Christmas is a comin!

I am currently baking turtle cookies, drinking egg nog, watchin Elf (love that movie)...Let me ask you...Could life get any better!?!?!

I am so excited for Christmas...Jason arrives in the evening on the 22nd, I only have a half day of work on the 23rd, then we are off to Alma to spend the night with my brother and do our "Christmas" with them and then we head to Bruce Mines the morning of Christmas Eve...it's going to be a busy week, but I am ready for it...I get to see the love of my life, my dad, most of my siblings, nieces and nephews and friends...Then Jason and I come back to K-W on the 27th, spend some time with Justine and Sean (and possibly other friends), so Jason can meet his niece Alexis FINALLY and then we are off to NY, he has to go back to work and I get to spend time with the rest of my family...I think we are pretty lucky to see so much family around the holidays this year, it doesn't always work out that way for us...

I got up early this morning and went shopping and managed to get about 85% done, I just have a couple more gifts to get but I know what I am getting, so I am not shopping blind and it should only take an hour one night this week after work to complete it! The big success for the day was getting all of my baking ingredients, so that means baking went in to full swing today...short bread, sugar cookies, ginger bread, turtle cookies, lemon squares and maybe some candy cane brownies...What can I say I love being in the kitchen :-)

Well I should get back to my baking, got lots to finish up before bed...I will post again soon, but if I fail and I don't get back before Christmas...I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Winter Wonderland!

Well winter finally came to town and so did my Christmas Spirit!

We had a little bit of snow, but nothing that made it feel like December...Well that all changed as of yesterday...we got a heck of storm...ice and snow everywhere! I love snow, I love when it's snowing, I love walking threw it on the ground, hell I even love to play in it (yep kid at heart)! But I hate, let me repeat that HATE cleaning off my car...This lovely storm had placed a nice layer of ice on my car, topped by an inch of snow, then an inch of ice and then an inch or more of nice fluffy snow! It took me 25 minutes to clean off my car this morning and the whole time I am standing outside freezing my butt off cursing out Rob and Sandy cause I know their cars are nice and warm and clean in their garage!!! I know I should have been happy for them, but it was Monday morning and I was running late before I had to clean my car off!!! The roads were pretty terrible today...very slippery! I watched a moving truck slide right past the street it was trying to turn down, which made me very thankful for my winter tires as I didn't slide once when trying to stop or start!!! So although I felt safe driving, I didn't feel too safe about the crazy people who don't know how to drive in snow and ice that were all around me...I hate driving in the city during bad weather...grrr...Anyways, the lovely snow on the ground has made me happy and made me feel like it's December...

I have been battling a cold/sore throat for over a week now, so my Christmas Spirit was dwindling , honestly my energy for anything was dwindling...I decided that it was one of those situations where I had to start doing "Christmasie" things or Christmas wasn't going to come this year...so yesterday I put up my tree, it looks so cute! I also set up all my house decorations which include Christmas candles, my nativity scene, stocking and Christmas ball center piece...So my house is officially Christmast! Jason and I also watched Nestor the Christmas Donkey and Frosty the Snowman, so that definitely helped my spirit! Today I went to the dollar store and got a bunch of decorations for my desk at work, cause the place I need the Christmas Spirit most is at work!

This is the little tree I got for my desk:


I think it's so cute...

Now that all my decorating is done I can focus on the shopping! I am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to present shopping and not just for Christmas...I have bought some gifts, but nothing major, mainly stocking stuffers for Jason and my dad...If anyone has any suggestions on how to make me a non procrastinating present buyer, I will take it!

October/November...

Since I am completely failing at regularly updating my blog, I will do a big post again for the whole month of October/November...Hopefully I can get my act together for the Holiday season and heading into the new year!

The month started with a 1st birthday party for a very special little girl...My niece Alexis turned one on the 7th!! As usual Lexi was freaking adorable and she was so good, considering there were like 30 some people there all wanting to hold her and take pictures of her...I of course was one of them!

Here's a pic of the beautiful cake...


And here's pic of mom and Lexi enjoying her cake!


I have to say how lucky I feel to be a part of this little girls life...She honestly melts my heart every time I see her...I love being an auntie :-) Happy 1st Birthday again Alexis!


This year was the first Canadican (Canadian/American) Thanksgiving! Haha, that's the best name Jason and I could come up with...I spent the Canadian Thanksgiving in NY this year...Who would have thought that one day I would have to distinguish between Canadian and American holidays! Ahh the things a girl will do in the name of love...It was really good...I got to see J and because of my amazing American family I got turkey :-) Grandpa got all of the fall/Thanksgiving decorations out and MomR, Jess and I prepared the feast...

J and I before the feast...

The cooks and Brandon...


Otherwise the trip was pretty low key...The one night Jason and I went for dinner at TGI Fridays...Let me just say mmmmmmm Jack Daniels BBQ sauce is freakin delicious! When we got back to J's after dinner two of his great aunt's and his cousin were there, which was a treat for me as I have only met them one other time...They told stories from "the good ole days" and disagreed about the "facts" of various stories...It was hilarious! As always leaving is not easy and I am a Debbie Downer for a good week or two after, but eventually things get back to "normal"..

The only other big event in October was of course Halloween...I dressed up again this year at work and when we took Ben and Becca out trick-or-treating...I was a beat up hockey player this year, the "black" eye I gave (make-up) myself was so believable that people at work actually thought I got into a fight until they saw the jersey...

