Oriental Supermarket Fun

After Emily's orthodontist appointment, she said those 2 words she says every time we go out, "I'm hungry." So we went out of our way to the Oriental Supermarket. She used to declare "It stinks in here!" when we walked in the door, but now she says she likes the smell. We must have been hungry because we bought a bunch of different things. She always wants one of these drinks, it's carbonated, and you have to whack the marble sealing it with the cap, the marble drops into the glass bottle and causes some of the drink to fizz up and out, but we got smart this time and did it all in a bowl so she wouldn't lose half her drink. It's not cheap, $3 for the bottle and it's probably 1/2 the amount that's in a reg. pop can. But she loves the whole Asian/gimmicky thing. These sounded good, how could dried yams not sound good? I must have been very hungry. They are just that, dried yams, not sweetened, not salted. Just dried. Not bad, but not good.

These are good. Some kind of weird potato snack, Italian Gratin flavoured. Everyone loved them.

These are definitely deep fried, but lightly sweetened, maybe even sweet/salty. But the texture will kill your mouth, kind of like crinkle cut fries but 400 times harder.

Emily picked this cup of ramen for her dinner. She boiled the water, followed the directions, for cooking the noodles. Then she drained the water and added the flavour packet and packet of 'oil', which looked like fat mixed with seeds. She said it was good and that she could eat it again, but she didn't actually finished it all, so I question how good it was.

One of the reasons I like taking her to the Oriental Supermarket is because she can read the packaging. She's taught herself to read Japanese, which is more than I can do. She can't read everything, but she can gets the gist of it and can translate for me. So when I saw these, next to something I recognized, I asked her to translate and sure enough it was exactly what I thought. And she knew what it was so we had to buy it. Naruto, swirl fish cakes. It's similar to imitation crab. You slice them thinly and use it to decorate your food.

Like this, our peanut sauce noodles.

Grandpa had a dr.'s appt., the dr. thinks there's a blockage of some sort because his pulse is weaker at his feet than anywhere else. He sent him for bloodwork and he'll be having more tests ASAP. Thank you for all the well wishes!

Today, I must scrapbook. I've got classes to prepare for and nothing to show for it. I hope my mojo shows up today.

Practicing

I've been looking for some funky fabric for a backdrop. I haven't found it yet, but I did find this quilt in the laundry room. My mom made it for Emily and she doesn't use it anymore. I thought it might come in handy for baby photo shoots. Baby Bear posed for me on Emily's mini chair.

Work it, Baby Bear! Linus wanted in on the action when he heard I was handing out treats for good girls and boys.

Sally's such a good sport, she sat on the mini chair for a long time while I fiddled with the shot.

I've just come from getting a cleaning at the dentist...my teeth are so sparkly. Emily has her first orthodontist appointment today, she's not too happy about it. I'm sure I won't be happy about the cost.

Solar Powered.

I know...
2 posts in one day....This one has pictures. Lots of them.

Because we live in a valley, and we pay that nasty sunshine tax, we suffer in the winter. Maybe it's part of that sunshine tax, I don't really know what that tax includes, I've just heard people say we have one, but anyways, it's usually overcast and dismal in the winter. So as soon as I saw the sun shining, I grabbed my camera and that stinky tennis ball and took the dogs outside.

Here the majestic Golden Retriever soaks up the rays. He needs them because he is solar powered and has plans on ripping up the grass with his mighty paws as he catches his prey, the stinky tennis ball. But first he must actually rip up some grass, namely my zebra grass, he then pulled two branches of my forsythia. You can see the stinky tennis ball sneaking up on him.

He sat around like a dope because I told him to stop demolishing the flora and fauna.

He caught the stinky tennis ball, made lots of steam, and had some fun. You can see his assortment of yard toys (and possibly a doggy deposit) in this one, the tree root, and the 2x6s he likes us to throw for him, only problem is I can hardly lift them, so they usually land on him or about 3 feet in front of me.

How can you not love this face? The dog breath, the grass in the teeth, the goobery jowls, the stinky tennis ball.

Then we went inside and ate candies.

I had seen a neat trick with Christmas lights that I wanted to try. I knew there was a reason I still had a box of lights that didn't get put away after Christmas. Linus helped with the set up. He was checking the mug of water to make sure it was okay. He actually drank the whole thing.

After he moved, I was able to get this.

