Happy Halloween 2016!

Happy Halloween Lovelies!


I'm pretty sure most of you had your celebration on the weekend like I did for yourself and tonight is the night for the kids.

Now thank goodness my kids are all grown and I won't have to go out in the miserable weather to take them trick or treating but at the same time I miss those moments, like when B was 2 her first trek around the neighbourhood dressed as a cute lil pumpkin and we got to a house and she was being potty trained at the time ( no Pull Ups in those days ) and when they opened the door instead of Trick or Treat she simply said "I peed..." they laughed, we laughed and she scored. Or Sese getting many purple balloons pinned to her to make her a bunch of grapes when she was 5, unfortunately we couldn't fit her in a jacket so keeping her warm was our main concern but she was a champ and getting candy so she felt nothing except for an intense need for sugar. Or once having a neighbour wearing a scream mask and literally having to drag my kid to the door she was so scared one year. He apologized to her profusely and filled her bag because she was crying...ok not crying pleading for her life.

That same year though there were a large group of us about 7 or 8 adults and 11 children going out together. We planned it nicely while we had our thermoses of coffee and cocoa ( it was cold that year but dry ) and we were a trick or treat mob. I miss those days...

Now they are adult women and their costumes reflect that...where have my babies gone..

That being said with them being adults we have now just had our 4th annual Halloween party and it was a success. I get them to play a game every year and this year I thought I was prepared but they were quick! Petrified Pyramid was the game and fast on their feet were they. So fast I had to stop and add things. Next years game will be much more difficult.

Prizes were given for Best Costume and Best Couple Costume and a dance party came to life.

I asked them all a question about their happiest Halloween memory and I still have to put the video together because I've never had to deal with so many clips before but it will be done by the end of the day because upload times vary so it will be up at some point and well video is not my strong suit especially since I had to put them together first. Fingers crossed.

Some of them weren't happy though, they were sad but I guess a memory never the less right?

Check out my Instagram ( tab at the top ) for photos. Those of you on my FB have probably already seen most them because of my frantic uploading on Sat night. but there are some that were not sent there just for this reason!

Now with Halloween almost behind us and November set to start it's 2 months today until New Years Eve. My second favourite non holiday of the year!

Have a great week!

See ya
S

Jello Shots and Road Gremlins

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you had a fabulous weekend! I did!

My Birthday was on Friday and I had the day off thanks to the company I work for. The hardest part about being off on Friday was thinking it was Saturday...all day. I had decided that since it was going to rain on my birthday and it does almost every year that I was going to hang out at home, consuming Jello shots until I passed out and the day was over but a change of events made the day simple and very much appreciated. 

I went out and saw my girlfriend of 38 years...38 YEARS! She's like a sister to me and so her daughter is effectively my niece. This niece of mine decided she wanted to come hang out with me for the day. Well...ok then...auntie is cool to hang out with for that 17 yr old. Once I brought her home with me and Lo, Bean and T took over from there. They latched on to each other and were thick as thieves, the brats. At one point Court ( niece ) was sitting with me while I made jello shots and I had the bright idea to take: 

Orange Jello + Mango Malibu Rum = Yummy

Strawberry Jello + Aboslut Rasberry Vodka = Super Yummy

Cherry Jello + Baccardi Black Rum = Napalm Bombs aka RED DEATH

As I made the last one, as soon as it hit my nose, I knew it was a bad idea but hey maybe it would taste ok. BAD...BAD IDEA...VERY BAD IDEA. Even as they set, every time we opened the fridge all you could smell was the Cherry Jello shots. That shit could clear your sinus' and trust me you didn't want that because you could fully smell them then.

The evening progressed with the girls helping make appies while we waited for the Jello to set. We nibbled and chatted watching Youtube videos and laughing thanks to Good Mythical Morning, Buzzfeed and that guy...Joe something or other. I always forget his name. Brina, Lo and I had decided that we would parcel out RED DEATH to any of the men that wanted to take a shot. Apparently T decided she was in that lot and we watched closely as she was the guinea pig for that experiment.

I should have took some video of the expression on her face when she pooped that tiny bit of Jello in her mouth. There was nothing good about that shot and her face said it all. The night went on until the only shots left were the ones we left behind so we just had to woman up and take them and we did. 

We held up our tiny cups, did our cheers, popped those suckers in our mouths...and damn near died.

Breathing stopped, mouths burning and brain cells exploding. it was worse than...um...I can't even compare it to anything it was that intense. When the last 4 were consumed by me, Bean, T and Lo T saying the last one was the easiest for her but for me and Lo it was the hardest. I almost couldn't swallow it. Lo made me promise at that point to never, ever make them again.

A fun time was had by all! Surprisingly enough for how drunk I was, I woke up with no hangover and raring to go.

Saturday I hung out with the girls, laughed at T because she was the only one who felt like death when she woke up and as a result hated her life. Wait Bean did too...Rookies.

My brother was here from Jamaica visiting and hadn't been here since 1995 when Bean was born so we hadn't seen him in almost 21 yrs. That was awesome Sese was her shy, silent self and Bean was...not.

Sunday was a day where I got to hang out with the boys and go to the Swap Meet in Cloverdale and I have to say it was an adventure. There was so much that happened  can't even put it all here, Missing turns, backed up traffic, cell phones left on the roof of the car to fall off and be run over later...good times and not my cell phone. He retrieved it, in pieces.

