Bragging Rights

This post should probably go on WeightLessInBarrie, but I am choosing to post it here. In fact, I am feeling so good that I just might post it in both places.

Today is Bragging Rights day for me. As many of you know, I am a Weight Watcher Lifetime member, and I have been struggling with a couple of unwanted pounds for a little while. This is all due to some bad habits that I have re-acquired and some challenges over the past little while.

Well, I weighed in yesterday, and I am DOWN 1.6 pounds! Yay me!

I felt that I was down anyway. I could tell by the fit of my clothing, and also by my fitness level, which has increased slightly, but noticeably.

You might wonder exactly what I do to accomplish this. Well, it is a bit of work, but nothing unmanageable. There are a few, ahem, rules. I track (write down) what I eat each day, and assign points values to the foods. I also know where I need to be to lose, and I try to stay in that range. I drink water. I don't drink many soda drinks, diet or not. I eat fruits and veggies, and watch the carbs. I drink milk, specifically soy milk. I exercise five nights a week. I limit my caffeine intake.

Even with all of this, I never feel restricted. I never feel like I am cheating myself of anything. If I am having a chocolate day where I crave chocolate, I have 'some', enough for a taste, and then it's done. I don't buy chocolate bars as a rule, but I always make sure that I have 'some' chocolate in the house....just in case.

So, yay me!

I think I need an icon for that, don't you?

Skittles Isn't Just A Candy

Nah uh. It's not just a candy. Skittles means something else to me.

Skittles refers to Skittles' Place, one of the first blogs where I ventured out of my comfort zone, and went to visit and dared to leave a comment. This probably triggered a new friendship for us, a long distance friendship, but one where we actually spoke on the phone. In this crazy world of the Internet, I felt comfortable enough giving her my number to call.

My instincts prevailed. I'm glad they did, and they were positive.

We'd talk about HTML or blog themes, or maybe we'd bounce a few ideas around, or solicit opinions about our blogs. And I knew that when I heard 'hi...it's Barb', that it would be fun.

I hope she continues to call every once in awhile.

Skittles is part of my morning routine. There are a few blogs (I can count them on one hand) that I must visit each and every morning. Hers is one of them.

My routine won't be quite the same now I suppose.

Skittles also seemed to value what I wrote. I am not a famous author or writer, by any means, but I guess I stirred something in her, because she felt something worthy in what I wrote to nominate me for one of the Bestest Blogs of the Day. I don't think she really knew how surprised/stunned/thrilled,and scared I really was. My self esteem had a place now, and I wanted to make sure that I could live up to expectations.

I hope that I have.

I am sad today, because my Skittles has announced that she needs to take a break. Mind you, it's a well deserved break. That lady blogs full-tilt. She's like the Tilt-A-Whirl ride at the amusement park. She's like the Ever-Ready Bunny that just keeps going and going. It takes much time and effort to hunt and search for the information that she acquires, and she always, always shares it with all of us. It's like she blogs for herself but also for us.

But she's had a lot of stuff going on lately, and that has probably taken a wee bit of a toll on her, so a break (hopefully a wee break) is on the menu.

Come back soon, skit, but I hope that you manage to find a way to keep blogging a part of your life rather than your whole life, a life that includes blogging.

I'll miss you....
Your Bud

Manic Monday - #1 - Cruising

Manic Monday Word for Monday January 29, 2007:

Cruising

I found this at Skittles' Place (where else?). For this week's Manic Monday, I chose to represent Cruising as a picture, since this is what we do as soon as Spring arrives. Enjoy!

p.s. - there were 42 sailboats in this particular raftup, and we were part of it.... somewhere....



MANIC MONDAY INFORMATION

What is Manic Monday?
A multi-blogger meme, in the spirit of Wordless Wednesday, Thursday 13, Friday Feast, and Photo Hunters Saturday.

How to participate?
Visit It's A Blog Eat Blog World any time between 5pm Friday Evening and Sunday night to discover Monday's theme word. This will be a word with multiple definitions.

Use one of the definitions to inspire your Manic Monday Post (perhaps a photograph, a story, a joke, or a stream of consciousness paragraph inspired by the word).

Be creative, and have fun with it.

Linking back to It's A Blog Eat Blog World and using Mr.Linky boxes are encouraged!

The Ballet

Désir by James Kudelka with Anik Bissonnette and dancer Louis Robitaille Photo: Cylia Von Tiedemann

It's funny how sometimes a picture in a newspaper can trigger a memory. Today, it was a picture of a pair of ballet dancers. This brought back a fond memory for me, of the ballet, and everything about it.

