As I start this blog, I have no idea what I will be writing about, but I feel the need to write one having just looked at the view count on my site and realizing that it has had 340 hits! Unless one of you checks it dozens of times a day, I obviously have more followers than have identified themselves as public followers, and frankly, I’m kind of flattered. Thank you for reading…I hope it has been interesting, and that it stays that way. And I hope that each of you buys a copy of my book when it is out!!!
I spent last night at the Hawk Rocks the Park concert in Harris Park featuring Shane Yellowbird (hottie), Aaron Pritchett (also a hottie) and Big & Rich (just awesome) with Cowboy Troy (huge AND a hottie). The concert is a fundraiser for the Bethany’s Hope Foundation which supports research into Metachromatic Leukodystrophy which is a very rare and incurable condition affecting children and the Foundation is able to contribute tens of thousands of dollars to this cause each year thanks to this concert series. So needless to say, I felt terribly guilty knowing that I got my tickets for free from one of the sponsors! I’m sure I’ll be making a donation to them soon to make up for this. (By the way – if any of you ever need a mortgage broker, I owe mine a favour for this rocking night, so let me know and I’ll pass on his info. He’s awesome!)
The concert was a lot of fun, and I find myself having trouble moving today thanks to 5 ½ hours of standing and dancing, but just as much fun as the music was the people watching. I’m an avid people-watcher, and places like outdoor music festivals are awesome for this because they bring out such a huge cross-section of people. There were an awful lot of young people there, which I wasn’t expecting, but many of them seemed to be true country fans singing along to each song. They were also the most generous offering everyone around them, including grandmas and children, puffs off their marijuana joints. Who says kids these days have no manners? These guys were perfect, slightly mellow, gentlemen.
There were also a lot of older folks, many dressed to the nines in their country finery. You can tell the folks who attend country concerts all the time by the number of country pieces they have in their wardrobe. Apparently the thing to do is to wear them all at the same time, as evidenced last night. Wow. Some people have some serious styling issues. It was all good fun though, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. And I must admit I regret not buying the adorable looking cowboy hat I tried on. Next time, I will not talk myself out of it. I have to fit in after all.
For my husband, the most exciting part of the evening was getting a prime parking meter beside the park which allowed us to pull right out while everyone else battled their way out of nearby lots. He’s very proud of it, so I thought it was worthy of mention here. And it sure helped to be close as the path out of the park is all uphill and we were already feeling pretty old by the time we got to the top. The trip was, however, made much more enjoyable by the more than slightly intoxicated guy behind us who was carrying a stolen 5 foot by 5 foot Molson Canadian sign, promising his girlfriend that she could sit down once they got to Solid Gold, which is a local strip club. But not before he stopped to sing along with the guy on the side of the road who was busking for change, and then offering to sell him the stolen sign for $5. Ah, it takes all types, doesn’t it? Good times.
This was a great kick-off to a week of vacation bliss which we are starting into. It’s supposed to rain every single day of our vacation…not sure what’s up with London weather this summer…but since the plan was to get as much R&R as possible, this may not be such a bad thing. In fact, it’s currently Saturday at 6:30pm and I have yet to get out of my PJs. I consider it impressive that I had a shower today, even if it was only 2 hours ago. This is the kind of vacation I love, and that I desperately need. I hope this week doesn’t go too fast!
Well, time to get back to writing the novel now. If I keep going at this rate, it should be finished by the time I retire. But before I do, I would like to offer a movie suggestion. I don’t do it often, although I have offered a couple already on this blog, but I think the message of this movie is one that everyone can appreciate. The movie is called One Week and stars Joshua Jackson from Dawson’s Creek fame. It’s a Canadian film, and not a wide release, so be advised the actual filming quality is not the greatest (at one point you can tell the camera is filming through a car window while it’s raining out) but the story is moving and without telling you too much about it, if you have ever found yourself wondering if you are on the right path, this movie will appeal to you. It’s available at your local video store. If you watch it, let me know what you thought.
