Thrown For a Loop

It’s easy to get discouraged about the state of our world. All one has to do is tune into CNN or read the local paper – tales of war, famine, global warming – life on planet Earth seems to be seriously out of balance. With all this bad news it’s easy to become jaded.

Tom – who has a tendency to see the glass as half empty - recently had an experience that rocked his world. He was driving the Coquihalla Highway, and was thrown for a loop when the toll booth attendant refused his money, insisting the driver in front of him already paid the $10 toll. At first Tom couldn’t believe it, repeatedly asking the woman “You talking to me? You talking to ME?!” Seems my husband was the unsuspecting victim of a random act of kindness.

The thing is, it made a big impression – Tom admits to thinking about it for weeks. Sure, we like to think of ourselves as people who are always willing to lend a helpful hand – but in most cases our actions are a result of an obvious need – we’ve just never been so…. (forgive me for the cliché)…… random.

Good Times

The other day a friend of mine used the phrase “son of a bitch” – I was immediately overcome with warm nostalgic feelings – it’s been years since I’ve heard anyone use that phrase.

My grandfather was 6’7, as big in personality as he was in stature. He mastered the use of “son of a bitch” and used it in a wide variety of situations. A few examples:

When seeing an old friend -“You old son of a bitch, how the hell are you”
When talking about government -“those sons of bitches in Washington”
When reminiscing – “son of a bitch, those were good times”
When seeing an alien space craft – “son of a bitch!”

I miss my grandpa and his words of wisdom – in fact, just saying “son of a bitch” gives me a warm fuzzy feeling – so I’ve decided to start incorporating it into my vocabulary. Just think of it as the word of the day, with a twist.

Peace out, you sons of a bitch!

A Place Of My Own

When our son Tyler moved out, empty nest syndrome hit our little family in a big way. Like most things in life, we all dealt with it in very different ways. Tex and Maggie moped around the house - I went out and bought a convertible – and while I was at work one day, Tom decided to pack up Tyler’s room - lock, stock and barrel.

Even though I understood that Tom was having trouble with baby boy’s departure, I was furious. As far as I was concerned the only viable option was to build a “Tyler shrine” - a place where I could pay homage to my son - I was hoping to milk it for years to come. Needless to say, Tom’s actions put a kink in my plan.

Since our emotions were a little raw, we decided the best thing to do was just ignore the situation. Months passed and the room just sat there, door closed, empty, a quite reminder of big changes in our little world.

Fast forward - Tyler flourished with his new found independence – Tom and I discovered that life goes on, and the two of us sort of started dating again. The pugs somehow adjusted. Life was bearable again.

One day I decided it was time to do something with Tyler’s room. After weighing all the options, I elected to turn it into a “woman cave”. I envisioned a place where I could hang out, watch chick flicks, read, and keep all of my things (clothes, shoes, books, weird things I’ve brought home from my travels).

I’m not sure what it is, but I really loved hanging out in my little den! Then, I had an epiphany. This was the first time I’ve had my own space since getting married. In fact, Tom is getting a little worried that the pugs and I are spending a little too much time down there. Guess this isn't the best time to tell him about my plans to add a mini fridge and lava lamp.

Seeing is Believing

Attached are a few photo's of Lana's dogs Donia and Casey - to prove to those of you who may be in doubt - that we really did have a freak snow storm this past weekend.

Happy Anniversary

Today after work I met some friends for a drink. My heart dropped when the manager came over and gave me a rose, and told me to watch my flip for a special message. I will let the video speak for itself.

Going Back to Cali

Tom and I just came back from Pasadena, a lovely place that I’ve wanted to share with him for several years now. It’s a beautiful city that feels like southern California’s version of Mayberry – with flocks of wild parrots nesting in the many beautiful trees. Here are a few of the highlights:

Celebrity sightings…..at least we think so. I hate to sound vague, but it was one of those weird trips when you think J Lo is in the car next to you, but something seems a little off – so you’re not really sure if it’s the real thing or a poor man’s version. Anyway, we may have seen the Eagles, Thandie Newton, Sheryl Crow, Huey Lewis, Henry Kissinger and someone who looked an awful lot like Elvis.

Coming to accept the fact that we can still be a happy couple, while sitting on opposite sides of the pool. I’m all about the shade and Tom is all about the sun.

And of course every good trip has a punch line. After all that sun, everyone who met Tom had to comment about his colour - “Whoa dude, you’re really red!”. His standard reply was “Don’t worry, it will calm down”, which of course became our reply to everything.

Bad Shoe Day

Well it's finally happened - I've become the woman my son thinks I am - taken the whole geek thing to a new level.

To make a long story short, I managed to walk around work for several hours with two different shoes on and nobody noticed (or maybe they were too polite to say anything).