Hot Hot Hot

Have I mentioned lately that I'm in love with this man?

This is the picture on my desktop at home. If you can't read the words, it says "Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face?"

Sigh . . . That's sexy, right there. Why doesn't he have an unmarried twin brother??

Gangster Rap

While I was preparing my previous blog posts, I got interrupted by some extremely loud gangster rap emanating from the street. My initial thought was "damn teenagers! Why can't they turn down their music when they're driving in a residential area?!" I looked outside to discover that the music was not coming from a car full of teenage boys, but from a toy car being driven by a pre-schooler! I ran for my camera to take a picture. My first shot didn't capture much except daddy walking next to a vehicle that's being blocked by a tree.
My second picture turned out much better! I had to use the zoom on my camera to capture this image since that little car was moving quite quickly. I still can't get over how loud the music was (not to mention the choice of music) coming from this little car!

Crocs!

One of the things I was hoping to find by going down to the outlet mall in the states was inexpensive Crocs. They had Croc-style shoes, but no real Crocs. Today, after seeing the new Indiana Jones movie (enjoyable, but not as good as the original 3) I walked past Sport Chek. On impulse I went in . . . to discover that the Crocs were on sale - buy one, get one 50% off! They had several different pairs, but I settled on these ones, the Cleo style, in two different colours. These will come in really handy for weekend use . . . and for my August visit to the states for the Bixby family reunion!

Outlet Shopping, Part Two

The spoils of two day's worth of shopping. I know it doesn't look like much perhaps, but I was on a budget! I ended up with 3 pairs of shoes, 4 t-shirts, and a bra. The striped shirts are all from the Lane Bryant outlet, as is the bra. The blue shirt is from Target, as is the brown pair of shoes on the far right. The other two pairs of shoes are from the Easy Spirit outlet store.
The light-coloured pair of sandals from Easy Spirit. The straps are velcro, and I love the fact that I can adjust the band across the toes as well as around the ankles. I think the strap around the toes will need some adjustment as wearing them today did give me blisters on both my big toes! Oh, and did I mention that they are a size 8.5? I don't know if American sizes are different from Canadian or if my feet are shrinking, but that's fine with me!
The black pair of sandals, also from Easy Spirit. I haven't worn them yet, but I may wear them tomorrow if the weather is nice. They also have velcro closures, which is super nice. Again, the size that fit me the best was 8.5. I think these will be a really comfortable pair of sandals that I will end up wearing most of the summer!
The brown pair of Mary Jane-style shoes I got at Target. I think they'll be really cute for Fall :-) They're size 9.5.

I had to limit myself to 3 pairs of shoes during our shopping trip. There was another pair of blue shoes that I really, really liked and would have purchased, you know, had I been a millionaire! I ended up walking away from them, but it was hard!

It was also hard to walk away from the merchandise at the newest store at the outlet mall . . . Kate Spade!! We went there first thing in the morning, thinking that since it was new and so popular that it would be as crowded as the Coach store usually is. It was practically empty when we walked in, so we got a really good look at the bags they had in. They were absolutely gorgeous! Very pricey, but very stylish. There was a beautiful little black bag that was only $60 and it was very, very tempting (it also came in pink). What ended up stopping me was that it was really too small for me to be practical. I carry so much stuff in my purse every day that I just wouldn't be able to carry a small one too often. Anyway, if I ever become rich, I'll definitely be heading back to Kate Spade to buy a bigger, more useful bag :-)

Outlet Shopping, Part One

Got back last night from our stateside shopping extravaganza :-) It was a long couple of days, but it was fun. Going down across the border only took 25 minutes - it was awesome! We took the Peace Arch border crossing and it was easy-peasy. We stopped at the Duty Free first in order to get some alcohol that my sister requested. Unfortunately we didn't know at the time that you had to stay 48 hours, not 24 hours, across the border before you could bring alcohol back! The duty on the alcohol turned out to be over $100, so we ended up abandoning it at the border. I feel really bad that it happened, but that's life, I guess. Anyway, this time around, my friend and I ended up staying at a different hotel. Last year we stayed at a Best Western right by Bellis Fair, but this year we stayed a little closer to the Outlet Mall, at the Best Western Navigator (exit 189 off the I-5 in case you want to go there yourself)! It was a really nice place, as you can see on the left.
I had to take a picture of the name of the hotel . . . anyone who works for the school I work at would understand why ;-) The propellor logo was EVERYWHERE in the building. There was even a real propellor behind the desk where you check in. Not sure I like the logo much . . . I think a compass, perhaps, would have been a better logo ;-)
Our room. Two queen-sized beds with 4 pillows each. The room was large and gorgeous . . . and had a tv that accessed HBO. What more could a girl want?
The kitchen in our room. Not quite sure we needed this kitchen for our overnight stay (particularly as the hotel has a free continental breakfast every morning that we enjoyed on Saturday), but it was pretty cool.

