Thursday Thirteen #12

Here are thirteen things that have kept me away from blogging...

1) Going home for Christmas. 

          -what was supposed to be an eleven hour trip with 3 flights turned into a  thirty-six hour trip with 2 flights, a hotel and a drive from Boston to Hali.

2) Just feeling blah...not in the mood

3) Starting my finance class.

4) Pouring over www.mls.ca and www.workopolis.ca

5) Researching real estate agents and property management companies.

6) Trying to find vegetarian recipes that will fill us up!!

         - switching to 3 veggie meals for supper has become hard when what you eat doesn't fill you AND you're tired of chili like stuff or eggs! Any suggestions...please feel free!

7) Getting rid of 'the pot'!!

         - okay, truth, I actually didn't! I was cleaning the fridge, I asked Callum to come here and as soon as he walked into the kitchen I shoved it into his hands and told him to take it outside. 10 minutes later it was just like new!! LOVE PADERNO!!! I have actually had my paderno pots for almost 9 years and they have just, in the last year, started looking used!

8) Knit 1 purl 2. Actually it's more of a knit 4 purl 4.

9) Making gifts...different from #8

10) Reading. Been reading A LOT lately! It's nice to get lost in that...

11) Playing games with Geordie....and I'll admit it! I don't let him win!! 

12) Re-organizing; it's a never-ending-process

13) Just wanted to see if anyone would miss me!!!   ;)

Much more to tell...we'll be catching up in the next little while!

Thursday Thirteen #11

Here are 13 things that have kept me away from this thing in the past week...


1) Getting the house ready. Still some painting to do.

2) Putting the house up...yes, house is now truly for sale... but does that really mean anything in this economy?!?

3) Getting ready for Autumnfest, which is next weekend.

4) Catching up on Weeds and Tudors.

5) Thinking...no comments! and trying to make decisions!

6) Looking for jobs.

7) Addicted to MLS - even more than normal!

8) Olympics.

9) Trying to get our grocery bill down.

10) Knitting...I have so many projects that I've been putting off. Mainly because it's too hot in the summer to knit here and with the cooler temperatures (finally) I'm able too!

11) Trying not to be bitter and mean.

12) Nagging Callum

13) Trying to ignore the gunshots and the damn election...that is still going on!!

So, not really all that exciting! Here's hoping after this weekend all will be in place...and after Tuesday when the cleaning lady comes the house will be super amounts of presentable!

Thursday Thirteen #10

Here are 13 confessions...

1) I am a SAHM with a cleaning lady.
- she comes every 2 weeks, does bathrooms, the floors and dusting. We pay for this by not eating out. I prefer to cook over clean, so our one night a week of pizza is gone; instead, I never touch a vacuum!

2) I still love Joey McIntyre - when we lived in Toronto, I was studying for an exam, it was 3:00, exam was at 6:00. I found out Joey was to be on MuchMusic, that day! I was going!! Called a friend to join me, no go! (I know that Roberta is still regretting that one!). Went down by myself for the 5:00 show and met him. He's even better looking in person. Got to the exam just after 6:00 and I passed it!

HE HUGGED ME!!!!
I'm 20 sleeps away from the concert! EEEEEEEE!!!!



3) I enjoy annoying people.
- I can bug Callum until he's blue in the face. It is so much fun to me! I do it to others as well. That's when you know you're a friend...when I bug the living tar out of you! ;)

4) People falling is the funniest thing to me.
- this is a genetic thing. My mother also finds this funny and we have found that Geordie does as well. Last Christmas when we were home, Callum and Geordie were waiting at a stop light, a guy walking on the sidewalk slipped on some ice...Geordie laughed his head off. He was 3!

5) I can't wait to see HSM3.
- I have watched the others too many times. Go Zach!!

6) After washing my hands I always dry them on my husbands bath towel.

7) I put vinegar on BBQ chips.
-I know! Weird! It makes them soggie but if you put just the right amount you can still eat them with your fingers. If you use too much, you need to use a fork. Don't knock it till you try it! It brings out the taste of the BBQ!

8) I do this when I have a bad cold. It works!