Here's my costume minus the black eye...


And here is Becca as an angel and Ben as Scooby Doo:



November was a pretty quiet month...

November 18th was a special day...It was Jason's Birthday! And to me the day he was born is a very special day and should be heavily celebrated! I hated not being able to be there with him this year, but hopefully that's the last year we will celebrate his bday apart...Happy Birthday again J, love you!

My mom came to visit from the 18th to the 22nd and we celebrated our Christmas with Rob, Sandy and the kids! It was a good weekend, we took mom to watch Ben play hockey, which we will never do again cause she's even more crazy that Sandy and mom taught me how to make her amazing cinnamon buns mmmm! Jason and I got spoiled :-) My mom got us an amazing stainless steel pot/pan set, so I love being in the kitchen even more and trust me Jason will thoroughly enjoy this present when he's here! She also got me a fantastic vacuum that picks up all of Donte's hair and a new microwave cause I had been living without one for months! You don't realize how much you use a microwave until don't have one!

The last event in November for me was the Arthur Santa Clause Parade! Rob and Sandy had Sandy's Christmas party, so I took Ben and Becca to the big event...It was cute and they were so excited...The were also so polite, they waved and wished everyone a Merry Christmas...That's right I made sure they used proper parade etiquette!

Here's the kids waiting for the parade to start:


They got tons of candy and after the parade we got Tim's hot chocolate...it was super cute to see them drinking out of a small Tim Horton's coffee cup with straws :-)


So I think thats it for now...I am really really going to try and keep this updated...

A new "relationship"...

I have entered into a new long term relationship with my chiropractor...A few weeks ago I started getting some pain in my right arm and then a couple weeks ago it turned into constant pain in my right arm, numbness in my right ring finger and pinky and a tingling feeling from the elbow to wrist...After a week of that I decided it wasn't going to go away on it's on, so on the recommendation of Rob I contacted his chiropractor...They sent me for full spine, neck and lumbar x-rays a week ago and yesterday I had my first chiro appointment...

I was a little nervous going in, for any of you who know me, I hate seeking any form of medical attention, but it was becoming unbearable at work...Anyways first appointment was a little overwhelming, but Dr. Christopher is exactly the kind of doctor I like...He explains everything step by step and told me exactly whats wrong with me on the x-ray and where it is on my back and unfortunately its A LOT!!! I have vertebral subluxation in my neck and shoulder, a pinched nerve in the base of my neck and in my right elbow, a rib out of place, degeneration of the vertebrae in the bottom of my spine and my spine leans to the left...I felt great in the neck and shoulder after leaving my first appointment yesterday, but my arm was extremely painful...

I had my second appointment today...I found out I have 1 more issue...on top of my spine leaning to the left it also twists to the left...my head naturally leans to the left and my chin comes in towards my left shoulder...I have zero medical knowledge, but I can even tell looking at these x-rays that my back ain't right! I wish I could get a pic of the x-rays to post to share with you cause it's kinda cool to see...scary, but cool...

I think the biggest shock was that the chiropractor told me I might not be able to play baseball next summer or if I do it will have to be very "light", with little throwing...not really baseball if ya ask me :-(

I truly believe Dr. Christopher will be able to help me, but I am a little worried about the time and money that it will cost me! Only time will tell, but I am sure this is not the last time you will hear about it!

Long over due!

I am finally updating my blog after far too long! My computer crashed, but thanks to my amazingly talented bf it's been saved! Yes I have had it back for a while now, but to be completely honest I didn't have it in me to blog...But I got my groove back and I am going to updated you on all the "fun" things that have been going on in my life!

So my last post was June 15th, picking up from there...

June 21 - Marissa and Dave came to visit me and we had dinner at Moose Winooski's...Marissa has been a friend of mine for over 10 years and Dave is my cousin and thanks to my match making skills, they are husband and wife...It was really good to see them cause it's been a couple years since we have had a visit...

June 27 - Ben and Becca got straight A's in so school, so Rob and Sandy took them to see Toy Story 3 and I was lucky enough to tag along for the celebration...such a great movie, Toy Story did good again!

June 29 - is a day for the history books...I FINALLY found a family doctor in the area after almost 8 years of being here!!! The K-W area has one of the longest waiting lists in the province for a family doctor, so I am so happy I found one and I like her a lot...unfortunately her practice is in Guelph, but from my office its about a 30 minute drive, so it's not that bad at all!

July 1 - I got invited to brunch at Cora's with Justine, Sean and their group of friends...I can't believe I have never been to this place before...It was sooooo good...honestly one of the best eggs benedict I have ever had...

July 3 - had the pleasure of attending Kristan's bachelorette party...We went to see Eclipse...I haven't been the movies with a big group of girls in a long time, it was so much fun! Thanks again to Justine for organizing the shin dig and inviting me and Kristan for letting me be a part of her day! Below is a pic of Kristan and some of her bridesmaids...


July 4 - I went to the beach with Justine, Sean, Alexis (so cute to see her in the sand and water) Kristan, Mark, Shane, Amy, Mike and Heather...It was a great beach day, got some sun and sand!

Here's Lexi and Sean at the beach:


Here are the girls and boys at the beach:


Here are the boys at the beach:


July 12 - computer DIED!

