Guilty Pleasures

Guilty pleasures are the little things that make life just a wee bit better. Of course, they're also the things you're not supposed to like or things that you don’t really want known about you, but what the hey. Life is to short to waste on to much seriousness.

Here are my Guilty Pleasures

1- Playing ABBA loud and becoming the “Dancing Queen”.
2- Jumping in a puddle after a summer rain.
3-Washing my clothes with huge amounts of fabric softener (at least twice as much as it says on the bottle)
4- Staying in my pj’s all day
5- Flirting subtly
6- Granny underwear (I know it's not sexy, but I suspect every woman has at least one pair.)
7- Reading the odd Harlequin Romance novel.

ROFLMAO Now I know

You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.
Dave Barry

I just received a most enlightening and comical phonecall. All I can say is wow. I wish a certain someone all the best in their life and I will leave them with a saying. Whether they heed it or not, it's certainly a fitting one. "Karma is a bitch"!

Now that the chapter is closed and no more attempts will be made, I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can go on holding my head held high.

Just a few nuts and bolts in my life

The quote of Ram Dass, “The quieter you become the more you can hear” has helped me in more ways then I can count lately. I have tried hard to change my ways as well as different things in my life and it hasn’t been easy but it’s something that needs to be done. There were many times I just wanted to slap a few people upside the head but instead kept quiet and just let them frost the cake the way they want to. Since I have kept quiet, I have seen, heard and felt the innuendoes of their words and actions and I just shake my head in bewilderment. Ah well, such is life I guess. I came across this little tid-bit and after the listening to a never ending barrage of complaints I have decided this fit with what I was thinking!!!

BREAKING NEWS:
The Pity Train has derailed @ the intersection of Suck It Up & Move On, then crashed into We All Have Problems, before coming to a complete stop @ Get The Hell Over It. Any complaints about how we operate, forward them to 1-800-waa-waah. Dr. Whogivzadamn Reporting LIVE from 'Quitchur Bitchen’ and suck it up sunshine! Life doesn't revolve around you. Really!

Anywho….I have been keeping myself fairly busy, thus keeping myself out of trouble. I have been getting serious about my writing and slowly but surely have started to catch up on the different pieces I have written. There are a few things in the works and with the encouragement I have been getting who knows I just may find yet another path in my future. I do enjoy adding a bit of comedy to my writing and twisting phrases around to place a comical spin on certain things in my life. Hey if one can’t find something to laugh about (even in a small way) in any situation then what’s the point of even writing about it? Case in point…. It wasn’t to long ago that I was at work and had one of the most classical, comical yet embarrassing moments in a very long time.
I had a friend come to visit me during my shift and all was wonderful. We sat in the office and talked and laughed about all different things. It seemed like the time just flew by. I still had a bit of time before the final rental was finished with their rental so I went outside with my friend for a smoke break. It was still rather chilly out even though it was only 3pm in the afternoon and as smart as I am, I never grabbed my sweater. Well I’m not sure about anyone else, but it seems when I expose myself to coldness it seems my bladder complains and I have to go to the bathroom. I politely excused myself and went in to do what my body was screaming at me to do and just as I was starting this um…task, the office phone rang. I let it ring figuring the person would leave a message and continued on. A few seconds later the phone rang again so I figured I needed to answer it. I rushed the last part of this task and rushed to the office as the 4th ring was just about finished. I grabbed the phone just in time and breathlessly did the proper office phone voice. It happened to be my supervisor letting me know she was not able to come in the following day and gave me some instructions to carry out. My friend had come in just as I hung up the phone and as I turned around to write something on the wall calendar they broke out laughing. Apparently in my rush to finish my task I had left a long tall tale sign hanging from the back of my jeans. That certainly wasn’t one of my finer moments, but I could do nothing about it except laugh my damn ass off.



The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.
-- Shirley MacLaine

First Long Weekend of the Summer!!!

I hope everyone is havining a wonderful Victoria Day weekend. I have to say mine was busy and fun. We were invited out for dinner Friday night and it turned out to be more enjoyable then expected. We went to Sherwood Restaurant and helped celebrate a friends 60th birthday. Enya and her hubby both came from Ireland 15 years ago and their accent is still very pronounced. It was very hard to understand them, but it didn’t stop people from laughing when Enya and Sean started into the Irish brogue and chastising each other in fun. I just love the Irish accent and try as I might I was not able to roll my tongue when I spoke even though Enya tried to teach us women. The guys were having a hard time keeping their laughter in check as she gave some quick lessons on how a lady should curse the Irish way. The food was wonderful and many laughs were had during the evening.

