Motivation Where Are You?

Been a week since I got back and still haven't blogged about my adventures. It's been a week of just forcing myself to get just my everyday stuff done. I will definitely force myself to write up a great review of my trip, complete with pics and vids after I've consumed about a pot of coffee!

My Boycott....

....now needs to be brought to the next level. If I am to instill any values in my kids I must put my money where my mouth is. I am going to join an organization (I'm sure there's many....maybe I'll pick the SPCA) and help lobby for many of the events at the Stampede to stop. I am not opposed the stampede per se but why the fuck is it all right to just shrug off the deaths of these horses but it's very illegal to have dog or cock fights? Seriously I do not see the distinction between the 2 "sports". It's appalling that this brutality is allowed to continue all in the name of tradition.

To whom it may concern....

....I would really like to be the white pants Adam is wearing at the end of this vid. I mean really, is that too much to ask? I’ll even be happy being the stellar hat he’s wearing....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmXQFwlD7vk

Omg Why Can't I Smack Kids?

I'm about ready to smash my head into a wall. Rosie's "best" friend is over for a sleepover and what a self centered bitch! She is being cruel to Ryan and I've had to tell her a few times that he is a part of rosie's family and therefore is allowed to play with them. She has tried to get into my filing cabinet to get paper, broken one of ryan's toys and hurt him once already and has only been here an hour. Grrr, I wish I liked this girl and I know she's only 5 but I have NEVER disliked a kid so freakin much. If she hurts Ryan once more I will walk her back to her house and tell her mom to keep her daughter the fuck away from Rosie.

Another Fun BBQ

Well another stellar stampede BBQ is done at Raintree. You know the kids love this annual event when they ask months in advance whether auntie has invited them again. Ryan has been to everyone of these since he was born so this will definitely be an annual event until the Johnsons either a) move or b) they stop inviting us. It's about the only thing I do that's sort of stampede oriented...I went to stampede once...NEVER again! Unless of course they get rid of the calf roping and chuck wagon races. I'm not some super angry activist or anything but seriously, it makes me sick that they do that to those animals. Every year there are horses killed because of stupidity in the chuck wagon races and as for the calf roping...well watch it once and tell me that's not just sick.

I think I've got this figured out

Ok, not sure if this will actually publish but here's hoping. Then I can blog way more often:)

Technology and me...I dunno

I am trying to set up blogging on my iphone so I can update on the fly and more to the point blog through my adventure in Vegas...except I am technologically retarded and am having problems with it. Only one solution...get my super smart techie sis to help on Friday:)

I have found a way around the posting pics on my blog thing...but cannot do it directly from iphoto. I kinda think I should pay some Mac smarty pants to teach me how to do the things I want.

Sorry Ladies...

Ok, I have decided that (for the most part) women make terrible friends. With the exception of a few really awesome women I have had the pleasure of calling a true friend I think I am off the market for developing new friendships. I cannot be bothered with the stupid freakin pettiness of it all...if you’re mad about something effin stand up and let me know. Jesus, why the freakin head games??? No wonder men have no patience for the opposite sex, a lot of them are emotional infants. Grrrrr....that’s my rant. It has no flow but holy shit I am irritated.

Best Summer Ever?!!! Quite Possibly!

Well Summer is here and it’s shaping up to be a very good one indeed. First it started with a very cool get together with Necy and Abbi for the midnight premiere of Eclipse. It was a super fun way to start this season off right!




Coming up (in a right hurry) is my trip to Las Vegas!!! It’s my first time there and sadly the furthest I’ve ever travelled.



I am staying here...at the Luxor....



...and going here....Mandalay Bay....to see....



...ADAM!!! Wooohooo!



While there I will also be seeing this other hottie, Criss Angel in his show with the Cirque de Soleil!



Later this summer I have general admission floor tix to these guys...BEP. Going with Necy and it should be a freakin BLAST!




Not to mention all the stellar activities in between...keep you posted!

