Tonight's the Night!

I'm going to see the movie tonight with a couple of my girlfriends! This is making us feel like we're 15 again because we're so excited to see if it is going to live up to its reputation!! I'll give my opinion soon!

Are these people serious?

Ok, so we're in this big financial crisis, the automotive companies are burning through cash faster than the wildfires in California, so the CEO's go to Washington to beg the Congress or Senate or whoever for a 25 BILLION dollar loan package to keep them afloat. Is this in the best interest of the auto companies if they get this money? Yes, probably. If they were to manage it correctly, this could save hundreds and even thousands of jobs of Average Joes trying to make ends meet. Will they even get the opportunity to try and save these jobs? Probably not. Why? Well, there are a few reasons, I'm sure, but don't you think that if you were a CEO of major company in MAJOR financial trouble, that you'd try and illustrate to the committee that you're testifying to how terrible the situation really is. These moron CEO's of the "Big Three"--GM, Ford, and Chrysler--felt that the best way to show this was to blow $20,000 each on money they don't have to pay for the corporate jet of each company to fly their sorry pampered little behinds to Washington to ask for TAXPAYER money. REALLY??? The reps for the CEO's claim that it is company policy to fly CEO's by private jet for "safety reasons." Well, I have news for you. Because of all of their "policies" such as these countless other companies have had to let thousands of people go. If they would have flown commercial, it would have cost about 500 bucks each. That is a savings of $15,000 each....which isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but if they're stupid enough to blow that kind of money in a situation like this, how many millions of dollars have they blown under the radar? I think that the fact that these CEO's have lost their grips on reality may cost them dearly. Not that they care...they all have more money than they know what to do with...why would they care about the average person? It's disgusting. The industry needs to change, and it may take all three of the Big Three hitting rock bottom for that to happen, and I hate to think of all of the casualties that will ensue along the way.

Knitter's Delight

I'm not sure if most of you know this or not, but I'm an up-and-coming knitter. I've been knitting for about 3 years now, maybe a bit more, and up until very recently, I've only attempted to knit scarves (oh, and this enormous shawl that I did for myself, but it's pretty hideous). Lately, though, since it seems that everyone I know is pregnant or has just had a baby, I decided I'd better learn how to knit some cute baby stuff.

So, with the help of a co-worker who is a very proficient knitter, I have now knit two booties, two baby mittens, and I just finished a hat last night to complete the set. This first set is baby blue, since my cousin Cara is due with her first son on January 1st. I am hoping to give them to her over the Thanksgiving holiday. Here is a picture of the handiwork all finished!

I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments! If you have any requests, let me know!

I love married life.....

because Gary and I compromise and compliment each other on so many levels. We enjoy the same food, we like the same TV shows/movie genres (well, except for the fact that I make him suffer through reality TV), and we both love sports. One of the best things about our compromising is that I'm not the best cook, but Gary was a bachelor for long enough that he's pretty awesome at it, and since I don't mind going to the store and he doesn't mind cooking, it works out GREAT.

Here was tonight's product of our compromise: Baked Orange Roughy with vegetables, with a side of Greg Norman Cabernet Merlot (that was my contribution). YUM-O.

All I want for Christmas is.....

A Boston Terrier puppy! "But Erin," you say, "you're allergic to dogs!" Ah, yes, I am, but this is a HYPOALLERGENIC dog....meaning that it barely sheds, and as long as its skin is kept healthy, it is bathed regularly, and I sweep up the dander, there really should be minimal suffering for me. Gary and I have been researching the breed, and as much as we'd like a Boxer, since he had Duke from a puppy until he passed away at the ripe old age of 10 or 11, I just can't handle a Boxer's dander....I've tried. Bostons have a temperament a lot like Boxers, especially if we raise it from a puppy, which means she will love people, she will be loyal, and most importantly, she will be great with the kids we hope to have some day. We want to get a girl because they're a lot more docile and not territorial or aggressive. We went to the Toronto Humane Society yesterday to check out what they had, and they did have a four year old Boston named Buster, but there were already multiple applications to adopt him, and it was a big long screening process, and since we really don't want a dog right this second with the winter coming (not good for potty training little puppies) and with all the holiday traveling we'll be doing, we are just going to keep our eyes peeled for a good fit for us. We've found a couple breeders that we may try to get in touch with come spring or summer, so wish us luck!