I didn't take a picture of the bathroom, but it was nice too. It had INCREDIBLE water pressure. Flushing the toilet startled us every time 'cuz the water pressure was so strong. Seriously, it was a little freaky! Stay tuned for some pictures of what I bought . . .

Shoes!

Yeah, I know. This is my third post today. I meant to post this earlier in the weekend, but time got away from me. I wanted to introduce you to my newest pair of shoes. They are supremely comfortable, and two sizes smaller than my normal size 10. They are Crocs and this particular style is called Malindi.

The only tiny complaint I have with them is that they leave my feet pretty dirty by the end of the day. But since all my sandals have the same effect, I'm willing to live with it!

Woot woot for long weekends!

I can't believe what a busy weekend it's been! It all started on Friday night . . . a group of us from work had made plans to go out for dinner to a local restaurant to see a former coworker who had been transferred to another location. It was meant to be a reunion, but as it turned out, our former coworker couldn't make it :-( The six of us who went out still had fun though . . . well, mostly. Have you ever had one of those friends who just drives you crazy all the time 'cuz she's competitive with you (for no good reason)? Well, one of the women at the dinner on Friday night was one of those kinds of people. I don't even think I can describe her as a friend anymore since her behaviour is just so thoughtless. Luckily, we don't work together anymore. Anyway, all evening at dinner, her stories had to be the biggest and best. She had to display her "intelligence" continuously throughout the evening by saying things she thought were clever and funny, but were really just annoying and rude. I got annoyed by her early on when I was answering some questions posed to me by a friend on the other side of the table. The woman asked me if I had had my hair highlighted when it was cut. I answered her, and immediately this annoying woman, who was sitting right next to me, turned to me and said "did you get highlights too?" as though she hadn't heard my friend across the table ask the question. This happened a couple of times. A friend of mine who was sitting across the table from me told me yesterday that she had noticed a couple of times when this woman (who is her roommate, coincidentally) had literally cut me off mid-sentence to say something "witty." I didn't notice that, which I guess is a good thing because it may have made me exchange words with her and that might have wrecked the evening.

On Saturday afternoon I had my usual Saturday lunch with my best friend. We ate at our usual Cactus Club, where I was disappointed to find out that they're taking my favourite meal, the smokehouse quesadilla, off the menu :-( At least they will still serve french fries with garlic mayo . . . Anyway, she and I made plans to go down to the States to go outlet shopping next weekend. Soooooo looking forward to that! On Saturday evening, I went over to my friend Sheryl's place for her birthday dinner. It was a very enjoyable evening spent with good friends and eating good food and enjoying the gorgeous weather outside. We chatted and watched the kids play and soaked in the sun. I discovered that it only takes me 20 minutes to walk to her house, which is very cool. Anyway, I didn't get home until just past midnight so it was a pretty tiring evening.

On Sunday morning, I had plans to meet my friend Anne and her boyfriend Shawn at Joyce Station so that we could go to a restaurant (which I think was called "Fantastic Restaurant") for dim sum. It was such a nice day that we walked from Joyce Station to the restaurant. A very enjoyable 10 minute walk up the street, which was much nicer than taking the bus. I ate some delicious food, but had to draw the line at finishing the chicken feet. It wasn't that they tasted bad, in fact they tasted just like chicken, but they had a lot of small bones that I kept having to spit out and it was making me gag slightly. Anyway, we got nice and full and then went back to the skytrain station. I headed home to start my laundry and rest for a few hours before heading out for my next event. Some of the adult students at my school had organized a birthday dinner for Angela, one of the teachers at the school and a good friend of mine. They invited me and another teacher, Leanna. The plan was to meet at an Italian restaurant, Marcello's, on Commercial Drive at 5pm. I had never been there before, so I met up with Leanna at Columbia Station and we went together. She's spent a lot of time on Commercial Drive, so she knew exactly where she was going. We made it to the restaurant by 5 and the students joined us shortly after. The birthday girl, Angela, was late because she was coming home from Cultus Lake and got a late start. Anyway, the students were a lovely group, very fun, and we were kept entertained all evening. After dinner we went to another restaurant (we were looking for a place with a patio, but quickly realized that we'd never find one on such a gorgeous evening) that had a large open window, and had drinks and snacks. After that, we walked over to a gelato place and got some gelato - delicious! By that time it was past 9, so we decided it was time to head home. All in all . . . a great evening!

