The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic games are starting soon.  This Friday actually.  And although I’m in Ontario and they are taking place on the opposite side on the country in British Columbia, it’s still in MY country nevertheless.  And I’ll tell you, we’re all full of pride and excitement.  And hope.

Hope that we win lots of medals.  Hope that we kick ass in hockey.  Hope that there’s enough snow on the ski slopes (which is proving to be a very valid concern).  Hope that something disastrous doesn’t happen.  Hope that – for God’s sake – Canada doesn’t screw it up.  Because as capable as we Canadians are, we do suffer from a certain lack of self-confidence.

But this Friday, once that Olympic cauldron is lit, there will be no looking back.  The event we’ve been planning for so long, will finally be here.

In preparation, the Olympic Torch Relay has been underway since October 30/09 when it arrived in Victoria, BC.  Since then, it has been all over the country.  Literally.  By the time the Opening Ceremonies begin;

• the relay will have spanned 106 days
• 90 per cent of Canada’s population was within a one-hour drive of experiencing the Olympic Flame
• it will have traveled over 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles)
• 12,000 people will have had the honour of being an Olympic Torchbearer

The torch did pass directly through The Only Girl’s town back in mid-December.  Unfortunately at about 6am.  And oddly enough I was fast asleep at the time and failed to catch a glimpse.

But this Friday I will don my red Olympic mittens (which are the hottest trend in Canadian fashion right now because almost everyone is wearing them around here) sit in front of the TV, and watch as my country puts on it’s fanciest party dress and plays host to the World.

With my fingers crossed.

I hope you’ll join us.

Are you planning on watching The Games?  If so, which events are you interested in seeing?

Item #1

In spite of my complete indifference to Twitter (remember this post?) I have now signed up.  Yes, that’s right – I caved . . . but allow me to explain.  I will NOT be tweeting my day to day boring life.  No – that would be far too painful for all of us.  I have set it up to automatically tweet my blog posts because, as the awesome Surferwife explained to me, some people follow their favorite blogs in a Reader (one central place to follow all your favourite blogs at the same time without have to click all around the Internet going from site to site.  Great if you follow more than 5 sites per day), but many others follow them via Twitter.  And since I’m all about the convenience, I’m just trying to help you Twitter-ers/Twits (?) out.  You can find me at TheOnlyGirlCher.  Tweet!

Item #2

Okay people – I’m only going to say this once.

TAKE DOWN YOUR GOD DAMN OUTSIDE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!

It’s the end of January.  Christmas is over.  Garland and red bows are no longer acceptable.  Neither are reindeer on your front lawn or having your Christmas lights on.  I don’t care what you got going on inside your house, but the outside does concern me.

The only exemption I’m giving is to those of you who have gone through much effort to install strings of lights at great heights.  Of course these are not easy to remove and may be left in place till next year as long as they are not turned on.

Okay?  Nuff said.

Item #3

Scoman did a whole spoof on the old “What shall we do with a drunken sailor” tune the other day, but to you I ask “What shall I do with a cheeky misbehaving 6 year old?”

Honestly.  I’m at the end of my rope.  I don’t know where he gets his defiance or his cheek.  His older brother has never had either.  Which is probably why it’s so frustrating to be dealing with now.  Well, that, and the fact that he has a face like an angel that just doesn’t seem to mesh with his devil personality that pops out more and more frequently.

If you have any discipline ideas that actually work for you – PUHLEEZE – and I’m begging here – share them with me.  I’m at my wits end and am considering moving out.  If we don’t get his behaviour in check now . . . his teen years will surely kill me.

Okay.  That’s all for today.  I have a special posting surprise for tomorrow that I’m uber excited about . . . no hints.  You’ll just have to wait.

Today we will continue with pictures from my recent Mexican vacation.  No, not pictures of me frolicking on the beach or Willie after doing a few Tequila poppers.  No one should have to see either of those.  No, today I will be featuring interesting things I saw on our travels.

Let’s start with the reason you should always have someone help you put sunscreen on your back.  You just can’t get it all yourself.

Or the crabbiest dessert I saw all week.

I did feel very safe at our resort.  They had a 360 degree Mexican surveillance system in place at all times.  Look closer.  There.  Up on the roof . . .

Those guys really kept an eye on things.

Apparently this pattern was really popular in the swim suit industry this year.

In fact I think these girls were surprised to see that even guys were wearing it.

And here’s my favourite sign.  I always thought “never give up” was about determination, but I’m really glad to know that it’s actually about shopping.

Okay.  That’s it for the vacation pictures.  Tomorrow we will return to regular posts.  And hopefully regular bowel movements too.

Okay -  I’m back from my vacation.  I’m tanned and I’m relaxed.  And yes, my Mexican Lover satisfied me all week the way no other can.

We had a really great time.  Especially the boys who made many friends, and never sat still.  Whatever energy was sucked out of Willie and I while we lazily sprawled on our loungers was clearly transferred to them.  Water polo, beach volleyball, hide & seek, beach soccer, tennis, swimming, mini disco . . . I was exhausted just watching them.