Blast from the Past

Back in September, my friend Emma and I embarked on a journey to the past for one night. We went downtown to the Air Canada Centre and saw the New Kids on the Block reunion tour. The tickets were free, and we weren't really sure if we were ready to go back 15 years or so, but we decided, "Why not?!?!" Sadly, I did not take my camera along for this concert, and I wish I would have, because we were like two feet away from my first heart-throb, Joey McIntyre on our way to dinner. When we got to the ACC, it was hilarious because there was this huge line up outside of ALL WOMEN, some wearing their NKOTB t-shirts from the first time around (and let me tell you, some of them had grown up way too much and to be way too big to wear those shirts, but they did it anyway). We're standing in this line, commenting on the outfits we're seeing, when all of a sudden, the high-pitched, crazy squealing of boy-crazy girls began and this stampede of women went flying into the main lobby of the ACC. Why, you ask? Because the New Kids were standing in a restaurant that overlooks the lobby, waving at the fans. It was so funny to hear grown women acting like they were 15. But that was just the beginning. When we got inside, there were groups of women who had been friends and had seen the concerts the first time they toured who were back again---some made t-shirts, some had their daughters with them, and all of them were overly excited. When the first song started, I literally couldn't hear because of all the screaming. Emma and I just laughed at how ridiculous the whole scenario was until they broke out in "The Right Stuff," and then we were screaming right along with them. It was amazing...we'd both forgotten a lot of the songs and hadn't even thought of the New Kids in years, but once they were performing right in front of us, we were so excited and all of the lyrics came right back. They did a great show...yes, some parts were cheesy, but I found it very commendable that they sold out every show and had the stamina to do a long tour. Kudos to the New Kids. They made many women (young and old alike) very happy when they decided to go back on tour.

You know the economy is bad when...

Auto parts maker Magna posts 3rd-quarter loss, cuts sales forecast, slashes dividend
Tuesday November 4, 6:37 pm ET By Bree Fowler, AP Auto Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. said Tuesday it lost $215 million in the third quarter, citing a continued decline in North American vehicle production that spread to European markets. It cut its full-year sales guidance and slashed its dividend, saying it doesn't expect demand for cars and trucks to improve anytime soon.

Magna's results come a day after automakers reported their October U.S. sales that fell a combined 32 percent from a year ago to the lowest total in more than 17 years.

The news sent Magna shares down 39 cents, of 1.1 percent, to $33.99 in New York trading Tuesday, after tumbling as low as $31.16 earlier in the session. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's shares have traded between $28.28 and $99.38.

In addition, in order to offset the resulting drop in sales, Magna is taking a number of steps to cut costs and become more competitive including the 50 percent reduction in its quarterly cash dividend to 18 cents and a review of all of its cash spending.

The cost cutting efforts should help put Magna in a position to take advantage of consolidation in the industry and pickup key businesses from auto suppliers that aren't able to survive the downturn in the industry.

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That isn't going to be fun in the short term, but the long term will be good. (For those of you who don't know, Co-Ex-Tec, where Gary and I work, is a division of Magna).

To me, this says it all.....

Congratulations to the next President and First Lady!

I'm not a Republican. I'm not a Democrat. In fact, I don't even really like politics, I think it's way too overanalyzed, especially in this year's election. I do, however, believe that it requires a lot of research and soul searching in order to make the educated decision that is necessary when casting a vote for the person who is going to be representing the United States on the world's stage. The image that this person projects should be a positive one. He (or she) should be a person that the American people, and all of those people from other nations affected by the decisions made in the U.S., can look up to and trust. I was very disappointed in the circus that this election turned into. It became more of a popularity contest based on age and race and looks and other issues that should have NEVER come to the forefront. The issues that were magnified take the focus away from what is really important in the U.S. right now---which to me is the state of the economy, the trade deficit, and the fact that we have way too many troops still overseas. Yes, taxes and healthcare are big, too, but there are some serious issues that could really get out of hand unless something is done.

I did not vote this year. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it wasn't. I didn't vote because like I said earlier, I believe it takes a very educated and researched decision to cast a vote, and I am not going to be irresponsible and cast a vote based on the wrong information. In this election, everything was so biased and facts were so misconstrued that it was ridiculous. I could not figure out how to tell fact from fiction, and I don't like to be swayed by celebrities or media. I like to make my decision based on my own research. I was too overwhelmed with propaganda everywhere I looked, so I didn't make that responsible decision. If I would have voted, I probably would have voted for Obama. I am not sure I like everything he stands for, but I believe that he is the lesser of the two evils, and I definitely think his heart is in the right place and he truly wants to do what is best for this country. Now the election is over. Obama WILL be the next president. Even though many people in the U.S. didn't vote for him, that is in the past now, and I just hope that everyone can unite and put their differences and prejudices aside and stand behind this man to help the United States become the nation it can--and SHOULD--be. I find it fascinating how much people from other countries have focused on this election--I can say that first-hand, because I cannot tell you how many Canadians have come up to me at work, asking my opinion on the election and showing genuine interest and excitement about its outcome. You don't realize until you live outside of the United States how much everyone else focuses on our every move as a country. We're under a microscope. That is why we need someone who can motivate people to change and make them excited and optimistic about the future--someone that can make people from other nations look at the U.S. in a much more positive light than it is seen in currently. For now, that man is Barack Obama, and I wish him the best of luck.

