Titleless post

It’s official, the weather man has told me himself that we are not to expect a white Christmas – not even a cold Christmas! Instead, a six degree, slightly overcast grayish brown Christmas. I have to say that I’m slightly disappointed, though I’m not going to miss driving in the snow, it’s hard to get into the spirit of things when there’s no winter to speak of.

That being said, I’ve been putting off wrapping presents for much too long now. I’ve got everything to wrap still, and I’m not off now until Christmas Day, so what to do? Tomorrow, I get groceries and pick up the turkey right after work while Foxy heads off to work nights. That may give me some time in the evening to wrap, but I’m also hoping Jen will stop by to visit after she finishes work (maybe I can rope her into helping me…) Saturday I work until midnight, so no wrapping then and on Christmas Eve, I’m working 8-7:30 and then off to Chris’ parents house for the night. ACK! Needless to say, sleep will be a vital component to my sanity in preparing the dreaded Christmas dinner…

December 30th will be my last day at the pharmacy. I’ve been offered the management position at one of the bowling alleys in town and I’ve taken it. My first official day is December 31st. Woo-hoo! I am a bit nervous, but at the same time excited about the experience and the money doesn’t hurt either!

It’s hard to believe that another year has pretty much come and gone already. Lots of stuff happened this year… I had my first experience living alone in my own apartment for a short time, then Foxy and I got the house a year ago December 5th. I got my new car in April, started a new job in July, had a puppy for a brief time, quit new job and got another new one. Kim came to visit from Japan, Heather came to visit from Rimouski, Mom came to visit, Dad came to visit (twice), got elected president of the association, and bowled a 299 game. I’d say all in all it’s been a pretty productive year and it makes me wonder what next year will bring. I know for sure that I’m in Edmonton in April – but beyond that, I’m not to sure what to expect, but then, that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?

In any event. It’s been crazy busy lately, and I know I’ve neglected a good chunk of my friends and family because of it – I’m lucky that they’re so understanding of my masochistic need to take on way more than is necessary. I hope that the new year will allow me to have more control over my time (and not having to work weekends will definitely help that!) and give me more opportunities to make time for the people that I love.

On that note, this will likely be my last post until the new year (come on, let’s be realistic, it’s likely going to be the middle of January at the earliest) – I hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas (YES – CHRISTMAS!!! That’s what we’re celebrating people) and a Happy New Year!

Lots of love to all!

Ode to Cramp

In honour of the fact that it was recently Cramp's birthday, and me being the HORRIBLE friend that I am - I forgot to call her, despite my leaving 2 notes for myself to do so... I am awful and I can't blame her if she never speaks to me again... However, I am hoping that she'll do it anyway, forgive me, that is, so that I may continue to enjoy the wonderment that is she.

And the countdown begins

No, I'm not directly referring to Christmas, but to all good things that happen in December:

1) On December 1st, we can no longer park on city streets after midnight - not until March 31st. DON'T FORGET!

2) December 2nd is Grandma and Grandpa's 56th wedding anniversary! Way to go!!!

3) December 3rd is Cramp's birthday! (Oops...)

4) December 2nd - put up Christmas tree in the evening and actually start to enjoy Christmas music, despite hearing it since November 1st.

5) December 23rd - the day to pick up the fresh turkey from the butcher shop

6) December 24th - Christmas Eve - day to work from 8-6, then come home and start panicing about making first ever Christmas dinner.

7) CHRISTMAS DAY - the usual joys of early morning present opening, coffee with Bailey's in it - then the all day stress of preparing Christmas dinner for Foxy's parents and my grandparents - HOWEVER WILL I MANAGE?

8) Boxing Day - bowl in the junior/adult doubles tournament with Jreg, Strike Boy (actually known as Greg, but it's a long standing joke we have) - and recover from Christmas dinner food poisoning... (hopefully that's not a true prediction)

9) New Year's Eve - work (because Foxy is too) and then come home to an empty house to watch a sappy chick flick (more than likely, "Love, Acutally") and then fall asleep.

Somewhere in amongst all that stuff will hopefully be a decent series in bowling, the first snow fall, a visit to Toronto to see Cramp, and kisses with Foxy under the mistletoe.

In loving memory

On Saturday, our beautiful little puppy passed away. The vet told us that she had a neurological reaction to her booster shot and that there was nothing that could be done. It is likely that she was born with some sort of deficiency. She was our little treasure for the short time she was with us, full of spunk and vitality. She was not herself at the end and we know she's now in a better place. She will be sadly missed but not forgotten.

Truly horrible updater...

I know it’s been a while since I posted an update, but I can’t help it! It’s crazy busy and it seems that the moment I have a minute of “free” time, I have something that needs to get done, whether it’s laundry, awards for the bowling association, refreshing one of my first year university courses to help out a new student, or helping some friends find a new apartment – my blog falls lower and lower on the list of things that need to be done… To those of you who take the time to check for updates, I apologize.

Foxy and I are officially bringing home Rogue on Friday. I’m very excited, but a little nervous as to how the first bit will go. Please keep your fingers crossed for us and our carpets alike. Hopefully she will love us as much as we already love her.

Fall has officially arrived, and with it, daylight savings time, which I like in the mornings but hate at night. It SUCKS leaving work in the dark! It feels so much later than it actually is and it’s almost always guaranteed to make you sleepy.

