Trick or Treating, Alberta Style

Dark! (clocks changed this past weekend)
Cloudy, 30 percent chance of flurries.
Wind northwest 20 km/h.
Temperature -6C, with the windchill -13C.
Smartest thing you can do for your child - make sure their costume fits over top of a snow suit!

There is snow and ice on the ground, but that doesn't stop the children from begging for sweets and treats.
(Jarod & Miranda)

Halloween Party Disaster?

I pick up Miranda after work and am told that she forgot her costume at Jarod's house this morning!

oh nooooooooooo!!! My child was the only one not dress in a costume for her Halloween party at school. :( Thank heavens I at least set out the Halloween themed clothes this morning. She was dressed in a Halloween shirt and black skirt and tights and had black and orange striped socks (and her witches broom) so she was perfectly content to just be having a party with her classmates. She told me she took LOTS of popcorn and ate it ALL.

I am so proud of her for not being upset. Even as an adult, I probably would have been near tears and sulky over an issue such a this. She was just worried that she wouldn't be able to get it in time to go trick or treating. Jarod's mum was home and Miranda put her costume on and went trick or treating around that neighbourhood. End result, she got a lot of loot and had a hoot collecting it. Me, I froze my fingers off because I was still in my work clothes. I had to take her home so I could change into something warmer, then we went around the condo complex.

Cindy Lou Who

Miranda starts her musical theatre class this Friday, and this morning her teacher called to advise me that Miranda is going to be cast as Cindy Lou Who in their production of How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Cindy Lou Who is the cute little girl who catches the Grinch in the process of trying to steal Christmas from Whoville.

Happy Halloween!

I'm sitting at my desk, dressed up as .............

an ANGEL! (surprise surprise)

Miranda went to school as a witch.

The department is having a halloween draw and if you dress up your name goes in the draw-bin 5 times. I think the winner gets $300.

Maybe I'll have some pictures to post later. It's 9:26, I have been here for an hour and have yet to do any work. I am this year's candy distributor so that has taken up part of my morning.

Cards

With talent like this
I should never have to purchase a Hallmark card again.
(click for a larger view)

The picture doesn't do them justice.

Nearly lost an eye running

No fancy story, just the facts. I got hit in the eye with a tree branch on Wednesday. It wasn't my fault. I kept on running. I ran 5.5km! yay! Got in to the centre and my eye was all red and I was bleeding from a scratch on the bridge of my nose. Thanks Duane!

(Duane was the running group leader, and I was behind him. He was looking down and hit the tree (it was dark outside but we were on a semi-lit residential street) and I got attached by the whip back of the branch. I thanked him for the warning (none) and he teased me the remainder of the run. At the end of the run there was a HUGE water puddle and he was wearing new running shoes. I totally looked like I faked that I was going to jump in it and splash him, but I didn't. Damn, I should have!

My eye is ok. Just the small scratch on my nose, which will heal, and the lesson learnt to always be in the lead so you can see what's coming at you.

Thingamaboob

I took home a thingamaboob today. What's a thingamaboob? Something that should not be confused with a thingamaboo! I got mine in the rontunda at Commerce Place. The Canadian Cancer Society had their annual Jail And Bail fundraiser and there was a booth set up with the thingamaboobs. They are $5.00, and the money raised will help fund cancer research and provide cancer-related support services.

It's pink, but I really didn't need one. I wasn't even going to get one. I actaulyl went back later in the day to get mine, after learning what they mean.

A thingamaboob - it's more than just a keychain; it's an education tool for breast cancer. Here's how to read the thingamaboob, from the bottom to the top:

- the largest bead is the size of the average lump found by women performing regular self-examinations
- the next bead up is the average size lump found by a clinical breast examination by a healthcare professional
- the solid pink bead is the average size lump found by the first mamogram
-the tiny beads are the average size lumps found by getting regular mamograms
-the yellow flower is the symbol of the Canadian Cancer Society

Do I do regular self-examinations? No.
Will I start to do regular self-examinations? No.
Do I understand the improtance of self-examinations? Yes.
But now I know that if I feel something the size of a gumball then I should have it checked out!