And not to be left out, I had to get a shot or two of Miss Sally. She likes to high tail it when Linus starts his antics.

Questions answered.

1. -2 is cold, it's been above 0 for a long time. Flowers are tricked into starting to bud. Orchardists are worried that the trees might bud and then the real weather will come and wreck everything.

2. Gas is cheap, it was up to $1.17 a liter.

3. Amy, be more specific, asking if that's my mom in the first picture, there's a whole bunch of moms in that picture. Mine is the one on the left, the Japanese one. Funny but true story...Kerry and I were discussing the health of our family members. I said I didn't know of any Asians that had asthma, and I thought and I thought and then I said "Oh, whatever, I don't ever know that many Asians!" Kerry looked at me like the idiot I am. I said "Oh, ya, more than half the people I'm related to are Asian, silly me!" I believe none of them have asthma.

4. If you have a tv that is older than 5 yrs. but more likely 10 yrs. old and your parents gave it to you without a remote control, throw it out, don't try to keep it so the kids can have a tv devoted to Dance Dance Revolution. It's not worth it to drive around town, buying different remotes, returning those remotes, doing research on-line, punching in 3200 codes, making long distance calls because no Universal Remote will work with it. The very helpful Rolly at London Drugs pulled up the local want ads and told me to go and buy a used tv for under $50 WITH a remote and manual. I'm a bit sad for this tv, it's not the best quality but it still works, it would be good for someone that needs exercise, as you have to get up and push the buttons on the tv if you want to change the channel. Oh, wait, maybe will skip the Dance Dance Revolution and just use the tv for exercise. Kids will love it!

5.This is my grandpa, he's an antique, he's 91. He's not doing so well. And not that I expect him to live forever, I know all about the circle of life, I'm not prepared to have him go to the bowling alley in the sky. He's feeling pretty weak lately and probably can't bowl on Friday, mom says if he can't bowl, then what's the point? If I suddenly stop blogging in the next bit, it's because something has happened with grandpa and I'm needed elsewhere.

I went!

Bright and early, okay, more like dismal and early, but I still got out of the house just after 8 am. to catch the excitement of seeing the Olympic torch wind it's way through Kelowna. I choose to go to Fabricland instead of the Emily's school. Standing in -2 degrees with teens was more than I wanted to do today, and besides, you can't 'legally' take pictures of those underaged brats. So I stood with these gals and their meters of maple leaf fabric. Weird thing, only a handful of other people were standing out there too. They stood there like that for about 30 minutes before the torch came. They got lots of honks and cheers. I don't know who the torch bearer was but the whole thing gave me teary eyes. How proud he looks. The funny thing is that his cheering team that might have been his wife and daugthers were funny. The one that we thought was his wife laughed hysterically the whole time as she jogged along the sidewalk with him.

On the way home, which is also the route of the torch relay, hundreds of people were along the highway so I parked and walked over to see it again. Here you can see them lighting the next runner's torch, oh, that's right, you can't really because Darlene's head is in the way. But you can make out that gas is 99.9 cents a liter.

You could actually feel the heat of the flame, which was made me teary too, must have been the heat melting my eyes.

I'm glad I went. I'm cold, but it really was something to see. And I got to wear my prize winning fleece jacket because it's the only red one I have.

Matryosh key

Isn't this just the cutest? I have a pair, the other one is red, they were a little gift from Yolanda. This one matches my key fob. This morning when I went to start the van, I realized she makes my key too fat to fit in the ignition. I don't think the excuse "My Matryosh Key wouldn't fit in my van ignition" was a good reason to miss work. It took me a few minutes to swap her to Kerry's truck key, which is on my key ring, too.

Today the Olympic torch comes to town. Tomorrow it makes the rounds past most of the middle and high schools. This will wreak havoc on the bus schedules and people taking their kids to school as it happenings right around the start of both elementary and then high school. Not sure who is in charge of planning but I think this might make for a chaotic morning. I'm not sure what we will do, part of me says go, participated, but then the other part of me says "Are you crazy?"

Hey!

Look at me! Look at me! It's my birthday!

I'm 3 yrs. old today. My mom says I'm very lucky that I lived to see 3! I don't feel that lucky. I don't know why she would say that. She also said we don't celebrate dog birthday's like we do human birthdays. Whatever! I got 1 1/2 carrots today and I got to go outside and play with the ball, that seems like a party.

