Keeping up with the times

We had a bit of a storm yesterday and around midnight last night, we saw the town cutting some branches off a nearby tree.  Parts of it must've fallen into the road.  It's a gorgeously sunny day, but actually windy and cool.

K's friend called this afternoon to get the name of his hairdresser, as he's not happy with his current hairstyle and thinks he just needs a good cut!  These kids make me laugh.  K was on MSN for an hour and a half last night with this girl until he got tired.  He explained that the beauty of text messaging is that you're not tied to a laptop, it's with you everywhere you go.  I think we definitely have to keep up with the times.

L is depressed that her hero Rafael Nadal was upset at the French Open today.  M has always liked Federer and hopes he can get a chance to win a French Open title.

I'm anxiously awaiting menopause, but my mom went until about 56 years old and I have a feeling... meanwhile, I'm dealing with a hormonal headache that calls for some Advil painkillers.

News

Fla. priest who left Catholic Church preps sermon

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Great Uncle

Main Street is busy on weekend afternoons at this time of year. I've been noticing so many women carrying Coach handbags, they are popular. On my walk today, I passed by a wedding party being photographed. Yes, the summer bridal season has started. There was another set of limousines further down the road.

K has been exchanging a lot of text messages with this girl from school the past few days. I just told him he has to stop because he doesn't at the moment have a free text messaging phone plan. He told me two of his friends have girlfriends, so this must be his new girlfriend. I'm surprised he'll even tell me her name.

Quite a few of L's friends have been getting their driver's licences and some actually have cars now, so they are becoming more independent.

I was at the bank the other day and instead of free coffee, they had a lemonade dispenser. It's something they do in the summer months and the teller says it's quite popular when the weather gets warm.

M's niece gave birth to a baby boy on May 28th, so the family is ecstatic. That would make M a great uncle!



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Doctors advise: skip the flip-flops this summer - I love wearing flip flops all summer

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A nice strong run, followed by a cigarette? Attitudes toward health illogical, survey says

Bathroom's Finished

The bathroom was finished today! Yay! Hope you enjoy these pictures.

I've been watching a few episodes of 'Jamie's school dinners' starring celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. It's wonderful how he's changing the eating habits of school children in England. In last night's episode, I heard that after 5 weeks of healthy meals, the kids have experienced a dramatic change...they seem more focussed, are better behaved, healthier and happier. How amazing is that. In another episode, I remember one little boy saying he had never had a salad before!

News

I'm not afraid to dye (my hair)

Crowning our 'best brain'
- Neuroscience 'Bee' puts Toronto student to mind-bending test

A Bit of Romance

So I went for my first massage today at the spa. I had to remove any jewellery I was wearing and take off all my clothing before lying between some sheets. Then the masseuse rubbed me down with a small amount of fragrant oil. It felt quite relaxing as she told me interesting bits about her life. The main thing being that she met her current husband via Lavalife, the online matchmaking service, no kidding. So they met March 6 a few years ago, and moved in together March 9, some 3 days later. They got engaged 9 days after that and were married this past February mostly because her husband wanted to. He had never been married whereas she had been divorced.

She said her girlfriend is also getting married to someone she met through Lavalife. However, it took her about 5 or 6 blind dates before meeting Mr. Right. It seems a lot of people will send in pictures of their friends instead of themselves. One guy used a picture from 20 years ago and in reality he was in his late sixties and obese. My masseuse says she asked to meet someone 7 years her senior while her husband had pretended to be 5 years younger than he really was, with the intention of meeting younger women. It turns out she's just a year older than he is, so it all worked out. It was her first blind date and his 7th. He had decided the 7th would be his last try. He recounted one of his dates was little more than a prostitute and he was incredibly turned off by that incident. Apparently on that site, you can go directly to that kind of thing and avoid the relationship section if that is your intention anyway.


On an abrupt change of topic, I found some interesting information from the 'Frugal' news story in my 'News' section:

'Spending philosophy.

Frugal millionaires are unique thinkers when it comes to spending money: 1) they can easily delay their need for gratification when purchasing; 2) they are resourceful in getting what they want by carefully timing their consumer purchases; 3) they make living below their means painless; 4) they don't like wasting anything (especially money); 5) their sense of "self-entitlement" is highly minimized: and 6) spending is OK with them...depending on what they are buying (think: appreciating vs. depreciating assets).'



News

How to Spend Like a Frugal Millionaire

Thrift without misery

Dolores Hope celebrates her 100th birthday

Archie Finally Proposes To Veronica

Give your body a brain boost

The Teen Years

I heard on the radio this morning that Britney Spears had $350,000 worth of plastic surgery recently, liposuction, breast lifting and that kind of thing and that she now looks fantastic. She is also exercising and eating well. But the announcer mentioned she smokes too. She's so young, you wonder why she would need plastic surgery to look and feel her best. I have an aunt that must be close to 70 that has had a few minor things done, which would make sense.

M suggested I make spaghetti and meatballs today, and somehow I left the pasta boiling for 30 minutes, instead of 10. It seems to be ok and I think K likes it soggy anyway.

L interviewed at her school for a prefect position for next year. She does well in interviews because she is one of those that can think on her feet as opposed to being rehearsed (like me). She seems to be really good at coming up with suggestions for improvement of processes. The interviewer actually said he was writing down one of her suggestions. I'm impressed with her attitude going in. She has sized up the competition and knows the chances are already slim as there are certain people with a reputation, or political connections that will automatically win positions. (Just like working life) But she figures she might as well go for it, and at the very least, she knows she tried and at best, she could get lucky.

K seemed more interested last night in what he should wear to the school semi-formal than in mastering algebra, so what else is new! These are the teen years.

News

Palestinian crime novels key to happiness -
Welsh writer quit Time magazine to pen books in popular sleuth series

Blustery Day

Some spring colour
More spring colour

It's an unpleasantly windy day, today and I suspect everyone's under-dressed due to the past few, milder days. I'll be in my windbreaker for the rest of the day. All of a sudden the trees are fully leaved and the first blossoms have turned into the beginnings of fruit.

I spoke to an instructor at the gym this morning. She's been sidelined for months with a tendon injury. It seems the only cure for that kind of thing, is to rest it, and exercise when you can. She said it didn't help that she was mis-diagnosed with plantar fasciitis at first.

Our bathroom is still not finished as the contractor had to start another job while he was waiting for our tub faucet to arrive. He's trying his best to work on 2 things at once, but it's hard. Oh well, I've no doubt it'll get done, although there are always a million little things to do at the very end.

News

Spanish granny dubbed 'world's oldest blogger' dies

Decaffeinated Coffee: What Are You Really Drinking?

Observations

The other day I saw this woman at a convenience store. She was nicely, casually dressed, carrying a large Coach handbag and wearing Birkenstock sandals. She was buying a handful of assorted lottery tickets...then she pulls away in a sports BMW. Hmm. I guess who couldn't use a few extra million dollars and it's a form of entertainment too. Lottery tickets are for everyone!

K had a nice time at his friend's birthday party last Friday night. This friend's mom passed away from cancer about 4 years ago, and I have to say, it seems they've turned the corner lately. The dad's girlfriend helped at the party, and he's been seeing her for over a year now. K says his friend smiles and laughs a lot these days, where before, he never did. They'll be just fine as life goes on. One of their teachers at the time the mom passed away still keeps in touch with the family, to the point of even occasionally tutoring the boy. I remember her saying that the mom had asked her to look after her son and it looks like she's keeping her promise.

Went to church yesterday morning. They published their annual statement and it looks like they are breaking even for a change.