Monday, June 13, 2011

Sleep. Work. And ...

do a few things:

Today?
We (my extended family) celebrated a few celebratory events. My 50th (yes, we are now officially finished giving me attention for this milestone event) my brother's 48th birthday, Chad's grad and Father's Day with my dad. We do our celebrating at The Keg where my dad orders 23 virgin Caesars and a dinner of just crab legs. The rest of us eat like pigs. Except pigs don't eat garlic baked shrimp or steak n lobster.

We are spoiled.
I totally know that.

Yesterday?
Clint, Max and I picnicked in a park.























The weather was perfect, the food was delicious and the company was fantastic. I was stretched out of my usual comfort zone (when am I not? Just how small, exactly was my comfort zone to begin with? And now? It really must be gigantic. Seriously. Push, push, push, stretch, stretch, stretch. One thing after another. Meet new people. Talk with them. Have a meal with them. Be nice. Smile. Be even nicer. It turned out great and I need to stop being a weenie.)

Friday?
Was So Much Fun.
My friend, Shannon? The youngin I work with? And who I sometimes see movies with? And once in a while stays here for overnighters? Is graduating from SFU next week. Her parents, who live in Ontario, are here for the ceremony. They've never been to BC before, so Shannon has arranged for 2 weeks of sightseeing, including seeing me and a movie at the Clova ...













Even though we've never met, Robin (Shannon's mom) is my facebook friend and blog reader, so it's kinda like we know each other. Right?
Anyway - Sandra (who also has had Shannon stay for night at her place) and I met them at the theater where we all TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY LOVED THOR. We went out for coffee afterwards and visited some more.

Plus, the Canuck's won their game. So all in all, Friday was a winning night.

Thursday?

Ahhhh, Now THAT was a day.
I took my mom out on a date.
We started in Whalley - the armpit of Surrey.
And got on the skytrain - which was like an adventure in transportation and a Disneyland People Mover ride.I don't think she's been on skytrain in, oh, twenty years?
When we got off at Stadium, we followed Clint's instructions - go up Dunsmuir for three blocks, then turn left onto Hamilton. It's right there.

And it was.
It was the Queen Elizabeth Theater.
And we saw:


















from the balcony which was OK but certainly not great.
It opened on Broadway on October 30, 2003 and is the highest grossing musical to date.
(What? Not Joseph?
Joseph was my first musical and will always hold a special spot in my heart.
Be careful of those "firsts" in your life. They are powerful.)

Wicked is the 'back story' to The Wizard Of Oz, which makes it fun.
Defying Gravity was the only song I was familiar with (from Glee. Thank you Glee for showtune specials).
And the skytrain ride home finished off the evening with a bit of excitement as we mistakenly got on the wrong line and had to make a transfer. At the Columbia Station. At midnight. And then had to walk the streets of Whalley at 12:30 am to get to my truck.

Lookit us.
So brave.
So daring.
So cosmopolitan.
So bad ass.

On Wednesday?

I hosted our final book club meeting of the year. We'll meet again in September to talk about Wuthering Heights. (I am so looking forward to reading that, and my first Jane Austen novel over the summer.)
Wednesday night was also Game 4 night in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but by 7 pm it was obvious we weren't going to win that game, so we ignored the TV, ate strawberry desserts and talked about:


















which I had read 5 years ago but competely forgot about. So it was like reading it for the first time all over again. I love that.
And I recommend this book.
And I recommend book clubs. Truly. They are a highlight of my month. I love reading, and I love talking about what I've read. And the talking about other stuff is good too.
So. Do it. All you need to do is find two other people who like to read. Ask each of them to invite a fellow reader and Wham. Bam. You've got a book club. Easy peasy.

And Tuesday?

Oh my goodness, THAT was a fun day.
My friend, Maxine's son, is getting married this summer to Jen. We showered them on Tuesday evening.
This is Jen: (I know! Too cute, right?)






















































































It happened to be Steve's birthday that day. So while we showered in the rest of the house, he made himself pizza in the kitchen:






















Jen's grandma and mom:


















Maxine (Mother of Groom) and Shelly (Shower Hostess):














































I forget what day we're on...
On SOME day before the shower,
I took grad pics of Brianne:
































































Then went downtown to be part of the festivities as the Canuck's won Game 2. We watched the game at the last available table at Milestones in Yaletown, then walked over to Georgia Street after the game to be part of the crowds. Yes. We actively sought out a crowd to be part of.

By fluke, (there were 70,000 - 100,000 people in the streets) we bumped into Jordie and Derek:







































It was a wall (a sea?) of blue and green. Loved being a part of that.
















I actually love being a part of anything "big".

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I've been 50 for twelve days.
So far?
I'm loving it.

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