Ultrasound

I had my first ultrasound this afternoon.... Unfortunately, the baby wasn't really cooperating and didn't reveal whether they're a boy or girl! I am determined to find out! lol I have to go back, fortunately, b/c my due date appears to be off by less than a week... so some parts are too small to see and measure. I thought I was 18 wks, but I'm a few days shy of that. I guess there's lots of developments taking place in a short span of time right now... The picture we got to take home for a meer $15 (sarcasm noted), turned out pretty good. We got a good profile of the baby's head and body! Everything seems to be developing normally. Our scanner software isn't hooked up, so I just took an old fashioned digital pic of the print! :)

Another Whyte Night

I'm posting this a few days after the event....

It's almost 2 am, and I just got home. Yes, can you believe it?! I actually went out tonight, and felt like a young woman again... (but the next morning, I certainly felt my age!)

Erin phoned me this afternoon, to ask if I wanted to meet up with her and Alex on Whyte for drinks... Of course, non-alcoholic for me ;) Just a subtle reminder, Alex is performing in the Fringe, and is a friend of Erin's from Toronto. I was going to a Stampin' Up workshop tonight, but was up for meeting them after it was finished, around 9:30pm. It was pure madness trying to find a parking spot, as people were still in the streets, exiting/entering shows and making their way to the bars. I finally got a spot 2 blocks from the bar, The Next Act. I was happy that the sun wasn't all the way gone, as it can be a bit freaky walking alone in this area- even with so much people.

When I arrived at the bar/pub... I prefer pub, b/c it's not really the meat-markety place I envision when using the word "bar"... Alex and Erin were sitting at a table with 2 young guys (sooo sorry I don't remember your names) and a girl. I never did get formally introduced! Alex was sporting a teal cowboy hat. Afterall, this is the Wild West, and the Fringe's slogan was "Hi Yo Fringe Away!"... Quite cheesy, if you ask me. Alex wore the hat well... it didn't suit Erin or myself. Anyway, I do remember one of the guys were from LA (but has lived many places around the world, as his parents were in the Peace Corps), and the other was a Pixies fan (I remember the important things!) and currently writing for SEE magazine, here in Edmonton. Both were very interesting to talk with. Some of the Fringe thespians and poets popped in and out of the bar, and said their hellos to Alex. I just listened. Apparently, one of the men who stopped, a Scottish guy, is a very well known poet. I'll be damned if I can't remember his name! Erin knows... He rolled some drum cigarettes for everyone (except me), and was gone as quickly as he arrived... The conversation almost always diverted back to sex, sexuality or some other form of provocative conversation... It wasn't so hard to just sit and listen, or participate! lol

From there, we went to Shoppers Drug Mart to get cigarettes (once again, NOT for me)! :) We ran into a drunk moron who, as Alex so clearly pointed out, could not speak english! Now, Alex has a very proper sounding English accent. She is from Middlesex, afterall. It's not quite like the Queen's accent, but still proper sounding to the likes of me!

Nexs stop was The Elephant and Castle. This seems to be the place to be during the Fringe. All the actors and performers hang out here after their shows, if they aren't at the beer tents. It was a fun atmosphere. What a unique and mystical sub-culture. All these people are from all over the world, really. They don't see each other, other than when they come together to the Fringe. Everyone's busy catching up, gossiping, sharing stories, congratulating one another on sold out shows (way to go Alex!). I was able to get an uncut, unscensored glimpse into this underworld, dare I say! Lots of flings happen here, and it seems to be norm. There's no expectation of a long term relationship. It feels safe, I'm sure, to have this kind of encounter... all during a time where emotions and drama run high! Well, I won the raffle for a free prize at the pub! I got some fancy lager glasses, a super-duper mini shirt, and some other beer paraphanelia. Yeah, me! I don't win things often.

After a few hours of gabbing on here, we decided it was late enough (almost 1:30am)!! Erin and I both had kids to take care of in the morning! I'm really not as young as I once was, and tonight was a blunt reminder of that. Even though, many of the Fringers were around my age- I still felt years older. Perhaps, b/c I have 2 children and one on the way... I don't know. Being pregnant certainly doesn't help me recover from late nights, either! lol One small blessing, was not having to smell and inhale second-hand smoke all night long! There's no smoking allowed in any public establishments... EVEN bars! Ahhh.... I wish they'd ban smoking everywhere, to be honest! But, that's a whole other rant!

