Mmoonnsstteerr Jjaamm!

Well, I can officially say I've now been to a Monster Truck show. On Saturday night, myself, Tara and Newfie Dan (as well as a couple others) went to Monster Jam at the Saddledome.

Strangely, when I told people my plans for Saturday night I got a vast array of reactions. Morgana's expression turned blank and she said, "why?" Miss Fern giggled for a bit and then said she could never picture me at a Monster Truck rally. Himself - well, I don't think I'll ever hear the end of it.

It was.... well, different.

I walked down to the 'Dome since I only live about 15 blocks away and I'm too cheap to pay for parking. And so, I braved the mounds of snow and the un-shoveled sidewalks in my brown heeled boots and trudged to the Saddledome.

e had a hard time with the cold (-20), and decided after 10 minutes she didn't want to work anymore. She'll get used to it...

At the Victoria Park station I climbed the C-Train steps and used the bridge. A train had just arrived and people were everywhere! Kids running all over; pre-pubescent boys yelling "GRAVE DIGGER!" with their siblings; divorced fathers overcompensating for their abandonment with buying every t-shirt in sight.

And then there was me. 5'9, blond hair, boot cut denim and brown heels. Me = sore thumb.

I waited out front for everyone else and had a cigarette. To my shock, not one single person snarled at me! In fact, there were other people smoking also! Convinced someone was going to come by and show me where the camera was hidden, I kept my eyes peeled for the rest of my party.

Kids, fathers, mothers all streamed up the steps and into the 'Dome, most carrying protective ear muffs. It was at that moment I knew I was in trouble - I didn't have protective ear thingies!!! Oh dear God!

The trucks were kinda scary, actually. There was one called "Jurassic Attack" which was terrifying at first- it was all done up like a dinosaur and was very loud. Then I realized the dinosaur was a triceratops, and remembered (from my childhood when I played with dinosaurs and, consequently, was beaten up by my classmates) that triceratops was a herbavoire, and really nothing to be afraid of.

Then there was a Batmobile monster truck, which was also kind of ominous. Until I remember that Batman was actually a superhero who helped the good people of Gotham City. And so, the Batmobile didn't frighten me anymore. I even thought perhaps I could get him to drive me home in that thing because, well, it was Saturday night and I would be walking home alone through downtown...

There was also freestyle motocross, which was REALLY cool. Those guys are insane! It was kinda hot.

Although I don't think I'll be first in line for tickets to the next Monster Jam, it was definitely an experience. My next experience: Bingo. Jack Osbourne's got NOTHING on me!

e

No, not the drug. I've gone out and replaced my precious D with a new iPod, although D's carcass is still lying on the kitchen table, and makes me break out in whiny sobs each time I pass. Good thing I'm alone most of the time so no one knows! Well.... except you now... between us, right?

It was very difficult trying to find a Shuffle. Everywhere I went they were out of stock because Apple is phazing them out, and I was bombarded with the 'fantastic features' of the new Nano iPod. I don't know how many times, (the last few pleading for robotic salesman to listen to me) I explained I didn't want to spend $300-$400 on an iPod, I just wanted to replace my Shuffle. "Yeah, but it's being phazed out. You can't even get accessories."

"I know that. I have accessories. Please, just sell me that iPod."

"But the Nano..."

*gripping him by the collar on both sides* "Listen, mister. I've been through a lot. I just found my iPod in pieces. I'm distraught. I'm stressed. I'm about five seconds away from Kung-Fu kicking over that rack of DVDs. All I want is another Shuffle. Please. Go unlock that cabinet. Before I poke you in the eye."

"I don't know, ma'am. I think I should get my manager."

"Ah forget it!" and I left.

Fortunately, I found this really great guy at Future Shop (I think he was about 12 years old) who actually hooked me up with an open box model for a really good discount and gave me a 2 year warranty and everything! And here's the best part - he didn't harass me! Shucks, I love that kid.

And so, keeping with the natural progression of things, I've decided to name my new Shuffle "e". I will buy it pretty skins and tell it every night how much I love it. I left D on the table as a warning to little e about what might happen if she tries to run away. Tough love, I know, but sometimes you have to be stern when teaching electronics the dangers of life.

Well, if you've read this far, you're probably here under your own volition, not just killing thirty seconds on BE. So it might interest you to know The Pen is moving! When I officially launch the other blog, I'll let you know. For now I'm spending hours moving each post over to the new place, and including each comment. Thank goodness I only started this blog in September - this is almost as bad as moving apartments!