9) I eat pizza with a fork and knife.
- even back in 'the day' when we would be at pizza corner after a night downtown.

10) I had a pass to The Palace during University...and I used it! Back then it was just the 'ol Palace

11) I ALWAYS lift my feet when going over train tracks. It's good luck...Nan says so!

12) 10 years a go during my first undergrad degree I passed a class and I don't know how!
-The grades were 50% term paper, 30% written exam, and 20% take home exam. Everything was due on exam day. The night before I started studying and writing the papers. I did not get very far. The next day when I went into the exam the Prof asked me where my papers were. I told him that I put the term paper under the door of his 'other' office (he had 2) and that I will pass in the take home portion of the exam by the end of the night (he was one of those by midnight types).
When I finished the exam, I walked out of the room and didn't care! It was my last exam of the year and I really didn't want to have to go and write those things. So, I didn't!
Marks came back...lets do the math, the most I would have received would have been 30% IF I had done well on the written exam.
I get my mark... B+


13) See this pot...

It has chili in it.

I took this picture this morning.

The chili was made back in May, possibly April.

I'm afraid to open it!

Thursday Thirteen #9

Movies I have seen more times than I care to count...not including animation!

Grease



The Goonies



Spaceballs



Can't Buy Me Love



Howard the Duck



The Sound of Music



Wizard of Oz



That Thing You Do!



Dirty Dancing



Porky's
We used to sneak this one from my friend Leslie's parents stash whenever we slept over. We had parts memorized!



Sixteen Candles



Footloose




A Hard Day's Night

I can't believe I had to stop at 13! There are still so many more!

Thursday Thirteen #8

My first degree is in music and I have an Advanced Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Music Education (first of all my M.I.L. makes me say the whole thing! AND early childhood in Canada is from birth, not age 5 like it is down here!). I had also started my MMusEd. at UofT but felt that it wasn't for me.

There have been over 30 bands, orchestras, groups that I have had my name on the roster (in other words, played more that once). Many others where I just stepped in for a bit.

A friend from University recently wrote about this topic, and I thought I would today...

The Prime Minister of Canada has really put his foot in his mouth lately concerning the arts, where he wants to make cuts;

"I think when ordinary, working people come home, turn on the TV and see … a bunch of people at a rich gala all subsidized by the taxpayers, claiming their subsidies aren't high enough when they know the subsidies have actually gone up, I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people."

So...today I will list 13 things that ordinary people do daily that have to do with the Arts!

1) Watch a television program

2) Listen to the radio

3) read a book, the paper

4) hum

5) whistle

6) tap your foot

7) doodle

8) use furniture

9) go to a website

10) take a picture

11) go to a movie

12) clothes

13) the design of the house you live, the building you work in, the car you drive

All these things have to do with THE ARTS! Do they not?!?

So, really, how is it that 'ordinary people' do not have a connection to the arts?


- goodness, I didn't mean to be 'ranty' this week.

Thursday Thirteen #7

Here are 13 GREAT things said by George W Bush...

1) "I cut the taxes on everybody. I didn't cut them. The Congress cut them. I asked them to cut them."

2) "I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things."

3) You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror."

4) "We stand for things."

5) "I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe - I believe what I believe is right."

6) "I'm the master of low expectations."

7) "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

8) "It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency."

9) "Rarely is the question asked:
'Is our children learning?'"

10) "Then I went for a run with the other dog and just walked. And I started thinking about a lot of things. I was able to - I can't remember what it was. Oh, the inaugural speech, started thinking through that."

11) "I've coined new words, like 'misunderstanding' and Hispanically.'"

12) "You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to
concentrate on."

13) "It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber"

Thursday Thirteen #6

Here are 13 things that have kept me away from the computer while 'vacationing'...

1)The sights and fresh ocean air!

2) Going oat and a-boat with friends without little people!

3) Cooking Lobster

please take note of my father's white legs

4) Eating lobster

Geordie actually backed out on the trying of it. I tried a bite...still don't like it!

5) Going 'down Bayswater' (the cottage)

6) Skipping rocks

7) Hangin' with the Uncles!