When I was little, I was friends with a girl who was taking ballet lessons. I would go to her house and drool over her point shoes, her practice shoes, and costumes with tutu. I sooo wanted to be able to take ballet lessons, but they were hideously expensive in those days, and it was not something that was 'in the books' as they say. But I always harvested a keen interest in the ballet.

When I grew up, and went to CEGEP, one of my friends was from a cultured family, with the Mom being a ballet dancer in her younger years. The family purchased reserved season seats for the symphony and the ballet. Sometimes it was impossible for the family to attend every single performance, so they would offer up the tickets to their daughter and her friends. This was my first opportunity to attend my first live ballet. It was Les Grands Ballets Canadiens performing Carmina Burana, and it was simply awesome. At other times, I saw the Firebird Suite and The Nutcracker, also by Les Grands Ballets.


I continued this interest into my early adulthood. When I worked in the downtown part of the city, I signed up for adult ballet lessons, which was offered as a fitness class. I was in seventh heaven. I bought little practice shoes, and warmup leggings, and special practice leotards. But, I soon realized that it was tough work! My poor muscles were already old at the tender age of 30! I finished the set of lessons, but did not continue. I went the way of other adults....I became a gym geek.

To this day, though, I still have this fascination with the ballet, and all things associated with it. You see, there was a facility in our area that was offering beginner ballet classes for adults. I was mildly interested. I say mildly, because I am already consumed during the week with the gym (and I remembered that fitness class experience, and that whole new set of undiscovered muscles). Doing something like this would distract from my gym circle which I love, AND, I also had a morbid fear that I would be the only adult showing up to do something like this. So I panned that idea. Smart choice I think.

Maybe that is why I am so strongly connected to the fitness world. I don't know. But if you ever see me around a pair of ballet shoes or fancy crinkled tutus...look out.

Because I'll be drooling, and will always be trying to fill that little space in my memory.

BCGC

We live in a world of acronyms. That's a given. All kinds of words in our vocabulary can be dissected into an acronym of some sort. With that in mind, I came up with my own acronym. Now, I have to be careful how I spell it because, if you Google this, it refers to some gun club, and that is certainly not my intent.

My acronym is BCGC, which refers to 'Buy Cheap Get Cheap'. We use this frequently during our shopping extravaganzas. You know it. You've been looking around for the best deal on something. You think that you found the best widget that there is. But there's a similar widget that costs less. More often than not, if you bought the cheaper widget, something will go wrong. It'll break. It'll have missing pieces. It'll stop working. Something. It's like shoes, or my other love, handbags. If you buy cheap shoes (or cheap handbags), something will not be right. And, of course, everyone will be able to tell that you are wearing cheap shoes or have purchased a cheap handbag.

Now, I have to confess, sometimes BCGC doesn't always work. Sometimes you can buy cheap and get amazing. Like last week. I went looking for a new pair of earbuds for my iPod. Did you realize that there's a plethora of earbuds and headsets available? Well, if you didn't, here's a newsflash...there are! I had a specific requirement though...the earbuds had to stay in (on?) my ears. It's not a huge or highly technical requirement, but kind of an important one if planning on using an iPod. So, a couple of years ago, I had a set of earphones that I had that I really liked, but I don't know what happened to them. I had that style in mind when I went on my hunt, but for some reason silicon everything seems to be IN these days. Must be cheap production or something (certainly not cheap retail). I found a set that I though I liked.....specially made for iPod.....and they cost $90. Ack! My chest heaved, and I was having a problem with spending that amount of money on something soooo tiny. They were pretty flimsy too. The actual earpiece was made of flexible silicon (go figure), which made my main requirement, staying in my ears, virtually impossible.

So, back to the store they went, and $90 plus dollars went back into my pocket.

Off to another store, where they also had earpieces, in fact they had a set like the ones that I was originally looking for. So instead of buying what I wanted and walking out of the store, I made the mistake of letting the salesperson talk me into the other pair....the flimsy silicon earpiece set. "Oh they'll be easy on your ears...they'll be perfect for the gym....blah blah blah". Of course, we all know what happened. I got them home. I tried them on (or tried to). I spent a half hour trying to get the stupid things clipped onto my ears. They finally fell out of my ears.

Back to the store.

I bought the other ones. The nice geeky, hard plastic ones. The ones that won't fall out, no matter what.

