Today is......

....the boy & I's third anniversary.

In honour of the momentous occassion, let me just say, that sometimes it pays off to ignore your better judgement and take a leap of faith. Some people would say jumping into a move-too-fast-rebound-relationship-with-your-complete-opposite-whome-you-met-in-a-bar is a bad idea. I would say I'm thankful that I'm too dumb to listen to people's mostly sound advice.

Mostly, I am thankful he doesn't read my blog so that I can post stuff like this.



HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

My friend Jenn....

....asked me what my best find was on Friday's Goods Exchange Day.

I was about to tell her I found a brand new hamster cage and accompanying accessories (including a detachable hamster maze!) when I realized this made me sound ready for a starring role on an upcoming episode of A&E's "Hoarders".

I do not have a hamster.
I have no intention of acquiring one.
I don't know anyone who does have a hamster.
I don't even like hamsters.

I opted to lie and just tell her my best find was a bunch of cd's. Sorry Jenn.

So for work.....

.....my boss is making all the announcers record their very own, spooky Halloween i.d. (a little snippet of audio that goes in between songs) to run on the air this weekend.

In mine, I have to say, "This is Jamie 'Jekyl & Hyde' Johnston. From all the undead at Mix 106.5, Happy Halloween!"

All this is fun and cute...except that we have to record them in character. By that I mean, we had to try to do a spooky or scary voice. I despise doing character voices, as our producer can attest to. I rarely do impressions or accents because....well, because I can't.

As a result, my "spooky" Halloween read sounds more like an 80-year old smoker suffering from emphysema.



Update: You know you want to hear it:

http://www.gabcast.com/gc1/index.php?a=pub&id=32939

Have I mentioned.....

....how much I love this little guy already?



I also have an unhealthy obsession with his teeth & how his tongue hangs out of his mouth when he sleeps. I realized this when I began downloading photos off my camera and there were a series of no fewer than 8 close ups of this.

Maybe someday I'll get a life. Until then......

Some good news.....

....to share on a Friday!

1. Today, it's basically Christmas-come-early for the boy & I. Today in OWen Sound is Goods Exchange Day!!! Also known as Giveaway Day, tonigh ti sthe night you place your unwanted, but still useable, items out by the curb, and scavengers like me come by and pick them up. I never would have thought this is what my life would be like. And then I moved to Owen Sound.....

2. I just discovered they now serve oatmeal at Tim Horton's and this made me way more excited than it should! I love Tim Horton's coffee.....but I have always found it hard to find something remotely healthy to eat there in the mornings. I was thrilled a few weeks ago when they introduced the breakfast wraps on whole wheat tortillas...and then I remembered how dismal tasting their breakfast sandwhiches are, and I figure the wraps won't be much better. But they now serve maple oatmeal as well as oatmeal with real mixed berries.

3. I saw snow this morning! Not on the ground, mind you....just on a few cars, and they must have come from out of town. But it was still pretty exciting!

4. The other night we stopped at our local covnevience store because I decided I wanted a can of soup. We stop there quite frequently and since the boy insists on talking to everyone in his path, he's become quite chummy with the couple that own the store. Anyways, the wife had been ver ysad to learn about Lola, and insisted that I take a fall mum home with me. I argued with her, telling her I couldn't accept but she insisted....and in the end she ended u psending me home with two HUGE fall mums for free! I almost felt bad taking them but the woman said she wanted to get rid of them all before the frost. So if you are looking for a great deal on fall mums, go to Daisy Mart ion the west side of Owen Sound. The plants are gorgeous and they still have tons of different colours and styles!



Have a great weekend everyone!

I have it pretty easy.....

....at home. The boy pre-makes my next day's lunch each night before we go to bed. Lats night he informed me, "Your lunch is ready. It's a bowl of soup and leftover antihistamines."

He means antijitos. I don't bother correcting him anymore.

I have spent a good......

.....few hours over the last few days researching purchase options for a particular promotional item I am really hoping to get for the stations.

I have fielded numerous long distance phone calls from all over Canada & the U.S., I've have sent out many email inquiries, I've passed hours in meeting with various co-workers to discuss the benefits of purchasing said item and scoured the Internet for different makes, models, and pricing options.

I really want a t-shirt cannon.

Looking back, I really never thought 2 years of college and 10 years into my career I would ever be saying those words.

Once again....

...I have completely ignored the advice of about 75% of people I know. After we lost Lola, we were strongly advised not to "run out" and get another dog in an attempt to fill the void. And in fact, for the first few days after losing her, the boy and I could not even fathom owning another dog ever, let alone in the near future.