Halloween has come and gone. It was also Foxy’s birthday – he’s now 27! We spent the evening over at Jay and Joanne’s place, where I helped give out candy. There were many cute costumes, but I’m still unsure as to why teenage girls think that dressing like a ho is a costume. Ah well, c’est la vie. I guess I’m over the whole Halloween thing – pretty much since living in Yellowknife, where the only thing you could dress up as was an Eskimo because you had to wear your parka over your costume anyway, and it’s no fun walking for miles in Sorel boots (which weigh a ton) and heavy mittens (which make grabbing the bag hard). It all ended for me there. Incidentally, it was -13°C in Yellowknife today. Nice, eh?

Mom’s visit was great – it was so nice to see her. She got to meet Foxy too, which was nice and she thinks he’s pretty sweet – obviously I do too.

Couple of quick shout outs:

Cramp: I keep missing your calls and your MSN messages - of course I still love you! You're my girl, what would a Cramp be without a * ? I'm waiting on the December schedule to find out if I can make your party, if not, I'll figure out something to come and visit you one weekend in December for sure, okay?

Sarah and Dan: We want more pictures of the boys!!! Actual real, put in a frame type pictures would be greatly appreciated. We've got pics of Jared (Chris' sister's son) but no recent one of my nephews! COME ON WOMAN!!!

Grandma: I'll come for lunch sooner or later, I promise! :)

Darcy Jr.: I love the baby ticker - nice to see how things are coming along... keep posting!

Joanne/Brock: Thanks for the lunch time entertainment and treats - keeps me sane in a world of crazy pill mongers. Brock, "Trick or treat...", now can I have a Jersey Milk?

All others: Enjoy what's left of the decent weather, snow's coming whether we like it or not!!!

Colour makes the world go round...

As promised, here are the pictures of the house...though they really don't do it justice as it looks better when the natural light is brighter and it's been a pretty overcast day.






Oh, and the newest addition to the house is a 42" plasma tv! :-) Talk about a difference in picture quality!

On that note, I'm off to get Mom in Ottawa! Woo-hoo! :-D

Tryptophan...it's good for what ails you

Yes, it's belated, but Happy Thanksgiving. My favourite of all holidays has come and gone for another year and I have had enough turkey to hold me over until Christmas - just barely. It's my favourite holiday because it's one of the last few that hasn't become a commericalized event where gifts or chocolate are the order of the day. It's all about food and family and get togethers and it's the sure sign that fall is in full swing and that the snow will be falling any time now.

Tryptophan is the enzyme in the turkey that makes you sleepy. I laughed today at work because we filled a prescription for it - yes, it's actually available as a medication - and I thought, geez, just eat some more turkey and you'll be fine!

That being said, I'm on day 7 of a 9 day stretch without a day off and I'm beat. Got lots to do before Mom arrives - in less than 2 days! I'm sorry I have not yet posted pics of the house, but expect them Thursday around 5:00, as then I can be sure that Mom won't get a sneak peak before she arrives. Until then - happy dreams and if you're living somewhere the leaves are changing colours, be sure to get out and enjoy it - I LOVE FALL COLOURS!

And now...the news

We're adopting!!! Yep, it's official, Foxy and I are going to be the proud owners of this cute little girl labradinger (that's dog owner speak for a black lab, springer spaniel cross) - she's only 2 weeks old right now but is fiesty and SOOOO adorable. We may have her as early as the first weekend in November! :)

We should have the house completely put back together by tomorrow night so hopefully I'll have the updated house pictures up this weekend.

Living in a white world...

These are pictures of our house right before we moved in - the guy who lived here before us didn't paint, and neither have we...up until today!!! We're getting the house painted today and I'm pretty excited about it. We (Foxy and I) have painted the master and guest bathrooms ourselves and have decided that we absolutely HATE painting, so we're investing the money and having the biggest part of our house done professionally - the biggest part being the living room, kitchen and dining room. These pictures don't really illustrate how white our house actually is, but let me just say, it's WHITE. As of this evening, it will not be white. I'll take pictures when we've got all of our furniture moved back into place and the dust has settled...

Now that I've regained my composure...

MOM IS COMING TO VISIT! WOO-HOO! Yep, you read that right. The power of blogging prevails yet again - ha ha ha! Somehow, I think that her visit has more to do with the incessant phone calls that began by me saying, "When are you coming?", before I'd even said hi, but I'm going to give some credit to my blog. So yeah, she's coming! Yea!

Just one random thing today. Coffee geography. This is a term that I'm going to use to refer to the variation in coffee preferences in this country. I'm originally from BC, which I'm now going to call "Starbucksland", seeing as how Starbucks are the coffee venue of choice for most of BC's coffee drinkers. Does this mean that BC "caffeine-a-holics" are pretentious? Some would argue yes, but I think it has more to do with the fact that BC was fortunate/unfortunate (depending on how you view it) enough to be living close to Washington State, where Starbucks was founded and other establishments have yet to venture into the dominant territory. In any event, as we move east from "Starbucksland", you'll crash head first into "TimHortonikstan", the vast empire controlled by Tim Hortons. In my city alone, there are 15 Tim Hortons (and our population is approximately 150,000), compared to 3 Starbucks and 1 Second Cup. Explanation? Ontario is too busy and too cheap to wait in line inside a cafe to pay $6.99 for a latte and a cookie, when they can zoom though a drive thru, pay $2.99 for a "cappiccino" (that's in quotes because it's not really cappiccino) and 2 cookies or a donut. Granted, the quality of Tim Hortons and Starbucks cannot really be compared - it'd be like trying to compare Wal-Mart and The Bay (both stores have the things that you want, but you pay more for stuff at The Bay because it's better quality (this too can be argued, I suppose...)) - so maybe that means that the people of "TimHortonikstan" are more concerned with speed rather than taste? I'm one of many people who LOVE Tim Horton's coffee - when it's good... and absolutely HATE it when it's not. The only thing I can say for Starbucks is that I've never had a bad coffee beverage (because I never just order coffee) so that gives it higher marks in my books, however, because I like to get where I'm going without having to leave too early - it's Timmy's for me, and if the coffee sucks, oh well, it only cost me $1.35.

