Journey & Adventure

Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Canadians: The saddest part... I can relate to them all. If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you may live in Canada . If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Canada . If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Canada . If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialled a wrong number, you may live in Canada . If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of Detroit for the weekend, you may live in Canada . If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Canada . If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Canada . If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day, and back again, you may live in Canada . If you can drive 90 km/hr through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without fl inching, you may live in Canada

Instead of my son’s usual trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s when we leave for holidays, he opted to fend for himself and decided to stay at home alone. This was his first “home alone” experience and I’ll be honest, I was a little suspect of how things would turn out. At the best of times, the boy isn’t the most attentive and is certainly not the most organized person I know. When I speak, he typically listens, but does not necessarily grasp the finer details of the conversation. For example, I might say “We are leaving now, so please make sure you turn off the lights and lock the door when you leave.” What he hears is “We are leaving now, so turn off the lights.” He completely tunes out the most important part of the conversation – the instructions to “lock the door”. Anyhow with his attention to detail, I was a little bit concerned that I would return home to an empty house or even nomadic gypsies residing in my backyard. Alas, this was not the case. He a

First, I wish to say “Happy Thanksgiving” to all my American friends. I know I had my Turkey Day in October, but let’s be honest – that was a century ago. I’m a little behind on my letter writing, so here goes... Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own. Dear Lunch Room Guy, Wearing your sunglasses in the office makes you look like a dork, but I’m sure you already knew that. Oh and just to clarify, wearing those damn Crocs and the fanny pack doesn’t help your appearance either. Best Wishes, SC ************************************ Dear Lazy-Ass Engineer, Stop complaining that the photocopier is out of paper and do something about it already. It’s not my problem, but you are. P.S. In case you didn't already know, I wish to point out that you are a whiney-ass troll. Yours truly, S *************************************** Dear Mall Santa, I would like to know how you got that job.

With a vacation, comes reflection - reflection of where I’m at in my life, how I got there and where I want to be in 6 months, 3 years or 10 years from now. This vacation was no different. I spent time once again reflecting on both the good, the bad and the ugly of the past years and what the future may hold. Although I don’t know where I’m going and I certainly don’t have a 10 year plan, I DO know that I’m not where I want to be at this moment in my life – at least not in my career. I took a wrong turn somewhere and I’ve done a bit of backtracking to find where I went wrong, but to no avail. Perhaps it’s time to stop and ask for exact directions to the Golden Path to Career Happiness… I’m confident it exists…somewhere – most likely somewhere in the Caribbean and believe me - I will get there eventually... In the meantime, I leave you with my inspiration for this post: Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett I took off for a weekend last month Just to try and re

Vacations are a double edged sword – they are great when you are on them, but when you come back, you are made to “pay” for taking time off. I have 107 unread e-mails in my inbox and at least 75 of them are marked with that red exclamation mark indicating they are “urgent”. Does anyone actually think putting the exclamation mark on them is going to make me read them any quicker? It’s great to come back to work only to be greeted by an e-mail from the CEO saying “thanks for all your hard work this year, but no one is getting a raise”. I am not surprised by this and am just thankful to have a job at all, but getting that e-mail still sucks. While I was away, my local radio station had changed its usual format to “all Christmas music, all the time”. WTH? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Christmas music but NOT in November and NOT every damn song. There was something about hearing Alvin and The Chipmunks that almost sent me postal this morning.

Just a quick note to thank everyone for their comments yesterday and to let you know that all is right with the world again today - I am still married....for now. *smiles* It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for common sense and composure. I guess when you have two stubborn people, sparks are bound to fly and yesterday was "our" day for a firestorm of epic proportions.

Sorry, I haven't had a chance to post for a few days. For being on island time, things are very busy. We have been averaging 3 dives a day, so by the time 7:30 comes along, I am ready for bed - at least my body is and my mind doesn't know any better. I guess that bedtime comes with age, but I just thought it would wait a little longer . Today was the first time in my 20 year marriage that I can honestly say that I contemplated my husband's demise...in detail. I know, SHAME on me! But if you were here you would understand that together we were a recipe for disaster. There are days when I need to count to 10 at least 3-4 times daily, but today - counting to 100 backwards wouldn't have helped diffuse the numerous situations we found ourselves in. We are both fairly easy going - especially when we are on holidays, but today was a disaster! We both woke up on the wrong side of the bed and would have been better served to just stay there. One of my pet peeves is indeci

Hello Everyone! J and I arrived on the redeye this morning and landed safely in Bonaire around 5:00 a.m. It took a grand total of 15 minutes to clear customs and get our luggage and then another 2 hours to get our rental car. As you might not realize the pace in Bonaire runs a little slower than glacial, but it's all good - I'll adjust. Welcome to the islands! After a quick breakfast, we headed to our dive briefing and soon after, our first dive. We had been given a tip and somewhat of a shady guarantee that "just offshore, you can find 3 seahorses". Imagine my excitement, I was so sure that we would easily find at least one of them. Wrong! Apparently directions like swim straight out for 70 meters and in about 7 meters of water, you will find a large fan coral and somewhere around that fan coral, you will find a yellow and a red seahorse. Turns out, even though I'm Canadian, I don't know shit about the effin metric system - I don't actually know