I have this thing about going to large crowed venues, The first thing we see when we get there is many upon many Motorcycles. coolest thing ever for me being my first one. The guys don't usually take me but I asked to go this year. the second thing I noticed as a typical me thing...the only...black person...there. So as you can guess there were many eyes on me. Choo asked me if it made me nervous and no it didn't at all. Scratch that the slow head turning looks did make me a bit nervous but it does no matter who you are or where I am. 

I was much more interested in being somewhere I had never been before and taking in the scene and ideas for both of my bikes.

When Choo bought me my Sportster it had a bell attached underneath to the frame. Even after I said no he took that bell because it had a Skull on it and said he would replace it, the Meet was his chance to do that. When I get the chance to customize the Sportster it will have a Wolf theme but alas they had no wolves at the table I was at so I picked up a little Celtic Cross instead, temporarily because I have to order the Wolf bell. Once I get that one I'll transfer the Cross bell to the BSA.

There is a legend of the Guardian Bell for riders but of course I forgot the simple version in my other book and as I looked for a simple explanation all I found was the whole story and it's a long story! Simply put though the bell is to protect riders from Road Gremlins that try to take you out. 

Some follow the superstition and some don't but I feel like I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Well that was a long one!

Have a great week!

See Ya 

S.

Totally Worth It...

Hello Lovelies!

Well I missed last weeks post as you know...or don't but it was a long week at work being on my own for the past 2 and as usual trying to get everything I NEED to do done but only seeming to complete the things I WANT to do. What I wanted to do was apparently study for my learners tests and sit in the sun.

Not a bad thing! There were 3 of us that had to get our Learners licenses for riding and two of them have gone and done it. Spur of the moment, out the door and gone one after the other, it must be because they're guys. Me being me though has this little voice in my head telling me not to go just because they did and not to go just because everyone else wants me to ride.

"Take your time..." it says, "Be confident with your own knowledge..." it whispers and so I listen.

I have decided not to tell anyone when I'm going so I don't feel that pressure that I'm apparently putting on myself but I'd much rather come home and say "Hey! Look what I got!" if it happens that way. Everyone has been so supportive, others even dare I say "pushy" about me riding because they want me to do it just as much as I want to. Part of me wonders why they even care but I'm constantly reminded of how big a thing this is. I told Lo that by not telling anyone when I'm going to take my tests then I won't feel like I let anyone down. She told me that the only way I would let anyone down is if I gave up and quit if I failed.

 OK... you made sense, it was like a mental slap but I'm still not saying when.

So I figured I would start out my Saturday seeing my niece turn 17...geez 17! Then drag out my bike that's been all cozy and dry in the Bike shed over the tail end of Winter, semi custom built by 4 guys with A LOT of patience and give her a wash while learning my controls and where things sit on the bike. I thought that was proactive and even found things on mine that Choo told me I didn't have. Ya take that smart guy! Lo pulled out her Sportser to see the sun too and the next thing I knew it was 4 hours from wash to polish and I realized that I will be a tad obsessive with detailing I can see that coming. Now that I have the Sportster I'm a bit eager to build the BSA because most of all I want to learn what goes into building a bike and be able to take care of mine without having to call the men in my life for aid or not being able to maintain my own toys. Plus how cool would it be to build the British bike? Very cool for me, she was my first, even in pieces and nothing needs to be done to the Sportster.

OK I'm off track or rather on track with where my mind set is these days. After the day in the sun it was off to the fair in Coquitlam to see lil man Parker while he hit the rides with his parents. Although once the we got there we were on PK duty while T and Craig got to hit up the big rides fro some fun of their own with Sese. Why is it that when you go to something like this the guys always take off, saying they were doing one thing or not saying at all when we know they were just somewhere watching girls? We know this, we know who you are. We made a point of going just before dark because we wanted to see everything lit up and as much as I wanted to go on the rides I was beat from the sun already and had no problems hanging out with PK. Except for my arms, they hurt, he's 3 and heavy after a while, can't complain though I got lots of love for it and tears when he had to go home.

The next day was like a bad hangover without the booze sickness. Sore arms from carrying a 3 year old, sore thighs from trying to get used to the weight of the bike by rocking her back and forth, sore back from waxing and polishing and a mild case of sun stroke! All in all a fabulous weekend, a very very good weekend. Totally Worth It.

Back to clouds and rain and ...work.

Have a great week!

See Ya
S

Short and Sweet That's How It Is.

Hello Lovelies!

How was your week?

Mine was good, well Saturday was kind of a blur  but I distinctly remember going our for dinner to our local PUB and feeling the floor shake from the excitement of the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals game. There were definitely more Packers fans in the PUB than Cards fans and I am not a Packers fan  but I felt for them in their defeat  as I clapped for the  Cards. I do love football even though it's been a long time since I have followed an entire season. I'll follow my teams progress but the Sunday game day ritual has been lost in the raising of my kids. That night though it felt good to be around people that were excited about the NFL Playoffs and reminded me of that part of me that's drifted away.

