2011 - New Year

aaaaaah! Nothing like a fresh new start... so I decided to change up the layout of my Blog, I like it. I don't know how to do any of that fancy stuff so I like how now I have options and I might change it to a different layout every now and again (if the option still exists) because I find it refreshing.


A friend of mine decided to do a daily photo blog... I think I might have thrown that idea of a daily/weekly post out there on here once or twice, so I won't be as ambitious... how bout a monthly blog post? I can't totally do that!



So, 2011, New Year, new you, new me... New Zodiac Sign?!

So this is was the hot topic on every ones facebook status' yesterday, and the of course the hot topic around the water cooler this morning at work. Enter the new zodiac sign - Ophiuchus.




Based on what I've read its gotta do something with the moon, the equator and the earths gravitational shift causing a gap between Scorpio and Sagittarius. I personally thinks it's kinda silly, or maybe my parents have instilled that whole 'if it ain't broke, why fix it?' mentality. From what I was reading, the earths been shifting out of line pretty much since they established the 12 zodiac signs thousands of years ago... so dare I ask, why even change it now? Or better yet, why starting in 2009? Why not make 'er even and say 2000, or 2010? Seriously. And how awesome is it now people can have two signs? For example is your unborn child is born on, say, May 13th 2011 they could be an Aries or a Taurus! At least with the old system/dates it was back to back (see old and new dates here)... I'm not sure if I should feel somewhat ripped off that I don't get to have two astrological signs :x


Oh aaaannnnd even more awesome-er is they have already established traits for the 13th zodiac, Ophiuchus. I'm starting to think all this astrological stuff is a sham! Where's Amanda?! "It's a conspiracy theory" I tell you!!! Bahahahahahaha

Happy Halloween... I just saved some kids LIFE!

Happy Halloween!!!

So I’m pretty sure that Derek and I saved some kids lives today… but before I get to that story I must tell you the sad tale of how I know my nephew is getting older and TOO COOL to hang out with me :(

So I’ve been taking my nephew trick or treating, ever since I first met him… when he was two, if that sentence confuses you – I’ll have to fill you in another time – year after year it’s something I look forward to, especially now that the kids are a little bit older and we’ve been hitting the neighbourhoods rather than the malls. I’ve been in residency for the past couple of days and not really answering any texts or phone calls, that’s neither here nor there, so I as I’m receiving my marks from my papers and presentations I noticed I had a ton of missed calls and voice messages. There was one from my eleven year old nephew, Justin, which sank my heart a bit…

“Hi Auntie, I was just wondering if it would be ok if I went to a party tonight, Ace invited me over… there’s no sense in your picking me up from there… so yeah.”

Oh GAWD!!!!

I didn’t want to be that aunt, that’s a kill joy… “No, sorry Bud, I don’t think you can go to that party... you have to come with me, around the block and trick or treat…” yeah highly unlikely. You’re probably wondering, ‘what about Angelika?’ yeah she’s got the flu and has been at home from school for a week! So what do I do? I call Justin and tell him that I’m SAD, but he can go to the party and that it’s ok, then… I call Derek crying… I couldn’t help it! I’m an emotional person… ca’mon you didn’t know?!?!? Derek of course made fun of me and went over to my brothers and the trouble maker that he is, told Justin that he made me cry. Meanwhile; I’m still at home on the internet, with my phone still on silent from residency, Justin’s been trying to contact me on my cell phone then decides to just come on over and talk to me, apparently he asked his mom to drive him over. He walks into the living room and as I’m greeting him he says…

“I’m sorry; I don’t want you to be mad! But I’ve never been invited to a party before…”

I gave him a huge hug… and started to cry, just a little bit this time and said, “it’s ok Justin, you can go… it’s just your growing up now, and that’s something I need to get used to” with that he got up and left for his party.

I later got a call from my niece telling me that she’s just a little bit sick and that she would really really REALLY like me to take her trick or treating, inevitably I took her up on that offer.


So… back to the highlight of my Halloween. My parents are ultimate Filipinos that don’t like wasting anything! When we were kids that candy we didn’t like they would hold on to until the next year and would give it away to some poor unfortunate soul. The little kiddies started to come around our ‘hood as I was getting ready to leave to take Angelika trick or treating, mom ran to the door and handed out so candy to the first bunch then went back into the kitchen. I know how my parents are, so after coming upstairs I decided to check out the goods (or is it that bad?).

On top of newly purchased, unopened box of Doritos chips; there were some random mints from restaurants, candies from recent birthday party give a way, and candies I’m pretty sure were from last year… oh and how can I forget chocolate liqueurs!

Me: “MOM!!!” Rushing in to the kitchen/family room (where Derek was watching TV), “You can’t give these to kids” while passing it to Derek… Derek’s face priceless.

Mom: “What?!?!”

