A holiday that has "2-4" in the name, must be good!

I might have just had the best long weekend I've had in years. It was one of those weekends that didn't fly by....so heavenly, LOL!!!

This May 2-4 weekend started with drinks after work on Friday with some co-workers. All of whom were sales reps, and who kicked off early. So by the time I got there, they were near ready to leave. But oh well, I still had time for a pint, a bit of bread and several jokes~some of which I was the butt of. Jerks. No worries, I am good at giving it back ;)

Saturday was a perfect day. My family met up at my grandparents house. (My brother and Jen finally got a car, I've been released from taxi duty!) Got to see my niece Olivia, ran around the yard after her, walked back and forth across the deck with her, as she has a new thrill over stairs, but she isn't very good at going down them yet. Hehehe, you can see here the t-shirt I bought for her that says "Nacho Baby"....way to funny....She wasn't as camera happy as she usually is, though, so getting a good shot of her looking at the camera this weekend was tough. But I digress....it was Grandma's birthday, we had some cake, drank mass quantities of tea (as always), and enjoyed the sunny day.

Back home, my roommate, our friend Tara and I made our way to the country bar, Cowboys. Which, if I have to be honest, is one of the worst country bars I've ever been to. I'm a country lover, but the atmosphere of this place usually screams meat market, and is full of scantily clad girls who don't like country, but go there for the guys. Walking through the dance floor, a little too much grinding goes on. Eek. But thankfully, since it was the long weekend, it was not busy at all! Really, the only reason we went was because the guy playing, Larry Berrio, is well known for his nut-hugging jeans. My friends have been telling me about him (and laughing at the same time) for a couple years now. Our chance to see him came, and we couldn't miss it! Erin is convinced he strategically places a sock in his pants, which, real or fake, he proudly displays. So gross and so funny at the same time. I think he must have used ankle socks this time around though, as it was not as 'featured' as I have heard about....

Sunday was a bit of a write off. Slept until 11:00, went for breakfast, came home and slept until 5:00. Ahhhh....so nice. Had a little dinner, went for a campfire, came back and watched "The Last Kiss" (which I highly recommend, good movie!).

Monday was another spectacular day! We went out to the Pinery, a provincial park on Lake Huron, where we spent the day hiking and canoeing. I haven't had a day like that in years, it was so amazing!!! Here are some of the pictures I took.... There were so many trilliums in the bush, I didn't know they came in such a multitude of colours! I thought they were just white, but there were pink and purple ones too. So tempted to pick one.....hahaha....if you don't know, the trillium is the emblem of Ontario, and are illegal to pick~though I'm sure almost every kid has picked one for their mom at some point!!

Canoeing skills were put to the test....nearly tipped the boat. I can't even begin to explain how Tara and I switched seats in the canoe and that I got stuck under her legs cause I was laughing too hard and couldn't move...I hope no one was watching!!

And finally, a shot of me, being a tool....zipped my hoody all the way up and made my friends laugh...this move never fails! Don't judge me too harsh....

And now I can't wait for the Canada Day long weekend. Hopefully it will be able to compare. I think we are headed to Port Stanley. Though I think I will leave my zippy hoody at home, since we won't be alone in the woods where I can make an ass of myself.

Sorry, what tradition is that?

With Easter just around the corner, I am faced yet again with the facts that A) I am the only single child left in my family, which lead to B) I am the only child in my family who is always available to show up for holiday weekend dinners. And with the smaller turn out, my family has become less concerned with the traditions of the meal and such things that go around it.

While they express the solid point that as long as we are together, it should not matter what we do or eat (hello....holiday dinners without stuffing should be a crime), I still feel gypped. Just because I am the youngest kid, the single kid, I get the shaft! This Easter, my brother and Jen are not joining us for Easter due to the crazy assault on him, they are just laying low. Fair enough. My sister and Brian can not join us because they are working, can't argue that....ok I can, it's called book it off. So what are we doing? My mother, my grandparents and I are all meeting up at the restaurant where my sister and Brian work for an early dinner~so that we can see them. I say, if they can't bother to take the time to come and share in family dinner, I should not have to eat pub grub on Easter Sunday as a consequence!!

This means no delicious homemade pie, no custard, no little Easter eggs around the table. No belated birthday cake for me and my brother. No turkey, no stuffing, no green beans or creamy mashed potatoes. No gravy. I imagine I'll have a club sandwich and fries. Mmmmm. My mouth is watering.

