Weddings Weddings and MORE Weddings

Goodness gracious it has been awhile since I've written....well I would like to say that my time has been taken up with a few weddings...including the preparation of my own! Yes that's right as of October 28th, 2008 I will be known as Mrs. Rose.

It started with my cousin's wedding in July. Coincidentally that's when I got engaged (on top of a Mountain in Whistler)! I flew out to Alberta for a weekend to celebrate the big day. It was a great time and it was really great to see family and just get away from the craziness of work and life here in Vancouver. I was a little tired and didn't even bother unpacking...I just kept my suitcase out because 2 weeks later off I went to Alberta AGAIN! I found myself spending a week in Alberta this time to help with the preparations of my sister's wedding. Which I might add turned out to be a wonderful event despite many obsticals and situations that took place before the actual event! All went smoothly though and everyone had a great time, my brother danced until he could dance no more! HA!

Meanwhile Richard and I were in the midst of nailing down a photographer, setting a date and finding a co-ordinator that would help us. Originally we were set on eloping but after further thought we decided to invite immediate family to be with us in Maui. So now we're flying by the seats of our pants and things are slowly coming together. We're down to picking flowers, getting alterations done and just little things that will eventually be taken care of. Having a destination Wedding is tough but we're managing despite my own little melt downs and grudges. Fingers crossed it turns out to be a great time just like my Cousin's and Sister's Weddings!

Biking...is it worth it?

Participating in the "Bike to Work" week was great fun, however I think it was my toughest week of biking. No matter how hard or fast I pedalled I just had great difficulty keeping up with Richard. It got to the point where I would hit the traffic lights (praying they would be RED!) panting, weezing and nearly in tears! I decided it was time for a little research on the matter. And what it boiled down to was my technique...something so simple can make such a difference. So now I am working hard to remember to push through as a pedal. Sounds easy enough but when your on your 15th minute of biking up a hill other thoughts start going through one's head...like where's the top! HA! But seriously I am managing hills much better and managing to keep up with Richard (for the most part). The other thing that amazed me that week was finding out how far we're actually biking in a day....believe it or not we manage to do 32Km's in a day. Needless to say I was top dog for Studio B's Biking team! Wooooooooo....Not many of us biked but it was cool to see how far everyone bikes in a week. To find out more, or just keep track of the distances travelled check out: http://www.vacc.bc.ca/home.php It's kind of crazy because the more we bike the more I enjoy the challange, almost like an addiction can't get enough of it once we start! What makes it tough sometimes are the drivers who are riding around in the gas-gusingling machines...blasting through Stop signs and hogging the road. Course I think I'm just as bad once I'm behind the wheel but makes me wonder if me biking to work really makes that much of a difference. If anything it saves us a bit of money, makes us a little healthier and apparently we'll life that much longer...YAY! Here's to many more Happy Days of Pedalling, Panting and trying to keep up to Richard!

My New Addiction(s)

So lately my life has been revolving around Biking, Manga, and Super Swing Golf Season 2. There are times I'm amazed I'm as old as I am! It would appear the older I get the more NERDIER I become! I always swore I would never become disconnected from the rest of the world and what is popular and cool. Unfortunately, I find myself slipping further and further into the depths of SGT. FROG and becoming much more removed from reality! I cannot help myself the story of Sgt. Frog is so funny and I love the art work! It's the one little treat of my day that I look forward to. I am also spending my lunch hours watching the anime which I find not nearly as funny but still entertaining none the less. I have stumbled upon this great website that explains and delves into the characters and their back stories. http://www.keroroworld.com/

It's basically a story of a group of Aliens that look like frogs and have a mission to take over the World....are we doomed? I'm thinking not BUT you never know...the aliens have befriended a family called the Hinatas and have a weakness for Gundam models (well Sgt Frog does!). Need I say more about their mission to conquer Earth, they're like little kids running around. It's a good read! Lots of Fun, lots of Laughs!

As for my other new found pleasure in life Super Swing Golf Season 2....I NEVER thought I would be playing golf. However, here I am after work almost every night swinging, putting and swearing for at least a half an hour! I don't think I could ever actually play Golf but playing it on the Wii is alot of fun and very challenging. Super Swing 2 is great because it's got that great anime style and it's set up so that you are continually opening up new themes, characters and golf clubs. There's always an insentive to keep playing. I love Nintendo! How far will I get or rather how long will this obsession last? Time will tell....

