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I'd like to help you son, but you're too young to vote

October 2, 2008 By 18 Comments

Which debate are you tuning into tonight? It was hard for me to choose, so I made a compromise:

There’s Palin and Dion. One thing I have taken out of this debate (so far) is that MAN, the Americans sure do know how to put on a better show. At times, the debate between the five Canadian prospects is messy and overwhelming, although truly reminiscent of a visit to Parliament where you will see shouting matches and vulgar language. It is more of a “debate” in the true sense of the word. Whereas the Americans is all neat and tidy and more professional looking. Does that matter? SHOULD it matter?

I liked at the beginning of the American debate when Biden quietly jabbed Palin by saying “Nice to meet you.” HA! Take that Palin, I don’t know what it is about her (perhaps all the negative bloggeries swaying my opinion slightly) but she just rubs me the wrong way! She is dragging her teenager all around to interviews all over America with her, why? That girl should be in school learning! My first thought when I noticed that she had her daughter with her for Katie Couric’s interview was that she was sending a message: “Be easy on me, my little girl is here and doesn’t want to see you being mean to her Mommy.”

Also, I don’t like the way they are dealing with gay rights. In my opinion – gay or lesbian Americans who can get married means HAPPY AMERICANS which is what America really needs right now. Their economy is heading towards the shitter, these people may have lost all their assets and investments, but at least just let those two women get married so they too can live a happy and fulfilled life! Happy Americans will lead to a happier country, in my own (admittedly slightly naive) opinion.

Okay, there is my two cents rant about politics. Now on to rant about something else – Tim’s car.

I love Tim’s car. This 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis has been through the best of times:

His car is really a party animal.

Last week became the worst of times:

It got broken into, window smashed and his GPS stolen. Can you believe that this happened in my own “secure” parkade in the basement of my apartment building?!? My building is not huge, just 6 floors with about 10 apartments on each floor and isn’t in a really busy, dangerous neighbourhood (or so I thought). This caused a huge fight between my building manager and I, resulting in my walking down the main street downtown crying! I was just soo fuming mad that this happened. The $250 repair bill didn’t help either. Calgary isn’t the safest place these days, I have laid in bed at night worrying about my own safety at times. I grew up on a farm (we don’t even know where the keys to lock our doors are) and then moved to Guelph, the only place I was exposed to actual crime and violence was in the papers.

P.S. Biden just said “Because I’m a man, I don’t know what it’s like to raise two kids alone.” WHAT!!!! Mr. Matt Logelin, and the thousands of other North American men should be shaking their fists right now, just as I am. Biden, take that back! A man is just as capable of raising children as a woman.

EDIT: Now I’ve gone and made a fool of myself – I knew I shouldn’t have talked politics!  Correction to Biden’s statement: It was more along the lines of him talking about the fact that he WAS a single parent. Did you know you can already find a complete transcription of the entire debate? I found that really interesting.

Uh-oh Biden, look what just happened:

I’ve lost you.

Filed Under: cars, Opinionated, thoughts

First Week of School

September 11, 2008 By 5 Comments

This week marks my first week of teacher’s college. So far it is very reminiscent of elementary school – I have classes with the same 30 students all week, and my subjects are things like art, science, math, religion, gym, and so on. Being with the same class all the time is really nice – or it will be once I actually make friends with everyone. Basically by the end of the year all of these people will be like brothers and sisters, and I won’t know anyone else on campus, which is kind of funny. I am taking twelve courses at once, which is a definite increase from the five that is required in undergrad. So that is a little overwhelming.