Sunday I went for lunch and a Matinee with one of my besties to see Daddy's Home . I hmmm and hawwwed at first because I'm not really a Will Ferrell Fan. I do watch his movies but it's less for him and more for those co-starring with him because he's one of the ones like Adam Sandler that was stuck doing the same types of movies but I love Adam Sandler either way though the movie was funnier than I thought it was going to be and I found myself laughing so hard at a few scenes that I couldn't breathe. It was good to have that time out with her for the afternoon.

My writing has been pretty solid and I'm proud of myself for that since distractions are constant. I have added a Book Tracking Tab above so that you can see which books I've read over the course of the year. I'm still finishing the list for 2015 properly because when I was tracking the books last year I didn't have them listed under the name of the book, more like the name of the series but anyway I'm still hoping that I can finish web story this year and begin the next one.

I can't even get into the deaths this month. The news is everywhere and anywhere and has saddened many hearts.

So short and sweet it is again as I head into the 3rd week of the season but I'll see you soon enough in  some capacity because some surprises are in store.

Possible a Puppy naming intervention and campaign (long story).

Happy Birthday to Blondunicorn! I have been tormenting her this morning with pics of her gift that she won't see until after midnight because she has a job that takes her normal days away. So far it's working and some of the guesses she's had have been down right scandalous.

Ok guys have a great week!

See Ya
S

Friday the 13th Shenanigans

Good Morning Lovelies,

So today's post is an account of my Friday 13th.

I don't usually associate the day with bad luck but I did this time.
You guys on my Facebook got part of the story about my nightmare Friday and now you can all get the whole story.

Now lucky for me Friday the 13th I had off. On Thursday night seeing as I didn't have to work the next day I stayed up to wait for Blondunicorn to get home. She works dumb afternoon hours all the time so I don't really see her much hence the me staying up so that we can go for our typical after midnight 711 run.

We went out, chatted for a bit and around 1am I went to bed only to be woken up at 4am by Sese perched on my bed, on her knees staring at me.

Sese - Mom (Whispers)
Me - blink blink
Sese - Mom I think there's a mouse in my room.

Enter Choo who is up to go to work who is also confused as to why our 23 yr old is half in the fetal position on my bed.

Sese - I can hear rustling under the bed.

Cue me getting out of bed. on the way down to the basement I did do a quick check to make sure that Buffy my pet rat who constantly looks for a way out is still in her cage and she was. Now we're no strangers to rats but we have 3 cats that are killers when it comes to the rodents so we haven't had had to worry too much about live rats...inside...until now. At this point Sese had been up since 3 with Bast our Calico in her room stalking the rat but apparently bast got bored. We looked under the bed and didn't see anything until we pulled the bed away from the wall and there perched between the mattress and the wall, bracing itself was oh yes a rat. The funny thing was that it was directly above the cat but it wasn't until the rat dropped down and took off like a rocket that Bast became animated again.

I had no idea rats could flatten themselves like pancakes to fit under a door until I saw it as the little beast ran like it was on fire but bast followed and the chase was on...for about 6 feet when bast decided it was bath time. So we lost the critter and decided that traps were in order just as Choo came out of the laundry room with a look of utter disappointment on his face but he uttered the words we have all longed to hear.

Choo - The Laundry room is flooded ( not those words )
Me - FML
Choo - We are getting the fuck out of here. (Oh happy day!)

By now it's 4:30

I always say that Fall is BC's monsoon season and after the lake forming in that Laundry room, my point was proven. We put down towels down, Choo told me to keep an eye on it ( like I wouldn't ) and I tried to go back to bed...and tried....and tried. Finally I got up and made a pot of coffee, watched a weird movie called The Loft and set my brain on auto-pilot hoping to doze off.
Around 6 am I went back down to check the flooding and Allan was up.

Allan - Hey... the laundry room is flooding.
Me - That's why I'm here...now...at 6 am on my day off.

I checked it and Allan had put down some more towels so I  went back upstairs.
Fast forward...kids got up, we went shopping, figured out it was Friday the 13th, bathed the 3 dogs, I made Pulled Pork in the slow cooker, rain stopped and traps were laid down and I ordered a Lootcrate.

Well now I'm not even lifting my feet to walk anymore because I'm so tired but I couldn't sleep, couldn't form words and couldn't even eat when all was said and done but forced myself to and still didn't even get into bed until almost 11 pm and slept like the dead. That was funny because I fell asleep watching the first Evil Dead movie.

The next day all was right with the world I went to a b-day party for a little man turning 1 and on Sun went to a memorial for a matriarch that had passed away at 97. Two complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

The battle is on with the rat though, we haven't caught him yet, I actually think it's a her and that is not a good thing.

Today's soundtrack - Monday's Motivational

Someone asked me what I listen to in my soundtracks and next time I'll post a list somewhere. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music with the exception of Country and Classical. I never have a mood for either of those.

Ok guys have a great week!

See Ya
S

It's Over For Another Year.

Good Morning Lovelies!

Well I'm here a day or two late but still made it!

 I got distracted on Monday as Blondunicorn was pelting me with pics of Supernaturals most prized possession the Impala as they film behind us. My excitement was shown is extreme CAPS lock because you know if the car is there then one or both of the boys will be there. I guess they're not really boys right ?