Last night, after much organizational ado, a bunch of us went for some drinks at The Cat and Fiddle. I had a good time, and thanks to people picking me up and driving me home so I didn't have to pay for a taxi, I only spent $25. Tonight, it's off to the Monster Truck Extravaganza.

Monster Truck Extravaganza. Yes, you read that right. I'm going to watch Monster Trucks. Hm. The crew we've got going is totally fun tho, so even though I'll probably catch syphilis by touching the doorhandles at this thing, at least I'll have a good laugh before I die.

A while ago I posted a plea for people to give me some ideas for new music. The response was underwhelming! After much searching, I finally found some new music. Olive, Imogen Heap and (gasp) an Armchair Cynics CD I didn't know existed.

Also, Pilate emailed me the other day (yes, me personally! Oh who am I kidding...) and told me their new album is coming out in April. God, that's so far away. But they two of their new songs up on Myspace for our listening pleasure. Sounds like it's gonna be awesome - reminds me a lot of U2.

And finally (whew, I'm getting exhausted here! How are you doing? Still hanging in there?) I added a few links to the sidebar to your right. Raine's blog, which is a lot of fun. HB's blog will make you think about life and ensure you have a tasty dinner (Post more recipes, HB! hehe). Also, Morgana's blog - check it out! She just started blogging less than 24 hours ago. I'm looking forward to a Reiki session with her once my 60 day no-fun marathon is over.

All right, that's it. Back to moving the blog and editing my murder mystery game!

Sayonara Mastercard!

Just a quick post this morning to say a very fond farewell to my Mastercard! Hurrah! I have been waiting for one of my freelance cheques to go through for a week, and each day I thought about paying off the entire thing I got a little more excited. Well, this morning it happened!

Don't get me wrong, Mastercard was fine (I just finished paying them off after 5 years, don't want to get sued and have to start all over...). My card was cancelled in 2003 while I was living in Scotland and they've been letting me pay a little tiny amount each month - I can see why too. The interest each month has been making my struggle to pay it off even harder.

Well, the greatest thing about this is that wiping out the Mastercard has bumped me up from 19% to 44.5%! 55.5% more to go, and I'm debt free!

In honour of this momentus event, I think I will allow myself a little bit of fun tonight. One or two drinks - nothing crazy. Tomorrow it will be back to my 60 day no-fun marathon. For now, I'm so happy I could cry.

I'm off to work... I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and a great weekend!

RIP D

It all started the other day. I don't know where my brain went, but let's say the mometary lapse in thinking has caused me great grief.

Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that my Ipod went missing last week. It was given to me by a friend for a good price, and that friend called it "D's Ipod", which thereafter became its name.

D traveled with me all over the place - Montreal, Halifax, Toronto, and Nicaragua. D kept me company while I ran on the treadmill, provided relaxing music as I did yoga, overcame the evil radio on my trips to and from work, and allowed me something to dance to when I had a bit too much to drink in my hotel room in Dartmouth.

Last week, D went misssing. I was surprised how frantic I was becoming simply by not having my loyal Ipod at my side. Suddenly I did not want to go to the gym anymore. Yoga was accompanied by an unnerving silence. I had to dance drunk to nothing! My life seemed ridiculously empty.

I know how stupid this sounds. Hell, when someone calls me at work and gets upset because they have to wait 7-10 business days for a replacement for their lost phone, I think, "Come on. It's just a piece of electronics! Pull yourself together!" And yet, here I was, hair a mess, breath abating, a constant tremor in my hands. All over my stupid Ipod.

I searched everywhere, considered offering a reward for its return, made up lame posters that showed a generic Ipod Shuffle picture, with the headline "Have you seen this Ipod?"

When I found it between my seats in the car, I let out a little whoop of glee, which actually echoed through the parking lot at work. I wouldn't let it out of my sight, held it in my hand for the rest of the day, and actually feared putting it back in my purse when I had to return to work. I was so relieved! My friend had returned!

Sadly, it was not meant to be. Four short hours later (yes, four hours later...) D disappeared again.

For the next few days I harassed anyone who would listen.

"Have you seen my Ipod?"

"Did I give you my Ipod to hang on to for me and I don't remember?"

(While gripping said recipient's shoulders tightly and shaking them back and forth) "PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF THE CHERUBS AND ALL THINGS HOLY TELL ME YOU HAVE MY IPOD!"