This is sad, but so inspirational.

It's nice to read stories that make you feel good, even if they end in a sad way. This is a long one, but read it, it will make your day.

Hopkins and an even tougher fighter
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports Nov 2, 5:58 pm EST

You won’t find Shaun Negler’s name in the FightFax database, the official record-keeping service of professional boxing. There are no tapes of any of his memorable wins or stories of epic triumphs left behind. That’s because they don’t exist. He was robbed of a career in the sport he loved. But none other than Bernard Hopkins, one of the greatest fighters of this or any generation, will tell you that he hasn’t met a tougher, or more courageous, fighter than Shaun Negler.The improbable friendship between the long-time middleweight champion and the 18-year-old who worshipped him officially ended at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Oct. 23, 2008, when Negler could fight no more and succumbed to a 2½ year battle with cancer. But Hopkins, who first met Negler in 2006 when he learned that the then-16-year-old had a deadly form of cancer, isn’t ready to accept that his friend is gone. “This kid’s soul is still with us,” said Hopkins, who served as a pall bearer at Negler’s funeral in Philadelphia on Oct. 29. “His spirit lives inside of me and inside a lot of the people I met over these last couple of years.”

In a Philadelphia gym in May 2006, her youngest son injured his left ankle as he was preparing for his first fight. The injury didn’t respond to treatment. An MRI was done and on May 30, Shaun and his parents were sitting in a doctor’s office, waiting to hear why this ankle was taking so long to heal. “I just remember it being such a dark room and now, looking back on it, it seems so surreal,” said Renee Negler, a 41-year-old loan manager. “There were two doctors there and they came in and seemed to have very solemn looks on their faces. I was looking at Shaunie and he was looking at me. It was the doctors, my husband and Shaunie and I. They said, ‘We need to take him to Children’s Hospital right away. We found a large mass in his leg.’ There was no crying and Shaunie was like, ‘OK. No problem. Let’s come up with a plan.’ He wanted to figure a way to live right away.”

He had Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. The survival rate is around 10 percent. “This was a guy who was facing death every day but he didn’t talk about dying or feel sorry for himself or ask you, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ ” Hopkins said. “I was in camp getting ready to fight [Kelly] Pavlik and I was getting all these text messages from him, encouraging me and pushing me. And this was a guy who had so many problems, that whoever wins or loses a fight should be the last thing he is thinking about.”

Hopkins signed to fight Pavlik, the unbeaten middleweight champion, in a bout Oct. 18 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Shaun talked of being at the fight, but his condition had long since worsened to the point where that kind of travel, an hour or so from his home, was not possible. “You have to understand, they gave this kid two, three weeks to live, and it’s 12 weeks and he’s still here saying, ‘I want to see you beat Kelly Pavlik,’ ” Hopkins said. “This kid was just amazing. He had a will to live like I’ve never seen.” Before Hopkins left to begin his training camp, the family had a reunion of sorts. All the family and friends were invited over for what was a chance to essentially say goodbye to Shaun. He was on borrowed time and was expected to live only for a matter of a few days, if not a couple of weeks. Hopkins, who knew of Shaun’s love of cars, attended the outing and brought over his $150,000 Bentley. But he didn’t just park it. He grabbed Shaun, brought him to the car and put him in the front seat. Then he closed the door and turned on the engine.

The two were sitting there, the 43-year-old finely tuned athlete and the 18-year-old whose body was ravaged by cancer, blind in one eye, with a leg amputated because of his disease. "What the hell you doing?” Hopkins said in mock indignation. "Drive!” And so Negler began to drive. “I thought he’d take it down to the bottom of the driveway, turn around and come back,” Mike Negler said. Hopkins, though, knew that wouldn’t fulfill the kid’s dream. He wanted to take the car onto the road. So, again, Hopkins urged him to drive. Shaun hit the accelerator, believing the car to be in drive. It was in reverse, however, and landed up on a curb, damaging Hopkins’ rims. To this day, the rims are not fixed on the otherwise pristine car, Hopkins’ memory of his now-departed friend. Soon after, Hopkins left for camp and Negler’s condition worsened by the hour. But he wanted to see the fight so badly and he talked about it incessantly with his family. "Shaun was a diehard fan of all the Philadelphia teams,” Mike Negler said. “He just was in love with all of them, but Bernard, he fell 1,000 percent for Bernard. He loved boxing and then here’s this great fighter from Philadelphia with this incredible story.” Hopkins trained in Miami knowing each day he might get the call he would dread receiving. On Oct. 18, the day of the bout he was literally staving off death to see, Negler was in excruciating pain – “bone pain,” as his mother calls it.

