fan of westjet

wednesday was a long day. our first flight left kelowna international airport at 7:15 am, which didn't sound too awful when I first booked it, but I never think about how early I will actually have to leave my bed in order to get to the airport.
ugh.
and I so did not want to come back home.

good thing I am a very light packer. only took a carry-on bag and my laptop. I do love clothes and shoes but I can also be pretty practical when I need to be. the best part was not having to check it all and wait for it. it thankfully meant a breazy time at every airport there and back. well done.

no one stepped on my toes, tv was pretty decent (coming from a girl with no cable or satellite anyway) and I actually slept a bit on the way home, too. all our flights were uneventful, on time, and during the day so there was a lot of stuff to see out the window if I wanted.

but five flights in less than two months makes me think I'm good for a while again.

tuesday fan

tuesday I had the day off to check stuff out, shop and get my bearings as a whole.




it started out at bean scene, over a cup of vegan basmati rice pudding and a mug of okanagan white vanilla tea. so yum.

sunglasses are a must in kelowna, and mine recently broke, so I had to get a new pair.





the vintage 1950's cotton dress and matching balero jacket was also, suddenly, a must. michelle knows all the coolest cats and where they sell their wares. I took it to my friend marion, who is the wonderful woman sisters by choice are privileged to sing and model for, and she told me I had better keep an eye on it because she wants it. high praise from the woman who owns the largest and coolest dressup things in the entire world. she also told me to let my husband know that I got a real steal; she has yet to purchase anything from that era for so little.

sweetens the deal even more.
one day I'll post pics of me and the dress in all its glory.

fan of el dorado

some friends of a friend told us that when we went to kelowna, we had to have a drink at el dorado, since it was one of their favourite places to go and relax. I completely concur.
so beautiful to be right at the water, soaking in the mountains and basking in the sun, sans humidity, on a summer's eve. words really cannot begin to touch the feeling of catching up again, face to face, with old friends, even if one of them is going to try to boss me around from time to time.

fan of earl's

sunday night dinner was so, so good.
great food
great drinks
great view
great beginning

fan of flying

well, not really and truly. i don't love flying but i don't hate it either. i've flown a fair number of times in the last few years and really don't have anything to complain about except that the ADD that i don't really have seems to appear pretty much right after the plane levels out.
bo-ring
i mean, it just ends up feeling so claustrophobic and limiting and not what i want to be doing for a million hours.
the guy next to me, at the window, got out of his seat when i went to the bathroom.
yes, i generally announce it every time.
anyway, i went to the bathroom and noticed the door wasn't closed, and the occupant light was not on so i figured i was safe.
wrong.
wide stewardess was in there, doing her hair, and even though i said sorry, like a good canuck, she huffed at me, slowly closed the door and made me wait. *i say she was wide only because she seemed extremely adept at bumping into neal every time she walked past him and, of course, woke him up from his i just feel asleep nicely state.

then, as she was exiting the bathroom, she totally stepped on my feet, like i wasn't supposed to be standing where i was. you flown domestic lately? not a whole lotta runnin around room. it was kind of odd, really, since we have not encountered a single cranky steward or stewardess in a long, long time. in any case, i went back to my seat. the guy beside me had already returned and i guess he decided it was a good time to offer me bits and bites. i said no thanks and offered him some licorice. he didn't want any. but he did find it funny that wide stewardess told him he couldn't buy a sandwhich anymore (too late in the flight?) and that was why she handed him three packs of snack. i told him she stepped on my feet and that obviously meant she didn't think *i* was cute. he laughed, then said "this feels like the longest flight of my entire life"
no kidding
he must have hidden ADD, too.

fan of the hillbilly prom theme

so much has happened since i last blogged. i still have zero idea how all those other people blog, consistently, every.single.day.of.their.lives. while still, somehow, simultaneously, living the life they are blogging, cause when life is happening to me ... um, yah, compy is not with.

but i digress.
and i am famous for setting the dates of my posts to reflect the time the event occured, not the time i am blogging about it, because it would drive me insane otherwise. anal. i know.

this is a pic of us before going out to a friend's hillbilly prom stag and doe.
i got a few nasty looks as i saddled up to the bar.
one woman seriously came over and started rubbing the sides of my belly, proclaiming me to be "just the most cutest preg ... wait ... you're not even pregnant!"

i just smiled and took another sip.

