Birthday

So on this day that celebrates my uneventful entrance into this world (for which my mom is very grateful); I have cause to ponder this event which is a celebration of me but which I propose should be a celebration of those people who have had an impact upon my life and who made me into the person which I am today - good and bad, sorry I'm definitely not perfect! Crushing thought I know :)

But seriously, I just want to extend a huge thank you to all my friends and family, near and far who are there with me not only for the fun times but also who hear me and are there for me during the rough times. And no that does not relate just to "crisis situations" ie funerals, family crisis, births and major events. Specifically, I'm referring to the whole package, frustrations at work, frustration at home, frustration over the future, good times such as the discovery of the perfect bottle of wine, advice on everything from fashion to food to travel to haircuts to boyfriends and their justifiable cessation as a boyfriend.

Without my friends and family I can only imagine how lonely life would be. The people who are near to my heart whether they are near geographically or not are so important to me and I just want to say to ya'll that "I love you, and I value each and every one of you". Thanks for just being you.

Miscellaneous stuff

Second to last day in Montreal. I'm coming home ssssssooooooonnnnnn!

Looking out the window it is sunny and beautiful here, high temp for the day is supposed to be 86 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm thinking lunch on the patio!

Today is filled with all kinds of productive things such as surfing the web for sangria recipes, dessert recipes and trying to find a copy of the web session for Tegan and Sara which aired last night but unfortunately missed due to a late dinner with my boss and a second workout session. Haven't been sleeping well and thought if I worked out to the point of exhaustion then I would sleep well - didn't work.....think I'll try alcohol tonight. Its all in the interest of science.

So that's all the news that is new. Did anyone catch Rob Schneider dressed as Lindsay Lohan last night - it was either Letterman or Leno ( I think Leno). Funny!!!!

While working out I say the interview with her dad and how he was going on and on about how he wished she wouldn't make the same mistakes as he did - but even more interesting was the speculation about how Lohan is completely un-insurable and the question of if she will even be alive three years from now based upon her self-destructive behavior. All I can say is - "Grow up girl" it isn't cute anymore. There are people out there who have "real" issues perhaps her time could be better spent helping worthwhile causes - its better then blowing thousands by sniffing it up her nose or killing her liver!

Starbucks price increase!

News of the day---the AP wire just released a bulletin that Starbucks is going to increase their coffee, tea and other goods prices by .09 cents effective very soon - i.e. end of July. This is a sad, sad commentary for a company that has made millions by turning the "average cup of joe" into a $5.00 status symbol.

Question-is the price increase necessary or has Starbucks turned greedy for profit?

While the price increase may not stop me from visiting Starbucks for the occasional indulgent drink, it will make me think twice before stopping as frequently as I used to. Yummy iced coffee recipes abound compliments of the Internet and lemonade/passion tea combinations are certainly out in cyberspace somewhere. So in conclusion, sorry Starbucks but I think you just lost some business. Lesson to be learned. Keep it real, if your prices outpace the desires of your customers they will not be back.

Vacation

A very nice person left the comment the other day asking how my vacation to Colorado went?

In a nutshell. It was simply fantastic. The weather was very warm - mid-upper 90's every day but very nice and cool evenings. The mountains were beautiful, I have about three disposable cameras worth of picture to develop (I forgot my good camera, remembering it when I arrived at the airport and was frantically looking for it so I could separate it when going through security). But even though I will have a vast array of pictures with which to remember the trip, there are at least 100 other pictures that as I was driving I kept thinking, "oh, I need to stop and take a picture of that, or that, or that". There aren't words enough to desirable the steepness of the canyon walls rising on one side of the narrow road, and the rushing whitewater of the Cache le Poudre river on the other side. The twisting narrow roads with the steep switchbacks provided new and breathtaking vistas at every turn. Of course a minor downside to this was the fact that it was a holiday weekend and thus there were a half dozen cars filled with kayaks, mt bikes and people right on your bumper as you were driving into the mountains, but the higher the elevation the more people thinned out. It might have had something to do with the thinness of the air also :)
The 4th of July saw me enjoying a street fair and that evening a wonderful fireworks show in Wellington, CO. Each and every day I ventured out either to a different brewery or revisited one which I thought was fantastic. Many thanks must go out to Fat Tire Brewery for their cheerfulness, excellent beer and passion for the environment. And for letting me visit them and enjoy samples on more than one occasion! If I could work somewhere and have fun everyday, that would be the place. Of course Odell Brewery was wonderful-their 90 Schilling and 50 Cent beers were fantastic. A wonderful sample of 6 beers could be obtained for $3.00. Well worth the minor cost.
All in all it was everything that a vacation should be - relaxing, good food (on a budget), wonderful scenery, exciting things to do and plenty of time to read and just soak up the sun. I wish I was back on vacation at this moment :)

8 Random Things

The rules:1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Random Things

I intensely dislike blueberries.
My middle name is a combination of my two grandmothers names - Arlene and Dorothy.
My current profession occurred by chance and does not fit my personality type according to Meijer-Briggs.
My favorite seasons are fall and winter.
I am still a romantic at heart although it doesn't happen to everyone in real life.
If I could do anything right now I would be somewhere else than here.
I still believe that I might win the lottery some day.
right now my favorite artists are Tegan & Sara, my favorite song is Le Belle et la Bad Boy (from Sex and the City).