July 16 & 18 - Stacey, one of my bestest friends from back home was in Cambridge playing ball, it was really good to see her, I hadn't seen her since October of last year when I was home for Thanksgiving...For those of you that don't know Stace is the person who introduced Jason and I :-)

July 19 - was the 5th birthday of my niece Rebecca...I cannot believe my Little girl is 5!!! I remember the day she was born, I remember her coming home from the hospital, learning to walk and talk and now shes 5...seriously where has the time gone!!!

Becca opening her presents:


July 19 - also marked the day I started my new job...same company, same building, same floor, basically the same desk, but new job WOOHOO!!! So far so good, I really enjoy the different work and my new team has been very helpful and welcoming...

July 28 to August 3 - was my weekend to see J :-D and we headed to Baltimore for Otakon 2010...It was so much fun this year...I know a little bit more about anime and I was a bit more comfortable with the celebrity status Jason gets when he's there (you'll see why in a sec) also more of Jason's friends came this year, so it just added to the enjoyment of the weekend...

Here's a few pics from the trip, the first is J in his cosplay:

Jason and I, I kinda like him all dressed up, makes me look tiny:


August 11 - Duncan Steven Labelle MacDonald was born, hes such a cute boy! Congrats again to Rob and BrianA on the birth of their beautiful baby boy...

Here's a pic of me with Duncan, I can tell he already loves his Auntie Viv:


August 13 - I had a play date with Alexis...Justine was a little bit nervous about leaving her and I home alone, but we had such a fantastic time, she was so good for her Auntie Viv and I got lots of cuddles :-)

Here's a pic of the cutie playing:


August 15 - I got my only sunburn of the year watch Ben's ball team win their Championship!!! My nephew get more than just his looks from his dad, hes got all of Rob's athleticism too!

Here's Ben with his trophy:


August 17 - My big brother turned another year older! Happy Birthday again Rob, you are the best big brother a girl could ask for, love you!

Here's Rob, Ben and Becca with the cake:


August 18 - My grandmother was hospitalized due to a stroke...thankfully she is on the road to a full recovery, but it gave everyone a good scare...also reminded me why I hate living so far from my family and my mom...

August 28 - Stacey was in London again playing ball, fortunate for me I got to spend the entire day with her and her ball team...After they were done playing ball, 5 grown women played bumper cars and go-karting...HILARIOUS, is all I have to say about that...

Here's a great self pic of me and my Stace:


September 3 to 6 - my dad, my sister Robin and her two kids Destiny and Aaron made the long trip from Bruce Mines to spend the long weekend with me and the Littles...It was so much fun!!! We had margaritas, went shopping, Destiny did make overs (thanks again Dest cause mine was pretty hot, sorry Sandy and Robin :-D) and spent time just hanging out...It's always bitter sweet though because at the end of a great visit we always have to say goodbye...

September 10 - This date is very important, it marks the birthday of two special people in my life...Ben turned 7...SEVEN!?!?! Where the heck did the time go, seriously I remember sitting in the hospital room waiting patiently for the news...And it is also my bestest friend Justine's birthday! I baked her a red velvet bday cake (thanks to MomR for the recipe) and went over for pizza, cake and ice cream with the "usual" group of friends...Happy Birthday again to both of you, love you!

September 20 - I am going to admit right now I am a selfish friend and I counted down this day for months...Justine returned to work today from mat leave!!!! I know she hates the idea of not being at home with Lexi, but I am so over the moon happy to have my best friend back at work :-) I have really missed not seeing her everyday...see selfish...

Alright so that gets us all caught up...Hope you all had a great summer cause I think I did...

Hiccup in my master plan!

So last night my computer stopped working!!! This puts a big hiccup in my planned post to catch you all up on my life...The only computer access I have for right now is at work and technically, blogs are a big No No! (yes I live on the edge and I am posting this from work!)

Please bear with me and I will try and post asap, but you might have to wait for the home computer issue to be solved!

MIA...

To my faithful readers...I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while...I am working on a super post to update you all on the last month of events...Hopefully I can get the post up this weekend, but if not please be patient with me and I will get it posted ASAP!

Good weekend, with good friends!

So for the first time in a while I had an eventful weekend...Sorry this doesn't happen more often, but I warned you I live a quiet and often boring life...

Friday I met my friend Stacey for dinner after work...I can't remember if I have mentioned Stacey previously or not (I did a quick scan of previous posts and I don't see her there, if I did I apologize for the repeat)...Stacey and I met either second term first year of university or first term second year...We had similar schedules both being PoliSci majors and since neither of us are complete nerds we got along really well! After we graduated we kinda lost touch, Stacey moved away to go to school and I was here doing the working thing, but she has since moved back to K-W and recently we have been making a point of getting together regularly...I love getting together with her cause shes fun, we can talk about anything and everything for hours and we are in similar places in life...We had a fantastic dinner at Ben Thanh in Waterloo and it was a great start to my weekend!

Saturday, I unfortunately had to work during the day...I don't necessarily like working weekends, but I love when the overtime pay comes in :-)...

Saturday evening I had a stag & doe to attend for a couple of friends here in Kitchener...Mark and Kristan are friends of mine through Justine and Sean and they are getting married at the end of July!!! Jason didn't know what this was, so for my American family, a stag & doe is basically a party thrown for to be bride and groom to help raise money for them for wedding expenses, people play games, buy raffle tickets etc. ...It was really fun and it was nice to see the happy couple and celebrate something with them as I missed their shower and I am missing the wedding :-(...It was also nice cause I got to spend time with Justine and Sean and other friends that I haven't seen in a while...The only sad part was that Jason wasn't there to enjoy it with me...Apparently I wasn't the only one missing J, here's a little convo between the groom and myself...

