I feel all wonky this morning. Too much sleep is most likely the cause of the wonkiness. Mark's changed his work schedule slightly so we were able to sleep in until 7:30 today. I think it's something that we'll be able to do on a regular basis and it felt good to get the extra rest. Unfortunately, the result of this is that now I'm a little groggy.

I have a bunch of errands to do this morning. Many of our family members and friends have birthdays and celebrations in May and June so I'll be "gift buying" this morning. It's fun enough to do if I can actually think up useful things for everyone. Not just useful in a practical sense but something that they'd want and/or need, which is also a little fun.

I've been coughing a lot this morning since I got up. I hope I'm not getting a cold. I so don't want to be sick now that the weather is finally nice. I'm thinking about some echinacea for breakfast perhaps?

Totally amazing, legendary, rock and roll heart throb, Robbie Robertson is on my campus today. Not only that, he was in my office this morning. Well, not my cubicle exactly but he was in the building. Unfortunately, I was at the gym when he was here so I didn't get a glimpse of him. He was on campus receiving an honourary degree during the convocation ceremonies. In a way, I'm almost glad I wasn't here because I may have just been caught inadvertently swooning. I don't get like this often, over the years I've met a tonne of really famous musicians, authors, politicians, etc. I don't often find myself potentially swooning but hey, this is Robbie Robertson!

Now that the Robbie moment has passed, here's this week's edition of the Friday Five:

1. What do you most want to be remembered for?
That's a really hard question to answer, these all are this week actually. Yikes. I guess I'd like to be remembered for curing cancer and bringing a peaceful resolution to all conflict in the world. I don't plan on actually doing these things but if folks would like to remember me for doing them, that would be cool.

2. What quotation best fits your outlook on life?
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. What single achievement are you most proud of in the past year?
Losing 40 pounds since January 6, 2003.

4. What about the past ten years?
Opening (and subsequently closing) our restaurant. In 2000 Mark and I opened Ida's Kitchen here in Kingston. It was a huge risk, personally, financially, etc. for us to take and I'm so glad that we did. We only had the restaurant for a year but I learned a lot about myself and about business in general through that experience. Closing the restaurant was perhaps one of the hardest things that I've ever had to do but it was absolutely the right thing to do when we did it. Some would look upon the restaurant closing as a failure but I don't. We tried it, it didn't work at that location, we got out of it on our own and weren't forced out by someone else. Having the restaurant gave me the confidence to make many positive changes in my life.

5. If you were asked to give a child a single piece of advice to guide them through life, what would you say?
Do what makes you happy. You hear people say "follow your bliss" a lot. I believe in it. If you can find something that you enjoy doing, that someone will actually pay you money to do, you have to go for it. If you do what makes you happy, you won't compromise who you are, inside. Staying true to yourself is the most important thing that you can do.

amazing revelations

This is the first full week of work that I've done in about 3 weeks or so. What with holiday weekends and lieu days here and there, it's been a while since I've had to put in 5 whole days, in a row! Shocking huh? I'm actually surprised at how quickly this week is going but how organized I've been. I know this probably sounds dumb but I'm getting into this habit of sorting my lunch out and getting things ready for work, the night before. Ancient concept, I know. Many folks have done this for a long time but I never thought that it would make a big difference in my routine. I was so wrong! For some reason, when I'm sleepy and stupid in the mornings, it's takes me way longer to get these little things done than it does when I'm cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend right now. The forecast is for rain but I'm not bothered by that. I have some gardening to do and I realized that it's quite easy to do in the rain. Mark's dad lives in a ground floor apartment which has a gorgeous patio, surrounded by hostas. His hostas are huge so I'm going to divide a couple of them and put them in my garden. Tomorrow night after work I should be able to get the flower beds ready (it's not supposed to rain tomorrow) and then, on Saturday when it's raining, I'll go dig them up and transplant them. The stuff I planted in the rain last weekend is doing really well. I'm really digging (no pun intended) my garden this year!

I so needed something to laugh at today. Thank you so much to Mary C for sharing this with us. This fellow is looking for a woman to spend his life with, click here to see if you fit the "profile." His page has provided the girls here in my office with many giggles this afternoon.

This-or-That Tuesday: Personal Habits, Quirks, Routines, etc.

