Things I love

This blog is to let you know about the things I just
love lately...

My Fiance Adam - For many reasons, but for doing my
dishes last night when I went to work and for leaving me
this cute note (we played a lot of scrabble together when
we first starting dating)











Sunshine - As in this picture, so does my cat. Everytime
I got out of my chair from reading, he was quickly up in
it laying in the sun. (yes my deck need a paint job bad)











My new niece Hazel - Yes I've not seen her in person yet
but that does not stop me from loving her just the same.

























This new recipe

Gnocchi with Shrimp, Asparagus and Pesto

My old roomate Deborah has a food blog and I am looking
for new things to cook.
This was delicious.. seriously loved it, and it was super easy
to make which is even that much better. I think I will try
it next time with chicken. Thanks Deb...



















My ring -





















Basically I love my life right now... but I could not
quite come up with a photo of "My life"...
What is something you just love about your life
right now???

GETTING MARRIED

I am getting married...
Yes I am getting married...
You read it correct....
August 9th 2008...
More updates to come...
But thought I would officially put it out there...
Lucky for me, Adam McKim thinks I'm just that great!


Just in case you were not sure.. thats Adam beside me, colouring

Camping trip.. Adam, me, Greg and Karen

My tennis partner... Soon to be my forever partner...
and I am so excited for all that it will bring with it..

Apparently we never do anything by ourselves, at least
never that we have any pictures of anything. I promise
to get some photos of us.. We have not taken many, but I do
have a really nice one up on my wall... really I do.

What's In a Name

This is what my name "means".....
I think the website was a little bit too generous.. but hey
who am I to shoot a gift horse!!

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader,
and people respect you. You never give up, and you will
succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational
enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving
other people advice.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with
almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your
easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be
a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things,
you pull it together.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world
better than most people. You also have a very active imagination.
You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy.
You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to
fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always
a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but
you're too busy having fun to care.

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not
easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't
have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to
be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who
gets in your way!

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

SO what does your name mean??

Movie Review

So lately as the winter storms raise outside, I have found myself
watching more and more movies.
So I am going to make a plug for a few movies which did not get
a lot of press coverage but are indeed wonderful films which make
you laugh, perhaps cry (depending on your level of weepiness) and
most importantly for me (most times) think deeply and inward.

1. The Painted Veil
The movie is the slowest paced of them but a
beautiful story and beautiful scenery. For anyone who is an
Edward Norton fan, this movie does not fall short in his great
acting. If you do not shed some tears in this movie, you might want
to go to the doctor to make sure you are still alive.
The closing few minutes features an old French Folk Song which
I was highly disappointed they did not display the subtitles for
others, as I found knowing the words added deeply to the final
minutes of the movie. Here is the version used in the movie
A la Claire Fontaine (it was hard to find a copy that did not have
the clip from the movie so the quality is not perfect but does not
at least show the final minutes. I would suggest not looking at
the pictures before seeing the movie but just listening to this
sweet song)

2. The Nines
Warning - Do not go and read the reports about this movie as
learning too much about the movie would definitely spoil the
ending and amazing WOW factor of this movie.
Directed by John August and starring Ryan Renolds, this movie
had Adam and I laughing a lot and thinking a lot. I brilliant,
brilliant movie. It was released at the Sundance Film festival
and well received down there, but never got a lot of hype from
the mainstream. Which is a down right shame.
When we finished watching the movie, we were both wanting
to start it right away from the beginning.. it is just that interesting
and brilliant.

3. Lars and the Real Girl
Plot outline - A delusional young guy strikes up an
unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.
How could that ever turn out to be a bad movie??
Ryan Gosling stars in this sweet, funny, thoughful movie that I
personally think everyone should see. Throw away the idea that
its an odd concept, there is nothing kinky going on with this
Internet Doll. The movie was nominated for two Oscars and is a
film to warm the heart, and redefines the edge of "normal".
I loved this movie...

