Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
A top ten - by Roz
The top 10 days of this year:
10. January 1st. Everybody had fun. I'm sure you can think back to what you did and agree that 2007 started off pretty fantastic. If it didn't, I appologize on behalf of the universe and will petition to declare next Wednesday January 1st and we'll go to a movie or something. My treat.
9. March 3rd? I forget which day the curling tournament is. That's not a good sign, because I'm supposed to sign my team up. This event is one you get to dress up for, so automatically it makes the list as one of the best days of the year.
8. The day I leave for vacation with Nelson. I don't know when this is. I hope it exists. I'm not going to list "the day I get a present from my husband", because even I am not that foolish.
7. Toni's birthday. If she feels comfortable disclosing the mysterious day this is, I'll let her fill you in. (It's next month - shhh!) I'm going to suprise her with a fantastic present I started making last week. Don't tell her though.
6. Christmas. Even though it's stressful and crazy, I think Christmas 2007 is going to be a gooder. I'm guessing, because it could suck. But, if global warming keeps up, I'll be planting banana trees and having pineapple for breakfast December 25th this year. Yay!
5. The day in August when we go camping. Finally.
4. Next month, Toni and I will decide to do something crazy. That day will be awesome. The next day will be scary, because I'll realize what I just agreed to. Again. Curse you Toni!
3. My birthday! (Toni can put her birthday in this spot and move mine to a less coveted location in the top ten list.)
2. Halloween. I've written haiku's about how much I love pumpkin day. If Canada didn't have Halloween, I'd leave. If all of the people on the planet collectively decided to get rid of the month of October, and with it, Halloween, I would move to Mars and start my own planet. Where every day would be Halloween.
1. Today. Can you feel it? The day has potential written all over it. I think today could be THE day. For something. Somewhere on the planet. I'm ready.
10. January 1st. Everybody had fun. I'm sure you can think back to what you did and agree that 2007 started off pretty fantastic. If it didn't, I appologize on behalf of the universe and will petition to declare next Wednesday January 1st and we'll go to a movie or something. My treat.
9. March 3rd? I forget which day the curling tournament is. That's not a good sign, because I'm supposed to sign my team up. This event is one you get to dress up for, so automatically it makes the list as one of the best days of the year.
8. The day I leave for vacation with Nelson. I don't know when this is. I hope it exists. I'm not going to list "the day I get a present from my husband", because even I am not that foolish.
7. Toni's birthday. If she feels comfortable disclosing the mysterious day this is, I'll let her fill you in. (It's next month - shhh!) I'm going to suprise her with a fantastic present I started making last week. Don't tell her though.
6. Christmas. Even though it's stressful and crazy, I think Christmas 2007 is going to be a gooder. I'm guessing, because it could suck. But, if global warming keeps up, I'll be planting banana trees and having pineapple for breakfast December 25th this year. Yay!
5. The day in August when we go camping. Finally.
4. Next month, Toni and I will decide to do something crazy. That day will be awesome. The next day will be scary, because I'll realize what I just agreed to. Again. Curse you Toni!
3. My birthday! (Toni can put her birthday in this spot and move mine to a less coveted location in the top ten list.)
2. Halloween. I've written haiku's about how much I love pumpkin day. If Canada didn't have Halloween, I'd leave. If all of the people on the planet collectively decided to get rid of the month of October, and with it, Halloween, I would move to Mars and start my own planet. Where every day would be Halloween.
1. Today. Can you feel it? The day has potential written all over it. I think today could be THE day. For something. Somewhere on the planet. I'm ready.
more on cats
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/51603/print/
Simon, as we speak, has allotted me 5 minutes to post on our blog. Now i must go make money so that I can afford to buy him the good kibble.
Simon, as we speak, has allotted me 5 minutes to post on our blog. Now i must go make money so that I can afford to buy him the good kibble.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light , not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
...Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Author: Marianne Williamson
Actually, who are you not to be?
...Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Author: Marianne Williamson
Thursday, January 18, 2007
cold!
Roz, you would cease to exist at our house ... since Saturday. OUR FURNACE IS/WAS broken! Imagine waking up to the sound of metal on metal ... wait! back track.. let me start at the beginning.
Last Saturday, Brad says to me that he has some bad news. *insert the face of devastation. There was mouse poop in our basement. Simon, you're fired! No, he's not. We deduced that there was a mouse having a poop party in our house over Christmas while we and the felines were away. So, Brad tells me this knowing of my fear of the rodent.
OK, Sunday morning, bright and early we wake up to the sound of metal on metal and scraping! Instantly I think there are mice having another fiesta in our furnace vents! After this initial fear lapses, I begin to realize exactly how cold I am! It is freezing! ..... Yes, the furnace is (or is in the process of) crapping out.
SO, it has now taken 4 full working days to get the furnace in working order. I'll believe it when I feel it. You know, having a home that's 12 C for nearly a week--- while that might seem warm compared to the current temp outside... its freakin cold for a home! And especially for persons such as me who enjoy a home that is 22 C. Persons like Roz and Nelson that live in an inferno all year round would cease to exist in my home right now. How inhospitable is that! Anyway, Brad said 'its fixed'. Here's hoping I don't have to wear mittens in my home anymore.
T
Last Saturday, Brad says to me that he has some bad news. *insert the face of devastation. There was mouse poop in our basement. Simon, you're fired! No, he's not. We deduced that there was a mouse having a poop party in our house over Christmas while we and the felines were away. So, Brad tells me this knowing of my fear of the rodent.
OK, Sunday morning, bright and early we wake up to the sound of metal on metal and scraping! Instantly I think there are mice having another fiesta in our furnace vents! After this initial fear lapses, I begin to realize exactly how cold I am! It is freezing! ..... Yes, the furnace is (or is in the process of) crapping out.
SO, it has now taken 4 full working days to get the furnace in working order. I'll believe it when I feel it. You know, having a home that's 12 C for nearly a week--- while that might seem warm compared to the current temp outside... its freakin cold for a home! And especially for persons such as me who enjoy a home that is 22 C. Persons like Roz and Nelson that live in an inferno all year round would cease to exist in my home right now. How inhospitable is that! Anyway, Brad said 'its fixed'. Here's hoping I don't have to wear mittens in my home anymore.
