And the survey says...

Who are these people who get surveyed for the answers in Family Feud?? So many shows, with 100 people surveyed every time. Have you ever known anyone to be surveyed? Or is it the same group every time?? I want to know. In fact, I think I'd like to be surveyed. At what other time would you be asked "On average, how long does a celebrity wedding last?" and "What is the most important thing needed to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey" in the same survey?

So cool.

Dress warm, it's cold inside.

It's an annual tradition. Just about this time every year I have to complain about it. So bear with me would ya? The warm weather has initiated the mass uncovering of air conditioners nationwide. Of course, it's a necessity on the days that reach in the high twenties or unbearable thirties. What I have a beef with is the temperature people set their ACs to, particularly malls, restaurants, and my work.

In the winter we set our household to 22.7 celsius (73 F). That's the room temperature I feel comfortable at...when wearing a sweater, long pants, and fuzzy socks. In the summer, we'll set our room temperature to around 24-25 celsius (76-77F) because this is the temperature I'm comfortable when wearing a tank, shorts (and the like) and bare feet. Am I the only one who finds this logical? Apparently, since I have to pretty much bring a change of clothes everywhere in the summer. With air conditioners blazing, indoor areas other than my house feel absolutely FREEZING to me and I'm stuck wearing my sweater and having my toes chilled to the bone (unfortunately I don't have much toe fat to insulate them...wait, maybe that makes me fortunate...I'm not sure yet). By the time we are done with winter, the last thing I want is to wear warm clothes, and if I have to put another sock on I'm going to self-appoint myself leader of the coalition against air conditioners. It just seems ridiculous to me that people go so crazy, setting their temps lower than what I keep my house at in the winter. Yes, granted, that first initial wall of cold you hit when you enter somewhere on a hot day gives a euphoric feeling, but every breathe I take brings me one step closer to a brain freeze.

Excuse me while I step outside to bring my toes back to flesh tone... That is all.

IF you want his body, AND you think he's sexy, come on ladies, let him know!

So...enough time has now passed that I can calmly recall the event that took place the evening of Tuesday, May 15 2007. Dressed in our 'concert best', my mom and I headed out to dinner at Tru, a nice downtown restaurant located kitty-corner to the venue we were soon heading too. We threw all caution to the wind and dined on a feast of garlic-infested pasta and caesar salad. Admittedly, I gave a brief consideration for the poor folks that might be sitting near me, but it was like I said...brief. And it was good. Damn good.

The threat of a large thunderstorm which reared its ugly head while we ate dinner, causing the lights to briefly flicker, was not enough to keep my mom from heading outside with an umbrella to cross the road to get to the JLC. Did you fall off your chair yet? Maybe I'm not properly conveying to you what a HUGE deal that is for her. Whenever my Mom merely hears thunder she gets that Haley Joel Osment look on her face when he whispers "I see dead people" in the Sixth Sense. It was a proud moment.

Okay, so getting to the good stuff. If you don't live under a rock or if you at the very least read my blog, then you can figure out from the title that we went to see Rod Stewart. And you know what? It was a great show. The musicians who performed with him were no less than amazing and were featured with huge solos while Rod went below the stage to make one of his million outfit changes. I haven't yet decided whether he does this for visual appeal for his audience, because he's really sweaty, or if it's just the easiest excuse for him to take a break...you know, given his age and all... I just kind of wish someone would have warned me about all of his bum-shaking tendencies. On second thought, I'm glad nobody told me because it made it that much more entertaining. Surprisingly though, the continuous hip shakes and close up of buttocks on jumbo-tron was not enough to elicit any panties onto the stage. My mom and I had bets on this (with no actual reward on the line). I thought for sure there had to be at least one set of underwear that made it on stage. But my mom had it right, no undies. And her reasoning was probably right too. Not many women in that audience wore the sexy thong-type anymore. Maybe they realized that Rod wouldn't go crazy for a heaping pile of full-size skin-toned ladies bloomers on the stage. Oh, but what a freakin' funny visual!!!! Thanks Mom!