Taking Baby Steps

I'm always amazed by the area that Richard and I live in. Not far from Downtown Vancouver, and even closer to Burnaby the Fraser River is where we call home. This year alone we've been blessed with a few sitings of Eagles, possibly a Falcon, and unfortunately a dead Seal. All of these things have made me realise that despite being a city dweller Nature still plays a major roll in our lives. I think seeing the dead Seal washed up on shore made me start thinking about how Richard and I can help in our own little way. I have started researching some small things that we could do around the house. Living in an apartment sometimes limits what we can do BUT when there's a will there's definately a way. For starters we're looking at alternative solutions for Cat Litter. Recently we bought crystalised litter but both the cats and I are not impressed and upon further research cat poop is not good to flush ( further research into that issue will have to be done.) The Crystals can also cause lung damage and other health issues, and I love my kitties so if I can help them live a happier life I'll do my very best. There are some environmentally friendly brands out there and thus the hunt begins.

Another issue is our organic waste. Growing up my family always had a compost heap in the backyard, it was so simple and so easy to use. Apparently people in apartments can also compost! This pleases me greatly and will be looking further into this matter. The last thing I want to do is upset our neighbours but apparently we can keep the compost inside if need be. I'm not sure how willing we'll be to have a bunch of worms in the house but if we can manage cats then I think worms should be quite simple! Feed and let them do their thing! How much easier could it be?

Now as for cleansers, soaps, chemicals and other harmful toxic crap that piles up under our sink and is apparently required for keeping a house clean...I think it's all a bunch of CRAP! My take on things is if Grandma could make her own cleansers...SO CAN I! I've checked out David Suzuki's web site: ( http://www.davidsuzuki.org/About_us/Lindsay_Coulter/default.aspx#videos) and have managed to find some simple ingredients to make my own home cleaning supplies. Some of which I didn't even know I could do and are very simple to make. I had no idea Furniture Polish could be made with a few simple ingredients or that I could make my own toilet cleaner! Look out Toilet Duck Kristi is going to reclaim the throne! HA!

Slowly but surely I hope the little changes we make will help in a much more healthier future. I know the seals happily swimming in the River that we gaze upon every morning will be pleased!

Green Thumb?

I enjoy testing my abilities to try and grow plants, especially when Spring rolls around. I always tell myself I'll do better than last year...but somehow manage to kill off plants due to my lack of knowledge on the subject matter. My Granny however, is a natural...despite her refusal to acknowledge such a talent. Though I do notice she does enjoy praise given. HA! This year I am seriously considering growing some herbs and spices. Not like my cupboard isn't already packed with bottles of pepper, chives, cinnamon...you name it I probably have it. Anyways the challange is being able to grow plants that won't kill my cats. I love them dearly and heaven forbid they nibble on something that looks beautiful but is actually deadly to them. Last year I planted some Cat Grass and boy was that ever a hit. So this year I purchased some more...Meeko loves it and has already munched the new stuff down to nubbins. A couple of years ago Meeko managed to eat my Lucky Bamboo...with the bowl and rocks strewn across the carpet floor and a nice big wet patch for me to walk through...I salvaged what I could and now have the survivors at work. I am proud to note they are doing very well! Safe from any eager eaters!

Now there are many plants I could try and grow...where to begin and what I want is kind of overwhelming. So I started thinking...what direction does the deck face, how much sunlight are we actually getting, more importantly how much room do we have? There might be some shifting of patio furniture to make way for my new additions. We'll see what kind of trouble I can get into at the gardening shop. Last year I had my Mom with me to at least guide me through the process...this year I'm flying solo. Well Richard will be with me to help carry stuff...I love him!

Another option that I stumbled across was to invent tiny little gardens. People that do this stuff are really talented but then I have visions of Meeko terrorizing say a little village I create and it would be like Godzilla taking over Tokyo!

I could do without the fairy mind you but such a cool idea! I wonder where they found all the little miniture goodies? I suppose this is an excuse to hit Micheals Monster Craft Store! Wooooooo...

60mins of Punishment

The time has come to dust off the ol' bike, oil the chain and strap on the gear because biking season has finally arrived. I thought it would NEVER get here! There have been so many set backs this year (snow, bike issues, and MORE snow!) but we've pushed through them and are on week 2. Thus far I do not miss Transit or the pushy people that accompany the trip to and from work. The burning, wheezing and drippy nose I could certainly do without...who wouldn't at 7am in the morning, it's already challenging enough dragging myself out of bed to get to work! HA! It's a small accomplishment but managing to bike from our house to work is something else...hills, cars and other bikers make for an interesting ride in. Never a dull moment! And on weekends I look forward to our mile long jogs! Can it get any better than this? Yes it can...I can't wait to get home and soak my achy bones in a nice hot tub of water. Why do I torture myself like this? I keep telling myself it's one less car, another pound dropped and another year to my life....zoom zoom.

Star Wars Lovers

I was mindlessly surfing the net and accidentally found these goodies...have a gander at these gems! Apparently there was some sort of contest and people were to come up with ideas for products relating to Star Wars. They made me giggle....

