Have you ever heard of people getting married and creating a new last name out of combining parts of their original last names?

A client told me today that that is what her son did when he got married. It got me thinking, I could have been Angie Boschbeiner, or maybe Angie Finkman. Okay, maybe not....

It seemed very odd to me.

Feeling a little pale

I was just checking to see when the next Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) comes out in theatres and according to IMDB it's July 17th, 2009. Even though the last 3 movies have been somewhat disappointing in comparison with the books I am looking forward to seeing the movie. I noticed that the final intallment of the Harry Potter movies will be done as two movies. I have thought that since the third or fourth movie came out that they should do them as two part movies. They are 600-800ish pages long and it can be tough to squeeze that all into one 2-3 hour movie. I figured if they did them as two parters they would make double the money on them. They didn't do it though and for those who hadn't read the books the movies left you with a lot of questions. It will be interesting to see what they do with the finale. The last two movies are due out in November 2010 and May 2011. And I also found out that John Williams did write the scores for the Harry Potter movies. I often felt like there were some similarities in feel to them and Star Wars and Indiana Jones. So now you know!

The 80s are back

I think I will begin this post by quoting grandpa Simpson "I used to be with it, then they changed was it was. Now what I'm with isn't it, and what's it seems weird and scary. It'll happen to yoooou."

Karen and I ventured out this afternoon to browse some bridesmaid dresses. Arleen asked us to be bridesmaids in her wedding in March and we thought we would go out and just try on some dresses and maybe get an inkling as to what size we wear in fancy dresses. We will likely have to order our dresses online since it is pretty short notice. I am a little apprehensive about ordering something sight unseen, but what can you do when it takes 3-4 months to order in a dress to a bridal shop in the city!?

I know that I am getting old (28) and it has been 10 1/2 years since I graduated high school but I was just appalled at some of the prom/grad dress selections out there. I realize that the girls who are graduating this year were born in the 1990's but don't they realize that the dresses they are choosing to wear are from the 80's? That in 10 years they will look back at their big hair, blue eye shadow and their taffeta mermaid dress and wonder what they were thinking?? I will admit that looking back at my grade 12 grad dress it looks dated. I think it was pretty when I wore it, but I don't think that a person would look at it and say, that is such a late 90's dress. And the prices they pay for those things....goodness.....$500 for a dress that you wear once, for a couple of hours? I know that some people are fortunate enough to get a second use out of a dress, but not $500 worth of use!

Another thing that bugs me are all the mini dresses. These are dresses with poofy skirts that end far above the knee. They are fancy ball gown type dresses, that suddenly stop. Here is an example. I just don't get it. And in that example, the floofy skirt. I don't know the technical term for it. I think that those floofy skirts are going to be this decade's poofy sleeves. And the bubble hem, what is up with that??

Summer Holidays

I know it's still January, but I have summer holidays on the brain. I booked time off in July this week. I finally get two weeks off in a row. Since I have worked where I do, I usually have just taken two separate weeks off in the summer. I think there is a certain niceness to that, breaking it up, but I look forward to a nice looooong stretch of holidays. Initially we were thinking about going down into the USA to do a bit of shopping, but after seeing how poorly the Canadian dollar is doing at the moment as well as hearing that the closest border cities (ie Minot or Great Falls) don't have spectacular shopping we turned out sights to Alberta. We thought about going to Edmonton to check out the West Ed Mall. I haven't been there in years, and Jay has never been. We wondered what other interesting things that there were to see and do in Edmonton. I started searching online and thought maybe the Science Centre might be interesting. I wasn't sure what else there is to see. Any suggestions? In my google searches for touristy things in Edmonton I came across a link that said the broadway musical The Lion King will be playing in Edmonton for the month of July. That piqued my interest greatly!! After how much we enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera last spring, I am going to look into finding us tickets for The Lion King. Maybe they will be outrageously expensive, or sell out right away, but I am going to look into it. They aren't on sale yet and according to the website they usually go on sale 6-8 weeks before the performance so I guess I will keep checking back. We were thinking about maybe doing the Edmonton thing, then swinging down through Calgary for a day or two to visit grandpa and maybe drive out to the mountains, then head back to Saskatoon, or maybe Swift Current. I suppose we don't have to have everything set in stone right now, but it is exciting to look ahead and have something to look forward to. Once the summer holidays are over we will have to start planning our Hawaii trip.....

By the way, today is my 4th wedding anniversary :) Married life is good!

Strange Dog

Ever since Kiwi was little, if there has been a time when we would be out of the house for more than 2 or 3 hours we would put her kennel and food/water in the bathroom so she could eat or drink and move around more than she could if we just left her in her kennel for that time. Often when I give her her breakfast she won't eat it until later in the day. However, when I go put her food in the bathroom shortly before we leave her in there for a period of time she will run to the bathroom and eat her whole breakfast right away. If the food was just in the kitchen (where it usually is) she would likely not touch it, but in the bathroom she'll eat it. Crazy pooch.