T
Monday, January 15, 2007
The following true story is not for the purposes of garnering sympathy or pity. Because I don't really like either. It's just one of those character building/crushing stories.
In grade 8 I joined the girls' volleyball Team. We were the Trojans. I was terrible. Absolutely terrible. I had no friends on the team. In fact, we used to do partner stretching, where you would pair up and help your partner stretch out her grade 8 hamstrings, lats, etc. My teammates would go in groups of three just so they wouldn't have to go with me. I would stretch my hamstrings by myself in the locker room, pretending it was taking me a really long time to get changed just to avoid the humiliation. No one would sit beside me on the bench. I would start off sitting in the middle of the bench, and eventually I would be on the end of the bench by myself. You see, back then I had no verbal skills whatsoever, and was completely unable to defend myself, be assertive... nothing. And it would eat away at me, like a psychological game. I would realize I was a terrible player with no hand-eye coordination and therefore no skills, which would mean that I played even worse. I showed up to every game and every practice, and there was no skill development at all. And I knew that I wasn't liked. I knew that my teammates thought of me as the girl who lost the games. And don't give me that, one player can't lose an entire game, crap, cuz, yes, I in fact lost entire games for us. And I knew that all the other girls thought that, psychologically, I knew. Until this one day where I actually found out that, yes, the entire team thought I sucked and that I lost our games for us. We were at our school for a tournament and we had a bye. I had nothing to do, so I was reading a book in the locker room, and I decided to run to my locker to grab a snack. I walked down the school hallway towards my locker and I saw my entire team sitting in a circle eating their lunches. My locker was located very close to where they were sitting. So, I walked to my locker, opened it and proceeded to rifle through my belongings to find my apple and granola bar. While doing so, I overheard one teammate say, "toni sucks so bad. How can we all work together to get her kicked off the team? Or at least make her quit". In her defense, she had her back turned to me and couldn't see me at the time. I did and said nothing but continued to silently rifle around in my locker, at this time completely forgetting what I was after in the first place. I swallowed the lump that was welling up as best I could. I was and always will be a crier. You see, now I just mask it with anger. Anyway, I digress. Another of the girls sitting in such a position in the circle that she could see me completely, stated loudly, "toni's right there behind you!'. At this point the entire circle began laughing hysterically. All of them. The girl who owned the original remark attempted to stifle her laughter with her arms and hid her head in her lap - which I remember seeing out of the corner of my eye. Let me tell you, it is by some miracle that I was able to close my locker, and proceed to walk down the hallway (walk, not run) all the while hiding the tears that are now streaming down my face. I made my way to the girls washroom and locked myself in the stall for nearly 30 minutes. When I was able to control myself, I found a way to sneak outside I and located a small corner on the outside of the building where I could sit, catch my breath, and breathe in some fresh air. My house was a 2 minute walk away, and I contemplated just going home. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't . But I stuck around and proceeded to 'lose' another game for us. There were no apologies, there were no attempts to check to make sure I was ok. We had a team of 11 girls. All of them laughed at me, and none of them seemed to show any regard for my feelings. You'd think that there would be some sort of lesson learned for me... some sort of life altering moment I could attribute this to. But instead from then on, and even now, whenever something happens wehre I feel like I'm in junior high again... you know, where you feel like people are scoffing at a mistake you made, or smirking behind your back, or secretly plotting against you... whenever that happens I think back at this moment, like it was yesterday, and I'm overcome with tremendous sadness. Powerlessness. A loss of self. Like every ounce of confidence that I ever had is drained from my body in one fell swoop.
Anyway, this blog is for sharing, so I just shared.
Toni
In grade 8 I joined the girls' volleyball Team. We were the Trojans. I was terrible. Absolutely terrible. I had no friends on the team. In fact, we used to do partner stretching, where you would pair up and help your partner stretch out her grade 8 hamstrings, lats, etc. My teammates would go in groups of three just so they wouldn't have to go with me. I would stretch my hamstrings by myself in the locker room, pretending it was taking me a really long time to get changed just to avoid the humiliation. No one would sit beside me on the bench. I would start off sitting in the middle of the bench, and eventually I would be on the end of the bench by myself. You see, back then I had no verbal skills whatsoever, and was completely unable to defend myself, be assertive... nothing. And it would eat away at me, like a psychological game. I would realize I was a terrible player with no hand-eye coordination and therefore no skills, which would mean that I played even worse. I showed up to every game and every practice, and there was no skill development at all. And I knew that I wasn't liked. I knew that my teammates thought of me as the girl who lost the games. And don't give me that, one player can't lose an entire game, crap, cuz, yes, I in fact lost entire games for us. And I knew that all the other girls thought that, psychologically, I knew. Until this one day where I actually found out that, yes, the entire team thought I sucked and that I lost our games for us. We were at our school for a tournament and we had a bye. I had nothing to do, so I was reading a book in the locker room, and I decided to run to my locker to grab a snack. I walked down the school hallway towards my locker and I saw my entire team sitting in a circle eating their lunches. My locker was located very close to where they were sitting. So, I walked to my locker, opened it and proceeded to rifle through my belongings to find my apple and granola bar. While doing so, I overheard one teammate say, "toni sucks so bad. How can we all work together to get her kicked off the team? Or at least make her quit". In her defense, she had her back turned to me and couldn't see me at the time. I did and said nothing but continued to silently rifle around in my locker, at this time completely forgetting what I was after in the first place. I swallowed the lump that was welling up as best I could. I was and always will be a crier. You see, now I just mask it with anger. Anyway, I digress. Another of the girls sitting in such a position in the circle that she could see me completely, stated loudly, "toni's right there behind you!'. At this point the entire circle began laughing hysterically. All of them. The girl who owned the original remark attempted to stifle her laughter with her arms and hid her head in her lap - which I remember seeing out of the corner of my eye. Let me tell you, it is by some miracle that I was able to close my locker, and proceed to walk down the hallway (walk, not run) all the while hiding the tears that are now streaming down my face. I made my way to the girls washroom and locked myself in the stall for nearly 30 minutes. When I was able to control myself, I found a way to sneak outside I and located a small corner on the outside of the building where I could sit, catch my breath, and breathe in some fresh air. My house was a 2 minute walk away, and I contemplated just going home. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't . But I stuck around and proceeded to 'lose' another game for us. There were no apologies, there were no attempts to check to make sure I was ok. We had a team of 11 girls. All of them laughed at me, and none of them seemed to show any regard for my feelings. You'd think that there would be some sort of lesson learned for me... some sort of life altering moment I could attribute this to. But instead from then on, and even now, whenever something happens wehre I feel like I'm in junior high again... you know, where you feel like people are scoffing at a mistake you made, or smirking behind your back, or secretly plotting against you... whenever that happens I think back at this moment, like it was yesterday, and I'm overcome with tremendous sadness. Powerlessness. A loss of self. Like every ounce of confidence that I ever had is drained from my body in one fell swoop.