As I've said before, losing Lola, was for me, losing my child. I don't have kids...and she was my little girl. We knew we'd never replace her, and even if we did try, as she was the funniest, most charming dog I've ever seen, we would have failed miserably at even coming close.



My heart was broken and while each day got a little better, I still cried over her on a daily basis. I miss her terribly, and would give anything to have her back....

....but I decided to go with my gut and heed the advice of a few others who, while in the minority, were die-hard pet parents like myself. They understood what we were going through and knew that while we can never replace Lola, we could certainly do what we needed to do to try to fill the giant hole she left in our lives.

Meet Oliver (Ollie). Ollie joined our family on Friday night.



I know not everyone will agree with our decision to get another dog so quickly. But it's a testament to how much we loved having Lola around that we simply could not imagine our life without a little French Bulldog in it.



While many people have said he looks just like Lola, I see a completely different dog. Which is good. He's a totally different personality (i.e. he's a handful...that isa nice way of saying it).



He's a lot slower and more clumsy than Lola. He sleeps way more. And when he does, his little tongue hangs out. It's really cute. At least his momma thinks so.



His eyes are really far apart, which gives him a "slow" look as the boy says. I think it's just endearing though.



I cried on the way home after we picked him up. A mixture of still missing Lola, and holding a puppy again for the first time. But also because I was so grateful we had this little guy coming to our family.

If he's half as happy as Lola was he'll be one spoiled boy.

We just got cable.....

....re-installed on Saturday after a few-months long without. I don't know what I was thinking trying to go without TV. Good lord.

I am an idiot. A few months ago, I decided to switch from Rogers to our local cable provider (who we also have our phone service through). I knew they would be cheaper. Plus, I like to shop local when I can. The phone service has been great so I thought the cable option would be great too. And I thought I might get a deal with a bundle.

Anyways, I called our local provider and left a message explaining what I was wanting to do. Then I immediately called Rogers and told them nicely to disconnect me. A couple day slater I still had not heard from the local company so I decided to check ou ttheir website and get our service hooked up online....only to be met with a large notofocation on their homepage that they do not yet offer cable to our area.

WHAT HAD I DONE?!?!?

Now, we could have signed back up with Rogers fairly simply, but our bill would have been EXTRA high due to having to pay a full reconnection fee, plus the remainder of our final bill. And since I work in radio, I am poor. So we waited.

I was proud of us for managing so long without cable. But I'm certainly not going to expound the virtues of living a television-less life. We read alot, but no mmore than we usually do. And being that we are always on a tight budget, it's not like not having tv at home made us get out anymore than when we did have tv. We don't watch a ton of it, but for us, TV is a way to relax in the evenings. We can sit on the couch and snuggle with the dogs and just be entertained. And I can always fal back on the age-old excuse that I need to keep up-to-date on timely events due to my particular field of work (thank you Pop Culture 101 for opening my eyes to this excuse).

Anyways, long story short, we now have cable again. Thank sweet Jesus. And the best thing about it so far? Sister Wives. That show is CRAZY. If you've never seen it, it's about a Polygamist family in Utah (it airs on TLC). The boy & I both watched hours of it last night. That's right, I said "hours". If needed, here is where you can point out the fact that I need to get out more. I won't argue.

Something I'm passionate about.....

...and something I hope you will watch.

I had a hankering....

...to write a posting on headgear. Why, you ask?? If I knew the answer to this question it would probably explain a lot. It's just how my brain works.

Remember headgear? I do. Because my parents opted for the cruel & unusual torture of agereing with my orthodontist that I should be required to wear one of these contraptions for 2 whole years of my life. That's right. Everyone know someone who had to endure this. I was that kid. Oh, did I mention I didn't get off easy with the 12-hour a day deal? Nope, mine was to be worn 24 hours, 7 days a week.

You know, most pre-pubescent, gawky 11-year old girls don't have fragile enough self-esteem as it is, without having a monstrous metal device envelopping their head.

Anywho, I went through an entire box of old photos last night looking for a single photo of me wearing this device. (See, I'm not shy, I was willing to share). Well, the hour I spent going through an entire shoe box of photos was fruitless. My parents apparently took zero photos of me between the ages of 11 and 13. Most likely due to the headgear itself.

My new goal is to try to find a headgear-clad photo of yours truly.

Hang tight everyone.

I thought I should let you know.....

....that there are only 73 days til Christmas!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving....

