That's my story...and I'm stickin' to it!

Seems like this year's travel consists of a lot of little jaunts, a few days here, a few days there.
That's vastly different from my usual "take a month off and get out of Dodge" trips in the past. Wonder if that has anything to do with a changing perspective due to a change in careers?

In the olden days, I'd work solid, month after month, until I was totally exhausted, then take a month off and spend the first 2 weeks catching up, sleeping, reading, vegging. Only after that would I actually begin my vacation.

The last few years, I've stopped working myself to death for nearly a year, and then sleeping for a week before beginning to enjoy my vacation. I've learned to take better care of myself, and to do that on a daily basis, not just when I'm burnt to a crisp and cannot take another step.

Now, I am learning to take little breaks, a few days here and a few more there. It seems to be working! So far, in the past couple of years, I haven't felt completely wasted at all, and I think it is all due to mon petite vacations.

So far this year, I've taken a few days off to visit my son in Guelph and my granddaughter in Pembroke, Ontario. Next week, I've booked a few days away from work and I'm going to spend those days in Edmonton, helping a dear friend celebrate his 40th birthday. I'm also taking another friend to the opening night of the Edmonton Opera Society's HMS Pinafore, compliments of my now 40 year-old buddy. Five days off, not traveling very far, but a mini-vacation, nonetheless!

After these days off, I've planned a 5 day getaway in Vancouver, to attend my company's awards ceremonies and conference. I'll spend a few days visiting friends in the city, in between the conference have-tos and must-attends.

Toward the end of March, I'm going to enjoy a couple of weeks in Savannah, Georgia for a North American get-together with Slowtrav's lovely members. Slowtrav is the best site in the internet Universe, and it has been the source for most of the incentive and direction that I've used to make my trips and vacations take shape.

So, lots of little vacations now, rather than one big whopper.
I think I've actually learned something really important about feeding my soul, resting my mind and my body and caring for myself in a loving and gentle way. It's about time, I'd say.

"The alternative to a vacation is to stay home and tip every third person you see." ~ Author Unknown

Spanx...that little creation that has evolved from pantihose into footless pantihose, and now has morphed into bike-shorts-style power panties that control all of the wiggly bits and smooth out all of your lumpy bits, so you look fab in whatever clothing you are wearing at the moment.

I bought a pair today.
At J Michael's in Southgate.
I talked with my sales person about sizing, and according to my weight and height, there is a predetermined size for me.
I bought a pair.
Black.

I spent the better portion of 30 minutes trying to get them on, then trying to pull them up, then trying to pull them down, to keep them from rolling up at the legs and down at the waist.
I think they have a life of their own.

I thought maybe that being new, they needed a bit of breaking in, like too-tight shoes, which you should NEVER buy because they NEVER get properly broken in and you end up chucking them into the nether regions of the closet, so you don't have to look at them and feel that never-worn new-shoe waste-of-cash guilt every time they catch your eye.
I thought maybe...

After spending about 15 minutes walking around the house wearing them, sitting down on the sofa in them and having the legs roll up and the waist roll down, I think now that the size chart is off by a size and a half.
I need bigger Spanx!

Oprah claims to wear them every single day.
Really?
Really.
Either hers fit much better than mine or she's not coming clean with us, because no one in their right mind would suffer through an entire day wearing these little goobers, if they aren't a better fit than mine.

What to do, what to do?

I Googled Spanx.
I found the contact info and sent them a kind but steely and determined message, expressing my displeasure as well as my physical discomfort with their product. Time will tell if anyone responds to my plea for help...for a larger size...for anything but more suffering like the last 30 minutes of my over-stuff-edness.

Spanx.
Better get some.
That's what their legions of fans will tell you.
Hmmmmm, better get some, but in the right size, is all I have to say.

" ...don't worry, we've got your butt covered!" TM Spanx

The joy of being self-employed is the ability to take days off whenever I want. No boss to tell me I can’t take time off, no time card to punch and no accountability for taking the odd petite vacation.
Sweet!

So, here I am in Vancouver for a lovely 6 day break…albeit a conference for my company coincides with this trip. That legitimizes the trip, if legitimization’s necessary.

