The world is full of STUPID people - Vegas Chronicles Day 1

Today (in preparation for Scott's and my trip to Vegas) I took the kids to Nova Scotia to spend 10 days with my parents...from what I hear, they hit the beach as soon as they left the airport. Lucky little stinkers!

Not ones to mess around potential delays at the security checkpoints, we arrived at the airport 1 1/2 hours before our flight.

Our first stop was:



If we have more than two hours, we usually stop at Starbucks before clearing security, but that wasn't the case today.

After collecting drinks and snacks/breakfast, we headed toward our gate which happened to be at the far end of the terminal. Upon arriving, we discovered that between the time we checked in and ultimately arrived at the gate, that there had been a gate change announcement (which we missed) and were now being redirected to gate 131 at the opposite end of that terminal arm. Such is the way it goes at Pearson.

9:35 a.m. - The flight being oversold, we found ourselves at gate 136 waiting for the 10:15 flight and praying for misconnects.

10:55 a.m. - Traveling towards Halifax watching "21", which seemed appropriate since Scott and I are heading to Vancouver tomorrow.

The flight was uneventful with the kids all watching TV shows and movies of their choice thanks to the personal on board entertainment system.

2:35 p.m. (Atlantic Time) - Time to travel back to Toronto on another aircraft with personal on board entertainment system which means I finished watching "21" - WOOT!

3:55 p.m. (back on Eastern Daylight Time) - Arrived a little late, but better late than never. Time to get home and finish packing...or at least convince Scott that he should start - YIKES!

5:20 p.m. - Stop for some wine...must have something to help me sleep tonight, because I got minimal sleep last night. Not sure why this surprises me anymore, because it happens everytime we travel. I plan to go to bed early and think of last minute things that need to be done. So I end up in bed late and still don't sleep very well for fear of missing the alarm and therefore missing the flight.

Tomorrow morning, we have to be at the airport at 6 a.m. - YIKES!


STUPID PEOPLE

On the return trip, there was quite a bit of turbulence as we approached Toronto - so much so that the flight attendant almost hit his head on the over head compartments and had to suspend his garbage collection. Yes, it was that bumpy.

As we began our descent with still a little bit of turbulence, I noticed the 4 year old girl in the seat ahead of me was on her knees (clearly not restrained by her seatbelt) and looking out the window. Now, these people were on the plane through the turbulence (obviously) and her mother just let her continue looking out the window. Now of course this is bad judgment (DUH!) but it continued. Now, I'm of the mind that people who are stupid enough to do that sort of thing deserve whatever they get...of course, these are also the same stupid people who would sue the airline because their kid was injured (never mind that it was due entirely to their own stupidity). It boggles the mind.

Another case of stupidity before I even left the airport: I stop in to Starbucks while waiting for DH to come and pick me up. I ALWAYS order the same thing (grande, skinny cinnamon dolce latte) and since Starbucks has started offering perks when you register your Starbucks card on line I get the cinnamon part for free and just pay the same price as a regular latte. Yes...well...not at the airport.

Apparently, at the airport, because the Cinnamon Dolce Latte is listed as an ACTUAL beverage (same as it is in EVERY OTHER Starbucks), and not a regular latte to which you would add syrup, they tell me that I don't get the syrup for free. Huh?

So, I try to explain to them that at EVERY OTHER Starbucks I get the syrup for free. They tell me since they are owned by HMS (airport food services?) it doesn't work the same as the other Starbucks that are owned by Starbucks. This makes NO sense, because the Starbucks that is at Sick Kids is OWNED by Sick Kids (they get the profits) and I get the same dang syrup for free!

I get told I can have a CARAMEL latte with free syrup so I say, O.K., then make me a caramel latte.

UGH! They ended up charging me a caramel latte (with free syrup - so the same price as a regular latte) and STILL make me a cinnamon dolce latte...whatever...that airport gets freakier every time I go through it...and I have to do it again tomorrow. I think I'll stick with Tim Hortons!

Yep...the world is FULL of STUPID people!

See you all tomorrow with more Vegas Chronicles!

3 more sleeps!

Packing continues...still a few more things to purchase...excitement is HUGE!!!

5 more sleeps!

Packing has begun, lists are being made...

WOOHOO!

PSA

If you find an old unopened love letter that you wrote, oh say...20 years ago...leave it sealed.

'Nuff said.

Coyote Ugly and Toby Keith

Two of the things on my "must see" list when Scott and I hit Vegas is a mere 11 sleeps.

Coyote Ugly is in New York, New York. I've been to NYC (only once when I was 16) and we heard it was the city that never sleeps. That may well be true, but in Vegas, they are out to prove it. The bar in Coyote Ugly opens at 6 p.m., the nightclub opens at 9 p.m. Both close at 4 a.m. I've been looking around and there are clubs that are open 24/7. Funny enough in a travel guide I was reading over the weekend, there are actually "after hours" clubs in Vegas. HUH? Most bars/nightclubs are open till 4 a.m. and someone decided there was still a need for an after hours club? Right....



Toby Keith has been known to make an occasional appearance at his bar in Vegas...cross all your parts for me will ya???