Anyway I was distracted! I hope your Halloween was safe, fun and full of some kind of sugary goodness. I kind of miss that about my kids being all grown up except that I'm completely ok with not having to go trick or treating in the pouring rain so that I can raid my girls candy stash. I raided the stash at work though only to have for the first time in the 5 years we've lived where we are have more kids than we ever had show up. Usually there are none...wait last year I think we had a little princess. Every year I would buy candy and no one would come so I give it to my crew to eat but this year i bought none and had to give away my stash from work, go figure.

 Sadly you did not see my costume post because...there is no because I completely slacked letting other things get in the way but what's done is done.

Our Annual Halloween party went off without a hitch and the costumes were awesome.
You guys that already saw them on my Facebook...too bad look again!


These are the ones that won special prizes for their imagination and work that are being custom made for you.

Meet French KISS and the baguettes

photo courtesy of Megan Buzzard

From left to right meet Allan, Bean, Marvin ( whose real name is Armin but when he was introduced to us a few years ago we were drunk and Marvin he is now forever. ) and Handsome Dan. I love this photo so much it's the Wallpaper on my work computer!

A 24 hr work of art for this Naruto costume.

Good job Steven and it only took about 4 hrs and lots of ow's to get his hair to stand up like that and there are really so many uses for duct tape! You will be an awesome Cosplayer.

Blondunicorn did it with flair as a gypsy.

Now that Halloween is over, Bean is gearing up for the next holiday complete with sparkly and shiny things. After Remembrance Day I'm going to try and not hate the season so much and ease into it with preparedness and relative calm...

Who am I kidding?

If that happens someone needs to make me an award.

So have a great week!

See Ya
S

Heart-wrenching and Heart Warming

Happy Monday!

Who am I kidding? I just can't get it together today but it is Monday so I'll conveniently blame that.

Warning...if you watch The Walking Dead and have not seen last night's episode there are spoilers below.

If you don't watch it...what is wrong with you!

Tough thing the Heart.

It takes so much abuse and is still the thing we have to contend with the most unless you have no conscience. Let's start with Heart-wrenching.

Well after having me scream at my TV last night while watching The Walking Dead I had to sit back down and say hmm... and then get told by Sese and Allan that read the comic books at 2 separate times that this had to happen. I don't know how many of you watch the show and have from the beginning but it is one of the most emotionally intense shows pretty much ever. I know there have been others but very few have that fully engaging aura that in a lot of cases makes you feel like you are actually there with them. I thought that when Hershel died it was tough and even Lori because it was such a sad sequence of events, Beth...ruined me too but Glenn... completely devastated me and felt so senseless at the same time! Nicholas really just finally succeeded in killing Glenn  (maybe) by snapping and turning a gun on himself just to have his dead weight body fall on Glenn and tip him over the edge and even though in my heart of hearts I am still hoping that those intestines were not Glenn's being consumed... he would not have made it out of that horde.

As The Talking Dead pointed out something I would not have noticed until I re-watched all of the seasons was when Glenn was telling Rick his plan he called him "Dumbass" which was what he called him the first time he spoke to him in Season 1 when Rick was trapped in the tank.

Full circle? I hope not but none the less it could be.

I do have to say I'm glad it wasn't comic book Glen's death because I might have broken something. Now Glen wasn't the only thing about the episode that had me on the edge of my seat. Rick running for the RV and what happened in the RV was crazy and you could see crazy on Rick's face. Is it time for his hand? Is it? We'll see after he makes it out of the horde he's surrounded by because after Glen...Rick will make it. Now with that being said we have no concrete evidence that Glenn is dead and every part of me hopes he can miraculously make it out and back t a waiting Maggie who has had her father and her sister taken from her. Hmm...both of them were taken from her by people not Walkers when you think about it.

 Can I say that I feel like Darryl is underused right now and at what point did Morgan break off from them and go back to Alexandria during the Wolves attack? Next weeks episode is 90 mins and we'll finally get to see what Morgan has been through.

I can only hope to be able to write things as powerful as some of the things I have seen in the past and  now. That is a goal I strive to someday achieve.

Heart Warming time!

Ok so besides the shock of the week this past Sat we had Parker help out for his first Pumpkin Carving session or more for him his pumpkin colouring session. After I made sure his father stripped him down out of his brand new Spiderman PJ's, Peanut took a seat at the big table in the kitchen and eyed the 5 pumpkins in front of his big brown eyes he picked his pumpkin out and while Craig started the process of carving his pumpkin for him, P choose to colour mine instead and that was ok he's 2 1/2 so his way works and also funny as he tried to eat pumpkin guts and then put them back into my pumpkin while we were trying to get them out. Bean and Allan worked meticulously on theirs and Bean's turned out to be the most vicious looking one out of all of them. He was gross and sticky and it was awesome! Blondunicron held the speed record for carving as she was in, out and done in no time at all. So fun I was pleasantly tired afterwards!

Photo courtesy of Blondunicorn 


Since mine was covered in Crayon it was carved later and placed with the rest but the gang did a good job!

 I swear I'm going to get my costume post out before Halloween!

Have a great week!

See Ya
S

I Almost Can't Control Myself!

courtesy of www.freepik.com

Hello Lovelies,

After my Just A Little Road Trip post I was surprised to have the "Are you OK?" questions considering it wasn't really about me but people I know that are going through tough times right now and I wish I could help them more. So far so good and I think they're turning a corner!

Well one of them is sure to be a corner that turns into a brick wall but sometimes you just can't fight that fucked up logic.

