Long Lost Jeans

As I dug through my tubs of seasonal clothing to find clothes to take to a clothing swap, I discovered two pairs of jeans I have been holding on to for....well, let's just say many, many years. I have hung on to these jeans because when I bought them, it was one of "those" moments. Girls, you know the one...when you try on a pair of jeans and the heavens open up and the angels sing. Perfection; As if they were made for you and you alone. So perfect that you'd buy every pair in stock at that moment, if you could. Well, since it has been many, many years since I bought them, it's been many, many years since they have fit. They are the only articles of clothing I have held on to that don't fit me (excluding the dress my mom made me when I was 5). I have held on to them because I told myself I would fit into them again. Today I decided to test the waters and find out how very far away I am to that goal. I hesitated just slightly as I pulled on the first pair, careful not to get too excited by the fact that I could fit my leg into them (I've always been able to pull them on, just not do them up!)...but I found, much to my surprise, that I could do them up!!!!! I quickly squashed my excitement when I realized that if I sat down in them there might be a problem, but I could do them up!!! Woohoo!! One down, one to go. I began the process again with pair #2, and ever to my surprise, I could do them up as well!! Sadly, they are not ready for wearing in public, or in the house, so as not to cut any organ in two, but perhaps sooner than later I can wear them somewhere other than my basement.

Now the only questions left to be answered are; 1) are they still perfect (look awesome) and 2) are they still in style??? Bell bottoms are still cool, right?

Moments of Genius

I'll never be a person with ideas that come to fulfillment and make a million dollars or save the world or anything like that, but every now and again I get these ideas that I just feel would be a waste if I didn't at least try to make them come to fruition.

My first idea that has yet to happen, and looks like it won't again this season, is for Wade Robson to choreograph a dance to Pink Elephants on Parade. Every time I see a dance by him, or even just a picture of him the song goes through my head. It's like his theme song, but he has no idea. So maybe a write in campaign??

My second idea that I have had since this last season of American Idol, and bangs around my head every time the song plays while I run, is that Adam Lambert NEEDS to do a version of The Darkness' I Believe In A Thing Called Love. For those of you who haven't heard the song, here. skip about a minute into it when the song starts. Now picture Adam Lambert singing. Doesn't it make total sense?? I'm thinking with all those Glambert fans out there we can make this one happen. I really wanted him to sing it on idol, it would have been awesome and completely suited his scream-y, stick my tongue out, thing he does when he hits the crazy notes.

Just my two cents. Let's make this happen!!

Adam Adam Bo Badam

Ok, so I just lost my Adam Lambert blog. Stupid keyboard.

Anyway, I have no idea what I wrote and of course it saved after the words magically disappeared.

The gist: loved Adam in Hollywood week, thought he would go far, probably finals. Each week he fades a little more for me, don't know why. His high notes make me die a little inside. He should pull off a rocking cover of The Darkness' "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". Would probably be better off to not win Idol so he won't have to sell his soul to 19 Entertainment. They won't like an album full of Ring of Fire covers. Commercial is better so Danny or Kris would most likely be the 19 folks choices to win.

Either way Adam will be Top 3. Think we should vote him off? Besides, think the Idol folks will provide costumes like this one for the Top 10 tour?? If so, maybe I'll buy me some tickets!!

So now I have lost 2 blogs on this topic. The first was the 2 AM laying in bed blog (which was awesome by the way - I even distinctly remember thinking to myself "this blog is awesome"), and my second attempt. They say the third times a charm...we will see.

So Jeff, disagree away, I know you are mush more of a music expert than I ever will be.

Trish, hope this helped on the whole "who is Adam Lambert" thing.

Everyone else, hope I didn't bore you to death.

Man, I even worked the word muzak into blog #2....stupid lost blogs.

Readers Choice

I realize I've been in a blogging funk. I had high hopes for myself and my quest into blogosphere celebridom, but alas, I do not think this will be the year it happens.

Even as I sit here typing, I really don't have anything to blog about. Well, that's not true, it's more that I don't feel like blogging about:

• the current Miss California/Perez Hilton flap
• my utter disdain for drivers how refuse to use their turn signals, but ranting about it isn't going to change anything.
• my frustration with paypal and those who try to steal my money? Oh wait, I already did? Okay, we don't need to go there again.
• my thoughts as to why I can't seem to jump on the Adam Lambert train?
• the disappointment I had with the new John Grisham book
• why the Today show feels like it has to use 2.5 of it's 4 hour run to air commercials.
• why this child of mine doesn't seem to ever want to nap longer than 30 minutes even though she's been up for 7 hours
• the non excuses I have for not going to the gym last week

So, any one want to hear me spout off on any one of these pressing topics? Or do you have something you want me to ramble on, share my expertise on or just pretend to be an expert on?? Let me know, I'll whip you up a great blog that the blogosphere will be ever so envious with and will bring me that pseudo fame I am so craving!!