And if you take nothing else away from today’s blog, at least remember this….Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
I'm back
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new blog. It seems writing a book drains all the creative juices! I think this is going to be a long, slow process.
I decided, however, to take a break from the never ending novel to talk about a few things, but mainly, I want to feel like I’m accomplishing something. Despite writing a little every night, my masterpiece is far from being anything I should be calling a book. It’s more like a few pages that have changed focus, direction and even font over and over. I wonder if this is how Steven King or J.K. Rowling start their novels? I certainly hope so because I’m aiming to have their success one day!
A lot has happened since my last post…and most of it, for me anyways, seems to have revolved around death. I lost a friend last week - one who I now regret not staying in closer touch with. It always amazes me how it takes something drastic to make you realize that you should have done more. Should have emailed more, responded to Facebook statuses more, attended events you were invited to. This isn’t the first time I’ve wished I was a better friend, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. All I know is that he was a great guy, and is gone much too soon. And I should have been there.
A few celebrities were buried in the last weeks too. I’m sure I don’t have to mention their names, but I hope they are all at peace. But more important to me was another funeral which, as weird as it sounds, I feel privileged to have witnessed. There was a young Ontario Provincial Police officer killed in a motor vehicle collision last week, Alan Hack, 31. He had been an OPP officer for just one year, and was to be married in August. His funeral mass was held at St. Peter’s Basilica which is right near my office. He was given a full police funeral, and I have to admit, our entire office was glued to the window in awe as we watched 2000 police officers from all over North America stand at full attention, lining the busiest street in London. The procession was led by the Police Pipes and Drums Band playing Amazing Grace (guaranteed to make me cry every time), and was truly the most moving thing I have witnessed in a long time.
It is a shame that it takes a tragedy to make us realize how precious life is, and how incredible it is that there are citizens who are willing to put their lives in danger every day just to make sure that we’re safe. I did not know Constable Hack, but I certainly appreciate what he did to protect the community. And I feel for his fiancé. I cannot imagine the pain she is feeling, and will feel on what should be her wedding day. I hope the outpouring of support from the policing community helped to comfort her. I know it had that effect on me.
On a lighter note, I am on the two week countdown to a week of vacation! I have never felt like I need a vacation more than I do right now. Unfortunately while I would love to be preparing for an exotic trip, or a weeklong hideaway somewhere, this year we will be enjoying a ‘staycation’. The plan is to visit a different beach every day, in order to trick ourselves into feeling like we are going somewhere. Sounds lame, I know. But we plan to make it as nice and peaceful as we can so that hopefully we will both go back to our busy seasons at least a little bit recharged. It’s going to be a long autumn otherwise!
It’s hard to believe that August is just around the corner. It promises to be a fun month for a couple of reasons. The first and most obvious is that it’s my birthday, so how could that not be fun? And it’s my 35th, so I feel like it’s a mini-milestone birthday. Age means nothing to me, but when I recently realized that I will no longer be able to check the 25-34 age category on surveys, I have to admit, I felt a little lump in my throat.
The other reason is that my cousin is getting married, which is always exciting. I love weddings and don’t get to go to nearly enough of them for my liking. Sure they’re pricey…you need new clothes (well, I do at least), new hairdo, hotel, gift, etc. But weddings are so romantic that I think they’re worth every penny! And they afford the opportunity to dance which, frankly, I don’t do enough of. I’m not good at it…in fact I’m pretty bad…but its fun and let’s me feel like I’m young again. And since we’ve just confirmed that I am about to be old, I’ll take anything I can get!
So that’s my life in a nutshell right now. Hubby is having a hard time getting used to the new, creative me that spends hours at the keyboard trying to get something literate and somewhat entertaining out. It’s not an easy process, and I spend a lot of time allowing myself to be distracted by other things hoping that they will inspire me. But in the end, I know it will be worth it, if only for the purpose of making me feel more like the person I know I am.
