Knockdown 90s

Tommorrow night is our annual Halloween party. We opted to party on Devil's night through a long process of careful thought and debate.

What wasn't hard to debate was the desire to have a 90's dance party.

Being a teenager in the 90s was interesting. Music ranged from bouncing and poppy to grungy and dirty. We were the Cabbage Patch generation - we wanted what we wanted when we wanted it. We were the generation that would walk out of a dance if the song wasn't of the right genre.

We thought we could make a difference or we just wanted to float away. We had varied tastes and tried to always be slightly different. Our music was much like this. We borrowed from the old to create something new and the artists of our day got in some legal hot water for it.

Our music went with the times and we went with it. The internet became mainstream with us at it's helm. We wanted a cause and championed where we could. We swayed quickly to join the crowd and many of us became "posers" even though everyone had to start somewhere. We wanted to fit in and we wanted to stand out. We were probably the most confused generation of people in a long time.

On Friday night we'll be transported back to this crazy time of change and music. The groove will definitely be in our hearts and our feet will be getting jiggy with it.

Bear Claw Cravings

I am completely craving a Bear Claw today.

I woke up this morning and wasn't very hungry. Had a beer too many last night I think and it made me kind of silly, loud and probably a bit obnoxious. Waking this morning wasn't that hard though which proves that maybe I can still handle my alcohol. Only had 3 beers though so maybe not.

The laptop sits beside the bed and I've gotten in the bad habit of turning it on when I just get up to see what's going on in the world. I do this and after seeing an ad on the side of the page with a picture of a kid on the side eating a chocolate dipped donut, I felt that I needed to have one too.

But not just any donut.

Oh no - a Bear Claw.

When I lived in Jasper it was a very special treat to get up early and walk to the bakery to examine their wares. The smell was fantastic and it made me drool so much. When I discovered the Bear Claw I was in heaven. Just biting into it's soft flaky crust through the delicious chocolatey centre... I'm drooling in the memory.

Sadly - I live in Ontario.

Where oh where can someone from Ontario get a delicious Bear Claw???

Life without Cable - Month 8

I'm sure you might remember how utterly worried I was to say goodbye to cable television. When me and James were looking at buying our first house we were really tightening our budget. We were renting an apartment with my parents and they paid for full satellite. We were completely spoiled with over 500 channels to chose from. We both loved the specialty channels and barely watched any of the traditional ones. If we were going to get cable we wouldn't be happy with the basics. We'd have to get the extra packages and this could add up to over $100.

We took a risk - a huge one.

We waved good bye to cable and said "Let's just watch movies, read books and see whatever we want online."

James had grand dreams of building an television PC where he could connect it to our tv and we could not only use the internet, play games and watch shows online. Scary enough - he made that dream come true. It's really fun getting on and being able to go to ninjavideo and turn on anything you can almost think of. Plus it's allowed me to have my ultimate dream of playing silly facebook games on a big screen.

Our biggest problem was our original internet provider was through the phone line. We are really far from the junction so we couldn't get the full amount of connectivity that we had. As we actually have internet telephone as well with VOIP it made it really hard to talk to people when it would cut out all the time. James being a designer he really needs the internet to be consistent. A month or two of complaining and he decided to change back to Rogers. (We used them when we were renting and had no connectivity issues.)

Through having cable internet things have been alot more consistent. And there was an added bonus - cable internet meant that some channels came in. We did get Global and CTV before that (thank you basics!) But with the new cable internet we got even more channels. Made me super happy!!! Now we get: TVO, Global, both Omni channels, CBC, WKNY Buffalo, CTV, SunTV, Aboriginal Peoples Television and a smattering of French and political channels. With these channels we've been able to catch all the best shows and still have time to go and do things.

We're saving $60 - $80 a month just by not having cable. And it's fabulous being able to watch what we want when we want, and still catch some of the hot shows so that I have something to talk about around the water cooler.

For those thinking of getting rid of the cable box and moving on in your life - I'd HIGHLY recommend it.

Animal Rant

How timely that I'd get sick right around the time that a local turkey farm has found H1N1 in their birds. It's not that I spend a tremendous amount of time with turkeys or anything like that and I don't think I even have H1N1. I just feel sick. That. Is. All. You. Need. To. Know.

