So it's been over a year and the first thing I post is a bunch of surveys? Yep. I've been lurking on my fav blogs but not writing and I'm really hoping that's going to change. Lots going on and gone on.

One of my fav blogs had this insanely long survey x6 and I thought why not, ifn' she's taken the time to answer all..so will I. So here goes. Ifn' you make it through, please let me know.

Survey #1:
1. Do you like blue cheese? No
2. Have you ever smoked? Yes
3. Do you own a gun? No
4. What flavor of Kool-Aid was your favorite? Whichever one had more sugar...*grin*
5. Do you get nervous before doctor's appointments? Still
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Poor man's food...sorry...
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The animated Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer one with the Abominable Snowman
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Mornin' shake
9. Can you do push ups? I'm up to 10...real ones.
10. What is your favorite piece of jewelry? I hve too many..currently it's my Elvis watch and the necklace I got from MyLuc
11. Favorite hobby? Reading, walking
Do you have A.D.D? No
13. What is one trait you hate about yourself? I talk too much
14. List three thoughts at this moment: How can people just "tolerate" people for the sake of the one they love, Wonder what my good deed is going to be today, I really dislike the upstairs ppl
15. List three beverages you drink on a normal basis: water, pear tea, peppermint decaf mocha with soy milk
16. Current worry: Money
17. Current hate right now: upstairs ppl
18. Favorite place to be? With friends
19. How did you ring in the New Year? Watching movies with Strongarm and MyLuc, making fun of the movies and having really really bad sparkling apple juice to cheers with
20. Where would you like to go? New Zealand, Mayan Riveria, Scotland, Ireland
21. Name three people who will complete this. Not applicable
22. Do you own a pair of slippers? Yes, MyLuc's 'rents bought them for my first xmas with the family
23. What color shirt are you wearing? Gray
24. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Nope, can you image the snags n' snarls..we sleep with three cats..*shudder*
25. Can you whistle? No
26. Favourite color? Red, Yellow n' Blue
27. Would you be a pirate? Nope, I'd be the Wench *wink*
28. What songs do you sing in the shower? Not likely
29. Favorite name for a girl other than your own kids? Quinnlin Jai
30. Favorite name for a boy? Vincent Ulysses
31. What's in your pocket right now? lint
32. Last thing that made you laugh? *Big Grin* Hand telephone and "I'm Batman!" done in a harsh whisper...have you seen that episode of Big Bang Theory?
33. Best bed sheets as a child? Strawberry Shortcake
34. Worst injury you have ever had? Roughousing with the Sprout n' snapping the ligaments off my ankle
35. Do you love where you live? No
36. How many TV's do you have in your house? One
37. Who is your loudest friend? Tossup between my girly girl and Jules
38. How many dogs do you have? None
39. Does someone have a crush on you? Maybe somewhere?
40. Favorite book? I love them all
41. What is your favorite candy? Maynards Wine Gums
42. Favorite sports team? I don't have one
43. What song do you want played at your funeral? I want a party in remembrance not a funeral
44. Are your toenails painted? Yes

Survey #2
Two Names You go By:
1. Meliss
2. Phoebe

Two Things You are Wearing Right Now:
1. Red Joggers
2. Gray Tank

Two Things You would Want or Have in a Relationship:
1. Honesty
2. Laughter

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. Read
2. Talk

Two Things You did Last Night:
1. Grocery Shopping
2. Hung out with MyLuc

Two Things You ate Today:
1. A banana
2. Sour Dinosaurs

Two People you last talked to:
1. MyLuc
2. Stranger on the Train

Two Things You are Doing Tomorrow:
1. Work
2. Thrift Storing

Two Longest Car Rides:
1. Seattle to Vancouver (New West) on a freaking Amtrak Bus instead of the Train
2. Calgary to Sparwood with Sprout and Mom

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Thanksgiving - Turkey Trot people
2. My birthday

Two Favorite Beverages:
1. Water
2. Pear tea

Two Things about me You may not Have Known:
1. I collect some strange things
2. I like to do a good deed every day

Two Jobs I have Had in my Life:
1. Nanny
2. Security Guard

Two Places I have Lived:
1. Prince George with strangers after TNick moved
2. Sparwood in a Hostel

Two of my Favorite Foods:
1. Peanut butter & banana sandwiches
2. MyLuc's Chicken n' Rice

Two Places I'd Rather Be Right now:
1. Back in Bed
2. Done with Work for the day

Four People I think would respond:
1. Not applicable
2.