The kicker was this. They only cosy $20 AND they had a better sound than the $90 set (at least that's what I found anyway).

So, the next time you go shopping, I hope you think of BCGC...and then think again. 'Cause ya just never really know...do ya? It could be BCGC or it could be BCGA?

Friday's Feast - One Hundred and Twenty-Eight

Friday, January 19, 2007
Feast One Hundred & Twenty-Eight
Appetizer
If you could take lessons to learn any musical instrument, which would you want to learn?

Guitar...again...already took lessons, but then fell out of it due to family obligations. It might be nice to take it up again.

Soup
Have you ever mistaken a person for someone else?

A few times. Sometimes they looked at me like I was from another planet. Sometimes they excused me for having a senior moment (even though I was in my 30s). Sometimes we actually became acquaintances.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

I'm about a 8.

Main Course
What's the closest you've ever been to a dangerous animal?

A dog bit me on the back of the leg last year. Probably not the most dangerous kind of animal you were thinking of, but the closest to danger for me.

Dessert
When was the last time you lost your patience?

Earlier this week, while waiting in line at the post office.

ABOUT THE FEAST
While our questions may sometimes be related to food, the main idea here is to feed your mind by asking thought-provoking, mind-stimulating questions. Each Friday when you visit this meme, you will find 5 enticing courses for your mind to gobble up:
Appetizer
- a quick, tasty morsel to get you started
Soup
- smooth and warm to soothe your mind
Salad
- a nutritious blend of "veggies"
Main Course
- a hearty portion that is sure to satisfy
Dessert
- light concoction for your sweet tooth

Fuel my Blog....please (?)

My SIL has a very informed and well written post called Cool Fuel.

She's there. I'm there. Are you? Maybe you should be!

You know what they say. Be there or be square. Well, actually, it is squares, but different kinds of squares.

You'll see if you read her post then visit the link.

Thursday Thirteen - My Sixth One

Thirteen Things about Masgblog

13 Things on my Kitty Shelf:


A little background. What is a kitty shelf, you might ask? In our previous house, we had a shelf that led to the basement. There were kitty-related things on this shelf, but these things also had to share space with some old books. When we moved to our current house, there was no longer a kitty shelf similar to what we had in the previous house. This shelf was purchased explicitly for that purpose.

With that, I give you the 13 things that are on my kitty shelf(ves):

1. A stone kitty from the Dominican Republic.


2. A marble kitty from Mexico.


3. A large crystal vase (no, not a kitty, but there anyway).


4. Three nesting rock kitties from Little Current.


5. 3 matching wooden kitties.


6. 2 black ceramic kitties that I received as a farewell gift from a work colleague over 20 years ago.


7. Pictures of our past kitties (who are both in Kitty Heaven).


8. Pictures of our current kitties (who are also in kitty heaven - aka OUR HOUSE).


9. A little angel (also not a kitty, but is the protector of all kitties).


10. An adorable red wooden kitty that I received at Christmas.


11. A cat frome with a picture of Ma Petite Cousine's doggy (don't ask how he made it to the kitty shelf - but he's kind of special, and oh so cute).


12. Another cherished kitty gift from a friend, made of papier mache.


13. Another wooden kitty (no special background...just cute...and a kitty)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Kiddies and Expensive Toys

Kids have some pretty expensive toys these days. I remember when I was little, and computers were not even on the radar screen. Well, okay, maybe in books, but not in reality. Now, we don't have kiddies, but we are certainly not immune as to what kids occupy themselves with. When I look around at what kids play with today, it sometimes astounds me. There are ads everywhere for expensive computer gadgets, games, and gizmo's. Almost each and every teen that I see has an iPod strapped to their head. Where we live, little kids have their very own ATVs...very cute...very expensive.

But yesterday, while on my way to the gym, something caught my beady little eye. A young girl, about 12 years old, was playing with a white plastic abandoned baby high chair. The high chair first appeared on the top of a large snow bank (because we now have A LOT OF SNOW here now). What was more disturbing was the guilty look on the girl's face when my car drove around the corner. It was like first she was playing with the object, then spotted me, and moved away from the chair and toward our back fence.

I didn't get a good vibe I tell you. Maybe she was embarrassed to be seen playing with the chair? I don't know.

But, something else was running through my head. What if someone was going to place that chair beside our fence, climb onto it, and then climb over the fence....maybe attempt to break in...maybe attempt to steal something from the back yard (although there is not much there to steal, for sure). This bothered me all the way to the gym, and then last night as well.

