Me, Right Now

I was tagged by Ria to take a picture of me right now and post it. I cheated and did not do it right away when I found out I was tagged... BUT, this is me right now, at almost 4pm... still in bed.


I am gunna tag a crapload of people (go check out their blogs, too): Jay, Jessica, Larissa, Olga, Whattakes, Shan, Carmen, Courtney, Alanna, Shannon, Laura, Karen, and Ashley. Phew!! Let's see how many of you do it!

All These Things That I've Done

I've now seen this on fab obsessed and apartment #412, etc and decided to do it myself. I made all of the things I've done on the list purple. And all the things I want to do are blue.
Enjoy!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld/Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been laid off from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

One More Award!

Courtney at Once Upon a Bookshelf gave me this here award a while back. The rules are to list 7 things I love and then to tag 7 people who will play along.

Things I Love:
1. My crazy but endearing cat. He's the main man in my life and I don't know what I'd do without him.
2. My Teddy Bear. His name is Teddy. Yes, I am in my 20s and still have a Teddy Bear... I got him when I had my surgery at 3 years old and he has been everywhere with me ever since.
3. Getting mail. No, not the electronic kind, but real old-fashioned snail mail.
4. This place.
5. My family. I appreciate them more and more every day that I work in the youth shelter. I never knew before how lucky I was.
6. Being from a small town. I used to hate it, but now that I really live in the city, I am glad of where I came from. I am pretty good at acting like a city person (for example, when I ride the subway and don't want people to bother me), but I don't think I'll ever truly be a city girl. I feel most at home surrounded by farmers fields and dirt roads, not by concrete sidewalks and subways.
7. Diet Pepsi. Up until recently, I was a Diet Coke girl, but I've been won over to the dark side and fallen in love with Diet Pepsi. I love the taste, and since I don't drink coffee, I need the stuff to get through my day.


And the award goes to...
1. Karen at The Transformation of Kern
2. Erin at The State That I Am In
3. Ria at & That's The Way Life Goes
4. Jess at Classy in Philadelphia
5. Lily at Lily Speak
6. Ashley at Writing to Reach You
7. Alyssa at How Lucky We Are

The Letter N

Lindsay over at Adventures of a Book Thief made a list of 10 things she liked that start with the letter m, and gave me the letter n for mine.
Leave a comment if you want me to give you a random letter for a meme of your own!


1- Night - I am almost entirely nocturnal if given the option, I would much rather sleep all day and stay up all night.
2- Neverland - Not the Michael Jackson place. Peter Pan is one of my favourite books ever, and the newer live version of it is one of my favourite movies. I would love to live in Neverland with the pirates and mermaids and Indians, and never have to grow up.
3- Nosferatu - Basically synonymous with "vampire". I have had a healthy obsession with vampires for years now, much before the Twilight Saga came out, I read Companions in the Night and Dracula and dreamed of running with the vampires.
4- North - I live in the Great White North, and I really do like it here, though I am not technically all that nothern, as I was born about an hour away from Canada's Southernmost Point (Point Pelee and Pelee Island, in case you were wondering), so technically I have spent most of my life more south than most of Canada and some of the US.
5- Narwhal - What a freaking cool animal. It's got a freaking unicorn horn, do I need to say more?
6- Ned from Pushing Daisies - He's completely adorable! Ned could bring me back from the dead and solve mysteries with me any day.
7- North by Northwest - A Hitchcock classic with Cary Grant. Action packed and full of lines such as: "You're a big girl in all the right places", you can't go wrong.
8- Nano - As in, my iPod 3G Nano. I rarely go anywhere without it. It gets me through my hour commutes to and from work.
9- Nerds - The candies! I especially love the green and yellow ones, in sour and normal.
10- Number 36 - The Dave Matthews Band song. Here, Wikipedia tells us a bit about it's history:

Four days after his assassination, the rock group Dave Matthews Band (whose lead singer and guitarist, >Dave Matthews, is from South Africa) began playing a song, #36, to honour Hani. A live favorite for years, the music evolved into the basic foundation of the 2001 single, Everyday. The Introduction to the popular hit "Everyday" starts with the crowd singing "Honey, Honey, come and dance with me", and the crowd and band occasionally use the reprise as an outro to the song as well. (It was originally written as "Hani, Hani, come and dance with me," but Matthews believed the song to be too cheery with those lyrics, so he changed it.)