Saturday was a fabtabulous day. Summer was definitely here as the temperatures soared into the low 80’s. The back yard was groomed and ready for the barbeque so I was able to sit outside having my morning coffee watching Bentley chase the squirrels’ and birds. I chatted with neighbours and caught a few morning rays of sun. It’s hard to believe that even at 10:00am one can get the pinkish kiss of the sun on their skin. It didn’t stop me from slipping on the sunshades and catching up on some much missed reading. Company started to arrive around 2pm and from then on time seemed to just slip by. The meal was great and the company was entertaining which made for a perfect day.

Sunday was wonderful since this was the first Sunday of the summer season that I didn’t have to work. I chatted on facebook for a while and then headed out to do some grocery shopping. The rest of the day was spent just enjoying doing absolutely nothing! Today it’s basically the same as yesterday. It is calling for rain but by the looks of it right now, it may turn out to be another nice day ahead.

Saying goodbye to old friends

Pine Valley, Llanview, and Port Charles are places I used to visit all the time. In fact, I went to all 3 of those towns almost daily. I rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, thanks to my good friend Erica Kane and joked around with Tadd Martin during my time in Pine Valley.

It was always hard to leave such good friends, but I had others to visit so off to Llanview I went. It always warmed my heart to visit with Viki Lord Riley and listen while she updated me on the newest sins, scams and schemes of her Step Mother/town bitch Dorian Lord. Sometimes my visit would be filled with anger and sometimes tears, but I knew one thing. I’d always come back since it felt like home when I was in Llanview.

The rest of my days were spent in Port Charles. I never knew what to expect in that small city. There was always something happening, be it bullets flying because of yet another mob war going on or Sonny Corintho’s going on one of his many tirades. My most memorable visit was when I was invited to attend the wedding of Luke and Laura. Now that my dear friends, was a wedding to put even Kate and Andrews wedding to shame. It was simple yet so romantic and yes Elizabeth Taylor was there. It was amazing watching her peek around the corner of the building watching the nuptials of two people who definitely fought long and hard to reach that special day.

It’s been a while since I saw all my friends, so today I decided to visit them. It was amazing that even after all this time, not much has really changed. I did hear that all the friends have made will be moving onto bigger and better things. I’m hoping that I will see all of them as they embark on different travels. So, here’s to everyone that made me feel like one of them. Cheers to each and everyone of you.

What a nice surprise!

Wow, there is nothing like receiving praise from the “Higher Up”. This morning I was checking my work email and as usual there were a few from my Supervisor. One of those emails made me smile and boy did I puff up like a peacock. There was a rental last Thursday night and I treated it like any other rental I have. I do my best, use the costumer service skills I have learned over the years and be as helpful as I can. Well this particular rental was for a group I have never heard of before “LHINS” and the majority of people that were coming in were in suits and ties. It had something to do with the Governess to Governess Health Care system in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand and Brant areas. Anyway, they needed a small amount of equipment such as the P.A system and although I have never set this up before I did my best. After a few tries I got it working and they were good to go. The meeting was only a few hours long and as the people were leaving they all smiled as they passed the office and said a thank you and good night to me. I returned their smiles, said good night and wished them safe travels. It was like any other rental I have and thought nothing of it. Well this morning when I checked my email as I said there was an email from my Supervisor. She’s not really big on words and she is sometimes hard to understand in both her decisions and ideas but she does have her good moments as well. This email only contained 3 words, but it was easily understood. It simply said “Good Job Dawn”. Now that may not mean a whole lot to some, but it certainly meant a lot to me. It’s not often one gets a pat on the back from a Supervisor when your job is to make the public happy with the service they are provided. In all the years I have worked for Parks and Recreation and under my Supervisor, I have never received this kind of praise. This certainly has made my day!

What a wonderful weekend!

Even the rain could not dampen my spirits yesterday. The temperature was fairly mild even though the day was filled with bouts of rain and then drizzle, and I had to work for a few hours in morning, it was the perfect day.

