Hannah's Birthday Party

Hannah-bear is three!

She had a Nemo themed birthday party, complete with a body of water (their inflatable pool) to swim in, but the dear little birthday girl doesn't like this pool and wouldn't get in it. (Her Mum said she loves hotel swimming pools!)

The little princess got an inflatable swan for the pool but since she didn't want to go in the water, the older girls (like Miranda) enjoyed playing with it.

It was sooo hot, Max the pug puppy walked around wet (hosed down to keep cool) with his tongue hanging out.

More party pictures here

Sunflower Update

On May 31st, Eelke and Miranda planted seeds in the back yard. As of today, the ones transplanted in the garden (they were originally planted in pots) are not as tall as the ones still in the pots, but they are still alive!

In the pots, about 20cm tall.
In the ground, about 12cm tall.

This evening, I transplanted a bunch from the pots into the flower bed in the front of the house, and planted a small carnation plant, a gladiola, and a polka dot plant (hypoestes phyllostachya). I pulled out a lot of plants and I hope they were weeds!! I don't remember planting any seeds this year in the front, and I don't know if Eelke and Miranda did.

The Time Traveler's Wife

"It's hard to be left behind. I wait for Henry, not knowing where he is, wondering if he's okay.

It's hard to be the one who stays.

I keep myself busy. Time goes faster that way.

I go to sleep alone, and wake up alone. I take walks. I work until I'm tired. I want the wind play with the trash that's been under the snow all winter. Everything seems simple until you think about it. Why is love intensified by absence?

Long ago, men went to sea, and women waited for them, standing on the edge of the water, scanning the horizon for the tiny ship. Now I wait for Henry. ..."

I almost bought this book in December, but instead opted for The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, because I had read somewhere it was supposed to be good. I still haven't been able to suffer past more than 40 of the 167 pages. But The Time Traveler's Wife has a different effect on me: I was sucked in before the first page even ended! (Now I'm on page 395, and still loving every moment of the story.)

Buddhist Thought of the Day

Ask yourself this; 'Are you a human being having a spiritual experience, or a spiritual being having a human experience? - Wayne Dyer, PhD

A Dream

Last night I had a dream that Eelke came home after being gone for less than a week. I didn't ask why he was back so soon. Then I saw a toilet, standing in the middle of the room, filled with water. It flooded over when I flushed it.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow (2.2.184-85).
... or in this case a few weeks longer...

Photos from the airport, out of focus because I was a little distraught that I did not notice the flash was turned off. :(

No Stanley Cup for us

On Monday, Deb, Jamie and I went to watch game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals at Kelly's Pub. There was a suuuuper annoying girl sitting next to me, who kept screeching and screaming in my ear, giving me a great pain in my head. Fortunatley, she left after the first period of play.

The Oilers lost. :(

Deb and I walked back to her place (Jamie had his bike and no extra helmet) and ordered pizza. We stopped along the way and took a photo on a bus bench. She would kill me if she knew I posted this on the internet.

Zoo 2

In celebration of our last date in Edmonton, this Father's Day we took a trip to the zoo, since it was where we went on our first date. We saw the animals, Miranda and Eelke touched a tarantula, saw a man let a Black Widow spider crawl on him, ate ice cream, and Miranda went on a pony ride and saw her friend Amanda from tap class. ZOO PHOTOS

Happy Birthday to Me

It is 8am and there is such a pounding in my head, and it is not from the drinking at Eelke's farewell party last night... well maybe a little... but apparently the city thinks it is appropriate to tear up the concrete along Jasper Avenue, right in front of Eelke's place, at this ungodly hour on a Saturday morning. Any other Saturday might be ok, but this Saturday is the first Saturday morning where Miranda does not have tap class. grrrr!

They Gave Me The Crab

This morning I saw Michelle in the lobby on our way up to work so I figured I was safe. I was wrong. This is the state in which I found my desk... The sweet little buggers (Michelle, Jennifer, Stephanie and Lisa) took advantage of my leaving early yesterday (for Miranda's dance recital) and decorated my desk in honour of my birthday. Balloons, happy birthday banners, pink streamers, shiny bows gallore! Tim was kind enough (and all too willing) to part with the office crab.And Rhonda (unknowingly) surprised me with my favourite flowers!

