than the average person, but unless my work is going to start sanctioning afternoon naps, I’ve got to do something about my current state of exhaustion or else I might find myself without a job and then I’ll have plenty of nap time on my hands.    NOTE:  As I type this, all I can think about is ...

Wow, it’s Thursday already.   I guess that’s what you can expect when Monday is a holiday and then Tuesday was a “sick” day and Wednesday was a catch up day at work from my “sick” day and then suddenly Thursday is upon me and it’s also pay day!      Tomorrow is Friday and then it’s the weekend.   Oh Yeah!!! *insert random dancing here*   Thanksgiving with my dad was fantastic.   We had a great time visiting and the weather was beyond anything we can typically expect in Canada this time of year.     I certainly didn’t expect to be wearing shorts and t-shirts all weekend.   I actually had to shave my legs in October – wow!   As with any holiday, the downside is the extra tonnage that creeps upon my thighs while I’m sleeping.     I can’t explain it – I purposely avoided regular beer this weekend.     Could it possibly have been the multiple pieces of pumpkin pie with whipped cream?   Nahhh…...

It's Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday here in Canada and that means: A long weekend; My dad is in town visiting. I haven't seen him in 3D in over 3 years, so I'm excited for that; Fantastic weather. Sunny and warm is what the weather people are saying; Local county fair should make for some great junk food fixins; and of course... Turkey and all the trimmings. On Tuesday, I will commence the self-loathing but until then...have a fantastic weekend!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my future.    Not necessarily next week or next month, but where I’ll be in 10 years from now.     At present, I’m working towards the goal of being debt and mortgage free in about 6 years, but then what?     I certainly won’t be able to retire at that time because I won’t have any substantial savings in which to support myself.     After the debt free goal has been attained, I still plan to buy a vacation property in the Caribbean, but I’ll only be able to enjoy a couple of times per year because I’ll still have to work to pay for the vacation home.   It would be fantastic if I could simply work in the Caribbean, but my options for employment will be hindered by the whole work visa issue.   Another option I’ve been toying with to avoid the whole work visa issue is to simply buy an existing business in the Caribbean.   But what business could I possibly be qua...

The things I can come up with in a long, boring meeting…sometimes I amaze myself (and not in a good way).   No words of wisdom, no words of wit.   Instead there’s boredom and here I sit.   While contemplating a witty blog, I begin to feel my arteries clog.   I dream of things, I dream of places, I easily picture those bloggy faces.   To meet, to greet, to dance in the street.   Perhaps one day we’ll say hello, but until then I have to go.   Back to work, back to the grind, back to sit on my be-hind.

This article recently appeared in one of our local newspapers.  I just had to share...enjoy!    A recent survey from Thomas Cook and the Association of British Travel Agents revealed 20 of the most ridiculous complaints by holiday-makers made to their travel agent.   1. “I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.”   2. “It’s lazy of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during ‘siesta’ time — this should be banned.”   3. “On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all.”   4. “We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.”   5. A tourist at a top African Game Lodge overlooking a water hole, who spotted a visibly a...

The weather this past weekend (yes, I realize that was almost a week ago) was not nice – at all.   It was either raining or when it wasn’t raining, it was so cold that pants and a long-sleeved shirt were required.     With the arrival of colder weather, cold and flu season has also arrived.   There are two people in the vicinity of my office that are sick.   I cannot stand the sound of someone sniffling and not blowing their nose.   “Gross” is all I have to say about that…   My father-in-law held a yard sale this past weekend (in between when it wasn’t raining).   I swear that man could sell air conditioners to Eskimos.   We had taken him a small amount of “junk” that had been lying around our basement for years to sell on our behalf and he conveniently made us a nice $400.   Have I said how much I love than man?   I love him even more since he didn’t ask for a commission.   My new found wealthy feeling...

The Boy goes back to school in a couple of days.   I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it in the past, but he’s decided on another course change for the upcoming school year.   As a matter of fact, he’s decided on an entirely different approach.   This year he plans on living at home and attending college in the same city as where I work, so he will be able to commute with me.   The benefit of this is that, he’ll save a ton of money on housing and I’ll be able to ensure he’s getting the support he needs to make this year count (read…I’ll be nagging him so bad, he won’t have any other choice than to get his shit together).   This year, he’s decided on Culinary Management, which is a fancy way of saying Chef Training as his program of choice and so far he seems committed to it.   He’s even gone so far as getting a second job at local catering company/deli/butcher shop in order to gain some hands-on experience in the culinary fi...

No matter how you pronounce it – they are delicious!   Yes, things are sooooo boring in my life at the moment that I’m actually writing about tomatoes.     Are they a fruit or vegetable?   Friend or foe?   Who cares?   I love them.   Tomatoes are now “in season” here in Canada and I’m lucky to live in the heart of farm country, with easy access to fresh local produce.    I eat at least one tomato at every meal and know it’s time to cut back on the tomatoes when I start getting canker sores in my mouth from all of the acid.   Yes, I love them that much…   I actually consider myself a bit of a tomato connoisseur and can usually tell how good they will be by smell alone.   Yes, I admittedly sniff my way through the produce department.     Loser?   Ummm, yes.   But you probably already figured that out already by this post alone.   ...