October is Breat Cancer Awareness month, and the thingamaboobs can be purchased from local Canadian Cancer Society offices only in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

The "visitors" are coming

The visitors are coming tomorrow... the special visitors...

The anticipation (of others, not mine) of this event has made me discover something about myself, because if asked what I think about the coming of the special visitors I cannot keep my opinion to myself. You'd think that the f'ing Queen of England was the special visitor in question, buuuut she's not! I hope the head cheese in the office doesn't ask me because it might be bad if I open my mouth.... Yippeedooshit!

Our office has just been repainted. It was two weeks of dust and 1/2 my desk missing so they would paint the pole. My bronchitis flared up, my allergies flared up. It was miserable. They told us it was because they have extended the lease on the office space for another 5 years, trying to get s thinking optimisitically that we are not being shut down. Then they get new pots for the office plants, and hang some new pictures, and get some new clocks (which, by the way have a terrible GLARE! which I noticed as soon as they brought in the samples. True, they selected the nicer of the two models, but the other one had zero glare and you could tell the time from across the room, but I digress.)

Then they announce the Executive Vice President of North American Operations and the President of "insert the company name here" of Canada are touring all the branches. AHHHH!!!
Please ensure your respective department area is clean and tidy. We have spent an incredible amount of time and money to make this place look good for you, your team and our customers.

How dumb do they think we are?? So that's why they are making the office improvements - not for the staff, but so the head cheese can make a good impression in the President's eye. *gag*

No worries, I will be on my best behaviour for the next two days, short of kissing ass (I lack the skills necessary for brown-nosing). My desk is tidy, I took down more than 1/2 of my photos, I will dress cute and stylish and still within the dress code restrictions, and yay! I get to miss part of the afternoon for the mentoring program!

Mondays Suck

Nothing like waking up to a wet, snowy, dark gray day, and an accident on 82nd Street (not involving me, but I got stuck in the traffic jam that resulted). And I'm not feeling well and I would prefer to be back in bed, instead of sitting in the office, listening to someone declare that eveyone has been eating grumpies for breakfast. I'm not grumpy; I'm being quiet. I'm also not entirely comfortable with the clothes I selected to wear, or more so with my shoes and pants. I think the heels on my shoes are too high for the hemlength of the pants. And the plumber called last night to cancel our appointment for this morning. My bathtub taps are running, not leaking, but running. And I forogot to shut the water off before I left the hosue today. What a way to start the week.

We change the clock in two weeks so the mornings now are so dark.

The snow won't stay, but it would have been more enjoyable if it was falling in blanket of large, sparkly flakes, instead of in a wet, sticky mess. At least wet snow means it is still somewhat warm out, but it's still cold! It was +1C this morning and isn't expected to move from that temperature all day. My toes were cold on the walk to the office (I was wearing my running shoes). I hope Miranda's feet are ok today. She is wearing running shoes, also. Now I need to get her winter boots. Someone, please remind me why I am living in Canada...

Saffron Skies

Michelle lent me a book, Saffron Skies (by Lesley Lokko) and when I finally did start to read it, she forgot she had given it to me - that much time had past! I never thought I would read it, since I was on hiatus from fiction, but I am so glad that I eventually give it a try.

It is an epic novel, covering over 40 years, following the lives of a girl and her two best friends, her brother and their half-sister, her mother and father and her father's mistress, following them in England and Italy, Germany and Hungary, S & W Africa and the US.

The "sorry for nearly killing you" Card

Noemi darling, so sorry for my involvement in your near-death experience today. Some mothers will do anything to get playdates for their children! Let me know if there is anything else I can do. I sincerely hope you get well soon. kiss kiss, Angel.

I made her a card, which I will take to her tomorrow with my crutches and her child (I kept Sadie overnight so Noemi could rest and recover).