Today, I was taking action. I was Captain Marvel. I went out to shovel THE SNOW a bit, and fetch the mail, but my main thought was to check out where that chair had been moved to.

Sure enough. Just as I thought. It was now on top of a huge SNOW BANK right beside our fence. So, I did what any good citizen would do. I snatched it up, and placed it in the garage. We'll bring it over to the dump at some point.

At least now I feel better now. The ratty old thing is in MY garage, and NOBODY can creep into MY backyard....right?

"It's About Time" is the "Bestest Blog of the Day" today!!! WooHoo!!

.
Wow! I think I've been hit with a s-t-u-n g-u-n, dude!

My bud, Barb (aka Skittles) from Skittles' Place, was a guest reviewer at The-Bestest-Blog-Of-All-Time.

She wrote a very informative review of my blog (and I don't think that I will ever be able to live any of that down in the future)! But, she did a really fine job, and I am both tickled various colors, AND stunned.

You see, I am just me. I just write about me, and some of the things that happen to me. Nothing extraordinaire, nothing wild and wacky. But it's all me, lumps and bumps and all.

Guess I should have named this blog 'Lumps and Bumps' instead of the name that it has, but I digress.

So, Thank You, Skittles! As I most recently commented....we's Buds...and I sincerely mean that.

It's A Blogger Birthday Today!!!

There's a blogger birthday in the house today.

It's Mairin's birthday from

Tales from the Trenches and Other Musings.

So why don't we take a little time, visit her site, send a little luv, leave a little comment.

Happy Birthday, Mairin!!! Woo Hoo!!!

(click on the balloons to go to Mairin's place)

Boys Will Be Boys

This is a topic that I got from my guest contributor. My Guest Blogger you could say, except that I am putting it to the keyboard myself. It's a cool little story, without names to protect the involved identities.

There were these two brothers who were very close when they were growing up. I'll call them Big Bro and Little Bro. When they reached their late teen years, they each had a car.

One day the two brothers had been out driving their respective cars. By coincidence, both arrived at a red light, side by side.

Little Bro began doing the rev-up-your-engine routine. Doing the false-start-taunt-you routine. Looking over at Big Bro, grinning,....waiting...waiting. Getting ready for that light to change so that they could take off and d-r-a-g. Big Bro smiled right back, revving his engine too, ready to roll!

Except that Big Bro hadn't noticed that a police cruiser had pulled up behind him, while Little Bro was fully aware of this fact. So Little Bro gave one more taunt with the engine and a one-foot false start JUST AS THE LEFT TURN ARROW CAME ON.

Big Bro took the bait and took off straight through the red light like a bat outta hell..........Little Bro looked back at the officer, still sitting at the light for a moment, his mouth open in astonishment, until he recovered and took off in pursuit, lights and siren blaring. Little Bro waited for the green light and proceeded to follow, giving his horn a little honk as he drove past Big Bro and the Police cruiser a short distance down the road.



Now, to be fair, the cop had been watching the earlier shenanigans, and knew Big Bro has been suckered. Big Bro got away with a severe reprimand, told to "pay a little more attention to the road".

*sigh* boys....




I don't think that girls do this....or do they?

Friday's Feast - One Hundred and Twenty Seven

Friday, January 19, 2007
Feast One Hundred & Twenty-Seven
Appetizer
Which television shows do you just refuse to miss?

• Survivor


• The Apprentice


• American and Canadian Idol


• America's and Canada's Next Top Model


• Grey's Anatomy


• Anything with Taylor Hicks, Prince William, among other favourites.


• Skating competitions

Soup
Who did you last speak to on the telephone?

A colleague.

Salad
How many pillows do you keep on your bed?

For sleeping, there are 4, but in total there are 10.

Main Course
Name one addition to your computer (software, hardware, etc.) that you'd love to have.

Wireless, but in the true sense of the word....NO WIRES ANYWHERE! Plus the latest and greatest Web software.

Dessert
What color is your bedspread/comforter/quilt?

East Indian nan bread; European spatzel.

ABOUT THE FEAST
While our questions may sometimes be related to food, the main idea here is to feed your mind by asking thought-provoking, mind-stimulating questions. Each Friday when you visit this meme, you will find 5 enticing courses for your mind to gobble up:
Appetizer
- a quick, tasty morsel to get you started
Soup
- smooth and warm to soothe your mind
Salad
- a nutritious blend of "veggies"
Main Course
- a hearty portion that is sure to satisfy
Dessert
- light concoction for your sweet tooth

The Oh-So Random Resolution

While visiting my SILs site, she had this cute little link to Create Your Random Resolution, and so I thought I'd visit it to see what it would produce. Of course, every time you hit the site, you get something different, so if you don't like the first thing that it spits out, you can always try again and again and again.