I'll have the band-aids ready though so I can rip them all off at the same time when they need to be.

So with that out of the way. How ya been? Did you have a good week? Awesome because it's October now officially and the parade of costumes and scary movies and days of celebration are headed our way. Bean is in super decorator mode...although she keeps talking about Christmas thus making me want to lock her in the closet with the Xmas decorations until Dec, because I know her and Nov 1 she'll have all things Halloween stripped and all the greens and reds and other holiday things will make it look like not only Santa threw up in our house but all the elves and reindeer too.

Oh...joy...and not to the world. Stop that train right there!

First up! Events I'm going to force my family to check out over the next few weeks!

Gravecouver Haunted House
Your worst fears, phobias and nightmares will be experienced at this indoor haunted house. Features 13 individual scary rooms with rides, zombies and more. • Metropolis at Metrotown, Burnaby • Oct. 3 until Nov. 1, opens at 7 p.m. • $13, VIP/$20,gravecouver.ca

this one I'm sooooo not doing but I would like to hear from anyone that does!

On Death’s Door: Plague of the Zombie Syndrome
The Virtual Stage presents Andy Thompson’s all-new interactive, roving theatre adventure. Armed only with their wits and a smartphone, teams of audience members race against the clock and elude the undead while unraveling a nefarious plot to flood Vancouver’s streets with zombies. • Top secret location • Oct. 7 until Nov. 2, Tuesdays-Sundays, performances begin every 30 minutes, 6:30-8:30 p.m. • $12.50-$50, thevirtualstage.org/tickets, zombiesyndrome.com

OH Blondunicorn this is right up your alley!

An Evening with the Paranormal Society
Join the Vancouver Paranormal Society as they share their discoveries from investigations at the Historic Stewart Farm and elsewhere. • Historic Stewart Farm, 13723 Crescent Rd., Surrey • Oct. 9 or Oct. 16, 6-8 p.m. • $15, registration required, 604-592-6956, surrey.ca/heritage

There are so many more to come and return like Fright Night @ Playland and the Ghost Train as usual every year. Next week begins my parade of awful costumes and the prep for our 3rd Annual Halloween Party and many days of AMC's Fearfest, AHS, Supernatural and THE WALKING DEAD!

Ya I'm a tad excited.

OK off with you and have a great week and remember that if you have any suggestions or ideas to offer contact me and put me to work!

See Ya!
S

Vancouver Blackout 2015 My Event.

Happy Monday!

It's only happy because we have power now where out of the 500,000 people without it over this weekend there are still about 60,000 in the dark around the Lower Mainland. So...not so happy for those guys.

Saturday morning was like any other Saturday. In PJ's puttering around the house watching the sun peak in and out. Standing on the back deck chatting and a gust of wind came up so hard that I thought the table umbrella was going to take a Wizard of Oz trip. We were expecting the wind, seeing it all over the weather reports we knew we were in for a windy day.

Boy were we wrong. We underestimated the force of what was coming and although the wind itself didn't last long, the carnage it left in its wake lasted for days...still counting. I figured when the wind kicked up and tried to lift the roof over deck off that we would definitely lose power along with the flickering lights. Before I had left the house Choo had put laundry in and I had said something about that maybe not being a good thing. At some point so those of us in the house decided it was time to hit up our downtown core here in PoCo and get some things to get us through like sandwich stuff and extra candles. For Craig the emergency was the Liquor store.

We figured hey why not if the lights go out we'll have a Blackout party of sorts. So Craig, myself and Bean take of to get 'provisions' and we weren't the only ones who thought that way. We had a plan. Store, dollar store ( candles ) and Samz beer and wine store. The grocery store was buzzing with people on the same track. We grab what we need and head up to the till and we're behind 2 other customers chit chatting with people about the wind. Then everything went dark...everywhere and there was a collective AWWWWW Many of us left our things behind while the poor few that were in the middle of debit transactions were about to lose their minds.

Bean and I were about to head back to the house when Craig was determined to check if the place that held all that would save him that day was open. So away we went telling him there was no way but he needed proof. Walking down the street and seeing everyone pop out there doors on the storefront at the same time all talking to each other about whether to close up or hang in there in case it was a quick fix made me think "This is how natural disaster movies start."

People holding the goods they could get and all the street lights going out on that busy road on a Saturday was not going to be a good thing. After getting to the door of Samz and practically having Craig cry tears of distress, we went home this... was all about noon. Walking back we saw a tree across the street from our house had been ripped completely clear of the ground and hit some lines. Well...shit. We still have a downed phone line hanging from a pole outside.

We got home and let everyone know that we almost made it but we had to think of other means for the evening. Bean and Craig were on that immediately looking for things that were open and a ride to get there as we sat in the windows watching debris tumbleweed across the street. Where Choo was cursing because the washer's lid locked and there it sat in a drum of water until we got the power back. We heard that  Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge were out as well as Coquitlam and Burnaby and large parts of Vancouver. Everywhere was blacked out. Blondunicorn had a wedding to go to and I have to say that the universe was looking out for the bride and groom. They were supposed to have an outdoor wedding but the rain that had been called for had caused them to change the Venue and wouldn't you know it, it turned out to be the only place in Port Coquitlam ( South side anyway ) that did not lose power.