1. Do you prefer silence or do you like background sound (music, TV, etc)?
I like to have music on, or the television. My first choice is always music.

2. Bathe/shower in morning or evening?
In the morning, after working out.

3. Sleeping in complete darkness, or with a night-light on?
Complete darkness, always. Our bedroom faces the back of the house so it's quite dark at night.

4. Lay out clothes the night before, or just grab what's closest in the morning?
I think about what I may wear the night before but I don't lay anything out. I just narrow it down to one or two things.

5. Hang up/fold clothes neatly, or just toss them wherever?
Fold and hang up.

6. Work out at a gym, or at home on your own (or do you not bother with exercise)?
I work out at home, every morning before work.

7. Talk on the phone, or via IM/e-mail?
Both, it depends really. For local folks, I generally prefer the phone. For long distance folks, during the day, it's IM or email.

8. Are you usually on time, or late?
I'm almost always a little bit early.

9. Spendthrift or frugal?
A little of both, depends on what I'm spending on. If it's something for myself, I can be a little on the cheap side. If it's for someone else I don't mind splashing out.

10. Thought-Provoking Question of the Week: You work with someone who is not in the habit of bathing regularly. The smell seems to be getting worse and worse! Would you: 1. try to do something about it, or 2. try to grin and bear it? If you said 1, what would you do?
Yikes, that is a really tough one. I have to admit that I'm a bit of a coward about such things and would probably let it go and burn candles at my desk or something. That would be a really difficult thing to deal with. It would really depend upon how well I knew the person I guess.

rainy days and mondays

boy, the Carpenters weren't kidding about rainy days and Mondays....and when it's rainy on a Monday, that really gets you down. Today has been almost unbearably long. I could hardly wake up this morning. Dragging my ass out of bed seemed like an almost impossible feat. Obviously, I did it and got to work but it's been a struggle to keep my eyes open all day.

Funny thing about it is that I've been pretty busy. Usually when I'm this busy, the day just flies by. I think I need more sunshine or something. I'm glad that we're getting the rain, we really need it and everything looks green and pretty outside but it could stop any time.

sunshine day

Despite the fact that the forecast called for wicked storms today, the sun shone upon us all day today. I was so happy to get outside into the fresh air! It was so great, I actually got a fair bit of gardening done. We had a big tree taken out of our yard last spring and there is a still a huge stump and big roots in the bottom of our yard. I was down there with the weed-whacker this afternoon and couldn't believe the amount of water still laying around down there. I hope that it's nice the next couple of days so that the ground can dry up a bit. I wasn't able to get the whole thing done because the water was so deep. I did get a couple of plants moved around though. I'm glad that the ground had softened up. If it hadn't, I don't think I could have done it. I'm realizing more and more that our ground is mostly clay. When I got the one plant dug up, I could just barely get it up next to the house because of the clay ball surrounding the roots. I didn't want to knock too much of it off, the plant looks sort of sad at the moment but I'm hoping that after a couple of days, it'll perk up and settle in to it's new home. It should do well where I've put it, next to the patio where it'll be bathed in morning sunshine every day. We'll see.

I'm really impressed with the weather so far this spring. At this time last year, I had literally no gardening done. Right now, except for a very miniscule amount of weeding and edging, I'm almost done. I mean, you're never done really because of the weeding and pruning and stuff, but the yard is in great shape. I've decided to not do any annuals this year. I'm sticking with perrenials and have luckily received many "donations" from friends and family. The garden is starting to fill in and in a couple of years should look pretty decent. It looks much better right now than it did 2 years ago when we started working on it.

Here are some photos I snapped this afternoon:

Yikes, you know it's been raining too hard when I do two quizes on in one day:


Weed.
Youre the baby of the drugs,
and thats okay,
because Im sure,
I could do you all day.


Which drug should you be hooked on? [now with pictures]
brought to you by Quizilla

I actually slept in this morning. This is not something that I do with any kind of regularity. We went to bed at pretty much our normal time (before 10 p.m.) last night but I slept in until almost 7 a.m. I'm usually up around 5 a.m.

It's dark and rainy right now and that is probably why I was able to fool myself into thinking that it was earlier than it actually is. Mark's still snoozing. It's good for us, I know when your body actually does take the extra sleep, you must need it.