Good night.

Great show!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to see "Drama Queen" at the Fringe last night. Erin, Dana and I, all met at the theatre. It was an awesome show. Alex Dallas is the only performer, and was hilarious. The stage is set with a vintage chair, and a sidetable, stocked with chocolate boxes and margarita glass. Everything she says in her monologue, is completely true and has happened in her life. That's what all her material is- her life experiences! This woman never lives a dull moment, I'm sure of it! We met up with Alex after the show, and went to the beer tents to chat. Her show was almost a sell-out, which she was very happy with, considering it was the Fringe's opening night, and tons of free events were taking place at the same time.

We had a great time, her, Erin and I. It was so nice getting out and being with women- socializing- and not about our kids (for the most part)! Alex has a 13 yr old daughter, Ruby, so we were listening intently on how to raise a self-confident girl in this crazy society! lol Ruby Dallas... can you imagine having such a striking name as that? Anyway, it was really great getting to talk with Alex. She's such a sweet woman- and I don't mean sweet, like an old lady. She is just sincere and honest... and funny as hell.

After parting with Alex on Whyte Ave, we went to Death By Chocolate! I got the Devil in Disguise dessert! Erin and I haven't really ever been out on Whyte Ave at night before. We were constantly annoyed/amused by drunk boys banging on the windows while we ate our desserts. We were even mooned by one of them! He could do with a butt-wax! lol

We were home by midnight. It was a nice night out with the girls.

Fringe Festival

I'm off to the Fringe tonight. For those of you who are unaware, it's a huge arts performace festival. Nothing stuffy. It's quite liberal, and even controversial in content ;) Edmonton's is the 2nd largest host to the festival in the world. Edinburgh is the biggest. It tours around the world and Canada, of course. The last Fringe I attended was in Toronto, back when I was pregnant with Fiona. I'm going to see the same woman I saw then. Her name is Alex Dallas, and this year's performance piece is called "Drama Queen". The last performance I saw was called "Nymphomania" Alex is a friend of Erin's ... It was quite funny! Anyway... off I go to get ready. Kieran's up now, too...

Memoirs of a Geisha

I read the book! Finally finished it last night. It was like eating european chocolate- I couldn't stop myself from reading it! I really do enjoy historical novels and/or biographies. I hadn't read anything about Japan before. I usually gravitate towards Chinese history.

I ran out and rented the movie right away, as I've been dying to see it since the previews came out! What a let down!!!!! As usual, the book was MUCH better than the movie. The movie had great costumes, sets and cinematography... but it cheated viewers of the whole story. So many things were left out, added (that never happened in the book), and occured out of sequence. I know it's hard to squeeze it all into a 2 hr flick... but, it shouldn't have been done unless it could have done the book full justice!

For those of you who have seen the movie, here are some things that were different...

Chiyo/Sayuiri's father didn't just immediately give the girls up after Mr. Tanaka asked for them. Nor were they taken from their home like that. In the book, they met w/ Mr Tanaka first, went home and were sent for by him later. Chiyo was excited to leave, as she thought she was being adopted by his family... not being shipped away to an okiya to become a Geisha. THe movie made her father out to be heartless.

Of course they shortened all the toturous things that Hatsumomo did to Chiyo, prior to and during her time as a geisha. The book make Hatsumomo out to be much more of an intelligent villain- who relished in the pain and suffering of others. The movie made her out to be a bitch, but nowhere near as elaborate as the book.... Plus, the okiya did not burn... nor did Hatsumomo set fire to it while fighting with Sayuri about being demoted to the smaller room. What happened in the book, was, Hatsumomo read Sayuri's diary, and refused to give it back, threatening to tell Mother what was in there. When she took it back to her room, drunk.. she stepped on glass in the corridor, leaving blood all over the floors and tatami mats. Sayuri went into her room to get the diary, hoping to outsmart Hatsumomo, since she was drunk... and noticed a brooch which Hatsumomo had blamed Sayuri for stealing (which was left out of the movie as well)... Sayuri got her diary back, and turned the brooch in to Mother... That's when Hatsumomo was kicked out of the okiya. No one was present but Hatsumomo and Mother. In the movie, it was a huge spectacle in front of Pumpkin and Mameha. That event was the turning point, when Sayuri reclaimed her freedom from Hatsumomo's wrath. Since Sayuri was now the head geisha, Hatsumomo was nothing.