The kids found out the only place they could go for anything was Port Moody so they headed out to hunt and forage as I was saying to them. It took them 2 hours to get to and back from a city only 2 cities away from us. Sese decided she was going to brave the wind and now rain and head to a friends in New Westminster where they were dark too and what to you know Translink was letting people on for free. It took a little longer because everyone driving had the 4 way stop procedure to adhere to and many of them didn't. At that point it was much safer to j-walk than try to cross at an intersection. Sese called us from the bus stop to say she saw BU drive by her with a branch under her car. OK we giggled at that while sending her a text to warn her that she didn't get until she had parked the car anyway and all was well.

I have to say though that having no power makes absolutely everyone social physically. With no WiFi and trying to conserve battery power we all but tuned out of anything virtual having to talk to each other and play games to pass the time. We would check repeatedly on the BC Hydro website only to find the site um...down for maintenance? Really...of course but the company was Tweeting in lieu anything else. Craig had his Sleemans crisis security blanket and after almost an entire bottle of Jim Beam ( not all by me thank you ) we decided at around 11 pm and with the streets so black not a light in sight we were going to take a walk. BU was back by then and joined in the fun. It wasn't raining but all the cloud cover hid the Full moon and the bevy of stars we might have seen. Can you imagine how many more there would have been without all the light pollution? That would have been cool.

So me, Blondunicorn, Bean, Craig and Handsome Dan hit the streets and all I could think was Night Of The Comet. Well that and screaming Zombie every time a dark figure appeared making me want to hit them with pieces of trees.

All in all though we had a good time! Until the next morning when we still had no power...then as usual the only thing that would have saved us was coffee. How were we going to make coffee? Well Choo was up to bat for that and since he slept through most of the outage, it seemed fitting. Finding a metal kettle and propane, on the BBQ he heated up water for our wake up. As the morning dragged on we all got antsy, needing to do something, anything to kill time until all of the things we blindly depended on came back to us. I got so stir crazy that went to get dressed and go for a walk just to do something. BU hadn't slept much because the Assisted Living condos beside us had their generator running all night and it was not quiet.

As I'm putting my pants on, someone screams from up the street. A loud WOOOOOOOO! traveled along the sound waves and just like that we were back on line as cheers erupted in the house we scared the crap out of BU waking her up and my cell phone had a stroke as all the notifications from various places filed in once it's life was revived.

Even though we regained our power most of our city was still out even a block away at the storefront was still dark until late last night. What it made me realize though was that we are not even close to being prepared for something larger. Not by a long shot. It makes you think though about how to solve that problem and as much as we know what we should have in the case of Earthquakes or Floods we are sadly not prepared enough.

 So now one of my goals is to change that.

OK guys have a great week!

See Ya
S

Just Because It's Awesome.

Hello Lovelies!

 I'm back from Vacation...sort of. I did have to come back to work for a day so that my co-worker could attend her daughters graduation...that she forgot about and asked at the last minute if I could come in, then it turned out that she had graduated the day before so she spent the day off taking her girl to get properly done up for her dinner dance. At least it was a Friday so I got to go into work in jeans.

I didn't do too much because it's been stupid hot and since they knocked the houses down behind us the heat is baking the yard. With the water restrictions being a bit heavier this year our back yard looks like a field of wheat that's been flattened like a crop circle. The nights are even worse though and sleeping solidly seems to be almost non existent and attempting to sleep in was not an option. The nights heat up it seems and if I was ok with bugs I'd just sleep out on the back porch because by 7pm outside is much cooler than inside. Unfortunately have you seen the shit that flies around at night besides the Bats? We have new, weird and strange bugs that like nighttime, our Hazelnut tree and that gives me the heebie jeebies.

So yesterday was Canada Day and we did our annual BBQ trying to keep it simple because of the heat but as every year we soak fruit in booze, put out the skewers and go for broke... after the meal of salads, burgers and hot dogs. This year it was Mango Splash Malibu that we doused our fruit salad with and it was pretty amazing! The usual suspects were there but we were missing a few that would normally be there but it was a good day! Unless you're Blondunicorn who decided we should have Mimosas but had never opened a Champagne bottle before and while my eyes were elsewhere she opened the bottle...straight up, not away from herself and got a cork in the lip...hard, splitting it and I wish I saw what she was doing so I could have warned her but you know what?

She'll never do that again now will she?

A few things about eating your alcohol is...

1) It's delicious
2) No hangover ( thank god )
3) The buzz is completely different
4) The socializing that happens as people enjoy it! It's brings us together as we discuss why the watermelon no matter what is always the fruit where the booze tastes the strongest.

Bean went all out with decorations, everything from $100 bill napkins to Canadian flag toothpicks, plates, tablecloth and a red and white packed with glitter top hat that had glitter EVERYWHERE and on everything. She loves her holidays that's for sure. There were firework restrictions too yesterday because it's been so dry but we could see a few rebels lighting them off from the back porch after the kids left to hunt down some they could watch traditionally.

All in all it was a good day, screaming hot but a good day! All we need is one day of rain...just one...full on downpour where I don't have to feel like the only relief would be stripping down naked and covering myself in an ice bath is my only recourse and yet I have to sleep with the covers on!

Ok guys, Have a great rest of the week!