Overheard in the Office

4PM Call Transfer Coworker #1: A lady just called wanting to speak to someone who knows Korean. Coworker #2: Uh, oh. No one here does. So, what did you do? Coworker #1: I transferred her over to the Ukrainian Village Branch. Ukrainia is near Korea, right? 7000 County Line Road Burr Ridge, Illinois via Overheard in the Office, Jun 15, 2006

Miranda's pre-game song

Miranda, with her Oilers game-face on, wrote a song while watching the pre-game show leading up to game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. She asked me if I would like to hear her sing it, and so she reads off her paper,

Go Go Go Oilers
Go Go Go Oilers
Go Go Go Oilers
Go Go Go Oilers
Go Go Go Oilers
Go Go Go Oilers
Go Go Go Oilers
Go Go Go Oilers

Then she says, Mummy, my song is called Go Oilers.

heehee how cute.

She then proceeded to tell me she was going to cheer for the following players: Pisani, Ponger (heeehee, I corrected her that his name is Pronger), Peca, and the two Smiths, the one with the "I" and the one with the "Y". She also wishes that Roloson was playing again, and isn't his knee better yet? she asked.

You never know what you might see in the mall

On Monday I happened across the Western Conference cup on display at the City Centre mall.

You never know who you might see

You never know who you might see when you go for lunch at Quiznos.

Sometimes you just happen to run into Don Cherry, like we did today.

Recently Read

A few weeks ago I finally finished reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. I got hung up on the part where he started talking about botany and biology. I should have pushed through it sooner because after that he moves into genetics and then it was interesting again. I loved the stories about the chemists and
astronomers and geologists!

In only a few evening, I read The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier, a historical fiction about the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, which were woven in the late 15th century, and which now hang in the Cluny Museum in Paris. I liked it! And found it to be quite different than the other books in the same genre I have read, but perhaps that is because most of the historical fiction books I have read have the focal point being the royal families, whereas this one is not about kings and queens.

Continuing with the historical fiction books, I have started to read Girl With A Pearl Earring, also by Tracy Chevalier, about the famous painting, by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. The painting (with the same name at the book) was painted in the 1660s, and now is housed at The Mauritshuis in The Hague. Once I am done, I will watch the movie, but I imagine it will not be as good as the book.

After that, I will be reading Falling Angels , also by Tracy Chevalier,
about the Edwardian era, beginning on the day after Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 and ends on the night before King Edward’s funeral in 1910.

The downside of me reading these books is that it makes me want to see all this historic things overseas. I want to go to Paris and see the tapestries! I want to go see the famous paintings! I want the same thing Miranda wants - to go to Buckingham Palace and see the Queen (and the crown jewels). I totally live on the wrong side of the ocean.

Fence Painting Party

Sunday we found ourselves in Rineke's back yard for her fence painting party. Oh joy! you might think. Actually, it was a lot of fun. It was a great day to be outside, sunny and warm, but not too warm to be uncomfortable. With so many people around it wasn't like work at all. The food Rineke set out as reward for the hard work was wonderful! The kids also helped with the painting, played with Cleo & Minoes (the dog & cat), climbed in the tree, and even tried to sell cookie and limonade. When we ran out of paint we had a nice dinner, drank beer and wine, and kicked a soccer ball around. Don't you wish you had been there? ;)

more photos can be seen HERE

Observation

I gave Miranda a new note book today. She thanked me, and as she was walking out of the room she said, "Almost everything is made in China!" heehee She reads even the small print on everything!

Lunchtime Walk

Today, at lunchtime, I went for a walk to the Legislature grounds. I took some photos of the grounds and the Legislature Building, and of a few other buildings on my way back to the office. It was windy, so the flags were waving nicley for the camera. haha

Some photos are here; I took 70 photos in all but I will only subject you to some of the nicer ones.