11 more sleeps - WOOHOO!!!

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Woefully behind...

...on this photo a day thing. In fact, yesterday, I took the peeps to Ontario Place and didn't even take the camera - I know! SHOCKING!

We got to see Markus which was pretty cool...especially since he knows us by sight now. I wonder if he thinks we're stalking him? LOL! He was hanging out with Bob the Builder - always a hit with the preschool/5 year old set. But, no pics. I have a bunch of those...plus, I think we're going back this coming Monday anyway...Jonathan wants another CD!

On the 13th of July, I snapped this:


I didn't have my tripod out, so that's why it's blurry. It was pretty cool though...the moon was just about orange and it looked pretty awesome with the little bit of cloud cover.

On the countdown to Vegas front, Scott and I have decided to shave a day off it since we are planning on overnighting in Montreal on the Sunday to avoid having to get up at the crack of dawn to be at the airport on Monday morning. That means there are only 12 more sleeps till Vegas.

So, next Sunday (the 27th), I'll be shuttling the kids to Halifax to stay with their Nanny and Grampy and then meeting up with Scott in Montreal where we'll be staying at the Hilton before heading off to Las Vegas where we'll be staying here:


I'm hoping that I'll be able to do some blogging while there so I can update you (y'know, all three of you - LOL!) on what we're up to. We definitely plan on hitting Coyote Ugly so I can dance on the bar and Toby Keith's Bar...just 'cause!

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I thought it was summer?

This:


is what was outside my window this morning. ICK! Who ordered this? I wanted sunshine and blue skies not this dreary stuff.

On the upside, I guess it's a perfect day for making soup and since I found some oxtails at the grocery store the other day and a recipe for oxtail soup over at RecipeZaar, I'm going to try making that as it's DH's favourite soup. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Also, it's only 17 more days to Vegas...so that's a good thing!

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Cowboy Josh

Well, O.K., it's Cowboy Jonathan...but he's still stinkin' cute...and he needs to pick up his toys too - YIKES!

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DPA - Park Fun

When the kids are in school, the province has mandated what's known as "DPA". It stands for Daily Physical Activity. They are to do at least 15 minutes of physical activity on a daily basis. Not a bad idea.

I decided to implement DPA in our summer activities. We took a walk part way around our BIG block and discovered a park that I had never even noticed - LOL! Leave to two little boys to find a park that their mom had no idea existed. What we do now is walk up to the park and then play for a bit before heading home. Mom gets her walk in and the boys get to enjoy the park, so really...it's a win-win situation.


Colin loves hitting the swings. He tries to swing as high as possible and then likes to jump off mid-swing. YIKES! One of these days, he's gonna injure something!

Hope you're all having a good start to the week! Thanks for stopping by!

Sticky PLUS! Humiditiy calls for a trip to the splash pad!

It's getting H-O-T, HOT here in Southern Ontario. And hot in Southern Ontario almost ALWAYS means humidity - YUCK!

The humidity started kicking in today as the temp climbed to about 30 degrees celcius (that's 86 Fahrenheit for my American friends) and that didn't even take into account the humidex factor - ICK!

So, after lunch we headed over to the splash pad and what a relief! You know it's starting to get really hot when the splash pad starts to fill up. When we went last week, we were practically the only ones there. Not the case this week!

The boys had a blast running around and getting soaked, making sure all the fountains were operational and staying cool.


Colin always seems to be the one to make sure all the fountains are working...I guess he likes being in charge.


Jonathan seems to get cold before his brother does (understandable, considering), so he usually hangs out with me (wrapped up in a towel) for the last 10 minutes or so before it's time to head home. Even though he gets cold faster, he still has just as much fun!

On another note...there are only 21 more sleeps until DH and I head to Las Vegas - WOOT!

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Summer Memories

My friend Brigit sent a link to a bunch of us that scrapbook together. It was a mini book that was to be used as a 2009 calendar (I'm assuming). I mentioned that I had done one a couple years ago and promised pics this evening.

So, even though I completed the project a couple years ago, I only took the pics today...does that count for my photo a day??? LOL!

Here are the pics:

I used Sassafrass Lass paper throughout to keep the project uniform. Most of the pages are unembellished. Only a couple have flowers on them.


I also matted all the photos in black for cohesiveness.


A rare photo of me taken by my mom...had to use lime green flowers - of course!

On another note, DD and I saw Hancock today - GREAT movie! Did you know you could buy admission for two + popcorn and two drinks at WalMart for $26??? I estimate that's about an $8 - $10 savings over what it would cost to buy right at the theatre. Not bad at all! You get a voucher to take with you to the theatre and redeem it there.

Hope you had a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Pampered Piggies!

I used the gift certificate my friend Karen gave me LAST YEAR for my birthday (there are never enough hours in the day to make time for me) and got a manicure and pedicure.

Two hours of uninterrupted me time with no kids, no phone, no dishes, no laundry...divine I tell you!

Here are my pampered piggies:


I'd show you my hands too...but I can't find the tripod - LOL!

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What's for dinner?

Over here we had Summertime Risotto (minus the tomatoes), Tequila Lime Chicken and fresh (pop 'em out of the pods and eat 'em like candy) peas. OH YEAH!