When the pay-per-view broadcast on HBO began at 9 p.m., he was helped out of bed and literally crawled downstairs on his hands and knees to sit in front of the television. But he was only able to stay awake for short periods of time. “At that point, it was like 10, maybe 15 minutes at most,” Renee Negler said. He demanded they wake him up when Hopkins came to the ring. Hopkins’ bout began near midnight Eastern time. As Hopkins made his ring walk, the family roused Shaun, who instantly became as alert as he had been at any time in days. “There was something in his body and his spirit made him hang around so he could see me that one last time,” Hopkins said. “As a human being, can you imagine how that makes me feel?” There were about 20 or 30 people in the house watching the fight. As Hopkins was being introduced, Renee Negler turned toward her son, who had a wan smile across his face and had formed an “X” with his arms, a tribute to Hopkins, whose nickname is “The Executioner.” Hopkins went on to win in a rout in the performance of his life. For one night, he was better than he had ever been. And Shaun Negler, who had been able only to stay awake for 10 minutes at a time, was suddenly alive and vibrant as the fight went on. He was shouting at the television as Hopkins pounded Pavlik with powerful punches, cheering his hero on to victory. Unbeknownst to anyone, Renee Negler had turned on a video camera on her son and captured his reaction during the fight. He was gleeful throughout as Hopkins performed brilliantly. When the fight ended, Negler needed to go back to sleep. He turned to his pit bull puppy, whom Hopkins had suggested he named “Champ,” and kissed it on the head. He crawled back upstairs and was helped into bed. A few minutes later, he lapsed into unconsciousness and never opened his eyes again. He died a few days later, in his home.

Hopkins, who served a stint in the Pennsylvania penal system on a strong-armed robbery conviction, was torn apart. But because of his time in prison, he learned to control his emotions. He never cried publicly because of what he learned while he was in prison. Hopkins was, however, stung by the loss of someone he considered more than just a friend. He not only served as a pall bearer, he spent hours with the Negler family that day and put the gloves he wore the night he defeated Pavlik into the casket with Shaun. “It’s breathtaking the kindness that is in this man’s heart, because it would have been easy for him to meet Shaun, say the right things and move on,” Renee Negler said. “But what he did, he did because he cared. And he did because Shaunie and he had some kind of a connection. There was a bond between the two of them despite all the differences between them and they loved each other.” Hopkins said that for as much as he may have given to Shaun and the Neglers, he received much more in return. “This was a kid who had every reason to feel sorry for himself, who had every reason to give up, and he never once would give in and he never once looked at the dark side of anything,” Hopkins said. “He looked at death and said, ‘I want to live. And I’m going to make the most of what I have.’ And that’s what we have to do while we’re here on this Earth. Take what you have and do the best you can with it. Look at what this kid was dealt and look what he did with it.

“Cancer did not beat him. He beat cancer, because cancer needed his body to live. He’s probably smiling somewhere saying, ‘You know, Bernard, I did it. I beat cancer.’ This kid wasn’t a loser. He was a winner his whole life and I think he’s still a winner.”

Oh, yeah....and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!

Love you!

Just kidding!!!

This morning, I opened my daily online news to get my fix, as I do every morning, and this is what I found:

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar is continuing its trek skywards in overseas trading.
The loonie is trading overseas at 83.86, up more than two full U.S. cents from Wednesday's close. On Wednesday, the dollar had one of its biggest single-day jumps in history as the value of the U.S. greenback eroded against other major currencies including the euro and British pound.
Traders also point to higher prices for oil because Canada is an oil exporting country and the loonie is a resource-based currency. It ended Wednesday's session ahead 3.67 cents to 81.63 cents U.S. Wednesday's increase was the biggest intraday daily gain ever for the loonie, beating a record set in the early 1970's, according to Bank of Canada data.

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This economy is whacked. Go Loonie, go!!!

Speaking of scary.....