It's a rare Saturday that Mark is off but he's off today. I don't think we're doing too much now that it's raining. Laundry and a quick trip to the grocery store probably. Last night we got back into our first season DVD box of NYPD Blue and watched a couple of episodes. I'd like to do more of that today, just chilling out and relaxing. Last weekend was such a busy, work weekend that we're actually caught up with the gardening and the housework so we can just take the day as it comes and not plan on doing much of anything.

Because it is Saturday and all, it's silly quiz time:

Your Heart is Red


What Color is Your Heart?
brought to you by Quizilla

The Friday Five:

1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
Crest, with tartar control. It's in the gold sparkly box. I like sparkly things so I like that particular box of toothpaste.

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
Cottonelle. We buy the jumbo roll, 36 pack from the Club Pack section of Loblaws and it lasts us a long time. Whenever I buy it though, hear that old jingle in my head "cottony softness, from Scott's new Cottonelle." Yikes!

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
Usually Doc Martens or Reebok. Recently, I've purchased a couple of pairs of "girlie" shoes at Payless. I'm not a "girlie" girl per se but I needed some dressier shoes than I had. I have Doc Marten Sandals for the summer and shoes for the winter and I love my black Reebok high-top sneakers. I'm probably going to have to invest in a new pair soon though, mine have seen better days.

4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Diet Coke, or Diet Sprite. I don't like Pepsi products at all. I'll drink Diet Coke when we're at a restaurant but I'd prefer Diet Sprite. Most places don't have it though, and they should because it's yummy!

5. What brand of gum do you chew?
Trident, when I actually chew gum. I used to be a big gum chewer, mint eater but not so much lately. I do keep a pack of gum in my desk at work or in my purse, just in case though.

One more working day left to this week. Crazy!! I got so much work done today that I impressed even myself. I've had this huge project on my desk and I was able to get my end of it done and pass it off to the next person today. Yay!! It's this huge publication that we do once a year and I'm responsible for assembling all of the content and working with a graphic designer on the layout. Fortunately, we've been lucky enough to use the same designer for a couple of years now and we work really well together. When it's done, sometime in July, it's going to look fabulous. I'm quite excited about it. Every year it just gets better!

I saw a friend of mine this morning who I hadn't seen in a while. She's a woman who I have worked with off and on over the years and she's lovely. She was on campus for an interview and I really hope she gets the job because it'll mean that I'll be seeing her on a semi-regular basis for the next couple of months. We're going to get together in a few weeks for a all-girls session with another woman we worked with. She's a lot of fun and is very fashionable. I showed her the before-and-after makeover photo and she really thinks that I should go for the cut in the photo. She used to a be a hair-dresser so hair is a very big deal for her. I'm a very lazy person when it comes to hair though so I have to be sure that I'll be able to make it look good with little or no effort on my part. I'm very much a pony-tail person and have been for a number of years. If I do get brave and cut it all off, I'll definitely post a snap of my new look.

When you're working a shortened week, is Wednesday still, technically, hump day?

This-or-That Tuesday for May 20: Even More Potpourri...

1. Large or small family?
Small immediate family, huge extended family.

2. Potato chips or pretzels?
Chips.

3. House or apartment?
Our own house, since October 2000.

4. Zebras or giraffes?
Giraffes, because they're tall.

5. Candles or potpourri?
Candles, definitely.

6. Flowers or trees?
Flowering trees.

7. Right or left-handed?
Right handed.

8. Model trains or dolls/stuffed animals?
Dolls and stuffed animals.

9. Comedy or drama?
Black comedy which is close to drama (not stupid funny, or disease-of-the-week drama -- stuff like The Sopranos or Six Feet Under).

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: The city of Boston has recently banned smoking in all restaurants and bars. Would you want to see such a law passed in your city/town/country, or not?
A bylaw like this came into effect in my town on May 1st and I say that it couldn't have happened soon enough. It's been a long time coming. I used to spend a lot of times in clubs seeing bands and all of the second-hand smoke I was exposed to has left me with a serious smoke allergy. For public health reasons, I think that this type of bylaw should be in effect in all public places.

