wordle... what's that?

Saw this on a blog, kinda cool, so thought I'd make my own...

Go play and have some fun HERE.

no turnin' this off!

I'm hi-jacking a topic from another blog again... this time it's Cathy Zielske's blog. As she says, "I have a confession, which is neither deep nor scandalous in any way, but I believe it definitely says something about who I am: there are certain movies that, when they come on the television, I cannot NOT watch. Period. No matter what scene I'm joining in on, be it the first, the middle or the last. I simply cannot turn away." Oh, how true!

Here are some of those movies that I cannot NOT watch:
1) Twister
2) Volcano
3) Dante's Peak
4) Starship Troopers
5) Con Air
6) any Austin Powers movie
(hmmm... a trend of stupid movies!)
7) any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy
8) any Terminator movie
9) any Star Trek movie
(and a trend of sci-fi, of course)
10) Forrest Gump
11) Braveheart
12) The Shawshank Redemption
13) The Hunt for Red October
(finally, some serious stuff!)

I'm sure there are a ton more, but I'll just leave this at lucky number 13. So what about you? What movies are YOU not able to turn off?

back 2 work

yep, I'm finally going back to work this Monday. I don't know yet what I'll be doing. I've given my office warning that I am limited in what I can do. I still can't use my left fingers, and probably won't be able to for a while. And I still have minor issues with my right wrist and elbow. So it's hard for me to type (essential for an accountant), drive (essential to get to work), and, well, lots of other things. But I guess I'll go in and see what's up. For those folks who saw my earlier wound pictures - these show how much I've improved:


My fingers will take the longest to heal completely, since they were definitely the deepest. I believe that's the hand I used to try to stop myself from rolling down the road. They are still considered open wounds and are barely touchable.

My wrist looks fabulous, and should have no scarring. At least, that is, if I continue to be cautious with it. It needs to stay really moist/moisturized, and I need to be careful how much I bend it, so that the new tender skin doesn't crack in the joint crease.

Even tho we had some "road rash" and bruises and wear and tear, we were SO VERY fortunate.

The sheriff who was first on the scene told Greg that we were his 3rd motorcycle accident in the past week. In the first, a guy lost his life. In the second, a guy with only 2 weeks experience was driving with his girlfriend on back - she was in shorts, a tank top and flip flops - they were just screaming from the pain. The officer couldn't bring himself to tell the girlfriend that she had lost her toes.

About two weeks ago, a member of our bike club put his bike down. His ribs were fractured 17 times, he had a collapsed lung and a ruptured spleen. He is expected to have a full recovery - but it will take months.

Makes me happy to be alive, walking and talking. :-) And that is precisely how Greg and I have felt from the moment we picked ourselves off the pavement. Happy and oh so fortunate to be alive!

what's in your suitcase?

My good friend Carrie posted a question on her blog, from an online class she's taking. The question is "What's in your suitcase? What are your traveling must-haves?" I'm hi-jacking that question, cuz I think it's pretty fun...

Out of necessity (motorcycle trips) I have become quite a minimalist while traveling. For example, for this last 8 night trip we just took to Canada, Greg and I COMBINED had one carry-on duffle bag, a laptop bag, and my shoulder bag. That was it!

I always have a camera when traveling, and am getting used to taking my cool Clix2 mp3 player. I take at least one book plus a mag or two for "downtimes." I need my Mary Kay face products and a brown eyeliner. And my hand lotion - Suave Natural Oatmeal. Plus typical toiletry items, including both Advil and Aleve. Other than that, it depends on what type of traveling I'm doing.

For biking, I need appropriate clothing, such as rain gear, leathers, gloves, protective eyewear, riding boots, etc. Sunscreen is also a requirement.

For cruising, I need nice clothing, including formal wear, for evenings onboard. I need comfy but nice-looking clothes for shore excursions. Plus a swimsuit with coverup for lounging on the deck during at sea days. Sandals and tennies are required. And I need girly stuff - more makeup, hair product, jewelry, etc.

For scrappy vacations, all I really need are comfy clothes plus my scrap tools and supplies!

misc. Canada trip pics

Takakkaw Falls in Yoho Nat'l Park


another bear sighting! - really near the road this time. :-)

Hell's Gate tram and suspension bridge

Banff Nat'l Park pics

Lake Louise

Moraine Lake (featured twice on the back of the Canadian $20 bill)

from the top of the Lake Louise gondola (ski hill)

Banff Springs Hotel

Johnston Canyon (rockin' hike thru the canyon and on catwalks over the river)

pics from the Icefields Parkway

Sunwapta Falls

another waterfall... name? don't know

Columbia Icefield, Athabasca Glacier
the glacier is too unstable this year, so we couldn't walk on it. :-(

Peyto Lake

scene from the road (pun intended)

Jasper Nat'l Park pics

Maligne Canyon (tiny chasm with water blasting thru)

Maligne Lake

a BLACK BEAR – woohoo!

bighorn sheep

caribou

Mount Edith Cavell

little avalanche on Mount Edith Cavell

Greg, standing on an ICEBERG

Marcia, standing on a glacier (well, the stuff that broke off)

Athabasca Falls, the largest in this park

comments from the road

We’ve lucked out with nice weather thus far – yay!

Victoria:

• scenic ferry ride, but takes a long time
• “old town” near the waterfront is pretty
• not as many older buildings as expected
• “castle” is interesting, furnished in period style

Vancouver:

• such a global city – ethnically diverse
• rich and poor live very close to each other
• larger than expected, a very large downtown
• LOTS of homeless and beggars
• Chinatown is extremely smelly, food (including seafood) sitting out not chilled for hours
• the downtown is surrounded by water on 3 sides – must take a bridge to go north or south
• not as many historic buildings as expected
• Granville Island was a fave area, even tho it’s very touristy

pictures from the road

Victoria

Craigdarroch Castle

Chinatown

Victoria harbour

Vancouver

Lynn Canyon suspension bridge (rockin’)

Gastown (rehabbed 1920s warehouses)

Chinatown (ug, the smell of rotting seafood)

Granville Island (cute and fun)