What have I learned from this? That my siblings suck. If I were to call my parents or grandparents and tell them that I was not able to come home for a holiday weekend, they would be mad at me!!! Just because I am single, I am expected to be at their back and call!! Yet Nicole and Mike can get away with it cause they are married....jerks. So now I have learned that I need to be in a committed relationship so that when I dick off and don't attend a family dinner, I'll won't get guilt tripped.

Grrr.....the life of a single girl is not all it's cracked up to be. Damn family holidays.

It really was Luck o' The Irish

Well, many of you will be overjoyed to know that I won the St Paddy's Day desk decorating contest at work. Yes, my office gets overenthusiastic about such holidays, and we host competitions. Often we have potluck too....and my jello was a big hit, incase you have been wondering.

I was left to my own devises for decorations this time around. All the dollar stores between work and home were out of St Paddy's decorations, even tried WalMart and Giant Tiger!! Nothing!!! So I put on my crazy thinking boots, and came up with the following:

One giant rainbow made from construction paper
One 'pot of gold' ~ really, it was a kitchen pot full of yellow tinsel and golden baby potatoes ('cause that is just too funny!)
One box of Lucky Charms (I couldn't resist)
One Irish flag
One Blarney Stone ~ otherwise known as a rock my roommate keeps in her room
One toy snake
One print out on the history of Saint Patrick
A bunch of pictures of clovers
A green sheet to put it all on

It looks pretty spectacular, if I must say so myself!! Those judges were not captivated or fooled by the glitz and glamour of the other coworkers desks who acutally found decorations at the store. Creativity beats them all!!! And there was an educational value too, as I informed the judges about St Patrick and why we celebrate him.

You know....I get told on a regular basis that I am one of a kind.

I don't know if that is always a good thing.....

:)
M

Me and Saint Patrick, helping the masses

Ok, so true to my word, I found out the glory of Saint Patrick.

He was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland.

What a nice fellow!

He is also known for chasing all the snakes out of Ireland. Now really, as Ireland is an island that was seperated from the continent during the Ice Age, chances of snakes ever exisiting on the island is pretty slim (much like New Zealand--love that place!) Hence, the 'snakes' are merely a representation of pagan folk and beliefs, as many pagan cultures worshipped symbols of snakes. So....with conforming many pagans to Christianity, he got rid of the snakes.

And as for March 17, this is the day that is believed that he died. The Irish celebrate the good deeds he performed through religious observance and jovial celebration. This has been turned into green beer.

God Bless the Irish (well....and everyone else too!!)

M

PS...I found all this on www.st-patricks-day.com. It's actually a pretty cool site, full of neat info! :)

It's the Luck o' the Irish

With only four more days until St Paddy's day, I am already planning A) the dish I will bring to work on Friday for the St Patrick's day potluck B) the green outfit I will wear to work on Friday that is still work-worthy as our Board of Directors are coming to our office (eek) and C) the ridiculous outfit I will wear out on the real St Patty's day to the bar in Listowel (hee hee hee...see, I am behaving like I am 20, solid evidence right there).

My mom~being a Scottish lady and proud of it~says in disdain "I'm Scottish! Why would I celebrate St Patrick's day!?!?!?" and scowls when I say "But mom.....everyone is Irish on St Paddy's day!" She just doesn't get it. And she fails to remember that somewhere along the way, my Grandpa's heritage does have Irish in it. Not that this is my excuse to drink mass quanities of beer with green food colouring in it. After all, I am just one more person in the line who really has no idea what St Patrick's day is all about~I just want the green beer and to have a cute boy kiss me 'cause I'm Irish. (Oh, I think my great gran on my mom's side is spinning in her grave. As my grandma says to this day, she was spinning the day I was baptised Catholic....)

And now that I think about it, my nan on my dad's side was Irish. There we go.....I can officially be a proud member of the Irish folk. And my brother-in-law is Irish, so that must count for something too. Please line up the green beer.

I feel that in the next four days, I should read up on why the Irish (and so many other folk) celebrate St Patrick's day. Yup, this is how I'll kill some time between now and then.

And PS....I'm bringing in green and orange jello for potluck. After all....the theme is green.

:)
M