Despite the fact that I've yet to actually lift a finger in my garden, my plants are looking super pretty. Here's a shot I snapped last night of the ground cover next to my driveway:

I was visiting iVillage the other day and discovered a hilarious make over application. You can upload your photo and make yourself over. This is what I'd look like with a hair cut (oh and pink hair to boot, I actually kind of like it):

Yay, it's the weekend (yes, already -- I'm off today!!) and it's time for this week's Friday Five:

1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?
If I have a choice, I prefer bottled water but we have a Brita in our fridge and I've been known to drink huge amounts of tap water too (our water isn't disgusting here -- later in the summer it'll be stinky but right now it's good).

2. What are your favourite flavor of chips?
Zesty Cheese Doritos. They're just orange and stinky and yummy.

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?
I make a mean (and tasty) macaroni, tomato & tuna casserole. It's not fancy but it's yummy and it is very comforting on a cold day. I must admit though that it's been ages since I've made one as we don't eat a lot of pasta anymore.

4. How do you have your eggs?
Scrambled (with lox & onions if I can get them mmm....)

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?
Mark cooked dinner last night. We had a barbecue, smoked tofu and crimini mushrooms, grilled peppers, brown basmati rice and grilled turkey breast. It was absolutely delicious.

Yesterday was a totally busy day and I never even thought about posting here. I wasn't doing anything overly exciting, just errands and work and stuff. The day just flew by anyway.

Here's the 3 For Thursday:

Fun and Sun

1. What are 3 things you're looking forward to this summer?
- hanging out in my backyard
- taking some time off from work
- ditching my sweaters and wearing my fun summer clothes

2. What are 3 things you're not looking forward to?
- the heat and humidity that we experienced last summer (I'm hoping it'll be much nicer this year)
- mosquitos. I must say that the West Nile threat is a little scary
- neighbourhood kids playing basketball next door all summer (they're sweet kids but really noisy)

3. What are your 3 top vacation spots you'd like to visit?
- I'd love to go back to the Maritimes and see Nova Scotia this time
- I've never been to Las Vegas but would love to
- I really want to go to England and Ireland, rent a car, and spend a month touring the countryside

BONUS: Will you be taking a vacation this year? If so where?
We're not planning to go away this year. Last year we visited New Brunswick and PEI. This year, we're going to do some things around the house instead of having a trip away.

If I made a list of really wrong things that I heard about today, this would the No. 1 with a bullet:

Comedian Chong Admits Marijuana Equipment Sales

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Actor Tommy Chong (news) of the spaced-out dope-smoking comedy duo "Cheech & Chong" pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal conspiracy charge of selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet.

Chong, 64, of Pacific Palisades, California, and his family-run business, Nice Dreams Enterprises, admitted to conspiring to sell marijuana pipes via Web site promotions that featured the comedian's celebrity endorsement.

Under a federal plea agreement, Chong also admitted in a Pittsburgh courtroom that he promoted the drug paraphernalia during personal appearances around the country.

He could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But federal prosecutors said the actual penalty will likely be more lenient.

U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab set a sentencing hearing for Sept. 11 and released him on $20,000 bond.

Chong's plea represented a public relations victory for a local federal program called "Operation Pipe Dreams," which targets drug paraphernalia sales. The operation, which began in 2000, has 17 cases pending, most from the Pittsburgh area.

"These cases can be brought wherever the Internet is used," said assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Brysh.

The Canadian-born Chong is best known as the bearded and bespectacled member of "Cheech & Chong," who along with partner Cheech Marin (news) became synonymous with the drug humor of the 1970s through comedy skits such as "Dave's Not Here" and movies like "Up In Smoke."

First gaining national notoriety in 1970, the pair made a series of comedy albums that won them a Grammy award and helped launch their subsequent Hollywood movie careers.

Chong was accused of using his Web sites www.chongglass.com and www.tommychong.com. to sell thousands of pipes and glass bongs -- or water pipes. Many of the products were emblazoned with images of Chong's face and some bore his autograph.

U.S. agents raided his Gardena, California-based business on Feb. 24, and confiscated about $120,000 in proceeds from the sales.

they say it's your birthday... It's my birthday too! Really, it is. Big whoop huh?