Here you can watch it:

Self Love

I found this over at Sizzle Says and I think it's an awesome idea. If you don't have a significant other this Valentine's Day, and even if you do, I think it's important to take this day celebrating love and use it to remember to love yourself. Here's what you've gotta do:

1.) You’re gonna grab yourself a banner. If you don’t like the one I’ve used in this post, you can find another one here.

2.) You’re gonna post that banner and then tell us all something that you really like love about yourself (thus, the “self-love” portion of our program).

3.) Ask or beg your readers to post one thing that they too love about you!!! If your blog friends are nice, you shouldn’t have to beg…much.

And here we go with my self-love part:
I love my ability to love others. I love taking care of people and things, and usually I'm pretty good at understanding what others are thinking and feeling and anticipating what they need. I think that's something that I'm good at, and I love that I finally know what I really do well, as I spent so many years in school being good at every subject but not really excelling in anything in particular. That ability is what I love about me.

And now it's your turn:
YOU are supposed to tell me what YOU love about ME. Awkward, yeah, especially if I don't get any comments. Come on guys, you've gotta comment, please, I'll develop a complex!

So Happy Valentine's Day, y'all, and remember to love yourself as well this holiday and every day.

25 Things

This has been going around Facebook like wildfire. After being tagged a few times, I thought I would avoid doing housework by doing one myself. And, because it makes good blog fodder, here you go, 25 random things about yours truly.

1. My initials spell EEW. Thanks, Mom and Dad.
2. As a kid (okay, until a few years ago) I had an unhealthy obsession with moose. Like, as in the animal.
3. I own movies that I've never watched.
4. I have bought myself a "Ferret Frenzy" calendar every year now for 4 years, we started with World Tour, then it was TV Shows, then At the Movies, and now On Vacation. It's ferrets posed in different scenes, wearing clothes and acting out something, in case you were wondering. For February, they are on a cruise ship, dressed in cruise clothing, one is sitting in a deck chair and the other is looking over the side of the ship.
5. I might just singlehandedly keep Matt & Nat handbags in business. I've lost track of how many I have.
6. At our last vet visit, Thunder Kitty weighed 25 pounds. He is on diet kibble now, but I think it's only called "diet" because it must not taste good, he does not like eating it. I realize this is not at all about me... but the reason he is on diet food is so that the vet doesn't judge me as a bad mother when I bring him in.
7. Since last April, I have watched my mother battle - and beat - bowel cancer. It brought our family close together, and made me realize how amazingly strong and beautiful my mother is.
8. I have been on anti-depressants for my anxiety disorder for over 6 years now, it may not be everyone's best option, but it has worked for me.
9. If given the option, I could easily be completely nocturnal.
10. I loved the Twilight series way more than I will admit to most other people (unless they share the obsession). I feel like a 15 year old girl when I admit that New Moon made me cry.
11. I want to travel the world, but first I need to find someone to do it with me because I'm way too chicken to do it alone.
12. I think Dave Matthews is a genius. I would put my anti-adultery morals aside for him. (Too much info? Sorry guys!)
13. I get stressed out when other people are arguing / not getting along, even if I have nothing to do with it.
14. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up. I like working at the shelter, but I know it's not forever. I don't ever want to feel bored or unhappy with my job.
15. I have considered getting a tattoo, but I am too scared of commitment and permanence.
16. I can't watch those OSPCA commercials on tv without being tempted to adopt them all. If I had a large piece of land and unlimited funds, I would likely adopt a tonne of abused or abandoned animals.
17. I go through periods where I can't get enough of a certain food, and then all of a sudden I can't stand the thought of it and move on to another food. Current food: eggs.
18. I can't decide if I like Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi better. Lately I've been on a Diet Pepsi kick. I drink way more Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi than I should, but I do not like the non name brand colas, I can taste the difference.
19. I like driving. Not so much in the GTA or on 400-series highways, but on the country highways. However, if I had a choice, I would take the train, I love riding the train.
20. I will always love Kenesserie Camp. I would go back to work there in a heartbeat if it was at all feasible for me. It is the first place that I have ever loved.
21. My sister is in New Zealand right now. I cannot even fathom how far away that is.
22. I miss the camping trips we used to go on as a family. The east coast twice, the west coast, Kentucky, South Carolina, Northern Ontario...
23. I had kidney surgery when I was 3 years old. I have a scar across my side that has grown up with me. If given the choice, I don't think I would want to get it removed. That scar is a part of me now.
24. I can bake, but I cannot cook. I almost always screw it up when I cook.
25. I love board games. Most nights I would rather stay in and play them than go out. I love Cranium and Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly.