The University of Windsor is a lot different from the school I attended for my undergrad, as far as I can tell so far. I don’t find myself homesick for my home (although I do miss Kent a lot, obviously – but I will see him every weekend so it’s doable), it’s more that I miss Laurier – the university where I did my undergrad. I keep comparing the two schools in my head whenever I notice something new about Windsor, and it always ends up falling short. I don’t know if it’s just because Laurier is the campus I’m used to and the only one I’ve really spent a significant amount of time on, but in my head it is exactly the way a university should be. The campus was much newer and prettier, I never had to walk through a slummy area to get to campus… and so on. I suppose this might change once I get used to Windsor. Maybe. There is one good thing about Windsor – you don’t have to line up for EVERYTHING. Laurier’s full name is Wilfrid Laurier University – or WLU, and there was an ongoing joke that it really stood for “We Line Up.”

My living situation is going well. I’m living with my friend Jen who I’ve known since junior kindergarten – since we were three! – and two other girls, also in teachers college, that I have just met. It’s always nice to live with someone you are totally comfortable around, that you feel comfortable borrowing things out of each other’s rooms, wearing each other’s clothes, eating each other’s food… I think it just makes a house feel like home. That probably has something to do with having four sisters. With my roomate and best friend from Laurier, Amanda, it wasn’t uncommon for us to come home from classes and find the other taking a nap in our bed, even in fourth year when we didn’t live with each other. So it’s kind of fun to be living with a close friend before I go and get married and live with a boy forever.

Speaking of the wedding – which I will talk more on later – I won tickets to the bridal show in London this weekend. Erica told me that her wedding photographer was having a contest, all you had to do is write a little something about what you love about your spouse. Here is my winning entry on The Last Forty Percent blog.

Finally, a picture of Jen and I in junior kindergarten – I’m the one third from the right in the middle row (if you include the little one in the rocking chair) in the Couturesmith dress. Personally I think I was the best dressed in the class. Jen is the teacher’s pet, sitting on the teacher’s lap! The cute girl in the very center in the white dress was my very best friend up until grade one, when she moved away. And a picture of us a year ago (her in the centre, me on the right) with our friend Michelle.

Filed Under: friends, micaela, thoughts, university, Wedding

Gone Fishin!

July 29, 2008 By 10 Comments

Kent and I both have every Tuesday off of work together and we always try to do something fun and interesting. Now that it’s summer, this usually involves going to the beach. Last week we met a fisherman at the beach and decided that this week we would go fishing too. Kent has loved fishing since he was young, and I learned what I know from him when we worked & lived at a summer resort two years ago. In fact, the day we started dating was the day that he taught me to fish and I caught one in the first two minutes (good way to impress a fishing guru, I definitely recommend it!) A few of our friends wanted to take pictures of me kissing the fish because this is what you are supposed to do the first time you catch a fish. So I did, but in all the excitement I got the fish hook stuck in my hair! I was so scared that it was going to get stuck in my head (fish hooks are scary scary objects) that I didn’t want to move, so Kent, always calm under pressure, got it out for me. Good way to impress a girl who is afraid she is going to puncture a hole in her skull! Here are some pictures of our day on the river, and see it was a successful day!

My summer is continuing along splendidly, and I still have lots of things to look forward to and quite possibly blog about! Speaking of which… I am considering getting my own blog but I am not sure how it will work for the whole “five blondes” thing. I have always had my own blog (that I eventually grow tired of and delete!) and I just find that I am far more motivated to write in it and post pictures and love it when it’s my own. Maybe I could post the entries in both blogs or write special blogs for fiveblondes.com.

Here is one last picture, Katelyn took it of me after we went for dinner at Kent’s restaurant on Saturday night. After that, I had my first “party” at my apartment! Okay, so it was very very very spur of the moment, and on a Saturday night in July, that means that not many people can make it, but I still had lots of fun and I hope everyone else did too. Note the Lauren Conrad braids I have been sporting (and loving) the last few weeks!

