a Pisces takes her Valentine's toes to the ocean

Wordless Wednesday
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In the clouds

The small oval window holds my interest. I am absorbed.
The world is cold… frozen. The sky is empty.
Below there are vast squares and circles in shades of earth brown.
I long for another helping of clouds to admire.
Their softness spreads a blanket of sweetness and comfort.
Entranced by white fluffy mounds with peaks of blue like cotton candy meringue.
Consumed with the grand idea of jumping onto the pillow to rest my head on a cloud. The reality of falling through removed. The clouds are safe.
I dream in the pink glow from the west.
The sun slips away.
Descending into opaque darkness.
Home.

March Bender

I had every intention of blogging through SXSW this year but then I decided not to take my computer with me. Miraculously I survived almost five whole days without the internet. Withdrawal from not being attached to my email plenty of free drinks left me woozy but my time was packed full of fine fun.

Texas was blazing hot! Let me tell you that rock and roll marinated in booze, BBQ and heat does not smell so pretty. However there really is no other place in the world like Austin during SXSW. The sounds of guitars come at you from every direction. The energy is dynamic. Scheduling which bands that I wanted to see was trickery particularly on the Friday evening.

I made a last minute attempt to connect my newly upgraded cell phone into Twitter but success was not mine. Instead I text messaged Colin. I think he enjoyed playing secretary by recording my updates. (Thanks Hun!) Like the time that I went to The Velveeta Room to hear a singer songwriter from Vancouver and who ended up at our table but Elijah Wood! He has very stunning, pretty features. He seemed spectacularly sweet, taking time to pose for photos with numerous women. If you'd like my take on the music from the festival check out Pop Rocks.

The icing on the cake was when I enjoyed dining on Mexican food with honest to goodness, divine Texans, Kyla and Julie and another Canadian gal NotSoSage! I was full of beans and over the moon. Put a few bloggers around a table and you have the most stimulating conversation on a whole slew of subjects from politics to celebrities and everything in-between.

This past weekend I got to share some imported beverages with Metro Mama and our spouses before we spent an evening with the Foo Fighters. Not only are they one of the best bands in the universe, but Dave Grohl is a witty genius. The last time that I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Dave was back in 1999, but I think we were meant to be best friends.

Other than all the music, drinks and sweet blogger merriment that has filled my days, I also joined in on concocting ways to have more, more, more... Two brilliant friends and I opened some wine and shared laughter while we thought of a way that will make a weekend in July the ticket to so many smiles that I anticipate the possibility of a few new wrinkles from incredible happiness.

That is the kind of glow that you don't want to wipe away with botox. Blog Friends Fest is open to all, plus smiles are free so please say that you are in!

The Pillow Fights Continue

The weekend away made me very thankful for many different things; good friends, fun times, laughter, health and safety. It's a luxury to be able to travel and see other parts of the world. It rejuvenates my soul to be able to dig my toes into the sand and feel the ocean waves rush up and pull away.

We didn't get off to a smooth start. Amber was flying into Toronto from Halifax. We were going to fly together to Los Angeles but Air Canada, being ever so helpful, would not let her on the plane because they felt her luggage wouldn't make it. Honestly it could not be considered a security threat to fly without luggage nor is it like the airline has a perfect record for delivering every piece of luggage that is on board with their passengers. I sat on the plane, watching it fill up not knowing that Amber had run to the gate and was standing there being refused on. She asked for an Air Canada employee to let me know the situation. They walked up to the general area I was sitting, called out the wrong name and then let me know that my friend wouldn't be able to make her connection. I assumed the fog had delayed her flight and I had no idea that she was standing inside the terminal looking at the plane. They did not even let me know which flight she would be traveling on. Then we pulled away from the gate and sat on the tarmac for another 45 minutes because the fog was so heavy. Air Canada should get a gold star for customer service. At least they could have faked some effort in trying to be helpful. Needless to say I spent most of the day at LAX. Jade arrived about an hour later and we eventually found Amber and made our way to Solana Beach.

