May 31 2009
April 8, 2009
A while back Facebook had a popular note that many of my facebook friends wrote that was basically 25 random things about yourself. I have to admit that I read a lot of them, but I never wrote one.... until now!
1. I'm getting married in just over 2 months, which is still somewhat strange for me because for a long time I thought I would never get married.
2. I don't think I'm a very picky eater. There are definitely some things I would prefer to eat over other things, but, generally speaking, I will eat pretty much any food. Except raisins. I despise raisins. They are vile and they are pretty much the only thing I absolutely refuse to consume.
3. I'm a terrible speller, although I am now much better than I was when I was younger. I use spell check at least one a day.4. I love animals. When I was little I thought I would be a veterinarian when I grew up. I can deal with illness/death in people if I have to, but even the thought of the death of one of my pets is enough to reduce me to tears in about 10 seconds. Stories of animal cruelty on TV make me want to cry or vomit.
5. If I could attempt any other profession, I think I would try being a writer. I'm a good writer and the art of the written word comes easily to me. It always has. I have been toying with the idea of trying to write a novel, but I am starting to fear that years of scientific writing is slowly killing my creative writing ability.
6. I have run a 1/2 marathon. It took me 2 hours and 25 minutes. I still run a little, but I no longer have the time to commit to long distance training.
7. I love to play soccer. I didn't start playing until I was in my early 20s though, so I'm not very good. I am terribly envious of people who started playing soccer as children - I envy their skills.
8. If I could go back and start my post-secondary education over again, I think I would go into pharmacy. However, after 9 years of post-secondary education I think I'm done for a while.
9. I'm not very sentimental about stuff. I'm not a person who would keep something I would never use just because someone gave it to me, or because it used to belong to my grandmother, etc.. That being said, I do have a few prized possessions that I wouldn't give up for the world.
10. I'm a terrible housekeeper. I'm trying to improve in this area.
11. I don't watch a lot of TV. I can't commit to following certain shows because I'm not home many evenings. I do, however, own the entire series of Sex and the City, Corner Gas, and The Sopranos on DVD. I was also very addicted to Battlestar Galactica when it was on the air.
12. I grew up in a small town in rural Saskatchewan. By small, I mean 600 people small. While I'm 99% converted to a city girl, there are things about living in a small town that I miss immensely.
13. I love popcorn.
14. I play the piano. I have my grade 8 from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
15. I need to be nicer to people some times.
16. I worry about everything. All. The. Time. I'm a very anxious person.
17. I've been to Australia, England, Scotland, France, and most of the US. I have learned that while not everyone in this world speaks English, they all pretty much speak Visa or Mastercard.
18. In Canada, I have been to every province except Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and PEI. I have never been to any of the territories, although I would love to go.
19. I am a very light sleeper. Because of this, I'm a very vivid dreamer. It is not unusual for me wake up furious or sad, and to have hints of those emotions stay with me all day. This makes for some awesome wedding anxiety dreams. So far, my favorite is when I dreamed that the Queen was boycotting my wedding although the rest of the royal family was coming. My mom was really pissed with the Queen.
20. I've curled since I was a kid. I still curl, although not competitively. I could watch curling on TV for days at a time.
21. I believe in ghosts, but I would be terrified if I ever saw one. I'm afraid of things I can't explain. This is probably why I do science for a living, because in science you explain everything.
22. I also believe in aliens, but I would be terrified if I ever saw one. We can thank years of TV and movies that portray aliens as beings whose only goal is to blow up earth for this unfounded fear of mine.
23. I suck at taking care of plants. I generally can only be enticed to responsibly care for a plant if it's going to produce something that I will eat.
24. I don't really care for heights, especially when there is no rail to keep me from falling over the edge.
25. I have a very good relationship with my family.
March 17, 2009
February 15, 2009
February 14, 2009
It definetly wasn't my first choice for Valentines Day, but it was fun, fairly inexpensive, and Ian enjoyed it (the most important thing, of course). I had a good time too, although a beer greatly enhanced my viewing experience.
January 22, 2009
It all started back in 2007. The NDP was in power here in SK and they implemented a new program called the Graduate Tax Exemption (GTE). Basically this meant that anyone in SK who was awarded a degree, diploma, or certificate received an additional $10 000 tax-free income every year for 5 years after graduation as long as they stayed in SK. I finished my Masters of Science in 2007 and thus qualified for the GTE for the tax year 2007. Sweet! I have substantial student debt from my many years in school and any tax break I get helps me pay that debt off.
In October of 2007 a provincial election was held and the Saskatchewan Party was elected as the new governing party. They honored the GTE program promised by the NDP for 2007, but as of January 1, 2008 they changed the GTE to the Graduate Retention Program (GRP). Basically the GRP allows people who have recently been awarded a diploma, certificate, or undergraduate degree since 2006 a tax break for up to 7 years based on the amount of tuition they paid when they were in school. Sounds like a decent deal, right? Did you catch the magic word that's making me so angry right now? That's right... undergraduate degrees only. Advanced degrees (ie, Masters degree and PhD) don't qualify.
So basically the current Government of Saskatchewan is working to retain graduates of certificate, diploma, and undergrad programs but telling everyone who earns a graduate degree that they're not required. Feel free to find employment in another province!
I'm truly baffled by the Governments logic on this one. Do they think that people with graduate degrees don't deserve tax breaks because employers start throwing huge salaries at them the instant they leave school? Hmm, that didn't really happen to me and by the way, I know several people with undergraduate degrees who make substantially more money than I do. Maybe the Government feels that people with graduate degrees just aren't worth retaining. Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, Government of Saskatchewan. I'm sorry you feel that people who have the determination and ambition to earn an advanced degree are not worth retaining.