Google Knows All

I found this Google game over at Coming Home, and thought it looked like fun:



Q1: Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search.
Erin needs a servant.
(Oh. My. Goodness. Yes, please!)

Q2: Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search.
Erin looks like Harry Potter on drugs.
(How exactly would that look, anyway?)

Q3: Type in "[your name] says" in Google search.
Erin says "Sit" Happens!
(Frequently!)

Q4: Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search.
Erin wants to pack 330 cookies in eight boxes.
(But I don't know if I can!!!)

Q5:Type in "[your name] does" in Google search.
Erin does the Donkey Dance.
(Daily! Some day it will attract a donkey, I'm sure of it!)

Q6: Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search.
Erin hates stripping. She hates it the way Marie Antoinette hated wigs.
(But, I thought Marie Antionette liked wigs? No?)

Q7: Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search.
Erin asks her class to help her raise the $8000 needed to free an abused elephant, named Lilly.
(Poor Lilly! I hope I can adopt her!)

Q8: Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search.
Erin likes waffles.
(It's true!)

Q9: Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search.
Erin eats emos.
(Well, when I'm out of waffles...)

Q10: Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search.
Erin wears many hats.
(All at once! Wasn't there a children's book about that?)

Q11: Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search.
Erin was arrested for offensive touching.
(You know it! I'm always so tempted...!)

Q12: Type in "[your name] loves" in Google Search.
Erin loves to cut things with her scissors, but cutting things can cause lots of trouble.
(One time I cut my own bangs, true story. Curly bangs are NOT nice...)

Interview with Erin

Lily of Lily Speak did this Interview meme and I wanted in on that. So I had her interview me, here it is:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1) I know you're a big Dave Matthews Band fan. What's your favorite song and why?
Oh man, I have to pick just one?? I don't know if I can! How's about I tell you about a few of them:
Crash Into Me - this has been my favourite from the start. Granted the lyrics if sung by anyone other than Dave would be a little creepy, but I think it's super romantic. Remember the video?? Beautiful! The lyrics "you wear nothing, but you wear it so well" are amazingly romantic, I think, they show true love and acceptance of a person. That would be one of the most fantastic pre and/or post sex complements a guy could give me.

Pig - I discussed here. "Wash out this tired notion that the best is yet to come" - it's all about how I want to be living my life, being able to seize the day and not waste it.
You Might Die Trying - I discussed this one here. It reminds me that if I want to change the world and make a difference I need to take action by getting off my butt and doing something, even if it is only something small, it's better than being frozen and doing nothing.
But there's Everyday, and Grey Street, and Tripping Billies... awe man!

2) Other than your parents' jewelry shop, what other jobs have you held?
I've had a few, here are my two most exciting/longest from the past:
I've been a camp kid since I was a young teen, starting as a CIT, then a counsellor and then senior staff. I miss K-Camp crazy amounts...


During university, I worked at the art gallery on campus, a little bit as a gallery attendant, but mostly I was in charge of contacting (or attempting to contact) all of the over 2000 artists whose work we had in our collection to get them to sign copyright forms thanks to Canada's new copyright laws.
And now, I work at the youth shelter.

3) What extracurricular activities and/or sports have you done/played?
I've never really been a terribly sporty girl. As a kid I tried ballet and figure skating, and failed miserably at both. When my Aunt and I both lived in London, I went to the flamenco classes that she taught. In elementary school and high school, I did Brownies and Girl Guides and Youth Group out of my church, and Drama Club out of my high school. In university, I volunteered with a fantastic organization called Best Buddies, and at a local elementary school in a classroom for kids with special needs. I also took sign language classes at the university.