Have you seen what the exchange rate is between Canada and the U.S. these days? For most, this probably doesn't matter, it just means that Americans can get more for their money when they come to the "Great White North" and that Canadians are less likely to drive across the border to Buffalo for shopping trips, as was the case about a year ago at this time when the Loonie was actually worth more than a dollar. This month, the Loonie has plunged more than it has in a single month since 1950, and it is at its lowest overall rate against the U.S. dollar since 2004. The official close at the bank today was 1 U.S. dollar = 77.59 Canadian cents. They're saying that it could get as low as 70 cents to the dollar before this is all said and done. It does mean that there will probably be some good sales up here around Christmastime, but still.....that really sucks for us Americans being paid in Canadian dollars, eh?

Which is scarier?

This picture of Madame Tussaud's likenesses of the candidates for President of the United States,

or what is going to happen when the election ensues in 8 short days? I'm not sure, that's a tricky one.

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled Fall.....

After a beautiful fall weekend, yesterday I had somewhat of a rude awakening to a very windy and blustery day. By the end of the evening, this is what we saw.......SNOW---sticking on the ground, on October 21st!! I've seen it all now......let's just hope that it warms back up and we can get back to my favorite season!

Fall is here!!

My favorite time of the year.

Why? Well, let's see......

FOOTBALL

HATS TO KEEP MY HEAD WARM....(and my hubby looks good in fleece)

and last, but not least......

BEAUTIFUL LEAVES!!

Hopefully I'll have some more pictures to post from this fall soon---we're heading to the Pinecrest Club this weekend to take in some foliage and some wild game.

Zooboomafoo

After my last post, I read over this thing and realized how much I suck at posting regularly and following up on stuff that I mention once and then never re-visit. Sorry. I'll try and get better. Wait, does it really matter? Does anyone read this anyway?? Oh well......

I mentioned in the blog a month or so back that Gary and I visited the Toronto Zoo. We took one rare Saturday morning that we stayed in the GTA to drive down to Scarborough to check it out. The line to get in was pretty long, even though it was pretty overcast and cloudy for most of the day. The admission fee for adults is 20 bucks, and when I saw that, I couldn't believe how expensive that was. But once we were in the zoo and saw its huge size and all of the animals and all of the improvements they were making to the facility (including a new polar bear habitat!) I guess that justified the cost quite a bit for me. And you know what? We were there for five hours, so I guess it was 40 bucks well-spent. It's a beautiful zoo, the animals were really active, and I could have stayed there even longer just watching them. I love the zoo. If anyone ever wants to come up and go with us, I'm game! It's open year-round, too! I had TONS of fun taking pictures, I took probably 400 overall, and even though the weather didn't give me ideal lighting, I think I got some really great shots. (Photoshop is a big help, too, don't get me wrong.) Here are some of the highlights.

I've decided that when Gary and I win the lottery, I'm going to get a big expensive camera and hang out at zoos and parks all the time to take pictures. I love doing it.

Cultural Phenomenon Number Three

For the past month or month and a half, I have been caught up in the latest book craze to hit the tweens, teens, and adults who love a good, quick and highly addictive read. What I'm referring to is the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. She's a young, unknown writer who graduated from BYU and dreamed up this wonderful story that is as normal as a story could be when it involves vampires and werewolves. What amazes me is that she never even visited the place where the story is set until after she finished the first book. Her descriptions are spot-on based on everything I've read about the area in Washington that she wrote about, and I even have a friend who has been there, and she agrees. Anyway, I consider this a cultural phenomenon because I find it absolutely fascinating how quickly the entire United States and Canada has made this series a household name. It's almost like Harry Potter, but I think people in the U.S. are embracing it because this time the stories are written by an American, and also because it's just different enough from the Harry Potter books that it really draws people in....at least it did me! I, much like I did with the Harry Potter books, resisted at first, because after all, who would find a series of books about vampires even mildly interesting? Well, after enough times of going into my local Chapters bookstore and seeing the Twilight display getting much larger each time, as well as seeing the initial movie trailers, I decided I would just give in and jump right on the bandwagon. After just a few short pages, I did not regret my decision. I hate to keep comparing the books to HP, but Stephenie Meyer draws the reader into her domain so quickly and it's almost like you're standing right there as the story plays out. There were so many nights that I really REALLY did not want to put the book down to go to sleep. I read all four books so furiously that now that I'm finished, it feels like something is missing and I can't wait for another one to be released! Problem is, the fifth book WAS in progress, and then somehow a draft of it got leaked on to the internet. The author took major offense to that, and now she has put the release of the book on hold indefinitely! I am so bummed. I know I sound like I'm ten years old with the way I'm talking about these books, but seriously, try them on for size for yourself. You'll love them. And the movie is coming out next month......that is a major bonus. I hope they stick true to the story and don't leave out too much, that would be a MAJOR disappointment.