In short, a good time was had by all. Well maybe not by the person beside me. When Steve came into the bedroom the next morning to bring me a coffee, he made it very clear that the room smelled like we had just plugged in a glade air freshener...garlic scent.

The Horribleness

Don't knock my title, because I know I speak English real good...

I'm referring to my posting frequency, but I think that's all about to change. This summer I will be a lady of leisure* for two days a week.

*Leisure= housecleaning, cooking, laundry, gardening

More on this later (with an update of some kind I'll try to throw in)...I'm at work right now, what do you expect??!

This was our day

Since Gord had such an exciting Saturday, with his performance and all, we decided to have a fun Sunday at home. Gord was in the best mood this weekend and I just wanted to capture what I could in pictures. Because of the way they load, the pictures aren't in sequential order, but you get the idea.

Where is Gordon?

So ticklish!

On the way to the slide.

I think he's going the wrong way.

Hello in there!

A leisurely ride in the wagon from Gran.


Here I am with my 25 cent cup of lemonade. Not too much inflation if you ask me! Three cute neighborhood girls had a lemonade stand in their driveway. Couldn't resist supporting a local merchant.

Had to post it.

Thought he could sneak into the passenger seat for a change. No luck silly Gordon!

Almost home.

Loves the swing.

He always falls flat on his back coming down the slide. Maybe he'll be a good luger (the winter sport. I dictionary.com'd it.)

This was our day Part 2

He almost looks cross-eyed in this one don't ya think?

Loved this goofy face.


Oh ya, this is the new colour of our living room for those who haven't seen it...which is pretty much everyone.

I call this the Trump line of baby toupees. (Note: I didn't think toupee was spelled correctly but I dictionary.com'd it, and it is. So don't think I'm stupid.)

A great strummer already.

Look at the form! He's a natural!

It's a bird! It's a plane!

So funny.


No, it was just a bag!

If you were to take an exam on "Gordon", you should probably study this:

Physical data:

- weighs 23 lbs 12 oz.
- head to heel length of 32 in.
- about 10 teeth (it seems to be increasing daily...)

Favourite hobbies:

- running all over
- getting chased
- being tickled
- singing "eee-i-eee-i-ooooooooooooooo" at random times of the day
- watching Rogers-on-demand baby videos
- reading "Hoot hoot", the book that will teach your infant all about the birds and the bees (thanks you-know-who!).
- talking. The daycare teachers always comment how much he babbles (in a way that makes me feel likes it's abnormally lots...)
- playing "peek-a-boo" (with fingers on one hand completely spread to expose an eye...that he thinks we can't see)
- climbing, oh god, the climbing

Things that raise his cuteness factor:

- the way he picks out a new stuffed animal friend from his bookcase every morning or awakening from nap
- the big hugs, cuddles and kisses to the stuffed animals
- the big open-mouthed kisses to mom and dad
- the way he's started to say "mum" (no mummy)
- how he'll grab his "Gordon's day" paper after daycare, stare at it intently and begin jibber-jabbering as if he's reading right off the paper.
- chasing the Dude and laughing at him whenever he gets within reach. And also the way he pets him so gently.

New tricks:

- walking around drinking his sippy cup with no hands and his head thrown completely back like he's balancing something on his forehead
- diving into the ball tent
- sticking out his tongue and pointing to it when you ask him where his tongue is

Vocabulary: (other than the ones previously mentioned)

- car, baby, moo, teeth (sounds like "heesh"), kitty, puppy, Maya (the cute girl at daycare!), ta ta (this is his newest one and says it after we tell him it to stop touching something. He mocks us already! Great!)

Study hard, you may have a pop-quiz someday.

I want Radiohead while I pick out my red pepper

Do you remember tagging along with your parents while they did the grocery shopping? Then you must surely remember the horrible music "of the day" that was always playing over the store stereo system. It was music that appealed to people our parent's age, that was supposed to make them "bee-bop" while they shopped, make them more happy so they would buy more. Admittedly, a clever marketing ploy. Children like me hated this music of course because it just...well...how do I say it...wasn't our taste. I craved the day when I had children and was grocery shopping to all of my faves.