4) Let's say you have the chance for a little threesome with two of your fave celebs. Who would you pick?
Dave Matthews.

Crap, I have to pick another? Hmm, perhaps Lee Pace of Pushing Daisies.


Or, if I could go back in time, Pierce Brosnan and Harrison Ford, my old man crushes. Heck, the back in time bit isn't completely necessary.


5) What was your favorite game as a child?
My sisters and I used to play Barbies all the time. We also played our share of hide and go seek. On camping trips, my family would always play Monopoly. With my friends, we played a lot of games in the pool, and we played boneyard in the neighbourhoods around our houses.

Alright, anyone who wants to be interviewed can leave me a comment!

What I Do on the Internet

This week's Friday 5 is about Net Habits. It's been a while since I've done a Friday 5, so I thought I'd give this one a shot.

1. What types of blogs do you usually read?
Toooo many... there are 182 in my Google Reader. Mostly, though, they are personal blogs or art/design blogs.
Here's a few you should go read if you don't already: Bliss, Classy in Philadelphia, LilySpeak, Me Melodia, Snapshot Chicago, Stylish Handwriting, The Holly & The Ivy, The State That I Am In,The Transformation of Kern, Turquoise Ribbons, Writing to Reach You, Yes and Yes, and You Are My Fave.

2. What kinds of products do you usually buy when you shop online?
The last two things I bought online were my Matt & Nat purse (which I am still waiting for... stupid UPS...), and my Mole Book.

3. What kinds of online videos do you usually spend time watching?
Here's my fave YouTube videos:









Hope you enjoyed those.

4. Besides Friday 5, what weekly memes do you particularly enjoy?
I don't really do any weekly ones, just when the mood strikes me.

5. Where do you like to go for streaming online music?
Well, I've heard fantastic things about Pandora, but unfortunately, those of us North of the Border aren't able to listen to it. If I listen to streaming music, I usually go to AOL Radio. I will also listen to music on YouTube, which reminds me, I was doing that the other night and rediscovered the video for Crash Into Me by the Dave Matthews Band. I love the song, but it had been a while since I saw the video, so I had forgotten just how beautiful it is. Y'all need to go here and watch it (because embedding is disabled). It's like the most gorgeous dream. Seriously, go watch it.

"Standing on Your Mama's Porch..."

The 20SB January Carnival's theme is your first kiss. I've never really written about my relationship past on here, and because this blog isn't entirely anonymous, I'm going to keep most of it fairly brief and impersonal. I can, however, talk about my first kiss.

All I Need by -roosevelt-

I've always been a bit of a late bloomer. I guess I haven't yet even exactly bloomed all of the way, but that's beside the point. It was the summer after my first year of university. I was 18. That summer I was the Environmental Learning Coordinator at camp, and as senior staff, I lived at camp from April until August. At 18 I had never had a boyfriend, never been kissed.
One of my friends who worked at camp with me had moved to Florida a few years back because of a parental divorce/remarriage, and he was due to work at camp that summer. He ended up driving back to Ontario with a friend that he went to school in Florida with, and, being short on male counsellors for the summer, we asked his friend (who, from now on, we will call The Surfer) if he wanted to stay and work at camp. This guy was always up for an adventure and trying new things, so he rearranged his summer plans to stay. Our group of camp friends would get together whenever I had time off from camp, and The Surfer would join us, so between that and camp training, I got to know him before the camp session actually started. After our first whole wee together at camp, he made up a lame excuse for us to spend the Saturday together, kind of like a date. Another week went by at camp, and we spent the Saturday with our group of friends taking a trip to one of the neighbouring cities so we could go shopping and to the movies. We held hands in the movie theatre. Our friend who was driving dropped me off at home that evening, and The Surfer offered to walk me to the door. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that he was amazed that I had never had a boyfriend before, and asked if maybe he could be my boyfriend. Of course, I was smitten and overwhelmed and said yes. I was standing on the step on the porch and he was standing on the ground, making us about equal height because he was very tall, and then he leaned in and kissed me. I had never realized how amazing something so simple as touching lips could be. We said goodnight after that simple kiss and they drove away. I immediately ran inside and jumped onto my parents' bed with maybe the biggest grin ever to announce with a squeal that I had a fantastic day and that he kissed me.
And there we have it, my first kiss. The relationship didn't end perfectly, I got very hurt and have spent the years since then building up walls to protect myself from getting hurt again. If I could re-do that relationship, I would do things very differently. However, even if I could re-do that first kiss, I wouldn't change a thing. Being gently kissed on your parents' porch on a warm July night is pretty much the perfect first kiss.