Anyway, this blog is for sharing, so I just shared.
Toni
Friday, January 12, 2007
Am I a horrible person?
Ok, can someone else please tell me that you forget about the fresh veggies in the back of the fridge and that you, too, have to toss them?? I'm overcome with guilt.
T
T
A haiku
I haven't posted a blog on the haiku for sometime.
(hehe)
Here's one for Toni:
Superhero she
Defending cute and fuzzy
Cheesy kryptonite
(hehe)
Here's one for Toni:
Superhero she
Defending cute and fuzzy
Cheesy kryptonite
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Caution, Spoiler Alert!
Hi everybody. Welcome to the blizzard!
Wow, I am simply amazed by the number of people who made guesses on the post below (Nelson's drawings). We are so loved by all of our friends and family.
I am posting the answers, with less hysterical commentary because there are no guesses anyway, in the comment section for this post.
Read on, if anybody even comes to this blog! You know, Becca's blog gets heated discussions. We get tumbleweed blowing, paint drying, grass growing silence. Inside, I think my heart is taking it's last dramatic breath before jumping off a rib to end it all...
R
Wow, I am simply amazed by the number of people who made guesses on the post below (Nelson's drawings). We are so loved by all of our friends and family.
I am posting the answers, with less hysterical commentary because there are no guesses anyway, in the comment section for this post.
Read on, if anybody even comes to this blog! You know, Becca's blog gets heated discussions. We get tumbleweed blowing, paint drying, grass growing silence. Inside, I think my heart is taking it's last dramatic breath before jumping off a rib to end it all...
R
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
We Love Our Pets Part Deux
Ok, Blogger appearsto be acting a bit goofy... but here are Meetoo, Simon and Kitkat. I think KitKat wins for cuteness for sure :) But Simon's stuck in a box, and Meetoo is being harassed but he doesn't care just so long as he gets loved :).
This morning, argh!!
So, I will not walk to work again unless the snow (and mud and sand and oil) is good and frozen or good and gone.
There I was minding my own business, tra lala la la, walking down into the river valley while the sun rises... And across the bridge where the snow was all melty and difficult to walk on, and then the city bus goes by and showers me with sandy mud!!! ARGH!!! And all over my glasses and face and coat... ARGH!!!
R
There I was minding my own business, tra lala la la, walking down into the river valley while the sun rises... And across the bridge where the snow was all melty and difficult to walk on, and then the city bus goes by and showers me with sandy mud!!! ARGH!!! And all over my glasses and face and coat... ARGH!!!
R
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Nelson draws, sort of.
So, after Christmas while we sat around fattening up, we played games with Toni and Brad. Now, I love games (read as: crazy game playing psycho), but I had never tried Win, Lose or Draw. Basically, it's pictionary, but you draw movie titles, books, phrases, foods, or TV shows. Here are some of Nelson's for your guessing pleasure. I have posted them in the order of mildly funny to dangerously hysterical. If you pull something laughing at these, we are not responsible for your plastic surgery.
Ok, so guess, and we'll post the answers later!
This one is supposed to be a three word movie title:
This is Nelson's three word book title:
Ignore the stars on this one, it's supposed to be a three word TV show:
Nelson claims he ran out of time to really perfect this one, it's a three word movie title:
Okay, this one is a two word movie title (wait for the answer, we rolled on the floor laughing):
R
Saturday, December 30, 2006
we really are awesome!
So, our volleyball team played in a tournament in November... and we won! yay us :) We have pics to prove it! And yes, Roz is looking decidedly... not blonde :). That's cuz Sherms played while Roz spent time with Nelson, choosing to pass on the fun and games. On many occassions, we, as a team, channelled 'Roz' - which meant playing with a crazy amount of intensity when needed. Except for the time the ball hit me in the face, and the time that the ball slid between Shermin's outreaching arms when she attempted to bump it... and except for the time that Allan did a perfect back set to no one, and also except for the time that Derrick looked like he wanted to kill the entire other team. Those were not moments when we channelled Roz. The moments when we played awesome - all Roz. :)
T
some animals are not domesticated people at all
You know the felines who I claim to adore so tremendously? Ya, the fat striped one pooed all over my new suitcase in the vehicle on the way home today. Feel the love.
T
T
Friday, December 29, 2006
Animals are People Too
Ok, consider yourself forwarned. I have a significant amount of 'stuff' just roaming around my mind and this blog is about to become my choice sharing mechanism, our loyal blog readers. Read with caution and an open mind :).
Today, my mind has been wandering...aimlessly...(cuz that's what it does when I don't have imminent and time consuming work to occupy the grey matter)... and thinking about significant animals in my life, and how these animals have impacted who I am as a person. Not to mention... the people who associate themselves with these animals and the impact they have on me too!
So allow me to introduce a few of these animals to you, so that you can become acquainted with them too!:)
First, let me tell you about Garfield (cat). Garfield was born on my grandparents' farm near Lenore, Manitoba, when I was about 7 years old. She was a barn cat, and was quite wild. She kinda looked a bit like a grey tabby, but had an orange tip on her tail, so OF COURSE the name garfield was more than appropriate. Let me also introduce to you all my cousin, Brent, who was (is) one of my closest friends growing up. Brent and I would spend hours chasing down the very tiny kitten, Garfield, through the wooded areas on our grandparents' farm. Once caught, we would shower her with affection and withstand her scratching and biting for as long as possible, before we would succumb to the pain, and set her free again. [*remember that Saturday cartoon with the crazy little girl who would grab the terrified cat and love it and squeeze it and pet it and hug it.... ya, that was us*]. The poor kitten would take off to the forrest again, most likely praying to the little kitten gods to stop the crazy children from assaulting her. I remember sending Brent into the REALLY forrested areas alone (I was bossy back then. Of course I've gotten over that now! shut up.) to retrieve Garfield and he would come out with skinned knees and twigs stuck everywhere, but with the kitten everytime! And eventually, this scared little kitten became one of the best cat friends/pets there ever was :). She lived a very long and happy life with Brent, and his parents, and would, on serveral occassions, affectionately bring mice up to their front door and would expect praise and admiration for her brave efforts to bring food to her family. **tearing up. :) Brent, you should share more stories about Garr.
