Coming soon...

Stay tuned for pics from the new digs...

A fat cat sits in the corner of a new apartment, while the snow falls gently.

I know it has been a while since I blogged. Sorry I have been busy... looking for an apartment and all.
Great News!! We got an apartment:) Woo Hoo the quest is over!
2 bedrooms, 2 FULL bathrooms, 10 foot Ceilings... no shared walls, floors or ceilings with adjoining apartments, full covered front porch, Windows, Windows, Windows and above ground! The best part is 750 all inclusive.
I am so excited I can hardly wait.

My sister's birthday was yesterday... she is 28 now!
I know I am late with the greeting but I don't think she reads my blog anyway. She has just recently began her quest along the information super highway. MSN Messenger and basic internet searches are the extent of her computer literacy. Her most recent addition is a really sweet new colour cell phone.

Isn't it strange how two individuals who were created from identical strands of DNA can be so polar opposite in so many situations. You look around my house and it's not hard to tell that a couple of tech junkies live here. Computers, PDA's MP3, digi cams (speaking of check out the 2 new photos... a new Mr. Burns and the snow out there right now!), etc, etc, etc,

Sorry so short, I am exausted! Need to hit the hay.
So like I said earlier...
A fat cat sits in the corner of a new apartment, while the snow falls gently.

Night all.
L


Mr. Burns in his most becoming pose of all time. He looks more like Homer in this position. :-)

9pm EST London, Ontario Canada!

I found this entry in draft format, I must of got taken away from the computer...

Fish Sticks & Fries and Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup... I'm 8 again!

Mmmmm, do you remember all the great meals you had as a kid. The easy ones that Mom made. For me it was Fish Sticks & Fries and Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup...
What was Yours?

Either way, I have had both of these favs today... and it reminded me of how simple all your meals were when you were a kid.

Look at the menus we are presented with every day...

We can open any phone book turn to the yellow pages and have an abundance of gourmet foods at you finger tips (faster yet google local take out food + your city). Yet we still fall back on the staples of our youth to remind us of how simple it was to be a kid.

Happy Halloween

Well here are the photos that I captured on my camera from the Halloween party last night. I will post more when I start getting them from everyone else. The party was amazing... the house looked awesome and so did everyone at it. a 10 out of 10 I say!

Bet you wish you were there.
Maybe Next year!

Happy Haunting!


The night was blessed by the DJ stylings of Bell's CHicken Choakers circa 1976 

A pregnant male nun and a drunk school girl. Sounds like an everyday occurance. lol 

Ah a good Catholic Couple 

Naughty Nurse and the Innocent School Girl, hmmm an unlikely combo. 

The first photo of the evening. 

Martini anyone? 

All me! 

Caught in the Kitchen. 

Cuz Pimpin ain't easy! 

The crew of criminals. 

The Dirty Butcher, the Naughty Nurse and The Ravishing Marylin 

The Dirty Nurses 

Wonder Woman and the Fairy Princess 

Seriously Misunderstood part 2!

Seriously Misunderstood part 2!

Well here is a little photo gallery of my gorgeous godson Caelan.

Enjoy your cruise Aimee and Bill... As soon as I have the chance I will post more for you so you don't have to be so far away from him.

Enjoy the ocean :)

Caelan at StoryBook Gardens 

A country boy at heart! 

Peek a Boo I see you :) 

The happiest kid I know I knoe... the happiest kid I know! 

Caelan loving up the front lawn at the winery in St. Thomas 

Even Jeeps need a nap every now and then.


If you wanna see more from another top notch camera check em out here on his yahoo photoblog.. All in all the day was awesome and muddy.

Can you say Stuck? 

We went Jeepn this weekend and of course the digicam was on hand. I caught this amazing perspective on fall north east of Kintore. 

Caelan in Daddy's Saab! 

F D @ :o)

Work is stressful right now.
Nuff said...
New Topic

SO I came home from work tonight with a mean hunger on... Wanted something a little different.

So I had breakfast for dinner!
A skillet baked omlette to be specific. aka Frittata...

I find cooking to be therapeutic... cathartic as a friend would say.
This is the process that I followed.