Half Price

So I was on a sportswear website trying to find a new pair of
running shoes and I noticed the sale area. As any woman
would do, I quickly clicked the link and up popped all the sale
products. To my shock and horror a lot of the sale items
were on New England Patriots "items". I sort of laughed, and
then realized that this was the first time I had really gotten
into Football, even took an amazing trip down to the Gillette
stadium for the home opener and had a wonderful time.
Adam is a HUGE Patriots fan, ask him about it sometime
and he will tell you he has not missed watching a game in
something like 10 years. So as I was watching the Superbowl
(and yes I am late on this post) I was shocked, but mostly to
realize I was seriously disappointed and that somewhere
during the season I became a Patriots fan.




















I suppose now I have to tuck away the pink hoodie I got
while at the Stadium and wait for the shock to wear off.
Though I may becoming a Patriots fan, I am not ready to
take the riducule of being a Patriots fan for this season..
If I take too much more I just might have to switch to
GreenBay and side with my father. After all, Brady may
be young and attractive... But Favre will always be Favre.

Limits

Elbert Hubbard once said ~ Every man is a damn fool
for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists
in not exceeding the limit.
Today I have completely failed in not exceeding my limit.
It is presently 4am in the morning (and if the fact that I
just wrote 4am followed by in the morning clues you in
to how tired I might just be) and I am still at work. It
really should not be a surprise I am still at work with my
new, wonderfully terrible schedule in this 24 hour office I
have the utmost pleasure of working in. What might
come to a surprise to some of you is that I have been here
in this mildly comfortable, seriously ugly, blue chair since
1pm today.. So, by the time I leave at 6am, I will have
been at work for 17 hours. No, my company does not
require that I slave away at work for a constant 17 hours,
it is actually one of the perks (which is what I call it when I
have am not working what we call a double) of my job that
I can work these long days with out extra pay, for extra
days off with pay later on.. basically shift trading around.
You might all be asking where really is the lack of wisdom
in my working now for time off later -
That folks is not my failure - it would be the fact that
at some point during the day I decided it would be a good
idea to keep my plans to head to the gym for my 6AM
workout, which I will keep as I am meeting people there.
Which brings me to another quote:
"The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine
that age brings wisdom." H. L. Mencken -

Man Bag, Man Purse, Murse???

Which one is it really???

So my boyfriend Adam has been talking about how we as
women have the advantage when it comes to the "purse" and
how he used to be jealous of the purse and the many different
colours and styles and how lately he feels as though he has too
many things to carry around. He has of late, gone for the more
slightly fitted style which has also made the carrying of certain
articles more difficult. So I have been in search of a nice
"Man bag". We have found a nice one in a local store for a lovely
price of 159.99 which is a beautiful leather over the shoulder bag
which is actually long enough for his tall "figure". Anyone have
ideas for a nice man bag where Adam can keep his "things"??
Thus far he has listed for the carrying around items...
...wallet
...cell phone
...pen
...pencil
...sticky note pad (um yeah he is a teacher.. not sure if that is a
valid excuse or if he just likes to make random lists of things to do)
...his new camera - to be ever ready for a great shot
...water bottle
...keys
...a magazine or book (for the just in case he has a moment
to read moment)
...ipod
...gum
...and one more reason he wants one.. So he does not have to carry
home his laptopish bag from school after work when he does not
really need it, so not to make his coworkers annoyed that he
finished all his "work" at work.

One second thought, with all those things, maybe he should look
into getting a messenger bag instead. Not as pretty but a lot
cheaper for me.





































So there it is

Malaysian HEAT

So, many of you know my brother and I just returned from
Kota Kinabalu Malaysia just this week. It was an adventurous
and interesting trip. Many things took place which started with
my brother and I enjoying first class flight seats to China..
We spent a night in Beijing, a night in Hong Kong where we
enjoyed walking around the Hong Kong island area, in the local
markets. We tried to get a picture taken with a little local lady
and she freaked out at us for trying to take her picture.
Final stop after a nice flight with DragonAir - Kota Kinabalu
where we met some nice heat, and a fabulous staff at the Hyatt
Regency. It was nice being treated so well, and it made me
realize, we as North Americans, have ZERO idea how to treat
customers even if they are not the "premiere" customer.
The golf course was beautiful, the weather some would consider
very beautiful, but extremely HOT. I however, was not missing
all the snow we were getting back home.
The caddy job was not so bad, though I could have rung out my
clothes after each round it was more than worth the trip.
The local food was interesting but tasty, and I enjoyed the
amounts of local fresh fruit, and fresh fruit drinks.