This One's For You Trish!

We might live in the most hick, red-neck sounding town...but our DQ knows how to decorate a birthday cake!! AND they know how to spell birthday too!

Happy Birthday Sexy Mama

You get better and better every year.
Happy Birthday.

I Don't Like Mondays

While I am not one to wax philosophical on politics, I have had this nagging feeling that I should step into Mark's territory for a change and share a thought or two.
This past election season found me annoyed, frustrated and tired of all things politics. I am not a fan of the U.S. system and the format for picking a candidate. While it might not make any sense to say this, politics have become too political for my tastes. That's not to say I don't have any opinions, because I do; they may not be the same as Mark's, or many others, or they may not always be decided based on 100% of the facts. I try to stay informed, and when I am asked an opinion on a topic that I don't feel fully knowledgeable on, I am more than happy to admit it. I'll still give you my opinion, but I'll let you know that it's based on limited information or on pure emotion. Mark and I have had many a political discussion, and sometimes we do agree...or at least somewhat agree, but there are many topics that we stand on opposite sides of the fence.
Being a Canadian, and only a permanent resident of the U.S., I do not vote in elections here (I wish that could excuse political ads from my TV set!!). That being said, I do not belong to any specific political party....I tend to find myself in the middle of the road. There are issues from both sides that have my support. I suppose if I were to find myself a voting person I would be a little torn on which path to follow. Thankfully I don't have that problem!
Having that said, here's my opinion for today. Given that a new President is being sworn in, I felt I should say something that's been on my mind for some months now, about the outgoing President. And shock of shocks, it has nothing to do with Iraq, terrorism or Bin Laden. I think enough has been said about that and there will never be an explanation that will please everyone.
Moving on. While I was pregnant, I spent a lot of time in the Doctor's office, so I made use of the magazines in the rooms. I came across an article in Time magazine. It was about Bush, and it was written by Bob Geldof (click on his name if you don't know anything about him). It's no surprise that Geldof is not an overly supportive fan of Bush, in fact I would guess 90% of what Bush stands for, Geldof doesn't, and vice versa. So I was quite surprised when I read his article. He was actually writing in support of Bush! I was intrigued, so I read on.
His article spotlighted Bush's work in Africa. I had no idea Bush had done work in Africa! But he had, and he had done some amazing work there!!
"It was, for example, Bush who initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with cross-party support led by Senators John Kerry and Bill Frist. In 2003, only 50,000 Africans were on HIV antiretroviral drugs — and they had to pay for their own medicine. Today, 1.3 million are receiving medicines free of charge. The U.S. also contributes one-third of the money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — which treats another 1.5 million. It contributes 50% of all food aid (though some critics find the mechanism of contribution controversial). On a seven-day trip through Africa, Bush announced a fantastic new $350 million fund for other neglected tropical diseases that can be easily eradicated; a program to distribute 5.2 million mosquito nets to Tanzanian kids; and contracts worth around $1.2 billion in Tanzania and Ghana from the Millennium Challenge Account, another initiative of the Bush Administration."
Geldof continues to discuss the work that has been done in Africa while Bush has been in office, and it is quite impressive. It just seems strange that in times when everything the public hears about is economic turmoil, job loss, war casualties and other atrocities, it would be pleasant to hear a news piece or two about some of the good that goes on in the world.
The article's next paragraph sums up the entire point to my long winded blog:
"So why doesn't America know about this? "I tried to tell them. But the press weren't much interested," says Bush. It's half true. There are always a couple of lines in the State of the Union, but not enough so that anyone noticed, and the press really isn't interested. For them, like America itself, Africa is a continent of which little is known save the odd horror"
The article is very enlightening, at least to me it was. I learned a lot about the work President Bush has done while in office, much of which is never reported to the public, unless you go looking for it, yourself.
So why is it that the media only reports on the negative, or the argument inducing issues? If you don't agree with the man and his actions, that's fine, but if good deeds have been done, why is the media and the public so slow to recognize them? I am sure during Obama's term(s) there will be good decisions made and poor decisions. No one leader can make the public happy 100% of the time, it's not possible.
What I like most about this article is Geldof's honesty. He doesn't tip toe around the fact that they are at odds with each other on the issue of Iraq, but Geldof is professional and human all at the same time:
"I don't want to go there. I have my views and they're at odds with his, and I don't want to spoil the interview or be rude in the face of his hospitality. "Ah, look Mr. President. I don't want to do this really. We'll get distracted and I'm here to do Africa with you...This is the person who has quadrupled aid to the poorest people on the planet. I was more comfortable with that. But his expression asked for agreement and sympathy, and I couldn't provide either. "Mr. President, please. There are things you've done I could never possibly agree with and there are things I've done in my life that you would disapprove of, too. And that would make your hospitality awkward. The cost has been too much. History will play itself out."
With the media's unabashed love-fest going on right now for all things Obama (he wears boxers!! Read all about it on the 10:00 news! He had ranch dressing on his salad - breaking news! What on earth would happen if a media pundit came out with a semi-negative remark about Obama and his politics??), I just wanted to give some credit where credit is due on this last day of Bush's term. You may not agree with all of his decisions, but we can all agree that there has been some good that has come out of his two terms as President.
Here is the article from Time, I would urge you all to read it.