The hotel gave me a huge and spectacular 11th floor room, overlooking the harbour…wrap-around windows allow me to go to sleep with the night lights of the city casting a soft glow over the walls. There is even a floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall window in the tub/shower area…and, yes, I close the blinds before showering!

I’ve slept late in the morning, stayed up late at night.
I’ve spent the day with a friend, devouring a delish dill cream cheese/smoked salmon/watercress/onion and ground pepper panini at Thomas Haas’ little hideaway.
After the panini, we shared a perfect mango mousse cheesecake and a pear almond tart, finishing the meal with a large café latte for her and a steamed vanilla soy for me.

I’ve spoiled myself with a soothing hot stone massage and a perfect pedicure. I have a facial coming up in a couple of days. This is decadence for me…time for myself!
Time with no distractions to nibble away at a string of precious days off that I’ve carved out for myself.

Today, I walked along the seawall, found Cordera’s Seafood Café, and treated myself to a Seafood Wok with Fried Rice and a pot of green tea.
Tomorrow, I have 2 sessions that I will attend at the conference, then I’m taking the night off to have dinner with friends.

These are not huge and lavish things that I’ve done for myself. In my world, though, they are more than enough.

What a lovely evening!
Janie made the best lamb stew ever, Ann and Scott went to Thomas Haas for an out-of-this-world lemon lemon tart, I brought 3 glorious bottles of prosecco and Sheena and Terry provided the warmth of their home and the kindness of their family for us to share this lovely evening with each other.

Laughter filled the rooms, hilarity and innuendos flew about like lemon drops in summertime. Between Nigel and Scott's repartee breaking everyone up repeatedly, the beautiful squatters' delightful tales of hospital visits gone awry and Sheena's wicked sense of humour, I've laughed my heart out and my stomach is sore from all of it.

Once, during the evening, I excused myself, went upstairs to the bathroom, and after washing and drying my hands, I spotted a tube of Sheena's delish hand creme from her amazing store, At Home. I squeezed out a more-than-generous dollop, anticipating the soothing feel of the lovely stuff...only to discover upon spreading it over my hands that it was actually....toothpaste! Was that the prosecco? Hmmmm, I like to think not!

Before I knew it, time to leave...the evening reached an end all too soon for me. After sharing a perfect meal, some amazing conversation and soaking up a home full of love and laughter, I feel ready to take on the world. With lovely people like these in my life, what more could a girl ask for?

Friends...
We can all be a friend, if we're careful and loving.
We can all have a friend, if we're deeply blessed.
I have some fantastic friends.

One of these friends gave me the title for this blog.
She ends most of our conversations with these words..."So, that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!"
She's brave, funny, full of love and generosity.
She's my truth teller.
If something negative or confusing is going on in my life, I can trust her to tell me the truth as she sees it.
Most often, that's also how I see it.
Only through her words can I actually see the truth in it all.

Another very dear friend is the person I go to when I need clarity in my life.
When things look like everything's been jazzed up in a blender, I call her and she sorts through the sad tales that I share with her and she finds the golden nuggets in the center of it all, hands those to me on a silver platter and I'm back in the groove again.
I don't know how she does it, but it works for me, every single time.

With my money-conscious friend, I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about my money and my personal finances.
With lessons on RRSP's, GIC's and the TSE, I now understand the best way to take care of my finances and I can do it myself.
When I'm making little of something that has happened to me and it needs making much of, he will sing my praises to me in stereophonic sound and then shout, "Just OWN it!"
And, I do.

Friends are what God gives us in apology for some of our family members.
Friends make a bad day better and a terrible day bearable.
"My friends are my estate," Emily Dickinson tells us.
Wise words, and it couldn't be said any better.

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." ~ J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Favorite books...
I'm starting a new section in my blog.
I want to share my favorite books with you, dear reader.
Books that have stayed with me all of my life, comforted me in the depths of gloom and lifted me up to the sharpest beam of sunlight at high noon.

First, here is my heart-book...the book that I've read more than any other and that I read every couple of years, just because...

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

A long, hard look at the legend of King Arthur, from a woman's point of view.