(title lyrics from Bryan Adam's "Summer of '69")

Best Child and Youth Worker EVER

15

Created by OnePlusYou

Found via Carmen in Calgary.

December Carnival

The 20SB December Blog Carnival is up, and this month, I have decided to participate. You get 3 choices, and I have chosen to write about: A wishlist of 5 items, one for each sense (that's an item for sight, one for smell, etc). Here we go.

See: Matt & Nat Jorja Small Purse - I'd like to see this under my arm! I love Matt & Nat, a lot. The Jorja Small Purse looks like it would hold all of my belongings and fit perfectly under my arm.
Or, possibly, I'd like to see the world through the lenses of a new camera, something like this one:Smell: Vera Wang Princess - It smells really pretty, I think it may be the next addition to my perfume collection.
Taste: Tim Horton's Breakfast Sandwich - Seriously. I could eat one of these things daily, or even multiple times a day, for the rest of my life. Now if only they weren't so so so unhealthy.
Touch: iPhone - I know I don't need a new phone, but the iPhone is pretty and has so many useful apps! Please? I promise to use it!
Hear: DMB concert - Unfortunately, the tour they just announced doesn't come anywhere near me (NY being the closest). I really really want to see them in concert again. I saw them last June and then once a few Decembers past. DMB honestly puts on the BEST live show, I wish I could see them again and again... I would be an awesome groupie.

Crazy Day and Favourite Things

I've been pretty much MIA this week, thanks to having to work at my parents' store every day almost. I'll make it up soon, I promise.
Today, for example, I got to shovel the walk at the store... 3 times because it kept snowing in (this is usually Dad's job, but he asked me to do it, this was my first sign that something was up), went with Dad to our doctors appointments (2nd hint, I guess he didn't have it before today), and then had to drive him to the hospital to get a EKG (bam, should have known something was up with his heart). His results came back fine, and he even apologized to me for not telling my earlier that he wasn't feeling well. Parents getting old sucks. I don't like having to be the caretaker when it comes to them. Then I got to run errands all over our snow-filled town for store-related things. At least the store wasn't crazy, the snow made it so hardly anyone came in. Good for the type of day Dad and I had, but bad for the store only 6 days before Christmas. Oh well, can't change the weather, right? Geeze, I hope that update made sense, I'm not certain that I'm fully coherant right now.

Here's this week's Friday 5 - Favourite Things:

1) What’s your favorite thing about the shoes you’re wearing (or the shoes you were most recently wearing)?
I'm not wearing any right now, the last ones I was wearing were my brown winter boots, which have lasted me 3 winters and are super comfy!

2) What’s your favorite thing about the people you work with (or the people you go to school with)?
I like the people I work with at Mom and Dad's store because I've known them all forever and have so much fun with them. I like the co-workers at the shelter because they're fun to be with and they're really good at what they do.

3) What’s your favorite thing about the climate where you live?
I like that the summers don't usually get unbearably hot in the summer, and we get snow around Christmas.

4) What’s your favorite thing about Friday?
I liked Fridays better when I was in school and didn't have to work on Saturdays. Those were good days.

5) What’s your favorite thing about the year coming to an end?
2008 has been a pretty sucky year for my family. To quote the Counting Crows "there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last."

Shuffle!

Step 1: Put your iTunes or equivalent on random.
Step 2: Type out the first line from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Bold out the songs when someone guesses the song/album correctly. (Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!)