Can you tell I haven't had my coffee yet?

Season opener and randomness...

Well, tomorrow is the start of the season - I'm SO happy it's finally here! Woo! Needless to say, I wasn't able to wait for it to start and went and threw 3 games with my junior partner, Greg aka "Strike Boy", and managed to average 201 for 3 games! Not bad after not picking up a ball since the first weekend in May! I'm hoping it's not the last hurrah of last season, but who knows.

Rockstar: Supernova just made me $5.00! Yep, my brilliant prediction gained me some cool cash from a bet. Not to mention that the naming of Lucas Rossi as the new frontman for the band is also another victory for Canadian musicians, who have now fronted both of the Rockstar bands - way to go Canada!! (Even though I'm a little miffed that Lucas won, seeing as how I find him INCREDIBLY hard to understand...but at least Tommy Lee will have some company being the "odd ball" of the group)

Went to the liquor store the other day to pick up some Strongbow (yeah, summer's almost over but I'm still drinking it...) and was appalled to see wine in tetra packs. Yes, tetra packs. What will they think of next? I'm expecting tin cans in the near future, but I'm hoping to be wrong.

Anyway - I'm still waiting to hear back from Mom as to when she's visiting - it won't be soon enough for me as I'm looking forward to hanging out with her and catching up (it'll have been 2 years in April since I last saw her!!!) MOM: I know you'll read this at some point...BOOK A FLIGHT!!!

On that note, I'm off to bed. Wish for many strikes for me as I head into the 2006-07 season!

Bowling and golf...

Foxy is good at both...and by good, I mean exceptional - it's sick really that he's as good as he is, but it's because he puts 120% into anything he wants to do.

I, on the other hand, despite my 110% efforts, have just started to improve where the bowling is concerned - my average going into this season is 177 (13 pins higher than last season) and I've got a 299 high game and 669 high series to beat. It's not likely to happen - I'm okay with that. I actually consider last season my "dream" season - anything from here on out is frosting. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of bowling - I'm talking about 10-pin, in which a perfect game is 300 and a perfect series is 900. 5-pin bowling is NOT real bowling...

Golf, on the other hand, is NOT one of my strong suits. I like to hit the ball - though it's very rare that I actually manage to accomplish that feat. I enjoy the walk, which is a good thing, since I have to walk twice as far as the average player because I've got to search in the rough for my ball more often than not. All in all, I'm pretty pathetic where golf is concerned - I think being a spectator is more my speed.

That being said - Foxy and I are heading to the Bell Canada Open this week coming up. I'm excited to see some big names - though no Tiger or Phil, but Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, John Daly and others will be there so I'm sure we'll see some "famous" faces. Only downside to our little vacation is that I miss my bowling season opener. It's all good though - it's just a greater anticipation of when I get to start the following week...if I can manage to wait that long...

12:32AM - here's an update...finally!

On a night like tonight – absolutely miserable (rainy and windy) – working from 4PM – 12AM gives you some time to have lots of random thoughts about all sorts of things… Here are just a few:

1) What is up with girls wearing summer clothes during a torrential downpour? I’m not talking about a storm that started late in the day – we’re talking all day rain forecasted for the next 36 hours. Why on earth would you wear a backless halter top and mini-skirt on a night like this? Seriously. I know you’re trying to look good, but you’re just doing a brilliant job of looking like a complete idiot! PUT ON SOME CLOTHES!

2) School starts on Tuesday (for most people) – so as a driver, don’t forget to slow down in school zones – the cops are ravenous this time of year. They can make their entire month’s worth of ticket quotas in a single day. Beware…

3) I miss the simplicity of just getting up in the morning and going to school – no bills, no boss, and no cranky customers. On the other hand, I don’t miss the bullies, the cranky teachers or the smell of the school bus…

4) There isn’t a single person in the world who looks at his/her self and thinks he/she looks amazing. I don’t know how many times tonight I watched these skinny (I’m talking rail thin) girls go into the cosmetics section of the store complaining about how fat and unattractive they are – meanwhile, I’m thinking, “I’d kill to look like you – and if you’re thinking that way about yourself, PLEASE don’t look this way, lest you turn to dust at the sight of big old size 16 me.” We live in a society that is all about vanity, but none of us can ever be satisfied with what we look like – I’d say the media has done a damn good job at pointing out all of our flaws.

5) I love Foxy

Ack - why do we submit ourselves to the torture?

And by this, I'm referring to the joy we all face when we decide it's time to get...A NEW BATHING SUIT. Yes, I'm going to rant a bit about this, and I'm sure some, if not all of you, will understand why it's necessary to get this off my chest.