But the vacation is officially over and both work and school resume today.  Sucks.  And if I never hear another baby screaming on an airplane, it will be too soon.

I considered posting a detailed account of our week, complete with dozens of pictures, but really, who cares.  Instead, I took a few pictures you might actually find entertaining.  You see, when Willie and I go away, we like to give other people at our resort nicknames.  Maybe they remind us of someone back home, or a celebrity, or they have a particularly distinguishing factor.

Like for instance this young guy – who we secretly called “Bad Idea” all week.

Or this lady, who was bestowed with the name “Carrot Top” – for obvious reasons.

Then there was the Mexican Taylor Lautner.

And this guy – known as “The Hunter” because we never saw his full face the entire week.  It was always hidden behind his camera which was pointed at his children.  I’m pretty sure he didn’t see any of his vacation through his own two eyes.  In this picture, The Hunter becomes The Hunted.

Next we have this guy.  We called him “Book”.  Not sure exactly what his tattoo said.  I’m thinking it’s either something very ancient and deep, or a quote from “Twilight”.

And of course “Juan Valdez”, the coffee guy (minus his donkey in this particular shot).

Then there was this couple.  We decided to call them “The Twins”.  I can’t help but wonder how much convincing it took for him to wear that outfit.  Or maybe it was her that needed the convincing.  But I do know that someone wasn’t thinking straight or had too many Tequilas.

Okay that’s it for today (oh, and my apologies to those pictured in this post – no harm intended).  My poor overflowing Reader desperately needs some attention.  Apparently I was the only one that took a vacation last week.  The rest of you just kept posting.

Tomorrow I will be featuring a few other pictures.  Hope you’ll join me.

Which of my fellow-vacationers is your fav?

Sorry, but I’m  not posting today.

But if I were, it would be my 100th (wow – 100 already?).   But I’m not.

Seems I have a bad case of indigestion.  In fact I’ve been awake with it all night.  I think it might be from eating all that horrible Humble Pie yesterday that the USA Junior Hockey Team served up to me and my Canadian boys on Tuesday night in the World Junior Hockey Championship.

The final gold medal game went to overtime after it ended in a 5-5 tie.  But the U.S. beat us to the punch and got the winning goal.  Dang!  That would have been our 6th gold medal in a row!  Sads.

But being the good sport that I am, I will humbly offer up my congratulations to my U.S. friends.  And I will look forward to next year.  When we redeem ourselves.

Posting to resume on Friday when, hopefully, I’m finished licking my wounds.

Maybe I’ll even do something a little different for tomorrow.  Since it’ll be post #101 in 2010.  That’s three 0′s, three 1′s and one 2.  And that’s kinda weird.  Yes.  Something different.  Okay.  See you then?

I think this just might be the best Christmas card I’ve ever received (thanks Elle!), so I’m passing it on to you!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Enjoy the break.  Enjoy your family and friends.  Enjoy the food and the drink.

And be sure to take a moment during the craziness to be thankful for it all.

I’ll be posting sporadically over the next week and a half because I’m on vacation with ma boyz.  A situation that will no doubt produce some good blog fodder.

I leave you with this year’s Santa picture.  Need I say more?

mwah!

I lieu of a regular post today, I’m participating in SITSmas 2009.  What’s SITSmas, you ask?  It’s a fun filled day put on by the great girls at “The Secrets in the Sauce“.

As their site says “The SITStahood is a group of women bloggers dedicated to supporting one another by leaving comments.  Lots and lots of comments.  Whether you are new to blogging and looking for blogs to read, or a veteran looking to expand your readership, a mommy blogger or a single gal, SITS is for you!”

And I’m happy to be a part of it.  I’ve discovered some great new blogs through their site and even made some pen-pal e-pal friends.

But I’m especially happy to be a part of it today.  Because they’re giving away prizes!  And I LOVE prizes.  Well, I’ve never actually won one . . . but I’m sure if I did win a prize, I’d love it.  *fingers crossed!*

So today I’m wishing all my SITSta’s a wonderful holiday – whichever one you’ll be celebrating.  And if I could, I’d send each and every one of you a copy of the above hand-stamped card made by Yours Truly (vintage 2006).  Not that I’m usually crafty.  AT all.  But once upon a time, I was possessed by a rubber stamping demon.  The 3 year experience was a real whirlwind.  I had fun, made money, went on a few trips, gained a BFF . . . and then just as quickly as the demon came, it left.  I’ve been completely and utterly rubber stamping interest and talent free ever since.  And I haven’t looked back.  It was the oddest thing.  Maybe I’ll be saying the same thing about blogging in 3 years, but for now . . . I’m possessed by the blogging demon – and I love it!

So Happy Holidays girls!  And Happy SITSmas!

Cher

My husband always has a song in his head.  Always.  His feet are always taping out a beat to whatever mystery song is in his head at that moment.  It would drive me crazy, but I guess he’s used to it.