A friend of mine from the States decided to come into Canada to take part in this years Friday the 13th bike rally. It was a spur of the moment idea, but as they say, those kinds of ideas are the best. So, after work yesterday, I went home to change and then I was off to visit for the rest of the day. We met for coffee at Tim Horton’s by the casino so that we could watch the parade of bikers return from their ride to raise money for The Lansdowne Children’s Centre Foundation. We chatted about all the bikes and the fun that was had in Port Dover. It was my friend’s first visit to the Friday the 13th Bike Rally here and Canada, and was amazed at the turn out. I myself have never attended the Rally’s, but I do hope to attend at least once. After the bikers rode back into the Civic Center parking lot, we left and made our way to Mount Pleasant. We had a late lunch at The Windmill, a wonderful and friendly restaurant. The food was excellent as usual and the company was great! We spent most of the day driving around so they could take in the famous landmarks here. My friend was more than thrilled to visit the Bell Homestead and walk around the museum. Of course we were the only visitors there so we had the museum to ourselves. We spent time chatting and catching up on things that have happened in our lives and it seemed like only yesterday since we seen each other, but all too soon it was time to head home for the both of us. We did promise that it would not be another 3 years before we visited again.

Today I’m at work and it’s a fairly busy day. I have one sports rental in the gym, after that there is a family birthday party, than a Wedding Shower taking place upstairs. It’s raining again and has turned pretty chilly, but that ok, it is spring after all! This coming week is going to be dedicated to cleaning the house and washing up the sheers and curtains. I’ll be keeping an eye on the long range forecast since the long weekend is almost upon us. I’m hoping the weather will co-operate and make at least Saturday a rainless day since there is a major barbeque planned. Everyone has been warned that if it’s a rainy day then everything will be cancelled. Here’s hoping that all works out the way it should!

Have a great Monday everyone!!

Just this and that.....

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day. Mine was a very good one. The weather was wonderful, I spent some time with my kids and it felt good. For some reason I did miss my mom more than I have in many years. It was pointed out that maybe it’s because I have grown and matured over the years and that deep inside myself I was needing and wanting her guidance. My mom was the Queen of “I told you so’s” and growing up I hated when she would say that line to me. Now, being the age I am I would give anything to hear her say that again. In all honesty, if I listen close enough I can almost hear her whispered words, “I told you so!

Now that Spring has really sprung and the buds are starting to explode into tiny leaves everything seems good now. It’s a new beginning; time to shed the old blanket and open up the window of my mind. I’m still writing in my own personal journal and it’s cleared a lot of the haze that’s been covering my thoughts. There’s still a lot that has to be cleared, but it’s getting there. Some of those thoughts have cob webs on them while others are still fairly fresh. Who would have thunk my lil ole mind could hold so much? Someone told me recently that I am classified as a work in progress, so that’s what I am going to think about myself from now on. Not yet complete, but I’m going the distance.

Yesterday I did a little bit of laundry and then got caught up in re-arranging the one spare bedroom. A few things had to be disposed of and other things had to find a new place in the basement. Someone wasn’t happy about that but oh well, they had to pull up their gotchees and act like a big person…lol The chaise sofa lounge has been moved against the one wall allowing other things to be moved away from the window. It looks like a nice inviting room for someone who needs to escape the loud rumblings and snorting of night. It’s amazing what you can find when you’re not even looking for it. I came across some pictures of a few years ago. They were pictures of a weekend trip I took a while back with a friend. I had to smile as memories came back to me. That was a trip I do not regret taking and will never forget. We still talk about how much fun we had and we have talked about doing it again. I guess only time will tell!

Have a wonderful day and remember…

Humor isn't for everyone. It's only for people who want to have fun, enjoy life, and feel alive.” - Anne Wilson Schaef

The Letter Z

Todays blog is brought to you by the letter Z

Z is for Zip it



Sometimes silence really is golden!

The Letter Y

Todays blog is brought to you by the Letter Y

Y is for Being Yourself

Be true to yourself

Man in the glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn't your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
He's the fellow to please ' never mind all the rest
For he's with you, clear to the end
And you've passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.