Dancing Girl

Miranda's dance studio had the annual photos taken this weekend. The theme this year's year-end show is "A Movie Experience: An Italian Evening". Her tap class number is Splish Splash, and ballet is Italian Chef.

Here are the photos I took of her and her dancemates in their costumes.

Lord Stanley's Cup

The Oilers did it! This weekend they claimed the Western Conference championship title, and are advancing to THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!! Buffalo and Carolina need to finish battling it out in Eastern Conference, and then IT IS ON! YAY! Go Oilers Go!

Is everything in life seen on Friends?

Remember the Friends episode#14 from season 10, The One With Princess Consuela

Ross: Guess what happened at work today...
Chandler: A dinosaur died a million years ago?
Ross: Try sixty-five million years ago, and then try sssshhhhhh.... My tenure review board met today and I hear it's looking really good.
Phoebe: Wow!
Ross: Yeah. Do you have any idea what this means in academic circles, uh? I am gonna get laid.

Now it all make sense! (about why Ross was so stinking happy about getting tenure) because after Eelke being on pins and needles about applying, interviewing, and finally landing his Assistant Professor job in Reno, I now understand that the professor business is a big deal!

p.s. congratulations, Eelkepoo!

Happiness Is Not a Fish

A few days ago, I noticed one of our Beta fish died. Today I finally disposed of the remains, scooping up the floater with a teaspoon and plopping it down the drain, into the grinding clutches of the Garberator (aka, the garbage disposal). RIP, Candy in a Bowl (yes, that was the fish's name). I probably should have flushed it down the toilet, but I was in the kitchen and I think my original plan was to toss it in the trash and quickly take the bag to the dumpster, but once that dead fish was on the spoon I thought the garbage disposal was the way to go.

Absence makes the glass glow fondly

I read about this and forwarded myself the url back on March 9th... Eelke, did you see this while you were in Montreal?

Long-distance lovers can still drink together
08 March 2006
Could glowing, Wi-Fi wine glasses let people in long-distance relationships feel more in touch with their other half? Don't scoff: researchers in Boston at MIT's Media Lab - that citadel of outside-the-box thinking - believe so. When you and your partner both raise the high-tech glasses they will glow warmly, no matter how far apart you are. The idea is to give the feeling of a shared drinking experience. (read on) ... The glasses, dubbed lover's cups, will be unveiled at the CHI 2006 conference on computer-human interaction in Montreal in April.

Word... haha!

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

click to see the comic full size

What are they doing?

haha Look at Eelke and Miranda! Can you guess what they are doing? They are on the highway and dancing like chickens, as we listened to Rush by People In Planes. See the video clip here

More photos of our weekend drive near the airport to see the planes taking off and landing. We went downtown to the Wok Box for dinner, where they package the food in those white chinese food boxes you always see people eating out of on TV. I would not recommend the place; the food was bland, and not made according to the menu, plus it was expensive in comparison to the amount of food you get.

No Go: Go Fug Yourself

As part of my morning routine at work, I check out the latest fashion bashing at Go Fug Yourself but as of yesterday I can no longer access the site. :( I thought prehaps it was a temporary issue, but today I am faced with the same mean restriction message.

Access to this site is restricted by the GM Internet Gateway. The Gateway subscribes to an Internet Web site filtering service that blocks access to sites considered inappropriate for business use.

Art Gallery

Miranda loves to draw, colour and write and these days when I peek in on her in the playroom, she is usually doing crafts instead of playing with her toys. Because she is in a French immersion program she learns no English in school, so her English spelling isn't the greatest, but that does not deter her from writing notes and stories phonetically. Visit her art gallery.

Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks At Them!

*this post has been edited*

This sums it up quit nice.

Happy Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, Miranda woke me up bright and early so I could open the gift and card she made for me at school. In the afternoon we went to Kinsmen party to play in the park, throw around the frisbee, bake in the sun, and BBQ hotdogs. Then it was a quick trip home to get cleaned up to meet my daddy, step-mum and mum at Cosmos for a yummy Greek dinner. Miranda loves the belly dancers and she eventually started dancing herself (after recovering from her initial shock) and one gentleman even tipped her $5. Check out the photos.