And now the story of Princess (cat). As I'm sure you all know, Becca and I basically grew up together, and during our childhood, she had many pets (dogs, cats, rabbits, etc), but the Princess (selfishly) was the most special to me because I was there the day she arrived to their home! And I remember the tears streaming down Becca's face as she held the rather small pure white fluffball tightly! Esme (Becca's mom, my 2nd mom) brought Princess home from Edmonton, and the people from the shelter/store told her that Princess was actually quite mean and aggressive! In fact, the opposite was true. This kind (and a bit, um... how can I put this delicately, dumb), beautiful cat watched Becca, and me on several occassions, as we grew up! I remember that Princess used to yell to figure out where we were in the house when she wanted some love. And I also remember, when I used to live with Becca and Trent, that although I had a no cat rule in my room, on many occassions I would bring her into my room to sleep with me at night...inspite of the small drool problem:)... Becca should share more Princess stories :).
Marlowe. Ah, Marlowe. This Jack Russell Terrier is a bundle of incredible energy! Marlowe lives with Becca and Trent, and is too smart for her own good! Brad, to her, is Rope-boy. When Brad visits, Marlowe knows that he will play rope with her, which consists of a game of keep-away as brad bravely attempts to keep the rope away from the bundle of energy dog who will never give up on her quest to 'get the rope'. never gives up. ever. And so finally, Marlowe gets the rope! yay! and then the game converts into a tug of war. Fun and growling, and laugther ensues. I love the little Marlowe dog because she's the most loyal, dedicated animal friend ever! Even when she injured her paw leaving blood on the snow (imagine the stark contrast: bright red blood, with white fresh snow... looked like a scary scene), she was just so happy to have her people there to love her and play with her that she didn't feel the pain! And read Becca's blog http://www.beccainhalifax.blogspot.com for more Marlowe stories.
And now for some Max time. Roz and Nelson's cat is certainly one of a kind. He and I have many deep and meaningful conversations (aka, he bellows, and I bellow back, and he, seemingly shocked that some has taken the time to talk back, continues with the discourse). Max is the fluffiest cat in the history of fluffy cats. In fact, once Chris came over and asked if Roz had just washed him or something. Nope. just that fluffy! Max likes to relax (like many of us do), and clean his mane (also a fond past time for many of us, I'm sure); however, he often gets lost in the moutainous thickness of mane around his neck (hey, I don't judge, hairy manes could also be a problem for some of us...). Ask Roz, and she will mimick her beloved kitty and his attempts at cleaning himself, which involves some interesting tongue action and neck rotating on her part. Because he is so fluffy, he also has very fluppy paws! And consequently, lino is sheer terror. I'm sure we'd understand if we had nothing but fur oozing out from between our toes, thereby causing us to have no traction when we run on the blasted linoleum, when chasing after the feather! Yes, and also, I love Max very much, but not very smrt :)
Enkido and Ozzie poo! Ozzy (ozzie??) was the kitten rescued by Trent ... when he was ramming his head into the wall. The kitten, not the Trent. Well, maybe Trent too. And ever since then I've been very fearful of Oz! Like the rocker, his namesake, he's a very scary soul! I'm sure he's just misunderstood.. .but still! Mr Oz has introduced me to the stereotypical cat who thinks of us, mere humans, as his staff and are we are basically in the way most of the time unless we are feeding them. Nevertheless, his personality is definite! And then!... I saw pics of a very shameful Oz when he had to have his fur shaved! Not so high and mighty now! :) And then there's Enkido, who is lovey dovey and is the only one who truly understands Ozzie. Trent once wanted to trim Enkido's whiskers because they were tickling him when he tries to sleep at night! How cruel would that be! suddenly Enkido would run in to everything.... Mean, Trent. Maybe you should be ramming your head into the wall to empathasize :)
Matt and Kim's dog children are Jade and Logan. These dogs have very similar personalities to our cats! (more on them later.) Jade is a very tall, skinny dog who would be happiest with a bone, and person (or several) to love her endlessly. Logan would like to be told that he's a very handsome purebread huskey and then would like a snowbank to play in. :) Jade, on several occassions, has been told to "go lie down" when in reality Brad and I really don't mind her placing her long skinny face on our laps for love, while we play cards at the kitchen table. It's also amusing how both dogs would love some attention from Daorcey, who is quite allergic and would rather not bestowe love on the obviously starved for attention dogs. haha! Kim should share some goofy dog children stories :)
Mongo. Oh, my Mongo. Those who are familiar with my childhood and living in Cold Lake know that my parents and I pretty much shared everything (homes, yards, everything!) with our neighbors, Mel, Ron and the boys (Kyle, Reese, and Brett). When Ron and Mel moved in next door to us, they had this adorable puppy with this black face and fuzzy grey body, named Mongo! I fell in love with him instantly. He was my mongo! He grew to be a large dog, with a big face, a menacing woof, a large body, but rather stumpy legs. I used to spend hours, (in fact the wee hours of the morning as I was babysitting the boys, who'd be fast asleep), talking to mongo, petting him, and showering him with affection. He had very very thick fur and actually preferred to be outside, but selfishly I used to make him stay inside and cuddle with me until he would wimper while relentlessly panting. Also, when I would bring him inside during the winter, he would have to lie on the carpet by the door until he was dry. And he knew this rule, but he would very often crawl on his belly, covertly of course, to come closer for some love. And if he was desperate enough, he would walk over to me, and place his large dark face directly in front of mine so that I couldn't possibly ignore him. He was so awesome!!! I miss Mongo everyday.