If I had a chest to get this rant off of, maybe the bathing suit shopping wouldn't be as traumatic. I am firmly entrenched in the "bigger boobs = less attention to flaws below the boobs" school of thought. Hence, if I was blessed with a bigger bust, then I'd maybe be able to draw some attention away from the ROLLS that seem to be determined to be viewed no matter what kind of suit I'm wearing. So...boobs would be nice.

Tankinis are the equivalent of a swimsuit designer practical joke. Seriously... Anyone who's ever tried on this type of suit that has even a slight belly knows what I'm talking about. The only ones that hide anything remotely belly-like, are the ones with the gigantic granny bottoms that come up to below the bust line - which, if you don't have boobs (LIKE ME), becomes very obvious to the unfortunate people who happen to be at whatever water venue prompted you to put on the suit in the first place.

One piece suits are okay, but the ones that would be decent enough to camoflauge the flaws are all in hideous prints that you'd never see in public. The other other option in this category are the suits that were designed for the stick woman who wants both her breasts and bum (both likely non-existant) on display for the whole world.

Bikinis - HA HA HA, very funny. Not even a category I'd venture a look at.

So there you have it. Went looking, left empty-handed with an even lower opinion of my physical self - not that it needed any lowering. I'll stick with the suit I've got, even though it's really too old by now - at least it covers what it's supposed to and doesn't OVER emphasize the fact that I'd sell my arms and legs to have a bigger chest and a skinnier torso...

Are we approaching the limit?

So, earlier today I had posted a rant about the fact that you couldn't take baby formula on airplanes, etc, etc, etc. My techno wizard Grandma emailed me to inform me that you can, in fact, take formula on the airplane, as well as containerized breast milk, prescription medication (assuming it's in a container marked with your name), insulin and other essential non-prescription medication - so my rant was foiled, at least in that sense. However, my comment below, still stands:

What if a grandparent wants to fly to see his grandchildren? If they’re required to travel out of country, it’ll cost a fortune for the travel insurance. If they’re traveling in the country, maybe that grandparent is required to be on oxygen? I would imagine the airline security people would have a problem with a “mysterious” tank, seeing as how I spoke to a woman only yesterday who was about 70 years old and had just flown from Chicago the morning after the announcement and was forced to leave behind a bottle of Chanel perfume (which retails for $80.00CAD for 1.7 oz) and two Chanel lipsticks (which cost $23.50 per tube) because they could be “liquid explosives”. Granted, an oxygen tank is deemed an essential medical device, but I can bet that if that elderly person wasn't Caucasian, there'd be a big fuss about letting him on-board.

What's next? Soon you'll have to pay even higher insurance premiums if you're flying because insurance companies can claim that their risks are too great to not up the cost of premiums. If we continue in the same manner, it won't be long before they won't allow luggage on the plane altogether. Soon you'll see countries full of recluse individuals, too scared to fly or too inconvenienced because they can’t even take a tube of chapstick on the plane with them.

What’s my beef? Two things: 1) I'm bowling in the Canadian National Mixed Championship Tournament in Edmonton in April, 2007 and I won't even be able to take my ball cleaner with me. 2) You can’t buy Grey Monk Latitude 50 wine here in Ontario – it’s almost $300.00 to get a case shipped from BC (it’s made in the Okanagan Valley) – and now I can’t even bring it with me on the plane when I’m home to visit my family. You may ask, why not pack the two in your checked luggage? If you've ever had the opportunity to see the way they load the cargo holds on planes, you'll know why I wouldn't even think about it...

In case you want to put me in a mood...

Greetings all - I'm just spending the evening relaxing and watching a little tv, when I realized that I never checked out the bonus footage on the Friends: The Complete 10th Season DVD - so I popped it in and watched some of the gag reels and cast/crew commentary about the show ending. It all got me thinking that there are a lot of shows/movies/music that are guaranteed to stir some sort of emotion in me, so here are my lists of mood-setting media:

Guaranteed to make me cry:
1) Love, Acutally (movie)
2) Series finale of Friends (show)
3) Meet Joe Black (movie)
4) "Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel (song)
5) Shall We Dance? (movie) - recent version

Guaranteed to make me laugh:

1) "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot (song)
2) American Wedding (movie) - especially the scene with Stiffler dancing in the gay bar
3) Family Guy (show) - particularly anytime Peter laughs - it's contageous
4) Taxi (movie)

Guaranteed to make me home-sick:

1) "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men at Work (song) - reminds me of Mom
2) Delerious (movie) - Eddie Murphy's first stand up routine reminds me of hanging out at home with Kim during high school

Some that don't fit into specific categories:

1) "50 Candles" by Boyz II Men (song) - a REAL mood setter
2) Office Space (movie) - when you hate your job
3) Mr. & Mrs. Smith (movie) - when you want to kill your boyfriend/girlfriend, but admit that you ultimately love them
4) Myth Busters (show) - when you want to see if what "they" say is true, but are too scared to try it yourself
5) Fear Factor (show) - when you feel the urge to watch people to INSANE things for very little money

They're hard to see, but they're there...