1. You've got your ball, you've got your chain, tied to me tight tie me up again
Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band
2. You'll remember me when the west wind moves on the fields of barley
Fields of Gold - Sting
3. Miracle people with marvelous hair and a knack to do anything better than anyone
New Frontier - Counting Crows
4. This is a call to the colorblind, this is an IOU, I'm stranded behind the horizon line, tied up in something true
5. Ha, open wide, oh so good I'll eat you, take me for a ride in your sweet delicious perfect, little mouth
6. Let us burn one, from end to end, and pass is over to me my friend
Burn One Down - Ben Harper
7. How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me
I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie
8. Somewhere beyond the sea, somewhere waiting for me
Beyond the Sea - Robbie Williams
9. Lord, give me grace and dancing feet, and the power to impress
10. The world is blowing up, the world is caving in, the world has lost her way again, but you are here with me
11. Baby, baby, when we first met I never felt something so strong
12. 'Cause it's a bitter sweet symphony this life
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
13. Life is much too short to sit and wonder who's gonna make the next move and will slowly pull you under when you've always got something to prove
14. Look at all that shines, baby's down on the world and she knows it
15. Everything's different, with my head in the clouds
16. I don't know what I've done, or if I like what I've become
17. Bright just like the stars above me, proud just like my mother planned it
18. I said what you wanted to hear, and what I wanted to say, so I will take it back
19. I tell you how I feel, but you don't care, I say tell me the truth, but you don't dare, you say love is a hell you cannot bare
20. Digging a hole and the walls are caving in, behind me, air's getting thin but I'm trying, I'm breathing in, come find me


I found this gem on She Devotes Her Life...
Okay, here we go, blog readers, how many can you get? Make me proud guys!

Christmas is Coming!

This is my Advent Calendar

Friday Five: Childhood Indulgences

Here we go with this week's Friday Five, all about childhood indulgences:

1) When did you last have a mid-day nap?
I suppose sometime in the past month. I really don't like naps. I have to be desperately tired or have something wrong with me if I end up napping. Usually I fall asleep mid-day by accident, and then wake up and feel really disoriented, not knowing what happened or when it is time-wise. I have had more naps in the past 6 months than I have in my entire life before this... I think it's stress induced.

2) When did you last have milk and cookies?
Well, I don't like to drink milk. I will use it in cooking and eat it with cereal, but I never ever drink it straight. So, never? I've had cookies recently though!

3) When did you last have a bubble bath?
Apparently this is all about things I don't like, because I also don't like baths. Something about sitting in a tub of your own dirty water grosses me out. BUT, when I'm stressed, I find sometimes a bubble bath can do the trick, so every once in a while I will have one (and make sure I shower off well afterwards). I guess I had one in October?

4) When did you last jump on the furniture?
I was taught never to jump on furniture growing up. When we were little my sister was jumping on her bed (let's be honest, I probably started it) and bashed her head into the wall so hard that she left a dent in the wall. I don't think I've done it since.

5) When did you last play in the mud?
At camp most likely. We have clay pits that we hike to and go play in, and a rather muddy ravine and forest we play in. I miss it!

Sue Scott and TK Douglas... aka Not Using my Brain Tonight

I need something light and fluffy tonight. Things have been kind of crazy lately. So, stolen from Lily Speak, we're going to discover my many names!

1. Witness Protection Name (mother’s & father’s middle names)
Sue Scott (I kinda like this one!)

2. Nascar Name (first name of your mother’s dad & father’s dad)
Ross George

3. Star Wars Name (the first 2 letters of your last name & first 4 letters of your first name)
Waerin (Might have been better if it was E-Walk)

4. Detective Name (favourite colour & favourite animal)
Green Moose

5. Soap Opera Name (middle name & city where you live)
Elizabeth Etobicoke / Elizabeth Toronto / Elizabeth Mimico (uhh...)

6. Superhero Name (2nd favourite colour & favourite alcoholic drink, optionally add “The” to the beginning)
The Blue Tom Collins (not so super...)

7. Fly Name (first 2 letters of first name & last 2 letters of your last name)
Erer (I think this is hilarious)

8. Gangsta Name (favourite ice cream flavour & favourite cookie)
Strawberry Banana Frozen Yogurt Chocolate Chip (how is this AT ALL gangsta??)

9. Rock Star Name (current pet’s name & current street name)
TK Douglas (sounds better than Thunder Kitty Lake Shore I think)

10. Porn Name (first pet’s name & street you grew up on)
Clark North River (uhh?)

Friday Five: Over

Here's my Friday5. I should start doig this more often.

1) What’s a profession you believe to be overpaid?
Professional athletes. I understand that they are talented and all, but really, the multi-million dollar contracts are more than slightly out of control.