With animals getting sick it makes me a little sad. I love animals but I know that, like humans, many animals will get illnesses and recover. Some animals have allergies, as do we. They just normally don't know how to say what's wrong and don't often have the ability to heal things themselves.

This brings me to another issue. There are so many animals that are out there that are left sitting alone and scared in shelters and even more that never even make it to the shelter floor. They are just dumped on the side of the road and left to fend for themselves. Twice in the past month I've seen kittens in places where they aren't anywhere near a house. It's obvious that they have been taken to the country and dropped on the side of the road. Cats have been domesticated for a really long time. Some are lucky and get taken in or find shelter when they need it but many just won't fare so luckily.

It's so easy to bring an animal to the shelter. If you can't handle it, admit it, and they will be more than happy to help you place your animal. For each unwanted animal, there are people out there who might be willing to help them and keep them alive. There are rescue organizations and shelters all across this great land we call Canada. There should be no reason why animals aren't taken care of.

The only thing holding animals back from being looked after is a sheer numbers game. The average human birth is one child at a time, animals have multiples (for the most part.) This was evolutions way of protecting their chain. If you lose one or two in the birthing process or in early life there will be several more there to keep the line going. But humans get "fixed" so to speak, and it's so simple to have your animal spayed or neutered as well. Why don't people do this more often?

When we took The Dude to the vet after first getting him, they told us how many animals in the US aren't spayed or neutered because they really love the look of puppies. Looking at all the different puppy mills around you can also tell that puppies can be a money making machine. They are selling puppies for a minimum of $300 a pop - whether or not they've even seen a vet or had their first shots. People are breeding dogs and cats thinking they'll make money off them and in some cases they are. They didn't have to do any extra work other than feeding and cleaning the animals - and here they are making more than people make in a month by a simple litter. And they'll continue to do it while people continue to pay exhorbanent prices to get a designer dog.

Speaking of designer dogs - why are people stuck in their heads that any poodle cross will be non-shedding and hypoallergenic? Genes come from the mother and father and therefore can go either way. I met a labradoodle that not only made people sneeze when around him but shed like a banshee. But he had poodle in him - why did this happen? Think about it people. When you make a baby you are getting parts of the mother and father. Same thing happens when you have a dog. You cannot predict the same outcome every time unless you are breeding a single breed with a single breed. Thus the purebred.

Some people though take the purebred to be even more than it is. They don't mix the genes enough and some of the recessive genes come to the surface more frequently including defects and undesirable traits. Not all dog breeders know really what they are doing and are in it for the money. That's why it's so important to get a purebred dog that is registered and has papers so that you can see the geneology. Do your homework people!

Homework is another issue when getting a pet in that they may not have done any research on it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people getting a pet and having to give it up because their kids have allergies, or they suddenly discover that they have allergies. If you are thinking of getting a pet, spend some time around someone who has a similar pet before making a lifetime commitment to an animal. Find out if little Timmy is allergic before you invest in bringing another family member into the mix. I've seen pet allergies first hand and they can range from a runny nose to hives and ultimately having a swollen and blocked airway. If you aren't experiencing these symptoms and decide to give up your pet - you are probably best to just admit that you are in over your head. This happens all the time and it's better you admit it and give the next "parents" of these pets a fighting chance at knowing the full background of the animal you are giving up.

Animals deserve love and there are so many out there that could use your help. Visit your local SPCA for more details.

Christmas Chaos

Okay okay so it's not even Halloween and you are wondering why I'd even be thinking about Christmas. You're probably wondering if I'm a crazy Christmas nut. Bet you have visions of me wandering around wearing red and green, singing carol after carol and spreading annoying holiday cheer. You'd be partially right.

I have a dirty little secret. One that I wish I didn't have, but am slowly starting to admit.

The crowds and chaos that come with Christmas shopping give me panic attacks. It's not even really isolated to Christmas but any time I'm in a slightly confined area with huge groups of people I start to feel my heart race, I get dizzy and panic. I have a hard time breathing and I have to do all in my power to get out of there. Many purchases have been left by the wayside because I just couldn't handle it. Even leaving the movie theatre or at concerts I start to feel my chest tighten and the only thing that saves me is keeping my hand attached to my husband the whole time as he leads the way.