*I have to be honest...this was my second run at it...the first one said
'I resolve to teach my cats to hunt hamsters'....NO WAY!*

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Learn how to dismantle land mines. Get your resolution here.

Thursday Thirteen - My Fifth One

Thirteen Things about Masgblog

13 Things in My Baggallini:
(Note: the Baggallini's dimensions are 8.5 x 7 x 3.5 inches)

1. Sudoku puzzle book


2. Calendar


3. WW Dining Out Companion


4. My gym's class schedule


5. Cell Phone


6. Glasses


7. Chapstick


8. Dental floss


9. Cards


10. Notepad and pen


11. Nail clippers


12. Money


13. Mini candy canes

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wordless Wednesday #2

Gym-Side Antics

My hours at the gym are usually pretty normal, well, at least, normal for me. I do a class or two, warm up, stretch, cool down, and chit chat. I have a lot of friends at my gym. We take the same classes or two, stretch, cool down, and chit chat. We form a center of energy, if you will. People tend to follow what we do. We're like examples, or (dare I say) celebrities (hee).

Now, most of you know that, for me, working out is akin to breathing. I can't do one without the other. After I complete one day of training, I will already be thinking and planning what I will do tomorrow. And, as I mentioned, the people that I train with are an integral part of this. They are my core; my energy.

Now, there was one particular individual who stood out....exception so-to-speak. She was an odd sort of person. Didn't really fit in with the crowd, but wanted to. She would cling to the outer edge of our energy group. She'd really 'get into' the classes, and like us, woohoo her heart out.

One night, we were in Combat class. There's a lot of air kicking and punching that goes on in this type of class.....jabs, hooks, body rips. This particular evening, it was an intense class, led by our most favourite instructor. We were going crazy...hitting the peak runner's high. Out of the clear blue I hear 'hit me mo! go on hit me!'. Well, if I was at that runner's high spot before, I was certainly jolted back to reality when I heard this. I kept saying 'what? what?' and she kept saying 'go on hit me mo'.

I found this to be quite strange. No one had ever done this to me before, and I was kind of freaked by it. So I decided to try to change spots (we all have favourite spots you see, and no one should ever try and take our spot). When I changed spots, she would follow. When we kicked, her foot was inches from my head. When we punched, her fist would be right beside my face.

It was pretty darn creepy I tell you.

So time went on, and I pretty much danced around the gym trying to get away from her and her yelling at me.

Now, at first I thought that I was the only one who found this weird. But others did too. And there was more. Note that I didn't actually see what happened next, but it was recounted to me.

The story goes that this person was driving to the gym and noticed the car in front of her driving erratically. The driver tore along the road, speeding and ducking around cars. The member behind her kept watching the crazy car and then was able to figure out who it was. When she arrived at the gym, it was too late to join the class, so she proceeded to walk briskly around the gym; around the machines, around the weights. She didn't actually do anything. After her brisk walk, she must have been tired, and so she decided to lie down in the middle of the cool down area. She just grabbed a mat, and lay down.

And fell asleep.

Snoring peacefully on the gym floor.

With people stepping over her, trying to get to various pieces of equipment, and being careful not to awaken the sleeping dog.

She was out for about 45 minutes. Then she got up and left.

My days at the gym are normal again. She has since left us to go and irritate other unsuspecting individuals at some other gym. But, if you ever hear someone shouting at you in an exercise class......RUN AWAY!

My SIL Is Going to Sail Solo Around the World

Well. at least in name she will. It all started with our trip to the Toronto International Boat Show. We did the usual things that we do every year - schmooze a little with acquaintances and friends (and pick up the latest on who's bought a new boat), shop a little, eat a little, walk a lot.

One of the main attractions at this and other boat shows has been a man named Derek Hatfield who both captain and crew of the Spirit of Canada.

In September 2002 (ending in May 2003), this fellow built his own 40 foot sailboat and sailed around the world in a solo race called Around Alone, encountering some obstacles, but completing the race, the only Canadian to do so.

Derek has since been working on a new boat, 60 feet long, which was supposed to take part in another around the globe race, the Five Oceans in 2006, but it appears that he will now be taking part in the November 9th, 2008 solo race, the Vendée Globe.