I hope not because here we go…   Summer is fast escaping my grasp.  All I’m hearing about these days - how chilly the nights are becoming, back to school shopping advertisements are everywhere, soon the first frost will arrive…BLAH, BLAH, BLAH…  When it comes to my summer – I’m a glass half full sort of girl.  If you’re not on the same page as me, you need to stay the hell away or shut the hell up because you’re stressing me out.   J and I are going “camping” with friends this weekend.  I use the phrase “camping” loosely because we are actually staying in a trailer (with air conditioning and television) in a trailer park (with a pool).   I’d honestly prefer to rough-it, in a tent in the woods with no modern amenities or patio lanterns.  Trailer camping is not my version of camping.  I loathe the idea.  It’s tacky and unappealing.  What was I thinking?  Oh yeah, apparently I wasn’t…...

I know I've been a bit MIA lately, but life is still out of hand.  Summer has been great, but I can honestly say, I don't think I've done much. Some days have been spent at the beach... Some local scuba diving... Some cloud watching... Some sunsets...   Some wine on the beach, while watching the sunset... Life's been uneventful, but all in all...good.

For years, J had always managed our finances and has done a good job.   With the usual exceptions of a mortgage payment, car payment and line of credit payment, we’ve managed to live relatively debt free, with money left over to go on holidays, buy toys, clothes, put money into savings, etc.   At the beginning of April, it was decided that I would start to look after our finances.   The main reason for the changing of the guard – J didn’t have the time to commit to it since he was busy with his night course.   I honestly think he grew tired of it and he grew tired of me questioning his banking methods.     So with that being said, I’ve been in charge and for better or worse - I’ve developed an addiction to analyzing, budgeting, planning, cutting back on spending and finding savings where I can.     We had a loosey-goosey budget before, but after we made it, we never really paid much attention to it.   Now, I’m an...

I wish I could tell you that my absence from the blogosphere was a result of being abducted by aliens or that I won the lottery and have been busy traveling the world or because I became a swim suit model and my photo shoots have kept me too busy.     Nope, none of the above has occurred.   I know…I’m disappointed too (especially the swim suit model gig).   Although I’m sure I’ve been recently visited by aliens and they have managed to manipulate my brain and made me a lazy-ass couch potato (more so than usual that is).   I have no excuses – I’ve just ran out of creative steam.    Normally the summer months rejuvenate me, but sadly that’s not been the case this year.       Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying summer, the sunshine, the heat, the humidity.     I just have nothing to show for it, except maybe a nice tan and some sun-streaked hair.    I don’t even have memories to go along with th...

Sorry to disappoint, but such is not the case.   I’m somewhat back, not that I was ever really gone – I just took a little break from technology.   Rest assured, I was still following what you had to say, I was just too lazy to comment - sorry.   So, what’s new?   Hmmm, in my world, let’s see…   In case, you are the one that had crawled under a rock - the Royal Newlyweds are visiting Canada.   As much as I’ve tried not to get sucked into the maelstrom, I’m oddly fascinated by the phenomenon that is our monarchy.   Kate and William certainly have more pizzazz than the older royals.   J and The Boy are still driving me crazy on a daily basis.   Nothing in particular stands out, but I guarantee that a day does not go by when I don’t contemplate running away from home.   We went to the zoo last weekend.   We’ve been before and I was impressed before, but this time, I was left feeling disappointed.   ...

I hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend...I know I did.  I also had a long weekend with our Canada Day being on Friday.

Today is my (and J's) 22nd wedding anniversary.  I can't believe it's been that long.  Somedays, it literally feels like a lifetime of hard work and then there are days when it only seems like yesterday. The lyrics to this song pretty much say it all … STILL THE ONE (Orleans) We've been together since way back when Sometimes I never want to see you again But I want you to know, after all these years You're still the one I want whisperin' in my ear You're still the one I want to talk to in bed Still the one that turns my head We're still having fun, and you're still the one I looked at your face every day But I never saw it 'til I went away When winter came, I just wanted to go Deep in the desert, I longed for the snow You're still the one that makes me laugh Still the one that's my better half We're still having fun, and you're still the one You're still the one that makes me strong Still the one...

Does anyone else get tired of giving?   Giving their time, their knowledge, their support, and even to a certain extent, their friendship or their love?   Normally I don’t mind giving, but lately - I’m tired of it.   I’m tired of being the problem solver, the peacekeeper, the caregiver.    I’m tired of being pulled in a million directions and in general, I’m just tired.       I just want to be left the hell alone, so that I can recharge myself.   I don’t mean to sound selfish or bitter, but I don’t really care.   I’m also tired of being politically correct.     Now, that the bitterness is out of the way – I’m excited about an award I received last week from R. Jacob Post .   Stay tuned for details….they will be forthcoming.