Happy Leap Day!

I've found a new love.  I'll give you a hint...it's NOT my treadmill....but it is something that makes a noise.  Give up??  It's the tv show The Big Bang Theory.  I don't know who I like more...Sheldon, Leonard, Howard or Rajesh.  It's my new Friends, my replacement for Seinfeld.  And the good news is that there's not an evening goes by that it's not on one channel or another.  I don't know how many seasons it's been on, but I seem to see the same reruns over and over again...but they still make me laugh.  What can I say...I've got the memory of a goldfish...three seconds and it's gone from my mind.  What can I say...I've got the memory of a goldfish....three seconds and it's gone....whoa, waaaiiit a minute....deja vu???

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY:  An 8-ender in curling is very rare...so rare that none of us on our team had ever given up one....before tonight.  Yup, beaten by a team that got an 8-ender on us.  Luckily it happened on Feb. 29th, so we will not have to be reminded of it again until the other team celebrates the anniversary of the big event....in another 4 years....and NOT UNTIL!!!!!

Stay-cation over

I've been on stay-cation from my blog, but I'm back.  I've been keeping a pretty low profile of late.  Nursing a knee injury...still...and getting out to skate a couple of times a week.  You know, skating is definitely NOT like riding a bicycle.  You do forget how to do it.  With all those figure skating lessons long forgotten, I liken it to skiing.  It's not me that I have to worry about....it's everyone else!!  Although, without the knowledge and ability to stop on demand, I guess it is me that I have to worry about!!  And I've developed this fear of falling that I never had when I was younger.  I guess it's cause the fall is alot farther now than it ever was when I was a wee-un.   The ice is quite unforgiving...and the bones are brittler!!  Not a good combination when you've got a golf trip coming up in a few weeks.

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY:  Yet another Costa cruise ship is currently in peril after losing power in pirate infested seas.  The old cruise ship industry is going to be taking a hit for sure....especially those owned by Carnival.  Probably time to find some good deals on the entire Carnival line of ships, which includes Princess and Holland America.  I think we'll start looking for sales!!! ;)

It's a man's world after all.......... (Sung to the tune of It's a Small World After All)

We're in the 21st century, aren't we??  Or did I fall asleep in a time machine and wake up in the 50's??  I didn't think so...so call me surprised to see that age old stereotypes and mindsets still exist.  Especially when it comes to men and women.  You'd think that given my past employment, this would be NO surprise to me...but, ya know...it is!  My friends and I were out the other night...you know, that age-old tradition of "girl's night out"...and we got to trading stories, like women do.  There was the story that one of my friends told about buying a car that the dealership offered to her husband for $3000 less than what they offered to her.   Granted this was a few years ago...but this mindset is alive and well today.  In fact, just minutes before going to pick the girls up, I called to make a room reservation at the casino in Moncton.  I had a promotion code which entitled me to a free room, however, the fellow I spoke to told me that that promotion was NOT available for the night I wanted.  So...2 minutes later Kier called again, spoke to a fellow (no doubt the same one), provided the same promotion code as I had, and "Voila"!  Room booked!  What's with that!!  I'm also going through a bit of a disagreement with my bank right now.  I think they are more interested in gaining Kier's business  (they assume he's a man...so he must have more $$ than I do) than in keeping mine and I've told them that in so many words...but, they still don't want to appreciate my business in the way I think they should...so, I've told them I'm meeting with other banks about making a switch.  They seem surprised...and THAT...well, that surprises me!!

The girls at Brit's Pub for a great meal before heading to the theatre.

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY:   It was a good day today...I learned 2 things.  That doesn't happen too often!!  1) It never hurts to ask; and 2) Sometimes people will make exceptions.  Yesterday I rec'd an e-mail about a special promotion for a green fees sale down in Maine which ended at midnight last night.  I didn't make the purchase yesterday, because I didn't have accommodations lined up.  Today I find my accommodations available, but now too late for the green fees sale.  What's a girl to do???  So I sent an e-mail stating that I missed the deadline, but only by one day...and I really enjoyed playing the course last year when I did take advantage of the promotion.  Low and behold...within minutes I heard back from them saying that, as a repeat customer, they would give me the same deal today...so, what did I do...I did what any good woman would do....I bought TWO!

Enough already!

Enough is never enough.  Especially when you start to age.  A few weeks back, in the name of health and fitness, I went out and purchased a treadmill.  It'll facilitate an increase in exercise, I say.  And, yes, it would....if it didn't also cause me to have a flare up of something in my knees making both running and walking almost impossible.  But, I soldier on...I rest a while, I try walking, I rest some more, I try walking again.  I ice, I heat.  I all but give up sugar in my diet, only getting a little bit from my desert...if you call yoghurt desert...which I now do.  (Oh how times have changed!!  Yoghurt....desert!!  Is life worth living??)  Anyway, yesterday I got a brainwave.  I dug out some orthotics that I got a few years back.  Maybe wearing those again will help me with my exercising.  Anything so that I don't have to curl up in the fetal position for 5 days after a run.  So far so good.  I'm not doing marathons yet, but hopefully that will come.  Today I was off to the doctor's office for a little follow up on my blood pressure.  It's GOT TO BE GOOD!  I've been doing all the right things!  But like I said....enough is never enough.  The BP is a bit high, not real bad, but just enough to raise an eyebrow.  So what now...its time to eliminate salt from my diet.  OMG!  No sugar and now no salt...where will it end??   It just takes ALL the FUN out of eating!  Oh well, gotta run.  It's lunch time...pass the celery please!