And sometimes his internal ipod gets stuck  – in other decades.  And he’ll sing a verse from a song that I haven’t heard in ages.  Which will prompt me to ask “where the heck did THAT come from?”  And he has no idea.  It just comes.  From some dusty corner of his music filled mind.  Like this weekend, for instance.  When out of nowhere he sang the chorus from the TV show Blues Clues (“We can DO any THING . . . that we wanna DO!”).  Although we used to be big fans, no one in our house has watched that show in well over 5 years.  So where the heck did that come from?  What could possibly have prompted that tune?

Which got me thinking about good old Blue’s Clues.  Because I actually didn’t mind that show.  Well, at least when Steve was on it.  I really liked Steve.  He had charisma.  With his little notebook and his green striped rugby shirt.  Sitting in his Thinking Chair or singing his little rhyming songs.  His friends Mailbox, Periwinkle,  Sidetable Drawer and all the others.  He even starting looking cute to me.  Which is probably because I was stuck in the house with two little kids day in and day out watching Blue’s Clues over and over and over . . . because really, he wasn’t much of a looker.  And he had a really bad haircut.

But then Steve left.  To go “to College” they told us.  Which was a big fat lie.  Apparently he was growing tired of the role and wanted to pursue a music career.  Which I feel was a bad move on his part because really, no one has heard from him since (and no, he’s not dead.  That was just a rumour).

So his “brother” Joe took over the show.  And he pretty much bombed from the get-go.  He single-handedly killed the entire show.  I think because he tried too hard.  He wasn’t genuine.  He was a phony and a Steve wanna-be.  And he could never replace our Steve.

Not cool Joe, not cool.  You stunk.  And two thumbs up won’t ever change that.

I took The Eldest and The Youngest out for dinner the other night.  Willie was out of town on business so we treated ourselves.  I noticed a young married couple was seated beside us.  When I say young, I mean probably in their late twenties.  Which really shows how old I am if I consider that young, doesn’t it.  Whatever.  Pay attention to the story . . .

Throughout the meal my boys were amusing themselves by playing tic-tac-toe with crayons on the paper tablecloth and doing the word search on the back of the kid’s menu while we chit-chatted about our day.  Good times.  Good times.

But being the Nosey Parker that I am, of course, I stole a few glances at our neighbors from time to time.  Remembering what it was like when Willie and I were young and child-free and ate out whenever we damn well felt like it.  Whether it was the weekend or not.  Because now that rarely happens.  Dinner out occurs only a few times a year and requires much planning (if you’d like to submit your name to baby-sit two cute and generally well-behaved children for free from time to time, please email me at cher@theonlygirl.com).

But as the dinner wore on, I became acutely aware that this young married couple had barely spoken to each other.  Which was really putting a damper on my nosiness.  They just sat in silence.  Eating their ribs.  Licking their fingers.  They didn’t appear to be in the throws of a silent argument.  Neither of them appeared to have a cold shoulder.  It was like watching an elderly couple out for dinner.  But I don’t find it so sad when it’s the couple’s elderly.  Because their silence is one of comfortable companionship.  And they have likely spent the whole day together around the house so there isn’t much left to talk about.  And they’ve probably been together for decades and quite frankly, what else is there to say?  And they’re just happy to get out for a bit and enjoy a good meal.  But this wasn’t the case with the young couple.  They clearly just didn’t have anything to say to each other.  Already.  In however many short years they had been together, they were already stale.  How sad is that?

Fortunately I had brought my cube of Table Topics Conversation Starters (“these engaging questions inspire the best kinds of conversation”).

Okay – not really.  I don’t even own any.  But can you imagine?  “Um – excuse me.  I noticed that you guys don’t have anything to say to each other so I thought you might like to try this.  It’s a cube full of little cards that have conversation topics on them!  Here – pick one.  Go ahead.  Give it a try.  Oh, you’re welcome.”

Would they have been appreciative?  Or deeply offended and highly insulted?  Probably the latter.

But just for fun, let’s do one ourselves.  With the help of my dear friend, The Internet, I’ve chosen:

“what did you get into trouble for the most when you were young?”

Okay, I’ll go first . . .

Although I don’t remember much from my youth, I do seem to remember frequently getting in trouble for dawdling.   Delaying.  Wasting time.  Dilly-dallying.  I also remember hearing “STAND UP STRAIGHT!” one too many times accompanied by threats of some kind of anti-shoulder slouching brace that would be purchased for me if I was unable to stand up straight on my own.

So come on, dear Readers.  In honour of the Silent Couple, give me your best answer.

You may have already received this in your email – it’s been going around for awhile – so if you have then you can just skip today’s post and come back to see me tomorrow (please come back!).  But a dear friend of mine sent it my way awhile ago and I have thought about it a ton of times since.  It is real.  It’s not a hoax – I’ve checked it out thoroughly (you can check out the original article here if you don’t believe me).  Enjoy.

Perception

A man stood in a subway station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by – a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later – the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in  without stopping and continued to walk.

A few minutes later – someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurriedly but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100 each.

This is a real story.  Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour – do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, on one of the most beautiful instruments in the world . . .  how many other things are we missing?

Now gone on.  Find something beautiful to enjoy today.