So after another night spent in Hong Kong (shopping the local
markets this time) a 14 hour flight (after a couple hour delay)
with 4 movies watched, a connection in Toronto and we finally
arrived in Saint John with a 56Celcius degree difference in
temperature. I did not bring back the same illness as my last
trip to China, but I did come back with a bad cold - a much better
alternative.

All in All - A great trip, and a wonderful opportunity to see another
new part of the amazingly large, yet small world.
















Our Hotel room in Hong Kong - big eh? Actually a
four star hotel in Kowloon City..















The Golf Course Sutera Harbour in Kota Kinabalu















Our view from the Hotel in Kota Kinabalu















View from the hotel balcony















Another view from the balcony of the China Sea















Some random guy in Hong Kong




















The high class restaurant Bud ate at in
Hong Kong - tasty though















Our new friend - Mr Ugly Crab















Our second choice of restaurants - look tasty?






















I know - I need to put more photos of the trip up

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

So I worked last night - which sucks - but I dressed
up as an Elephant. The highlight was Adam bringing
Jazmine into the office in her adorable outfit.

Hopefully you all had a great Halloween - I know I had
a slight sugar headache before I went to bed.

My first attempt

So I am putting together a nice group of photos which will
eventually end up on my wall in the frameless frames I picked
up at Ikea. I finally got my hands on a copy of Adobe Photoshop
and have been playing around with a few of the photos I am
intending to use. It is fun, though not as easy as I thought it would
be, especially as I am have zero training or practice using the
program.

Here is my first attempt and removing unwanted "things"
from a picture.

House Update, Me update

It has been a little over 2 weeks since I have been in my
new place.

Since moving in I have -

- Painted a lot more hours than I thought I would..
- Got a new cat/kitten (stray)
- Made my first mortgage payment
- Purchased a new amazing bed
- Purchased a new fridge
- Purchased a new TV
- Purchased a new Table (still looking for chairs I love)
- Planted flowers for the first time in a LONG time
- Was scared to death by raccoons on my front steps
- Been on vacation
- Started major recycling
- Been to the Doctor
- Blood work to find out why I am so tired and cold all the time
- Major hair cut
- Been enjoying watching the leaves change colour
- neglected my emails
- Started working out again
- Put together a toy box for Jasmine (Adam's Daughter)
- Celebrated Thanksgiving day



I have been enjoying being on vacation for the past week and have
been able to get a lot of things accomplished.
Chance (the kitten) has been great company, though today he ran into
the house with a new friend in his mouth. We called him Chance
because the day I took possession of my home I was talking to my
friends about how I might get a cat and walking out of a store he was
sitting there crying playing in the parking lot. None of us could leave
him there, so we took him to Adams place for the week until I was
able to get some painting finished... Called animal rescue but no one
claimed him, so he is mine. He is a sweet cat and very affectionate..

Things are going well with the new house. My neighbours have been
very friendly, stopping by to say hello while I was digging out the
ground box which was filled with weeds (took me almost three hours).
My immediate neighbour brought me over a welcome gift and some
fresh hand grown catnip for Chance.

Its been amazing weather - though today it is pouring rain


All in all, I have been working hard, spending more money than I
should be, and really just enjoying life.