Somehow I can imagine some lovely young Nerd pull up to the local Comicon in his Mary-Kay car
(because that's what his Mom gave him!) in the middle of Summer and pulling this gem out. It's supposed to block the sun out and keep the car cool...quite frankly I think some crook came up with this because it doesn't keep the car cool AND who would be able to see a car getting broke into when Chewy and Hans are at the wheel?
Item number 2... Jabba the Hut "Stress Squishy". For some reason the smell of Doritos, Sweat, and Fungus assault my mind with imagery of a "Rotund" individual stressed out over E-bay bidding. And we all know how stressful that can be! Especially when it's for a limited edition of Princess Leah posed in front of the "Hut" in her Super 'roos...or lack there of.

For all those Backwood Galactic Heroes whom love guns, hunting and the Original Star Wars Trilogy this would be a great find for them. Why bother with the traditional Deer, Tiger, or even Moose Head...how decorating the den with a lovely Bantha, TaunTaun, or Wampa Head? Sound super sexy to me!

I don't know why these didn't win runner up in the contest. I think they would be a big hit for all those die hard fans! I can see it now a wonderous Christmas scene; the tree aglow with lights happily twinkling away, stockings hung by the Christmas Tree, fire crackling and the wee geek happily trying on his very own Bantha Slippers. Look out Ladies this young Don Whan is HOT!
Ah yes...I grew up with a bean bag chair it was great, another piece of furniture for my siblings and I to fight over. Yet this version of a Bean bag chair oddly enough creeps me out. And yet it makes me laugh at the same time. Isn't life grand?

Those were my favs from what I found during my mindless adventures touring the web. My apologies to those whom I may offended, nobodys' perfect!

Good Morning!!!!!

That's right I get up early on a Saturday morning to blog while I eat Green Eggs and Ham! Ok the Eggs aren't green and I have little bite sized Pancakes to accompany my eggs instead of Ham...but same idea! Ha! Actually, last weekend we had breakfast with some friends of ours and I ordered French Toast with Strawberries and Whipped Cream...it was the highlight of my day and sooooooooooo very delicious. I love Strawberries. In fact I love Fruit of all sorts, veges not so much but what person does? I'm actually not a picky eater and will try something at least once if it appears to be edible. No fear factor contestant here. Although, I will be heading out soon for my weekend jog along the river...which is actually more like a fast walk...I'm not a big fan of jogging but I think that's just because I'm not great at it. It helps alot that Richard comes along to encourage me as I crawl along the ground wheezing for air. One day as he so tells me I'll be able to run for longer than 5 mins. I don't see it happening soon but if I can bike 2 hours a day then this whole jogging thing should be a breeze, right? I guess time will tell.

Killin' time...

I have a brief moment before heading home to spew some more verbal diarrhea...Jabbawockeez, Munsters what else could I have rolling around in this little cranium? Well, I have moved to a new spot at work...I have a window to gaze out of, unbelievably an umberella over my computer, and a divider so I don't have to talk to the person across from me too. I hate nothing more than making small talk about the weather or what hockey team is going to win the Stanely Cup...pbthhhhhhhhhh. My window view of the brick wall across the way should prove quite stimulating for many great day-dreams! I wonder how many bricks are required to make a sturdy wall? Why are they painted a poo-poo colour of brown? How many street people roll through the alley below...these and many more questions will be answered all in good time. Boy I am really bored! Good thing it's the end of the day AND a Friday...could it get any sweeter? Yes, it could also be Payday! But it's NOT! Boooooooooo...... Let the weekend begin!

Da' Munsters

Ok so I know this show is waaaay before my time but lets be serious, is there ANYTHING worth watching on television that isn't reality based or revolves around a fat guy, hot wife, and redundant stupidity....either that or stupid kids?Upon my quest to tickle my taste buds for some whole heartedly good fun I found the Munsters. Not something many folks would turn to, I know, but I'm a bit of an odd-ball anyways! HA! The writing is so well done, I have yet to come across an episode that bores me. It has this sincerity and wholesomeness despite its' family's unique dynamics. It simply is a fun show to watch and I am so greatful to have stumbled upon this little gem!

Hip Hoppin'

It's true there are times I enjoy nothing more than to ponder life and just listen to music. Right now I'm listening to some chilled out tunes by Tonedeff. For many a year I have been thinking that Hip hop has died and that there is nothing left but Shit-hop. Such is not the case and if one is willing and able there are some dope groups out there. Some groups I have recently discovered:
Fat Jon, People Under the Stairs, Kid Headphones, Nujabes, Binary Star, Giant Panda to name a few.

To add to my love of the Hip Hop genre is the group Jabbawockeez. Seriously I watched these fly dudes illustrate music on America's Best Dance Crew (and additionally whatever I could scrounge on the web). It's amazing to watch these guys dance, so creative and inspiring. As well, Kabba Modern is another group I totally love to watch dance. Their attention to detail is off the wall! Much Music actually has full eps. of America's Best Dance Crew on their site. It's totally worth checking out!!