With holiday shopping there's always the pressure of the perfect gift - add that with my little panic attacks and you start to understand why I have to start shopping early. Usually this means picking up a few little things in August and continuing on until the start of December, but I have been known to leave it longer and then kick myself later. That gift you see on sale in September just may never be found come December and sometimes I've ended up getting really unique gifts that are treasured because I took my time and thought early rather than running out for the last minute gift card.

I haven't always had panic attacks but I've never been a huge fan of malls. I like to get in and get out and that's why I think I've enjoyed the familiarity of big box stores. I know where to expect to find things and can run in, grab everything I need and be out in a short period of time.

When I was little I spent a lot of time attached to my mother's legs. I was incredibly shy with new people. Once they got to know me though I was a bit of a chatterbug. Creative and playful. I thrived in small groups and liked being involved with people. Myers Briggs calls me an introvert - but many of my friends wouldn't believe it. I'm a feeler too so that brings out my ability to care about people and ask questions. I'm the youngest of four children and in our family you had to speak loudly to be heard. Oddly, I'm the quietest of all of us even though my voice can be booming and I have been known to be the centre of attention from time to time.

When shopping however, I really don't like the crowd. I don't like the jostling and the competing. I hate feeling like I'm out of control. For some reason when people are bumping into me all around, going in different directions, perfumes and scents overwelming my senses - I lose all of my wits.

Thankfully I save some vacation days for this time of year so that I can go and shop in peace when everyone else is at work. Goal is by December first I'm done and then I can sit back and enjoy all the holiday season without stress. Here's dreaming of a peaceful and calm holiday season.

A Tweet Up for a Twitterer

I am going to do something that I never thought I'd do.

I'm going to a "Tweet Up".

I know it sounds mysterious and completely insane. What the heck is a "Tweet Up" anyhow???

Well folks, let me enlighten you.

There's this crazy thing on the interweb called "Twitter." Twitter is a website that allows people to say pretty much anything they want within 140 characters or less. It's pretty much sweeped the Western World and has brought people together.

The way it works is simple. You sign up for an account, maybe follow a tutorial and then you go and start writing updates. Twitter allows you to search for things you like to do so you can do this and maybe find other people who have similar interest to follow. Maybe you are looking for people in your area, that can be done as well. Do you like celebrities? They are on there too and you can follow them. There really aren't too many things holding you back from following anyone. (Unless maybe you have a restraining order, and I'm sure that there might be some sort of lax law on that too.)

The more you write, you might get people interested in following you. People are naturally voyeuristic and love to hear about other people. If you have something of interest to say, you might find that you get more people following you than you have time to follow. As finding the time to follow all the people you have can get very time consuming. Before you know it, you might be thinning out the herd and have narrowed things down to a manageable number. (My husband has a rule of thirds in this regard - but I honestly think that it's up to the individual.)

The celebrities on twitter go from gossip columnists, to actors, to politicians, to musicians and authors. Most of which only like following other celebrities, but in the case of some such as Arnold Schwarzzenegger they have an auto follow system that immediately makes them follow you. Strangely though - I never followed Arnold but mentioned him in a tweet and he started following me. I feel oddly blessed to have the terminator reading my posts so I don't have the heart to block him. Arnold and his team actually post too. Mostly it's about where they are going and what they are doing, but you get to see photos of the Kindergarten Cop shaking hands with people all the time. I still don't follow him though as this isn't the type of person I want to follow.

As with the writing on my blog, I like to follow real people. Those that I can relate to and those that interest me. Sure I do follow a couple celebrities, but each of the four that I follow have something of interest to say - and Matthew Good actually follows me back so to me that's telling me that I do something right.

I've found that by using sites such as Twellowhood I've been able to find other bloggers in my area and now I regularly have conversations through twitter about anything and everything. Word to the wise - use your real city in your profile. This allows you to be searched and saved under your local site and you might find people that are really interesting and can talk about local events, politics, weather or even a crazy round about or two. {To have a conversation with someone put the @ symbol before their twitter name and continue typing - this conversation can now only be viewed by the two of you and others that follow both of you - unless someone just goes to your specific wall and then they can see everything. If you'd prefer to only show the oner person - you can use the Direct Message option on the sidebar.}

You can add photos by using websites such as Twitpic or Tweetphoto. Simply sign up - register under your user name and password and you are good to go. You can set photos up on your phone by messaging with a code and it's all easy peasy. This way if you see an interesting photo you can actually share it with the world - or if you want to show off your new hair cut - go ahead. Most photos that are posted are just of interest to a select few, but isn't that the way of the internet? It's a huge web and you aren't going to like everything - but sometimes isn't it great to see that awesome shot of a mullet or a guy wearing short shorts and suspenders shopping at Wal-Mart?