Monty! Ange and Matt's adorable doggie has taken away any hidden fear of large dogs! He is the most adorable dog ever! And he's the largest dog I've ever met (An American bulldog, I think). He's super awesome; even his drooling problem is cute. Also cute, is his attempt to roll over! oh-my-gosh! I've witnessed him as he HEAVES his very large dog body over... takes quite the effort! He lies on Ange's feet, often, and her blood circulation is affected... so big, but so CUTE!
Simon. Simon is our Tabby cat. We rescued him from the SPCA when he was about 5 weeks old. Before he came home with us, he had to be force fed! Wow, what a stark contrast to the Simon we know now! ~~more on that later. From day one, he was full of piss and vinegar. He could fit into the palms of our hands, so little, yet such a large personality. As a kitten, he very rarely slept. All he would do was play! For the first few weeks, Simon had a kitty cold, which meant that he had sneezes very similar to the Roz sneeze (grab a kleenex, stat.) I remember we would wake up (sorry, folks this is a bit gross!) in the morning and our duvet would be covered with Simon snot! The lady from the SPCA told us that he would probably want to be left in a room by himself for the first little bit so that he wasn't overwhelmed by such a large new surrounding. haha!. no. Simon, to this day, suffers from seperation anxiety when a door is closed and there is someone on the otherside. So, basically, from day 2, he had full run of our house. Anyway, back to Simon and his playing. He would play all day and all night.... a problem for me when I had to go to sleep early for school the next day. Simon, at about midnight would bring all of his toys to bed with us, and would pounce all over the bed. All night. So, being the mean and nasty person I am, I used to make Brad get up and play vigorously with him to try and tire him out, so that I could get some sleep! Moreover, Simon loves food. In fact, in his opinion, there is never enough food for the Simon. He's a 17 pound very large, but very beautiful tabby cat. We discovered that Simon is most likely a bengal, which is a few generations off an Asian snow lepard. That explains his size and his crazy personality. Simon knows "supper time", "off the counter", "treat", "out of the kitchen" ~~~~ you will notice that all of these phrases can be linked to food, directly or indirectly. We are fully trained to the ways of the Simon cat, who routinely wakes brad up around 6 am for his breakfast. Thanks to Roz, and her affection, Simon will now withstand some love and cuddles for approximately 1 min and 12 seconds. After that, you've been warned . He is honestly the funniest cat....
MEETOO!.... Meetoo is a baby kitten, even now at over 1 year old. We rescued him, unexpectedly from 4 Paws Rescue when he was about 6 weeks old. We went to Pet Smart to pick up some kitty litter and I went in to see the kittens..and There ws the black and white little guy stretching his paw out in my direction as far as he could! Instant love. During the drive home with him, however, I had a sudden burst of fear... They placed him in a box, did the box up, and handed the box to us to go home. Ya, 3.5 seconds later, he was attempting to break out of said box. So on the drive home, I had brad pull over as we had this little deamon cat attempting to rip right through the cardboard! (I secretly do I have a fear of kittens, and this didn't help much). Brad opened the box, and let him out.... Meetoo found his way to my lap, began purring, and such has been our relationship ever since. :) Meetoo has a certain love quota that needs to be filled everyday. He could do without play... he would rather have a warm lap and some cuddles to make him the happiest kitten ever. He's quite small... especially in comparison to our horse, I mean cat, Simon, who loves and hates his brother. See, Simon loves to play, and gets rather insulted by Meetoos lack of interest. Makes for some pretty one-sided wrestling matches. I love these guys so much!... while they can both be pains, I know that Brad agrees... our lives wouldn't be the same without them... more stories on them to come, I'm sure.
In my concurrent thoughts on all these animals...and their impact on me... I guess I've come to realize how humbling it is to have an animal give you this kind of devotion ... It's nice to have these memories bring a smile to my face... kind of put things in perspective. It's nice to not be judged... and to easily avoid criticism, yet to have these loyal friends touch our lives.
Ok, this is my mushy post. I'd love to hear some of your animal friend stories!
T
Today, my mind has been wandering...aimlessly...(cuz that's what it does when I don't have imminent and time consuming work to occupy the grey matter)... and thinking about significant animals in my life, and how these animals have impacted who I am as a person. Not to mention... the people who associate themselves with these animals and the impact they have on me too!
So allow me to introduce a few of these animals to you, so that you can become acquainted with them too!:)
First, let me tell you about Garfield (cat). Garfield was born on my grandparents' farm near Lenore, Manitoba, when I was about 7 years old. She was a barn cat, and was quite wild. She kinda looked a bit like a grey tabby, but had an orange tip on her tail, so OF COURSE the name garfield was more than appropriate. Let me also introduce to you all my cousin, Brent, who was (is) one of my closest friends growing up. Brent and I would spend hours chasing down the very tiny kitten, Garfield, through the wooded areas on our grandparents' farm. Once caught, we would shower her with affection and withstand her scratching and biting for as long as possible, before we would succumb to the pain, and set her free again. [*remember that Saturday cartoon with the crazy little girl who would grab the terrified cat and love it and squeeze it and pet it and hug it.... ya, that was us*]. The poor kitten would take off to the forrest again, most likely praying to the little kitten gods to stop the crazy children from assaulting her. I remember sending Brent into the REALLY forrested areas alone (I was bossy back then. Of course I've gotten over that now! shut up.) to retrieve Garfield and he would come out with skinned knees and twigs stuck everywhere, but with the kitten everytime! And eventually, this scared little kitten became one of the best cat friends/pets there ever was :). She lived a very long and happy life with Brent, and his parents, and would, on serveral occassions, affectionately bring mice up to their front door and would expect praise and admiration for her brave efforts to bring food to her family. **tearing up. :) Brent, you should share more stories about Garr.