Wii Fit

The kind UPS man brought me my Wii Fit on Tuesday. Jay had wanted to get me one for my birthday but they are very difficult to find in this city so we opted to order one from Costco.ca (on a side note, my coworker was in the states over Christmas and said when she was out shopping there were piles of Wii Fits where she went.....makes you wonder why distributors can't get more to Canada??). I have been having fun with it. Wednesday morning I was stiff from some hard core hula hooping action. So far (I know it's only been 3 days) I have managed to use it for at least half an hour each day and have managed to work some muscles and even work up a bit of a sweat. I don't think the Wii Fit is the best weight loss tool, but it beats sitting on your butt watching tv or sitting playing Lego Indiana Jones (very fun game!). The one thing I am not sure about it is weighing myself every day. I know it's my choice to look at my weight each day or not, but I have not had regular access to a bathroom scale, well....ever. My mom and dad have one now, but before that I would weigh myself once a year at the doctor's office, or sometimes secretly at a friend's or family member's house if they had a scale in their bathroom. The first day I got the Wii Fit I weighed myself and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I really thought I had gained some weight over Christmas, but from what I saw, obviously I didn't. The first day I weighed myself once, then ate supper and weighed myself again and was surprised that I had gained 2 pounds. I don't think I ate 2 pounds of food.....then the next day I gained another half a pound, then today I had lost .7 lbs. So the moral of the story is that weighing yourself every day is not healthy. A person's weight fluctuates depending on the time of day/month, water retention, etc. I think I will try to keep the weighings to once/week so I don't feel discouraged.

Distorted body image

I think this caption says it all. On first glance of this picture I thought to myself, "Wow, she's sort of chubby." Then I realized that this is Marilyn Monroe and that she was a major sex symbol in the 40s and 50s (I didn't realize she died of an overdose in 1962 at the age of 36). So 50-60 years have passed since this was considered sexy. No wonder so many people have self esteem and body image issues. I recall reading somewhere that Marilyn Monroe wore a size 12. Now a model who wore that size would probably be considered plus size :P I did find a website that claims that no one really knew her actual clothing size but that her measurements were about 36-24-37. She had a very tiny waist, but definitely had some curves.

A little mush

I have felt completely, absolutely unmotivated to clean our house lately. I feel like the place is a mess. It might not look so bad on first glance, but I can't tell you the last time I washed the floor in here and there is still a hand smudge on our dining room window from one of the kids at Christmas. There are other things that haven't been cleaned in a long time but I am not going to go into details because it would just embarrass me. Thankfully I have cleaned the bathrooms recently because I just CAN'T let those get too dirty cause it's gross. I have been doing a lot of shoveling lately, and I think I would rather spend a half hour shoveling than cleaning the house. I was contemplating spending some (or maybe all) of my birthday and Christmas money on hiring someone to come in and catch up on the house cleaning for me. I really don't know what that would cost but I think it would make me feel better. Though it seems that someone else never cleans the same as you would. But some cleaning would be better than no cleaning, which I have been doing. *sigh*

I have felt rather uninspired to write anything too profound or interesting lately. Sorry, just in a slump. I noticed however that my blog is almost five years old! January 13, 2004 was my very first post and since then I have just over 700 posts!

I ordered myself a Wii Fit from Costco.ca and according to the UPS tracking service it should arrive here on Tuesday. I am very much looking forward to using it. I feel like I put on a few pounds during the Christmas season, so hopefully this will help drop a few. I also bought my first Wii game last week, Lego Indiana Jones. It is a fun game that involves a lot of thinking and not just running around killing things.

My good friend Arleen finally set a wedding date! March 14th, so just over two months from now :) I am pretty excited for that. It's been a while since I have been to the wedding of a close friend. I think it'll be a nice weekend away for Jay and I. It'll be lots of fun to hang out with Karen and Arleen the day before too :)

Changes

I found out today about some big changes that will be coming (in regards to my work situation). I still have a job and all, so don't worry about me. I am excited in some ways, but also a little apprehensive about what these changes might mean. I will write more when I feel freer to do so.

Nostalgia - Part 5

28

Tomorrow is my 28th birthday. As I reflect back on the past 28 years of my life....well maybe 24 years (I don't think I remember much from the first 4 years), I think "Why in the world did I have to be born in the coldest month of the year in the middle of the great white north?!" As a kid I was always envious of my friends with summer birthdays who could have great outdoor parties, or go swimming for their birthdays. Me, all I got to do was either have a sleepover or go bowling. Don't get me wrong, I had fun birthdays, but I always wished I was born in summer.