Well, what's up with the grocery stores I shop in??!! I went for my weekly trip and had to put up with music from the cheesy "easy-rock" genre. The music hasn't changed in 20 YEARS!!!! What's wrong with these people??! The music co-ordinator is probably still running the same mixed tape their high-school girlfriend made them back in the day. Someone needs to tell them that feeling like I have to vomit won't make me buy more food.

Enough said.

Just so ya know...

Steve went out tonight, and while he was gone I put the computer in my lap, put on my favourite shows, and wrote a big post. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the most important part, I switched to the new blogger. And do you know how they welcomed me to their new blogger world? By ERASING MY WHOLE POST!!!!!!! I am sooooooooo upset. And sorry, that you checked this page and are greeted by this super lame post instead of the super cool one that I wrote (ya, I can say that cause you'll never get to read it).

This thing has it out for me. Even as I wrote this, a whole paragraph got highlighted and deleted. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! Why is this happening to me??!

Hope you're all having a better blogging night than I am.

Going to post some Gord pics soon. (my lame attempt to lure you back again...in less than a month).

"Why are you pants?"

So the question has recently been raised as to the meaning behind the blogger profile pic. Come on, there has got to be someone who knows me who understands what this means?!

*Hint*: I'm a really big nerd. I'm warning you, I mean really big.

Anyway, I did something today that I never, ever, ever, thought I'd ever do in my life. EVER! I bought tickets to a Rod Stewart concert... (head hanging shamefully). And it's not like I just bought them off some guy for two bucks who was desperate for some cash...oh no...I literally set up the laptop half-hour early, put Gord down for a nap strategically timed so as to not have any disturbances when the tickets became available for sale at 10am, repetatedly refreshed the page every two seconds starting at 9:55am and pounced for the best seats as soon as I was able to purchase. The night before I even navigated through the ticket purchasing process which almost accidentally left me with two tickets for The Rankin Family tomorrow night. Yikes! But at the end of it I ended up getting GREAT seats for the big Rod Stewart fan...Steve.

HA! Just joking, it was really for my mom. Knowing what a huge fan she is of the guy and that she would probably not get tons of opportunities like this to see him, I convinced her to come to London, have a visit with Gord and get in a good show all at once. After much arm twisting she agreed and then it was all up to me to make sure I came through and got her the good seats I promised. Even though I'm not a "fan", I still grew up listening to the music and know a lot of the lyrics anyway. And he's a big time star so it's sure to be a good show. I think it'll just be great to attend a concert with my mom too, the only other time we did, I was 13 and we were in Ottawa, outside in the pouring rain and a thunderstorm (which might I add my mom is deathly afraid of) and we were watching five little ant-sized specs who were known as New Kids On The Block. It's about time I returned the favour for that one don't ya think?!

Anyway, that was the big news of the day for me. But in other concert news, we are heading out to see The Tragically Hip on Monday night. I'm so pumped and if they don't play At The Hundredth Meridian I'm going to change Gord's name to Bob.

Some people on my street still have their Christmas lights up

And they need to move on. Speaking of moving on, here is a post from me. (Did you know I'm a segue artist?).

So...happy New Year? It's been a while. As you've already seen on Steve's blog (the bastard, he always beats me to the punch), Gordon is WALKING! Full-fledged walking. He's into everything these days and tests our limits (and patience) as to what he is allowed to get away with. He's becoming such a big boy and it's amazing how fast he's growing. This weekend we plan to give him his very first haircut. A momentous occasion, but I'm a little nervous given my history with nail clippers... We considered using the clippers on him but the thing is so dang loud we figure it might instill a life-long fear of haircuts and we'll end up with a son lost under a mountain of hair.

Gord also talks a lot more these days. I'll give you a quick break-down of his vocabulary:

"bub-ba" (where the "ba" is high-pitched) = bottle
"ba ba" = ba ba black sheep
"baby" = baby
"dad-di" = guess who?
"bam-pa" = grandpa
"bye" = bye
"cah" = car

He's just cute. What more can I say?

