Crossed Off My List

One of the very first things I thought when I bought my house was that I wanted to take down the wall-paper in the kitchen. Well, 6.5 years later it still wasn't done. I have no excuse. It just didn't happen.

Until now.

The wall-paper is gone, the walls are newly painted and I am happy.

BEFORE

Confession: The only reason this job is finished is because I didn't do it.

This guy did. I don't care. It's done.

AFTER

These are the new pictures I put on my

freshly painted, wall-paper-less kitchen wall.

I like them.

Favourite of the Day: Entourage. Specifically Turtle. My new roommate has five seasons on DVD and it's secretly taking over my life.

#4

There are few hockey fans who wouldn't know who made #4 a distinction in the sport. Just as Gretzky made 99 the most recognizable number in hockey, Bobby Orr earned #4 as his own. He is a hockey legend known as one of the greatest defensemen to ever play the game and I was lucky enough to meet him last weekend.

Chevrolet and Hockey Canada are hosting Safe and Fun Hockey Festivals in three cities across Canada this year. The program is developed to create "a positive attitude towards healthy competition, co-operative teamwork, fair play and grace under pressure". Bobby Orr is the ambassador and huge supporter of the cause. I was honoured to be accepted as 1 of 15 volunteer coaches for one of the events held last Saturday. Initially, I was excited to not only meet him, but to have the opportunity to coach with him on the ice. I quickly learned it was more than his hockey skills that made him such an amazing person.

While I did enjoy the activities on the ice with the kids (I love that they did not use pucks on the ice, but instead rubber chickens) I was in awe of the way he handled himself off the ice. Clearly, he was the centre of attention amongst hundreds of people in the crowd. Camera flashes were non-stop and he gave autograph after autograph. He never once appeared annoyed or impatient. He made a point to call every kid by name, to take pictures with every single child in the program AND was sure to include their siblings or parents in pictures as well. He took time to acknowledge the coaches and thank us. What? Bobby Orr was thanking me?? Crazy. He was sincere, genuine and down-to-earth.

He held off ice sessions with the kids and spoke separately to their parents to deliver an important message. To the kids, he spoke of respect and responsibility - a theme carried throughout the entire day. He spoke to the parents to encourage them to let kids be kids. To let them play the game, to enjoy it and have fun. To be respectful of teammates, coaches and each other. It was awesome. A message that every athletic program needs.

The team of people that planned and carried out the event ran a tight ship and it was impressive. Everything ran smoothly and was extremely organized. Remarkable, considering there was close to one hundred kids ranging from 5-8 years old participating. Obviously a well practiced crew and their professionalism showed.

All in all, it was an amazing experience. A once in a lifetime opportunity I'm grateful to have had. (And as if all this wasn't enough, they also gave all the coaches Bauer warm-up suits!)

Bobby and I

On the ice...

Stupidity + Insanity = Loyalty

The Top 10 Reasons I SHOULD hate the Young and The Restless:

(1) Victoria is both Abby's half-sister and step-mom(previously).

(2) Nick Newman, millionaire, lives in the horse stables. Billy Abbott, millionaire, lives in a trailer.

(3) People who suddenly have no place to stay are living in a hotel room at the Athletic Club. Conveniently, they all live in the same room. They too, are millionaires.

(4) Lily's father is Neil. But it's actually Malcolm. Abby's father was Brad. But it's actually Victor.

(5) Kevin, who began the show working in the strip club, later tried to kill Colleen and then gave Lily chlamydia. Now he's the stand up guy that everyone thinks is awesome.

(6) When Sharon had the paternity test done for Faith, the potential fathers were a) her ex-husband b) her ex-husband's previous step-father, who was also her ex-husband or c) her ex-husbands previous step-uncle.

(7) Phillip died in the 80's, but came back this year. Gay.

(8) If Jill had gotten pregnant when she was sleeping with Jack, the baby would be Billy's brother and nephew at the same time.

(9) Michael Baldwin, the best lawyer around, previously went to jail for raping Cricket.

(10) Shelia turned herself into Phyllis. Patti turned herself into Emily. Sarah turned herself into Lauren.

Despite this small glimpse into all that is ridiculous, I am still a faithful viewer and happy fan. I remember as far back as being 6 or 7 years old, coming home from school to eat lunch with my mom and watch the show. I know I will continue to watch for many years to come, far past the day Drucilla inevitably returns from her death off the cliff's edge.

For my fellow Y&R fans, I found this Gold Mine of a website. It's a summary of the story lines for every year, as far back as 1973. I know. You're Welcome.

Favourite of the Day: I have two special Amy's in my life. One is my sister, one is my friend. My friend Amy turns 31 today! In so many aspects in life, Amy and I could not be more different (remember the day we had car trouble?) But I could not be more blessed to have such a good friend in my life. Amy, I know birthdays now are 'just a day' but I want you to know I love you and your family and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Feeling Free

Tonight Jane and I went for a late night swim. Buck Naked.

It was the best thing I've done in a long, long time.

(Not where we went swimming. Just a cool picture)

P.S. Thanks Jane - for just being awesome.