Two People who won't Respond:
1. Not applicable
2.

Survey #3

Put an (x) by the ones you have done:
(x ) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school.
(x) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
() Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington , DC
(x) Swam in an ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robber
(x) Recently colored with crayons
() Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose or peed your pants
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Been skinny dipping outdoors
(x) Gone to the movies

Survey #4
. Any nickname? Mel
. Mother's name? Juanita
. Body Piercings? ears n' belly button
. How much do you love your job? it's already been a year
. Birthplace? Fernie
. Favorite vacation spot? Don't have one yet
. Ever been to Africa ? No
. Ever eaten just cookies for dinner? Totally
. Ever been on TV? Yes
. Ever steal any traffic signs? No
. Ever been in a car accident? Yes.
. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Don't drive.
Can you drive a standard car? Yes
. Favorite pie? Deep Dish Apple
. Favorite number? 3
. Favorite movie? Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
. Favorite holiday? My birthday
. Favorite dessert? Mint Chocolate Chip Icecream
. Favorite food? Bran Bites
. Favorite day of the week? The ones I get to spend with MyLuc
. Favorite brand of body wash? Don't have one
. Favorite toothpaste? Whichever one we're using
. Favorite smell? MyLuc
. How do you relax? Breathe
. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Working, in my own home, knowing MyLuc more cats
. Furthest place you will send this message? Don't know
. Who will respond to this the fastest? Not applicable
. What is your favorite breed of dog? Irish Wolfhound
. Favorite sound? Children's Laughter

Survey #5

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things, nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Melissa
4 LETTER WORD: Mash
BOY NAME: Micha
GIRL NAME: Midnyte
OCCUPATION: Monster
COLOR: Mocha
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Mitts
BEVERAGE: Milk
FOOD: Maynards
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Mitts
A PLACE: Montreal
REASON FOR BEING LATE: Missed train
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Mickey!

Survey #6

WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Melissa Danielle
NICKNAMES? Melissa, Meliss, Mel
SINGLE OR TAKEN? Taken
BIRTHDAY? November 24
AGE? 3 + some other numbers
HAIR? Dark blonde
WHERE DO YOU LIVE? New West
WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW? Surveying ...
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU DID? Said good bye to MyLuc for the day
WHAT IS RIGHT NEXT TO YOU? My bed
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU ATE OUT WITH? Aron B
IF U WERE A TOY, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? A stuffed toy
WHERE WOULD YOU WANT TO GO ON YOUR HONEYMOON? Away with no climbing for MyLuc
WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH? MyLuc o'course
HOWS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? Wet
LAST PERSON YOU SPOKE TO ON THE PHONE? ChinChew
LAST PERSON WHO TEXT YOU: ChinChew
LAST PERSON YOU TEXT: ChinChew
DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I kinda yoinked it but yes
WHAT DO YOU THINK A TOBLERONE IS? chocolate
U WEARING RIGHT NOW? Pjs
DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes
WHO DO CONSIDER YOUR CLOSEST/BESTEST FRIEND? Strongarm
WHAT WAS THE BEST ADVICE EVER GIVEN TO YOU? Breathe
DO U OWN A VEHICLE? no
HAVE YOU EVER WON A SPECIAL AWARD? Yes
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? Pay off my loan and buy a place
FAVOURITE FOOD? Maynards
FAVOURITE FILM? Journey of Natty Gann
LAST FILM YOU SAW AT CINEMA? Ghosttown
FAVE BOYS COLOGNE? No fave
FAVE GIRLS PERFUME? No fave
DO YOU LIKE TO DANCE? Yes
ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK ANYONE OUT? No
IF YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR NAME TO ANTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Marsha Blank
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE? yes
WHAT IS THE MOST STUPID THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE? Which one...exactly
DO YOU LIKE SCARY OR HAPPY MOVIES? Happy
CHRISTMAS OR EASTER? Either
KISSES OR HUGS? Definately Hugs
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Money wouldn't be so hard to come by
WHAT COLOUR ARE YOUR PYJAMAS?Whichever joggers n' tank I put together
WHAT COLOUR'S YOUR TOOTHBRUSH? Blue
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS QUIZ? meh
DO U WANT UR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK? No
WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not applicable
WHO IS THE LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not applicable
WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Sadness
WHATS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP? Do I have to?
ROLLER COASTER, SCARY OR WICKED? Both
HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU LET THE PHONE RING BEFORE YOU ANSWER IT? Unfortunately it depends on the situation
YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE? Reba McIntyre
IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB IN THE WORLD WHAT WOULD IT BE? I don't know
IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL? Half is just fine for me...sometimes that's enough
WHATS YOUR FAVE NUMBER? 3
CHOCOLATE - WHITE OR MILK? Nope, candy
ROOT BEER OR DOCTOR PEPPER? Rootbeer (A&W kind in a frosty mug)
MUD OR JELLY WRESTLING? mud
SKIING OR BOARDING? skiing
DAY OR NIGHT? Depends on mood
SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter
CAKE OR PIE? Pie
SILVER OR GOLD? Silver
DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Neither
SUNRISE OR SUNSET? both!
HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN A BONE? No
DO YOU WEAR RINGS? Yes
DO YOU HATE ANYONE? Unfortunately