What does all of this have to do with my SIL? Well, about 2 years ago, My Sweetie and I went with her and her son to the Toronto In-Water Boat Show, and she got to meet Derek Hatfield for the first time. she learned about this venture, and has been following his story ever since.

We donated a little cash to Derek's endeavour and as a result we get to put our name on the hull of the boat. However, seeing as my SIL has such an interest in his planned trip, we decided to have my SIL's name put on the hull in place of ours. She has been having a bit of a rough time lately, and we thought that this might cheer her up.

There you go T, you're going around the world next year! Have a nice trip! (Take lots of pictures, and don't forget to write...) :-))

Friday's Feast - One Hundred and Twenty Six

Friday, January 12, 2007
Feast One Hundred & Twenty-Six
Appetizer
What comes to mind when you see the color orange?

Fruit

Soup
Did you ever get in trouble while you were in school? If so, what was it for?

In Grade 2, I was put in detention for picking a lilac from someone's tree. I was 7 years old. My Mother was furious.

Salad
Which topping(s) make up your perfect pizza?

Green peppers, mushrooms, onions

Main Course
Do you believe in UFOs/aliens/etc.? Why or why not?

If etc means ghosts/spirits, then my answer is yes. Because I just do.

Dessert
What color is your bedspread/comforter/quilt?

Camel

ABOUT THE FEAST
While our questions may sometimes be related to food, the main idea here is to feed your mind by asking thought-provoking, mind-stimulating questions. Each Friday when you visit this meme, you will find 5 enticing courses for your mind to gobble up:
Appetizer
- a quick, tasty morsel to get you started
Soup
- smooth and warm to soothe your mind
Salad
- a nutritious blend of "veggies"
Main Course
- a hearty portion that is sure to satisfy
Dessert
- light concoction for your sweet tooth

The Thinking Meme

Skittles referred to this as 'The Thinking Meme'. Well , it certainly is that (now my head hurts).

Here we go...like it or not....

1. If you had to choose one vice in exclusion of all others what would it be?
I gave everything up....there's nothing left!!!

2. If you could change one specific thing about the world what would it be?
Body Odour (I really, really detest that!).

3. Name the cartoon character you identify with the most.
Cinderella...because sometimes I just feel like a princess (yeah right).

4. If you could live one day in your life over again which one would it be?
My wedding day

5. If you could go back in history and spend a day with one person who would it be?
Princess Diana

6. What is the one thing you lost, sold or threw away that you wish you could have back?
My teak wall unit. It was the first piece of furniture that I bought with my own money when I was a young adult.

7. What is your one most important contribution to this world?
That I am basically a happy person.

8. What is your one hidden talent that nearly no one knows about?
I can flatten my left thumb.

9. What is your most cherished possession?
My Mother's wedding ring (I wear it all the time).

10. What one person influenced your life the most when growing up?
So many people had a hand in my turning out the way that I did, so it's hard to blame just one person :-)

11. What one word describes you better than any other?
Happy.


And now I tag the following.......
Jeni,
Terry,
Sunflower,
Pepper,
Mairin

What to do with a Meme: Copy the questions into a new post and answer them. Tag some different bloggers. Go back and let the person who tagged you know that you did it. Then go and have a stiff drink.....

Thursday Thirteen - My Fourth One

Thirteen Things about Masgblog

13 of my Favourite CDs (with acknowledgement to Amazon.com for images):

1. All Things Must Pass (George Harrison)




2. Rubber Soul (The Beatles)




3. 4 Way Street (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young)




4. Some Devil (Dave Matthews Band)




5. Come Away with Me (Norah Jones)




6. Live in Chicago (The Dave Matthews Band)




7. Let It Bleed (The Rolling Stones)




8. Secret World Live (Peter Gabriel)




9. Feels Like Home (Norah Jones)




10. The Ragpicker's Dream (Mark Knopfler)




11. Golden Heart (Mark Knopfler)




12. Living Under June (Jann Arden)




13. Six Strings North of the Border Volume 1 (Various Artists)

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happy birThday To you.......

There's a liTTle lady I know who is celebraTing a birThday Today.

And if you Think ThaT This posT looks sTrange, well, maybe iT is.

BuT her name sTarTs wiTh a T.

Maybe we can all send her a liTTle luv Today.

(click on The cake)

So, Happy BirThday, T. We luv you!

Wordless Wednesday #1

He's baaaack!