And now the story of Princess (cat). As I'm sure you all know, Becca and I basically grew up together, and during our childhood, she had many pets (dogs, cats, rabbits, etc), but the Princess (selfishly) was the most special to me because I was there the day she arrived to their home! And I remember the tears streaming down Becca's face as she held the rather small pure white fluffball tightly! Esme (Becca's mom, my 2nd mom) brought Princess home from Edmonton, and the people from the shelter/store told her that Princess was actually quite mean and aggressive! In fact, the opposite was true. This kind (and a bit, um... how can I put this delicately, dumb), beautiful cat watched Becca, and me on several occassions, as we grew up! I remember that Princess used to yell to figure out where we were in the house when she wanted some love. And I also remember, when I used to live with Becca and Trent, that although I had a no cat rule in my room, on many occassions I would bring her into my room to sleep with me at night...inspite of the small drool problem:)... Becca should share more Princess stories :).
Marlowe. Ah, Marlowe. This Jack Russell Terrier is a bundle of incredible energy! Marlowe lives with Becca and Trent, and is too smart for her own good! Brad, to her, is Rope-boy. When Brad visits, Marlowe knows that he will play rope with her, which consists of a game of keep-away as brad bravely attempts to keep the rope away from the bundle of energy dog who will never give up on her quest to 'get the rope'. never gives up. ever. And so finally, Marlowe gets the rope! yay! and then the game converts into a tug of war. Fun and growling, and laugther ensues. I love the little Marlowe dog because she's the most loyal, dedicated animal friend ever! Even when she injured her paw leaving blood on the snow (imagine the stark contrast: bright red blood, with white fresh snow... looked like a scary scene), she was just so happy to have her people there to love her and play with her that she didn't feel the pain! And read Becca's blog http://www.beccainhalifax.blogspot.com for more Marlowe stories.
And now for some Max time. Roz and Nelson's cat is certainly one of a kind. He and I have many deep and meaningful conversations (aka, he bellows, and I bellow back, and he, seemingly shocked that some has taken the time to talk back, continues with the discourse). Max is the fluffiest cat in the history of fluffy cats. In fact, once Chris came over and asked if Roz had just washed him or something. Nope. just that fluffy! Max likes to relax (like many of us do), and clean his mane (also a fond past time for many of us, I'm sure); however, he often gets lost in the moutainous thickness of mane around his neck (hey, I don't judge, hairy manes could also be a problem for some of us...). Ask Roz, and she will mimick her beloved kitty and his attempts at cleaning himself, which involves some interesting tongue action and neck rotating on her part. Because he is so fluffy, he also has very fluppy paws! And consequently, lino is sheer terror. I'm sure we'd understand if we had nothing but fur oozing out from between our toes, thereby causing us to have no traction when we run on the blasted linoleum, when chasing after the feather! Yes, and also, I love Max very much, but not very smrt :)
Enkido and Ozzie poo! Ozzy (ozzie??) was the kitten rescued by Trent ... when he was ramming his head into the wall. The kitten, not the Trent. Well, maybe Trent too. And ever since then I've been very fearful of Oz! Like the rocker, his namesake, he's a very scary soul! I'm sure he's just misunderstood.. .but still! Mr Oz has introduced me to the stereotypical cat who thinks of us, mere humans, as his staff and are we are basically in the way most of the time unless we are feeding them. Nevertheless, his personality is definite! And then!... I saw pics of a very shameful Oz when he had to have his fur shaved! Not so high and mighty now! :) And then there's Enkido, who is lovey dovey and is the only one who truly understands Ozzie. Trent once wanted to trim Enkido's whiskers because they were tickling him when he tries to sleep at night! How cruel would that be! suddenly Enkido would run in to everything.... Mean, Trent. Maybe you should be ramming your head into the wall to empathasize :)
Matt and Kim's dog children are Jade and Logan. These dogs have very similar personalities to our cats! (more on them later.) Jade is a very tall, skinny dog who would be happiest with a bone, and person (or several) to love her endlessly. Logan would like to be told that he's a very handsome purebread huskey and then would like a snowbank to play in. :) Jade, on several occassions, has been told to "go lie down" when in reality Brad and I really don't mind her placing her long skinny face on our laps for love, while we play cards at the kitchen table. It's also amusing how both dogs would love some attention from Daorcey, who is quite allergic and would rather not bestowe love on the obviously starved for attention dogs. haha! Kim should share some goofy dog children stories :)
Mongo. Oh, my Mongo. Those who are familiar with my childhood and living in Cold Lake know that my parents and I pretty much shared everything (homes, yards, everything!) with our neighbors, Mel, Ron and the boys (Kyle, Reese, and Brett). When Ron and Mel moved in next door to us, they had this adorable puppy with this black face and fuzzy grey body, named Mongo! I fell in love with him instantly. He was my mongo! He grew to be a large dog, with a big face, a menacing woof, a large body, but rather stumpy legs. I used to spend hours, (in fact the wee hours of the morning as I was babysitting the boys, who'd be fast asleep), talking to mongo, petting him, and showering him with affection. He had very very thick fur and actually preferred to be outside, but selfishly I used to make him stay inside and cuddle with me until he would wimper while relentlessly panting. Also, when I would bring him inside during the winter, he would have to lie on the carpet by the door until he was dry. And he knew this rule, but he would very often crawl on his belly, covertly of course, to come closer for some love. And if he was desperate enough, he would walk over to me, and place his large dark face directly in front of mine so that I couldn't possibly ignore him. He was so awesome!!! I miss Mongo everyday.
Monty! Ange and Matt's adorable doggie has taken away any hidden fear of large dogs! He is the most adorable dog ever! And he's the largest dog I've ever met (An American bulldog, I think). He's super awesome; even his drooling problem is cute. Also cute, is his attempt to roll over! oh-my-gosh! I've witnessed him as he HEAVES his very large dog body over... takes quite the effort! He lies on Ange's feet, often, and her blood circulation is affected... so big, but so CUTE!