Who am I kidding…it will be worth it when all of you are saying you knew me when…LOL. A girl can dream…
I decided, however, to take a break from the never ending novel to talk about a few things, but mainly, I want to feel like I’m accomplishing something. Despite writing a little every night, my masterpiece is far from being anything I should be calling a book. It’s more like a few pages that have changed focus, direction and even font over and over. I wonder if this is how Steven King or J.K. Rowling start their novels? I certainly hope so because I’m aiming to have their success one day!
A lot has happened since my last post…and most of it, for me anyways, seems to have revolved around death. I lost a friend last week - one who I now regret not staying in closer touch with. It always amazes me how it takes something drastic to make you realize that you should have done more. Should have emailed more, responded to Facebook statuses more, attended events you were invited to. This isn’t the first time I’ve wished I was a better friend, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. All I know is that he was a great guy, and is gone much too soon. And I should have been there.
A few celebrities were buried in the last weeks too. I’m sure I don’t have to mention their names, but I hope they are all at peace. But more important to me was another funeral which, as weird as it sounds, I feel privileged to have witnessed. There was a young Ontario Provincial Police officer killed in a motor vehicle collision last week, Alan Hack, 31. He had been an OPP officer for just one year, and was to be married in August. His funeral mass was held at St. Peter’s Basilica which is right near my office. He was given a full police funeral, and I have to admit, our entire office was glued to the window in awe as we watched 2000 police officers from all over North America stand at full attention, lining the busiest street in London. The procession was led by the Police Pipes and Drums Band playing Amazing Grace (guaranteed to make me cry every time), and was truly the most moving thing I have witnessed in a long time.
It is a shame that it takes a tragedy to make us realize how precious life is, and how incredible it is that there are citizens who are willing to put their lives in danger every day just to make sure that we’re safe. I did not know Constable Hack, but I certainly appreciate what he did to protect the community. And I feel for his fiancé. I cannot imagine the pain she is feeling, and will feel on what should be her wedding day. I hope the outpouring of support from the policing community helped to comfort her. I know it had that effect on me.
On a lighter note, I am on the two week countdown to a week of vacation! I have never felt like I need a vacation more than I do right now. Unfortunately while I would love to be preparing for an exotic trip, or a weeklong hideaway somewhere, this year we will be enjoying a ‘staycation’. The plan is to visit a different beach every day, in order to trick ourselves into feeling like we are going somewhere. Sounds lame, I know. But we plan to make it as nice and peaceful as we can so that hopefully we will both go back to our busy seasons at least a little bit recharged. It’s going to be a long autumn otherwise!
It’s hard to believe that August is just around the corner. It promises to be a fun month for a couple of reasons. The first and most obvious is that it’s my birthday, so how could that not be fun? And it’s my 35th, so I feel like it’s a mini-milestone birthday. Age means nothing to me, but when I recently realized that I will no longer be able to check the 25-34 age category on surveys, I have to admit, I felt a little lump in my throat.
The other reason is that my cousin is getting married, which is always exciting. I love weddings and don’t get to go to nearly enough of them for my liking. Sure they’re pricey…you need new clothes (well, I do at least), new hairdo, hotel, gift, etc. But weddings are so romantic that I think they’re worth every penny! And they afford the opportunity to dance which, frankly, I don’t do enough of. I’m not good at it…in fact I’m pretty bad…but its fun and let’s me feel like I’m young again. And since we’ve just confirmed that I am about to be old, I’ll take anything I can get!
So that’s my life in a nutshell right now. Hubby is having a hard time getting used to the new, creative me that spends hours at the keyboard trying to get something literate and somewhat entertaining out. It’s not an easy process, and I spend a lot of time allowing myself to be distracted by other things hoping that they will inspire me. But in the end, I know it will be worth it, if only for the purpose of making me feel more like the person I know I am.
Who am I kidding…it will be worth it when all of you are saying you knew me when…LOL. A girl can dream…
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