Mark: Vivian, thanks for coming...Where's Jason?
Me: Jason had to work, so he couldn't make it, but he said to say "hi"...
Mark: ohhh, well I wish he was here cause I love that guy, I mean I like you, but I love him!
Me: Thanks Mark!

haha...I can't take it personally cause I love that guy too and I can't blame others for feeling the same way!!!


Sunday I woke up feeling rough...I used to be a night owl, so being out til 2 or 3 am and sleeping in the next day never used to throw me off, but now it totally ruins me...I woke up Sunday morning around 10 dead tired and feeling hung over, but I had only had one beer at about 8:30 the night before, so I knew I wasn't hung over, so I have to blame it on the sleeping past 9!!! Feeling so crappy, I skipped church...shhh don't tell Father Sheridan as I am still trying to get confirmed...I went and got myself a lovely XL Dbl Dbl and an everything bagel, then got ready and headed out to Rob and Sandy's...

Sunday, as I have said numerous times, is my favorite day of the week...I get to spend a majority of the day with my favorite people! But it has become even more special as we have started a new Little (haha, I crack myself up) tradition...I have been putting Ben and Becca to bed for past few weeks now...I love it!!! Yes it can be a bit trying as they are tired and their listening skills are almost gone by this point in the day, but once pj's are on, teeth are brushed and they have picked out their stories, I am in pure Auntie heaven :-D...The three of us curl up on the bottom bunk of Ben's bed, I read them stories, the three of us giggle at the funny parts and the kids laugh at my attempt at fun voices...Then I get to tuck them in, hear their favorite part of the day and kiss them good night...The best is to hear them say their favorite part of the day was me coming over...It doesn't get much better!

That's it for now, I will update you again soon!

Pet peeve...

I don't have many pet peeves and I can't even name a handful of mine for you at this time, but this weekend made me realize one of my biggest! People who drive UNDER the speed limit!!!

I have been known to be a bit of a speeder when it comes to driving, however I would like to state for the record, I have only gotten 1 ticket and I was only going 104 in a 90 (for my American family that's in km, which would be 64 in a 55)...I would also like to state, in recent years since getting my new car I have calmed down on the speeding and try to follow the "standard" over the limit speeding...

On Sunday while driving out to Rob and Sandy's I got stuck behind a little old lady driving 60 (in an 80), I knew she was old cause I couldn't see her head over the headrest, but I could see her gray hair in the mirror! Now as soon as I notice it's a little old lady I slow right down and drop about three car lengths back and settle in cause I know its going to be a long drive...The road is busy and there are tons of hills, so I know I am not passing anytime soon...Well, grandma decides she's going to do the "smart" thing and pull over so I can pass her, but she didn't pull off far enough and half of her car was still on the road, so I still had to wait for the oncoming traffic to pass, so I could pass her...I hope the old lady made it where ever she was going and stayed there cause I don't think she should be out driving around by herself...

I thought my drive home would be better, it was 10pm, so I figured it would be a quick drive as not many people would be on the road...I was wrong! I got stuck behind a car going threw Elmira doing 40!!! 40!!! I couldn't pass them the whole way...I was so mad I completely tail gated them (yes I am admitting to breaking the law)...I even considered flashing my brights because when the speed limit increased to 60, they were still going 40!

I have no issues with people following the speed limit...I do wish everyone drove 10 over, but if you decide to be a good law abiding citizen, more power to you! Just please don't drive under the speed limit...It causes so many people (me) so many frustrations!

How time flies...

As most of you know I spent the May long weekend in NY with Jason...It was our 5 year anniversary!!! I know...I can't believe it's been 5 years either!!! How time flies when you're having fun...

Had you asked me 5 years ago if we could make it, I would have told you I had doubts...not in Jason, not in myself, but in the distance...I doubt many relationships last an 8 to 9 hour commute, a boarder crossing and 2 completely different cultural backgrounds...If you ask Jason he will tell you he knew from the beginning what he wanted and what we were capable of (he had a lot of faith in his skills), for me it took a few months to really see the friend, man and lover (get your heads outta the gutter) he is, but once I did I knew that he was "the one" and that he was worth all the crap that comes with distance I knew we could make and I would do anything to spend the rest of my life with J...

We spent our 5th anniversary at Olde Mystic Village/Seaport...Jason was in control of what we did and he planned the perfect day for us...We drove to Mystic, Connecticut (which was about 2 hours from Jason's) and spent the afternoon at the Mystic Aquarium, it was totally up my alley...I got to see beluga whales, penguins, sharks and literally every fish under the sea...I also got to pet a small bamboo shark and sting-rays!!! I am such a kid at heart, ask Jason, I had a bigger smile on my face than most children did...We then went for dinner at this amazing seafood restaurant Go Fish, if you are ever in Connecticut I highly suggest checking it out...It was made for Jason and I, sushi and a hot menu, delicious! Lastly we took a little stroll by the seaport, it was gorgeous and so was the town, it was full of beautiful century homes (also right up my alley)...More important than the things we saw and did was the fact that we got to spend the whole day together, I treasure every minute we get to spend together...

The rest of the May long weekend was spent with family and friends...It was exactly the way a long weekend is supposed to be! I have to say a special thanks to Mom and Dad R and Grandpa, for always making me so welcome in their home, I truly lucked out in the in-law department!