The answer was always a terrified, "No!"

All weekend I consoled myself by saying it would turn up. It's probably at work/in the car/gone on a Shuffle sabatical to Turkey and will surely return.

Today I was reunited with D. But it was not in the way I'd hoped.

An email came at around 10:00 today from Kenton at work, who was so close to being my forever hero. He asked me how much I loved him. I told him he was both kind and congenial. He told me he had found my Ipod.

"Great!" I replied via email. "Thank you sooooo much! Where was he?"

The reply came, "In the parking lot."

At that moment, my heart sunk. I gulped and typed, "Has it been run over?"

"Looking a little dirty - maybe."

I rushed from the training room to his desk and squeaked, "Is it okay?"

No. It is most certainly NOT okay. It was like having my dog run away and finding it lying on the side of the road, squashed. I was either going to vomit or cry.

It's blurry, but you get the idea. Click here for Puddle of Raine's beautiful eulogy.

My Saturday Night

So, what did you do on Saturday night? Uhu, mhum, uhu. That's fascinating! I CLEANED MY BRUSH!

Oh, that's not all, folks. I also organized my recycling. Who says my 60 day no-fun marathon won't be any fun??!!


I can hear Mom groaning as she looks at this blog. She was there when I did NaNo 2005 and wrote 25,000 words in 2 days. I know, Mom, I wasn't making sense by the end, but this will be different! I can't cram 42 hours into 24! hehe. For all my fellow writers/masochist, click here.

Fresh air sweeping in through the balcony door.

Well, the weather broke after just one day of coldness, and my weather pixie has finally stopped giving me the middle finger. So far it's our first day colder than -30, and I'm so happy it's gone I want to dance around like a homosexual bee leaping from flower to flower.

Before I was even finished my second coffee I had put away the dishes, swept the living room and washed the kitchen floor. Now my apartment smells Pine Sol fresh and I'm not even dressed yet! Next on the docket: the bathtub. I don't know if I have the strength, or strength of cleanser for that matter, but I will give it a try. If nothing else, the floor will get washed. Eventually. Maybe. It is quite possible my little splurt of cleaning energy has expended and the furniture will remain in the middle of the room, even though I'm having company over tomorrow.

Yup, that's right! I'm having company! But not like some smarmy dinner party filled with smug marrieds or smug not-even-married-yets, I assure you. We are FINALLY testing my newest kid's mystery game, "The White Wizard's Convention"! I'm quite excited. I began writing this mystery back in September, but being sent to Halifax and all sorts of other weird inhibitors prevented me from finishing. And so, I have one more file to upload and it's ready to go! Once it's tested, all I need are the pictures from Zac and it's DONE! To check out the preview, CLICK HERE. (it's about 4th down on the list)

Speaking of pictures, Raine created new pictures for The Mystery of Mrs. Mexiflower's Missing Marks Book, and they are all uploaded and ready to go! If you'd like to check them out, CLICK HERE. I sincerely hope Raine does not make it to the White Wizards testing on Sunday. Yeah, that's right, I DON'T want to see her there! I hope she's doing something MUCH more exciting. Good luck, Puddle of Raine.

In part 3 of the 5 part series, "What's cool on Jeremy's blog", we are looking at his online store. I think the funniest part of this page is the Teddy Bear wearing the shirt that reads "I hate babies." hehe. So go click on his ad on the right and leave him a comment, so he knows you're coming from The Pen.

I've also posted some new links to the right. The first one is to Miss Fern's brand spanking new blog. You might have read her comments, she writes under the name Crazy Catlady. Okay, so I added the Crazy part, but that's only because I know her so well. She is, indeed, crazy, but oh so much fun, and I'm sure her blog will be too.

The other link I added is to a blog called Henry the Adequate. I stumbled upon this blog through BE about 2 days ago, and in between other work projects I've been reading this crazy story. It's an absolute riot.

If you notice, my debt metre has moved! No, you didn't notice? Yeah, well, it's not by much, but it's something. In fact, had I not changed the colour of the debt metre there would be no proof it has changed at all! But that's not the point. According to the percentage stats (which I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to get to show under the little metre) I'm 19% of the way to debt free! Woohoo! Granted, as soon as this cheque clears that number will jump significantly, but I can't believe how much of a ridiculous thrill I'm getting off paying everything down.

Oh yeah. I have nothing better to do, thanks to my 60 day no fun marathon. That might explain the thrill...