Today will be devoted to finishing my laundry . . . and if I get it together on time, going to see the new Narnia movie. I think right now I'm going to go back to bed and read more of my book and wait for my current load (pinks and purples) to finish drying.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to wish all the mothers in my life, and mothers-to-be, a wonderful Mother's Day!

Technology rocks!

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology (gmail chat), I just talked to the future! Actually, I was talking to Jenn online and since she's in Japan, it's Sunday morning there right now ;-) They are doing well and enjoying their trip a lot so far. It was so nice to talk to her and hear about how things are going! It's been harder than I thought it would be having the majority of my family out of the country right now! Jenn and Lance are just at the start of their trip, but my mom and stepdad will be home on Monday some time. Actually, I'm not really sure exactly when on Monday they'll be home, so I assume the earliest I'll get to talk to them is Tuesday afternoon/evening.

Well, better go, my dinner is waiting!

Coffee

When I was younger (like in my early twenties) and someone had asked me "how do you like your coffee?" I would have replied "I like my coffee crisp!" (please tell me you recognize that commercial!!) Even though I learned how to make coffee at an early age (in my teens - it was the only way to ensure that my mom was in a good mood when she woke up!), I never developed a taste for it. I don't even think I tried it for the first time until I was in university or something. Never having pulled any all-nighters, I guess I figured I didn't need that infusion of caffeine ;-) These days, however, I've noticed that I'm drinking a lot more coffee than I used to. Don't worry, it's not like I've developed a 3-cup a day habit or anything, but it does make me wonder a bit.

Coffee never really ever interested me until I talked to my doctor one day about my headaches and migraines. She suggested that I buy an expresso when I felt a really bad headache coming on as the caffeine would dilate the blood vessels in my brain long enough to allow the medicine some time to work. After I explained that I don't even drink regular coffee, she agreed that a regular cup of java would probably do the trick. I have to admit, if I catch it at the right time and drink that cup of coffee early on, it does work remarkably well.

Drinking the occasional cup of coffee for my headaches also led me to the conclusion that if coffee works well for my bad headaches, maybe coffee would work well for those mornings when I'm really tired and having trouble waking up. That worked too! So these days, I think I am up to a cup of coffee in the mornings 2 or 3 days a week. Luckily I work in a place where the coffee is free, as long as someone actually gets around to making it in the morning! I almost NEVER make coffee at home, unless like this morning, I wake up with a headache that I want to get rid of quickly. I'm sitting here now, finishing my second cup of coffee and watching a season one episode of House on DVD. Life is good.

Me in 6 Words

Dianne tagged me for this, and since I dare not disappoint her again with my lack of posting . . .

I have to describe myself in 6 words. This is going to be hard . . .

Wait, that's it!

WORK SHOULD NOT RUN MY LIFE

Anyone who has read my blog knows that my work is a big part of my life. Even when I'm not actually at work, I am thinking about work, dreaming about work, doing work at home, blogging about work . . . and the list goes on. I am young and should not be spending so much of my time devoted to work! More and more lately, I've been trying to leave my work "at work" (not that it's been working too well, and as we're coming to our busiest season, I don't anticipate this being too successful over the summer). I am getting tired of having SO much responsibility and feeling like I can't ever take time off or let myself rest for even a moment! Don't get me wrong, I generally do love my job, but I don't think work should be my entire life. I'm still at a bit of a loss as to how I can effect some lasting change in this area, but I guess acknowledging that it's time for a change is a good first step.

Now I'm supposed to tag some people. Not too many people read my blog (or at least comment to let me know they've been reading it). There's really only one person for me to tag right now, and that's my sister Jennifer. As she's in Japan right now, I don't expect her to complete this request any time soon, but that's okay. I've got time to wait :-)