Me: “mmmm these Chocolates have liquor in them…?!?”

Mom: “Oh really!?!? That’s ok…”

Derek: “You didn’t give these away did you?”

Mom: “No… oh well, I can give them to the parents!”

So as Derek and I are, literally, walking out the door, three little girls walk up to the house; I opened the door to greet them and Derek frantically broke open the box of chips and hooked them up!!! As they were saying their thank you’s, I said underneath my breath,“we just saved your lives”.

I think the best part is Derek gripped some candies and stuffed his pockets, as we’re driving away from home he shows me his stash; one pack of twizzlers – rock hard, a chocolate that was smushed oozing from its package, and funny Filipino candy’s ube flavoured... Derek likes to think he saved a few more children ;)


I hope your Halloween was as memorable as mine.

ramblings...

WOW… august 19th is the last time I posted anything! My goodness. Well it’s been far too long and what better wat to get back into it than by some random ramblings?!?!?

Have you ever driven down a street, time after time for a period of your life whether it be for work or because you lived in that area, and one random day you use the same route and realize how much the area has changed? It’s amazing how much it can change in years or even so, in a matter of months!

Derek and I went to see a movie this evening and decided to go to the Grandin Theatre in good ‘ol St. Albert… ahhhh I miss St. A, I used to work out there for a year or two… I totally didn’t even know they had a theatre hahahaha! When going to work I used to use the back roads… and any Edmontonians that read this, just a head’s up --- 167th Ave leading into St. A is JACKED! There’s now a set of lights that lead to the back roads which are all windy and weird that lead you directly to Boudreau Road rather than Campbell Road… so weird, like, what if you wanted to take Campbell to 156 Street? No options! I guess it’s all for the planned Anthony Henday so it’ll be exciting to see what the final infrastructure will look like, those comments strictly coming from the construction manager in me :)

So yes, where was I? Grandin Theatre… that’s a weird one! You gotta go see a movie at this place… so $$$ cheap and oh so ghetto! Ahahahaha, I guess I lived a sheltered life. Oh and have you heard of this ‘Hot 107’ radio station? It’s new to Edmonton, my brother and I switched cars for a bit and that’s what it was set to when we got in… best radio station ever, er... for now. They needed to change it up, I'm tired of what our radio stations in Edmonton have to offer. I never listen to radio stations if I do it’s the Bear in the morning, because of Derek, and sometimes CBC One on the way home to figure the traffic situation… otherwise it’s all Group Step music, I’m doing the steps in my head practicing what I would verbally say in class aloud while driving, it’s all about timing, in any sense of your life… timing/cueing.

So if you ever see me driving and it looks like I’m talking to myself… I’m actually trying to be the best damn GROUP STEP instructor ever!!! Teaching is actually going quite well, I got a permanent class at the club nearest to my house on Sundays @ noon and I might scoop up a class in the southside on Tuesdays! It’s exciting; I’m getting better and better as I teach more and more classes. Hard work and persistence will get the results that you want. It’s all about keeping your eye on the prize and constantly working towards your goal. So if ever… you wanna come to my classes let me know I can get you a pass! Oooooh and tell your friends to come too!!!

simmer down summer…

Well, we’ve been getting some decent weather now that summer is coming to a close… shame. One more day of work for me and we’re off to the Thunder Lake Provincial Park, the first and final camping trip of the summer.

I recently started on a new project with work… back to site life, oOoH how I love it! Jeans, jeans, jeans everyday of the week! The only sucky part is when this project is in full swing and we get transfer to the wonderful trailers on the actual site… the commute will be the only down side. Right now we’re out at the satellite offices by the U of A. It’s all gravy right now, so I’m trying to take it all in, come November it will be a sweet 45 min commute to and from work! Oh heavens!!! I got a few months… so let’s try and not think about it, plus I’m really enjoying the area that we’re in right now. So many things with in the vicinity! Yesterday had me some Booster Juice and today went down the street to Leva Café, I’m not really one to try something new; I like sticking with what I know… you know, to avoid bad experiences, bad food or bad service. But lately taking the leap and trying a new/different establishment has been quite rewarding!

Leva Café – is a quaint little space in the university area, very modern and has some very tasty food! The price was reasonable as it complimented the food portions; I had ordered a grilled Panini and Greek Salad w/ a Large Chai Latte.

As you may or may not know, my parents are WORLD TRAVELERS; they recently got back from a Mediterranean Cruise which passed through Istanbul, Turkey. It just so happened that it was my pop’s birthday last month on the 30th and they wanted to try out a new restaurant… and just by chance the restaurant is called “Istanbul Mediterranean Cuisine“. I passed by this restaurant everyday while going to and coming from work. I must say that I was a little leery about going there… I’m not sure why, I think it was more of uncertainty of what the food was like as I have never eaten at a Turkish restaurant before nor have I had Turkish food… well that’s a lie, kinda, my mom had brought back some Turkish Delight from her trip… it wasn’t that good, so I expected the food to be somewhat the same.