TGIF

OMG I don't think I have ever looked at those little letters with such gladness in my heart. I could hug Friday so hard its eyes would pop out of its head. Not only is it the weekend, but it marks the end of me being on the phones at work - at least for a few days. Also, last weekend I only had Sunday off, so two whole days to dedicate to my writing is almost orgasmically appealing. Also, the weather is supposed to break. Hurrah!

It's been a busy couple of days in blogging world - my good friend Miss Fern started up her own blog. Raine triumphed over the powers of evil in Myspaceland and finally got hers up and running. Check them out!

Part 2 in my series entitled "What's cool on Jeremy's blog" focuses on the "Youtakeit.com" link. Jeremy seems to just randomly give his stuff away. No strings attached. Check it out! Click on his tennant icon on the side of my blog, and then follow the links on the left side of his blog!

I had a dream last night I went to visit Mik and she was this totally successful author with books, merchandise and her own talk show! I hope it was prophetic.

Please, next time you call into a company, don't be mean to your customer service rep. Don't demand unreasonable things and then not shut up about it, like a three year old throwing a temper tantrum. Because your customer service rep is sitting near an open window on the third story overlooking an atrium. You could be the one to make her jump.

Brrr.

Well, it's official. The cold is here. Not just any cold, but the kind of cold that makes your hair fall out. I'm talking the kind of cold that causes block heaters to malfunction. The kind of cold that makes your tire pressure reading drop, simply because even the air particles are retreating, screaming and covering their frost-bitten ears. The kind of cold that causes icicles to form on your nose hairs and frost to gather in your eyebrows.

Oh yea, finally global warming has taken the backseat, letting a true Calgary winter sneak through.

@!$%.

Right now it is -10, and so far my weather pixie is still standing tall in her long wool overcoat. It will be interesting to see what happens when, over the next 2 days, the weather drops to -31, -40 with the windchill. I'm betting she will let out a string of profanities before saying "@!#$ this!" and leaving the little square in which she seems to live. Let her inside! She's freezing! Or at least hand that poor girl a toque. I would lend her mine, but then I would die.

In the first part of our five part series entitled "What's cool on my new tennent Jeremy's blog" we will explore his cool blog and its many features.

I have learned his webcomic, Recycled, is what almost made me pee myself from laughter the other day. If you haven't checked it out yet, you totally should. Click on "Recycled" (bet you couldn't figure that one out!). At the bottom is a character poll on what he should have as his next character. I voted for the cute pink cow, although I was quite torn between the cow and the old sock of mystery! So, if you haven't been over yet, what in the heck are you waiting for? It's not like you can go outside! Our cable wiring will probably freeze and shatter shortly, so it's not like you'll be watching TV! Get over there, and tell him I sent you.

In other news, I've decided to find a new job. If you're reading this and I work with you, DON'T TELL! hehe. Anyhow, I haven't decided what I want to do yet, and so I am looking for some imput. What job should I take on? Here are your options, vote by posting a comment.

a) Bobble head doll - NHL series (Maybe Daniel Alfredson, pre-haircut...)
b) Synchronized Swimmer
c) Stephen Harper's parliamentary secretary for Francophone affairs
d) Director of sanitary aquarium relations

Let me know!

Welcome, Jeremy!

If this post takes me any more than 3 minutes, I will be late for work. (Smoke begining to rise from the keys...)

I just wanted to post before leaving to welcome writer Jeremy C. Shipp, my new renter! (Look left!) His blog is hilarious and fresh, and I was laughing so hard Himself accused me of having smoked something other than a cigarette while I was out on the balcony. I was going to post one of the pictures, but Blogger isn't letting me right now, so click on the icon on the right and visit Jeremy. Make sure you leave him a comment, saying you're from The Spinning Pen so he knows his BE credits were well spent! Jeremy will be my tennent for 7 fun filled days, and we're sure to have lots of fun stuff going on while he's here!

Nuff Said.

Yesterday, while I was driving home from the dreaded day job, I saw a woman in a pouffy white wedding dress running down the street - away from the church.

Hm.

Duuuuuurrrrrrrr.....

Ever been in an argument and you know what you're saying is a pile of hogswallop but you can't seem to stop yourself? What the @!$% is up with that?!?!

