has anyone seen my sidewalk?

or better yet....has anyone seen my dog? the white one? he went outside with the brown one and I just can't seem to spot him in all that freakin' snow! can we talk - COLD? -45 C. oh you will get varied reports....-36, - 44, -27 but - 35 with the wind chill. whatEVER! it is cold! and I lost sight of my sidewalk. I saw a woman trudging through the snow this morning in a long coat and she looked tired. I mean really tired of trying to walk through all that snow. my heart of hearts told me that she was not out there for fitness. no. she probably had no other option. and so I bundled up with my baklava, 1998 warmest jacket ever, my super dee duper polar tech mitts and my runners! gasp! I have no snow boots! none! and I shoveled a trail. a small snow shovel sized trail from the back door to the front sidewalk and up and down the city sidewalk. now when she is done school or her shift at work and she is on the way back home she has a path. ta da! good deed for the day - CHECK! and I have a steamy cup of hot chocolate cause hell knows I ain't going out there to buy snow boots today! although I may go look for that dog....

smile!

so I literally found out by accident that my passport needs to be renewed and so I start the paper process. kinda like when you go to give blood. the usual questions:

have you traveled to a foreign country and visited a farm? (does "U.S." count? and what about "Old McDonald"?)

did you hide liquids in your carry on? (hide? no they were there you just didn't look)

two names of people who would vouch that you are alive and kicking and have known you for at least two years and in the event of your arrest would come and bail you out and are not a member of your family? (this one took a few phone calls, bribes and begging!)

and then comes the kicker! yeah! they want you to take in NEW photos! Gasp! It is the same damn thing as getting your new driver's license and costco card. SMILE! the pictures never turn out good. not even somewhat good and you have to have them for the next five years. so I have all my papers ready and am going to go get my photos taken when it hits me! do I want the "growth" that is coming out of the side of my eyebrow coupled with the "growth" coming out of my chin to be on my photo for the next five years? I think NOT! so I called to see if they do touch ups and after a few giggles and snorts I was told "no". sigh....so no photos till my skin clears up and no passport.

which brings me to this:



which Laurie and I made on "aRt TuEsDaY". we each did our goal pieces on canvas. splashed paint, stamps, doodling, collage and put it on there exactly what our goals are for the year. it was meant to be a morning project and we ended up taking it into the afternoon. it was a lot of fun. we made sure to include our word for the year. mine is "LIVE". my main goal is to slow down. just enjoy each moment and not worry so much about the little stuff. try to reduce stress and relax my mind and body. I am a fierce multi tasker and have come to the conclusion that in doing so I am not any further ahead and in fact in some cases am behind. so here is to turning off the noise and popping a happy pill. now go check out Laurie's blog and see her piece.

I have been told that my photos are dark and I NEED a new camera. this is not news to me people! thank you kath and Laurie! I am embarrassed to take my camera out in public! so hey! Valentine's Day is coming...just sayin'

why?

or better yet....why not?

N: omg! (checking e-mail)

M: what?

N: ahhhhhhh!

M: what?????

N: american express front of the line tickets!!!!!

M: for what?

N: BON JOVI!!!!!

M: you have to wait at least twelve months before you get to see him again!

N: why?

M: because I said so!

N: you are just scared that THIS time he will take me away for real!

M: yeah, that's it!

here is what I know for sure....(today)

"18 km and I feel great!" we shouted when we arrived at the door. of course who were we fooling. it was friggin' cold out there today, but we did it, got it done, and so.....here is what I know for sure:

this feels real good great! ouch!

and this is what we will be doing....with a little help from my friend:

tgif!

that does not really apply to my life as I don't work a m-f, 9 - 5 job. thank goodness! I love my life just the way it is! here is the latest on paper adventure 08. and poses the question "what's next? which is funny because of this. which only makes me think of six degrees of separation. which leads me to this. and then it ends. okay maybe not six degrees or whatever, but here it is:



and a little shot of the dog who fought the snow and LOST!:

odds and ends and bits and bites

crazy, crazy day yesterday......should have been the Jones soda fortune from Monday. here is what has occurred in the past 24 hrs.:

ran 10 km - best time we had in the past three weeks (1:15) and set a new goal to do 10 km in 1:00 by the end of the summer - woop!

had coffee with my running buddies and got my new running jacket with our groups name on it! SA-WEET!