I bet you thought that Chilly Willy got put away for the season, didn't you. Well, he just became one of my Christmas leftovers...and it snowed here, so he just had to get dressed up for the weather...enjoy!

Christmas Leftovers

Everybody has leftovers, well, not me, not really. We have no leftover turkey or dressing. The decorations are all organized and stored away until next year. The outdoor lights are still up, but they're not turned on anymore. Boring huh?

A little I guess.

Leftovers don't only have to be food either. They can be any little thing that is leftover from Christmas. Maybe you left a Christmas stocking hanging in the bathroom (what the heck was it doing there in the first place is what I want to know?). Maybe you left Santa's plate of food at the fireplace (geeross!). Maybe it's a forgotten Christmas candle. It could be anything.

You know the familiar ones. The guy who leaves his expensive fancy lighted reindeer up all winter. Or the trees with the pretty white lights that are still on timer in July.

One of our neighbours left his outdoor holly tied to his patio railing until June. The birds were getting confused and thought that this was a very cool nesting area.

When we were going to visit our last house (before we had bought it), the owners had Christmas wreaths hanging up on the doors.

It was April.

The best one that I can recall was again, a neighbour. These guys were hardly ever home. They were usually out of the country working to make a living. The Christmas tree was set up and decorated very early. It was a beauty (we could see it through their front living room window). Then, in May, we were driving past and noticed that there was this tree shape in the front window. The fully decorated tree was still sitting proudly in the front window.

I don't know. The old rule that we tend to follow is to put the tree up in December and get it all down before January 6th (can't be too superstitious you know).

ciao!

Quack Out.......

Do you think I'm a quack pot?
No I'm not!
I am a little duck,
Here to bring you a little luck.
If you think I'm fowl,
You're right...but I don't growl.
I don't purr,
That's what cats are furrr.
I can quack,
and let things roll off my back.

one big quack for

Weekend Mornings

Weekend mornings are the best (and holiday mornings too). On the weekend, I like to laze around a bit in my jammies, and have a quiet breakfast, read my latest magazines, have a second cup of tea, give treats to the kitties, sit on the couch for a bit (of course with a certain CoCo on my lap), update my tracker.

It's quiet around here at that time. No one is really up and moving yet, and it's not really the season for mowing the lawn (although you wouldn't know it judging by the springlike weather that we've been having lately!).

That little routine is what I look forward to come Friday night. It's wind down time. Settle down time. Peace time. Time to recharge the batteries for another work week.

Now, I was talking to a lady who is retired, who said that everyday is like a weekend. In other words, the weekends are the same as the weekdays. Right now I can't grasp that concept, except that I hope that when (if) I ever get to retire, that I'll still be able to separate the weekends from the weekdays. To keep them special.

Here's to a restful rest of weekend!

This Feeds My Royalty Craving.....for now at least

This was reported on CNN today.....*sigh*

"Bets off on Prince William wedding
POSTED: 3:45 p.m. EST, January 6, 2007

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Shhh! Prince William, Britain's future king, will marry on July 19.

A British bookmaker has closed its books on William and Kate Middleton getting hitched on that day after it received a number of bets the couple will tie the knot then.

"We've taken a number of large bets -- one punter wanted to place a £1,000 bet -- that the couple will marry on July 19, so we're no longer accepting wagers on that day," a William Hill spokesman told Reuters.

William Hill stands to lose in excess of £50,000 if the couple marry in 2007 and more than £20,000 if they wed on July 19.

Earlier this week William and Kate were given an unusually high level of police security when 10 officers provided the couple with a cordon as they emerged from a London nightclub, fueling rumors of an imminent engagement announcement.

William and Kate shared a house as students at St. Andrews University in Scotland. From there, romance gradually blossomed.

Middleton, who turns 25 next week, is the daughter of affluent parents who sent her to private school and live in a five-bedroom house in the heart of the English countryside.

They run their own mail order party supplies company."

Friday's Feast - One Hundred and Twenty Five

Friday, January 5, 2007
Feast One Hundred & Twenty-Five
Appetizer
Which celebrity (or celebrities) do you think will make headlines this year?

Prince William (he's a celebrity to me!)

Soup
They say that good things come in small packages? What is something little that you think is great?

One of the Christmas gifts that I received.

Salad
Name a song that makes you want to dance.

Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones (and the dance version used in BodyPump is most excellent too)

Main Course
What is your favorite font?

Comic Sans

Dessert
If you were to write a do-it-yourself article, what would it be about?