Why do I love this book so much that I've read it every 2 years for the last 14?
Mostly because it's a ranting great read, but also because Marion Zimmer Bradley gives all of the women in her story their own set of balls!
Honestly, that's why I love it.

In most of the other Arthurian legends that I've read, and I've read most of them, the guys are the white and black knights in shining armour and the women sit around waiting for the guys to speak to them, kiss them on the cheek as they ride off to war, AGAIN; or ask the girls to make a decent meal and be right smartly, now, lass...pour the brave lad a glass of great ale.
Seriously.
How boring!

Ms. Bradley stirs the pot a lot and makes Morgaine and Morgause gutsy broads, and the ineffectual but ever-sought-after Gwenhwyfar becomes a strong and loudmouthed woman who tells her darling Arthur what a jerk he is, when he is being a jerk.

These women are real.
These men are real.
Not the fictionalized fairy tale characters of other legends of Arthur.
Real honest blood and balls people.
That's why I love the book so much.
That, and also because she writes the best damned fairy tale for adults that I've ever read.

"She turned her face toward the guesthouse.
Should she go there and breakfast with the nuns, speak perhaps of the old days at Camelot?
Morgaine smiled gently.
No.
She was filled with the same tenderness for them as for the budding apple tree, but that time was passed.
She turned her back on the convent, and walked down to the Lake, along the old path by the shore.
Here was a place where the veil lying between the worlds was thin.
She needed no longer to summon the barge...she need only step through the mists here, and be in Avalon.
Her work was done" ~ Marion Zimmer Bradley

Julianna Margulies as Morgaine in "The Mists of Avalon"

The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay...a trilogy consisting of the following fantastic books:
The Summer Tree
The Wandering Fire
The Darkest Road

Why do I love this series so much?
Mostly because it tells a intricately-woven story of 5 people from this world being taken to a parallel universe where they are desperately needed to fill the roles that have been crafted for them in
Its a simple story of a group of 5 Canadian university students, Paul, Kim, Jennifer, Kevin and Dave, who attend a seminar one evening in Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto.

They are there to hear a presentation by Lorenzo Marcus, i.e. Loren Silvercloak, at the Second International Celtic Conference. What they don't know is that they are about to be guided into a parallel universe, High Kingdom of Brennin, by Loren Silvercloak, a mage of that world, and his assistant, Matt Soren. While listening to Loren's talk, they are secretly being watched by a svart alfar, a creature of evil, that has crossed over undetected with Loren and Matt.

"Ostensibly invited to come to the other world as guests of the court for a celebration of the anniversary of the monarch's ascension to the throne, all five students quickly find that their roles in Fionavar are far more complex than they originally expected." ~ GGK's website

Sound a little too weird for you?
I also though that when I initially began reading this magical book for the first time. But, after reading a few chapters it became crystal-clear to me that this was no ordinary sci-fi/fantasy paperback. It is a deeply thought-out piece about the age-old theme of good and evil, light and dark, joy and sorrow.

I love the lios alfar and Galadan of the Andain...the mage Loren Silvercloak. I also love Diarmuid, Crown Prince of Brennin and the Mother Goddess, Dana.

I've been reading these 3 books over again every few years for about 20 years. This summer, I picked up GGK's Ysabel. Set in Provence, it's a lovely romp, AND as a delicious surprise, there's a tie-back to the Fionavar Tapestry that caused me to shriek with joy! To find that familiar touchstone secretly placed in another of GGK's books was like colour to the blind.

A fariy story for grownups, a long, languid read for the summer holidays...whatever it is, this series of Kay's is such a lush read that it begs to be picked up every few years...and I do!

" Riding the mad crest of that speed, the two men at the tiller fought to hold their course, their bodies taut with brutal strain.
And then, with no surprise at all, only a dulled, hurting sense of inevitability, Paul saw Lancelot du Lac grapple his way to their side.
And so, at the last, it was the three of them: Coll conning his ship with Lancelot and Arthur at either side, their feet braced wide on the slippery deck, gripping the tiller together, in flawless, necessary harmony, guiding that small, gallant, much-enduring ship into the bay of the Anor Lisen." ~ Guy Gavriel Kay in The Wandering Fire

My friends on my favorite travel site in this Universe, Slowtrav, have made a pact with each other to blog every single day for a whole month!
Holy crapshoot!
They are all guts and glory, these bloggers.
That's a lot of writing.