Filed Under: summer, thoughts Tagged With: ,

chiquitita tell me the truth…

July 26, 2008 By 8 Comments

Okay, the truth? Here goes:

Mamma Mia is an amazing movie!!! Mom and I went last night and let me tell you- it was like one big party. We’ve seen the play in Toronto, but that was too long ago to remember, and I’m so glad they made a movie! From the set, to the actors to the costuming (ESPECIALLY the costuming- simply amazing!), this movie had me and mom going from laughing hysterically and singing to almost crying. I was pleasantly surprised by Amanda Seyfried’s performance though. I remember her from Mean Girls and Alpha Dog, and in those movies she was acting as kind of a (excuse my language), slut. haha. In this movie she was the cutest thing ever! You can probably see this from the picture though. Mom is a huge fan of Meryl Streep also, and said it was nice to see her in a happy, mom role, instead of a serious role, like in The Devil Wears Prada.

If you are planning on going to see it, you HAVE to stay to watch the credits! They are HILARIOUS!

Filed Under: review, summer, thoughts

Redeeming myself after a month long vacation from blogging

July 11, 2008 By 10 Comments

You may have noticed that I have not written in here for a LONG time! Well I have good reasons… well sort of. I have had a crazily busy spring and start-of-summer. I have been away about 7 out of the last 10 weekends, I’d say. But don’t feel sorry for me, all of those weekends, aside from Brownie camp and a training weekend for a camp in Toronto, have been strictly for fun purposes – for example, a concert in Toronto (Leonard Cohen – AMAZING SHOW), a musical in Toronto (Dirty Dancing – also an amazing weekend!), visiting Kent’s family in Toronto, a weekend at my friend Rebecca’s cottage at Turkey Point, and I spent this past week at my best friend Michelle’s cottage in Muskoka. An excellent week of lots of boating, sunbathing, ATV-ing, waterskiing, tubing, campfire-ing, eating, and reading. I had a wonderful time hanging out with my two longest best friends and our boyfriends. And I will admit it – I was not one of the ones doing the waterskiing. Tubing I am okay with, but waterskiing just seems over the top scary to me, weirdly enough, considering I grew up snow-skiing and snowboarding just about every day in the winter. I have tried surfing while I was in South Africa, and I am not afraid of things like roller coasters or high diving boards. This week I decided it was probably because, while I swam in lakes and oceans tons as a child, I didn’t spend any time on boats (besides canoes) and I think I only have one memory of tubing as a kid and it does not end very well! We definitely were not deprived children, don’t get me wrong, but my parents preferred vacations (trips out west to visit family, camping trips everywhere, road trips through the States and Canada, trips to Disney World, Europe, ski vacations in Vermont…) to cottaging. I think I’ll be the same way when I’m a parent. Cottaging is relaxing and all, but I definitely prefer the excitement and culture that you get while travelling.

Anyways back to my point, today I visited Katelyn at work and I asked her if she had ever been waterskiing, and she answered “NO! I’m scared of it!” So I’ve decided that this is one thing we can blame on our childhood! Unless any of my sisters would like to prove me wrong… but I am okay with the idea that I will never be a waterskiier. Kent is naturally good at every sport he tries, he even tried waterskiing with one ski this week, and he will randomly pop out with facts like “Did you know I won the grade 11 athletic award in high school?” and “Did you know that I won an Ontario doubles tennis tournament when I was a kid?” So he has no fears about sports and is convinced that I HAVE to try waterskiing by the end of the summer, and I would be great at it, and why don’t I just try? I’m not so sure… my answer is MAYBE.

Now I am back home for the next few weekends, until Kent and I head to Toronto (again! We should really just move there…) for his friends’ wedding. Which is fine with me.. I am a social butterfly but I am also a homebody. Hence the fact that it is Friday night and all of my friends are out having fun and I am sitting at home waiting for my boyfriend to get home from work and listening to an outdoor concert that is going on in my town. Although I’m not sure anyone actually has to go to the concert because it is such a small town that everyone must be able to hear it from their decks! I love being home as long as I know that I have other options, then it seems more like a choice than simply my own loser-ness showing though. Tomorrow night I am heading to an outdoor Rascall Flatts concert with two friends from work and a few others.