Happy 4th coming for my US friends and family! I hope your day is as good as ours was!

See Ya
S

Demon Dolls...

Hello Lovelies!

A couple of weeks ago I had told you about going to see the new Avengers movie but apparently I forgot either the best or creepiest parts of the night out.

Whenever we go to Silvercity we park in the farthest parking lot so that we don't have to fight people leaving the theater in the front lot. So as we park in our usual place and the 4 of us pile out of  the car and get ourselves situated for the trek to the movie Bean steps away from the group and comes back laughing.

Bean: "Hey come here look what I found!"

Allan is the first one to her as Blondunicorn moves quickly after him.

Allan: "It's a doll..." rather nonchalantly as only Allan can do.

As I circle around and look down by her feet there is a naked doll on the ground and from what I can see it's missing a leg laying face down on the pavement. Bean kicked it over to reveal half a missing head and an eye, only tufts of hair and a creepy smile.

Me: "Well your going to die now...!"
Bean: "Mom...I'm not going to die now!"
Me: "Yes you are, you touched it and that's how this shit goes."

Allan was nodding and shaking his head at the same time as Blondunicorn and Bean took a closer look at the mangled demon object that I had already determined it was. Pointing out the destruction that creepy one legged thing had happen to it.

As we walked towards the theater BU had realized she had forgotten her phone in the car so we waited out front and she went back to get it. When she came back we headed inside to the line up that awaited us. Once we get in and find our seats, I've got BU on one side and Bean on the other, BU whips out her phone.

BU: "Hey look what I got!"

Pictures of said doll....have I mentioned I hate dolls? Have I also mentioned that they all know I hate dolls?

Me: "Great...now you're going to die too"
BU: "I'm not going to die!"
Me: "No? Now we're all going to die because we've all seen it or touched it."
BU: "We're not going to die!"
Me: "Do you watch horror movies?"
BU: "Not because I want to..."
Me: "Then shush and delete that right now!"

She shrugs...

BU: "Hang on I'm texting it to Bean"
Me: "You're texting it to Bean!... No! This is all forms of wrong! Sure there you go, touch it...poke it... take a picture of it and start texting it? Oh god..."
Bean: "Got it! Man that's creepy!" as she leans over to show Allan.
BU: "Ok it's deleted."
Me: "Well it's too late now! You passed it on...it's all over."

They were killing me...all I could think about was the Twilight Zone Talking Tina Episode that started it all for me. Well that and my brother constantly trying to scare the crap out of me using my dolls because of that episode when I was 8. Ghost Adventures and their Doll Island Episode too creeped me out!

By now my inner Screenwriter is screaming out the many possible and horrific ways this story could play out on screen and and kill us all and such thoughts almost made me grab her phone and throw it into the rows of seats ahead.

The guy with his girlfriend sitting on the other side of BU found this very amusing while we discussed the specifics of doll possession. A week later that same guy walked into BU's work and remembered us and our banter saying that we had entertained him while waiting for the movie to start. She on the other hand could only remember him by his arms because he had full sleeves (tattoos) and was sharing an armrest with her.

Well nobody died, no mysterious dolls ended up in our yard or house and until this weekend when we were talking about the doll situation I had realized that I had totally forgotten about it! I almost wish I had the pic so I could show you how creepy it was but...that would go against everything I'm saying now wouldn't it?

Sooo...Blondunicorn and Bean...we're going to sit down and watch Annabel and see if you understand what I'm talking about.

Have a great week!

See Ya
S

We Went, We Saw, We Bought Stuff!

Hello Lovelies!

I hope your Easter weekend was as good as mine was because Fan Expo was were I was! You know this already because my countdown started about 3 weeks before.

There was a constant buzz of energy on the way downtown. Me and the girls B, Sese and Blondunicorn hopped on the bus and took off to the city for a day of fun. The ride was almost torture getting there though, it's a ride I take everyday to work so I'm used to it. Lo on the other hand hasn't been on public transit for hmmm...I don't know over 20 years and she asked for a barf bag at one point. We get off the bus and I show them the Trump Tower that is causing all the problems they see in the news and really because there is no way to not see the looming building, it's massive! We split off from Sese and hit the first Starbucks we see because the wind coming off of the water is freezing.

After Latte's and a White Chocolate Mocha are in hand we brave the wind and head to the Convention Center. We get our tickets and on the way to the coat check we see Captain Jack and Loki having a wonderful conversation that made absolutely no sense because they were both in character. I have to say it definitely felt bigger than it was last year. So many more people to push yourself through and that brings me to ways to prepare for that kind of an outing.

First...take your 19 year old daughter with you.

Second...feed that kid while she has a meltdown about a $9 hot dog and swear to take snacks next year.

Third...follow said 19 yr old as she gets your pedestrian rage about 10x worse than you do.

Fourth...take your time as she elbows people out of the way creating a path for you and the newbie ( Blondunicorn ) to wade through.

Fifth...let that girl find all the shortcuts to get back into the convention so she doesn't have to walk all the way around the building to get back in after she's had enough people and wants to go outside in the first place.

She was funny to watch because she was so excited the whole time but needed to keep moving. We took in many sights and sounds, checked out celebrity panels I SAW WILLIAM SHATNER! Tyrese, Lori and Hershel from The Walking Dead, Stephen Amell and JOHN BARROWMAN and Carrie Fisher! Just to be that close to them was amazing for me!