Reminds me of that old Dik Van Dykes' birthday song that ends with "big fuckin' deal." It truly isn't a big deal for me anymore. My grandmother always made a big deal over your birthday, and when you're a kid, it should be. Nana always said, "if it wasn't for your birthday, you wouldn't be around for Christmas." I guess this means that Christmas shouldn't be such a big honking deal and that you should really celebrate the anniversary of your birth. When I was a little kid, I looked forward to it so much, counting down the days, planning the guest list for the party, deciding what colour icing I wanted to have on my orange cake (yes, I am that old actually, you could still get orange cake mixes back then -- how chic huh?).

This morning when I woke up, it had completely slipped my mind until Mark wished me a Happy Birthday. My parents phoned me at the office this morning to sing "happy birthday" to me. Even my dad. That was a surprise, he's not usually the song-singing type. Fortunately, my boss is off today so I'm (hoping) probably going to be able to avoid the requisite "cake in the parlour" birthday ritual that our office is famous for (and yes, we do have a parlour, I work in a building which is almost 200 years old and used to be a mansion before it was converted to offices). I'm not eating cake these days so it would be silly anyway, to have a cake for a person who doesn't even eat them. My friends have acknowledged my birthday in subtle, sweet ways today, via emails and phone calls and it's nice and all but I guess 36 is just an anti-climatic birthday (yes, do the math, I was a "Centennial" baby).

Last year's birthday was quite traumatic as I moved from "18-34" to "35-54" on survey's and the like. This year, it's a non-event. I guess the more of them that you have, the less important they become. I'll probably not stress about it too much for a couple of years when 40 looms on the horizon. We'll see I guess.

This-or-That Tuesday, for May 13: *Another Potpourri Edition*

1. Packrat or minimalist?
Reformed packrat. Currently throwing stuff out or giving it away in an effort to eliminate the clutter in my house.

2. Computer: desktop or laptop?
Desktop, I can't type on laptops.

3. Seashore or mountains?
Seashore, particularly when it's a little dreary.

4. Carpeting or bare floors?
A little of both, bare floors in the kitchen, foyer, bathroom. Carpet in the bedrooms and living room.

5. Drinking water: bottled or tap?
Bottled, definitely.

6. Shopping websites: eBay or Amazon?
Used to be eBay, lately more Amazon but that's just because I'm not currently selling stuff on eBay. When I'm selling there, I'm usually buying too.

7. Cute little kitties or big scary tigers?
Neither, I don't like cats.

8. Front door or back door?
Side door actually.

9. Lots of jewelry, or little/none?
Little. Just 2 rings and my earrings.

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: At the last minute, you obtain tickets to an event you're dying to attend. However, you have to work that day! Do you ask the boss for the time off, or just call in sick?
I have a great boss so I'd talk to her about it and book off. I'd never call in sick to do something like that.

flying time

I’m not sure why the passage of time always amazes me. I often find myself saying “can you believe it’s Tuesday (or whatever day it is) already?” or “Where did March go?” I sit here again, on Monday, the morning is almost gone and I’m shocked. I still can't believe that I didn't write here at all over the weekend.

The weekend was a bit of a blur. I don’t normally work weekends but I did work this past Saturday at some events, which had been organized, by our office. This made the weekend into only one day really and I spent the best part of that packing away winter sweaters and pulling out summer-y clothes. The work’s not done yet though, I have a tonne of ironing to do yet and my house is a mess. It really requires top to bottom cleaning. We’re having our parents over for dinner next Sunday so that will probably inspire a lightning-fast cleaning session on Saturday.

Our yard requires some serious attention at the moment. I have not had a chance to get into the flowerbeds and do spring-cleaning. I was lazy last fall and left everything where it was. In the end, I think this was smart though because the birds feasted on the seeds and bits and pieces of plants, which were decaying in the beds. This week it’s supposed to rain all week so I doubt very much that I’ll get that done. Mmm….Saturday’s going to be busy.

I know that by this time next week, everything will be sorted and I’ll have forgotten that it was bugging me so much just 7 days earlier. Right now I just feel a little overwhelmed by it all. I wish I could just go home and ignore it but I can’t. I’m not wired that way. I’ll try not to think about it too much though. I don’t want it to ruin my week.

I am owed a day in lieu of the work I did on Saturday though. Maybe I’ll take Thursday or Friday off and just putter around the house.

The Friday Five:

1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
I am an organized person. No doubt. I am an events planner and being organized is a huge part of my job.