The thing is this. I'm not sure that I have that much to say that anyone would want to read.
Also, it takes a huge amount of time for me. My penchant for editing, rewriting and spell checking triples the time it takes to write a piece for my blog.
And then, what if I miss one day?
Is that a failure?
Will they throw me out of the blog-a-day club?
I'd hate that a lot!

Still, I wish I'd been in the front door when they started this, the 1st of February.
Maybe, I'll jump into the pond with them the 1st of March...what do you think about that?
Brave, aren't I?
Very.

Kiva...
Kiva.org
This is an amazing website...go there, loan a small amount of money to people in countries around the world who will have their lives changed by a bit of your cash...about as much as it costs for a movie and popcorn these days.

I first heard about Kiva on Oprah...the founders, Matt and his wife, Jessica were on the show with her and President Bill Clinton.

"Matt began developing Kiva with his wife Jessica in late 2004 as a side-project with while working as a computer programmer at TiVo, Inc.
In December 2005 Matt left his job to devote himself to Kiva full-time. As CEO, Matt has led Kiva's growth from a pilot project to an established online service with partnerships across the globe and millions in dollars loaned to low income entrepreneurs.
Matt is a Draper Richards Fellow and a featured blogger on the Skoll Foundation's Social Edge website. He graduated with a BS in Symbolic Systems and a Masters in Analytical Philosophy from Stanford University."

President Bill Clinton was talking about his new book, "Giving." The discussion turned to Kiva and President Clinton explained what it was about...I was hooked. This little organization has all the earmarks of a perfect charity for me:
~ All the $$$ goes to the people to whom you choose to loan money.
~ You receive all of the information needed to make your choices.
~ The $$$ to run the offices comes from a donation that you can choose to make while you are making your loan...a suggested 10% donation to Kiva is listed on the loan page and it is up to you if you send them anything at all.

I'd like to introduce you to one of my Kiva entrepreneurs...I loaned $25 to Hermelinda, who lives in Peru. She wanted $525 to start a small bakery in her own home. She applied to Kiva on January 1st, the loan was filled by all of us who signed up, again on January 1st, and she has already made payments back to us, totalling 17% of her loan amount!

"Hermelinda is a humble mother of two children, who since childhood has been very hard working, has held numerous jobs in order to get ahead, but upon seeing that the income generated did not cover her household expenses, she decided to create her own source of work. Therefore she renovated her home and installed a small artisan oven in which she makes a variety of breads to then distribute to the various little stores in her area.

The wish of this hardworking mother is to increase her production quantity and broaden her market in the city. In order to do this she needs a loan to purchase a large quantity of flour. Hermelinda promises to repay the loan in six months. This hardworking mother needs your support in order to prosper in her business." ~ Kiva website

This is a feel-good, can't-help-but-make-a-difference kind of thing...check it out! I bet you'll love it as much as I do.

"Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege."
~ John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Jerry was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business.

When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with whom to share his fortune.

One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away.
'I may look like just an ordinary man,' he said to her, 'but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars.'

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later she became his stepmother.

Women are so much better at estate planning than men.

I just arrived home from an interesting evening with a realtor, a lawyer and a developer from Mexico! I'm a realtor, also...so this was a walk on the wild side for me. These good people are hip-deep in a gorgeous condo development on the west coast of the country and I might have some clients interested in buying a condo or 3. This was an education session on life in that area of Mexico.
I learned so much!

I now know that the health care system in Mexico is fantastic, for the most part, and the stuff we hear constantly on the news only represents about 1% of the whole picture. The realtor's husband was in hospital for major surgery, spent 37 days there and was treated with kid gloves. She was so happy with the doctors and the nurses, and with the bill at the end of the stay.
Nothing.
Nada.
That's right, she was not billed a single peso above their own local medical insurance coverage.