I diced up some zucchini to add to the risotto:


That got sauted with some onion and garlic in a little bit of EVOO (that's Extra Virgin Olive Oil), then pureed (I know, that sounds REALLY gross, but you can't even tell when it gets mixed in with the risotto). And I got this:


Mario Batali has one, Rachael Ray has one, Gordon Ramsay has one...and now...I HAVE ONE! Today I bought my very own microplane...or you could call it a hand held grater...or a rasp...whatever...I now have one - WOOT!

I used it tonight to grate the garlic right into the pan...but then, I had the oil on too high and burnt the garlic a touch...perhaps I shouldn't have had that glass of wine - LOL!

I've had this fascination with risotto, since I saw it on Pioneer Woman's Blog. I figured it had to be yummy, because Ree doesn't make yucky stuff (trust me on this). She has LOTS of other good stuff on her blog (pico de gallo and guacamole to name a couple). Now I like Parmesan cheese as much as the next person, but I wasn't so sure I'd like it as the main ingredient in risotto, so I went in search of some other recipes.

I had some scallops that I wanted to use, so I found the risotto on RecipeZaar that I used tonight. It was yummy, but not as creamy as I would have liked it to be, but oh well! Scott liked it too, so it's all good!


And this is what our plates looked like:


And yes...I realize I still need to get new plates if I'm going to keep photographing food...it's on my to do list. Lauren came by and said "Nice plating, Mom". Think we watch too many cooking shows? LOL!

Hope your dinner was yummy too! Thanks for stopping by!

Baking Cupcakes and Taking Names

We had to! (take names that is) The reason for taking names is that everyone had a colour request for their very own personalized cupcakes.

You may remember that a couple weeks ago, we celebrated Canada Day at Cooking School. We made red cupcakes that day. We also bought food colouring in the store after cooking class. Now, the colour we used in cooking class was bakery grade (read: the good stuff) so the cupcakes turned out REALLY red. Today, I just used the food colouring you can buy in the baking aisle at the grocery store.

And this is what we got:


The "yellow" ones are supposed to be lime green. The "peach" ones are supposed to be pink. The "turquoise" ones are supposed to be blue. Those weird looking "grey" ones are actually supposed to be purple. The only one that turned out was the red one and even it looks a little pink. Oh well! It's all edible and the kids are happy and that's all that matters. What are you gonna do when you're using cheap food colouring? I wasn't about to go out and buy the pricey stuff for one batch of cupcakes.

I'm off to frost them now. For the record, I'm not making coordinating frosting. They all get white butter cream.

On the crossword front, I finished another one today. Two days is a row - WOOT! The Saturday crosswords (there are two in the daily paper on Saturdays) are a little more difficult, so I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow.

On the "pamper me" front, I have a gift certificate for a spa pedicure and manicure and I'm using that tomorrow...can't wait for some pampering - WOOHOO!

Thanks for stopping by!

Photo a Day - Hmmmm...

So far, I'm not doing so great at that...then again, not much wild and exciting is going on.

Yesterday, I took the kids to Jack Darling Park and forgot the camera. I could have gone back for it, but decided to leave it behind and just enjoy the afternoon rather than trying to see it through the lens of my camera.

Today, I spent the better part of the day with my finger in a glass of ice water as I burned it while making pancakes this morning - not conducive to photographing much.

True...the day is not over and I could still take a picture...but of what???

Oh wait! I know...hang on...

My first finished crossword:



For the past two weeks or so, I have been attempting to complete the crossword in the daily paper. Attempting is the key word here people.

Today, for the first time since I started doing these things, I finished it! I've come close a couple of times (one last section that I couldn't quite get), but today I did it...and lucky you! You're here to witness it and share my excitement! GO ME! True, I made some mistakes but I realized the error of my ways and eventually found all the right words.

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Canada Day

So, my friend Kim is thinking about doing a photo a day for 365 days - QUITE ambitious! But hey, if she's willing to give it a shot, then I figure I can do it too.

Today was Canada Day and we celebrated by doing what we often do on Canada Day - we went to Ontario Place. We got there fairly early (it was before noon, anyway - LOL!) and Scott got a great parking spot which was a HUGE benefit as we were leaving.

We did the park from one end to the other and back again and even popped over to the CHIN International picnic for good measure (wasn't as good as it was in years past, so we might as well have just skipped it) where I got pirogies for dinner (YUM!).

Because there wasn't much in "international" food to be had (Lauren was hoping for sushi or at the very least Chinese) , after we got my pirogies, we headed back across to Ontario Place to take advantage of the Pizza Pizza offer they have there (XL pizza and 4 pops for just over $20) as it's the cheapest thing going.

We had a great evening and REALLY enjoyed the fireworks.

Now we're home and it's almost midnight (unheard of as we usually get AWFUL parking and never make it home before 1 a.m.). Before heading off to bed, I had to show you this:


Scott snapped it just before Colin and I got on the Wilderness Adventure ride and got our shoes REALLY wet (lots of water sloshing around the bottom of the boat). The ride was great...I screamed for effect and Colin had a BLAST!

Thanks for stopping by!