.....with lots of laughs, family and food. It was much needed after the horrendous week we had in our house. The weather was gorgeous, hitting the 20 degree mark most days and tons of sunshine. The boy & my Dad got to spend some time golfing. I came across the scorecard in my dad's truck later that afternoon and while he golfed very well, the boy had stopped keeping track of his score on about the 15th hole.

We had not one, but two great dinners, some drinks and lots of laughs. Oh, and it wouldn't be an Owen Sound Thanksgiving without a little bit of beer-can hockey.



Afterwards (and after the aforementioned drinks), my dad came to see me to inquire if we were ready to hit the road and head home to our place. I told him both the boy & I were indeed ready to call it a night, and he said he was going to get tell my stepmom to get ready to leave. Now, I'm not sure what ensued in the next five minutes....but by the time the boy and I got out to the road to get in the truck, we were just in time to see the truck's tailights peeling around the corner at the end of the street.

It's not possible my father & stepmother left without me is it? Could they have forgotten their daughter? On Thanksgiving? When the temperature was about 2 degrees and we were blocks from home? When they were spending the weekend as guests in my house?!

The boy offered an optimistic suggestion. "Maybe he's just goin garuon dthe block to get the truck warmed up for us."

Alas, this was not the case. The boy and I went back inside, made ourselves a couple of to-go drinks and hit the road. In the dark. In the cold. On Thanksgiving night. Me wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a thin cardican. Oh, and flip flops.

Upon arriving at home, my parents were nestled cozily on the couch, woodstove roaring.

The worst part was, my step mom took the time to rememeber to grab the bottle of wine I had brought to dinner, but she forgot her own husband's daughter. Sheesh.



Note: I wasn't actually mad. If anything I admired their sense of priority. What can I say?

Growing up in Ottawa......

....there was just a certain way of speaking that I became accustomed to. And I should point out, I actually grew up outside of Ottawa, in an incredibly small town. No streetlights. One convenience store. One bank. One grocery store. One gas station. One public school (no high school).You get it.

But still, when I moved to Owen Sound, I was exposed to a whole new dialect.

This morning, while in the car with my mother-in-law, the following two phrases were uttered within a span of about 4 minutes; "Freeze the balls off a brass monkey" and "Jesus Lord love a duck".

In all my twenty-plus years in Ottawa, never once did I hear anyone actually use these expressions. But it's also one of the things I love about where I live now.

Ok, today is a new day....

....and each day is a little better than the last.

The house is still too quiet and I miss my little peanut so much it literally hurts my heart. I still can't talk about her without crying. And I can't listen to the boy talk about her either without wanting to curl into a ball. I miss her huge ears, and her sweet little lips and her round tummy. And I miss how noisy and energized she made the house. You would think with three other dogs at home we wouldn't notice a difference. But we do.

Last night I framed a couple of pictures of her and put them up on a shelf with the plaque JR made me.

And I go out every morning to see her in the backyard. I was bringing her a treat every morning but then I realized Molly was sneaking back there and eating them so I had to stop.

My sister-in-law sent me a messgae through my blog this mornign that made me laugh and cry at the same time.

"Lola looks very special that's for sure.
She was definitely lucky to have you and I'm sure lived her life to the fullest.

Abner told me he's been communicating with her through the wind. Her little spirit lives on! Even down here on the beaches!I'm sure she is enjoying her afterlife with all the other little ones... including Maddie!

Love to you! and Sorry for the loss.
Christina"

When I started....

....writing this blog last year, I made a conscience decision to try to keep it positive. Sometimes sarcastic or mean....but never whiny or depressing.

Today that is going to be a challenge.

When I came to work this morning my goal was not make it through the day without breaking down sobbing at my desk. It really freaks out my co-workers. Fortunately, none of the guys who work at the desks surrounding mine have shown up yet, because I've already failed. Twice. And it's not even 9 a.m.

On Sunday, I lost my little girl Lola.



For any of you who know me, or read my blog, you know my unhealthy obsession with my dogs. We have 4 of them. That alone indicates a slightly off-kilter compulsion if you ask me. Well, multiply that obsession by about 10 times, and you will come close to understanding my feelings about Lola.

The boy got me Lola as a Mother's Day gift in 2009. She was just a puppy. And she was the last of 4 dogs we have taken in. Much to the chagrin of the first three, she fast became my favourite.



I have no qualms about admitting that I crossed the appropriate owner-pet behaviour line multiple times a day. In the past week for instance, I've said each of the following statements to the boy:

-"I could look at her all day long. I never get tired of looking at her." (To which the boy replied, simply, "You are sick Jamie.")

