So the rest of the story is that they replaced the flowers today, and they are lovely. Those coloured orchids are so divine. I am happy, and it pays to be a squeaky wheel. It is hard for me to do, but the results often end up very positive, and this is what keeps companies honest.


I have had an interesting weekend. I feel so manic during the week days, like I am overflowing with energy (usually good) and I have so much to give to others. I have energy and attention for every kid or colleague who needs it, and I can balance 55 things at once and do a great job of them all. Then when the weekend arrives, if I don't have major plans that allow me to sustain that level of energy....I crash.

Mom and Amber had a slumber party last night and we played this goofy game that had us all giggling, but then I had the weirdest night full of nightmares and not being able to sleep. In one of them, I was outside at night and kept hearing women screaming. I would run to find them, but they would be dead, and a guy was running away. I would chase the guy, but by the time I caught up to him, another woman would be dead. Woke up from that one just shaking, and that was it. No more real sleep. WEIRD. I had no weapon in this dream and I could run really fast, but what the hell did I think I was going to do if I caught up with this crazed killer? Tell him to be a good boy?

After breakfast, took mom to Costco, Planet Organic (my favourite store on earth) and a couple other stops, including lunch at Cravings. If you have never been there, you should go. It is owned by the Great Events Family (I used to cater for them) and the food quality is awesome, but so are the prices. I have never had ANYTHING there that wasn't delicious, and the way you can pick from so many different food stations reminds me of La Marche in Montreal that I used to call the "Disneyland of Food". You know for me it is never about quantity (although the portions are generous), but flavours, beauty, excitement. I had Lima Bean Salad, Vegetable Salad, and Quinoa Salad with chicken breast, but everything there is so delicious from the crab cakes to the steaks, to the fresh soups. Then we came back here and watched Modern Family and drank tea. She had never seen it and she howled like crazy. Now I should be working on grad but I kinda miss her and miss my work buddies and am REALLY tired, so may sleep after hockey is done.

Side note: Mother's Day tomorrow. I am making turkey meatballs with brown rice and salad and acorn squash for Matt's mom. Friday night I made a hot wild rice pasta salad for my mom. This morning made banana mango smoothies that my sister was convinced were full of real cream because they were smooth and alicious. Nope. Almond milk and Karie's SECRET INGREDIENT. Love cooking for people. Just love it.

Flower Delivery

So I sent flowers to UofA hospital this week. The ones on the left are the ones the lovely lady received. The ones on the right are the ones I ORDERED. Hmmm... www.canadaflowers.ca says they will "take care of it" tomorrow. We shall see. Seriously. 3 dying roses and 3 pink daisies? I DON'T THINK SO!! Maybe they thought the tacky orange polka-dot ribbon would make up for it? It doesn't. Or the ugly vase would be mistaken for the cut-glass one in the photo online? Nope, it doesn't either!! Just goes to show what happens when you send your business to EDMONTON. Just kidding. Sort of. Not really. I think that may be a not-yet-bloomed bird of paradise in the front of the picture. WHO WANTS A BOUQUET OF HALF DEAD AND NOT YET BLOOMED FLOWERS????? That's called the back alley. Does that pic on the left look like $70??? Nope. More like $17. Sheesh. Lesson learned. When you send flowers, ask the recipient to send you a pic.

Bin Laden Mania

I started ranting on facebook, but I have too much to say on this topic for facebook to contain. The American government is so great at congratulating itself, it is laughable. Trust me, I lived there. So, as I said on facebook, I do not understand why people are dancing in the street over this. And I think Matt thinks I am evil because of this. He is crying, he is so pleased that Osama is dead. I, on the other hand, am not. For one thing, WHY DID IT TAKE 10 YEARS to kill this dude? As Wulf B just said on CNN, he was a lighly recognizable individual. It only took them 40 minutes to "get him" they say on CNN. Yeah, 10 years and 40 minutes.

Well, let's see. North American (and other) governments have used 9-11 as a "reason" to suspend almost every civil liberty that our ancestors fought for. Now that we have all been conditioned to expect to be treated like criminals when we try to fly to Disneyland (or anywhere), they don't need excuses any more.

Is it just me, or is the poster boy just the tip of the iceberg? By now, he has been replaced by some other f-ing psycho, who has yet to make a name for himself around the world. Yes, he was the "leader". Of a huge, and complex organization that continues to operate with or without him. I mean, the dude has been HIDING OUT, so you're trying to tell me he has the same kind of power he used to? Nope. Other, younger, and imaginative men have undoubtedly been running the organization for many years.

But gosh, it sounds good. And the media sure does perpetuate the hysteria over the "significance" of this moment. They won't say how or what they did to OBL. He probably died in the bathtub. I'm bitter. I'm pissed about body scanners and water bottles and Ziploc baggies. I'm annoyed that I have had to strip to almost nothing to travel. I'm pissed that field trips don't get approved because of this bs, that people have fears of public transit, that we barely remember how free we used to be, and how we bought into a culture of fear. I'm troubled that we went to war with Iraq over this guy and about what the west has done in the east, and what we have done to our own service men and women. Well, we are all nicely conditioned now. Good for us. It's good that the bastard is dead, but has the idealogy been killed? Hardly. This is more than likely to fuel the fire, not snuff it. What does Osama's death mean? One step. One good step. Nothing more than that, to me.