Anyhow, I had a miserable sleep last night. It's 5:30 am and I finally gave up. I have a sleeping disorder called DSPS (AKA laziness if you ask any of my period one high school teachers...). At best, it takes me 45 minutes to fall asleep, and sometimes if I wake up in the middle of the night, another 45 are needed for me to fall back asleep. At worst, I'm up all night. I've only ever found one remedy to keep constant the 'best case scenario', but that remedy wasn't available last night. And so, I'm awake. I'm grumpy. And I'm blogging.

Fortunately, Voodoo tagged me (I've never been tagged! I'm so excited...) and so I now have something to do to keep me from crying from exhaustion-induced frustration (no really...). So here I go...

Four jobs I've had:

Well, I've had a hell of a lot more than four, let me tell you. So I'll pick the first four that come to my mind...

1. Bartending at Scott's Bar on Rose Street in Edinburgh

2. Barrista (twice) at Timothy's in Toronto (2 different locations, which is why I have no feeling left on my fingertips. Anyone who has done it will know what I mean...). I saved a fortune on coffee, and discovered that soy chai lattes are actually pretty good. The regulars (in the first place) were fun.

3. Receptionist for Michener Allen Auctioneering (no really, that is their name, it's not a typo...). I made $9/hour while living on my own with a car and insurance payments and yet somehow, I still got by. There are three reasons, however, that this job is noteable. First, when no management was around, the yard guys would let me drive the cars (Yeah, that's right! So if a Michener is reading this, there's nothing you can do about it now!! So there!!). Second, between auctions (once every 5 weeks) I became a Dope Wars champion and lastly, between Dope Wars tourneys I wrote my first novel. I was so nervous about it. I was a closet writer - I didn't want anyone to know. My loser fiance at the time would have totally made fun of me and put me down for it, and so I kept it this tiny little secret. That is, until four years later when I stumbled across The Writing Life and Mik, and they encouraged me to come out of my creative closet... I still have never submitted Heaven, and am on my four hundred and eighty fifth rewrite. heh heh

4. Okay, now for a bad one. I worked at this place called Wiggley Auctions. The guy who owned the place, Jackass Wiggley, was so chauvenistic. I didn't actually think this kind of stuff happened anymore until I was smack in the middle of it. He wanted me to bring him coffee, and if it wasn't just right he would make me do it again. I lasted three whole weeks in that joint.

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. Bridget Jones' Diary (I know it's cliche but I love it)
2. Identity
3. The Two Towers
4. Gross Point Blank, Sliding Doors, Dream for an Insomniac, Sabrina (Old AND new) (Okay, that's not four, but really. Who can chose.

Four places I have lived
1. Calgary
2. Toronto
3. Edinburgh
4. Glasgow

Four TV shows I watch:
1. Frasier
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. Arrested Development
4. Corner Gas

(Fortunately, I rarely watch TV so S&TC & Frasier are still new to me sometimes!)

Four places I've vacationed:
Vacation? What, is that a joke?!? You mean, like not backpacking but relaxing?? Ok, I'll try anyhow...

1. Er... Montreal? (We went for a road trip once, does that count?)
2. Canmore! We went to Canmore last weekend! That was totally a vacation! Thanks, Mom!
3. St. Stephen, NB
4. Um... Orkney! (Okay, we were backpacking, but it was really cool and quite relaxing!)

Four of my favourite dishes:
1. Knefla
2. Chippy (I'd kill for a sausage & chips somedays, and watching Coronation Street just makes it worse...)
3. A really big Greek salad with lots of those light green jalapeno peppers. Strangely, they are really hard to find!
4. Donairs!

Wow, I wonder why I'm a bit fat. Heh heh

Four sites I visit daily:
1. Mik's blog
2. Voodoo's Lounge
3. BE (the scratch cards can be addictive!)
4. The Writing Life

Four places I'd rather be:
1. Running from the poltergeist that chased me in Edinburgh
2. Sleeping (but without nightmares that I'm protecting my daughter, a three year old Spanish girl named Cheese Para {Cheese Para is how I remember to say "lighter" en espanol} from vicious south end thugs. Thanks, Himself, for freaking me out with talk of four (yes, FOUR) children last night. Thank goodness I kept that paper bag around from my bath salts from Rocky Mountain Soapworks or I might have hyperventilated...)
3. Rapa Nui
4. Guisiliapa (OH MY GOD! Go Google Guisiliapa. Do it right now! You'll be amazed with your results! hehe)

Okay, my turn to tag. I think I need three, right? Okay, I tag MJ, Miss Fern and Krystal. Fern and Krystal are just going to have to post their answers in the comments below.