The hypothetical question that's raised from of all this: What makes something a cultural phenomenon/fad/trend? Who decides what succeeds and what fails? Is it strictly based on the general public, or is a lot of it from the marketing that goes along with the product? I just find things like this fascinating....they may be pointless in the grand scheme of things, but fascinating nonetheless.

A link that I found interesting that relates to this story talks about all of the tourism that these books have generated for the small little town in which they are set (Forks, Washington). This author has done the economy of this town a major favor!!

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/283197/136/

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Yes, folks, that's right. Tonight marks the return of the NFL season, 2008-2009 edition. I am so so so excited. I am watching the Redskins/Giants game right now, even though I could care less about either team, just because I'm so excited that regular season football is back! The only thing better than that is college basketball, but since that is very rare to see up here since I don't have ESPN, I'll just be happy with the awesome NFL coverage we get. I can't wait for Sunday night.....Bears at the new Lucas Oil Stadium to take on my Colts....and Marvin should be back and healthy. I've fielded two fantasy football teams this season, so we'll see how I do with that. I'm home alone tonight since Gary had to take a trip to Detroit this morning, so I've been catching up with people on the phone and webcam, which was nice.

The Labor Day holiday was great--we got to see almost the entire family! We spent some time at Wawasee with my whole side of the family, and stopped to see Gary's brother and family in Fort Wayne on the way back to Toledo. Gary's mom made my favorite dinner (Roast and potatoes!!!) and we hung out with Gary's sister and family.....Luke and Lauren, my new niece and nephew, let me have a mini photo session with them, which was really fun....I'll have to post some pictures of that once I get them photo shopped. For now, I'm off to bed--well, to read in bed. I started that Twilight series that is supposed to be the next Harry Potter like phenomenon (there are four books out, and the movie will be out this winter.) So far, so good. The first book was awesome, I'm getting close to halfway through the second, and I love them. If you're looking for a fun and easy read, go for those.

I'm looking forward to this weekend--Gary and I are going to make our first trip to the Toronto Zoo! I am planning to take lots of pictures so I can practice my photography skills......I'm getting a bit obsessed with taking pictures. Oh well. :) G'Night.

Cultural Phenomenon Number Two

Ok, I don't really know why I'm writing about this.....well, actually, I do --- it's because this show absolutely fascinates me summer after summer. Before you roll your eyes and think to yourself, "Oh my gravy, she really watches this rubbish," --let me tell you why it's so great. CBS chooses thirteen people, give or take a couple, each summer to spend three months living together in a dog-eat-dog type of competition in which the "houseguests" are completely cut off from every outlet of the outside world: no phones, no TV, no internet, no visitors in or out, no emails or letters from home--NOTHING. Can you imagine being put into that situation? It really is the ultimate social experiment. They take out all of the elements from the outside world and strip these people of everything but their character and then let them evict one person each week, until the last person standing is ultimately rewarded $500,000 after a vote from their peers. They all go into the house knowing nothing about any of the other people with whom they are about to spend 24 hours a day with for who knows how long. One person wins a competition to be head of household, which means they get their own bedroom, special amenities, and the decision of which two people to nominate for eviction. Then there is a veto competition, and whoever wins that can change one nominee or leave it the same. Then the houseguests vote at the end of the week, and the person with the most votes leaves. Throw in some crazy competitions--especially the food ones....if they lose they have to eat the disgusting Big Brother slop.....and you have yourself what I consider to be a sociologist's masterpiece. I find it so interesting to see how the people relate to each other, form relationships, break them, and lie, cheat, and steal to get to the top of the pile. It's just great. I can't describe it...you just have to watch for yourself, and you'll be hooked. Trust me--if I can get my husband to watch it with me and start making predictions about the next evicted houseguest and what their strategy should be, anyone will like it.

This year, I'm rooting for the Michigan boy, Dan. He's been America's player, so he had to vote to evict the person America wanted out, which totally turned the house upside down, and he's been the swing vote the past two weeks as well. He doesn't really have an alliance, he just has a way of knowing when to be vulnerable and when to be strong, and he isn't really seen as a huge threat. I hope he goes all the way......I really respect his game.

Ok, enough lame-O reality TV talk.....bring on the weekend!!!