There was a trio dressed as Loki, Thor and Heimdall as as they progressed around the room and they got separated all you would hear was "Loki! My brother!" and you would see 2 set of horns move with great speed through the crowd for a photo op like this!

And with that, this year I asked people to pose for pics and that wasn't something I would normally do. It's expected here though and highly encouraged.

I've wanted a Wonder Woman t-shirt since I was 9 and now I have one plus a Batman T along with a few prints from artists that I'll follow the progress of like Hugh Rookwood from Chozen Studios and Mervyn Mckoy from Paper Lab Studios.

You can check the Scenic tab above for more pics! Overall I had a great day and although I'm still learning about the Convention workings I have another goal next year to see more Q&A's and workshops. This was only the fourth year for Fan Expo and every year it should get bigger and bigger with help from those of us that have now committed to the yearly event.

Until next year FEV!

Have a great week!
S

Too Excited For Words!

Hello Lovelies!

It's Monday and the first post since I've been back actually on a Monday!
Yay me!
No really how was your weekend?

Mine was good and mildly creative as I try to get back on the horse that is my Social Media outlet. Since it pounded rain on the first official day of Spring here in the Lower Mainland I concentrated on other things like babysitting the monster boy! That kid is so smart he blows my mind but for the life of me he always calls Smokey our Pit bull, Shadow instead. Shadow was a Rottweiler that belonged to his Nana but Shadow has passed away now. They look nothing alike except for maybe his size and PK will name everything accordingly except Smokey and he's only 2 and he argues about it.

I love that kid!

Fan Expo Van is only a couple of weeks away and I'm getting very excited and who will we see?

CELEBRITY GUESTS

CARRIE FISHER

*APPEARING: SATURDAY ONLY
STAR WARS

CHAD COLEMAN

THE WALKING DEAD
THE WIRE

SCOTT WILSON

THE WALKING DEAD

SARAH WAYNE CALLIES

THE WALKING DEAD

WILLIAM SHATNER

*APPEARING: SATURDAY ONLY
STAR TREK

KAREN GILLAN

DOCTOR WHO

STEPHEN AMELL

*APPEARING: SATURDAY ONLY
ARROW

JOHN BARROWMAN

ARROW
DOCTOR WHO / TORCHWOOD

BRENT SPINER

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

SHANNEN DOHERTY

BEVERLY HILLS 90210
CHARMED

LANCE HENRIKSEN

ALIENS
MILLENNIUM
I'm not quite sure why Shannon Doherty will be there but hey I watched Charmed!

Not to mention the Comic book guests and the After party and the Panels!

Ok calm down...breathe Steph breathe.

Have a great week!

See Ya
S

Even The Doctor Was Surprised...

Happy...what day is it?!


How was your week? Mine was wet and rainy but good despite it. I can feel things outside and indoors waking up, not that they slept much with our supremely mild winter. I have roses already starting to bud and the Hydrangea that I hate with a passion along with the evil Yucca that we tore out roots and all that is starting to grow too.  

Alright...I had something else completely lined up for this post but like I said 2015 is the year to roll with it and apparently this is how we roll. (cheesy I know )

As I'm working I get a frantic call from B crying, hysterical and talking so fast I could barely keep up.

B - Mom! jflfsljf jflsflf jdjffs;k;!
Me - Um...what?
B- I  jlfj hfoewo in my dpia!

Almost on the verge of hyperventilating, and talking so fast without taking a breath that her voice got higher and higher as she spoke.

B - Something flew in my ear and I can hear it moving!

Oh... now that was interesting...

Me - Something flew in your ear?

Now being Feb but warm I have noticed insects still milling around...this wasn't one of those.

Me - (Calmly) Ok did you have Auntie look in your ear?
B - She said there was BLOOD IN MY EAR! She's taking me to the doctors. IT'S MOVING MOM, IT'S MOVING AGAIN!

Me - Ok baby breathe...Wait our doctor? The walk in Clinic? The hospital?

This is where she stopped freaking out and used her brain.

B - It's Tuesday...our doctor doesn't work on Tuesday's, I lost my wallet though and don't have my Care Card.
Me - The clinic has you on file...
B - The clinic is GONE!
Me - nope it's just moved.
B - Oh... ok the clinic then.

By now she is slow talking and waiting for her sister and Aunt to get themselves together and take her in and I get a message from Blondunicorn...

Taking B to the clinic. She had something in her ear and she's freaking out. Sese coming too.

I let her know I had B on the phone and if you knew B you would understand the state of her FREAKING OUT reaches far and can get out of control if not curbed immediately. There is no end to the horrors that go through her brain and come out her mouth....at... high... speed. 

Did I mention high speed?

Now surprisingly the clinic worked really fast and the next message I got was that they were in a room waiting and that was about 15 mins later. 

The last message was unexpectedly this 

She had a tiny spider in her ear...

Even the doctor was surprised

Even the doctor was surprised...wow...
Leave it to my kid...that sleeps near 2 tarantulas to get a spider in her ear. What a way to start a Tuesday!

If you want to read what happened from the other end click the link below to That Is All...

http://blondunicorn.blogspot.com/

Ok Lovelies!

Keep sending me the weird news.

Have a great week!
See Ya
S