So...I don't really think I should recap Christmas since it happened a month ago, but I will say that the gift buying for Steve was a bust again and he brought back the main gift I got him and put it towards a nice guitar (acoustic with electric plug in). This actually works out well for me in the end because now we have two guitars in the house and Steve's long-time goal of teaching me to play the guitar is becoming more of a reality since it's a lot easier to learn with both of us playing. I've learned several more chords (in addition to the measly three I had mastered years back) and have learned some basic strumming technique. I need tons of practice but it's fun. Hey Ann, how are those guitar lessons coming? Hopefully we can jam together next time we hook up huh?

Another hobby I took up on the holidays was crocheting. My mom taught me how when I was in Sudbury and it's really pretty cool. The main reason I wanted to learn was so I could make baby blankets for all of the kiddies that I hope friends and family will be having in the near future. I have yet to make one so I kinda pity the baby who gets my first attempt and weaving yarn into something snuggle-worthy.

Anyway, I don't want to leave this post without making some type of comment on the president's state of the union address last night. Was I the only one who heard the line that went something like this:

"We have to uphold our melting pot values and welcome and assimilate all newcomers".

...

Did the Bush speech writer miss every episode of Star Trek that featured the "Borg" who "assimilated" every civilization they encountered and turned them into obedient "drones". I just kinda laughed at the comment because to me it didn't sound like a positive statement in the least. I still remember in elementary school learning the difference between Canada's "cultural mosaic" and America's "melting pot". I always thought our system sounded so much more pleasant, where people from other parts of the world could come to Canada and still retain the values and cultures that made them who they are as opposed to being "assimilated" and losing all of their original identity. Okay, I just made a reference to star trek and that's both sad and wrong.

Goodnight all. Don't be a stranger now, ya hear?

Like, what comes after lather?

A paper was posted on the wall in a washroom. It was a six-step instruction guide, complete with pictures, on how to wash your hands.

Step 1: Turn on tap.
Step 2: Wet hands.
Step 3: Apply soap.
Step 4: Lather.
Step 5: Rinse hands.
Step 6: Air dry.


Now I must ask you the question. In what kind of building was this sign posted?

a) an elementary school
b) a psychiatric hospital
c) a prison
d) a university science building

If you answered "D", you should let me in on something, because the last time I checked, if you're in university you should have already aquired the basic skills of hand-washing in one of your previous 14-15 years of school.

I was stunned to walk into a washroom on campus and see this "Hand washing procedures" poster on the wall. Here I was, in a building swarming with students studing for their exams that would bring them one step closer to fulfilling their dreams of becoming doctors, dentists, engineers, and researchers among other professions, and the washroom they use had to post a sign on how to wash your hands in a picture-book style way. I literally stopped and stared at it for a few moments, dumbfounded to be honest.

Suddenly my degree doesn't seem so special anymore... Ho hum.

Thank you Pier 1 credit card!

For being sturdy enough to scrape my windshield so I could get home from work. You really came through!

But unfortunately I will not be using you anymore since I went and bought a "real" scraper. Sorry, I know that hurt. And no, you can't coax me into using you over this Christmas shopping season either, I already gave my word to VISA.

"Turn or burn"

That was written for a church sign I saw on the way home from my brother and sis-in-law's today.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!

Happy 1st Birthday To My Beautiful Boy Gordon

Wow. He's one year old and I can't believe it. The year went by so slow at times (mostly in the first couple months when every night was like a new day) and yet so fast, especially over the last few months. I wish I could convey to you all of the most wonderful moments I've had with Gordon over the past year, but there are too many and most of them can't be put into words, for they've left a very special kind of impression on my heart. And now here we are, on a very momentous day in his life. To be technically correct, he's celebrating his second birthday, for a year ago was the first true birth day. But we decided not to get technical and had a blast celebrating his "first" birthday.

The day was full of family, friends, food, cake, balloons, streamers, and of course, presents! Gord was so full of excitement that he had a hard time napping today, which left him a little cranky at times, but he was easily distracted by everything going on around him. We were lucky enough to have my brother and sis-in-law come to visit with my beautiful baby niece Alex and it was fun seeing Gord trying to pet her head while I cautiously repeated "gentle, gentle". So cute. I guess the best way to get the picture of the day across is to do just that, post the pictures.













Happy birthday Gordon! Mommy loves you so much!