Twitter has often been compared to another social media website - Facebook. But there are some key differences. Sure Facebook allows you to post updates, but these are generally only viewable by your friends and people that you already know. You are stuck in this tiny bubble. It's not easy to communicate with people you don't know very well. Plus on facebook everyone that is your friend already knows more about you than you might care to share. For instance - how many people have family members as their friends on facebook? Pretty much everyone on there has someone. It's great to share your those photos of little timmy's first day of schoool, but that doesn't mean that you can have complete freedom to say whatever you want. (Although we'd like to see you try :) )

Sometimes you need a vice like twitter where you can just cut loose and say or be whoever you want to be. You can swear if you want to - you can truly speak out and voice your opinion. Occasionally you can get drunk and tweet nonsense. Your twitter family can choose to pay attention or ignore you. It's a truly beautiful process.

This brings me to another point - to follow or not to follow. Your initial instinct is to follow anyone that follows you. But then you realize that the majority of Twitterers are actually robots designed to follow a) new people or b) people that mention anything that meets a certain search criteria. (If you mention porn even once, watch out as it's an instant boost to your followers and not all of them have the best intentions.) You can do one of two things - let them follow you and say "Who cares they aren't harming anyone" or you can block them so that they can't follow you. Twitter staff does eventually get around to booting all the best known "bots" from the site so you will occassionally see the number of people you follow go down. Sometimes you'll get people following you that you initially think are fine. But maybe over time you realize "This person isn't really what I thought they were" or "Boring - they haven't written in four months why do I still follow them?" It's at times like these that you can just go to their profile and click "unfollow." Poof like that they are gone from your wall and you don't have to worry about them again.

In the age of cell phones and camera phones, why not have a portal that goes anywhere and can be with you at any time. Want to Tweet from the can - go ahead. Who's going to stop you? Want to repeat stuff that you overheard - that's fine too. And trust me, some of the things that people overhear is hilarious - especially when taken out of context. I think it's great being able to share funny anecdotes of things you see or hear when you are out and about or when the mood strikes. (Such as last weekend when my loving husband saw some guy at Bulk Barn picking out only the red Blowpops from an entire tub of mixed coloured ones.) {To say something you have overheard - type OH: before whatever it is you need to repeat.}

As with any social media site, I was initially leery about opening up. I wasn't sure how much was acceptable for opening up and just starting conversations with people. But the more you are on the site, the more you realize that it's okay to ask people questions. And it's okay to "retweet" something that has been said as long as you credit the original poster. In fact, it's actually something to be proud of. If you say something that someone else feels worthy of repeating that should actually make you feel good. If they out and out rip it off from you then it's perfectly fine to get a little upset. As said, anything goes but I warn you - you may not have as many friends as you did before. {To "retweet" someone - simply put RT before their name including the @ symbol}

My husband signed up for Twitter before me and he was pretty much instantly hooked. He was doing things that I didn't understand and almost played twitter like a game. He was always on the look out for quality followers and people that were in his field of work. Through twitter he's even been able to find work by connecting with people in the same field as him. He's been kept informed about local meetings for people in his field and it's really allowed him to branch out and find work now that he's running his own business. He's a web designer so Twitter has been the perfect portal for him and the Social Media MeetUps have been great for people in his field. He's attended them in Waterloo and Guelph and has made a habit of going to these once a month meetings.

Back in the beginning of when Twitter first started taking off, some people decided that they really enjoyed talking to each other online and they wanted to see about meeting in real life. So they arranged the first "Tweet Up". I'm not sure who started it or where and frankly, it doesn't really matter. James has been going to the tweet ups for Waterloo Region but was slowly starting to see that they were filling up really quickly and he wasn't able to talk to everyone that was there. You might miss out on getting to know someone in such a large crowd. I told him that maybe there will come a time when they'll need to split up and do meet ups for Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge and Guelph instead of being all together. It seems that time is now.