I think that's it for this evening as I am still a little car lagged from the trip...

Gettin my butt in shape!

A few weeks ago I decided that I needed to start being a little bit more active, well...A LOT more active haha...

First I broke out the Wii Fit and Wii Sports, however I went a little bit over board and strained all of my arm muscles to the point where it hurt to do my job! Then I decided I would start walking, my first little stroll was over to my friend Justine's house...I underestimated how far it is to Justine's house (it takes me about 5 mins to drive to her place) and/or I totally underestimated how out of shape I was...Let's just say I got Justine's husband Sean to drive me home cause walking back was really not an option ;-)

Bit of a rude awakening! I used to be a very athletic person, I took dance lessons for I don't know how long, played baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, attempted hockey and stuck with ice skating, but apparently with age and partial laziness, I have lost a lot of that athleticism...Well I am changing things and trying very hard to get myself back into decent shape...I will never be a size 2 and I will never run a marathon, but if I can get to a point where I am not completely outta breath running around with Ben and Becca I will be content...Could also be beneficial for the baseball season, if we get a team together this year...

I have been going for walks a few nights a week, just around my neighborhood and on the nights when its raining or when I am too tired to get out of the apartment, I have been using my Wii Fit and Wii Sports...So far I don't see much of a change, but hopefully very soon and I can start to update you on my progress...

Hopefully I can get back on again for before the weekend, but we will see...Hope you all have a great week!

A little bit embarrassing...

So nothing exciting has been happening lately and therefore I have no "fun" stories to share, but instead I will take this as an opportunity to share a lil something about me...

I dont think its a news flash that I am sometimes in to things that are considered uncool, especially when it comes to my musical interests......For example, I love country music, all of it from Johnny Cash to Taylor Swift...I love N'Sync, to this day if you look in my cd player you will find one of their cds...And thanks to Jason I have fallen in love with some Japanese/anime/video game music...Even with that wide variety of unusual listening interests, I do feel slightly embarrassed to admit who I have been singing and dancing along too lately, maybe its because I am not a 12 year old girl...

I am catching a little case of Bieber fever!!! Yep, I said it you can all close your mouths and stop gasping! For those of who don't know, Justin Bieber is a 16 year old singer originally from Stratford Ontario who was found on YouTube and has been signed by Usher's label...I do think the kids got some talent and a couple catchy tunes...Do I think hes going to be around for 5 or 10 years, no, but I think hes got a couple years of good teeny bop music in him...My fav and the one that is currently getting the most air time on the local stations is One Love, now I dont think the kid knows a thing about love, but its a cute song...

Heres some of the lyrics if you haven't heard it:

Me plus you, I'ma tell you one time
Me plus you, I'ma tell you one time
Me plus you, I'ma tell you one time
One time, one time

When I met you girl my heart went knock knock
Now them butterflies in my stomach won't stop stop
And even though it's a struggle love is all we got
And we gon' keep keep climbing to the mountain top

Your world is my world
And my fight is your fight
My breath is your breath
And your heart

And girl you're my one love, my one heart
My one life for sure
Let me tell you one time
(Girl, I love, girl I love you)
I'ma tell you one time
(Girl, I love, girl I love you)

Give it a listen, I think you might like it and if you are too embarrassed to admit it I won't judge!

Until next time...

Did you know???

This post should have been made May 1st, but as usual I am a little bit behind!

May is brain cancer awareness month and I thought it was appropriate to make a post about this horrible disease...I personally have not known anyone who has suffered from or survived brain cancer, however I have known (as I am sure all of you have) far too many people who have suffered, survived and succumbed to some form of cancer...Cancer is one of my biggest fears...It is far more scary than any horror movie, it seems to be more common these days than the common cold and its more unpredictable than a hurricane...It has affected some of those closest to me and taken people I love well before I was ready to let them go...

Upon learning that May was brain cancer awareness I did some research on the Canadian Cancer Society website...It was estimated that in 2009 there would be 171,000 new cases of cancer (this excludes skin cancers) and 73,500 deaths from cancer. In 2009 the probability that someone would develop some form of cancer in their lifetime was 40% for Canadian women and 45% for men and approximately 1 out of 4 Canadians will die from cancer. The last stat I have for you is that there was an estimated 2,600 new cases of brain cancer and 1,750 deaths from brain cancer. These numbers not only shock me, but scare the living hell outta me!!! On the list of cancer forms, brain cancer is less common, but personally I think its got to be the most difficult and horrifying...

I would also like to share with you a blog that Sandy introduced me to about 8 months ago...It is the story of a 5 year old little girl named Kate who is currently fighting her battle with brain cancer...Here's the link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/mystory . The blog is written by her parents and it honestly makes me tear up every time I read it...The things that this family and poor Kate have gone threw in the last 10 months is unfathomable...No child should ever have to deal with that and no parent should ever have to watch their child suffer like that...I am waiting for the day when I check Kate's blog and see that she is cancer free, it would give me such hope to know that she fought and won!

Take a moment this month and remember those you have personally lost to brain cancer, those you don't know that have lost their battle and those who fought and won...A memory and a prayer can go a long way!

Where else can I get that for $25?!?!

I consider myself to be a very low key/low maintenance person...I choose to paint my own nails rather than go to a pedicurist, I enjoy Jason's infrequent massages rather than going to a massage therapist and I LOVE my $25 hair cuts over paying an arm and a leg at a salon!