fan of life

this has been a super busy week. I had a new client, which is excellent, but it means hours spent preparing for testing, administering the testing over two or three sessions then sitting down and analysing said testing then writing the diagnostic report.
I love it but it is time consuming.
I also had rehearsals for tomorrow's Victorian Wedding play, and the upcoming appearance of yours truly on a float, in a vintage 1800's bathingsuit, singing, on Canada Day AND that coffee house gig I said I'd do tomorrow night ... after the wedding and before the hillbilly prom themed stag and doe but before I leave for B.C.

meh
I'll just sleep on the plane.

fan of the jeffrey gaines cover

amazing voice
devastatingly bad video
just close your eyes

fan of the sold sign ... again

this time around, our home sold in only four days. three buyers wanted it, in a market we were told is stagnant; only four out of every ten houses selling.

see, I believe in this thing called the holy spirit, and he imparts wisdom when you ask.
and I believe there is a God who loves me, in spite of myself.
and I believe that even if I am missing it, he digs me, and he loves nothing more than to knock my socks off with his displays of love for me.

and so he did.
plainly, simply, quickly and abundantly.

and now I'm off on another adventure, like the gypsy he made me to be.

... come with?

fan of the sunset

fan of the cover song

i am going to be performing again at a coffee house, next saturday. a lot of what i do is cover songs, but not just me playing the song i like ... i try to put a personal spin on it, using a capo to change the key, finger picking a fast song, or altering the notes all together.
i'm not a musical genius (i wish)
i'm not a fantastic guitar player
i'm not a mesmerizing singer
but
i know what i like, and this is one of the songs i'm covering
... see you there

fan of the t shirt

I think t shirts are seriously under-rated.
I think they should be allowed as common office attire, provided they are cool. and I suppose that is a moot point.
honestly ... I have seen some pretty hideous tees in my time.
I am not even remotely into disney related ones, or belly ones, or ones that are ripped at the sleeves in a bad weird way.
but I do dig concert tees, and vintage tees and tees with slogans.
I should clarify that only some slogans are good.

I was thinking about my own t shirt collection, trying to decide which one is my fav. it's a toss up:

1. Gino's East (it's still great and it's all about memories, baby)
2. the moustache made me do it (best colour and feel)
3. the civil wars concert tee (that joy herself picked out for me)
4. i think i rock (see above pic)

what's yours?

rain fan

it may seem bizarre to say, but today I am grateful for the rain.
and I was grateful for a cancellation, leaving me free to eat Swedish berries and enjoy some gin and tonic.
I was grateful for the glimpse of a robin taking a wee bath on my garden ladder, seeing the strawberries turning red in their beds and a plethora of yellow flowers that blossomed near my bird bath over night.
tonight I was grateful for friends who text, for new songs to sing and nailpolish with glitter in it.
... for cookies with chocolate, hamburgers off the grill, lightly salted chips and for the grace necessary to discover that I'm not the same girl I once was

and that I like me.

fan of dallas

dallas green at the concert hall

fan of mls

if you've ever wondered what my house looks like, here you go:

inside and out

fan of Royal Wood

fan of my dad

my dad walked around the track, along with other cancer survivors for the first time last night.

he celebrated as a survivor; we celebrated him. each survivor was given helium filled balloons to release, representing the number of years they have been cancer free. apparently they ran out of bags of "six", so my dad was handed a bag of "twelve". I say it's prophetic.

I'm not a fan of cancer
but I am a fan of my dad

fan of the mixed tape

oh how i miss my mixed tapes. especially the ones made for me by someone special.

see, our first house had a basement that leaked like a sieve. it was honestly so bad we didn't try to fix it. but we mistakenly kept our assorted tapes in a holder down in said dungeon and when it came time to pack up and move, five years later (yes, a record for us staying in one place) all our taped glory was a mouldy mess.
i would have cried over it, but what would the point have been?
every once in a while, i hear one of those old songs on the radio and it takes me back in time
and it always makes me smile.

this did, too:

dine alone records and friends summer sampler 2011

fan of the sister in law

i have three sisters-in-law and i consider myself really blessed to be able to say i think each one is totally fabulous, even though we don't hang out on a regular basis like some do. we are all just so busy with "life" that it isn't practical, not to mention that i only live close to one of the three, and between us we have fourteen kids.
today, though, i got to hang with the one who lives the furthest away because she and her husband drove around 26 hours to get here.

we drank tea, ate great salads, laid out on the sand and braved the frigid waters of lake huron (ok, she went under while i watched, only up to my thighs, but at times neither one of us could feel our legs so it totally counts) and washed it all down with more tea and chocolate cake.

all in all a spectacular day, even if no one really took pictures.