Which, by the way; Uncle Russell will be on CMT tonight as a judge for the Karaoke thing

8pm Easter/ 9pm Atlantic / 9:30 Nfld.

8) Eating freezies and spending time with family and friends!

This one is a twofer

9) Shooting off potatoes!

10) Forgetting your age!

11) Geocaching

12) Seeing how fast we can get our grandparents to fold!

and of course...

13) Skating with the dudes!

Here's to more busy days! We have five more sleeps left...here's hoping I get everyone in!

Thursday Thirteen #5

Here's to my fifth TT!

I'm home for a bit so a little out of the loop. I apologize if I have not been 'round to visit!

Here are 13 thoughts, discoveries and/or tidbits of information...

1) When living away from a bilingual country you forget that labels have two different languages on them.

2) Oil on the street can look very much like snow to a four year old.

3) When travelling with a child under 5 by yourself ALWAYS use the car seat on the plane, bring a DVD player and a book for yourself!

4) Pack less snacks than you think you need for the travel day. Less to carry around and you still end up with snacks left over! If need be you can always take out a loan and buy something at the airport!

5) The whole 'only under 2 can bring a juice box through security' rule is STUPID!! A parent did not make up that rule; the least they could do is have 'healthy drinks' once through security! Preferably for free as yours were just taken from you! AND WATER THAT COSTS LESS THAN $4 A BOTTLE!

6) Green grass rocks!!

7) hhhhhmmmm... Smarties!

8) It's really nice to have someone else do your laundry and clean up behind you after you cook!

9) I reply to everyone that comments on my blog. Just found out that it doesn't always get to everyone! If you don't leave your address I can't do it! You wouldn't believe the amount of messages the 'no-reply' folder must be getting from me!

10) EVERYONE here has an accent...and it's very easy to fall into it, even without a drink!

11) Why is it that you can get ready so much faster when you are not home?!?

12) The difference in price between the States and Canada is insane!

Just before we came home I had to go out and get school supplies for Geordie. I went to Walmart as the list said that certain things are there ( I am not normally a Walmart shopper, the whole political stuff about the company bothers me but really I just feel 'dirty' when I come out of there!) I had to run to Walmart here the other night as it was the only thing opened and I desperately needed a fan!

I was walking by the school supplies and I wanted to compare prices. This is what I found... the same box of Crayola crayons that was $0.77 in the US was $2.14 here. The same box of Roseart crayons that was $0.22 in the Us was $1.16 here. Isn't that insane?!?!?

13) It is nice to be around your family. Question is...would they drive you crazy if you lived around them?

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Thursday Thirteen #4

Geordie and I are going home in three more sleeps, Callum in eight!

Here are thirteen things that Geordie wants to do while home...

1) Go to the skate park.

2) Hang out with Uncle Russell and Uncle Greg


3) Play with Ben & Keighan

4) Go 'down Bayswater'


5) Go to the beach


6) Ride the mini bike


8) Cook a Lobster with Grandad

9) Have a fire and eat marshmallows on a stick. "cause that's what you do when it gets dark!"

10) Get freezies and gum from Nana!

11) Go to Bud the Spud

12) Get a haircut with Grandad.

13) Wants to go to the playground with Grandad & Nana, "not nobody else, just Nana and Grandad and me!"

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Thursday Thirteen #3

I know I'm always going on about how down here is not a good fit for us!

So, today I will list thirteen things that I do like about living in the 'burbs of Atlanta!


1. My friends - I have made some great friends who accept me for my eccentric ways.

2. Atlanta - I really enjoy parts of the city. It's great! It's big but has a small feel to it. The streets seem more twisty then grid-like (which I enjoy). I do believe (we both do) that if we had lived in Atlanta our experience here would have been much different!

3. The Square - This is the centre of downtown Carrollton and even though if you blink you could miss it, it's great!

4. Corner Cafe - amazing hole in the wall restaurant on the square. Looks kind of dingy, service is so-so, can some days have a musty smell, but...
the food is amazing!!




5. The Carrollton Recreations Department - they have awesome programs, amazing facilities and are reasonably priced.

6. BBQ - Remember BBQ down here is a type of food.

7. There is quite an artistic community here - in the Rec Dept. there is a great cultural arts centre. There is also a respectable Art program at the University.