Chance
My new TV
My living room colour - lemongrass

My bedroom colours - hot chocolate and something blue
My kitchen/dining room colour - cornsilk
The Blue Boxes
My backyard - need some 'love'
My "window box" - spring will tell me if I have any green thumb
The friend Chance wanted me to see - he was very proud
My new 6 1/2 foot table.. yeah I need those new chairs

House Buying

So on the 21st of This month I am going to close.
That statement might not have made a lot of sense to me not all
that long ago. However, as I have discovered, when I tell people
those words, they all get really excited for me and ask if there is
anything they can help with.
So Yes, on the 21st of this month I will officially be the proud owner
of my first "place". I will no longer be paying someone else's mortgage
and will now be so broke I cannot come and visit any of you
anymore :) As my sister said about her place before, I have the
"ugly" spot in the good part of town. It really is not ugly, but with
zero curb appeal I am going to have to take care of. 28 years old and
no one has thought about planting any trees, or flowers, but thankfully
they did plant grass.
Its a three bedroom 2 storey "town house" but not really a town house
they call them semi-detached now. I have a decent back yard
(for being right in the city and a short walk to work).. enough that
I can plant a nice garden and sit on the deck and wish that the place
came with a pool in the summer. I will now be responsible for
shoveling out my own driveway and do not live close enough to mom
and dad (like 45 minutes) for them to shovel me out.
I plan to do some cutifying (and yes it is my made up word) to the
inside and it only holds two colours - white and this odd blue. I am
presently deciding between an orange or a yellow kitchen. I have
things which would go really nice with both. I would not put all the
walls yellow or orange, but would have a great time adding lots of
colour to the house.
I am excited to get one of the bedrooms set up as a designated
massage therapy room and just as excited to be able to start using
my skills more often. Sadly, but I think of the things I am the most
excited about is having a closet in my bedroom. Something that I
do not have right now as this beautiful apartment is in a very
old house..

So here is where I need some help...
Trying to decide on colours for the bathroom, spare bedroom and also
for my own bedroom. Basically the entire inside of the house needs to
be painted. So any ideas, send them my ways.. Any tips, send them
my way.. All in all it has been an interesting, slightly scary, and very
exciting process.

I will get some pictures soon.. and show the progress of the cutifying
the inside of the house...

Another Blog

Just a quick update.
I decided to start another little blog.
I shall see how it goes, and how much effort I put into it
seeing how I have been slacking lately. I thought about putting
it directly on here, but the title was fun.
So its called "Things you didn't know you didn't know"..
So just click on the link in the title of this message and it
will take you to the page..
I am going to try to make them about a wide range of
things...

Home From Hell

OK so maybe I was only in Hell, Grand Cayman,

and you would think I would grow tired of it, but

I find it rather amusing still to say.

It was a rather lovely HOT week spent visiting

my friend Wolfgang down there.

He and two others (Jenn and Greg) share a condo

right on the beach of 7 Mile Beach. My days were

not really super busy, as they all worked during the

days, so I spent my time on the beach. I'd read, listen

to music, swim, read, swim, walk, sleep.. it was a

rather stressful week I tell you. On a few days I'd

walk downtown Georgetown and meet up with them

for lunch.

Highlights of the trip for sure were going swimming

with and feeding the stingrays... visiting the turtle

farm...winning a contest at Margaritaville...dancing

up a storm with the locals...finishing a couple new

books...cigar shopping for expensive cigars for my

friend Troy... and of course, trying to find a turtle

figurine to bring back..(I try to find one unique to each

country I travel to)

So I am home now (Obviously) and I had amazing

weather the entire time down there. I am told it was

crap weather for two weeks before I got there and I

was told in an email it has become crap again with rain

everyday since I left.. Looks like I picked the perfect

week.

So now I have a week off here in Saint John... I'm

relaxing, doing some more reading, playing some

scrabble with Adam (he is up 2-1) and watching my

beautiful tan fade away.

Next stop - my sisters Amie and Bess are flying in

next week... should be a fun time!

Wolfgang dropping me off at the airport on my way home.
Perhaps that photos should be at the end!

The view from the condo living room.. A random photo of me getting ready to go swim with the
stingrays!
This photo cracks me up! Stingray time.. this was an amazing time after I got used to them
rubbing up against my legs like cats before they got the food
from my hands. Look they are even nice enough to let me hold
them!