When I moved to Kitchener I kinda took advantage of the fact that my sister in law Sandy had a fabulous hairdresser named Jordan and made her my regular hairdresser as well...She was the first person (other than my mom, who cut my hair til I was about 16) that understood my hair is thick and wavy and therefore cannot be cut like normal thin straight hair...Well 6 years ago our fantastic hairdresser decided to go and start a family and ended her career as a hairdresser...Thankfully Sandy became good friends with Jordan and she was able to get a new hairdresser, Marian, who happens to be Jordan's mom...The talent definitely runs in the blood there! I again took advantage of Sandy's connections making Marian my regular hairdresser as well and whenever Sandy mentions "I need a hair cut", I say "book one for me too"...So for the past 2 almost 3 years I have tagged along to Marian's when Sandy goes and we get our hair done together...We only go once every 4 or 5 months, but Marian is fantastic and I have yet to have been disappointed with the things she has done with my hair or the hilarious "barber shop talk" that happens when we are there...

Tonight I met Sandy at Marian's after work for a trim and got the news no woman ever wants to hear...My hairdresser is retiring *tear*...To make matters worse, Sandy has decided that since she found the last two hairdressers it is now my turn to hunt us down a new stylist...Well how in the heck am I going to find someone who has Marian's talent, personality and price?!?!? For $25 she washes (my fav part of getting my hair cut, it's so relaxing), cuts and styles!

So I am now on the hunt for a new hairdresser and I am about 99.99% sure that I cannot get the same quality for the same price, so I may have to bite the bullet and become a visitor of an over-priced salon...

If anybody in the K-W area has a good hairdresser please let me know!

Hope every body has a good week!

Weekend visitor!

Last weekend my mom came to visit, which was great cause I only get to see her a couple times a year since she moved out west and the last visit was back in November...

Mom arrived Friday afternoon in Kitchener by bus after taking the red eye from Calgary to Toronto, I picked her up after work and we met Rob, Sandy, Ben and Becca at The Crossroads, which is this fantastic buffet in Elmira (middle point between my place and their place)...After dinner mom and I headed back to my place and the Little's went home...Friday night was pretty quiet mom was exhausted after her trip and I was sleepy after work, so we just watched some tv and headed to bed early...

Saturday, I unfortunately had to work (surprise, surprise), but Rob, Sandy and the kids came over and had lunch with mom and kept her company while I was at work...I snuck out of work as soon as I could and rushed home to make dinner for everybody...I made Hawaiian chicken, it is mom R's (Jason's mom) recipe and Sandy loves it, so I try and make it whenever I have them over for dinner...I think mom was even impressed with my cooking abilities...I don't often cook for my mom cause she's the better "chef", so it's usually me eating her good food...After dinner Sandy asked what mom and I were going to do for the evening...We joked about going out "clubbin", well Becca being 4 and needing to know what everything is, asks "what's clubbin"...have you ever tried to explain to a 4 year old what clubbin is!?!?! It didn't go well to say the least and she obviously asked again later what "clubbin" meant...The best answer I think we came up with is "adults go out at night and act silly" haha! If anyone has a better explanation to give a 4 year old please let me know...

Sunday I took my mom to my church, which was really fun for me cause she's the first person I have brought to my church...she said she really liked it, which made me even happier with my choice...now it just needs to be approved by Jason and Sandy and then we are good to go! After church mom made me blueberry pancakes (MY FAV!) and we had a big late breakfast and then headed out to Rob and Sandy's to spend the rest of the afternoon with them...As usual I loved spending time with the kiddies and it was nice to see Ben and Becca with their grandma...After dinner I took mom back to the bus station and went through the process I hate of saying goodbye to someone I love, not knowing when I will get to see them again...

Here's hoping mom can come back to visit really soon and for a more extended time!

It is now way past my bed time, so I am signing off for now...

Undercover agent...

I apologize again that it has been so long since my last post, but since then I have worked 20+ hours of overtime and the thought of sitting in front of my computer when I got home from work was nauseating...

So, way back at the beginning of March I made plans with my friend Jessica to meet for coffee...Jess is a friend I made when I was working at my old job at Manulife, she was lucky enough to get the cubicle beside me and we just kinda hit it off...Jess is a few years younger than me, so whenever I speak about her to Jason I refer to her as "my little friend Jess" cause I have another friend Jess in KW as well and this reference keeps the two of them straight in mine and Jason's conversations...

Anyways the date for mine and Jess's coffee date changed a couple times, due to her being at the end of term and me going up north for Easter, but we finally were able to meet at William's on the 13th...Jess always makes me laugh and she entertains me with her dating dilemma's...As Jess and I are sitting there talking about work, family, friends, cars etc. we notice that there is an awkward looking man listening to our conversation at the table next to us, so Jess whispers to me "is he listening to us" and I say "ya I am pretty sure he is" well buddy turns and looks at me like he just heard us whispering about him, but that was impossible cause we were talking so low that we were barely even whispering...So Jess and I start watching him (thankfully he was sitting back to us) and notice buddy brought a book with him, however he hasnt opened the book, he has a coffee in front of him, but he's not drinking it and he's wearing ear plugs, but what is in front of him on the table is definitely not an MP3 player...As Jess and I talk (whisper) about it more we suggest that what he had on the table looked more like some type of listening device than an MP3 player and we begin to notice that he kept looking around the room like he was listening to other people's conversations and not just ours!!!