Ha ha! I caught fish using nothing more than a mesh net and some bread! Sign me up for Survivor – as long as I don’t have to eat or clean the fish it’s all good. Foxy and I went up to Jay and Joanne’s family cottage for the day on Saturday and I was delighted to see little minnows and sunfish in the lake. As I spent good hour or more trying (in vain) to catch these little critters with my bare hands, I quickly realized that they’re a lot smarter than they look so I took a break to regroup. Not only that, but they began to think of me as a snack as they’d swarm around my feet and nip at me, (I only shrieked the first couple of times because I was startled), so I figured I should get out before the bigger ones with teeth made their way toward the shore.

Joanne and I needed to go into town to pick up Bob, so we decided to stop at the little general store on our way back and lo and behold, they had little nets, so we got one for a dollar and off I went with dreams of caught fish in my head.

When we got back to the cottage, I practically jumped out of the car before it’d stopped and ran down to the water, walked in and tried (again in vain) to catch the fish. MAN ARE THEY SMART!!! Lucky for me, I got some valuable fishing advice from Peter who said to take tiny pieces of bread and ball them up so they’ll sink, then put your net under where you’re going to drop them, and as the fish come to eat, bring your net up and voila, you’ve caught a fish. It worked! I caught four and was convinced of my abilities so I let them all go back into the lake to warn all of the other fish of the lady with the big feet, little net and bread.

Ever had a day just chalk full of crap?

I’m not generally one to come home and down a bottle of wine by myself, but let me tell you – today was a real eye-opener as to how awful dealing with the public can be.

Until this particular customer came in, I was having a great day – busy, but not uncomfortably so – and it was going by quite quickly. Anyway, this guy comes in and is irate because we can’t process his drug plan (even the woman at the company who processes the plan said it couldn’t be done) and proceeds to berate me and call me names in front of a bunch of customers. ACK!!! I swear. I’ve been dealing with the public in various situations since I started working at 16 and I’ve NEVER come across a customer that was so rude and evil.

Thankfully, the people that I work with were great – told me I handled it well, and then Foxy called when I got home to see how my day had gone and I was able to vent to him. All I can say is that I’m glad I’ve got some sort of support network. However, that didn’t stop me from breaking the “watch what you eat” trend and down the bottle of wine (which could be the reason this doesn’t read well…) and a whole bag of Ms. Vickie’s potato chips… I hate the fact that I take solace in food…

Wisdom comes with age...

I’m constantly amazed by my relatives. I’m not saying this because it’s a bad thing, but I think that all of us young people have certain expectations about what our older relatives (especially our grandparents) should say or think.

Case in point: my grandfather, who I thought was staunchly conservative, actually told me that it’s a good idea to live with someone before you get married. I almost fell over when he said that because I couldn’t believe that he thought it’d be okay. I mean really – this is a guy who’s more than 80 and he said to me, “You should live together! I tell you, things would have been really different in my time if people did it instead of getting married – it would have certainly made things more interesting.” So I am, and he’s right – not that I’ve learned anything about Foxy that I didn’t already really know, but it’s still nice to know that my grandfather doesn’t think I’m going to burn in eternity for living together out of wedlock… However, upon writing this, maybe he’s only saying that because he wishes he could have gotten some before getting married, which in turn makes me think about him getting some which is just NOT a pretty thought…so I’ll move on.

Second: my grandmother (not married to the afore mentioned grandfather) is so technically savvy, she’d put many people my age to shame. This is a 70 year old who is burning cds, scanning pictures, emailing people, surfing the web and shopping online. It’s so cool to think that my grandma is so hi-tech.

Maybe my older relatives are an anomaly? I guess I’m just lucky to have them and know that, despite what all of us young people think, they’re not living in the past. Either way, I’m glad that I’m living closer to them now that I’m older and can actually appreciate all the stories that used to put me to sleep as a kid…

What's for dinner?

Ah, an important question...

Tonight, I'm making Salsa Chicken (one of our favourites), Caesar salad and garlic bread.

SALSA CHICKEN (measurements of ingredients depend on how big chicken breasts are and how much salsa you actually want)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 package of taco seasoning
1/2 bottle of salsa (we use medium)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp of sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°C. Dredge chicken breasts in taco seasoning and then arrange in a lightly greased (we use PAM) shallow baking dish. Pour salsa over chicken breasts and put in the oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until juices run clear. When finished, remove chicken from oven, sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream.

Mucho yummy. Let me know if you try it and whether or not you like it!

Ciao peeps!

Another plagarized idea...(wow, I'm unoriginal, eh?)

ABC'S of my Life

A- AREA CODE YOU ARE IN RIGHT NOW: 613
B- BIRTHDAY: May 15
C- CURRENT CRUSH: Same as always! The amazing FOXY
D- FAVORITE DRINK: Raspberry margaritas
E- EATING CURRENTLY: Nothing - it's 9:00AM - I've already had breakfast.
F- FAVORITE FOOD: Chicken and potatos on the barbeque
G- WHO DO YOU GO TO FOR ADVICE?: Mom or Grandma
H- CURRENT HATRED: My feet - they hurt
I- I LIKE TO PLAY: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 for XBox 360
J- CURRENT JOB: Pharmacy Technician
K- ANY KIDS: Nope
L- I LOVE: FOXY, our house, my family and friends
M- FAVORITE MOVIE: Love, Actually
N- FAVOURITE NUMBER: 3
O- OVER OR UNDER: Overweight, overworked, underpaid, underrated
P- FAVORITE PERFUME/COLOGNE: Glamourous Daylight by Ralph Lauren/Lacoste pour Femme
Q- A LITTLE QUIRK ABOUT YOURSELF: I've been writing a novel since I was 17.
R- LAST ROAD TRIP: Montreal with the crew
S- DO YOU SMOKE: No
T- FAVORITE TV SHOWS: War at Home, Family Guy, The Simpsons, Deal or No Deal
U- COLOR OF YOUR UNDERWEAR: Black
V- LAST TIME YOU WERE IN VEGAS: Never been
W- WISHFUL THINKING: That FOXY and I were going to the Mediterranean this year, not two years from now - and something else, but I'm not going to mention it here.
X- X-RAYS TAKEN THIS YEAR: None
Y- YOUR FAVORITE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE : 1998 (first Caribbean cruise!) 2000 (first time I saw FOXY) and 2003 (year I finally caught FOXY)
Z- ZODIAC SIGN: Taurus

