Scared Tootin'

I neglected to mention the scare Mama Bear and I received the night of the Saturday Adventure with Nephews.

Mama Bear works at Mark's Work Wearhouse and she can get me the staff prices on the merchandise. She clears it with the powers that be, they remind her of her security clearance for when she calls the alarm company (cuz it's after hours and it's an "out of the ordinary occurrence"), and off we go. We're browsing the store just fine. I'm into trying on my second outfit when the phone rings. Mama Bear goes to answer it and the line is connected already to another phone. I don't really pay much attention as I'm too busy looking for shoes to go with the fabulous number I've got on when she says, "Cyn..." I look over and she's white as a ghost and she's looking over to another part of the store. She's got a fairly freaked out look on her face when she says, "Someone else is in the store." My heart starts to race as I follow her gaze across the store.

me: "What?!! Where?"

MB: "I don't know but when I tried to pick up the phone it was already picked up by another phone somewhere in the store. Come with me."

We go to the front counter to check out the phones and grab a weapon (one of the metal rods used for the displays). The line on the phone is disengaged and we start pushing buttons to see if we can't figure out which set picked up the call.

Ring ring!

MB tries to answer but again, it gets picked up before she can answer. Now we're really freaked out and convinced someone is hiding in the store. Naturally our next choice it to investigate. Why I'm not sure, but we did.

Picture this, MzMaizun and Mama Bear carrying non descript metal rods looking for bad guys. The store was the easy search, the dimly light storage room with lots of dark places to hide a bad guy, was not so easy. Plus, considering we have at least 1/2 the same genes (not jeans...I know it's a workwear store but I'm talking DNA here) means Mama Bear and I have very similar tendencies. All the while we're searching the store, we couldn't stop giggling. Not that we thought the situation was overly funny but because we were scared shitless. (One of us even had the nervous toots but I'm not naming any names....although you'd think it was me wouldn't you?!!) I can just imagine the idiotic scene we displayed to the security cameras.

In the end there was no intruder and it was a problem with the phones. Specifically the one line of the phone system. Who says technology makes our lives better?!! Needless to say, I quickly changed back into my own clothes and we got the hell out of there. Not before collecting a few great tops for work and a cute pair of denim capris! I mean come on...fashion before fear people!!!

What determines "home" anyway?

I had a waft of homesickness this morning. It didn't last long, and they don't come around very often because I'm very happy living here in the big T.O., but I was looking at a beautiful teapot in a store window and suddenly I was taken back to Vancouver, and my many chats over a steaming pot of tea with friends, primarily my girl Tina. Made me feel a little homesick.

Bad Auntie Blogger

Okay. It's obviously too late to post about my Saturday adventure with the nephews. So much has happened since then!!!

But I will give you the highlights:

• One hour (yes you read correctly...one hour) discussion around Spiderman, the Spiderman movies, Spiderman's powers and how Peter Parker became Spiderman.
• One Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie
• Pudding
• Bike rides to three different play parks (Auntie in tow with Seymour, the dog, and Elijah in a stroller. As a side note, have you ever tried to push a stroller and hang on to a dog leesh when said dog on leash is trying to pee on every lamp post that we pass by?! Not an easy task I tell you!)
• Second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles movie with string cheese snacks

And I will close with this terrible cuteness I like to call:

"What I would look like in Auntie's Sunglasses"

Nathan

Isaiah

Elijah

It hurts!

2 (two) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3.

As the lovely Rabs mentioned, today is my 2 year anniversary. When I've told people that little tidbit, they've come back with "Two years? That's nothing," to which I find myself having to qualify "But we've been together for six years."

Regardless of how long we've been together I remind myself of the adage:

"It's not quantity it's quality."

I love ya babe! Happy Anniversary!

This is an older pic (early Jan/Feb I think) but it's cute and the only one I have of the two of us here on my computer at work! Maybe I'll swap it later when I get home. For now...enjoy!

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P.S.
It's also my Cuzin Eden's 15th Birthday today! Happy BD Cuz!! Hope you're having a great day at WUNDERSLAND!!






AND...

It's my neice Molly's BD today too! Busy day! Molly turns 6; she was born the night Gary and I had dinner way back in 2000. Happy Birthday Molls!!
(Sorry I don't have a pic on my work computer. I'll replace it tonight when I get home. Love ya girl!!!)

SYTYCD

If you are a So You Think You Can Dance fan and haven't watched the finale yet STOP now. I'm about to discuss the results.










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I am SO happy that Benji took it! So happy I even got choked up when they announced his name. This guys was so great. Not always the best dancer but the biggest heart and the biggest personality of the bunch. Congrats Benji...I love ya!!!

Okay, so this isn't the best picture of him but trust me....he's fabulous.

But what's even more fabulous is that the SYTYCD TOUR is making it's only Canadian stop in Toronto! Yahooo! I am so going to try and get tickets. Any one else coming with me???

Maizun Horseshoes Tourney

I wanted to do a post today about my Saturday Nephews Adventure but when I was emailing the pictures to my work this morning I forgot one. I can't do a proper blog without all the pictures people!!!

But...here's a fuzzy preview:

Now I'm going to jump back in time a couple of weeks and write about the 2nd Annual Maizun Horseshoe Tournament.

(Mr. Bitter, this might be a long one and as you are self proclaimed non reader of posts venturing past 4 paragraphs, I suggest you skip to the end and see the picture of my cousin - that's really the only reason for the whole thing.)

First, I'll start by saying we got caught in THE WORST rainstorm EVER during our drive out there. OMG, the windshield wipers were on the fastest setting and still we could only see about 5 feet in front of the car. Very scary! I was hugely grateful the G-Man was driving.