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY:   Everything in my cupboard/fridge contains sodium.  Feta cheese....huge sodium content.  Tomato soup...now I know why Campbell's was so heavily advertising their sodium reduction efforts a while back...still a huge sodium content.  The whole wheat Kraft Dinner that I consider a treat, even though its no where's near as good as the original stuff...large sodium content.  The dill pickles I'm snacking on right now cause really, they are just little cucumbers, right??  Sodium!  Every spice in my spice drawer....full of sodium.  And that Montreal Steak Spice that I've been using for years on anything BBQ'd...it's, like, 400% salt.  It's a miracle I haven't blown the top of my head off!!!  How despressing!!  Aahhhhhhhhh...Mrs. Dash....where are you????

Striking back at the Empire

I know it's been a while since I was 17 and had a part-time job.  And I know I've never worked in a movie theatre, although it was on my list of potential part-time jobs when I retired.  But what is it that these young employees do when they start their shifts?  In my 50 year old mind, (like I say, it's been a long time since I was 17 and had a part-time job) I think I would start my shift stocking up supplies and getting the concessions ready for the movie-viewing public.  So why is it, then, that when I happen to attend a show on the weekend, and it's the first show of the day at 12 noon I might add, that I find not one, but both becel dispensers already empty?  I think I'm about the 10th person that's arrived at the theatre so far that day, so I'm fairly certain that 9 people have neither all bought popcorn, nor drained 2 dispensers of becel.  And there have to be 10-12 employees wandering around.  What are they doing besides calculating their days wages in their heads?  Now granted, it does take 8 of them to run 4 concession stations ...don't get me going on that!!!  And the young girl who is taking tickets, right beside the becel/straw/napkin stand, was oh so un-concerned/interested when I advised her that both becels were empty.  There was no "I'll get someone to look after that", or "I'll let someone know about that", or even a "who cares", although her body language screamed that very loudly.  She did respond with "there's another one up around the corner".  Oh well, I distracted her, even if for only a moment, from the "knot plus knot, carry the one" in her head.  Hmmm, I'm thinking its time for another letter!!!

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY:  I'm way out of touch with the latest music trends.  As uninterested as I was in the Super Bowl last night, I did make an effort to catch the Half Time Show because Madonna was performing...and hey, she's from my generation!!  I quite enjoyed her performance of the oldies "Vogue" and "Like a Prayer".  But tell me this...who the heck are LMFAO and M.I.A.??  I guess I've been listening to too much talk radio lately.

That's Jumbo Shrimp....you (oxy)moron!

Oxymorons are everywhere.  I said "oxy"morons....(Although I'm sure there are morons everywhere as well, this really isn't about them! There will be opportunities when I can write about them another day!)  I've managed to incorporate many of these sayings into my conversations on a regular basis...pretty ugly, almost exactly, same difference, seriously funny, and they go on and on.  But there is one that I will never, ever, ever use....sugar free chocolate.  While doing some cross-border shopping yesterday, I found some sugar free Turtles.  Wow, I thought, those will be good!  They'll help me get over those candy cravings.  NOT!  There's just no replacement for the real thing.  I'm not sure what it is that they're passing off for chocolate...and I'm afraid to ask really.  It's brown and smooth, but with a few nuts...hmmm...nope, not going there!  But I do know one thing for certain....it AIN'T chocolate!!!  Will I eat them anyway, you ask?  I guess that will depend on just how desperate I get...ask me in another few weeks.  And if you hear me humming that familiar tune and mumbling the catch phrase "Hmmm, I love turtles"...you'll know it's a bad sign!!!

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY:  Sitting in the front row of the Imperial Theatre for a comedy show is THE BEST place to sit!  We were there for last night's John Pinette performance.  It was great and contrary to popular belief, we didn't get a kink in our necks from looking up at him.  (I think people who say that are just jealous that they're in the "nosebleeds"!)  We were on the end of that front row and had a perfect view of all the action.  It helped that he really used the stage and walked over right square in front of us for much of the performance.  He's one big lad...but he puts on an excellent show...well worth the price of admission...especially if you had those front row seats.  We're wondering if Jerry Seinfeld will be able to compete!  We see him tonight....but unfortunately, we don't have front row for him.  That's okay....cause I'm sure the people in the front row at Harbour Station will have kinks in their necks from looking up at him!! ;)