I recall a birthday of mine (not sure the exact year) a few years back when I was still living at mom and dad's. It was only about -5C and my wonderful dad offered to bbq hamburgers for me on my birthday. That was an awesome treat in the dead of winter. January 3rd, 2009 is a whole other story!!

We went out for supper tonight to Moxie's to celebrate my birthday. Thankfully we were able to take advantage of Jay's handicapped parking permit and found parking close to the entrance. The supper was very tasty. I had a peppercorn new york steak with a delightful stuffed potato (seriously great stuffed potato for anyone who is looking for a good one! I joked about just going back there for a potato...not sure if they would give me just a potato without an entree), and some veggies. I also had a bellini (yeah I know, slushy drink in this weather?! but it was comfortably warm in the restaurant so it was good), and we shared a white chocolate brownie for dessert. I haven't had a white chocolate brownie there in years and it was super good tonight. YUM!

When we went to leave Jay's van was frozen up pretty good. Usually when it is this cold the automatic doors don't work and the air suspension tends to be finicky. Thankfully we thought to turn off the suspension before we went in so that wasn't an issue, but when we got home the ramp wouldn't go down. Thankfully it did work just took a minute to thaw out and it seems to be okay now. That poor van :( I commented to Jay when we got home that it is -37C with a -48C windchill right now. That is how cold it was the night he met my family at our steak night at the Odeon with my class. I remember running down the sidewalk toward the Midtown because I think he was able to park underground. That was almost five years ago...wow. There has been talk around here about the possiblity of a destination holiday next winter. I think we might be a year too late on thinking about that...haha. I cannot believe how long this cold snap has lasted, usually it's a week or two then it moderates somewhat but this is just plain NASTY. I don't think life was meant to exist at these temperatures!!

It's 2009!

I feel like I should write something insightful but I don't have anything to say. So I will steal this from another blog I read...

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Went on a road trip with my hubby to Calgary and Drumheller.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't typically make them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Karen had a baby, she's sooo cute (the baby...well Karen's pretty cute too ;) )!

4. Did anyone close to you die? Fortunately not!

5. What countries did you visit? Canada

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Be more busy at work and continue to grow my clientele base.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 12-16 our trip to Alberta, Christmas 2008 - Hosted my family at our house, Feb. 1st - Picked up Kiwi at the airport

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Raising a puppy and putting Christmas lights up on the outside of our house

9. What was your biggest failure? Not keeping the house as clean as it should be

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major!

11. What was the best thing you bought? I am enjoying the Wii

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Jason was a great chauffeur in Calgary, even though he had never driven there. (and he didn't get too frustrated when I told him to go the wrong way)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Politicians

14. Where did most of your money go? Mortgage, Daily living expenses, Landscaping our yard

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our summer vacation plans and getting a puppy

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? I am not sure if there are any in particular. I don't listen to new music.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
(a) Happier or Sadder? Happier
(b) Thinner or Fatter? Same?
(c) Richer or Poorer? Poorer (landscaping is expensive!)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Spent time with friends and exercise

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Eating food that is bad for me

20. How did you spend Christmas in 2008? With my extended family in my house (14 adults and 4 children under the age of 5)

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? I stayed in love with my husband.

22. How many one-night stands? None

23. What was your favorite TV program? Oooo The Office!

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No.

25. What was the best book you read? The only one that is jumping out at me right now is The Shack. It was a good book!

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Not sure I listened to anything new this year :P

27. What did you want and get? A Wii

28. What did you want and not get? A Wii Fit

29. What was your favorite film of this year? I saw a few gooders...Juno, The Pursuit of Happiness, Mamma Mia, Prince Caspian

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 27 and I honestly don't remember. I think I went to work. Oh and we probably went to Botanica to get my free birthday dinner. Oh yeah, now I remember. I ate a whole rack of ribs. Man did I feel terrible after that, haha. No free food for me this year....

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Being busier at work.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? I don't have a fashion concept. I buy things that fit me and I think look good. I am not trendy or in style.

33. What kept you sane? Jason and Kiwi

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Don't really fancy famous folks

35. What political issue stirred you the most? I thought the coalition government thing was retarded!

36. Who did you miss? I miss spending quality time with good friends. It happens, but just not as often as it used to.

37. Who was the best new person you met? Made some new friends in our weekly Bible study group.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. I am not ready to be a parent

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I can't think of a song lyric after wracking my brain....so I will share my favorite Simpson's quote "Ooo look at me, I'm making people happy. I'm the magical man, from happy land, in a gumdrop house on lollipop lane!" Homer Simpson

40. What are your resolutions for 2009? Go on a destination holiday next winter.