2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
I use a program called Corporate Time. It's a calendaring package which everyone in my office uses. We use it to book meetings and track projects. It's taken the place of my Day Timer (which I used for years and years). I use Corporate Time daily and would be lost without it.

3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Absolutely. My desk at home is even organized right now (which is odd because home is not always as organized as the office).

4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
I alphabetize CD's & DVD's but not books. We have a huge number of books and they tend to get grouped by size so that they can fit on the hodge podge of bookshelves that we have.

5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
I don't find that organizing things or stuff is difficult as long as you have a plan. I have organized large events (5000-12000 people attending) and small parties at home. I've organized house moves, office moves and never had any problems. What makes organization difficult is if you have do something quickly and don't have a lot of time to execute it. We recently reorganized our computer room / home office. This was a huge project for us because we just left it alone after we moved in and didn't allowed things to pile up. Doing it wasn't actually that difficult. Just finding the time to get the job done was the hard part.

I almost choked when I read the following headline. I'm shocked beyond belief that someone would actually nominate these two war mongers. I don't believe in "hell" per se but if it did exist, I'm certain that the following article is proof that the world is definitely going threre, in a hand-basket:

Blair and Bush nominated for Nobel prize
By Alister Doyle

OSLO (Reuters) - A Norwegian parliamentarian has nominated Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush for the Nobel Peace Prize, praising them for winning the war in Iraq.

"Sometimes it's necessary to use a small and effective war to prevent a much more dangerous war in the future," Jan Simonsen, a right-wing independent in Norway's parliament, told Reuters on Thursday.

"If nobody acted then Saddam Hussein could have produced weapons of mass destruction and, in five or 10 years, could have used them against Israel," he said.

An award to Bush and Blair would be a U-turn after the Nobel Committee awarded the 2002 prize to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter last October. At the time, the committee chairman called it a kick in the shins to Bush's Iraq policies as Carter had been calling for a diplomatic solution.

Simonsen said the war had "made it possible to create democracy and respect for human rights in a country which for so many years has been ruled by one of the worst dictators in modern times".

However, Geir Lundestad, the director of the Nobel Institute where the five-member committee meets, said Simonsen's proposal would have to wait for the 2004 award because the deadline for nominations for 2003 passed on February 1.

The secretive five-member committee names the annual winner in mid-October. More than 160 people and organisations have been nominated for the 2003 prize, including Pope John Paul, Irish rock star Bono and Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

"I'm not especially optimistic that Bush and Blair will win but I think it's worth a try," Simonsen said. He said he would encourage like-minded parliamentarians in other countries to also nominate Bush and Blair.

Nobel committees have frequently honoured the United Nations instead of unilateral action by member states. The United Nations did not give an explicit mandate for the war amid opposition from countries including France, Germany and Russia.

The 2001 Nobel Peace Prize went to the United Nations and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Thousands of people around the world, including members of national parliaments, professors of history, law and politics and former laureates can make nominations for the prize. The nomination process is secret, but people sometimes publicise their choice.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Friends who can make you laugh are worth their weight in chocolate:

Real women vs Martha Stewart:

Martha Stewart: You accidentally over-salt a dish while its still cooking drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant “fix-me-up”

Real Women: If you over-salt a dish while you are cooking, that’s too damn bad. Please recite after me, the Real Women’s motto: “I made it and you will eat it and I don’t care how bad it tastes”.
~*~*~*~
Martha Stewart: Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

Real Women: Take a lime, mix it with tequila, etc., chill and drink. You might still have a headache but who gives a shit?
~*~*~*~
Martha Stewart: Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.

Real Women: Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete’s sake. You are probably lying on the couch, with your feet up, eating it anyway.
~*~*~*~
Martha Stewart: To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

Real Women: Buy Hungry Jack mashed potatoes mix and keep it in the pantry for up to a Year.
~*~*~*~
Martha Stewart: When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won’t be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

Real Women: Go to the bakery. They will even decorate it for you.
~*~*~*~
Martha Stewart: Brush some beaten egg whites over piecrust dough before baking it to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

Real Women: The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over the crust, so I just don’t do it.
~*~*~*~
Martha Stewart: If you have a problem opening jars, try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

Real Women: Go ask that very cute guy next door to do it.
~*~*~*~
Martha Stewart: Don’t throw out that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cube for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Real Women: Leftover wine????