We also learned a huge amount about purchasing property in Mexico...the rules and the law that guides a purchase. It's easier than I thought, but not simple as in Canada. Ther attorney that was present gave us loads of good information and advice. I think I'm actually becoming knowledgeable about this!

I have a few photos of the computer-generated interiors and an exterior front elevation drawing...I'll post a few for you!

Kitchen...

Dining Room...

Living Room...

Master Bedroom...

The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier.
Love it.
Totally.

The books are...
Daughter of the Forest
Son of the Shadows
Child of the Prophesy

I call this series fairy tales for grown-ups...this first book was published in 1999, and the series is based on the story of The Six Swans from Grimm's Fairy Tales. It has been re-told in many forms, including one by Hans Christian Andersen.

This book had me from "Hello!"
Marillier writes richly, leaving nothing to the imagination in her description of the countryside, the characters in this book and the variations on good and evil. Reading each page carefully, I could actually see the forest, feel the moss on the north side of the massive trees and walk the paths through the forest that the family have worn flat with their passing.

From cover to cover, each book stands alone as a book unto itself. Yet, woven together, the three books leave one breathless and spellbound, just the way a great fairy tale should. I felt 5 years old again, sitting on my Auntie Margaret's lap while she read me The Six Swans over and over again, until I fell asleep in her arms.

With grave hesitation, I chose the first book for my book club, because we have some members who have decidedly limited reading tastes. Anything outside of those comfortable boundaries causes their canoes to tip. So, I was more than a little skittish to present this book to them. Yet, they all loved it, and they all went out the very next day and bought the other 2 books in the series. So much for my hesitation being well-founded.

Get it.
Read it, then read the next 2 books in the series.

Marillier has already written Heir to Sevenwaters. It will be published in November 2008 in Australia and New Zealand, the USA and Canada, and the UK.

She is currently writing Heart's Blood.

"In my story I sought the human dilemmas at the heart of the fairytale, for such tales have at their core the most wondrous and the harshest of human experience, the best and worst of human behaviour.
Honour, trust, courage, true love.
Treachery, betrayal, cowardice and hatred.
They amuse, shock and reassure us. They make us laugh and they make us cry.
Their innate truths touch a chord deep within us and they show how subtle are the margins between the tangible world and that which is ever present, but forever Other. Most importantly, they awaken in us a sense of wonder, a recognition of the mysterious patterns of being - the spiral dance of birth, death, rebirth." ~ The Author

I've not learned how to post a link on my blog, yet...so in the meantime, while I'm looking for the instructions, here's a great blog by and for authors~
http://writerunboxed.com/

I love the Oscars.
I love them, love the red carpet pre-Oscar show, love seeing the gowns and the tuxedos, the hair and makeup. I love it all!

I've been watching Oscar for years. I have so many memories...
I remember the streaker who ran out behind David Niven!
John Wayne was heartbreakingly ill when he presented the Oscar for Best Picture in 1979.
Barbara Streisand's see-through pant suit was not that see-through. I still don't know what the fuss was about.
Cher knew how to sock 'em to the establishment...great costumes, both times!
Sally Field discovered we really loved her.
Julia Roberts enjoyed the feeling to the ultimate!
James Cameron really felt like the "King of the World.
Jack Palance pushed up a bunch of times...what a guy.
Cuba Gooding was so thankful.
I laughed and cheered as Roberto Benigni seat-walked across the rows of chairbacks to get to the stage!
Sacheen Littlefeather picked up Marlon Brando's Oscar.
Rob Lowe certainly cut the rug with Snow White.
More funny moments than I can remember from Billy Crystal and Robin Williams.

I'm sure there will be many more memorable and hysterical Oscar moments in the future...I'm looking forward to next year, already.

"John Wayne made his last public appearance on the April 9, 1979 Oscar telecast. Before announcing the Best Picture winner, he spoke to the assembled, 'Believe me when I tell you I'm mighty pleased that I can amble down here tonight. Oscar and I have something in common. Oscar first came to the Hollywood scene in 1928. So did I. We're both a little weather beaten, but we're still here and plan to be around a whole lot longer.' " ~ Oscar website

CBC has a cool little video that the programmers insert at the end of any TV program to fill in the space til the next program begins, to educate us about the beauty of our wildlife, flora and fauna, and the necessary protection of that wildlife.