I’m happy that the sun is shining and it’s still balmy in Canada - in November. I’m even happier that tomorrow I will be headed for even balmier Caribbean weather. A week of sun, fun and scuba diving awaits my arrival. I’m less happy that in order to get to the Caribbean, I have to first spend 5 hours in Newark , NJ ; however there is an upside. Really there is – you see, there are always a lot of drunken passengers stumbling around the concourses of Liberty International Airport to keep me entertained for at least 5 hours. I kid you not - if Disney is the happiest place of earth, Newark is the drunkenness. I’m happy that I’ve cashed in all my Continental points and upgraded to a first class seat. Although it’s only a 6 hour fl ight, it’s a redeye, so I might as well snooze and drool in style. I’m even happier that the 28 of my other friends headed south with us are sitting in coach. Ha Ha…suckahs! I’m happy and hopeful t

I would like to thank Gavin @ Insanity’s Musings for passing this award onto me. Thanks Gavin! As with all awards they come with rules, so here they are. There are a lot of them, so pull up a seat: 1. Thank whoever gave this to you 2. Copy award 3. Post it in your blog 4. Tell us 7 things that your readers don’t know 5. Link 7 new bloggers 6. Notify winners of the award with a comment on their blog 7. Keep being awesome! Seven Things You May Not Know About Me…Or Might Not Want To… I hate cake. I review contracts for a living. I can drive pretty much any kind of farm machinery – combine, tractor and forklift. I’m good at home renovation projects. I love to go fishing. I swear way more than I should. I used to play hockey – left wing. Seven More Amazing People You Need To Know MJ @ In So Many Words Fierce @ The Life and Times Brian @ WaystationOne JB @ It’s Gonna Take More Than a Hamburger to Make Me Happy Sylvia @ Rock The Cage

JB @ It’s Gonna Take More Than a Hamburger To Make Me Happy has bestowed me with this prestigious award. I am truly honoured since there have been many times in my illustrious career that I have thought about a career change such as this… I Shoulda Been A Stripper Award Guidelines: a. post the award on your blog - Check! b. list 7 of your personality traits, as evidenced on your blog 1. Sarcastic 2. Adventurous 3. Semi-Optimistic 4. Grumpy 5. Passionate 6. Funny 7. Protective c. pass the award on to 7 other bloggers with notable personality, and be sure to let them know that they've been selected f8hasit – She certainly has been racking up the awards as of late, including the illusive Blog of Note, so with at, she deserves another one. Besides, this one’s in the namesake of her BFF Chrissy. JW @ Jessi, Bob and The Monsters – Considering she’s living in a male dominated world at the moment, she deserves this award for serving her Country with style and grace. Fidgeting Gidget

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada or Veteran's Day in the U.S. Today is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war. It is observed on November 11 th to recall the end of World War 1 on this date in 1918. In Flanders Fields By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fl y Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

Since I appear to be having trouble sorting through my own thoughts today and have resigned myself that I will not come up with anything witty or creative (not that any day is any different), I’ve decided pass along this instead. For the most part, I believe these to be true…although I do struggle with a few of the suggestions… Suggestions For Success by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know. Be forgiving of yourself and others. Be generous. Have a grateful heart. Persistence, persistence, persistence. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated. Commit yourself to constant improvement. Commit yourself to quality.

I’ve officially morphed into a germ-a-phobe, with a slight twist of paranoid hermit thrown in. With only 5 days left until my departure for the sunny Caribbean, I’m living with the overwhelming fear of becoming sick. I’ve taken to screening my co-workers and visitors to my house. Just like at the hospital, if anyone looks or sounds sick, access to my vicinity is denied. Yesterday’s telephone conversation with my mother-in-law went like this: MIL: Can we stop in around 10:00? I have some photos we would like you to send to Terry in Ireland. Me: Hmmm. I guess. How have you been feeling? MIL: Fine. Why? Me: Have you or Bob had a cold, fever, chills or aches? MIL: No. Why? Me: Are you sure? MIL: Well, we had had some aches, but we are 69, so some aches are bound to happen. Why? Me: Have to been around anyone that’s sick? You haven’t been to the Dr.’s office in a while have you? How about the bank? MIL: What the hell are you asking me all these questions for? H

Since the beginning of my humble Blogger beginnings, I have from time to time featured photos that have been taken by my husband, J. The truth is - I rely heavily on J to capture the memories of both our daily and worldly adventures. If it wasn’t for him, I would live in a photo-less world, because honestly I cannot figure out how to work our television remote control, let alone a camera and then I’d have to upload the photos, resize them, etc, etc. It’s just far too much work…for me. Now don’t get me wrong, I do actively participate in the photo-taking process. It’s less glamorous than actually being the photographer, but in the spirit of sharing responsibilities, he allows me to carry his camera equipment for him. I know! Isn’t he a peach? Anyhooo, since it’s my hope and J’s dream that someday one of his photos will get published in a national magazine (aka National Geographic), he has decided to launch his very own blog in order to obtain a litt

Oh wait, why am I surprised? I shouldn't be considering I live at the North Pole... Here is a simulated view of what our parking lot at work looks like at the moment - if I actually had a camera...