Cultural Phenomenon Number One

So as most Americans are at this time of year every four years, I have been basically glued to the television watching hours and hours of the NBC coverage of the Beijing Summer Olympics. This has proven to be quite challenging for me this time around for two reasons:

1) Beijing is 12 hours ahead of us (they're in the future, if you really think about it. Their tomorrow is our today. Weird, but I digress). I am an internet news junkie. Newspapers have basically gone by the wayside in my little world, and in their place, I read the news headlines (and celebrity gossip) on the computer numerous times a day. This makes life difficult, because news reporters report stories in real time as they happen, not on the 12 hour plus tape delay that NBC has been forced to use for this Olympics because most people in their right minds are not able to stay awake to watch the events live without paying a hefty price the next day at work when they have to keep their eyelids propped open with toothpicks. I can't tell you how many events I've looked forward to watching in primetime coverage and then lo and behold, I get online to read the news, and there's a link right there in my face that says, "U.S. Women's Volleyball team wins gold." Crap. I DVR'ed that to watch tonight because it didn't come on until almost midnight. What's the point now? I know the result now. The same thing has happened to me with some gymnastics, diving, and track and field events. So frustrating. If they have to post the news as it happens, that's fine, but at least make it so you have to click into a spoiler section so you don't just come across it like I have so many times. Annoying. Frustrating. I could prevent it by not reading the news, but that's my livelihood. It keeps me going during the day and makes me feel connected to the world. Maybe that's geeky, but it's true. I like to be "in the know."

2) I don't live in the United States, I live in Canada. Let me elaborate a bit. The first day of the Olympics, I go to turn on the games, and of course, both of the two channels that we get that are U.S. channels are televising the BUFFALO BILLS PRESEASON FOOTBALL GAME. WHHHHAAAAAT??????? The Bills?!?!!?? I don't care if we are close to Buffalo, it's preseason, big deal, and they can barely keep the team in their city, so why are they letting them monopolize BOTH NBC channels. Ludicrous, I tell you, just ludicrous. So, I decide to give the Canadian channel, CBC, a chance. Well, that lasted for all of five minutes, the guy on there has a Ben Stein voice, only he's more dry and boring, and the big event of the day was Equestrian stuff. ALLLLLLL day. Yikes. All I have to say is that I really appreciate Bob Costas more than I ever thought I could. Thank goodness I only had to put up with that for one day.

ANYWAY---enough of that. Stop and think about the Olympics for a second. Think about what goes into that. Think about all of the different countries that show up, how hard all of the athletes have had to work to get there, how many different cultures and backgrounds and beliefs and environments they come from.....but yet they're all in one place with one common goal--a gold medal proving that their country is the best in the WORLD. That's a pretty big deal. Think of all of the venues that must be built, all of the planning that is involved, all of the people that it takes to work the events and judge the events and cook food for the athletes and all of that. Yes, there was a stabbing there this time, but for the most part, everyone comes together and gets along. That's a pretty awesome thing if you stop and think about it.

Now, for the all-stars:
MICHAEL FREAKIN PHELPS---8 gold medals....INSANE!! And the finishes to a few of those races were just ridiculous. It was cool that in the end he had to rely on a team to achieve a personal goal. I liked that. And his mom is hilarious, so that made watching even more enjoyable.

This was my favorite: the photo finish against Cavic from Serbia in the 100 butterfly. CRAZY!

Misty May and Kerri Walsh---wow. Double golds in volleyball, something like 108 consecutive matches won. I wish I could be them.

And, as much as I hate his showboating ways, Usain Bolt of Jamaica. Two world records that were thought impossible to beat and he beat them both in a matter of days.

Cheaters, cheaters: CHINESE GYMNASTICS---no way some of those girls are 16!! But what sucks is, that when they investigate this and figure out that their ages are in no way legitimate, they probably won't revoke the medals, and even if they did, I would not want to win a medal because someone else cheated. It just taints the whole competition...ugh.

The gymnastics judges are smoking something too.......so inconsistent and biased, even though bias is not supposed to happen because of the way it's set up....it totally does, and I think everyone can agree with that. When you bring Bela Karolyi to tears, something's up. Poor Alicia Sacramone. First she falls on two different events at the team competition, then gets screwed out of a bronze by horrible judging on the vault final. Bummer.

More to come......

It's been a long time......

Wow!!

I have been majorly slacking at updating this blog.....a lot has happened since I was last on here! Some life-changing events have occurred, well, only one, I guess, but it's a biggie! Gary and I got married, as most of you probably know. Two days after the wedding, we drove back to Toronto and embarked on our 10-day honeymoon to Italy, which was absolutely fabulous--I couldn't have asked for a more amazing time with the love of my life in one of the most romantic countries in the world. We did so many things and saw so many unforgettable sights...it was just great. We actually kept a journal (you know, on paper, like the days before the invention of blogging) on an almost daily basis to remember what we liked and didn't like, what we ate, where we went, and just any little tidbits that anyone we know might need if they ever travel to Italy. I received the journal as a wedding gift from a co-worker. She had kept a journal on a family trip through Europe about 20 years ago and just came across it recently and she said it brought back a lot of awesome memories. I think it will be something that will be really special to us in the years to come, and we can show it to our children and grandchildren. I'm not going to post any wedding or honeymoon pictures on here because there are websites that house them all, so here are the addresses if you haven't seen them already:

http://www.lucasmcdonough.smugmug.com/ (Our photographer's site-go to Day/Ruppert Wedding link)

www.public.fotki.com/garinruppert (Honeymoon photos mostly, but I want to update the account and start keeping all of my pictures on there, it's a great site because you can order high quality prints directly from them for cheap!)