Quite Puzzling Indeed

Is there anything quite as good as fitting that last piece of the 2000 piece puzzle into the final spot?

Now what do I do??

Hey Ladies

I fully planned on posting my half finished diatribe on the media’s treatment of Sarah Palin, why I am a Republican, and the flawed economic theory of the Democratic Party, but then I watched Ms. Palin speak the other night and shelved my previous writing. My reaction to her speech was quite different then I imagined it would be. Instead of feeling excited about the GOP’s chances in November, I felt proud of where I come from, the people that are closest to me and the opportunities this country affords each of us.

I have always been surrounded by loving, smart and tough women. I have a great grandmother who could take a bullet without complaint, brand cows with the toughest of men and soothe a grandchild after being stung by a bee. My grandmother taught me the value of an honest days work. Although as a kid I bitched and moaned about the level of pay and her high quality standards (even though I was filling a manure spreader), she taught me how to do a job and do it right. I thought a lot about my mother when I saw Ms. Palin speak. For those who don’t know my mom, she managed a household of seven rowdy kids, a cousin who didn’t have another home and cared for her dying father-in-law while my father lived and worked out of state. My mother is tough, the type of woman who would smack other people’s kids when they get out of line at the grocery store. All the neighbor kids knew that you didn’t cross Eva cause if you pissed her off one way she’d put a boot in your ass the other. Outside of this tough exterior, she is a caring, passionate and intelligent mother and grandmother. Mostly I thought about my lovely wife, a tough, passionate woman who can’t be easily categorized by a single title. Melanie is a woman of deep thinking, deep passion and an uncompromising belief in doing what’s right. I never realized how strong she is until the last few months. The best thing I can say about these women is that they are good people and good mothers, just like most of us have.

As a man I often talk about the Washingtons, Jeffersons and the Rockefellers who “built” this nation, but I know better. This nation is built upon the backs of strong women. That is why it is so refreshing to see someone like Sarah Palin. I think it’s great to see an elected official who has struggled through the fight of kids, jobs, school, marriage, mistakes and everyday living; someone who seeks out office not to break down barriers or prove something, but to try to make life better for their family. The pundits all debated whether she was talking to the base, swing voters, Reagan democrats or Hillary supporters, but I think it was more than that. She spoke to me as a person who struggles to make a living and tries to do what’s right every day. She spoke to me the same way that strong women have spoken to me throughout my life, and that was a breath of fresh air.

Kitchen Nightmares

Unfortunately, this is not about Gordon Ramsey's TV show. So a warning - don't read this if you're eating, or are a big wuss like me. (You'll probably not even blink twice at this, but like I said, I am a big wuss).