Drugs...Jen's new frontier

Yes, you read that right. I figured why sell ice cream when you can sell drugs? Of course I’m talking about legal drugs. I’ve delved into the world of pharmacy and I’m really enjoying it.

First off, let me start by saying that I was one of many people who go into the pharmacy to pick up a prescription and I couldn’t understand why it was taking so long – they (the pharmacy team) don’t look busy, so what’s the hold up? Let me tell you…WE ARE BUSY!!! From the outside, it looks like we’re just standing there, looking pretty, but there is a huge amount of stuff going on behind those counters. I no longer begin to fume at the thought of waiting in line for a prescription thinking that they’re taking their sweet time – no sir.

Second, I don’t have free samples of Viagra or Morphine – nor would I give them out if I had them.

Third, I think it’s hilarious that the guys who are taking Viagra, Cialis or Levitra (all for erectile dysfunction) are the ones who don’t care if you say what drug they’re taking – but the women who are taking progesterone or estrogen (for menopause) want it to be kept on the down low. The guys are always winking and nodding at you – like, “Hey, I’m a stud! You know what I’m getting this for – woo-eee!” You have to laugh – but at least they’re getting some! (As a bit of a side note – as I type my draft of this blog entry up in MS Word, it’s funny that Viagra is actually in the computer’s dictionary – apparently Word knows the importance of Viagra but not of Lipitor (a drug used to lower cholesterol))

Anyway, as I’m sure there will be many funny scenarios during my time at work – I’ll be sure to keep you posted. Needless to say, it’s quite a change of pace from spending 40 hours in the car. I’m glad my brain didn’t atrophy from lack of use these past few years…

J'aime Montreal!

Now, I've never been to Europe (a problem I hope to rectify with Chris in 2008) but I imagine that it looks quite like this picture below that I took this weekend while in Old Montreal. We went with Joanne, Jason, Walter and Heather this weekend and had a GREAT time! I'd never been downtown in Montreal before so it was great to see some of the great old buildings and churches the city has to offer. We also did a bit of shopping, which never hurts either! Aside from some rain in the afternoon on Saturday the weather was perfect, as was the company. I can't wait to go again!

Things I've learned along the way...

As today was my last day working for Breyers (woo-hoo!), I thought I'd share with you some of the things I've learned in my 4 years with the company.

1) Ice cream headaches can be cured if you push the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth.

2) The best way to defrost a freezer is with a rubber mallet, an ice scraper and a dust pan to pick up all the ice chips.

3) There IS such a thing as too much ice cream.

4) No matter how fast you drive, ice cream will melt if transported in the trunk of your car.

5) Some customers are better than others - and will treat you like family if you let them.

6) We don't give transport drivers enough credit - there are A LOT of really stupid drivers out there that don't give transports enough room.

7) Good bosses are hard to find and even harder to leave behind.

8) If you're a sales rep, no matter how long you serve a customer, if they associate you with the product you're selling, you will always be personified by that product - thus, I am, and will likely always to some people be known as "The Ice Cream Girl"

Smudges on the pavement

Alas, I'm referring to roadkill. It seems that Ontario is officially the roadkill capital of Canada. In my 40 hours per week in the car, not a day goes by when I don't see some sort of animal smeared across the pavement. While this is sad, I must say that animals are pretty stupid when you think about it.

Squirrels will, as you approach, freeze for a second and then run directly toward your car tire. No, I'm not kidding. I did, however, come across a very smart squirrel in Brockville one day. As I was waiting for the light to change, the squirrel walked up to a crosswalk, waited until the light flashed and then proceeded to cross. My guess is that the squirrel had a previous run in with a vehicle that made him think twice about not obeying the pedestrian rules of the road, since it had a pretty sad, ratty looking tail. The driver in the car next to me also waited for this brilliant squirrel to cross and we both shook our heads in amazement at the fact that it chose to cross before we'd begun to move. In case you're wondering, I DO break for squirrels, and any other animal that should happen to venture out on the road.

Birds are a completely different story. There are so many kamikaze birds out there it's almost scary to be on the road. Numerous times I've been swooped at by birds as I drive along. I can't imagine what they're thinking hurling themselves at an object moving more than 80 km/h, but what do I know? I'm not a bird.

Last, but certainly not least, are deer. Yep, these are animals that will gracefully stand at the side of the road until you're right by them and then they'll jump at your car. The dumbest creature on Earth! I can say that because one decided to trash the side of my car, leaving a tuft of fur in the left turn signal in the process. I've been skeptical about the intellect of deer ever since.

