Should auld acquaintance be forgot....

The beginning of a new year, and a new chapter in the book of my life... and after the final paragraph of the last chapter you can bet I am ready to start on a fresh page! Ok, enough with the writing analogies...

I've had just about enough of 2006...on to 2007. Happy New Year everyone!

technically still Thursday - HNT #50

ok...two weeks vacation, and I have lost complete track of time...is it really Thursday already? and Thursday night at that! EEEP! Well, since this week is supposed to be a re-run anyway, I am more that prepared to participate in the final HNT of 2006...

We are to post our favorite HNT of 2006...that leaves me #49 to choose from...let see... I have been pleased with the outcome of many of my HNT shots over the year...and have even participated as Os' mystery guest

and as one of Lurch Adams' models for his too short HNT participation,

and even had my own not-so-mysterious mystery guest


... but what is my favorite HNT of the year???

Dang! that is a hard question...
do I go with the one that received the most comments...

no, that one doesn't count because it was riding on the coat tails of my mystery guest appearance...

the one I spent the most time on? That is a good one...

but not my favorite...

OH! OH! I know! The one that I think of most often, because the original artwork hangs on my bedroom wall! This is my favorite HNT submission ...

originally posted back in July
It's been a gret year everyone! Here's wishing you all a great 2007!

Mele Kalikimaka Everyone!

I have been back from Hawaii for a couple of days now(arrived in Calgary Friday morning), but have been very lazy, and a bit anti-social as I am at my parents house in Medicine Hat for Krimis.
Hawaii was amazing, I even managed to get a bit of a tan WITHOUT getting sunburned...that's areally big deal for me.

Rather than go through everything that happened (Because a lot did, and vacation stories are often quite dull for those not actually there), I will list in point form (in no particular order) the most exciting events of my trip.

• Waikiki - noisy and completely overrated...I wouldn't really recomend this as a stop to anyone... but the international market is a great place to pick up tacky souveniers
• Hanauma Bay - a nature preserve famous for snorkeling...we saw many types of fish and a couple of sea turtles...I manages to bump both of my knees on coral, and only freaked out a couple of times (I really don't know how to swim very well, so snorkeling is a bit of a task)
• Drive to the North Shore - Great big waves...which I find terrifying, but are really beautiful and worth seeing...surfers are also neat to see in person.
• Giovani's shrimp wagon - like a hotdog stand, but serving some of the best shrimp I've had...don't have the hot and spicy though, much to hot...the lemon butter were by far the best.
• Lanikai/Kailua - the beach and towns we spent most of our time in. Beautiful, and much less crouded than the more popular beaches. The water was a bit choppy while we were there, but Mr. J did manage to convince me to get in the kyak and row to one of the near by islands...which, again due to my lack of swimming ability, was another big exercise in bravery for me. YAY me!
• Hiking to the bunkers near Lanikai - One of the most rugged hikes I've been on in recent years...about 3 miles long and the end is quite treacherous, but the view from the top was well worth it. And so was the beer in the pool when we got back to the house!
• Lounging on the beach (Waikiki, Lanikai, Kailua, Hanauma Bay, Sunset Point, Waimanalo, and others I have forgotten the names of) - we stopped at many beaches along the way to various destinations, all a little different, but each great in its own way. The scenery is incredible, and each beach attracts different type of people, which makes the sport of people watching very interesting.
• Geckos - they're cute and they eat bugs...need I say more?

There are so many more things to talk about...but I should get to bed before Sanata decides to make his appearance.

Merry Krimis everyone!

Only 1 sleep left!!!

Work is the last thing I want to be doing right now, and I am having a hell of a time actually focusing on ANYTHING!

Our plane leaves tomorrow morning at 6:00, we're staying at a hotel near the airport tonight so we can get that extra hour of sleep tonight.

I am running through everything I've packed over and over again in my head to see if I've missed anything...I have that horrible feeling that I have forgotten something vital...but I figure if I can't buy it when I get there, I don't really need it anyway...right?