Now I know you are thinking I am completely paranoid, but behind us was a table of 4 who were also noticing how weird buddy was acting...Eventually he got up, took his book and undrunk coffee to another table where two mean were playing backgammon handed them his things spoke to them briefly in another language and left...so we gave a sigh of relief and assumed the awkward man had heard whatever he need to hear and was gone...Well low and behold buddy comes back about 10 minutes later with another awkward looking man, gets his coffee and book from the other men and sits back at the same table he was at before and places the same device on the table between him and other said awkward man...Only conclusion I can come to is he was a spy for the Russian government (I have no idea what race he was, but what ever language him and the other men spoke it sounded Russian!)...

Just for the record I have not done anything to piss of any foreign intelligence, so I know they weren't after me, but it definitely added some thing special to our coffee date!

Easter weekend!

This post is long over due, but it has been a crazy week since I got back to K-W...I apologize to those of you who have been checking back and seeing nothing new!

So, Friday Rob, Sandy, Ben, Becca and myself left for Bruce Mines very early in the morning...we had a great drive up and we're welcomed with open arms from dad, Robin (my sister), Robert (Robin's hubby), Destiny (my niece) and Aaron (my nephew)! We spent Good Friday sitting outside in the gorgeous 25 degree weather (for my American family that's 77 degrees)...It was a little bit of shock to get such warm weather considering 2 years ago when the 5 of us drove up north for Easter, Sandy had to pull over due to a ridiculous snow storm and we were shoveling ourselves out of dads place on Easter morning!!!

The visiting began immediately, which was great cause it meant I got to meet my newest nephew Levi! I have to say, I don't know that I have ever seen my sister Cathy look as happy as she does when she is talking about and/or holding her grandson (sorry Matt and Heather)...Also it was great to see that Matt and Jenna are taking on the role of new parents very well...It's easy to see that Matt is very excited to have a son...

Saturday I had lunch with my Heather, my friend Cyndi and my friend Marissa...Cyndi and I met on the first day of kindergarten and have been friends ever since and Marissa who is not only a good friend, but the silly girl married a Beilhartz, so she's my cousin too! It was so good to see them even if it was only for lunch...I haven't seen Marissa or Cyndi in over 2 years, I know that's terrible, but unfortunately that's life when you live so far away from your family and friends...Saturday was also the Beilhartz Easter dinner...it was great, got to spend the whole day with my family and fill up on turkey!!!

Easter Sunday was pretty quiet, but nice...Robin and Robert had to help my brother Randy move, so that meant it was just dad, Rob, Sandy, Ben, Becca and me...I went to Easter service at the United Church in Bruce Mines, before leaving dad asked me if I had any money for the offering and I told him the smallest bill I had was a 5, so he handed me a twoonie...when I got to the Church my offering changed from the $2 to the $5 as there was less than 20 people in the Church!!! It was a bit of a shock for me because my church in Kitchener has about 200 to 300 people at each mass and there are 3 services each Sunday!!! About 15 minutes into the service the power went out, which at first made me think that this Church needs more help than my $5, but when I got back to the house I realized the power was out all over Bruce and the Church did not get their power cut off on Easter Sunday...haha! When the power finally came back on we headed to Bobbers for lunch, which is a tradition when we are up...Bobbers is like my dad's Cheers...he is there usually every day, sometimes twice a day and everyone knows his name! Sunday evening we also got a short visit in with my Uncle Stan and Aunt Caroline (my moms brother)...It was so good to see them, hopefully next trip I will have more time with them and the rest of my Goodmurphy family...

Monday, Rob and Sandy headed back to Kitchener and I spent the day with dad...he took Destiny, Aaron and me for a drive to see all the Mennonite farms that have been renovated and built in the area...It's pretty cool to see some land that hasn't been farmed in years up and running again...After another meal at Bobbers with dad I went to say goodbye to Robin, Robert and the kids...this is never easy...since the first time I left for university Robin and I have a bad habit of making each other cry when we have to say goodbye...its partially a Beilhartz thing (our bladders are too close to our eyes) and its mostly that we miss each other A LOT and we both know it will be too long until we will see each other again...Tuesday morning after saying goodbye to dad (which made me consider quitting my job and staying in Bruce) I headed back home...

Donte as usually was a complete angel the entire car trip up and back, he slept the entire time he was in the van, but while at dad's he caused complete havoc...he hid in a cupboard that I had a hard time getting him out of, attacked a light, scared dad by hissing at him and knocked over dad's plant breaking the pot it was in...I love that cat, but sometimes his craziness is even too much for me!

It is now way past my bedtime and although I get to work from home tomorrow, I do still have to work, so its off to bed for me...I have a very busy week coming up, so I should have some fun posts for you...stay tuned!

Mid week rush...

Last night I was lucky enough to have dinner with one of my closest friends Justine, her hubby Sean and their adorable baby girl Alexis...Dinner was delicious, as usual (Justine is a great hostess :-)) and the company was fantastic...I hadn't had a good visit with all 3 of them in a long time, so we had lots to catch up on and I got to get in lots of cuddles with Lexi...Of course the down side of seeing such a gorgeous baby is that it makes me want babies...NOW! I am not one of those people that seeing/watching babies can be a form of birth control for, I know what I want and I want me some little mocha babies!