The entire city of Kingston is under construction at the moment.

Actually, the entire city is not under construction. Every major artery is though. It's lovely and oh so convenient. In a town where rush hour lasts five minutes this is causing major chaos for all involved. The Causeway that joins the city with the east end is basically shut down and will be for at least another six weeks. The alternate route for the Causeway folks is now under construction as building starts on the new Police Station on Montreal Street...I could go on but I think you get what I'm saying.

If I thought that the City was actually planning I'd say that they synched this with the new anti-smoking bylaw so that business owners wouldn't be sure whether the drop in customers is because of smoking or the traffic. Also, if they had to rip the city to shit, it's probably best to do it while no one is planning to come to Canada for holiday this year. It never ceases to amaze me, how the city planners can make a tourist town so inaccessible and still be surprised when no one comes to visit.

This-or-That Tuesday's Media Edition:

1. TV or radio?
TV

2. On the radio: talk or music station?
Talk, CBC Radio One.

3. Actual books or books-on-tape (or e-books)?
Actual, real books!

4. Actual newspaper, or web version?
Web versions. You don't get the ink on your fingers and you have access to more papers.

5. Wall Street Journal or National Enquirer?
National Enquirer.

6. TV news...news channel such as CNN, or your local broadcast news?
CBC Newsworld.

7. A movie you've been looking forward to seeing gets bad reviews all around. See it anyway, or pass?
I'll probably see it anyway.

8. See movies when they first come out, or wait a few weeks for the lines at the theater to get shorter?
Wait until they show up on the movie channel (we have digital cable).

9. TV: cable, satellite dish, or just plain old antenna?
Digital Cable (see above).

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: If you had to choose only one form of media to come into your home, which would you choose...print (newspapers, magazines) or electronic (TV, internet)? Why?
Internet, without question. It can offer you everything (print, radio, television) in one place.

I used to be amused...now I'm a little disgusted...

Maybe "disgusted" is a little strong...nauseous? mmm...not quite perfect. Shocked and saddened? Yeah! That works.

How can one of my heroes be engaged to Diana Krall? Elvis? What the hell are you thinking? I still can't believe that he and Cait O'Riordan split up. I must admit, I do have a couple of Diana Krall discs in my collection. I didn't purchase them but I have listened to them. I used to enjoy her "lite" jazz stylings but I find her boring now. She's not what I would call evolved, musically. She's found something that she can do which is popular, acceptable, non-offensive...stuff the folks can enjoy...and she's sticking with it. Not pushing the envelope, not really growing. I was disgusted by the television ads she appeared in last year. She seemed to be whoring herself a smidgen. I mean, her being in ad was not the same as Hank Rollins being an ad so that he can fund his publishing company with the proceeds. Hank's cool, Diana is bland...and how can Elvis, in his dreamy geekiness, be with someone as seemingly boring and uninspired as Diana Krall? My mum would say "she must have hidden talents" at a time like this ~shiver~ ...that's just not something I'd like to think about.

This is possibly the worst pairing I've heard of since Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts (wasn't he totally too good for her skanky ass?)!!

Oh Elvis, how could you?

This week's Friday Five is all about the tunes and all of these responses are subject to change on a dime to suit my mood!:

1. Name one song you hate to admit you like.
Copacabana by Barry Manilow is a quilty pleasure of mine.

2. Name two songs that always make you cry.
Soho Square by Kirsty MacColl and In My Life by the Beatles

3. Name three songs that turn you on.
So Like Candy - Elvis Costello
That Summer Feeling - Jonathan Richman
Isabel - Unrest

4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.

There's A Guy Work's Down The Chip (Swears He's Elvis) - Kirsty MacColl
Across the Universe - The Beatles
I'm Always In Love - Wilco
Concrete Sky - Beth Orton

5. Name five songs you couldn't ever do without.
I couldn't possibly limit it to just five so here, randomly, are five off the top of my head (in no particular order):

Jonathan David - Belle & Sebastian
Edmonton - Carolyn Marks
Penthouse in the Woods - Scud Mountain Boys
Wilder Than Her - Fred Eaglesmith
Good Fruit - Hefner