So, I'm off! I will be back in Calgary on the morning of the 22, and then it's off to Medicine Hat to visit my parents for Krimis. And back to the daily grind on the 27th. I'm not sure how much I'll be around between then and now, so Have a great couple of weeks everyone!!!

New words for 2006

I received this in my email this morning...it was too darn funny not to share.

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.

SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.

CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles.

PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.

MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.

SITCOMs: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.

STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny.

SWIPEOUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.

XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.

IRRITAINMENT: Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them.

PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.

ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.

404: Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested site could not be located.

GENERICA: Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.

OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake - like hitting “reply all” by accident.

WOOFS: Well-Off Older Folks.

CROP DUSTING: Surreptitiously passing gas while passing through a Cube Farm.

weather report - HNT #49

Tommy is out there shouting my name out...and I was thinking I might give HNT a miss tonight...guess not! Thanks Tommy for the kind words...you do indeed know how to flatter a girl...

I have nothing new for tonight as I am in the middle of doing the housework (boo!), but I do have a couple of out takes from my 365 project...these were taken December 2 (saturday).

The nasty cold spell that we had been plagued by finally lifted in the form of a Chinook...

Shi...what now?!? A Chinook (for those of you not from the Rocky Mountains) is a phenomena that can only be experienced to be fully understood...

"The term Chinook comes from an Indian word which means snow eater. The Chinook wind is a warm, dry wind that descends the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and sweeps across the foothills and other parts of Alberta. When it moves over heavy snow cover, it can melt and evaporate a foot of snow in less than a day. Also, the temperature rises sharply, sometimes over 20 degrees Celsius in one hour. On average, southern Alberta gets 20 to 30 Chinook days per year." ~ The Weather Network

No joke...these things are a welcome respite to the harsh winter temperatures that we were suffering through last week...

except if you happen to suffer from a little thing known as a Chinook Migraine...

which I unfortunately do...

These pictures were taken right at the begining of the process...the sun streaming in the window was more than I could resist, but the headache that was building from the rapid change in air pressure would soon have me in agony...

This will be my last HNT for at least the next two weeks...and when I return, I will either be tan or burnt to a nice red crisp...I'm wishing for the former (yes, I am packing sunblock)...I'm off to Hawaii in 6 more sleeps!!!

Nine Years...

Nine years ago today, I reluctantly left my parents house to meet a young man for an afternoon coffee. A first date...eep! I was nervous, and reluctant because I was harbouring an unrequited love for another at the time...my mom convinced me it was just coffee. So I went.

That young man, was Mr. J, and nine years later I can look back on the day of our first date and laugh at myself, and my mother. Just coffee...indeed!

Nine years seems like a long time...in fact it is my entire adult life (I met him at the tender young age of 19). It has been a wild ride, with ups and downs just like any relationship, but I wouldn't change ....well, ok I would change some of it, but I like where we've found ourselves nine years from that first afternoon coffee.



in other news... 7 more sleeps!!! EEEEeeeeeee!

Tagged? ME? Really??? FINE! But just this once!!!

the rules…
Each player of this game starts with the “6 weird things about you”. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says “you are tagged” in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I walk everywhere I go. The reason: I don't drive...at all...ever...I don't have a car, and I don't even have a license... but I have had my learners permit for almost 14 years now!
2. I bit my finger nails for 26 years... I decided I wanted to have nice nails, so I just stopped. No tricks, or products...I just didn't bite them anymore.
3. I am narcissistic yet self conscious...you figure that one out!
4. Sometimes my eyelids don't blink in sync...if you watch them close, they go one at a time...it's actually sort of creepy!
5. I want a hairless cat...I like cats (although I prefer dogs, but cats are easier to have in apartments), but they are hairy little beasts...and I really think the hairless ones are more cute...with their little bald skinny bodies and big heads...they remind me of ET!
6. I am allergic to ginger. Which really isn't fair, because I love the stuff.
   

I follow the rule: do not tag, least ye be tagged...so, I guess the buck stops here (unless someone volunteers to take the tag - leave a comment if you're going to do it!)

I'm in love!!!

Her name is Alpha!!!

October 4th...Sony P73

November 30th...Sony A100