How to get and stay organized.

Thursday Thirteen - #4

Thirteen Things about masgblog

Since we are all talking about exercising in this new year, here are 13 things that are always in my gym bag (Just Do It):

1. Training shoes (Nike, Ryka)


2. T-shirt (always clean and fresh)


3. Membership card (for me and me alone)


4. Class schedule (it's a new one!)


5. Wristbands (Lance Armstrong, BodyJam, BodyAttack)


6. Towel (soft, small, cuddly, zzzzz)


7. Socks (different types for different activities)


8. Water bottle (nothing too fancy here....it's a Rubbermaid special)


9. Lock (it has a blue face on it)


10. St. John's Ambulance kit ('cause you just never know)


11. Colorful head gear (always a colour to match the gear)


12. Hair brush (sometimes it works, and sometimes it just doesn't)


13. Umbrella (just in case)

Post Christmas Shopping

Usually, and not just on Boxing Day, I can pick up any number of gitchy Christmas thingies to put away for next year's decorating extravaganza. This can go on for, literally, weeks after Christmas. I can always find a little Santa or an angel. Maybe some rolls of Christmas paper, Tree balls. Whatever my little eye might take a liking to. It's always a thrill, too, to be able to pick up something that you think you got a 'deal' on and lug it home to meet the other tchotchkies.

Not so this year. This year I haven't seen much of anything Christmasy left over anywhere.

The pickings have been picked. The remnants have been remnanted. The herd has been through the fields and have plucked every last ornament from the face of the earth.

No balls (AdSense beware), no reindeer, nothink, nada, nitchky!

So, what am I to do? Well, for one, I'll save $$$. Two, I probably didn't really need anything anyway. I would simply have been a shopping pawn in the big retail sideshow, helping the big guys to lessen their inventory. So, this year, I came out the winner (My Sweetie will be happy about that).

So far.

You see, Pier 1 usually has their place settings on sale after Christmas. I had been looking at them before Christmas, but the prices were too rich (like $9 dineros a plate....yikes!). So, maybe, just maybe, I will stumble through their front door one of these days to see if they have their BIG SALE on.

Who knows? They might even have a few Christmasy thingies hiding somewhere....waiting in the wings.

p.s. - For something a little different, while searching the proper spelling of tchotchkies, I stumbled on the following site HBML Fresh Garbage

UPDATE!!!! Yippee!!! I was FINALLY able to find something considered Christmas clearance ---- a 4-piece Christmas cookie cutter set for 69 cents (who cares that I don't bake) AND a 16 month calendar for 2007 for $1.89.......I struck it big this time!! Woo Hoo!

A New Routine (or An Old Rut?)

It's a new year. 2007. For many people this means resolutions, promises, and high hopes, all waiting patiently, and doomed to be broken. For me, it's not so much about resolutions, but more about routine (not rut). Probably a similar routine, but an improved version. We live in a world of routine. Routine - 'a regular course of action'. Or, same stuff, different day. This year will probably be much like last year, but then again, I can't really know that for sure, since my crystal ball isn't focused like that.

This year's routine has already begun. The work routine (darn alarm clock). The WW routine (starving already). The gym routine (it will hurt to get out of bed tomorrow morning). The taking-down-the-decorations routine (*sniff*). See? What did I tell you? Same old same old. But that's okay. Sometimes a routine is a good thing, especially if that routine is a tried and true good routine. I like to think that some of my routine is tried and true. Why ruin a good thing?

Now, 2007 also promises a few sure things. Come August 7th, My Sweetie and I will be married to each other for 25 years. That is kind of an accomplishment in this day and age, at least that is what people keep exclaiming when they hear how long we've been married...to the same person. In fact, whenever we tell people how long we've been married, first they pass out in shock, wondering if we were 7 years old when we got married, and then they exclaim how big of an accomplishment this really is. So I guess it is. This probably calls for some sort of milestone celebration (have a party, buy a boat, take a trip, buy a boat, diamonds, buy a boat, diamonds). You can see where I am going with this.

2007 is probably also the year that we install a powder room in the basement. The rough-in is already there, but there will be finishing work required. So, we'll have to see about this one, but it sure would be nice.

Like it or not, 2007 is here, loaded with hopes and dreams and plans.

Let's make the best of it. OK? It might turn out to be a can of worms, or it could turn out to be something really really great.

So, what's it gonna be? Rut or routine?

Keep smiling.

Happy New Year Everybody!