We were out walking in the cemetery early this afternoon. Noemi was jogging a bit (I was walking as I didn't have running shoes with me) and as we were leaving the cemetery, I suggested we stay on the grass. I didn't say it out loud, but my reason was because Bo (her little dog) was running off-leash and it makes me nervous when he runs by the road, so staying on the grass inside the cemetery would have given us a little bit longer away from the cars. This split second decision changed the course of the day's events in a way neither of us could have predicted.

She caught her foot in a hole and fell. Her ankle swelled up instantly. We determined there was no way she could walk back to the dance studio (some 5 blocks away) so I ran off to fetch my car to rescue her. It took me 15, maybe 20, minutes and in that time, she laid on the grass, with one bare foot, her sock, shoe and handbag strewn beside her, a wrote-iron fence and sidewalk keeping her in plain view to the cars passing on the street (and stopping since there was a street light RIGHT THERE), and NOT ONE person attempted to see if she was ok.

Long Weekend, Little Sleep

Friday seems like it was so long ago...

Saturday night I went to the new Sidetrack. It's not like the old Sidetrack. :( Gone are the wooden tables (and that hockey table thingy with the dome) and now there are marble tables and the bar top is all marble. Don't get me wrong, it looks nice and new, but it reminds me of an upscale lodge, with the quasi-rustic pictures on the walls. And the dance area is much smaller. A funk band was playing, they call themselves The Superband. They sounded good, but it's just not my kind of music.

We were sort of an odd bunch of people - Noemi, Jennifer from the dance studio, Jenn's friend's husband, John (who owns the Blue Plate Diner), his brother-in-law Adam (world traveller born in AZ and grew up in YK now lives in NYC), his friend Kory who has been living in Germany for years now but actually grew up next door to Tyler, who I dated in high school, (when they were kids, Kory threw a toy car at Tyler's older brother and left a nasty scar on the ex-NHLer's forehead) Jenn's friend Tracy from BC and she's moving back to BC, and me.

It probably wasn't even midnight yet when we left the Sidetrack and walked down the street to The Roost. I think Adam and I were the only gay-bar virgins of the bunch. It was, um, interesting! I have always envisioned The Roost would be more farm-like in appearance, with white picket fences. haha! They played some great music, and upstairs they played some awesome rave variety music. It was surprising that I even had gay men wanting to dance with me. Half of us nearly shut the place down and we sat up drinking tea and talking at Noemi's until dawn. It was after 6:00 by the time I got home.

With it being a long weekend, I went out on Sunday, too. It was low-key but I saw a good cover band playing at the Druid. Another late night, I was home after 4:00. I sat on the couch for a while, listening to music, and dozed off. When I finally climbed into bed, I just had to get up again to turn off the alarm clock since it was Monday morning and usually a work day.

It was one of the best Thanksgiving weekends I can remember. And I didn't even have a turkey dinner! My step-mum called this morning and cancelled our dinner plans. I didn't know if I should be happy or sad. Let's just say I wasn't sad. Mirnada had a turkey dinner yesterday so she wasn't missing out on anything, and today we had a fun afternoon with our friends!

I am thankful for...

Today is Thanksgiving, and if anyone actually needs a day to remind themselves of what they are thankful for, then they are probably not appreciative enough (in my opinion). My family cancelled the Thanksgiving dinner today, so I didn't get to share my list with my family, but at least my friends listened. I made a nice card, but didn't give it to anyone. I guess I will save it for next year, or send it to someone south of the 49th parallel later next month. Here is my TOP 5 LIST

1. I am healthy (relatively speaking, I don't have a terminal or life debilitating disease)

2. I am a mother, and my daughter is healthy and happy (again, relatively speaking. She wasn't too happy when I told her at 8:05 that it was time to leave Sadie's house and they could play again together next weekend.)