Simon. Simon is our Tabby cat. We rescued him from the SPCA when he was about 5 weeks old. Before he came home with us, he had to be force fed! Wow, what a stark contrast to the Simon we know now! ~~more on that later. From day one, he was full of piss and vinegar. He could fit into the palms of our hands, so little, yet such a large personality. As a kitten, he very rarely slept. All he would do was play! For the first few weeks, Simon had a kitty cold, which meant that he had sneezes very similar to the Roz sneeze (grab a kleenex, stat.) I remember we would wake up (sorry, folks this is a bit gross!) in the morning and our duvet would be covered with Simon snot! The lady from the SPCA told us that he would probably want to be left in a room by himself for the first little bit so that he wasn't overwhelmed by such a large new surrounding. haha!. no. Simon, to this day, suffers from seperation anxiety when a door is closed and there is someone on the otherside. So, basically, from day 2, he had full run of our house. Anyway, back to Simon and his playing. He would play all day and all night.... a problem for me when I had to go to sleep early for school the next day. Simon, at about midnight would bring all of his toys to bed with us, and would pounce all over the bed. All night. So, being the mean and nasty person I am, I used to make Brad get up and play vigorously with him to try and tire him out, so that I could get some sleep! Moreover, Simon loves food. In fact, in his opinion, there is never enough food for the Simon. He's a 17 pound very large, but very beautiful tabby cat. We discovered that Simon is most likely a bengal, which is a few generations off an Asian snow lepard. That explains his size and his crazy personality. Simon knows "supper time", "off the counter", "treat", "out of the kitchen" ~~~~ you will notice that all of these phrases can be linked to food, directly or indirectly. We are fully trained to the ways of the Simon cat, who routinely wakes brad up around 6 am for his breakfast. Thanks to Roz, and her affection, Simon will now withstand some love and cuddles for approximately 1 min and 12 seconds. After that, you've been warned . He is honestly the funniest cat....
MEETOO!.... Meetoo is a baby kitten, even now at over 1 year old. We rescued him, unexpectedly from 4 Paws Rescue when he was about 6 weeks old. We went to Pet Smart to pick up some kitty litter and I went in to see the kittens..and There ws the black and white little guy stretching his paw out in my direction as far as he could! Instant love. During the drive home with him, however, I had a sudden burst of fear... They placed him in a box, did the box up, and handed the box to us to go home. Ya, 3.5 seconds later, he was attempting to break out of said box. So on the drive home, I had brad pull over as we had this little deamon cat attempting to rip right through the cardboard! (I secretly do I have a fear of kittens, and this didn't help much). Brad opened the box, and let him out.... Meetoo found his way to my lap, began purring, and such has been our relationship ever since. :) Meetoo has a certain love quota that needs to be filled everyday. He could do without play... he would rather have a warm lap and some cuddles to make him the happiest kitten ever. He's quite small... especially in comparison to our horse, I mean cat, Simon, who loves and hates his brother. See, Simon loves to play, and gets rather insulted by Meetoos lack of interest. Makes for some pretty one-sided wrestling matches. I love these guys so much!... while they can both be pains, I know that Brad agrees... our lives wouldn't be the same without them... more stories on them to come, I'm sure.
In my concurrent thoughts on all these animals...and their impact on me... I guess I've come to realize how humbling it is to have an animal give you this kind of devotion ... It's nice to have these memories bring a smile to my face... kind of put things in perspective. It's nice to not be judged... and to easily avoid criticism, yet to have these loyal friends touch our lives.
Ok, this is my mushy post. I'd love to hear some of your animal friend stories!
T
Thursday, December 28, 2006
The blog is back!!
Wow, who knew we would wait so long to get this thing back up and running...
Hi everybody!
We've decided we are much too exciting, even when we aren't training for a marathon, not to make regular posts for our devoted friends and family. Right guys, aren't you dying to know what we do everyday?
I ate jellybeans for breakfast. Mmmmm.
And uh, we went to Las Vegas to see Phantom of the Opera.
We played a lot of floor hockey, volleyball, and dodgeball.
I promise, in the New Year, it will sound much more exciting. We'll bring pictures of assorted sports balls hitting us in various limbs while we curse.
Anyways, I'm still trying to figure out how this new blogger thing works. How come when you maximize the screen, some blog templates don't get bigger? I need a 5 year old to come help me out with this new fandangled technology.
R
Hi everybody!
We've decided we are much too exciting, even when we aren't training for a marathon, not to make regular posts for our devoted friends and family. Right guys, aren't you dying to know what we do everyday?
I ate jellybeans for breakfast. Mmmmm.
And uh, we went to Las Vegas to see Phantom of the Opera.
We played a lot of floor hockey, volleyball, and dodgeball.
I promise, in the New Year, it will sound much more exciting. We'll bring pictures of assorted sports balls hitting us in various limbs while we curse.
Anyways, I'm still trying to figure out how this new blogger thing works. How come when you maximize the screen, some blog templates don't get bigger? I need a 5 year old to come help me out with this new fandangled technology.
R
Thursday, April 20, 2006
and then we did a marathon
Wow, I haven't done a decent post on this thing in a while. My apologies to our loyal readers - all 2 of you. But you're worthy, so here I go....
The marathon was, in a word, AWESOME! Here's some of my random memories:
1) Pausing very briefly at about 29 km to lube up Roz's armpit. Chaffing sucks. .... Boy, what kind of image does this evoke? No, Roz's armpits were not hairy at all actually.
2) Passing the scantly clad Italian lady with the hot body at about 30 km or so. See! Being all hot and chisled doesn't mean you can finish a marathon! I felt quite proud the instant my butt jiggled right past her!
3) looking at my shadow at approximately 20 km and realizing that I was in a slight pike position (picture an exaggerated lean forward - that was me!). I tried to straighten up at that point, but realized that that would be much too painful, and reverted back to the original stance. I blame the lack of a trainer!
4) watching the self-described "rude American" man in front of us while we were downtwon - he was throwing people out of his way as we meandered through downtown Rome as quickly as possible.
5) the pleasant burst of flavour of Skittles. An excellent snack choice, if I do say so myself! Roz and I munched on Skittles during the marathon. Forget the $20 pack of goo. Skittles and Mars bars are the way to go.
6) The ice bath after the marathon. You know, I bet that doesn't do anything! Sandy was probably laughing at us! She said it would help with the lactic acid in our legs - whatever.
7) me crying the instant we saw the colliseum. Of course. And then the paparazzi right in our faces the instant we finished! What was that about?
8) being wrapped in tinfoil as soon as we finished. It stuck to my body. Picture that.
9) Passing the soccer field filled with loud men. Bet they were hot.
10) seeing our adoring fans downtown right when it was starting to get tough! Awesome to have them there!
So it's been nearly a month since our marathon, and it still feels like yesterday (I still have proof on my feet).
Now I need another goal/adventure! Any ideas?