Today has been crazy and I feel like I am rushing around not really getting anywhere...I felt very unorganized and swamped at work and that feeling has came home with me...I spent a couple hours after work running around picking the last few things up that I needed for the trip and I had to get bags and paper for a couple overdue Christmas presents and a couple belated birthday presents that will be making the trip up north...I now have the joy of finishing my packing to leave for Bruce Mines on Friday morning...I am heading out to Alma tomorrow after work and then Rob, Sandy, Ben, Becca and myself will be making the big road trip, convoy style, on Friday morning! I am extremely excited for this trip as I haven't seen any of my family or friends from up north since Thanksgiving...I know that seems crazy, but my time and vacation gets split between Bruce Mines and New York...

I have to wish a belated birthday to the friend I have had the longest in my life...Happy Birthday Heather!!! My Heather turned another year older on Monday!!! Heather is not only one of my best friends she also happens to be family, so we have an extremely unique bond...we have literally been friends since Heather was born!!! I don't have a childhood memory that doesn't have her in it and I feel very fortunate to have her in my life!

I also have to say a BIG BIG CONGRATS to my sister Sandy....she is officially getting a pay cheque after 6 and a half years of having the hardest unpaid job in the world...stay at home mom! I am so happy and proud of her for not giving up on what she wanted!

If I can't get back on before I leave on Friday...I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and enjoy the long weekend!

A regular weekend...

So this weekend I tried really hard to work on my blog and make it prettier, however after much frustration with different blog applications it remains a work in progress...I am tempted to put a big "under construction" sign across it!

Saturday was fairly boring, but I managed to get lots of things done...grocery shopping, laundry, cleaned the apartment and did some little errands that needed to get done...Trying very hard to get prepaid to head up to Bruce on Friday for Easter!!!

Sunday, is usually the high-light of my week and most often the most eventful day of my week!

I got up much too early for a Sunday and got my butt ready for Church...for those of you who don't know I have started the process to become Catholic...This commenced almost 2 months ago when I began church shopping to find a Catholic Church in K-W that would make me and eventually Jason happy...After visiting about 6 or 7 Churches close to me I decided that I would become a member of Our Lady of Lourdes! I got in contact with the parish just this past week and I will have my first meeting with Father Sheridan after Easter woohoo! Sunday was a great service, Father Sheridan cracked a few jokes like always, but not being a member of a Church for a long time I forgot that Sunday was Palm Sunday...let's just say it was a great, but long mass...

After mass I made my way out to Alma to spend the rest of my Sunday with my Littles...It was so good to see them...It had been 3 weeks since I saw them last and it was WAY too long...Rob and Sandy had errands to run so I got a good couple hours of Auntie Viv/Ben/Becca time! Which is pretty much my favorite time :-) I got my butt kicked Ben in a very intense game of basement floor hockey (he beat me 15 - 6, sad I know!) then Becca beat me at her Littlest Pet Shop board game...apparently not my best game day...Rob and Sandy made a full turkey dinner with all the fixings for Sunday night dinner, which was freaking fantastic and I got left overs!!!

Whenever Sandy and I get together its usually a bit of gab fest, but let us not see each other for 3 weeks and its a total gab fest to the point where my throat hurts a little today! Sandy and I basically played catch up on what we have missed in the past couple weeks (I was in NY and then we were all sick, so we missed a couple family dinners)...Not that we haven't spoke in 3 weeks, but phone and email are never the same as in person...I am not sure how Rob doesn't have a headache the next day listening to us b*tch, talk and laugh for several hours...We also watched New Moon and in case there is any question I am Team Lautner :-)...

I am really looking forward to two short work weeks, this morning was very rough getting up to go to work...

Hope you all have a great Monday and I will try and post again really soon!

My first post!!!

It's official, I am a blogger...I have decided to create this blog as a way for my family and friends to stay informed about what's going on in my life as I don't get to see or talk to most of you nearly enough...I am not promising that it will be the most exciting blog as my life at this point is pretty mellow, however in the next few years I foresee some very exciting posts about a huge ass ring, a wedding, house hunting/buying, babies etc...I also think its a great place for me to vent my daily frustrations with society!

To get everyone on the same page...

I graduated from the University of Waterloo with a BA in Political Science in 2006 and a few months after that I started working for Manulife Financial in Waterloo...My career progression has not been what I thought my BA in polisci would get me, but its a great company and I am happy with my current position...

In 2004 I met Jason, who is not only the best thing that ever happened to me, but the love of my life (thanks again Stace for the hook-up) and since 2005 we have been proving all relationship theories wrong...long-distance can work (Jason is a born and raised New Yorker) and absence really does make the heart grow fonder (we only see each other once every couple months)!

Jason and I adopted a cat that we named Donte in late 2008...Donte is my daily amusement and often my daily frustration...He is not your average cat...Jason swears he doesn't know he's a cat, but thinks he is human and I am convinced he has feline ADHD with a touch of multiple personality disorder!

I have some pretty amazing friends in K-W (and else where) and you will hear about them in due time, but I have very limited family...My brother Rob, his wife Sandy and their kids Benjamin and Rebecca are the only relatives I have within the 519 area code, so they are a huge part of my life...We do Sunday family dinners that started back when I was a starving student and thankfully we haven't canceled this weekly tradition, so you will see these names frequently!

Now that we are all caught up...tomorrow is Friday, it's dress down day in my office and I don't have to work OT this weekend...big WOOHOO!!! I promise to put in some time on my blog this weekend so it's all sexy for you and if you promise to bear with me while I figure out this whole blogging thing I think we will have a beautiful blogging relationship!

Until next time...