Don't even get me started on Nobu and the Chairman! Nobu and Sayuri's relationship was far more intense and respectful than the movie portrayed. Sayuri did care for Nobu, and didn't want to betray him... but was so in love with the Chairman, that she was willing to hurt Nobu. In the novel, the Chairman showed NO interest in Sayuri whatsoever. The movie showed him eyeing her, and the viewer got the impression that he did have feelings for Sayuri- which weren't illustrated in the book. Plus, the book stated that Nobu was missing an arm! In the movie, he had both. Plus, his face was not nearly as disfigured as the author made it out to be.

There were many other small things, that I won't bore you with. The book was great, and I recommend it for reading. The movie was good, if you don't plan to read the book... but if I had to choose between them, the book wins hands down!!!!

Whyte Ave

Ah.... just got in from an entire morning of hanging out by myself, on Whyte Avenue! It was great- even the terrential rain that got in the end, while waiting for my bus! I had to dodge mad puddles across the road, on my way home!

Jason took the kids out geocaching, so took to the bus and went to the market! It's called the Old Strathcona Market, and it is full of crafts, food, furniture... anything! One thing that I really enjoyed about the Fredericton market, was the food vendors. They aren't as plentiful here- nor as ethnically diverse, surprisingly enough! Anyway, my first order of business was to get a coffee. I strolled down the rows looking at stuff, but didn't really find anything that caught my eye... or that I needed. It's so much easier to go to the market w/o the stroller! :)

After the market, I went to Bugs and Berries... a children's and maternity store. I'm sure you all are interested to know, I got a nursing bra... Bravado, of course! lol I had to stop at a Greek restaurant before getting back on Whyte, as I've been in dire need of some tzatziki (that's pronounced tad-zee-key, kind of) ! I tried a few at the market... UGH! How I miss Dimitri's in Fredericton! One of the tzatzikis tasted WAAAAY too goaty! Tzatziki is a Greek dip, made of yogourt, garlic and cucumber. No two recipes are alike in taste or texture!!

It was much warmer out than I had anticipated... I wore a black knit sweater and jeans! But I was greatful, after getting dumped on by the rain! The weather was great for a walk.

I went down to Lush and got Fiona a new bathbomb. It's green with sparkles. I'm sure she'll be happy with that. I also got some shower gel for Jason and I... Next door was Cargo & James Tea Co., and I had a gift cert. for them... so I got a nice big glass of fresh brewed iced tea! Yum!!! I got to read a good chunk of my book Memoirs of a Geisha... I'm half way through now! After a long break in the tea shop, I walked east on Whyte, and checked out Megatunes. I wish I had lots of money to blow on cds, as they had a great selection of stuff.

The Edmonton Folk Festival is on right now, and the Fringe will be starting up this week as well... Edmonton in the summer has tons of things to do, that's for sure! We just wrapped up Taste of Edmonton and Heritage Festival.

So that was my day, so far! I just got a call from Jason. He's on his way home with the kids, so I'm off to make lunch! Ciao!

In order to avoid doing some dishes, now that Kieran's in bed, I'm going to update my blog instead! I hope you all appreciate my sacrafice! :)

Fiona and Jason are out geocaching, I think... well, I'm pretty certain. Even the damp, cold weather doesn't stop those two from finding tupperware in the woods! This past weekend, Jason took the family for a geocache in what I refer to as "wild Alberta"! We drove to the west end, and went through this hella schwanky neighbourhood. Jason usually doesn't have an exact idea of where we are going to park, as to be closer to the cache... so he was winging it, once again! lol We kept driving, until we found some new subdivisions being built (the kind for old golf-playing couples who clearly need 5 bedrooms)! There was a path, that went down what I'll call a mild escarpment. There were lines, as if trucks had driven this way many times. It was about 2kms DOWNHILL. All I could think was... My God... I'm gonna have to walk back up this crazy thing!!! Did I mention the heat???? It was at least 30C (that's 86F for you Americans)! I'll just remind you all that I'm almost 4 mos. pregnant, too. Are you feeling really sorry for me, now?! lol Good! We had to hike through some prickers (wild rose bushes) and brush to get around a massive mud puddle, and then followed the trail to a huge open field. Yes, this was where the buffalo once roamed, I'm sure of it!! It was a massive field, with grass (or whatever it was) up to my hips. That was fun, wading through that. Those rods wrapped around my ankles and gave me a few burn marks. This wasn't where the torture began... We headed for a treed area to the left, and had to bush-wack through there... I think we must have gone about 100m into that wooded area, before giving up and heading back. I was so fed up, and ready to swear off geocaching for life!! Fiona was very tired, and hot by this time... as were the rest of us. We had also forgotten our water in the van! Smart! We took a short-cut back, which involved climbing up a super steep cliff/hill in order to bypass much of the path (including the mud)! That was crazy. Jason got some cuts, as the cliff was laden with thistle bushes. Not that I ever thought I could have before, but I am now CERTAIN that I could never do Survivor... unless I was a size 2, and wore a super-hot bikini to make all the dumb guys want to keep me around! ;)