He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.
~Raymond Hull

The Letter X

Todays blog is brought to you by the Letter X

X is for Xeranthemum, Xanthorrhoea and Xylobium

Ok, I am officially stumped so here is the only topic I can come up with the letter X

Flowers that start with the Letter X

Xeranthemum

commonly known as Immortelle
a flower of the genus Xeranthemum native to Southern Europe. It has silvery flower heads with purplish tubular flowers. It is a symbol of eternity and immortality.




Xanthorrhoea

The best known common name for the Xanthorrhoea - Blackboy.
This name refers to the purported similarity in appearance of the trunked species to an Aboriginal boy holding an upright spear. Some people now consider this name to be offensive, or at least belonging to the past, preferring instead grasstree. In the South West, the Noongar name balga is used for X. preissii. In South Australia, Xanthorrhoea is commonly known as yakka, also spelled yacca and yacka, a name probably from a South Australian Aboriginal language,[2] mostly likely Kaurna.


Xylobium


Common Name - The Elongate Xylobium
Xylobium elongatum orchids are a small (30 species )genus and are much desired germs of orchid collections . Flowers of the species xylobium elongatum resemble those of Lycaste orchids in morphology and shape ,but they are no match for them in color and size. The species Xylobium elongatum is a little exception to this - its greenish and relatively large flowers sport a showy red-dotted tongue -shaped lip. A sparse ,short ,overhanging flower raceme grows (as with all the other Xylobium orchids) from the base of the 2-3.2 in/5-8 cm long pseudobulbs that are foliaged at the top.

I know it's a boring topic, but at least it was edumacational :)

Back to this and that blogs!

Well, now I have the Alphabet Blog finished I can start to concentrate on other things. The Alphabet Blog was an experience for sure, and it certainly made me use my brain more than usual. Some of the letters were, to say the least, more then difficult to come up with topics. It’s ok if you concentrate on one thing and use the alphabet to cover the subject, but to hop from topic to topic, trying not to copy a topic someone else has blogged about is a feat in it’s self. But I finished …….so yayyyyyy for me.

Now, over the last little while life has been good. No major traumas or pissy happenings. Work has been going well and all but one hockey group is finished for the season. I have them all booked into the system for the fall season and I did it all by my little ole self! I was rather surprised when every one of the teams gave me a thank you card along with a Tim Horton’s gift card, this is the first time that this has happened in all the years I have worked there! My hours have certainly been shaved way back since the sports rentals are done, and finally unemployment has kicked in helping to make up the difference.

A few nights ago after work, I went out for coffee with a few friends. It was just a short outing but was still filled with lots of laughs. We were going to go to Tim Horton’s but instead chose to go to a restaurant in the area. It was almost 10pm so the restaurant was fairly quiet. It was an hour or so filled with laughs and good times and when the check arrived at the table we all grabbed at the bill. What a good laugh we had when the waiter came and suggested the “eeny meenie minee moe” decision. Well that decided the whole thing. It also brought back some of the little sayings we had as kids and as we left the restaurant we were trying to out best each other with kids sayings. What a blast we had!

There were a few chants that I was not familiar with so I had my friend email the ones he knew.


Boys come from Jupiter because they're stupider,
Girls come from Mars because they're super stars,
Boys drink coke, cus they're a big joke,
Girls drink pepsi, to stay more sexy!

Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish
How many pieces do you wish?
(Stop at that person and ask for a number and then you count it out one-potato two-potato style)


One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
All good children go to heaven,
Some fly east,
Some fly west,
Some fly over the cuckoo's nest.



Ok, now this blog will be posted before the last remaining Alphabet blogs. It’s also Mothers Day weekend so I hope everyone enjoys their special day!

The Letter W

Todays blog is brought to you by the letter W

W is for Words of Wisdom.

Here are some of my favorite Words of Wisdom



Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.

Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

Eat a live toad in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.

If you’re not part of the solution, be part of the problem!

If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

If you try and don’t succeed, cheat. Repeat until caught. Then lie.

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

Never buy a car you can’t push.

Never eat yellow snow.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you don’t have a leg to stand on.

Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

The early worm gets eaten by the bird, so sleep late.

There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a suitable application of high explosives.

There are very few problems that cannot be solved by orders ending with ‘or die.’

When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

Silence can be misquoted

And my all time favorite....

When you can no longer change the situation you are in....REMOVE yourself from that situation!!!!