I admit that I have not been taking any pictures this summer that I can post, well actually that isn’t true, I have been but they are all on my best friend Michelle’s camera. She lost her camera cord and so they haven’t made their way onto facebook yet, so here is a picture of me at her cottage from last summer!

Hope everyone else has been having an excellent summer too!!

Filed Under: friends, life, micaela, personal, summer, thoughts

My Kid Could Paint That

June 20, 2008 By 7 Comments

Last night my friend Laura and I had a girls night, our husbands were having a boys night at the Coors Light Maxim Golf Experience. I made Laura some amazing Linguine & Chicken Thighs and she brought over a movie- My Kid Could Paint That.

I had heard of it before from Rosie O’Donnell’s blog. The movie hits close to home for Rosie because of all the paintings that her kids do. It’s almost similar to the movie because she often tapes them all painting in their painting room, it’s amazing.

I was mesmerized with the movie. It’s a documentary about Marla Olmstead, an adorable and shy 4 year old. She started painting when she was 2, and they always loved her work, but really all parents love their children’s work. A friend of the families owned a coffee shop and offered to put her work up in the shop, just to see what might happen. As it turns out a gallery owner saw the painting and loved it, after finding out that it was done by a 4 year old the story just grew and grew. And that was just the beginning. She has art shows and her paintings sold for anywhere between $250 (the first one) – to $25,000. Issues arise when people start questioning whether she had any help from her father, an amature painter himself. The documentary does an amazing job of making you really think about it. In the beginning you are so amazed with Marla’s painting, that you believe she does it all herself. Further into the movie after they tape her painting and compare it to other works she has completed you wonder whether she did in fact have help from her father. The painting that she was filmed painting (called Ocean) looks a lot different from the other paintings that she completed (for example Building & Zane Dancing [Zane being her younger brother]) the others are tight patterns and are very symmetrical, the one she painted on film was not. In the end of the movie you are left to decide for yourself.

I honestly feel that it doesn’t matter if she had help, the pieces are still amazing, but if she had help they should have said from the beginning that it was father-daughter work, and not that she did it all herself. The parents were adamant in the movie that she did it all herself and the only help she got was with setting up the canvases, that she did all the painting by herself. The father seemed a bit odd in the movie, and I think it may have been possible that he was helping out. Laura found Marla’s manager to be really weird, and I agreed. He never seemed to give the right answer when people were asking questions and after a documentary about Marla ran on CNN he was filmed screaming at a camera who was asking him questions. Quite a creepy guy also.

I really want to believe that she made these herself and I would highly recommend seeing this movie, so you will know what I’m talking about because this may seem like a lot of mumble jumble. And please let me know what you thought of it!

Filed Under: review, television, thoughts Tagged With: , ,

Thoughts

May 28, 2008 By 9 Comments

Lately I really feel like life is just passing by as I wait for it to get better. I’m not going to get into specifics about my job, but basically I’m not challenged and always feel unneeded in the office, where I work alone. I never in a million years would say that I’m a people person but I AM a person who relies on always having people around for company. I guess you could say that stemmed from growing up with 4 sisters and never being alone. During my day I come in contact with exactly 0 people. Unless I’m lucky and maybe 1 person comes in.. And so the job search continues and I am going stir crazy here.

I took a long lunch break outside today, sitting on the grass in the sunshine reading a book. I love sitting on grass, it’s so cushy and always smells so nice and fresh. I’m currently reading P.S. I Love You, it’s a good book, but so sad, and I’m such a sucker that I aways cry when reading sad books!Toes and River

Last night I got my 2nd ever pedicure! I had to warn the woman doing my pedicure that I am kind of ticklish, I’m slowly growing out of it, but some ticklishness still remains. Laura and I went at the same time, we sat in relaxing massaging chairs, got lower leg and feel massages, exfoliated, buffed and polished. I chose a cheery pink colour, which coincidentally matched the shirt I was wearing at the time, I didn’t notice until we had left! Here are some pictures of my pretty toes that I took at lunch. Sorry to those of you hate toes! I have reallllly long toes and big feet (I’m the shortest in the family but I have the biggest feet, how unfair!). The picture below doesn’t really show off the colour very well, apparently I’m bad at taking pictures of my feet.