-"I just love her so much. She is going to live forever. I know it."

And wait for it folks, here's the kicker:

-"I hope if I ever have kids that I love them as much as I love Lola. I'm not sure that I could ever love anything as much as her." ("Ok, we are so never having kids then." - The Boy)



This is the same dog who came everywhere with me, who owns more clothes than the Boy and the 3 other dogs combined. The same dog who I literally held in my arms all night, every night. The same dog who everyone of my family, friends and even perfect strangers fell in love with upon laying eyes on her. The same dog who had such a huge and sweet personality has made it nearly impossible to be in the house now because I can't stand the quiet.



The same dog who spent her last day going for a long drive with us through the backroads. Who met a bunch of people she'd never seen at garage sales we stopped at and who soaked up all the attention she could from perfect strangers. The same dog who pooped in the backseat of the car the one time we did leave her alone for a few minutes. The same dog who didn' tget in any trouble whatsoever for doing this because she was so cute and loveable she got away with pretty much everything. (The boy and I both agree that if there was something we could do, some trade we could make to just get her back, she would be allowed to poop all over the house for the rest of her life if it meant this weekend had never happened). The same dog who snuggled in with us as we slept in on Sunday morning. Who got us both to suck her up and she rolled around on her back, trying to be cute. Who got to curl up and nap in front of the woodstove. Who wrestled with the cat and her 2 brothers until I yelled at them to please stop. The same dog who got countless kisses in her last few hours.



Lola was not my dog. She was my little girl. She gave off so much love, and charm, so much sweetness and cuteness, so much personality, that there was no way she could have lived to be an old dog. And the only way I can explain why what happened happened, is to say that she was too good to be true.

The boy had this made for me yesterday as a surprise. I had no idea I could spontaneously erupt into tears that quickly.



To my little Lola, my peanut, my angel.



P.S. Thanks to my brother & Christina who made a donation to the Owen Sound Animal Shelter in Lola's memory. The shelter has promised to use the money to go towards saving another dog who needs it.

A summary....

...of my evening so far.

-Nap
-Leftovers
-Returned a ceiling fan
-Back to work at 6 p.m. (after already working a full day)

Up next? A 9 p.m. trip to Walmart to scope out paint samples and peruse the women's section.

It's a big Friday night in the city of Owen Sound folks.

What's happened to my life?

(I say that simply to make you think I'm not totally excited about my impending Walmart stop. Did it work?)

Have a great weekend all.

So we've been....

....giving away tickets to see Mickey Rooney at the Old Roxy this weekend. I would have thought a Hollywood legend, coming to a small town would have been a big draw. But tickets are going slow. Possibly due to the $70 price tag.

To be honest I was a little shocked to find that Mickey Rooney was still alive. I have fond memories of him from my choldhood, due to the fact that he used to appear on one of my favourite shows from my pre-teen years. I couldn't even really be sure I didn't make this sho wup in my mind, but thanks to Wikipedia I know this is not the case: 'There was also a television series called Adventures of the Black Stallion which aired from 1990 to 1993 and starred Mickey Rooney and Richard Ian Cox."

Anywho, Mickey Rooner got me thinking about one of my true favourite Hollywood living legends, Anthony Hopkins. Ok, I should just admit it...I might have watched Legends of the Fall again the other day. That might have been Viewing #1634 of that particular film. TRowards the end, when Anthony's character who's had a stroke, pulls a rifle out of his ragged old bearskin coat and blows away all the corrupt lawmen who have come to kill his son??? Ugh, it gets me everytime.

I tried to find a still from this scene in the movie to post here, but apparently not as many people are a huge fan of this movie as I am.

And then yesterday, while I'm on the topic of Hollywood legends.....I learned another of my favourites, Tony Curtis, had died. My love for Mr. Curtis is based solely on two facts. One, he starred in one of my favourite movies of all time, "Some Like It Hot" along with Marolin Monroe & Jack Lemon. This movie will always make me think of mt grandma and watching it over and over and over again at the cottage for a few summer sin a row, until I knew everyword to everyone of Marilyn's songs.

The second reason I loved Tony Curtis is a little more complex. I was partially named after his daughter, not-quite-legendary actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Then, only yeasterday I learned that Tony Curtis' real name was Bernie Schwartz. And that instantly took away a whole lot of what was left of my 80's namesake glory. Oh well.

R.I.P. Tony.

I have been.....

....smoke free for just over 3 months now. Shouldn't I get a pin or something?

Congratulations.....

....to Meesh! Can't wait to meet her in person!