Introducing Salsa Webcam Chatanugan

Last night Sandra hosted a BBBQ (the extra B is for BBYOB. That extra B is a typo) and although the weather spat on us a bit and threatened to send us a tornado, we prevailed. (And dare I say...excelled?) It was good times hanging with people I haven't seen in awhile and Sandra's cool tree planting friends. At one point I took over BBQing and had an interesting bout with the zuccini...I had no idea you could BBQ zuccini. One rule to remember: when it's mushy it's done. I also discovered how good a seat cushion Shawn makes. I'm thinking of marketing him. He even comes with a massage option....ooooooooo!

Here are some quotes for yours and my enjoyment:

• "What's a word that has to do with killing??" -Laura "...love." -Shawn
• "It's cause she was smoking pot." - Lorraine *Laura gives Lorraine a funny look* "I mean.....not pot......TOP....." - Lorraine
• *Laura has us all brainstorming a good name for her for roller derby.* "You should use an American Gladiator name...or an X-Men name...like Ice...or Rogue...or Jean Grey..." -Lorraine "NIGHTCRAWLER!!" -Shawn Other suggestions: Juggernaught Jesus...ok that's all I can remember, although we spent a good hour brainstorming names ha.
• "I'm going to go brush my teeth so that I don't eat any more." - Sandra
• "The last two things that you've said have been 'webcam' and 'webcam what what'" -Shawn to Dave
• "He's wearing sandals and it's completely throwing me off" -Lorraine

As cool as all my friends and the new people I met are, my favourite visitor of the night was actually not human. By making her presence known by endless meowing, we adopted Salsa Webcam Chatanugan. Or as Shawn named her, "Cat". She was named Salsa because that's what we fed her. Webcam...well it was kind of a theme throughout the night. And I have no idea where Chatanugan came from.

Her head was constantly tilted to one side for some reason and she was essentially skin and bone. Toward the end of the night I sat with her on the patio and petted her and fed her what I could. (I eventually went inside to give her a scoop of cat food and a bowl of water). The little bugger just wormed her way into my heart. Upon leaving I had to sit her down and make her understand that it wasn't her...it was me. She followed me where ever I went. Well, until she figured out I was leaving and wasn't giving her more food anyway. Smart cat.

The whole experience reminded me of how much I crave a pet and how much it sucks that I can't have one. (Whole family is allergic except for me). It's also making it awkward when I visit friends and end up spending more time with their pet than with them.

Hopefully this will be remedied when I move to Australia. Oh...did I forget to mention that?

*pictures to come*

A Family of Quotes

The following was assembled yesterday when we got together for Darren's birthday and later on the way to see The Devil Wears Prada. Personally I always thought the devil would be more of a Gucci type person. Erm, being. Character??
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"Has anyone seen that t.v. series 'littletown'?" - Mom

"........you mean Smallville?" - Larissa

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My brother Chris on his friend leading a worship song during a church service:

"He was talking during this really soft, worshipful music interlude and accidentally said 'praise the son of Jesus.' Then he stopped and was like 'wait a second...that's a bit theoretically incorrect...uhhh...' . Then he just went right into the next song...we made fun of him for the entire trip."

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My other brother Darren reading his birthday card that says on the cover:

'Only a brother that is thoughtful, amazing, and virtually faultless can open this card.'

*the card is glued shut so that you cannot open it and must read the back. Darren does not accept this and rips the card open anyway*

"THERE! Now I am what the card says...I'M WHAT THE CARD SAYS!!"

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Sidenote: When mom made her Smallville comment, I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it. Larissa sees me do this and says to my mom "You are SO getting blogged." They know me too well...

A side hobby while watching American Gladiator

Sue and I (with minor contributions from Cal) brainstormed the following when we tripped across American Gladiators on tv the other day. Gawd, I miss that show...if only for the purpose of seeing people get their asses kicked and laughing at them. Luckily most of that need is fulfilled through watching MXC.

Unlikey (but funny) names for an American Gladiator:

• creampuff
• gimpy
• daisy
• twinkle toes
• bucktooth
• skippy
• fattie
• twinkie
• flubber
• stumpy
• pink fizz
• chip
• skippy
• dwight
• any of the seven dwarfs

Suggested names for an American Gladiator:

• roadkill
• extinguisher
• vengeance
• oxide
• pillar
• carnivore
• wasabi
• piro
• fusion
• cougar
• zinc
• any of the x-men names
• barry

The emotional roller coaster of lost and found

I cannot describe to you the knot of dread and disappointment that forms in the pit of your stomach when you realize that something you love is missing...and possibly gone forever. Shock and denial set in as you are faced with the reality of living without it. You feel lost, alone...as if you have lost a part of your very self; a limb, or perhaps a vital organ. The feeling eminates in waves originating in your stomach, then dispersing throughout the rest of your body, ending in a hot flash of panic.

What you feel upon discovering said lost object is quite the opposite; a hot flash of exhileration, and waves of ecstacy tingling all over your body until you are fully consumed in elation. Those who have stuck by me these last few weeks will know of what I speak, and no doubt will share in my exuberation over finding the filler of the dull and empty void that I have suffered through.

Yes my friends...I found my CD wallet.

All of my little babies in tact...and although suffering from heatstroke, appear to be in all other ways, unharmed.

They were hiding in the backseat of my dad's car, behind the large headrest, and only visible through the back windshield. How they arrived there in the first place, I do not care...all that matters is that they are home, safe and sound.

I would not have noticed them had I not forgotten my license and had to sit in the passenger's side of the car on the way home. (In the morning I'm much too tired to notice anything besides my blanket and pillow in the car). The sunlight caught it in it's light, and I stared at it, wondering if it was some sort of desert mirage. Surely I had hallucinated seeing my CD's in other places these last few weeks...even checking places I had already checked five times just in case they magically appeared. Places such as my glove compartment which is really too small to fit the CD's in the first place. I thought I had thoroughly searched my father's car...I thought wrong.

All the way home from work I hugged my CD's to my bossom...running my hands along the soft plastic which felt as if it had slightly melted from prolonged sun exposure...admiring it's faint sparkles hidden in the navy blue...flipping through all my CD's to individually assure them that I would never leave them again. I will be purchasing a child leash to ensure this.

It took me a good chunk of time to compose myself. My jaw was dropped down for the first quarter of the ride home. My father had to endure endless rantings of "I CAN'T BELIEVE I FOUND IT...I CAN'T BELIEVE IT...I'M IN SHOCK...I THOUGHT THEY WERE GONE FOREVER...YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW GOOD THIS FEELS...YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I YEARNED FOR THEM...I CANNOT PUT IT INTO WORDS HOW HAPPY I AM TO HAVE FOUND THEM..."

Dad's response: "Well Lorraine, you can't take them to bed with you."

Yeah...we'll see about that.