Okay, I didn't do the last survey but the questions were just phrased differently, really.

*HUGE HUGS* Later you.

There is long story involved with "Breathe" and "Infinity" and the meanings to both of us and I will post those soon.

The right side is my Girly Girl, Elizabeth's beautiful tattoo and the one on the left is my Infinity symbol.

This blurry tattoo is on my left wrist.

Lovers of the English language might enjoy this.....

How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English??? There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.'

It's easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP a and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir up trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this up is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP . We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP , you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP . When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP .

One could go on &on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so .... Time to shut UP .....!

Oh...one more thing:! What is the first thing you do in the morning &the last thing you do at night? U P

Thursday Funny

The Old Poodle and the Leopard


A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.

One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost.
Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!"

Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.

Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard!

I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.

"Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree.
Figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard.
So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running.

The dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear.

The old poodle says "where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

Moral of this story....

Don't mess with old farts...age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!
Bullshit and brilliance only come with age and experience.

I am in no way insinuating that any of you are old, some are just more youthfully challenged.

It's been not quite a month since my last posting...well...my last jokes really.

So I'm going to just do a point form mish mash. Ready?

• I volunteered at the Alcan Dragon Boat festival this past weekend. I was assigned to work on the docks with other volunteers and members of the Vancouver Reserves. I had a blast. There were 197 teams, 4 docks with 4 boats per dock. I was dock #5 and before I had my break 30 boats had been in, loaded and unloaded with paddlers. Each boat held 28 team members. I volunteered for the hours of 630 am to 730 pm. Yup, all freakin' Saturday. The morning I had a slow run but by 3pm I was having a blast. And my team member was awesome! I admit it. I'm a tshirt whore. Volunteer or pay to attend...I have a few tshirts now. I think last count was 7 and it's only June.

• MyLuc and I are good. Both to freakin' busy to have time for each other but doing good. He's now joined Rock Climbing. It's been two weeks and he's bought the shoes, the chalk, the chalk bag and next is the harness and belaying gear. He's also bought new goggles and balls for both Raquetball and Squash. He had the raquets already.

• We have a new secretary at work. She's from New Zealand. The turnaround in our office is very extreme. Since i've been here there have been at least 7 secretaries for one set of the lawyers. I've been with my primary lawyer now for 3 years June 1st and had various seconds. I'm on my third one and they share the same first name. So my primary is Tom and my secondary is Thomas.