November

Ok...so November has pretty much sucked so far in the illness department. EVERYONE is freakin sick...not just my family. Finally got the kids in for the H1N1 vaccine yesterday (thank goodness they were actually NOT really sick yesterday, just some sniffles...I guess they won't give it to you if you are pretty sick...which makes sense). Rosie was bloody hysterical! Took all my strength to hold her still enough for the nurse to get the needle in her and she shrieked like she was being murdered! Poor nurse. Ryan was the polar opposite...didn't make a peep, just calmly took it. Now back in 3 weeks for their second dose but I'll be damned if I'm doing that alone. I may try and find a mild sedative for Rosie (yes it was THAT bad!!!).
Normally I freakin HATE November, it starts getting cold and snowy, flu season is in full swing and it starts sinking in that it'll be winter for the next 6 months or more here in Alberta, BLEH. This year, however, someone musta looked down and said "hmmm Sue needs some good things in her life right now". We got some sweet movies coming out (going to Astroboy on Sunday, New Moon on the 19th and if I can swing it, I think there's 1 or 2 must see's in Nov...oh yeah gotta see 2012). Rosie has her winter concert at school, which is gonna be so awesome to watch! Adam Lambert's AND Susan Boyle's cd come out on the same day (I think Nov 23 or 24)...gotta get both. SPN EVERY week is another bonus and my awesome sis sending pics/icons of my latest obsession one a week really helps put these blahs to rest. Managed to score tix to a 'Nuckies game (which isn't being played until Dec but I GOT the tix...which is cool in itself). Oh and I get to start getting all the stuff I need to make a dazzling entrance to this years Kal-Tire xmas party...yep I wanna outshine 'em ALL this year! Got the dress...need purse, nice coat, maybe new shoes and something amazing done with my hair...but you know it's the shopping part that's super fun. It's nice to finally enjoy a November instead of living in dread of the coming months. Maybe I'm a more positive person this year too....NAH! Who are we kidding, lol.






This is my obsession, Misha Collins. If I ever was lucky enough to see him somewhere, I don't think I could even talk to him...my jaw would be on the floor...and I'd be afraid of saying something extremely uncool. I would hope that my sis was with me so she smack me upside the head to get me clear enough to ask for an autograph.







Here is my new fave singer/entertainer, Adam Lambert....what can I say he's friggin HAWT and the boy can sing AND he puts on a great show...I hope I'll get to see him in concert one day soon (Adam, my birthday is May 1st, you should plan to do a concert at the Saddledome that week, lol).

The List

Ok every woman should have a List...famous men that are utterly unattainable yet so fun to lust after. Here's mine (and yeah I realize that at least 1 of them is pretty much jailbait but hey whatever, I'm just admiring from afar).

Johnny Depp
Jared Padalecki
Viggo Mortensen
Robert Pattinson
Peter Facinelli
Taylor Lautner
Naveen Andrews
Josh Holloway
Sendhil Ramamurthy
Zachary Quinto
Alex Burrows (booyah my FAVE hockey player)

Um, I may have missed a few but these are the ones that really stick out in my head and therefore are my top picks for the List! Yum!

An Unsettled Feeling

Ok first off, I'm not a religious person but I do believe in God, Jesus, the whole nine yards. Just get that out of the way, I'm not here to preach and convert or anything, I just have started developing this deeply disturbed feeling in my gut about our societys hero worship. Case in point, Michael Jackson. So he died, honestly who cares in the grand scheme of things. He made music. That's it. He didn't develop the cure for cancer, reverse global warming, stop wars or stop homelessness. In fact besides making music (and granted he sold more albums than anyone) he did NOTHING for humanity as far as I can tell. I can tell you he was a drug addict and a (suspected) child molester. Is this REALLY the type of person we as a society should be looking up to? I, for one, think that the real people we need to look up to aren't getting any press, those who make a real difference in other's lives in a positive manner. I am positive that if Christ were to come back now, he would not receive the same fanfare as MJ or any other huge name like that. It's messed up people and I bet God's up there (wherever) right now plotting our demise.

6 Months and Counting

For Christmas I received a WiiFit and I started using it on boxing day. Since then I have added 2 more workout discs to my routine. Today marks the official 6 month mark of my journey and I am totally proud to say that I have gone from a (gross) 163 1/2 lbs to (drumroll please, lol) a trim 127 lbs. WOOHOO!!! And it wasn't even super hard...just had to set my mind to it.

My Video Answer To My Awsome Sis

Simply Beautiful!

Susan Boyle

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed

Words

Ok Tuesday night I posted a status on Facebook that quite obviously started a HUGE uproar and subsequent discussion. Well here are some thoughts on the subject in a more suitable place for such thoughts...my blog. First off I'd like to thank 3 special people for backing me up, especially in light of the fact that in one of the first responses to said status, I was called trash (in fancy, pseudo-intellectual language, typical of idealistic college students who think they are wise but really aren't. I am an intelligent person and can decifer such language). Anyhow....the word retard.

re⋅tard
   /rɪˈtɑrd, for 1–3, 5; ˈritɑrd for 4/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-tahrd, for 1–3, 5; ree-tahrd for 4] Show IPA
–verb (used with object)
1. to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.
–verb (used without object)
2. to be delayed.
–noun
3. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.
4. Slang: Disparaging.
a. a mentally retarded person.
b. a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way: a hopeless social retard.
5. Automotive, Machinery. an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine so that the spark for ignition in each cylinder is generated later in the cycle.