Special Agent Jason

Thursday night my very excited nephew Josh wanted to show me a book he made entitled "Special Agents". Each page had a different agent and the picture highlighted their special skill. When we got to "Jason" I did a double take. I bit my cheek and curiously and asked Josh to explain the picture. In his cute, raspy voice he pointed out Jason's head and legs. I pointed to the addition in between Jason's legs, fearing his response. As innocently as any 6 year old boy could reply, he confidently told me:

"That's his fire power"

I can't wait to show him this picture in 10 years.

Evidence

On Thursday I drove from Parry Sound to Oakville like this (approx 2.5 hours).

Further proving my theory that I am my mother.

A plain chips kind of day.

Five or six years ago I was golfing with some friends. After 9 holes we went into the clubhouse to have some lunch before we did the back nine. That day I was sharing a cart with a guy named Scott. When we finished lunch and were heading back to the cart, Scott wanted to buy a bag of chips to bring with us. As we both stood there, looking at all the different flavours, I was disappointed when Scott chose the plain chips.

"Really? You're getting plain?"

"Ya"

"All these great kinds to choose from and you pick plain..."

"You know what? - I'm just a simple guy"

At the time, I thought he was nuts. When you're offered things like Dill Pickle, Ketchup, All Dressed or Salt and Vinegar...how could you choose something as boring as plain?

But now I look at this differently. We live in a world full of too many options. You don't just go to a store now and buy a t.v. You buy a t.v and then get offered warranties, upgrades, contracts, more channels and you get a free cell phone if you commit to something absurd. Nothing is simple anymore. There are hidden fees, too many choices and too many companies competing for the consumer. Doesn't it feel like life is too crazy sometimes?

I used to wonder who would go to Baskin Robbins and order Vanilla ice cream. Or who would go to Tim Hortons and order the plain donuts. Now I feel like I'm at a place in my life where I want the simple things. No decisions, no choices - give me something I know I like and leave it at that. Life is overwhelming some days. Plain is reliable, comforting and reminds me of being a kid.

Scott had it right. I don't know why this chip conversation is still stuck in my head after all these years but I thought about it today when I went to Subway for lunch. As I stood in front of the chip rack faced with so many options, I happily chose the plain chips.

Some days I just want to be a simple girl and I like that.

Favourite of the Day: Waking up in a room filled with sunshine on my newly washed sheets, still smelling like Lavender Vanilla fabric softener.

Doogie-ness in 2010

If I were Doogie Howser, ending my day with some profound thought summarizing my day and my life lesson learned, I would write this:


Despite time and distance & the need to walk away when feelings were hurt, people who were once close to your heart will always have a place there. Sometimes they find their way back. Sometimes it just feels right.


(If the show were produced today instead of in 1989, episodes would not end with him typing on an old-school DOS-like computer. But instead, he'd be tweeting on an iPad. )

....and that summarizes my deep thoughts on life and Doogie Howser.

The End.

Messy Meals

I haven't told a Roy story in a long time. I recently ran into an old friend, Scott, and it reminded me of one. Here we go....

When Roy first moved in I would periodically find crumpled up pages of the phone book in the garbage. This baffled me. The first few times I saw this, I shrugged it off but as time moved on and I continued to find the pages in the garbage my curiosity was peaked. What on earth could he have been doing to need to tear out these pages? And why did I NEVER see him with the phone book when I was home?

Eventually, the mystery was solved. One day I came home earlier than expected to find Roy eating his stir fry (that he ate EVERY single day) directly out of the pot. No big deal - I understand the desire to create less dishes and I too will sometimes eat food directly out of the pot. But here's the catch; because the pot was too hot to touch he would grab the phone book, open it up and place the pot on top of it. Then as he ate his meal, rice and veggies would spill over the sides of the pot and onto the phonebook. Then he would simply rip out the dirty pages and put the phonebook back.

As a resolution, I decided to buy him some nice bamboo place mats that he could use instead. He never used them. Not once. None of this really seemed to matter.....until the day Scott came over. A few of my other friends were there as well but when Scott came, he accidentally locked his keys and wallet in the car while it was still running. Frazzled, he came inside to call CAA. Since his wallet was in the car, we had to look up the number in the phonebook. Naturally - CAA was no where to be found in the book.

I can still hear Jane declaring "ROY- You ATE CAA!".

It still makes me laugh out loud.

Favourite of the Day: It's Mothers Day! Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful moms out there, but especially mine!! And also - Winnie Cooper.

M I S S I N G

April 9th - Went to a Stag and Doe with my shirt on inside out. A kind old woman told me so.

April 26th - Went to a restaurant, ate dinner then left without paying the bill.

April 30th - Went to the SAME restaurant, ate dinner then left without paying the bill.

May 3rd - Went to work with my shirt on inside out. My co-worker told me so.

Dear Friends,
If you happen to know where my brain went, would you be so kind & return it to me?
Thanks so much.
Sincerely,
xo xo Sara

P.S. Yes, I went back and paid for both dinners.