• On Friday, June 15th I went and got two new tattoos. On my right wrist the symbol for Infinity. I heard a quote once "Infinity goes in both directions." Now to mean I think that like my Phoenix "rebirth" What goes around comes around. My right wrist is my gramma's wrist. I've worn the blue cancer bracelet that used to grace her wrist since she passed away last August. I am going to have it coloured in the blue of the bracelet and try to incorporate my primary colours of red n' yellow somehow as well. On my left wrist I have the printing "Breathe". This is something that is essential to life and when there is chaos all around you breathing is a must. It also helps to center and balance. In my opinion. My girly girl also had "Breathe" put on her left wrist tho' hers is in pretty fancy swirly script. It suits her as mine does me.

• I am now helping out my little brother and his boyfriend by cleaning their condo here in Yaletown. Let me tell ya, it's easy peasy. The hardest part for me so far is figuring out wet laundry detergent.

• The week of June 11th I ate out every day. How horrid is that....seriously. On Monday I went for Italian with my best Strongarm. She won a certificate for 4th place from Eat Vancouver. Tuesday it was sushi with the sis n' law, Wednesday I attended free First Aid/Emergency/CPR training that was provided by the Alcan Boat Festival...I had beef jerky and red bull, Thursday I went for Italian with Girly girl and her new beau and Friday to White Spot for a burger and sweet potato fries. Saturday my girly girl and her beau and I went for mexican and Sunday it was father's day and MyLuc made his corn, there was steak and baked potatoes, asparagus from the grill and salad. And I didn't gain weight. Pretty good I must say.

• MyLuc's corn is grilled on the bbq then he halves a lemon, places the cut side into a half n' half mix of salt and indian spice n' rubs it on the corn as it comes off the grill. It is so delicious I am not going back to putting butter on my corn...it's healthier but for the salt.

More has happened for sure but that's it for now.

*HUGE HUGS* Thanks for stopping by and to those who have emailed and wondered where I am. I'm here just busy....but I'll blog when I can.

Post #260

Short n' sweet - yoinked from Ramblings of a Stay at Home Mom

"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila." -Mitch Ratcliffe

So here it is. May 22, 2007 and I'm already bored of this year. I guess it has something to do with having absolutely no vacation time left. Tho' I really did enjoy Hawaii and the cruise and well Hawaii. I didn't enjoy spending the rest of my vacation in Calgary, in the snow, one week after Hawaii, sitting at my mom's bedside as she recovered from her motor vehicle accident. That was totally not fun.

By the by...or by the way...mom is doing very well. To date she no longer has hard casts, only a 45 degree angled one she must wear 5 to 8 hours a day for her left arm. She has no more stitches. She is still on antibiodics for infection from small stones that are continuing to be found in both hands and left elbow. She has barely a scar from the 32 plus stitches in her forehead. She hasn't yet received the results from her cat scan for her dizziness. She's doing well. Bored because she can't read for long periods, she is a very voracious reader and she can't go for walks with the dog because of the dizziness that may appear at any time.

Since I have no vacation time and MyLuc has a whack but doesn't know what he's going to do this year I made a decision to volunteer for every event that is happening in the summer in the Vancouver, New West area. Or if I can reach it by skytrain or bus...there I be.

So far, I've volunteered at the Start/Finish for City Chase 2007. It was awesome! There were approximately 310 teams. I was doing the registration for S to Z so I got to meet some totally unique, excited, freaked out and very tired people. Sometimes they were one and the same. After the race began the volunteers who remained at the Start/Finish started doing break down to change the area to the Finish Line. I volunteered along with another to go through the registration sheets, prepare a Master List and figure out who was there and who wasn't. It took about 10 minutes. We were quick and made a great team. Unfortunately I missed the after party and the end of the race (see the order of those *grin*) due to the fact I had to be home by 1 and outta the house to go to the mother 'n laws for MyLuc to make dinner. Now don't get me wrong, I had a good time, I just wish I could've found an alternate way to get to Mission.

Next up on the 26th is volunteer orientation for the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival. I'll find out what and where and who...on the 26th.

Also, for those of you who read my rant about MyLuc's ring. It's okay. He now knows how I feel and is totally making a concentrated effort to wear it out.

*HUGE HUGS* Later you guys.