Homestar fan

Kristin ... a

totally a fan of the frito pie!

i so do not care how stupid and juvenille i look in this picture. that frito pie has been on my list of "foods" to try since i got the flyer back when i worked at the book store. and that crackhead smile on my face is 100% lovey-dove-love, baby.
i was sooooo glad when jolanne said she can't do dairy (so i didn't have to share)
serious joy of all joys new favourite thing i will wish i could eat every single day and i don't care if you think it's gross

open bag of fritos.

add generous scoop of chili.

top with sour cream and shredded cheddar.

give to kristina with a fork.

watch her stir it and eat it like she's never eaten anything before.

mmmmmmm.

my kinda goodness.
(thanks for the pics i just ripped, jolane!)

fanned out

as much as I would like to think of myself as a gardener and enjoy occasional gardening, when we moved into this house two and a bit years ago, I had NO idea just how much gardening and maintenance there was gonna be.
I sort of dig it
mostly not
it takes me hours, literally, to mow the lawn.
I will never be finished dividing all the perennials.
I will never not have to edge or fight with myriad of dandelions.
I will always want another square foot garden, will make one, fill it with plants then remain pertrified to eat anything I have grown in case it is somehow toxic. truth
I will always wish I had some shade, and more trees, and privacy
but I love my horseshoe pits and play like nobody's binness about twice a year.
I will never be able to keep the neighbour's cat from crapping in said pits
or obliterate all the ant hills that keep popping up everywhere
however, I am insanely proud of my two, front garden beds now that they are officially finished
and I treasure the hanging basket one of my students presented me with on his last day of tutoring/therapy.

and the poppies and peonies can bloom all they like, as long as they never ever choke out my favourite forget me nots.

still a fan ...

today I was painting trim in the house, you know: doorways, windowsills, stuff, when the cat came over to check me out. he, apparently, needed to be closer to me and before I knew what was happening he attempted to jump up into the window ledge and hit the paint.
it was almost slow motion
he stopped, paw stuck to the fresh paint, looked at me in complete amazement, and proceeded to leap like a bull in heat across every piece of furniture and floor.

fantastic
but i'm still in love

i'm a fan

Tell us about your favourite band/musician.

if I was still in grade school, the answer to the question would be to tell you about my two favourite albums: grease and sesame street fever. yep. hands down they were the two albums I listened to over and over again. I remember the night my dad brought home the sesame street fever one, too. not sure why I was given the album but I kept it for a very long time. grover has always been my favourite muppet, and he was on the cover, complete with stretchy white disco suit. good times.

mom and dad have a picture of me wearing a bright red fuzzy robe, sitting on a ginormous white, fluffy pillow, with even more ginormous earphones on, smiling like I'd just found out I was a for real princess. of course big earphones are back in. who knew?
I was listening to grease. no idea, really why I was allowed to listen so much considering the content and my age, but most things went over my head back then. all I cared about was trying to sound just.like.olivia.newton.john.
nothing else mattered much.

if I was still in highschool, the easy answer would be u2. I loved a lot of music back then: new order, yaz, morissey, the cure, the smiths, duran duran, michael jackson (I even had a picture disc my brother bought me *sigh*), depeche mode.
but above all other music was u2. my brother scored tickets to hear joshua tree in toronto. I had a job at arby's at the time and couldn't get that weekend off, so I did the only reasonable thing and quit. then I decided I was too scared to go to a concert and my friend jan's sister went instead. I hear they had a blast. my brother bought me a tshirt. (idiot girl)

now, I would have an incredibly hard time naming my favourite musician or band. dallas green, the civil wars, the swell season.
funny. my son asked me a while back what it was like growing up with music. did we pick single bands or artists to follow religiously or was it like now, where you choose maybe two or three songs from a particular musician but have maybe 25 or more "favourite" artists? I honestly don't think it occurred to me to wonder until he asked. things have defintely changed. more often than not, I find myself listening to the stuff my boys like, liking a ton of it, too, but then I hear this voice telling them who he/she sounds like or is reminiscent of ...

I am totally turning into my parents.

sound of fans

http://www.myspace.com/soundoffans