• fried in a medium size cast iron skillet

1. 1 chicken breast cut into big chuncks
   
2. 4 or 5 white mushrooms chopped up
   
3. equal amount of red pepper chopped up
   
4. some canola oil
5. fresh garlic

• once the chicken was warm(i had previously cooked it) I added the veggies and cooked them for a few minutes till they were firm but no fully cooked
• then I poured on the egg and spice mixture

1. 2 xl eggs + 1 egg white
2. S&P
3. Worschecshire sauce to taste
4. a shake or two of powdered cheese(i used romano)
   
5. about a tbsp of 1% moo

• let it cook on the stove for a few minutes 5 or so I guess, on a medium heat
• swirl the pan around so the egg gets evenly distributed
• remove from heat
• sprinkle on top the following
  

1. 3/4 cup mixed cheese (i used chedder and marble)
2. romano cheese (the dry stuff like paramesean)
3. S&P
   

• then stick it in the oven on 350 F for 5 mins
  
• broil it for 2 more minutes or so to puff up the top and melt the cheese

I ate it with a bit of mild salsa on the top.

It was Yummmmmmy!
F D & :o)

On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this meal a solid 9.5

It was...

• Fast(3.5)
• Nutritious(3)
• Tasty(2)
• Creative(1)

The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been if someone made it for me and it would have been waiting when I came home...lol

What did you have for dinner?

How did you rate it?

Well that is it for tonight.
Enjoy the meal if you make it.

Cheers
L

btw
F D @ :o)
~Fat
~Dumb
and
~Happy :o)

I hear the phrase all the time... it is common in Chris's family. After a really good meal, envision Homer Simpson crashing on his couch after a huge buffet.
I guess it has knitted it's way into my vocabulary, but that is how I felt when i was done dinner.

Happy Day after your Birthday! DJ Biz <:oP
1 day closer to a new decade!

My Sis Incognito! 

Pro's and Con's of Living Through a House Sale... The Renter's View

So for the second time in just over a year I have found myself smack dab in the middle of a sale of the house that I am currently renting.

Boo I say!

The first time it happened I had the most amazing apartment with an even a more amazing landlord! A gorgeous 2 bedroom, with hardwood and ceramic through out. The upper level of a yellow brick house on the cusp of Wortley Village and downtown, here in London. It's huge windows, and tall ceilings flooded the apartment with joyous daylight all day long. It was a gorgeous house, a totally positive experience and the one that got away, so to speak! How you ask? All due to a horrible experience with the new owners and the real estate agents!! A full 5 star performance so to speak. The new owners wanted to move their daughter into our apartment and we had to evacuate the premise within 60 days.

After a very stressful moving experience we found our current residence. Not my first choice since we now have 2/3rds the space, 1/10th the character and a garage at our disposal for storage off the things that used to fill the character of our beautiful, sadly missed, spacious apartment. Pro... 100 bucks less in rent. Con... moving in a hurry when it's not on your terms

Now this smaller albeit more convenient ( situated smack dab in the middle of downtown's gorgeous old house district) has been put up for sale as well!

Joy, Bliss, and Happiness!!

So being proactive(aka jumping the gun) we give our 60 days notice in order to circumvent the presumed rocky road ahead. To my surprise the experience has been somewhat easier to live with. Even though my perception of real estate agents has only mildly improved. The biggest advantage is that now that the house is being sold it has to be inspected and brought up to various regulation standards. So in the past 8 days we have had the fix it guy, the electrician, the fire marshal and the rental agency here 4 or 5 times. Pro... everything is getting fixed! Con... Coming home from an 9 hour day and having a "guest"!

So what wisdom do I have to share with other renters? Well my top 5 things would be...

1. When renting from a rental agency and it is in the off season from the student housing rushes in early spring and at the very early fall you can really negotiate a price for rent. We got our apartment for $300 less than the previous tenants paid!
2. Don't Jump the gun and give notice, you may regret it when you find that your living accommodations become improved with the sale.
3. Be proactive and set guidelines with the realestate agents for viewing times, in accordance with the landlord and tenant act in you city. There are very specific guidelines that licensed real estate agents and landlords/property managers must adhere to. Contrary to what several of the agents that I have dealt with so rudely ignored.
4. Appreciate what you have while you have it, before you know it your gorgeous sunlight kissed surroundings may rudely be replaced with a dungenous shade stricken substitute.
5. When a house is being sold it is usually conditional to house inspections from various compliance industries, electrical, fire, by law, etc... use this as you opportunity to get lagging repairs completed by your landlord!
   

So from this point on, you can choose to use this advise to your advantage or so choose to forget it as soon as you are done reading it. The choice is yours. But... all I ask is,
~If you ever think about becoming a real estate agent, or you are currently a licensed member of this lucrative profession, take a holistic approach to the sale of you rental properties... Don't forget about the tenants. Sure we may not be contributing to your next BMW payment, but we are human beings and we can make the property that you want to sell a less than positive experience! Don't forget that we live there 24/7 and that is a ridiculous amount of time to create a really disgusting environment for potential buyers to unknowingly walk into!
Would you want to purchase a house that looks like an excerpt from the movie Seven?

Nuff said.

L