Splish Splash, she was taking a bath!

This is so cute! Miranda is was practicing her tap dance in the living room this evening video clip

She is wearing her feather crown that she made all by herself. The little princess: earlier in the day I didn't know she was wearing it until we were getting out of the car to go to Safeway! heehee

Hockey Night in Canada

The girlies did some Friday night hockey partying, going to Globe after work for drinks and food, and of course to watch the game. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!! photos

We were pleasantly drunk before 7:00, thanks to our food taking forever hours to be ready. The excuse was there was only one cook (really? for a home playoff game on a Friday day night? There's good planning for you.) I have no idea when the Oilers scored the last two goals, even though I was in front of like 30 TV screens for the entire third period. After the game we danced all over the Captain Morgan playing cards that we had thrown all over the floor. We were the only people dancing haha it was so funny and I would have been absolutely mortified if I hadn't been drinking. We ended up taking home these Smirnoff goalie mask/bottle opener rings that don't fit on our fingers, and some guy from the front table who won like all the prizes in the Oilers trivia challenge gave me a Bud Lite keychain/bottle opener.

With a 6-3 win for the Oilers, Jasper Ave was INSANE with noise as we made our way to the Druid to continue the party. Lorraine found herself a paper goalie helmet, I got silver pompom and we all danced up a storm until Eelke wanted to leave because some dude had a crush on me and was jealous of seeing us together. photos

Old Photo

Me and Miranda, August 11, 2002.
Look how skinny I am! And look how small she is!

Go Oilers!

So my girlfriends are having omelets and beer and and FUN! and watching the game without me because Miranda has to be we rested for school in the morning. :( So I am sitting here like a loser, alone, with team spirit on my shirt, checking the score online, because I really cannot be bothered to see if my peasantvision will get clear reception of the game. I bet they don't have a nice Oilers shirt like I do! Except for Lorraine, who has the pink embroidered hoodie that I would kill for! Anyways, go Oilers go!
ps - Miranda is going to her grandma's on Friday, if anyone needs a date to watch the game with, you know who to call!

It's not a walk in the park

Sunday afternoon was so nice and warm! The sun was shining and it was looking to be a glorious day. Packing the car with shorts, sandals, drinks, books, a blanket and a frisbee, the plan was to hit the park after the Spring Tea. By the time the party let out, the clouds had blown in and were blocking the sun. :( We went to the Government House Park in the river valley anyway (eventually it ended up raining).

I didn't try out for the frisbee team (I was still in my party dress, trading flip-flops for my party shoes) and elected instead to listen to my ipod and read my book (only got through one chapter; I'll be reading the stupid thing forever!)

Oh and we took a few pictures.

Spring Tea

Sunday was Miranda's Spring Tea at the dance studio, in celebration of the dancers completing their R.A.D. ballet exams in March. There was tea and h'ordeurves and a silent action. Then the students gave a dance presentation (Miranda performed the "Kite Dance" with two other dancers) and were presented with certificates and necklaces. Everyone watched the men from the Viter Ukrainian dance group perform a tambourine dance, and then more tea and deserts were set out. All the girls were in fancy dresses, it was such a sight! Miranda was delighted to have an event that she could wear her tiara to.

Does Complaining Pay Off?

I received a response (complete with spelling mistakes) in regards to the product complaint I submitted to Bonne Bell:

We are sorry to hear that you are not happy with our Watermelon Vita Glossproduct. If you would like to recieve a replacement product for yourinconvenience, please send me your complete name and mailing address and Iwill send you something.