Istanbul Mediterranean Cuisine – blew my mind away!!! Another quaint little space in the Delton area. Their decorating needs some work, in that it could give the space a little bit more of an authentic feel. The food makes up for the pricing… because it was absolutely amazing!!! I have forgotten what I have ordered as it’s been quite some time since we’ve been there… but I do know that I ordered something similar to my brother but he got the spicy version… so get that!!! Check out this article written about the joint here.

Just a Girl

I’ve been a busy bee these past few days… er weeks! So to keep you in the loop here’s what’s been going on the past couple of days.

I got my results back for my video assessment - - I PASSED!!! Yipppeeee for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Went to see No Doubt in concert… Gwen Stefani, how I love thee! I can only wish I too could look as stunning as you after having my two kids… my planned two kids in the future, don't get it twisted people.

And I must mention the biggest jack move of all time, happened to one of my closest and dearest friends Cristelle. It’s a story that must be told not written for the full effect… make sure to ask me about it, next time we meet!

Like every other year, I took the kids to Capital Ex… but this year I had taken the day off because the weekends are too crazy for lines and such. The kids went through all the rides in the first 2 hours that we were there but as the day went on the lines got longer and longer. We took a break from the long lines and went inside to check out the butterfly exhibit, I think it’s been a good 2 or 3 years that they started having this exhibit but this is the very first time that we actually went in.

This year I thought the kids a valuable lesson in financing… unlike previous years where I let the little buggers empty out my pockets for all I got, I gave them both $40.00 to use for food and games and told them, “… this is all you get. Use it for what you like, when you like but once it’s gone we’re going home.” The kids still had money left over but the bigger kid I had with me (my husband) had enough of all the fun that Capital Ex had to offer, so we head ’er home.

This is why I take the kids year after year…

eeeeek!

So I did it! I sent in my tape… “what tape?”

As previously discussed in my last post; I’ve been working at becoming a Group Step Instructor at my gym. After taking the 2-day training course you are required to attend 5 rehearsals and then submit a tape of you leading a class of at least 5 people through the whole routine for grading, to see if you PASS or FAIL.

I taped mine yesterday and whoa man! Was it ever nerve racking, I was a mess the whole day… I know I did little mistakes here and there. But like the 2 senior instructors told me, “You did fine!” and that “they don’t expect perfection… so just submit it, AND DO NOT watch it… just submit it! If you’re a perfectionist then you’ll want to re-tape it”. It was like they were peering into my soul… because I am a perfectionist. It took a lot for me to talk myself into not watching it, I’m glad I did because now I can move on learn the new release that coming out and get to tandem teaching so that I can get better at being in front of class. Everyone says I have the personality to do it. I’m not sure when I should be expecting my grade, I’m praying it’s a pass so I don’t have to do the whole taping bit all over again! Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers!!!

oOoOo and the cutest thing ever… Derek knows how to make me smile after a long and stressful day… actually I laughed out loud for this one.

So, NO, Derek didn’t leave me. We were watching some sort of TV programming and I jokingly said, “babe, if you ever lose a leg or I have to tend to you 24 hrs a day because you cannot tend to yourself… I gotta leave you. sorry. I’ll put you in a live-in 24 hr care center… but I gotta…”.

So, yesterday I got a call from Derek, after his doctor’s appointment. Apparently Derek coming off his crutches was a bad idea, he was only on them for a few days and then we rented him a cane… and then after a few days on that he started just hoping around with no support. Yup… again BAD IDEA he just made it worse. He messed up his MCL and ACL, he now was to wear a full leg brace and can’t play any sports that calls for rotational movements for a year and a half! Crazy right!!! And we play on a Recreational Soccer League! Any ways so when I got home after my taping I found that, picture above, I laughed… found my husband… and planted a big kiss on him.

Rapid Relief

Oh - site life - how I will miss you… as you have shown and taught me sooo much!

What’s this?!?!? Another notch to add to the love of site life…

Derek and I have recently joined a local co-ed recreational league for outdoor soccer; the team compromises of family friends that I’ve grown up with and extended friends of friends. When our captain tried to enroll us they notified her that we were the odd team out, so if a team didn’t join in time we would either have to (1) wait for next season or (2) find enough people to make a SUPER team - splitting us up into two groups… or like hardcore’s like my husband and I, play both games. The league made it easy for us by scheduling our teams’ right after each other - one team plays at 6:30 and the other at 7:30.