So last night, Mark was out working in the yard, trying to clean out some old growth and such, I was in the house putting stuff away and trying to get my new table runner out of it's unnecessary over the top packaging. I first try to just rip it open, no luck. Then I try to undo those little plastic twist ties, you know the ones that you can tighten, but not loosen? No luck either. Scissors are needed, but Mark has them outside with him, and rather than spend 2 minutes walking outside to ask where he put them, I decide it will just be faster/easier to use a knife. I grab a small kitchen knife (probably a paring like knife), and I get two of the twists off (yes!), however this merchandiser has decided to put 6 of them on and two are on so tight you can hardly move it to get the knife underneath it. Of course, I manage to get the knife under it, but it is not working, I grab a serrated knife to try to saw it off, nope, not working. Back to the paring knife. I get the knife under and give it one big heave ho. I didn't find out until about 20 minutes later if I had succeeded in cutting off twist tie #4 because I had nicely stabbed myself in the hand. I dropped everything and ran to the sink (thankfully it was right behind me), the window was open so I said, "Mark, can you come and help me please?" to which he replied, "sure, one second". At this point I didn't know how bad it was because I hadn't taken my other hand off the cut, so I opened my hands up to see a nice lovely flow of blood. I returned to my previous hand position, and looked up to see Mark still working away in the yard so I yelled, "Mark I just stabbed myself with a knife, can you come here PLEASE!?!?" That got his attention. I did end up dripping blood on the counter, cutlery drawer, floor and sink, but thankfully it came off - nothing like blood droplets to christen your home, right?

We decided to call the 24 hour nurses hot line that our insurance provides and after some questions she suggested we head off to an urgent care clinic in the next few hours, unless it bleeding worsens or I lose feeling in my fingers (great!). Thankfully I didn't lose and feeling, and the bleeding stopped, but it was a pretty deep cut and you could see some of the fat tissue under the skin so lucky me, I got to have stitches AND a tetanus shot! You're so jealous, aren't you?

So if you want to take a peak at what we did Saturday night, pictures are below, and I know Krista is going to say that I am indeed the biggest wuss ever, but Mark was quite proud that I did not shed a single tear. Not even when that needle was jabbed into my muscle, or the 62 different stabs I got to numb up my hand!

There goes my career as a hand model.

Oh, and as a sidenote, the stabbing was all in vain as that stupid twist tie remained smugly in place..but I got it today (with scissors of course).
Good times.

Trivia Master

So over the past week, I have decided two things; 1) I really should have been on Vh1's World Series of Pop Culture. Seriously. My brain is full of all of the needed information for this show. I don't know how some of the teams who are participating this year made it on. Granted, there are some good players, but really.. put me, Mark and Dawnell on a team, and we would take them all down.

#2) I Love Pat Kiernan. And no, not just because he is Canadian. He really has got to be one of the funniest hosts on TV these days. Ok, so he is really a newsanchor on New York City's Channel 1, but for the past two years he has hosted the WSOPC, and he is great. Nothing is as funny as the whitest, driest, newsanchor on tv reading lyrics from songs about butts (you had to see it). He cracks me up and makes the show so funny!! The show just would not be the same without him on it, not one little bit! He is also a very good newsanchor. If you don't live in the NYC area, you may have seen him in Night at the Museum, as himself, doing the news on Channel 1. He has also played himself on Spin Cit and in the Interpreter.

While I was not able to be a contestant on the show, we did score some tickets to two nights of tapings.... but don't get me started on that again. I got robbed of proving my pop culture prowess AND seeing (maybe even drooling on) Pat Kiernan!! I guess it will have to wait for another time.

Although this past weekend, Mark and I stopped by a place called Dave and Busters (or what I like to call Chuck E Cheese's for adults). The food stunk, but Mark wanted to play games. So after a slightly below-average dinner, we went to look at the games, and of course Mark was determined to play. So he hit some animal killing video game and then decided we needed to play the trivia game. It was all full so we had to hang out and watch. Four people had been there for quite some time and were obviously loving it, continuing to win all of the tickets! One seat opened up and I let Mark jump in. After one round another chair opened up, so I joined in. After two rounds, the four people who had initially been there decided this 3rd round would be their last. Mark is positive they left because of me, but I think anyone can answer 5 random trivia questions in about 2.5 seconds and get them all right, right? Ok, so I toot my own horn on that one... but I did also end up last in one of the rounds, but some of the history questions have me at a disadvantage since we don't learn a lot of US history in Canada! But we made out all right, won a few rounds and we won enough tickets to cash in for a food chopper AND a stuffed Cookie Monster! There isn't a whole lot of choice in the "prize room", basically stuffed animals, candy, random Dave and Busters paraphernalia (t-shirts, cups, hats), so there wasn't a lot to choose from, and who doesn't need a stuffed Cookie Monster anyway??

So I guess I wil have to wait for my chance to prove my trivia genuis (of useless information anyway) to the world, and more sadly, I will have to wait for Pat.