Okay, so we drove through the majority of the rain and by the time we got to the homestead it was mostly spittling and looking like it would blow over, which it eventually did.

Cuzin Ryan had volunteered to umpire this year and did a bang up job of organizing teams and "the schedule". Last year's we were very unorganized and save for a couple good rounds of Giant Jenga and Scrotum (acutal game name, not me being a rude pig) and maybe two or three people actually tossing a horseshoe (some at the last minute!), it was more of a drinking tournament than a horseshoe tournament. Case in point, G-man and I were asleep by 8:30 due to heavy "pounding" of beer and margaritas upon our 3pm arrival. Slightly embarrassing but makes for a great story.

This year we managed to make it not only to the end of the tournament, but also to the botched pool toss (I tried to through the G-man into the pool but he squirmed his way out of my grip and ended up pushing me in instead - that was the moment I learned my watch was waterproof up to 30 meters. Yeah!!). We even lasted through to the walk to Cuzin Ryan's house, the water and advil ritual and some chit chats before crawling into "our" bed reserved especially for us at the Cuzin's house. It was the inaugural sleepover and I do have to say it was a very comfy night!

Neither G nor I did very well in the tournament. Although I had a fantastic partner in Aunt by Marriage "Leaner", we were down at the end of the first round. Though I wasn't "into the tent for the night drunk" I was a little saturated (mmmm....margaritas) and it didn't bode well for my horseshoe toss.

Overall it was a gloriously fun event. Some of the other quick highlights:

• losing my crystal earring in the pool only to have Cuzin Todd miraculously find it!
• seeing my OAK with a margarita....
• liquor store/A&P run for more Tequila and Margarita mix with Cuzin Lisa and some 17 year old kid driving us
• super yummy beef brisket
• brisket sauce on Zoey's head
• trying to clean the brisket sauce off of Zoey's head before Dordi came home
• did I mention Margaritas?

I'll close with the aforementioned photo of Cuzin Ryan. Enjoy!

Get on the Boat Maizun!!!

Okay, because my friend Tanya asked for more posts and no more lame Celebrity Pics Fridays, I'm going to make an effort to write more often.

I'm currently working on one about my recent Saturday adventure with my three nephews but I have photos to accompany the post and they haven't been loaded off the camera yet. So that one will have to wait.

What I have been meaning to post about is my two recent obsessions. One is good for me, the other one...not so much.

The first is the gym. I'm getting my butt back on the gym boat. It's been 3 months since I've joined the gym and almost a year since I've been in any kind of routine. Last week I made it there four times (I was aiming for five but just couldn't get there on the weekend!). Feeling good about going and as always, when I'm go regularly I feel better about myself. I do find that it works better when I have a goal in mind so right now my goal is a pretty blue number that I bought while in SF last summer that I would like to wear to Rabsy's wedding. It fits right now but stuff blubbs out where there should be no blubbing. The wedding is a month Thursday so after that I'll have to come up with a new goal.

My second obsession right now (well for the last two weeks while my boss was on holidays) is Escape Room Games (aka Point and Click Games). Oh...my...god....so much fun. About 20 years ago (OMG I'm so old....simply being able to say "20 years ago" and be referring to something I used to do, is incredible!) there used to be a computer game that I think was called "Adventure". It was text based but and it started out with something like "You are in a dark room". And by entering commands and finding clues you had to find your way through the game. Super fun. I loved it tons!!! Well Escape Room Games are basically the same thing but with visuals. The first one I stumbled upon was Crimson Room and it was pretty great. There are some out there with lousy graphics and LOTS of foreign language ones but there are some really really challenging, frustrating but super fun ones as well. I know this makes me a huge geek but I don't care. I'd rather be a geek and play one of these games than actually get some work done!!

Dinner anyone?

I know I've been negligent lately but those of you that know me well, know why.

I wanted to post about our new dining room set that we stumbled upon yesterday. We were driving home from visiting my dad and because it was the Carribana Parade yesterday on the Lakeshore, we had to take more of a northern route to get back to the west side. During the course of this journey, we passed a warehouse with lots of SALE signs and such in the front and G-man said "You know, I pass this place every day coming home from work, let's check it out."

Turns out the place is the last standing Consumers Distributing (Furniture Division). It's massive inside with more furniture than you can imagine. Before too long we were met by what I'm going to call the world's best salesman. Not the typically looking salesman with his square glasses, orange checked polo shirt and cargo khaki shorts, complete with Tim Horton's takeaway mug that may or may not have had coffee in it (I never once saw him drink from it but he did keep it close like a security blanket of sorts). He smelled awfully of cigarettes and normally this would have kept me from interacting with the guy BUT... there was something really personable about him. He didn't come on with the hard sell but he really knew his product and he was very persistant. Our favourite moment was when G asked him for his card and the guy said "Well, I was hoping to write my name at the bottom of your bill!". It was at this point we knew this guy was going to get a sale out of us.

45 minutes later we had custom ordered the dining room set of our liking and G was signing HIS name at the bottom of the bill. So take a look at the catalogue images of our order:

We didn't get the chair with the arms but six side chairs with the padded seat. I can't get a pic of the seat colour but it's a light sage green in the "popular" ultra suede fabric. Very easy to clean apparently!!! The chairs and the entire table are in the "popular" tea colour. We thought about mixing the table top colour and the legs colour but in the end we went for simple over fancy schmancy.

In 4 - 6 weeks we'll be ready for a dinner party. Who's comin?