I realize that some people who read this may think "Hey Apathetic Bride, I didn't qualify for any type of tax break when I was done school because I graduated before 2006. I don't see what you're complaining about, at least you got a tax break for one year." You're right. I did get a tax break for one year. I will sorely miss that same tax break this year as it really helps pay down my student debt, but that's not really what angers me about this situation. It angers me that the Government of Saskatchewan feels it necessary to cater to graduates of other worthwhile programs, but completely ignores graduates of advanced programs.
Screw you, Saskatchewan Party!
January 20, 2009
My car is the blue one, by the way.
January 19, 2009
Still, I'd go nuts if I was stuck inside Walmart and couldn't figure out how to get myself out of there.
January 18, 2009
Hey Winter, we're all quite ready for Spring to show up!
January 5, 2009
The original recipe can be found here, but I added portabello mushrooms and I cut down on the onion. I also added a couple of tablespoons of salsa onto the tortilla before I added the veggies and cheese.
December 26, 2008
Our Christmas was pretty good this year. Unfortunately Ian's Dad was supposed to come and stay with us from Christmas eve to Boxing Day, but he decided last minute not to come because it was so bitterly cold he didn't want to risk travelling. With wind chill, we've been experiencing temperatures as low as -57C almost daily since mid-December out here on the prairies. It sucks. Big time. Anyway, we spent Christmas eve with Ian's mom and Christmas day with my family.
Santa was extra good to me this year. He brought me a new set of kitchen knives (and they're awesome!) and a fancy new watch (which means I can finally ditch the $50 Walmart special I've been wearing for the last couple of years). Ian bought me a funky new bag with a dragonfly on it and a gift card to my favorite store so I can get some badly needed new work clothes.
As an extra surprise, my brother and sister in-law annouced they are pregnant! Due July 24, 2009 which means at least one very pregnant lady will be at the wedding. Here's hoping we make a decent auntie and uncle!
December 11, 2008
December 8, 2008
Other benefits to Ian being gone include hogging the bed and the remote. Those are really the only benefits I can come up with. Mostly I just miss him terribly.
December 6, 2008
This sucks. I hate Murphy's law.
December 1, 2008
I'm happy to tell you that Ivy has been feeling much better lately. In fact, after I took this picture of her she spent about 10 minutes chasing her shadow and destroying the blankets on the couch for fun. Also, she's been peeing in the litter box again! Hooray!!! It's nice to have her back to her old self again, mostly.
November 30, 2008
I'll try to do better.
November 20, 2008
1. There's a new song out by Lady Gaga called "Poker face". In the middle of the song, the singers voice is computer altered and I think she's supposed to be saying "poker face" but it sounds an awful lot like "fuck her face".
2. In the song "Bad Girlfriend" by Theory of a Deadman, they censor out the words "ass" and "fuck", which doesn't really surprise me. They also censor out the word "dick" from the phrase "my girlfriend's a dick magnet", which I find strange because "...going down on me in between the sheets" is allowed in another song that's currently getting a lot of airplay.
3. Christina Aguilera has a new song out called "Super girl" that has the lyrics "some days I'm a super bitch". Some days they censor out "bitch" with a weird cartoon hammer sound but other days they let it fly.
November 9, 2008
We went to the CFL Western semi-final yesterday (Riders vs Lions), where I got this shot of the two biggest douches in the CFL - Wally Buono and Rob Murphy. This was right after Murphy shoved the Lions defensive coordinator onto the field and laughed in his face.
In case you hadn't heard, the Lions won. Boo.
November 8, 2008
October 29, 2008
This is the winning pumpkin this year - conjoined twin pumpkin babies. I am not even remotely creative enough to come up with an idea like this, so I always end up carving a generic jack-o-lantern. Needless to say, I pretty much never win (but I always have a great time).
October 21, 2008
October 20, 2008
I've never been so close to a heron before. They are endangered in Saskatchewan so you don't see them very often. Apparently they are quite common in North Carolina.
I learned two things: 1) herons are beautiful
2) catfish are really ugly.
October 19, 2008
Rather than bore you with the minute details of my trip, here's a list that sums up the important stuff:
1. Workshop for work = awesome. My brain at end of workshop = mush.
2. North Carolina has the worst radio stations I have ever heard in my life.
3. North Carolina has some of the friendliest and most polite people I have ever met.
4. The accent amused me greatly. It can only be described as 'southern lite'. I got called dear, darlin', honey, and hun many times.
5. GPS for your car takes some getting used to, but it's really handy when you're travelling alone and can't read a map and drive at the same time.
6. Downtown Raleigh is pretty boring. It reminded me of downtown Regina.
7. Duke University campus is beautiful, but crazy busy when there's a football game on.
Overall, it was a good trip. I'd go back in a second.
October 8, 2008
October 1, 2008
Here she is telling her arch-nemesis, a neighbourhood cat who lives a couple of doors down, to get the hell off her lawn.
September 28, 2008
When I first looked a this picture, I thought 'that's funny, I didn't notice that the picture on the wall was so crooked. Hmm.' Then I realized that the entire photo is crooked, probably because I took it when I was sitting on the floor while drunk.
September 27, 2008
My hair stylist curled my hair since she didn't have an appointment right after me and had some extra time. It's been about 2 years since my hair has been curled, mostly because I'm too lazy to curl it myself and it takes a ton of hairspray for the curls to stay for longer than three minutes.
I noticed for the first time today that my stylists last name is 'Shearer', which is the most perfect name for a hair stylist I have ever seen.