After getting the pedicure Laura and I walked around the mall, while walking through The Bay (that’s the Hudson’s Bay Company for all you American folk) and I spritzed myself with a random perfume. Well let me tell you I think I am in love! It’s Coco Mademoiselle, and smells so yummy! I am wearing the same jacket I was last night while at the mall and I can’t stop smelling this one part of my jacket because it smells so good!

And my last thought: We finally will get to play baseball tonight! For once, it’s not raining on a Wednesday! On Wednesdays in our town there is ladies league softball! Mic and Lau and I all play on the same team, we are on the youngest team. We aren’t that great but we still have fun! For the past 3 Wednesday’s in a row it has rained and we have not gotten to play, I think today it is safe to say that we will be playing! I don’t see a cloud in the sky.

Filed Under: katelyn, personal, thoughts Tagged With: , , , ,

Brushes with Fame

May 22, 2008 By 11 Comments

I would not consider myself very star-struck, although I do read Perez Hilton religiously. Mostly I am just interested in people, celebrities or not, hence the psychology major. But I’ve had a few brushes with fame in my life that I am going to share.

1. In Vancouver, I worked at a restaurant that was upscale and beautiful and right on the harbour in Yaletown, so it attracted a lot of celebrities. I was a hostess so I was in charge of greeting people and figuring out the seating charts. Michael Buble was a regular, lived in the area and had gotten to know many of the servers there, and he came in one day so I sat him and his girlfriend, Emily Blunt. He was carrying an envelope that said “Michael Buble” in huge letters so in case anyone that saw him was having any doubts… haha. They were both super friendly but it annoyed me that he was talking on his cell phone during the ENTIRE meal. Maybe he was really busy, but if that was my boyfriend it would definitely have annoyed me. Luckily Kent doesn’t have a cell phone so I get his full attention. They stayed for about 15 minutes, whereas generally people stayed for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours for lunch. They dashed out after saying goodbye to me and telling me their meal was “super.”

2. Sarah McLauchlan also lived in Yaletown, Vancouver. It was an exceptionally nice day and not rainy which is rare for spring in Vancouver, so everyone wanted to sit on the patio that day. There were strict strict rules at the restaurant that groups of 2 sit at tables for 2 and 3-4 sit at tables for 4. Sarah (I didn’t know it was her though) came in, pregnant, with a friend. I sat them at a table for two and her friend asked if they could sit at a four top instead. I was a bit hesitant but I figured that Sarah was pregnant, so that counts as three people. Her friend noticed I was hesitant and said rudely “UMMMM Do you know WHO SHE IS???” I said (probably equally as rudely but mostly not really caring) “No.” She even said that AFTER I gave them the table they wanted! Seriously now. Later someone told me who she was… Although I have to say that it was her friend that was the rude one, not Sarah. So keep listening to her music and maybe even buying it if you want, but I just think that she should be careful of the company she keeps. This friend probably isn’t very much fun anyways!