I think fall has officially arrived. It really is true that we only have 2 seasons up here in Canada: Winter and July. It's like as soon as August hit, we were pulling out the pants and long sleeves. I love autumn. I love the cool nights, warm sweaters, hot drinks, and comfortable walks w/o insane heat... However, the inevitable follows... that being the dreaded winter!! I don't mind snow, and the cold... but I am not a fan of 6 months of such conditions!

We're still trying to figure out what we're going to do regarding housing and where we're living. Somedays, I just want to pack up and move somewhere less expensive, so we can actually buy a house that fits our needs, rather than our pocket book. It's not just about wanting to start out big, rather than having something to work up from. It's about fairness. The market in Edmonton is getting out of control. I guess all the big cities in Canada are facing the same problem. It's no big deal to see a house sell for $500,000 around here. The average family home in Edmonton (2-3 bedrooms, most likely a bungalow), sells for $300,000! People are offering more than the asking price to secure the bid, and even forgoing home inspections! My brother is selling his 2 bdrm condo in Calgary for $369,000! A CONDO! That's an apartment. What is this world coming to, anyway? When is this bubble going to burst? I'd gladly be the one with the pin to bring it down! I keep looking at other cities, like Fredericton or even Winnipeg, and I should just stop. It's aggrivating to see what $150,000 will get you there, when it barely gets you a 3 bedroom townhouse here. The other side is, that I sooo don't want to move again... and certainly not out of province. I'm getting used to Edmonton, and Alberta. I like this city. I just wish we could afford to provide adequate housing for our family. *sigh* Enough of that. We're still weighing options, but will have to decide soon, b/c this market is climbing by the day.

Before I close, I wanted to post a link to a video of Ani Difranco performing on the Henry Rollins show, on the IFC (Independant Film Channel)... I'm off to do those dishes, and maybe play a cd or something... All I can hear is some strange music, in some European language (Romanian most likely), as our neighbours downstairs must be listening to it while they make supper!

Good night.

Reprive Released

Today was the release date of the new Ani Difranco album, Reprieve. I phoned a few places to make sure they had it, b/c as famous as Ani is... there are still tons of people who need the name repeated and spelled several times (like the media guy at Best Buy)! I even called HMV at the mall beside our house. He checked his computer, and told me 3 copies were on order, but not in yet. Well, I didn't trust him or his computer, and I decided to check the actual shelf. Success! One copy of the new CD was on the shelf. Perhaps a few steps to the folk section wouldn't have been so difficult?

Anyway... I have this hot little cd in my hands right now and I'm going to give it a listen before I turn in for the night. From what I've heard so far, it's back to the basic acoustic sounds. It's more polished than "Educated Guess", which was really rough on the editing. Here's a link to the Righteous Babe Records site, featuring the Reprieve album. I really reccommend reading the lyrics- I always do before listening- and checking out a few of the songs that are there... Enjoy!

"i mean to split yourself in two is just the most radical thing you can do       
goddess forbid that little adam should grow so jealous of eve                   
and in the face of the great farce of the nuclear age                           
feminism ain't about equality, it's about reprieve"      

-Ani Difranco
from "Reprieve"

A new post, and new pictures! Finally!

Here are some recent pictures of the kids... Fiona went to the museum with Grandma & Grandpa while they were here, and had great fun assembling bones in her explorer hat! The other picture, is her posing with her new dress from Grammie and Grampie!











The pictures of Kieran were taken tonight. He enjoyed hamming it up for the camera, in his new baseball cap! Pardon the drool...