Those video inserts are called 'Hinterland: Who's Who.'

Here's a little satirical look at those video clips. This is called Hinterland: What's What.
Enjoy!

There are 10 of us.
Vastly different in life experiences, often different in beliefs, thought processes and life skills.
The one commonality is our love of books and our ability to suspend our differences and spend an evening talking about our lives and finally, at long last, about the book we've just read.

One is a stay-at-home mom who is also a fantastic day home owner. I want to be a child in her home sometime down the road, if reincarnation is a reality. No one loves her little charges more than this woman. She's thoughtful, kind, open-hearted and as loving as all get-out. She chooses deeply personal books for her selection when it's her turn to choose. Every single book she has brought to us has been chosen because it has touched her heart or soul in some profound way. This woman finds the best in every situation and unequivocally looks for the roses in the garden, rather than the thorns. She shows us how to be a little bit more optimistic and a little less of a little grey cloud in the sky.

Another member is a funny, outspoken, irreverent and point-blank woman who can rock your socks with a great raunchy story or put you in your place with a well-honed word. She's lovely to look at, smarter than she knows and is the most amazing mother to her children. She often brings her book of the month to our meetings, looking a little less than it stepped directly from the shelf at Costco. The edges are limp, the pages curled...she's dropped it in another steaming hot bath! She always selects a book that has wound its way into her heart, and she wants nothing more than to share it with us in the hope that we will all be touched as deeply as she has been.

Our next book lover is younger than the rest of us and has been in our group only for a few months, but already she has had a profound impact on the energy in the room. Lively, enthusiastic, smart as anything...this woman has all of the energy and none of the negativity that so many people carry within their hearts. She is a delightful person and she's managed to change the interaction of our group with her presence. With small children at home, her hours for reading must be a precious few. Yet, she finds time to devour a good many books in a short amount of time, so I know she is setting aside book time for herself, somehow. When this woman chooses a book, she looks for something a little different, a little outside the norm, something with an edge to it.
Something designed to make us think, to stretch our imagination a little bit more. And, we do!

To be continued tomorrow...

"Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes." ~ John LeCarre

My book club is made up of some varying and widely-diverse women. I'd like to introduce you to 3 more members...

One woman has been a member of our book club since the beginning. A brilliant woman, an incredibly gifted artist with a careful and thoughtful mind, she adds a different dimension to our group. When it is her turn to speak about the book of the month, she always gives a well-though-out commentary, with references to the storyline and with very definite opinions on what the author might have intended and why the author may have chosen this way of delivering the message to the readers. Well-read and emotionally connected to her soul, she more often than not shines a light on the emotionality of the book, something that the rest of us may have missed.

Another member of my book club wears a lovely and hard-earned badge of courage on her sleeve...surviving breast cancer not once, not twice, but now well into her third time, this lovely soul is a role model and an inspiration for all of us. Her very healthy sense of self translates into a deeply-felt and firmly-placed spirituality. There is no stone that she won't turn over in search of an answer to any question that life raises for her. She brings a healthy skepticism to our group and her silver-quick wit is present at all book discussions in our group. With no punches pulled, she can slice to the heart of the story and serve it up in a crystal clear form for us to digest.

Another woman who has been a member of this club since the beginning is more than willing to read any book chosen, even though she has her own beloved and favorite authors. When she is handed a book that is outside of her usual reading circle, she more than willingly gives it a try and more often than not, comes back to share with us how much she loved it. Besides her love of reading, she often shares her love of quilting with us...creating a beautiful piece of hand quilting gives her as much pleasure as reading a great book. With a wonderful sense of humour and a strong personal opinion about most things in life, she's a delightful and integral part of our group.

To be continued tomorrow...

"I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage." ~ Charles de Secondat

This young man may walk away from the pack. He's spectacular!

I found this delightful comedienne in an e-mail form a friend. She makes me laugh, every single time I watch her! Hope you enjoy her portrayal of life!