I’ve never been part of a team before and nevertheless played soccer, so I was a little skeptical at first, our first two games were last week and it was AWESOME I never came off the field once and we won both games!!! This week, however, my right quad muscle was a little tight/sore before the game I tried to just work through it, but I couldn’t run… it hurt! So at half time my husband told me to sit it out and stretch otherwise I’ll just make it worse. Well as soon as I stopped moving it got worse and moved throughout my whole upper leg causing my hamstring to tense up. This, was not a nice time… it actually was hurting so bad that it was making me feel nauseous. After rubbing some tiger balm and stretching until the end of the second game I went home to do the whole cold/hot treatment at home. This morning, it felt a whole lot better as it felt the evening after so I thought after my shower I would practice the cold/hot treatment again. I grabbed the ice packs threw in the good ol’ magic bag for a few minutes, thinking it’ll be just at the right temperature by the time I finish drying my hair, as I was staring into my closet to find a top to wear to work… I paused… what’s that I hear?... oh eff! The microwave was still on! I hightailed my little bottom to the kitchen as fast as I could only to find a heavy smoke wafting on the first floor and a very burnt… BADDDDLY burnt, magic bag in the microwave. I somehow set the microwave for 30 mins instead of 3 mins -- oops!


* I blame this mishap, on the fact that it was 3:30 in the morning… had to get up to drive Derek to the airport… he’s in Vegas, remember!?!?!*


I, of course told everyone, all my friends here out on site about the calamity… our project is slowing coming to a close and they started to pack up files, supplies and such today for the downsizing. As they were going through the first aid department they came across some items that could have really helped me yesterday… I know this, because they are sure helping me out right now!

Best things ever!!! Totally gripping some of these and keeping them in the soccer bag... next time I'll be prepared.

Best Thing Ever!!!

Lately I have been fighting to stay on the treadmill and finish my workout at the gym, so last week I decided to run my ass to the gym... My own husband didn't think I was going to do it... but I did and I beat him there!

I found this sweet site where you can measure the distance of your run or walk, just type in the "Edmonton" or the city were you live and start tracking!

It's great - you can get an accurate reading of the distance even if you run through trails and side streets in your neighborhood; another sweet option is switching to satellite mode, I started mine right from my driveway/sidewalk... hahahaha you can honestly see our ferocious van parked outside our house! - check it out!

Kiss and Bajs

So yesterday, I went into our district office to visit with some of my peeps that I don’t get to see so often because I’m out on site. You know... doing big thangs! Neways… while I was visiting with one of the HR reps, she excused herself to help one of her colleagues and as you may or may not know I like to creep… that’s right I’m a creeper and a toucher. GROSS - not that kind of toucher… but if you have a stress ball or a trinket or silly putty on your desk, I will pick up… look at it… play with it… squeeze it… whatever. So like I was saying, my point of contact had left her office and of course I got up and started looking around and I found this…

Now what do you think that is…?
I didn’t really get at first… Kiss and Bajs? WTH!?!?

But then I saw the English tag… bahahahahaha awesome! It’s Pee & Poo!


Those funny Swede's... meant for potty training education; this inspirational duo have plush toys, cute tees, undies and socks available for kids and adults.

starry eyed – deer in headlights

Have you ever bumped into someone from Jr. High or High School and you try to catch/sum up the last x amount of time you haven't seen them in 20 mins?

Well it happened to Derek and I after the gym the other day… Derek recently starting playing indoor soccer again and we didn't have much time, I was trying so very hard to spend $100 so that I could get my 100 air miles, at the local Safeway *my acquiring points is another story*. In any case, as were walking through the produce section we bumped into a couple that we had attended school with… the usual catch up convo; what's new, are you done school, where you working… so on and so forth. After a few minutes we found out that the couple had traveled to California to go quad'ing, they stated the name of the place but it has escaped me... its on the border of Cali, Arizona and Mexico; where it is just as popular as it is over here.

As an Albertan, apparently, "Quad'ing" is the thing to do out here in the prairies… personally I've never done it and my husband has gone out a few times. If you're not sure what a quad is, think… Ruff Riders Anthem video 1998, or refer to the picture below.

Derek was talking to the dude and I to the girl, we would then break occasionally to start a group conversation… they are both very very very fond of quad'ing, I can confidently make this statement as it took up most of the 20 min estimated time to catch up. I had noticed and often found myself feeling like I was starry-eyed and looked like a deer-in-headlights while nodding profusely. They talked about it with such feeling and passion I couldn't bring myself to tell them.... "I have no idea what your saying to me... let's change the subject...".

Don't get me wrong I like bumping into old friends and classmates but sometimes it's just akward... especially when I have no clue to what you are referring too! Now you may think that I'm over exaggerating but I swear I’m not… ca’mon a good 15 mins of them referring to banshees and raptors; I later found out that this banshee quad makes a horrendous noise when you ride it.

K – fine I guess I learned something new, it was just awkward…