3. I worked at an upscale resort in Algonquin Park, Ontario, one summer called Arowhon Pines. This was also a place where many celebrities liked to go, Sarah Polley was there that summer too, she is super cool… although definitely very frumpy in person. Kent and I ate dinner in the guest dining hall one night (we won it because he had the best halloween costume.. which by the way I made!) while she was there. Jim Creegan, the bassist for the Barenaked Ladies, also stayed there that summer. Actually he had gotten married there a few summers earlier and goes there every summer. Along with being an office worker, house keeper and server, I was a part time babysitter. Jim and his wife came with a bunch of family, so I babysat some of their nieces and nephews, and their son, Finn. He was about two and before I babysat him for the first time, his parents told me that he has never been away from them before and would probably cry and if he did then I could call them away from dinner. Sure enough, after about 10 minutes he started crying for mommy and daddy and he was so hysterical that I had to call them. Jim came down and hung out with us and we read stories to Finn and stuff. He is seriously the nicest guy ever and would always make up songs with my name in them every time he saw me around camp… like cleaning his family’s cabin and checking his family in when they came in for breakfast and serving them food.. so pretty much all the time! So basically the routine with Finn crying, Jim or his wife coming down from dinner and hanging out with us would happen every day for the whole week that they were there… but I did try! They told me I was helping to get Finn ready for day care in September. All I can say is GOOD LUCK to those day care teachers! Luckily he is so cute that any hysterics can be easily forgiven. Or maybe I’m just biased because with his blonde curls he is exactly what my children will look like someday. Kent loves the Barenaked Ladies and has seen them in concert three times so I introduced him. We had just started dating so it totally won me some points!!

5. Kent just told me the celebrities that he has met: Tie Domi, Don Cherry, Kelly Hrudey, Steven Page from the Barenaked Ladies, and Ron McLean. Most are sports stars… I mean if you’re into that… Just kidding, it’s cool (I guess).

4. Kent’s family are friends with Autumn Kelly‘s family, the Canadian girl that just married a prince, Peter Philip! He is Princess Anne’s son and is a grandson of the queen, and cousins with William and Harry. I bought Hello Magazine today which has a 55 page article about the royal wedding! I definitely suggest you read it. Here she is with her new husband:

Pretty cool! I have a feeling I am going to be obsessed with this couple…

Let me know about your claims to fame!!

Filed Under: micaela, summer work, thoughts Tagged With: , , ,

Things We Throw

May 6, 2008 By 10 Comments

First, a bit of entertainment for you.

I had no idea what to expect when I found the link to this video. The link read “This can’t be real!” making it obvious that this would likely be a very cool, entertaining video. It is. Oh, it is.

This can’t be real!

Photo by dungelmann

The second link I have for you today, freaders, is to some images that may shock you. They’re not gory or gruesome, so don’t worry about that. However, you still may feel ill after seeing them. These images will make you think long and hard about consumption and the things we throw…out.

On a personal note, I’ve been meaning to start re-using plastic bags and also use the reusable bags that many stores give you (like Lululemon). I think this might just give me the motivation I need. For me, these pictures are not just shocking; they are motivational. I’m going to start one plastic bag at a time.

Do you re-use plastic grocery bags, or use the strong, re-usable ones?

Filed Under: random, thoughts Tagged With: , , , , ,

Earth Day

April 22, 2008 By 4 Comments

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

Earth

I love this day of the year, when we get to celebrate our earth!

For the past few years we have participated in our town clean-up, and it is so surprising how much garbage collects. I can never understand people who litter/why they litter. Seriously, what is the point? What you get rid of your garbage a few minutes before you will finally see a garbage can? I was following behind a van on Sunday driving home from my favourite Yoga class, when all of a sudden they threw a candy wrapper out the window. Okay, that I really don’t get. You are in a vehicle, the garbage is not hurting you, just set it down and pick it up when you leave the vehicle! Let’s treat our earth with a bit of respect! I was so mad I wanted to honk at them, but didn’t really think that would get me anywhere, so I didn’t.

Your mission for this afternoon: Pick up a few pieces of garbage.

If everyone does it, then the world will be a cleaner place! I know you have all heard this before, so let’s finally do it!

Hyacinths

Some pictures of wonderful flowers, that the earth grew! One of my favourite flowers- Hyacinths. Can you smell them? This flower is seriously fragrant. I picked one this morning from our garden and put it in my office, when I got back from lunch the aroma was all over my office! Yummy! A free air freshener!

Flowers

More hyacinths

Filed Under: thoughts Tagged With: , , ,
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