On Friday the amazingly, bright blue sky and warm wind had me permanently smiling. We spent time at the beach and having a relaxing pedicure waiting for Ruby, Violet and Cherry to join us. The group of us went for drinks in Del Mar. At this point I was smiling so hard that my cheeks hurt. Margarita influenced shoe shopping followed and I couldn't resist making a purchase. After exploring a few more shops having huge sales (twelve dollar dresses!) we made our way back to the condo for a few more drinks and more conversation. Jade told us the story of how her six year old son came to use the phrase sweater meat. She also taught us how to use the term snack bracket in a sentence. "My neighbour's husband got a raise which put them in a different snack bracket."

Saturday we had breakfast at the Brockton Villa Restaurant in La Jolla. We strolled around, watching seals swim around the shore. We then headed to the historic Hotel del Coronado, grabbed a latte and lounged on the beach. Some of the girls needed a rest while the rest of us were going to go the private club to enjoy the hot tub. We didn't make it there in time so instead we had a bottle of champagne and tried to find hockey night in Canada on the satellite dish. We ended the evening with a late night dinner at Jake's Del Mar.

On Sunday after a quick run to Trader Joe's and Target, we spent most of the day at Fletcher Cove. I tried not to get sun burnt while we admired the cute surfer boys. My friends were having fun body-boarding until they attracted the attention of the lifeguard who came to warn them about the rip current. A wave washed up and soaked all our towels exposing us as the tourists on the beach.

Late afternoon Cherry had to get home so we decided to get some last minute shopping done. That's when we first noticed the overwhelming scent of fires burning. After washing the sand out of the towels, we were off to the University Town Center. At this outdoor mall we noticed that we became lightly coated in a layer of ash. We got everything we came for except for the specific requests made by my daughters. Strawberry had asked for a crocodile while Buttercup was hoping for a bumblebee. Instead they had to settle for a kangaroo and a pink kitty.

Cherry, Ruby, Amber, Jade and Violet - Yah that's not their real names.

We had a low key evening as we packed and watched the reports about the California fires. The closest one threatening the area was the Witch Fire. The strong Santa Ana winds kept some of my girlfriends up most of the night. We had planned to be on the road shortly after eight A.M. but we got an extra early start on Monday morning. After stopping at two Starbucks locations and finding both of them closed, we had to go to a grocery store to get caffeinated. Locals were stocking up on ice and water. There was an eerie and surreal atmosphere. The skies were black with smoke. The news reports were chilling. It looked like Armageddon. I feared for the locals and the helpless animals. Luckily we had no trouble making it to the airport in time for our flights. We safely made our way home to our various destinations. Our third annual girl trip was beyond memorable.

Gallivanting

Me, and my newly acquired head cold, are hopping on an airplane. It never fails that before I fly I always get some sort of cold that will make the flying experience memorable. It’s likely that I am the reason that people get sick when they fly. Go ahead fellow passengers. Direct evil glares at me every time I sneeze. I will be hiding behind a novel pretending not to notice.

I am meeting my girlfriends in LA and we are going to San Diego! I’m so excited!

For the past two weeks I’ve been nervous about this trip because I heard Psychic Nikki on the radio predict an earthquake for California. A quick search on recent news pulled up a magnitude 4.2 quake that hit California early on Tuesday. I’m not sure how often these occur as I’m usually not Googling earthquake news but I’m hoping that is what the Psychic to the Stars had envisioned.

Now it’s time for me to go spend some of my super Canadian dollars. This is the first time that I have gone south of the border with our magically, powerful monopoly money. Yippee!

A Midday Meal

I am currently on the west coast eco trippin'. My coworker and I were enjoying our lunch on a gorgeous heated patio. The view was superb. We were eating seafood under blankets on leather chairs by the fireplace. It was the best.

I love to people watch so I was checking out the patrons. There were people from my desired occupation -the ladies that lunch, a group of guys that had to be in a rock band, a few romantic couples, some locals that might work in the area and behind my left shoulder were three attractive guys. That's when I had to steal another look because one of them looked like he could possibly be Ben Affleck.