A few weeks ago some of the people I follow on twitter were discussing a "Tweet Up" in the region. They felt a little slighted that all the tweet ups have been in Waterloo and really wanted people to come to Cambridge. Someone said "#galttweetup" and the whole idea was born. I said that I'd attend a Tweet Up in Galt as that's where I grew up and spent a large amount of my life. That was all they needed to say "Okay fine let's make it happen." Someone talked with the owner of a local restaurant, they booked a date and time and then it spread throughout our little community. Not a huge amount have confirmed that they are coming, but it's still great to see that when we want something to happen, we can make it happen. {The hash tag # has been used as a way to reference something - this can be a specific event, or a common theme. It makes things easily searchable and recognizable.}

And so I'm heading out to meet my internet friends. Sure I'm nervous about how I'll look and if they'll judge me. But I also think it might make my friendships deeper to put a real face to a name. Then when I talk about me wearing a red beret and eating a croissant they can get the picture of me. And when they talk about running a marathon I can see them doing it.

I am a Twitterer who uses Twitter to Tweet about things who is now going to a Tweet Up to find other people from the Twitterverse.

Oh Halloween....

It's hard to believe that the Halloween season is here yet again. I'm excited about this year in that it'll be our first year in our new house having our annual shindig. We've had big parties, small parties and quiet and zany. It's been all over the map. Not sure how this year is going to go.

After moving to Cambridge we've kind of lost touch with many of our old friends. We still love them but we really don't get to talk as much anymore. Many of them are planning on coming to our party and I think that's awesome!!! They always really think hard about their costumes as they never want to duplicate anything. Some even come in a huge group that all work around a central theme. It's pretty crazy but they seem to pull it off.

This year we have some new friends coming. They all have a great energy and are really agonizing over what to be. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

With the fresh blood coming in I think this could be a crazy year! My first party was at my parents house when James and I first started dating. I put so much effort into it and have grown to love the holiday. That first year I made it about sorcery and witchcraft. I had candles and books on spells and dreams. I had blown up and put together information on how to read your palm. I made carrot fingers and bloody hand punch. It was a slow start - but it got people talking. There wasn't much dancing that first party. Every year since then has built to include more people and crazier things.

Now I'm starting to panic. How can I outdo last year???

Our house is much bigger which means our decorations have to stretch further. With our current economic situation, I think bigger picture and won't be blowing a wad on getting all sorts of new stuff. I'm going to have to get creative. I hope that no one complains about how boring it is!

The night I became a Woo Girl

You all know who they are - that group of girls that are out together and everything that excites them they "Woooo" with joy.

Last night - I became a Woo Girl and I have to admit - I kind of liked it.

Started out honestly enough, a bunch of people going out together for a 40th birthday party. Lisa and Vanessa decided to do a joint venture even though Vanessa's birthday isn't until December. Vanessa's sister Sarah was hosting in Ayr until it came time to head down to the Queens. Sarah is amazing, and spending time with this group of people always brings unexpected excitement. We've hung out with this group quite a lot over the past year or so and it was like I had joined kindred spirits. Those that liked to look good but didn't care if they also looked a little foolish. The kind of people that told me I looked beautiful even if I had adult acne or my hair was all greasy and sweaty. They like to have fun and just enjoy themselves. And more and more I've liked spending time with them. Strangely enough - I had always been the designated driver. Last night the tables were turning and I was FINALLY able to join in with the alcohol.

We had some babysitting to do before we left so by the time we arrived everyone had already had a few cocktails. Within minutes we were beered and the conversation turned a little crazy. Helps that the birthday girls got some naughty adult gifts. The drinks were flowing, the laughs were easy and the girls were ruling the roost!

By the time we got to the Queens everyone was laughing and ready to rock. The dj with his glorious 80's sweater was very accomodating as we were his audience. We immediately started dancing - soon the shots were coming and a whole lot of Wooing was going on. We were on top of the world and it was so much fun!

I haven't had a night like that in a long time. Okay, maybe since the last time I hung out with this zany crowd. I'm a Woo Girl. And I'm proud of it!