Top Ten Things To Do Before I Die

Top 10 Things To Do Before I Die

(1) Go on a road trip destined for nowhere. Just get in the car and go. An adventure with endless possibilities.

(2) Learn to juggle.

(3) Send a secret to Post-Secret. Maybe it will get published. Maybe Not. I don't care.

(4) Cook a turkey dinner. A turkey and all the fixins'.

(5) Drive to the East Coast. See Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Newfoundland.

(6) Kiss someone at the top of a Ferris Wheel. Ideally, someone I like.

(7) Watch the Olympics live.

(8) Pick-Up a Hitchhiker. Not a crazy person - but a person on an adventure to see the world. I want to help them make it happen.

(9) Go streaking. For real. Because if I ever do go streaking, it means I've gotten the wicked body that makes me think I could actually go streaking. Plus, how freeing would it be to run somewhere naked? So fun.

(10) Learn to drive standard. Or drive a motorcycle. I can't decide. How about both?

And the winner is....

I played in a golf tournament this past weekend. My team won the Ladies Division. No thanks to me, trust me. (Though I did get better as time went on - courtesy of Smirnoff Ice). Anyway we had a good time. After we finished golfing there was a dinner where they handed out prizes to the winning teams in each division.

Now before I tell you what we won, let me just say the tournament was put on by a bunch of guys. So at some point they must have gotten together to discuss what the prizes would be right? I'm trying to imagine how this conversation went. Perhaps it went a little something like this:

Guy#1: "Hey man, what should we give the girls for winning?"

Guy#2: "I don't know. What do girls like?

Guy#1: "Hmmm. Well, Girls like purses."

Guy #2: "Ya, girls love purses. Good idea."

Guy#1: "Let's go to the mall and pick some out!"

Yes. THEY GAVE US PURSES.

I think this is the funniest thing in the world. I know one of the guy's who put on the tournament and he was quite proud of himself. He thought they were pretty awesome. Based on how funny I think this is, you may have figured out they were anything but.

In the end though, I'm glad they did this. Because c'mon....PURSES!??!

Favourite of the Day: Season Premiere of "Obsessed" tonight on A&E. 10:00pm (EST).

Top Ten Tuesdays

I am starting a new thing. It's called Top Ten Tuesdays. I learned about this through Yankee Wife, who referred me to Oh Amanda. I think it's pretty self explanatory, so we'll leave it at that. Here's the first one!

Top 10 Things I'd Spoil Myself With If

I Had Too Much Money

(1) A camera. A really awesome, always takes amazing pictures, camera. Like these, for example.

(2) A Hot Tub.

(3) A new, much bigger deck to put my Hot Tub on.

(4) A fence in my yard. For two reasons, first for privacy from certain people. Secondly:

(5) For my new dog. It would be a big dog. Maybe a Golden Retriever or a Saint Bernard. It would be a boy and he'd have a name like Thomas. Maybe. Actually yes, I like Thomas.

(6) A truck. I don't know where this came from but I'm on this thing where I want a truck. It would have an extended cab. I just don't know what you do when the back fills up with snow. I suppose you have to shovel it. That's annoying. Anyway, my truck would have snow tires, four wheel drive and a built in GPS.

(7) A big comfy couch. A big sectional that is soft, squishy and deep. It would have a matching oversized chair that you could curl up in.

(8) All new sports equipment. I would replace all my hockey equipment since some of it is over 20 years old. I would also buy a new ball glove, new cleats and my very own, first ever baseball bat.

(9) One of those blankets that are wool/flannel on one side and lambish on the other side. I know lambish isn't a word, but I don't know what the material is. My parents have one and these blankets are amazing. Call me cheap but I refuse to spend $100 on a blanket.

(10) A flat screen HD television, which would be wall mounted above my new fireplace.

Favourite of the Day: Brian came over tonight to start my BBQ because I was too scared to do it myself. Thanks Bri!!

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.