The Letter V

This blog is brought to you by the letter V

V is for Vacant


When I was a kid the playground that we used was a vacant lot in our area. We only had one park where we lived and usually that was filled with little kids. We could not let loose with our grown up cussing mouths nor the odd drag of a cigarette to look cool. Little kids could be tattle tales and all we needed was for one of them to go home and say oh guess who was at the park smoking? Or guess who I heard swearing? My dad was a part time construction worker and part time cab driver so he knew many families. He was a very stern man and somehow he always knew what we were up too. There was one vacant lot I remember and it was the best hang out a young teenager could have. It was an old arena that had been half torn down and at the back there was a wooded area. For those that are reading this and if you are from my city you may remember the old Artic Arena. It was within hollering distance to my house so that was an added bonus. Now back when I was younger our parents never had to worry about the risks we do now. Anyway some pretty fond moments happened in that vacant lot and in all honesty, that’s where I got my first hickey…LOL. Damn those were the days. I had my first cigarette and my first drink in that vacant lot. There were a group of us that hung out there. In the summer it was wonderful since the woods were right behind it and well as you can imagine, it was a good place to keep out of sight…lol. Then I moved out of that area and well, I was a bit older and made a new gang of friends. I graduated from the vacant lot to hanging at the Golf Course. Oh the stories that place holds, but thats for another time.

The Letter U

Today's Letter is brought to you by the Letter U

U is for Upbeat




U is for Upbeat

Definition:
(n) a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous.

During my not so mature times I have not been the most upbeat person. I guess hitting that major milestone in my life made me take a second look at where I was and where I should be. I’m tired of doing the whiney thing and always blaming my unhappy attitude on everyone else. I finally realised I am in charge of my own happiness. Is my life perfect? Certainly not. Am I where I need to be? No not even close. But I will get there because I am not going to whine about my unhappiness anymore. I’m going to be more upbeat. Accept the crap that was dealt to me and turn it into “life’s little lemons”. I’ve burned some bridges and ended certain chapters in my life and now plan on writing new more fun chapters. I’ll let those that wish to dwell on negative things be on their own.

"It isn’t your position that makes you happy or unhappy, it’s your disposition." — O. S. Marden

The Letter T

Todays Blog is brought to you by the letter T

T is for Timeless

Timeless classic Toys. These are a few that I was able to enjoy in my childhood. Oh the memories that they bring back!


Spinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn….left hand blue…spinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn……. right foot yellow, A butt in the face, an arm snaked between someone else’s legs. Yep that’s Twister! A game that is still as fun today, as it was in the yesteryears, as long as ones body is still as agile as they were in the yesteryears.




Her hair was amazing, she spoke to me and we played together many times. She was always ready to go anywhere I wanted to go. She wore a pretty dress, bobby socks and shiny black shoes. In her hair was a beautiful bow and on her back was the ring attached to a string that I could pull to hear her talk. She was my bestest friend ever! I knew she loved me, well, until I tried my hand as a grown-up hair cutter. Oh the tears I shed when mom told me that her hair would never grow back. When my brother decided to hang Cathy by the ring to a thick tree branch, and then proceed to pull her downwards, so he could laugh as she was slowly pulled back up was her ultimate demise. Rest in peace my friend! We played well together.




A shiny black case with a plastic handle. The front adorned with the popular name Barbie, along with images of every little girls friend. When little fingers unsnap the small clip and hands can open the case to reveal a whole world before them. Clothing of every walks of life and shoes galore. That’s what brought a smile to my face. Being able to transform Barbie in any attire I wished. Over time, the dresses were torn, shoes were lost and Barbie’s hair grew into a tangled mess that no amount of care could undo. But on my behalf, my Barbie’s travelled the world and had fun while doing it. I may not have the very weird measurements that my Barbies had, but I certainly want to start having the fun they did!

Stalled, but only for a bit!

Just a short one to let everyone know that I have not given up on my Alphabet Blog. I was doing so good and then plain ole laziness set in. I can’t blame anyone but myself in that department, although if I try hard enough I’m sure I could come up with a few people to take the blame. The funny thing is, when you blame or find fault in others for any misfortunes that have occurred to you or against you, you really are blaming yourself.

It is to see the faults of others, but difficult to see once own faults. One shows the faults of others like chaff winnowed in the wind, but one conceals one's own faults as a cunning gambler conceals his dice.
Buddha quote

I will return with the Letter T