8. We are in between two race tracks...45 minutes from Talladega and an hour from Atlanta.
This is actually not one of my favourite things but I felt like I had to put it in!

9. We are 7 hours away from Wilmington, NC which is where Wrightsville Beach is...as well as Callum's parents! ;)

10. SALES!! This country knows all about a sale. You can go in to a store and buy $350 worth of clothes for under $100.

11. Which leads me to The Shopping. It's just 'out of this world'! Whatever store you can imagine is here.

12. Everything that is in commercials you can actually get!
I know this sounds silly. Thing is when we were young, hell still, we would be watching and American channel and a commercial would come on for something new. Do you think that we could actually get it?!? No...we usually had to wait at least a year. Down here, I can get it right away! (ie. fruit loop cereal straws. I made it look like Geordie wanted it but really, it was me!)

13. The experience (with all the good and the bad) of living in another country!

Thursday Thirteen #2

Here's to my second Thursday Thirteen!

So, lets raise a glass and yell 'sociable' to my

THIRTEEN FAVOURITE DRINKS!

Sweet Tea
I have come to really love this drink.

McDonald's Orange drink
Years have passed since we used to have it at school functions and brownies but I still love my McDonald's Orange drink. Sometimes when I'm really thirsty it's the only thing that will quench my thirst. It's also great for hangovers!

Earl Grey Tea
Must be hot of course. It's quite funny when people come to my house here
(in GA) and see my kettle.

Malibu Rum & Pineapple juice
Great as a little summer refresher

The double dark rum and coke!
Afavourite back home, my father calls it a Stevedore drink. It just takes me back to my Shauna and Amber days!

Keith's
Need I say more!

Appleton Spiced Rum
This was a special treat for Shauna, Amber and I!

Taboo & Lemonade
In 1993 I went to Halifax, England with Halifax (NS) Schools Symphony Orchestra and the Percussion Ensemble. While there we checked out some places. We had some drinks. Many of us really enjoyed this drink...at age 16! When I tried it about 8 years later...ugh! it was disgustingly sweet! Even though I will not drink it again it will always be thought of as that great drink that we could not get in Canada!
(by the way...the lemonade part was just a Sprite-like drink)

Whisky Sour
I was introduced to this by one Mike Cutcliffe who will be forever in my thoughts! He bought a round one night when with Shauna and Amber (do you see a trend?!?).

Vodka & Mountain Dew
Don't knock it till you try it!!

Purple Haze
One of those funky martinis that you used to be able to get at The Argyle on Thursday night.
It's probably horrible now but at 19 it was great!

Rolling Rock
Since we can't have Keith's in the States we have to settle for Rolling Rock.
It's actually not that bad!

Lemon Drop Martini
This is my new fad. Sweet & sour! Some might say, 'just like me!'

Thursday Thirteen #1

Here's to my first Thursday Thirteen

So, here are 13 things that I have had to explain to the locals...

1. The saying, "they couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery".

Meaning, the person/group are horrible at organizing; as a 'piss up' (getting drunk) would be incredibly easy in a brewery.

2. Universal Health Care

...and how you don't die waiting to be seen!

3. That not all Canadians say, 'eh'!

I have never said it in my whole entire life!

4. What a 2-4 is.

A case of beer, 24 in all.

This is actually only a 6-pack but I just love this picture!

5. The word bathroom or washroom.

Down here it is a restroom. I'm still trying to figuring out what 'resting' is done in there!

6. "bugger"

used either as 'little bugger' or 'bugger off'

7. Where Nova Scotia is

...northeast of Maine...Maine, is on the east coast kind of above NewYork...google it, and google Maine while you're at it!

8. That we drive on the right hand side of the road.

9. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th

10. The Queen does not make our decisions for us.

11. Not everyone is gay or a lesbian,

although there is not a problem with being either, or both. ;)
and NO, IT IS NOT 'CATCHING'!

12. We say 'zed' instead of 'zee' and I say bum instead of booty.

13. We are not ruled by the United States!

No joke, someone seriously thought that the United States "owned us".