http://www.danhester.fotki.com/ (go to Day/Ruppert wedding folder, the password is Erin)

So there you go. Probably more pictures of us than you'd ever want to see, but you only get married once, and being that I'm a huge shutterbug, I took as many pictures and had as many pictures taken of us as possible!

Since then, not too much has gone on. We went to a first birthday party for our nephew in Ohio and got a real genuine Ruppert family picture (a rarity with seven kids in the family ages 6 and under, let me tell you..) Here it is....

Pretty good, only one kid isn't looking!!

We made a trip to Lake Wawasee and went to a wedding one weekend, and we also headed up to the cabin in Northern Michigan one weekend, which was great because the deer were out like crazy! I'm forecasting a great hunting season!!! Bring on the wall mounts and deer jerky!

Look closely, antlers are sprouting!

Oh, and there were these bear tracks, too.....we could definitely use a bearskin rug!

Two weekends ago, the Parents Ruppert came up to visit us for the first time....we visited the Cathedral in Markham and the CN Tower......it was lots of fun! There they are at lunch in the 360 restaurant at the top of the tower, it is always rotating, so that was an interesting meal.

We took them to Cathedraltown as well, here it is at sunset.

We had the company picnic last weekend and our first Rock Band party too (which by the way, if you've never attended one, is a riot. There's nothing better than adults who can't carry a tune attempting to sing, play drums, and play guitar---all while enjoying alcoholic beverages.)

Our picnic had a pirate theme, hence these two photos:

My fabulous co-workers and me at the registration table.... Gary at Simeon Lake, which is part of the private Magna park where the picnic was.Emma & me with our first raw oysters during the Rock Band party at the Sims residence...FUN! Mat, Gary and Emma rocking out at Rock Band....Emma even has the poses down.
This coming weekend, our buddy Matt is coming up for the weekend and we're gonna get good wings and see a Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd concert!! More to come!!!

Blue Jays and Parents and Concerts, oh my!

A few weekends ago, my parents decided on the spur of the moment to come up and visit, and it was wonderful!! We love having visitors, and since the weather was so nice, we really got a chance to go out and explore Toronto a little bit.

Friday night, we went to a really awesome market called Pusateri's, which is close to the city. They have pretty much anything you could ever want, all the way up to Beluga caviar, Kobe beef, and a rare coffee that sells for $480 CDN dollars a pound....YIKES! They have the freshest produce and the best meat....here are the steaks we picked up! Enormous, and soooo tasty.

On Saturday, we got up and ventured downtown for the Blue Jays/Tigers game at Rogers Centre. The weather was perfect, and we got the cheap seats in the upper bowl, which were awesome! The dome was open since it was such a beautiful day and we could see the CN Tower from our seats. It was a good game, too, Jays won.....too bad I missed Frank Thomas in a Jays uniform by one day.






After the game, we explored downtown, had a beer in a cute little Irish pub, then took the subway back home. It was a great day! We walked up to Queen's Park and OF COURSE I took lots of pictures!









My parents left Sunday morning, and then on Sunday night, Gary and I went back downtown for the Sara Bareilles/Raining Jane/Rachel Yamagata concert. Sara's voice is so pure and amazing....she even made me cry on one song because it was so pretty. Raining Jane is a great band too...they have a unique sound, and their percussionist plays an instrument I've never seen before. It looks like a speaker, but it sounds like a drum when she hits it. Also, their bassist played a sitar, which was really cool because I've never seen that live before. A great concert overall.......here's some pics. We were very close to the stage!

Raining Jane

Mona, the crazy percussionist

Rachel Yamagata

Sara Bareilles

The following weekend, I got us tickets to the Jason Mraz/Makepeace Brothers/Bushwalla concert downtown at Kool Haus. This show was more like a circus than a concert, complete with a magician that was the "host" between acts. It was different, but good, and Bushwalla ended up in a unitard, so what else could we ask for?

The Makepeace Brothers

Bushwalla, a man of many talents
And yes, he stripped down to this.

Mr. A to Z

Life's been exciting lately...and getting even more so since the wedding is less than six weeks away...........more to come soon!