While these animals are "intellectually challenged", it doesn't mean that us drivers should take any less care to avoid them. I have swerved many a time to save the poor defenseless animals that seem to make us aware of the fact that it's not just other drivers we need to worry about.

Plagiarized idea

While browsing through the blogs, I found one (I think it's a friend of my sister-in-law's) that had Googled her name and the word needs - so in my case, it'd be "Jennifer needs:" - and then gave us some of the answers, which generally turn out to be pretty neat. So, in true, unoriginal style, here is my needs list, according to Google...

Jennifer needs:

"a smack daddy"
"a cold shower"
"to recognize that both of you do a good job"
"you badly"
"to let go and get a life"
"space"
"your help!"
"to sex it up a little"
"to be in a mental health facility right now"
"to keep on improving"
"to stop her pity party"

How about you guys? What do you need?

Canada Day in the Capital

Ha ha ha! Unless you're going to sit at Parliament Hill, don't bother going to Ottawa. Everything was open here in Kingston, so E and I figured, let's go to Ottawa and do some shopping... Well, needless to say, it didn't happen. Maybe Ottawa is a more patriotic city because it's the capital of Canada, but there wasn't A SINGLE THING open. Nice drive though...

Not feeling particularly cheerful today - maybe in my past life I was an American?

Why do we pay people to predict the weather?

Seriously though, monkeys could predict our local weather more accurately. I think I'm going to start consulting the Magic 8 Ball for weather forecasts. There's nothing worse than getting up in the morning, checking the forecast, hearing that it's going to be miserable and rainy all day, so you dress accordingly only to have it end up being sunny and hotter than heck. Yes, I spent the entire day in black dress pants and a long sleeved shirt only to sweat to death in 35°C weather! And that's not 35°C with no humidity - that's 35°C with 98% humidity. BAH!

Only humans do it

Come on, get your mind out of the gutter - I'm not talking about "it", I'm talking about strapping themselves into pieces of metal hanging from other pieces of metal that then proceed to go hurling through the air at 90 km/h. I'm referring to the wonders that are roller coasters! Chris and I went to Canada's Wonderland on Friday and I finally worked up the courage to go on Top Gun, pictured below.

Yeah, it probably doesn't look too scary from where you're sitting, but let me tell you... I screamed like the little girl I am. SO FUN THOUGH! I can't believe I spent all that time being afraid of roller coasters!

Now there's a legitimate reason to complain about this...

And by this, I mean gas prices. It's sick, disgusting and outrageous to be living in the city of Kingston, Ontario, right now. I know that there are other parts of the country that are paying more than $1.00 per litre, but I have my doubts that in these other parts of the country, you'd see a $0.17 difference in prices in a 70 kilometer area.

I'm referring to the fact that while we Kingstonians are paying $106.6/litre for our fuel, the people lucky enough to live in the city of Brockville or Prescott, a mere 72 kilometers down the road, are paying $0.833/litre. Is this right? I think not!

If you're looking for cheap gas prices in Ontario, check out:

http://www.ontariogasprices.com/

For cheap prices in Canada and the US, visit:

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

Is the Canadian government killing the independent convenience store?

According to most of my customers, the answer to that question is "YES".

I can't tell you the number of conversations I have on a daily basis with customers along my travels who are thoroughly discouraged by the lack of support they get from the federal government. Most of these conversations are centred around cigarettes and other tobacco products and the newly placed restrictions on the sale of these products.

The number one complaint is that the government recently placed all sorts of restrictions on store owners about the sale of cigarettes. Signs indicating prices could no longer be placed in windows, a display can only be black or grey, no cartons can be displayed, stores cannot advertise they sell cigarettes, etc. The list is almost endless. Today, while listening to a customer complain about it, he handed me a copy of one of the local aboriginal publications and pointed out more than 15 ads for stores on the reserve selling cheap cigarettes, including one on the front page that indicated they would ship cartons anywhere in Canada. His frustration hit a boiling point when I told him that the prices he's charging for cartons is, in some cases, more than $20/carton more than what they are charging for the same product.

The government has turned a blind eye to the fact that when you drive through the reserve, you can't go more than a kilometer without seeing at least one sign for a "store" (and this is in quotes because there are "stores" set up in refrigerated transport trailers) selling cheap cigarettes. The reason these cigarettes are so cheap is that they are sold tax free - yep, that's right, no GST at all. Somehow, I can't imagine the government would let it slide if one of the stores in downtown Kingston did the same thing.

I shake my head because the whole thing is making many store owners decide to pack up the business and look for some other form of work. This doesn't just affect the store owner, but also the companies that service that store, whether it's bread, milk, snack food or video rentals. It used to be that small businesses were the backbone of the Canadian economy, but if things continue on this track, the government will have to raise taxes on citizens who aren't business owners because they'll have squashed the small stores that used to be able to make a valid tax contribution.

Why EVERYONE should see "The Break Up"

Normally I'm not one to spout the virtues of a perfectly normal Hollywood romantic comedy other than the usual, "Because it's really cute, or funny, or whatever..." but this movie was very good for a couple of reasons.