Get this. My losery fairy-princess-in-the-forest alarm just went off on my Treo. This is my "thank god I don't have to be up this early" snooze alarm. UGH!

Today is a bit exciting, though. Today is the first day of my 60 day do-nothing-fun marathon. The only fun things I'm permitted to do is go see the Petra display at the Glenbow, which I've budgeted for, an go to see 2 movies, since Mom gave us sweet movie passes for Christmas. 60 days. Lots of debt. I will overcome the evil interest rates, mutilate the mounting minimum payment, slaughter the spiking... oh, you get the picture. Keep up with my progress here each day on the tracker. It's not like I'll have anything better to do... I put a Debt Metre up on the right side of the blog, though it lacks specifics, ie: how much I owe.... This way I can track my progress in front of everyone and then I HAVE to get it all paid off.

Happy Friday, everyone!

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

The worst book ever!

I've decided to begin a new form of study for my craft, and I need everyone's help. So, if you're over from BE, I ask that you use 15 of your 30 seconds to ponder, and the other 15 to post below in comments.

What is the worst book you've ever read?

You can just give me the name or you can go into details, and tell me why it was the worst book ever.

I'll start. The Rule of Four.

Okay, your turn! Thanks in advance, you're really helping me out.


Oh by the way, I'm currently reading:

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire.

Spa Weekend

Well, I'm back. The majority of my bumps have vanished - all but the 17 on my left hand.

This weekend Mom took my sister and I to Canmore for a spa weekend. We were originally supposed to do this in November for her birthday, but I was called out of town for work and she was patient enough to postpone it until February.

The spa was fabulous. I chose an Aroma Steam, a Spirolina Wrap, a 30 minute massage (which my ever so kind treatment girl, Melissa, turned into a hot stone massage, bless her heart!) and a pedicure. The hot stones ruined me though, and I fear I'll never be able to return to a regular, boring massage. Mmmmmm hot stone massage.

I had a great time hanging out with my mom, but my sister and I haven't been getting along for quite a while now. It's normal, I'm sure. We're just two very different people now. The great, looming mountains always inspire me too, and I'm determined this time to write that short story I swear I'll write each time I return from the mountains.

I made a few decisions this week. After being laid out with severe muscle pain and hives, fearing Typhoid Fever but knowing I was being silly, I had a lot of time to think, and I think the decisions I've made will be good in the long run.

It's time to start making some changes, and my first step (one I've been planning since November) is to pay off all my debts and be really frugal. And so, after much preparation, I will begin my two months of hermit-ism in order to battle the bulging interest rates. No more goofing around. After all, I'm not 25 anymore (can you relate, Marwa? hehe). My 60 days (or 4 paydays, maybe 6 depending on how badly I frack up) begins this Friday, so stay tuned while I lose my mind.

Speaking of Fracked Up, Battlestar Galactica is back on the air and I feel as though I'm whole again. I've got my S&TC, Corner Gas, Arrested Development and Battlestar. Now, I'm not normally a sci-fi geek. Himself used to make me record it for him when he was at work, and on my old bunny-ears TV I had to leave the set on, volume up, to get it to record. So, after MANY times trying to ignore it, I got hooked. It's so intense that my heart actually starts beating quickly at least once in each show.

Okay, enough about TV. I'm nearing completion (finally) on my Wizarding kid's mystery game. Hopefully only 2 more days until it's done. Thanks for popping by! Leave a comment to let me know you were here and I'll return the visit.

Video! Or not.

A miracle has occured. I figured out how to extract the video from Nicaragua from my Mom's cool camera to the computer. Now the big question:

***drumroll***

Can I email it to Krystal and Javier?

And if this feat is accomplished, can I *gasp* upload it to Blogger? Let's see, shall we?

Well, apparently not. So I'll upload a picture instead. The quest for knowledge (how to upload video here) continues. Suggestions?



This is Javier's Mom. She saved me from this giant, scary, man-eating bug. Okay, really it's not scary OR man-eating, but it was pretty frightening when it landed on my shoe. Then I was informed that when these Praying Mantis bugs land on you, it means you will get money. It landed on my shoe, so I take that to mean I'm going to get money for shoes. Thanks Mr. Bug! And thanks Javier's Mom, for rescuing me!

My bumps are not entirely gone, but they aren't as itchy. My muscles have started working again, so I take that to mean I'm totally healthy. Totally. (Ignoring pain in shoulders and head...) Woohoo! I'm off to a spa with my Mom. YAY!