I love turtles.. even if down there they eat them!

All in all a great fun, relaxed, much needed vacation!
Thank you Wolfy, Jenn and Greg

Kites flying High...Spirits Soaring!

Its been a wonderful two weeks, and I have found myself

doing things I have not done in a LONG time, or ever for

that matter. Last weekend I went flying a kite. I know that

may sound so normal, but really, truly, I cannot remember

the last time I flew a kite of any sort, let alone a stunt kite.
The first couple crashes were a huge indication I had never flown

a stunt kite before.

Tidby is a great lover of photos, and has thus created evidence

that I did eventually learn how to fly the kite! Thanks Tidby!

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

So my life has taken another rather interesting turn.

Most people who are in my life already know by now
that I am no longer getting married. It has been
hard in a lot of ways with a million different emotions
going through me on almost any given day.
I'm much happier now in
many ways, but there are certain emotions of guilt
and sadness... just to name a few.


HOWEVER, I have been so very lucky to make a new
set of friends here in my own city of Saint John.
I was out at a Jimmy Swift Band concert and was
introduced to Tidby by my friend Bruce.. the rest they
say is history. It is a wonderful blessing to find people
with whom I just connect and so very much enjoy.
So since then it has been a great time trespassing on
Patridge Island exploring the old tunnels and such
from the war days (using a light sabre as a form of
flashlight - see photos).. a couple of bonfires with a great
group of people. Plenty of great and deep hammock
chats... great meals cooked for me... and more laughs
than I think I've ever had in such a short span.
Tomorrow I plan to fly a kite with Tidby....

So all of this has got me thinking about how important
friends are in our lives. Outside of family they are
hopefully those who we create so many wonderful
memories with. I have been lucky to have some really
great friends thus far along my life. They may not be
huge in numbers, but they have been deeply important
in my life. I welcome these new friends who from the
very first moment never judged me, made me laugh and
welcomed me with open arms into their circle of friends.

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not
born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a
new world is born." - Anais Nin

Tidby being the wonderful "geek" that he is!! Love this pic

Andrew and I talking religion... and the meaning of life

One of the crawl spaces and tunnel areas - fun days

Sweet photo by Tidby.. with Andrew on the left and Greg on
the right.. I'm in there in the back and so is Wilson.
Can you say GEEKS R US??

I DOUBT anyone would disagree

It continues to be an interesting change of events in my life.
I find that in learning to love another person unconditionally
has taught me a great deal about myself. To be honest, not
all that I am learning are things I wish I was learning, but are
lessons which will be so valuable to me as I approach marriage.
I've never been loved so unconditionally by a man who allows
me to be me... It is amazing and scary at the same time.
Through this experience thus far I have come to better
appreciate Rilke's words.

For one human being to love another; that is perhaps the most
difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the
work for which all other work is but preparation.
Rainer Rilke

Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest
human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side
by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between
them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole
against the sky.
Rainer Rilke

"NAME" that Song

So there are a lot of women in my office who are pregnant
right now and we have been discussing names. I mentioned
I somehow love the name Forrest and they all started laughing
somewhat uncontrollable. I never found the name all that
amusing, however I quickly realized that by having the name
Jenny, I would set my child up for a lot of teasing. Though I
argued that Forrest Gump references would be long gone by
the time my child was old enough to be teased, they still said
he would get the teasing regardless. (Then again I figured that
the references when I introduced myself as Jenny would have
stopped long ago, perhaps a reason I started going by JennyMay)
So it got me thinking to how common certain names are in
the movies and music. What did I do, I went to ITUNES
and put the name Jenny in a search for songs, and boy was I
surprised how many songs have the name Jenny used in it.
I guess having a common name would bring about such and
occurrence. So here is the question... what is your name and
what is your favourite movie or song which has your name in it??

Let me start... Well obviously J-Lo's Jenny from the block..
ok so maybe not - cheesiest is Barry Manilow
(Jenny) You're my only Girl..