1) Girls, we totally do what Jennifer Aniston's character did. We expect men to be mind readers and when they aren't, we get pissy and try to play mind games to get them to admit that they're wrong. This backfires almost always because even if the guy admits that he's wrong (even if he isn't actually wrong) he's usually only admitting so that we'll stop being mad and he really has NO idea what he's just admitted to or apologized for. Talk about a waste of time and perfectly useless anger.

2) People give up too easily. Maybe that's why everyone's getting divorced? It's easier to jump ship and cut your losses than actually try to make things work. If it were easy then everyone would be in blissful, movie-worthy relationships.

Is your car happy?

Today it struck me how angry and mean police cars can look. That may sound a bit strange, but it's true. As they come racing up behind you on the 401 doing 120+ km/hour, the ramming bars they have on the front look like eyebrows that are all scrunched up growling at you. It's funny what you see when you're freaking out about speeding, eh?

That got me thinking about happy looking cars. By far, the happiest looking cars are the Dodge Neon and the Volkswagon Beetle. I'm still wondering if I've got a happy looking car. It sort of looks happy, maybe with little dimples and buck-teeth?

Is this the death of my own perceived feminism?

Now I'm not saying that I am (or ever was) a feminist - hell, I love nothing more than having a man open a door for me or pull out a chair, or stand up if I leave the table during dinner - I don't understand women who berate men for doing these things - I think, more than anything, it's a polite respect that is missing in today's society. However, there are some aspects of feminism that I was seriously on board with, things like equal pay for equal work and employment opportunity irregardless of gender.

During my travels, the radio provides me with limitless entertainment and lately, I've found myself listening to quite a bit of talk radio when I can tune it in. More specifically, I've been listening to Dr. Laura, if you can imagine. I know, I know, to the feminist world, she is the anti-thesis of all that women have been striving to achieve over the past 50 or so years, but lately, I'm starting to see her point.

Before you gasp in shock and want to send me to the gallows, hear me out. She basically encourages women to look at how they treat people (generally men) and teaches people to look at their own faults before lashing out at the faults of others. Today I was listening in the morning and she said something that made me really think for the rest of the day. She told a woman who was calling to complain about her boyfriend that she needed to love him as though she'd never been hurt. This rang true for me and I found myself nodding in agreement as she proceeded to say that women hold on to the "crap" that happens to them in the past and it prevents them from really recognizing or allowing themselves to be open to the positive things that can happen to them in the present and the future. It got me thinking about all of my friends who've been hurt in relationships (heck, I've been there too), and how easy it is to get trapped in the "crap" and to end up constantly wondering if the person you're now with is going to do the same thing. We, as a society, need to learn to let things go! Live in the moment and give the people that you're with the benefit of the doubt before you automatically assume the worst - because if we don't, we're not going to see a decrease in the divorce rate anytime soon and all of our relationships will be doomed to past failure before they even begin. So tonight, when Chris gets home, I'm going to give him a kiss and tell him that I'm lucky. I'm lucky because I'm now aware of the "crap" and I've stepped around it...

And I didn't even get to throw a bouquet...

Today is the day that the government made me a married woman - at least legally. Chris and I have been living together for six months so now we're officially "common-law spouses". Stupid government. It doesn't make a bit of difference!

$29 million dollar Lotto 649 jackpot tonight. Wouldn't that be nice? Can't help but be bombarded by messages to buy a ticket, seeing as how the commercials on tv make it look so fun to win - I'd love to dance around like an idiot too, and probably would if someone told me I'd won. Needless to say, my work situation would change dramatically - I'd actually work at something I like doing (what exactly, I'm not sure...) and all of my crew would be going on one fantastic voyage with me, all expenses paid. Oh the things I could do with that sort of money...

If only life were like a video game...

Have you ever been on a highway driving along when you come up on someone driving the same car as you? Not necessarily the same colour, but exactly the same model, right down to the engine? Well, today that happened to me and the guy was driving slow, so I passed him (driving with cruise control on the ENTIRE way), no big deal. A few minutes later the guy goes zooming by me and another car only to literally slow down to a crawl again once ahead of us. Needless to say, I was not impressed and immediately thought (while passing him), "Dude, you're making us Fusion drivers look bad - cruise control has a purpose...USE IT!!!" I am constantly surprised at how many people manage to weasel their way into drivers licenses when obviously, they're a danger to both themselves and other drivers on the road.

After my drive-by with this guy, I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if life were like a video game?" Chris and I recently purchased an XBOX 360 and a game called "Full Auto". The purpose of the game is basically to drive around and if someone gets in your way, you blow up the car. I'm not suggesting that we blow up cars, but wouldn't it be cool if you could send a loud message into the car? Something to the affect of, "Learn how to drive, M***** F*****!!!" I probably wouldn't care so much if I didn't spend 5 of my 7 days of the week on the road with a bunch of complete idiots...

Ciao

No longer a blogging virgin...

Ha ha ha - I've finally joined the world of the blogger! Woo hoo. I have my doubts that anyone will ever read this, since it's just a bunch of randomness, but I have all of these random thoughts as I drive around and I thought, "Hey, why not share this junk with the world?"

I called this blog "Social Lubricants" for three reasons: 1) I heard about social lubricants (alcohol) in a movie once and it made me laugh out loud; 2) Because random thoughts are also a type of social lubricant because they get people thinking outside the box, so to speak; 3) Lubricant is a funny word. :-)

So that's about it - my thoughts will come as they may and if you've got any comments or thoughts of your own, please don't hesitate!

Ciao