T
Monday, April 10, 2006
And then we went to Florence...
After the marathon, we trained to Firenze (Florence to us non-Italians).
When we left the hotel, we had to clown-car it to the train station, and poor Brad got folded into the trunk with the luggage. The train was very exciting, busy and confusing. But, once we boarded, the scenery was lovely. When we got to Florence, we walked to our little hotel down the street. Florence is beautiful! Our hotel was very cute and had a great view of the piazza, a park where locals walked their dogs.
We toured around and sampled the fair in Florence. On one outing, we walked all the way to the bronze replica of the David in Piazza Michelangelo. You can see an amazing view of the city from there. Then, we attempted to blend in and took the bus back to our hotel. We didn't even know how to buy bus tickets, and were quickly found out for tourists.
We also rode the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus around the city to see some of the sites and the countryside. We visited the Duomo, a huge and beautiful cathedral, which is one of the tallest churches in Europe. Spectacular and mind boggling. We also stood in line on a tiny street, that looked like any other street in Florence, for a chance to see Michelangelo's David. The museum isn't particularly amazing, but the David is overwhelming. Fascinating. There are also some musical instruments in the museum, and even an extremely old natural horn! French horn players eat your heart out.
More on Florence later!
R
When we left the hotel, we had to clown-car it to the train station, and poor Brad got folded into the trunk with the luggage. The train was very exciting, busy and confusing. But, once we boarded, the scenery was lovely. When we got to Florence, we walked to our little hotel down the street. Florence is beautiful! Our hotel was very cute and had a great view of the piazza, a park where locals walked their dogs.
We toured around and sampled the fair in Florence. On one outing, we walked all the way to the bronze replica of the David in Piazza Michelangelo. You can see an amazing view of the city from there. Then, we attempted to blend in and took the bus back to our hotel. We didn't even know how to buy bus tickets, and were quickly found out for tourists.
We also rode the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus around the city to see some of the sites and the countryside. We visited the Duomo, a huge and beautiful cathedral, which is one of the tallest churches in Europe. Spectacular and mind boggling. We also stood in line on a tiny street, that looked like any other street in Florence, for a chance to see Michelangelo's David. The museum isn't particularly amazing, but the David is overwhelming. Fascinating. There are also some musical instruments in the museum, and even an extremely old natural horn! French horn players eat your heart out.
More on Florence later!
R
Sunday, April 02, 2006
We are the champions!
Hello everybody, I'm home from Rome!
So, obviously this is Roz. I have returned to Canada, leaving Toni and Brad to continue on with their adventures in Italy. I'll start posting memories and pictures as soon as I can. (PS guys, don't forget to actually pick your bags up in Toronto and switch them to your next flight when you go through customs there, hehe... We barely made our plane back to Edmonton and some of our luggage had to go on the next flight. Oops!)
First, we would like to thank everybody again for all of the support, with training and fundraising. Because of your hands on our shoulders, we crossed the finish line with everything we had. And we had the strength because you gave it to us.
This is a picture of our crazy marathon start! There were 12,308 entrants in the Rome marathon, and 10,034 finished. To read more about the statistics and finishes, check out:
http://www.maratonadiroma.it/eng/home_en.asp
Our official finish time - 06:59:44
The Rome Team Diabetes Canada group fundraised $687,000. Good job everybody!
Okay, now on to the good stuff!
Day 1 - Arrival
So, Italy is far. And Toni had some adventures with the people who check your luggage for bombs and your person for weapons. Luckily, everyone arrived safely in Rome. Where it was warm, muggy, and the traffic was terrifying. Our first hotel was fancy pants, and close to some beautiful parks. The outdoor pool was closed, and they had to tell the Canadians there were harmful chemicals in the water to keep them out. We met lots of other runners and walkers, with varying levels of marathon experience. Everybody was a little bit nervous.
Day 2 - Saturday we did a warm up walk in the parks across the street. The scenery was amazing, the warm up was hot! So, we learned we'd be walking in 20 degree weather in the Roman afternoon. We adjusted our outfit plans, took a trip to the Trevi fountain, and had a dinner the night before with the marathon trainers giving words of encouragement and warning. It was very exciting, and we got pretty nervous. Luckily, I slept great the night before, although many people were up wandering the streets of Rome into the wee hours.
Day 3 - Race morning was pretty scary. Mostly because of the toilets at the starting line. I will never recover, it's probably best not to ask about that part. We held it for the rest of the race. Toni and I pushed ourselved up into the pack of runners who planned to finish in under 4 hours, so we had to jog a bit at the start as they ploughed around us. We actually saw our cheer team, my mom, Uncle Ron, and Brad, standing up above the start line. It was awesome! And then, when the race started, all the men around us suddenly bolted over the barricades to pee on the ancient ruins. There were only 1912 women in the marathon, and 1546 finished. Some of them peed on the ruins too.
The first 15 km of our walk went fast. We saw beautiful downtown Rome, all along the river. Then we walked about 10 km in alternating heat and shade towards the outside of the city, some guys in cars hooted, I'm thinking we looked hot. And sweaty.
About half way we were feeling good and ran into some other members of Team Diabetes Canada, and unfortunately one of our team had to quit. Luckily, Sandy (one of the trainers) was around to run to the next station for help. We continued on, and met an Italian woman running low on water. The water stations started running out and they cleaned up lots of the sponge stations outside of downtown.
When we got about 30 km in, pedestrians started taking over the course. We followed an older Italian man who had the smart idea to bring a horn. He honked us most of the way through the busy, beautiful Roman streets around the Trevi fountain.
Then, when you get to about 35 km, you can almost see the finish line. But you have to loop out and come back! Brutal! We walked to 37 km, and turned the corner to the homestretch. Some Italian police waved us on and cheered. At 41 km we started to run, and managed to jog all the way the finish line. A young Italian guy ran with us close to the descent into the finish area around the Colosseum. I will never forget the feeling of finishing the marathon, and the excitement of seeing our family.
They wrapped us up in gold foil capes and put our medals around our necks. It was amazing. Then we slowly walked to our bus and got a ride back to the hotel. The trainers had recommended an ice bath to help recover. We went for dinner that night with our team, the feeling of accomplishment and success was all around us. The meal was fabulous. Just like our first marathon.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
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