3. I live in a free society, in a land of opportunity and advantage, with electricity and heat, and clean running water. Technically, this should probably be #1 because if it wasn't for this fact then I might not be so fortunate with my health or with Miranda's, or more likely we'd be struggling just to stay alive. eek!

4. I have people who care about me (this was the year for solidifying some good friendships, and then of course there is my family)

5. I am intelligent and beautiful!!

We spent the afternoon (and evening) with Noemi and Sadie. I took the girls to the park and Miranda and I swung together on the swings. Then we went to see the place Noemi and Sadie are moving into next month. We all bounced together on the trampoline (not safe, we told the girls to never bounce with more than one person without us there). Noemi fed us dinner and I love going to her place because she cooks vegetables that I never buy, like squash, and this time it was sweet potatoes. I want to get a place down the street from them so we can spend more time together... that would be nice.

I've created a monster

Now Miranda wants to take Musical Theatre. The Winter session runs for 6 weeks starting the beginning of November. For $75...can I really put a price on my child's dreams of singing? And she would benefit fromt he performance experience... I still have a few weeks to decide.

Flowers - 09/24/06

in the front yard


in the back yard


at my mum's

Copper and Blue

It's that time of year again! The city is is copper and blue as the Oliers kick off the 2006-07 regular season tonight at Rexall. Half the people in the office are wearing Oilers shirts and jeans, as are a lot of the people I see out in the elevators, rotunda and mall. Miranda wore her pink Oilers shirt to school with a denim pleated skort and white tights with pink hearts. She looked so cute and sporty! heehee Go team, go!

Wanna lose weight?

Want to lost weight - Norwalk it off! The Norwalk virus, now avaialbe at the U of A... (joke I heard Garner Andrews Show studio usher Teddy Peterson tell on Sonic this morning) hahaha

Actually, they are not certain it is Norwalk, but there is an outbreak of some sort and Capital Health is advising students to remain at home if they are feeling ill, to stop the spread of the virus. LIstaer hall has brought in bottled water and laundry soap and provided free laundry services, and increased proceedures for cleaning common areas and public washrooms to help stop the spread. Wow! I'm impressed has the U of A has gone above and beyond the call of duty in dealing with the outbreak. In my second year of university there was a flu strain going around and for the first few weeks of the term all classes had 20% of the population out sick. It was brutal!

Expensive Parking & Another Murder

I was running late this morning so I had to park closer to the office. The lot by the Greyhound station used to be $4.50/day. Two weeks ago it was $5.50/day. Today it was $6.50! WTF is going on?! Maybe because it is getting colder out they figure people will be parking closer to the city centre?? I didn't listen to the morning news, but this is something I just read about the area where I usually park my car. Parking there is $2.00/day and has been since the start of July.

Homicide investigators were called to the down town area last night around 10 o-clock. When they arrived they found the body of a man hanging out the window of a third floor suite at walk up apartment near 95th Street and 102nd A Ave. One man was taken into custody. Police found the suspect sitting on the third floor ledge outside of the Apartment, not far from where the body of the victim was discovered. Charges are pending. (taken from the Sonic NewsflashBlog)

Chickadeedeedee

Miranda and my Mum have this thing they do when Miranda spends the weekend with her. They go to the park and feed peanuts to the chickadees. Last weekend I met up with them and they showed me how it is done. I am impressed that Miranda will stand still (and reasonably quiet) for so long!



Miranda likes to put a few nuts on her head, so the birds will also land there. They are soooo fast, it is hard to get a picture of them!



We walked around the lake, fed the ducks, geese and chickadees. I have a hundred photos of the ducks and geese which I still have to upload.

Alone on an Autumn Walk

Miranda went to play with Sadie for the afternoon, so I went for a run on one of my favourtie paths in Kinsmen Park. It's through the trees, has hills, and it's not paved. It was about 11C with a bit of wind, but sunny (the sun makes it so much warmer). After my run, I went for a walk at the Legislature grounds, and took some photos. View the album here, especially if you're missing Edmonton. ;)