I heard her saying that the only reason we are taking note of my big 3 birthday is because everybody has been saying Golden Retrievers mellow out at 3 years of age. Hee, hee, I'm not a Retriever, I'm a Receiver! Fooled them.

Oh, snap!

I have just booked my first job to photograph a wedding. I'm crapping my pants and probably will every day until May 24th, even though the wedding is on the 23th, until I see the photos, I won't be able to handle it.
I am also shooting Karla getting ready for her wedding the day before! 2 weddings in 2 days.
And we are making concrete plans to go to Disneyland in October where we will meet Amy, David and Trevor, and if everything is still a go, I'll be taking pictures of their wedding too. We are also planning this trip with my oldest and dearest friend, Terrell and her family, she's not really my oldest friend, but I can tease her. We've known each other since we were 12 yrs. old.
Very excited!

Monday Afternoon

I was playing around with the new lens and Emily managed to find Linus' 'sweet spot' on his face. When you scratch his cheeks just right, he does this... I took the dogs outside and was playing around a bit more with the lens, when I caught Sally doing this...

Apparently she saw Linus do this...

As far as I can tell he was doing laps around the yard and slipped in the mud and ice that our back yard has become, I did catch him just slidding into a lawn chair and a bush and then he ran to me and I got mud all over my face.

It's a good thing I wasn't wearing this...

My prize fleece from the Yokohama photo contest. It's red, it's black, it's got a logo on it, the sleeves zip off, but I won it for a photo I took! It will most likely be designated 'rally wear'.

Monday Morning

I wish the sun would shine for just a few hours! Although I do have to go to work so maybe it could wait until later to shine. I am thankful for the 'warmer' weather we are having, it's not very January-ish, but I'll take it.
I've been 'suffering' for the last week or so with a bit of a sore throat, although it's not reallly sore so much as it is irritated, and irritating. The glands in my neck are swollen too. Some days it's not bad, and other's it is. I'd like to just get whatever it is, be sick and get better. Is that too much to ask?

A very nice guy sold me his almost brand new 50mm f/1.4 lens yesterday. After much back and forth about whether or not I 'needed' this lens, and yes, I am going to use lots of 'quotation' marks today, I finally decided I did need it. I had been looking at the f/1.2 and reading reviews and it didn't get great ones, and it's way over priced. This nice guy got the f/1.4 mid-October and then his even nicer parents bought him a Nikon for Christmas. Win Win for both of us. This lens will help me take better indoor photos. I'm selling my flash because I've come to the conclussion we don't work well together, I love the natural light and shooting in it, I don't get the same happy results with the flash. Some people do.

I'm sending off our Anime Evolution Convention registration forms today. It's at UBC in Burnaby, in August. I can smell it now, 5000 costumed people, 38 degrees and no deoderant. I can't wait!

Things we are looking forward to in the last few weeks of January...
- more rain, and warmer weather.
- babies, not ours.
- taking pictures of babies.
- Linus's birthday, the big 3!

For Sale!

Canon 50mm f/1.8 EFII lens, with new hood, 1 Tiffen UV filter, and 1 B&W polarizing filter. Great everyday lens, packaging for all except hood. $140 OBO. I'm upgrading so I don't need it any more, but it's been my favourite lens.

Canon Speedlite 430 EX II flash in box with case and small stand. Used maybe 2 dozen times, less than a year old. $225 OBO. I bought this before I realized I am a natural light photographer.

Let me know if you are interested in either of these.

Still workin' it

2 posts with pictures in one day. I know I could have just waited and posted again tomorrow but tomorrow's another day. I've been wanting to make a star album for awhile. And I used the same inspriration as the card I posted earlier. I'm lovin' the colour combo right now.

Workin' it

I want a new self portrait. I would like a few posed shots, and a few candid shots. I set up the camera on the tripod yesterday and out of 2 dozen shots, this one was one of the only ones I liked. I'm going to try again on the weekend. I get my hair done on Friday so I'll look even better. I discovered one eye is bigger than the other, or at least more open than the other, less is more when wearing make up, holding the camera myself and taking a picture results in my eyes crossing. I made a few cards in the last week or so. I don't think I posted them yet.

Not your normal Valentine's colours.

I got the inspiration for this right from a layout in the Stamper's Success magazine.

A little foxy thank you.