My coworker and I began a deep conversation over our crab. We were going back and forth, "It is him." "No it couldn't be." "Umm, he really looks like Ben." "Yes, oooh... I think it is." "No. His hair was shorter in the photos from the Toronto International Film Festival." "Right. He's most likely back in Hawaii." "Does Ben smoke?"

Finally we determined that it wasn't him but it was his smile that made him look so much like the Hollywood movie star. Too bad.

Find out how I'm doing on this latest eco trippin' adventure over here.

Coffee Please

It wouldn't be a trip if I didn't wait for the very last minute to pack. This is my personality and I've come to accept this about me. I'm too excited to sleep anyway.

Come on over and visit our collective effort to bring you BlogHer '07! It all starts now...

Serving Up Songs Estrogen Style

I am back from Austin, Texas! It has taken me a while to get back into the swing of things because on Saturday night I returned to my hotel at one A.M., packed my luggage and then tried to get a few hours of sleep. However my room was next to the hotel's pool where an all night party was going on. At six A.M. my wake up call reminded me that I had to get to the airport. I needed a couple days to recoup especially being that Buttercup has been extra clingy since I have returned.

It seems that while I was away everyone has been sharing their favourite seven songs. Colin couldn't wait for me to create my own list. He has his posted below. Thanks to the most awesome Motherbumper and the babelicious Mrs. Chicky for tagging me.

The SXSW Seven Song Edition:

Alloway Grove - Paolo Nutini - I've been listening to this album a lot. I have a weakness for boys with accents.

Black Shoes - The Films - This is a band to watch out for! They are awesome.

Yoo Hoo - Imperial Teen - The drummer had to be about seven months pregnant. It was a real fun show.

Rehab - Amy Winehouse - She played to a packed house at Eternal. I was dying of hunger but I didn't want to leave. If only I could always live on music.

The Bucket - Kings of Leon - The really friendly guy from Oklahoma that was standing next to me was so excited that he announced "I'm going to come in my pants." Dude can you take a step over to your right please.

Amphibious - Children Collide - More scruffy boys with accents.

Hang Me Up To Dry - Cold War Kids - They are one of the bands that I was hoping to see but missed out on. Maybe I'll get that chance when they come to Toronto.

See my photo set here.

Plus I am also including a bonus seven that I can't stop listening to:

I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You) - John Mayer
Gangster Trippin' - Fatboy Slim
Aurora - Foo Fighters
Heartbeat - Tahiti 80
Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam
Heaven or Las Vegas - Cocteau Twins
Blankest Year - Nada Surf (But I don't recommend that you listen to this catchy song around children. Strawberry sang the chorus at the grocery store much to my dismay.)

There are so many songs to fill you up with emotions. It is the almighty raw, powerful language of music. The message changes whether you are listening to a recording on its own or with video. I believe that images can sometimes limit the song. I think it forces our creativity to be placed in a box that doesn't let the lyrics take on our own significance. Yet watching an artist perform their material live can breath new magic into a song. That comes with every expression the artist places into their work and feeding off the crowd's excitement.

I am going to have to hunt down more of these lists. I love finding out everybody's favourites!

What's Going On

Thirteen Notable Stories in the News 1. Drive She Said - Reasonable Gas Prices! 2. Bathroom talk on CNN 3. Extended bathroom break for Pilot 4. Too hairy to be called Laurence, parents seek the public's help to name their newborn son. 5. Break it to me gently. There is nothing like a quick e-mail to end employment. 6. Another perk! Being Prime Minister will land you an acting gig on a Television comedy. 7. Must not forget to drink fruit and vegetable juice. 8. It is great to be a bartender at Applebee's. 9. Astrologers still accept Pluto in their charts. 10. New romantic pop duo both suffer with laryngitis. 11. Being stuck for two weeks in a Tasmanian mine listening to the Foo Fighters on MP3 players will get you a date with Dave himself! 12. Magic 8 Ball winners of tonight's MTV VMA's. 13. North American's love pop culture but are lacking substance. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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