There is the literal definition for you. Now, having given you that definition I now say it has become just another slang word in the English language. I, in no way, shape or form use it to describe anyone of diminished capacity. To me it is no different than calling someone an a-hole, stupid, f-face or any other demeaning name you can think of. Now calling people names is not nice admittedly but before you go freaking out all over me, make sure you have NEVER said anything negative to someone else in that fashion (I bet you can't say that honestly). Why the fixation on the word "retard"? Do you think using the word "special" is any better? As long as there are physically/mentally handicapped people in the world there are going to be new derogatory words that ignorant people use to describe them. I go back to what I said earlier...I don't use such language in reference to those who fall into that category. Words are words, apparently now waitress is a bad word...WTF, when did that happen? It's a JOB, a male in that job is a waiter. So freakin what? So do you propose that I shouldn't be called a woman anymore because that is somehow demeaning? We are becoming so freaked out to say anything anymore...God help us if we offend someone. I say we stop walking on eggshells. Instead of eliminating words or changing them all the time to appease people, we start instilling confidence in our children. I don't give a crap if someone calls me names, hmm scratch that, I don't get sad, I get angry. I'd rather have my kids have the confidence to get angry at name calling than get all depressed about it. Now I'm not saying get angry to the point of violence or retaliation. We as a society want to coddle everyone and as such have turned our kids into a bunch of whiney, spoiled, depressed candy asses that are afraid to speak their mind. I've gone on a bit of a tangent here but jeez, this whole issue is driving me nuts.

The Big Game

So because Paul and I had to delay our vacation to the Okanagan, I decided I wanted to do something really special for Valentines Day. I went online and managed to get tickets to the last regular season game between Vancouver and Calgary (well, ok the last one that was played here in Calgary, I know they meet again in April in Vancouver). We have (and by we, I mean mostly me, lol, but Paul somewhat) have become kinda big hockey fanatics this year. And I refuse to cheer for the Flames:
a) I genuinely hate that team and
b) I'm a BC girl...GO CANUCKS!
Anyhow, getting back to the topic on hand, the game happened to be just 3 days after Valentines, perfect timing. Last night we donned all the Canucks wear that we own (me in 'Nucks shirt, hoodie, socks and hat!) and off to the game we went. We didn't have great seats but for both of us it was our very first NHL game so we were excited to just be there. And what an exciting game it was! Not only the fact that we won but just the intensity of the crowd (and there were quite a few Canucks fans there, to my delight). On our way in some dumb yahoo was screaming "Canucks suck", so I defiantly told him his stupid team was going down! And I was amongst the loudest Canucks fans there earning me some very dirty, dangerous looks from the Flames fan sitting to my right...he smelled good, too bad he likes the Flames. After the game, on the train Paul and I were discussing how we could go to as many games as possible next year and (hopefully) catch another one before the end of the regular season this year. I'd love to see a Calgary/Edmonton game...I love Stortini...he's a crazy man! The MOST money I've ever spent on one night out but oh, so worth it!




Getting ready to leave.




Canucks warming up.





One of many faceoffs.

No More Babies...Happy Birthday Ryan

I officially have (and can't even pretend) no more babies in the house. Mr. Ryan turns 2 today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE MAN! It's going to be a very interesting year I think.

Coming to a Close

As we wind down another year, I am a little saddened to see it end on another tragic story (the 8 dead snowmobilers from Sparwood). I'm sure it's not the only major (good or bad) event happening these last few days but of course, the media does not want to report anything uplifting and happy. I find that sad.
It has been an interesting year (but really, aren't they all?). Started 2008 standing in line at Wal-Mart in Kelowna discovering (from a magazine cover) that Heath Ledger had died. Don't know why but I was a little devestated by this. Funny how a person can care about the death of someone that they don't even know. Anyhow here are some more things that stick out in my mind about this year:
-the massive earthquake that hit China and the following aftermath of death and destruction
-how China pulled off a very impressive Olympics months after
-the first black president (and by a landslide)
-our (Canada's) political fiasco
-the global financial meltdown
-Rosie's first day of preschool
-Paul kicking ass at work and getting promoted to senior assistant manager
-the uncertainty in Louisiana during hurricane Gustav (I think it was that hurricane)

There are so many events that are noteworthy but those are the few that really stick out in my mind. I hope 2009 brings a whole lot of change (for the positive). Happy New Years everyone.

Four Years Gone...Wow

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY TO MY PRINCESS, ROSIE! I can't believe all this time has gone by already.