talked to a lawyer regarding this and found out that my bon bon went to visit him at the hospital and presented him with a guitar signed by the band. which just proves once again that he is the most amazing man! like there was any doubt?

off to work where I find out that my crazy friend who has had issues with her knee since her last marathon went off and ran the disney marathon. there she was beaming from ear to ear with a big honking medal around her neck. so happy for her and quite shocked as she barely trained. unreal!

and then for the real shocker. a co-worker of mine was arrested for stealing. still can't believe it is true. so sad.

today? yeah, well....so far we ran 4 km and dropped the car off for new tires. walking home and one block away my cell phone rings and it is the tire place calling to say that my car is ready for pick up. ya gotta be frickin' kidding me! I decided to put my feet up for a few minutes before I head back out into the storm to pick up my car. and yes people to me it is a storm! snow is falling and cars are sliding all over the place. storm!

and to top it off I have this little guy go and make my day!



and I find out about this. not only can she run 10 km and talk the whole time, but she also takes beautiful photos.

and it is only 11:30 am!

"ART" Tuesday report!

baby book for new baby "Hayden Thomas Alain Watson - DONE!



that makes 76 in our family now! WOW!



my word banner is complete and hanging where I can see it and remember to do it!



week 2 - DONE! I know I still have week 3 to do! week 2 was hard, but in a good way! forced me to really think .....and that is always good!

tonight was my first class. I was actually able to produce some decent letters. do I mention that we worked on five letters? an A, a L, an O, a N and M. great teacher and good times with my girl.

off to bed. up early tomorrow for 10 km and coffee afterwards with my running buddies.

say whaaaaaaat?

you had me at hell - NO....

they almost got me....almost. cute little bra tops and yoga pants, upbeat music, bright colored turbo sculpting gloves.....help! she is giving them to ME! for FREE! and that's not all! help! the turbo slim eating plan! omg in 10 days I can lose 10 lbs., 10 inches and a heck of a lot more than $10.00! $365.00 value for only 4 payments of $19.95 + s&h! BUT if I call now! right now! she will take off one payment and IF I call now! right NOW! free express delivery! help! only 2:23 left to call.....omg! I need to go and get MY.....chocolate bar, give my head a shake and sit my ass back down on this couch. whew! that was close!

certain souvenir?

don't forget to check this out today. been busy with ma, pa and the uncle visiting from Italy. I was doing my usual daily blog read this evening and when I came across Elise's blog it hit me....

my dear uncle came across the "perfect" souvenirs for la familgia back in Italy....you know, the cousins, the second cousins, the boys! ear/nose hair trimmers! no freakin' kidding! it appears that back in the homeland they are quite expensive and here they were a steal! of course the 20% coupon was only valid for "one" item. my mother says she is heading back to the store to see why in the hell he didn't get 20% of each trimmer. please make them stop! LOL! I can just picture it now...hey bepi how was your holiday? oh fine, you know, (cause this is something all Canadians say!) cold, you know, nice. picked you up a little something. a small souvenir. ta da! one for you Luigi, and you Mario, Alessandro, Giovanni and don't think I forgot you Angelo! LOL! oh yeah, he bought FIVE! I'm sure they will be gathered together at the local coffee bar oohing and aaahing over their new trimmers. I'm sure that a crowd will form to see what the ruckus is all about. ooooohhh where did you get those? how much? and finally WE will be able to sleep at night knowing that all the hairy nose/ears of my italian relatives are trimmed up! aaaahhh...nighty night!

here's to an inspiring NEW year!

some of the things that are inspiring me lately:

1. paper adventure 08

and my journal:



and my page:



2. the best me challenge....just found this blog. love the idea of writing a "want to do list" instead of a "to do list". I love lists! LOL!

3. one word....last year my word was "BOLD" and boy was I! LOL! this year I
picked the word "LIVE"

4. got paint? love Emily's style!

5. reading room and it's "FREE"

6. rev it up! tons of delicious things!

and in other news the race/run today went very well. very well aka I finished upright and smiling! LOL! saw tons of people and gave tons of hugs. all in all it is a reminder of why I love to run. the fresh air, the conversation, and let's not forget the jiggly butt busting benefit! LOL! tomorrow 10 km bright and early and here's hoping the wind will stop blowing! brrr! supposed to be -20 C tonight!