Isn't that special. I hope it's not a letter bomb.

yoo-hoo, I miss you

I have a friend who has been too busy working and watching hockey to talk to me, and to him I have to say, I got your pledge cheque in the mail and I love you and I miss talking with you so I might just pick up the phone to tell you.

ps- 101, this is post 101! Why is 101 such a big deal? because of Depeche Mode 101. yay! :)

He didn't hurt me

He didn't hurt me, except when he made the comment about how short the layers in my hair were: it opened up the old wounds!
I thought I was over my bad hair cut! It has been a month since I was butchered. Anthony doesn't want to take scissors to my hair for another 3 weeks or so, until there is actually hair for him to work with. But he did put in colour and it looks great! I don't look like I just had my hair coloured, which I love! Natural and low-maintenance colour; he knows me so well! It will look even better when he cuts it in a few weeks. Have I mentioned how ecstatic I am to have him back?! I think I must have told him a dozen times (ok, probalby only 3) The new salon is great! A chic and minimalist atmosphere, and since it's called Mango Salon & Spa, they serve mango juice over ice (which I love) in wine glasses. I didn't want to leave!

I now know what a bad haircut is and I told Anthony that even though he cut my hair too short that one time (my second haircut after getting my long locks chopped off) and made me cry, my hair still looked good; even when he cut my hair the morning after being out partying for his birthday, and the next visit he had to ask if he was drunk when he cut it (oh yes, he was still drunk that morning was his reply), my hair still looked good. I know I can trust him, and I love him!

I have a date at 5:00

I have a date at 5:00... with ANTHONY!! He's going to pamper me and make me beautiful. Ahhhh... I am looking forward to an hour and a half of heaven, and some good salon gossip/bitch session with my hot, straight hair sylist! :)

Something in the Air

There's something in the air, Angeline is pumped full of drugs, and the dandelions aren't even blooming yet.

It seems like everyone in the office is sneezing! I'm not actually sneezing but my allergies are INSANE right now! My eyes are itchy, red and puffy, and a week ago they were so red my friends thought I had pink eye. :( I am taking Claratin twice a day, Nasonex, and an over-the counter cold & allergy pill, and putting Naturale Tear drops in my eyes.

Many professionals theorize that pollution is making allergies worse.

"We do know that increase in carbon monoxide levels will increase the amount of pollen that plants will produce. So if you increase the amount of pollen, you're actually going to increase the amount of allergies that people suffer from," Kleinert told CBC Radio News.
read the April 20th, 2006 article here

Billy Talent

This Is My Life

At work I want to suddenly scream at the top of my lungs!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I need to get myself out of this! I need change! I have changed my clothes, trading in cute shirts and high heels for rolled up cargo pants and t-shirts with skulls (only one with a skull, and it's from Buffalo so it's trendy and cool, or so I tell myself) and extremely pushing the limits of the "business casual" dress-code of the office. I have traded my sweet pink nail polish for brown, and now for red. (If that's not ME screaming for something, then I don't know what is!) Aside from occasionally wearing my pink overcoat, I cannot recall the last time I wore anything pink (sorry Jamie! or is that a good thing?) But that's not enough change.

I need a new job! because I can no longer stand my job. I can no longer bear to hear them say how quick and proficient and meticulous I am, and what a wealth of knowledge I possess; I can no longer sit patiently and wait with baited breath that today will be the cold day in hell when they actually promote me. I need to get out, I have known that since before Christmas ... but where do I go? I don't see a job offer falling out of the sky and landing in my lap (unless someone reading this wanrts to throw a job my way), so I need to figure out what it is I really want to be doing, and work towards making it happen!

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Let's Go Oilers, Let's Go!

Yay for the 8th place Edmonton Oilers! They have upset Western Conference by beating out the 1st place Detroit Red Wings in Game 6. Poor Eelke isn't impressed with all the honking on Jasper Ave; he should be glad that it was an early game, and not one that lasted until the wee hours!
.... And no matter what their jerseys look like, I still think of the old logo when I think of the Oilers. :)

Chopped, Twisted, Full of Holes

I feel like I have been broken into a hundred pieces, thrown into a bottle, shaken, and poured back on to the floor.

I feel like I have been thrown in a blender, twisted this way and that; coming out of it I can barely stand up, let alone walk away in a straight line.


I feel like I have been torn into strips, shaken about, and woven back together; but the strips are not pulled tight enough, and there are gaps where I can feel the air blowing right through me.

I don't know which way is up or down , but I need to put myself together.