This vintage set wasn't my first choice but after seeing some samples made with it, I decided to get it and now I love it!

I love the font in the Well Scripted set.

So the sets I used in these cards...

I {heart} Hearts

Well Scripted

Vintage Vogue

Fox & Friends

...are all SU's new Clear Mount Stamps. I was leary, I'm a wood block lover, but I figured I should see these up close and personal. I ordered all my new Occasions Mini sets in Clear Mount. I have not put the label stickers on the stamps, I heard it lessens the cling ability. I like them, they are less expensive, take up less room. Do I love them? Eh...I can see myself losing smaller stamps. Also I don't have enough clear blocks yet. I'm working on that.

The following were also used and are from the new Occasions mini...

Sweet Pea Stitched Felt

Small Heart Punch

Scallop Trim Corner Punch

Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder

And the Scallop Trim Border is from the Sale-A-Bration mini, you can earn it for free!

Enquiring minds want to know...

This is Randy "The Natural" Couture.(born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion and a two-time light-heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Couture is one of only two UFC fighters to have held a championship title in two different divisions (heavyweight and light heavyweight; B.J. Penn, with his titles at welterweight and lightweight, is the other) in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as the only five-time champion in UFC history. Couture has competed in 15 title fights, a record. Couture is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and many consider him to be the most popular fighter in MMA history.[3] Randy is also the oldest man to win a fight in the UFC being 46 years old.
This is right from Wikipedia.
He's no Georges St. Pierre. He's Canadian. He beat out Sidney Crosby as Canada's favourite athlete, 64 to 34 %. He's a hottie. He's awesome. He's yummy. He makes me drool.
That's right from Kellipedia.

Daily December Nearly Complete

As mentioned before, this was harder than I thought it would be. I've got all the pictures in it, and many more embellishments, but I still need to work on the journaling, I'll wait until I'm having a good penmanship day, could be awhile.

Yes, it is backwards, but it took me forever just to figure the slideshow thing out.

Monday Blahs...

...not here. What better way to get rid of the 'back to work blahs' {insert snicker here} than to have pizza and impromptu fight night.

No pictures of it as I can't quite figure out how I would get a good picture of a poorly lit room full of people ogling a large tv with half naked men pummelling each other to death. I'm working on it.

Conversation between me and my dad tonight...
Dad: He reminds me of a young Randy Couture.
Me: Ya, he does look like him.
Dad: You make me so proud!
Me: Wha...what'd I do?
Dad: You know who Randy Couture is!

I've always been a daddy's girl.

I'm on to them.

I picked up a good photography magazine yesterday and one of the things it mentioned was that even though winter isn't prime photo taking time, a person should not let their skills get rusty and should get out there in the winter and take pictures. So when Kerry was planning his mountain biking today, I asked where they were going and he said Knox Mountain and that it would be a nice bright open place to take pictures. I said I'd go too. He called my dad, and they made plans for me to come. Little did I know, I was an integral part of the plan, I became shuttle master. Which means they jump out of the truck, make sure I don't get stuck in a snow bank and off they go. I then drive the BRT, big red truck, squeaky wheels and all, down to the bottom of the hill. As soon as I got out of the truck with my camera when I dropped them off at the top and Kerry said "Oh, are you going to take pictures now?" I knew I'd been had. He mentioned that the bottom of the hill would be better.

So I drove down, I parked, I walked and I walked. I took some pictures. You can see the new bridge in the distance. I called them on the cell to find out where they were and where I should be for the best shots. I walked more than I had to up that hill in the snow and ice. And then I had to turn around and walk back down. I got less than a dozen shots, I think we took longer to get coffee at Tim Hortons and to drive home than they took to ride down the hill. Well, at least they get to say "January 10, 2010 we got to ride our mountain bikes!"

And I got to get out and use my skills instead of letting them rot while I played Super Mario Brothers.Emily brought home her recipe for Cheese Pretzels and we made up a batch, it only makes 4 much to Kerry's dismay. They were really good. And easy.

My parents came over last night and the guys watched Moto Cross, the girls hit the scrap room. Mom made her monthly layout, Emily read and painted a gorgeous water colour picture, and I tidied up. I've really been purging stuff and not useful stuff, but things I like to keep and will never use again, like the greeting cards, short tiny pieces of ribbon, bubble wrap...you get the idea.