2) Who’s a musician you believe to be overrated?
I love most '90s alt-rock, but I just don't get Nirvana. It sounds like Kurt Cobain is drugged up and moaning at me, I just don't get why it is amazing. Really, if Cobain hadn't died, I doubt they would be nearly as popular today. I do, however, have I GIANT crush on Dave Grohl.

3) What in your life could stand to be overhauled?
My terrible eating patterns and extreme pickiness. Not happening anytime soon though.

4) What’s something interesting you recently overheard?
I overhear crazy things at the shelter every time I'm there, both from the kids and staff, all confidential though.

5) Who is the most overextended person you know?
My Grandma. She's taking care of my ailing Grandpa, keeping up their house in the country by herself, trying to keep herself from being socially isolated, acting as the head of our crazy family, she's been coming out to help Mom out with the cancer stuff, and she does tonnes of stuff at her church. She's amazing.

Me! Me! Me!

Found over at Kyla Bea and at My Life In a Nutshell, it's time to talk all about me!

LAYER ONE:

• Name: Erin
• Birthdate: October 12, 1985
• Birthplace: W'burg, Ontario
  
• Current location: Toronto (more like Etobicoke)
  
• Eye color: Greenish, greyish, blueish
  
• Hair color: Brown
• Height: 5′ 8″
• Righty or lefty: Righty
• Zodiac sign: Libra

LAYER TWO:

• Your heritage: About as WASP-y as you get. English and Scottish mixed on all sides, most of whom came to the U.S. first and then to Canada as United Empire Loyalists.
  
• The shoes you wore today: Teva runners, they make me feel outdoorsy.
  
• Your weakness: Shopping and bad for me food.
  
• Your fears: I have and always have had so many (thanks to my Generalized Anxiety Disorder).
  
• Your perfect pizza: Just cheese!
  
• Goal you’d like to achieve: To never stop learning new things.
  

LAYER THREE:

• Your most overused phrase on AIM: Change that to MSN, it would have to be "hahaha" or "no kidding".
  
• Your first waking thoughts: If I'm working days, something like "ugggghhh".
  
• Your best physical feature: I have pretty eyes.
  
• Your most missed memory: My days as a camp counsellor, I did not cherish those times enough.

LAYER FOUR:

• Pepsi or Coke: Usually, I'm a Diet Coke girl, but lately I've been loving Diet Pepsi.
  
• McDonald’s or Burger King: McDonald's is another one of my weaknesses - the chicken nugget meal!
  
• Single or group dates: Haven't been on one of either in a long time!
• Adidas or Nike: I don't have a preference really...
  
• Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: I don't like ice tea.
  
• Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate!
• Cappuccino or coffee: I don't like the taste of coffee, so usually I'll go for a hot chocolate if I need a hot drink. If I had to choose, a cappuccino, they remind me of studying in university.
  

LAYER FIVE:

• Smoke: Never.
• Cuss: A little too often sometimes.
  
• Sing: Only when I'm alone for the most part. Like, to my cat in my apartment and while driving. I spent my summer driving and singing.
  
• Take a shower everyday: Usually...
  
• Do you think you’ve been in love: No, I haven't.
  
• Want to go to college: I've gone to university and am currently in college. I'll probably go back for a masters someday.
  
• Liked high school: Yeah, I had a lot of awesome friends, good teachers, and was a part of the Drama Club (which was MUCH less nerdy than it sounds).
  
• Want to get married: Maybe, if I am absolutely sure.
  
• Believe in yourself: Sometimes, in some situations more than others.
  
• Get motion sickness: Rarely, but it's happened.
  
• Think you’re attractive: Sometimes.
  
• Think you’re a health freak: No, even though I should be.
  
• Get along with your parent(s): Very well, especially now that I haven't lived with them for so long.
  
• Like thunderstorms: I love them, unless tornadoes are involved, they scare the crap out of me!
  
• Play an instrument: Not at all.
  

LAYER SIX: In the past month…

• Drank alcohol: Oh yeah.
  
• Smoked: No.
• Done a drug: Only the ones prescribed to me.
  
• Made out: No...
• Gone on a date: Girlfriend dates... do they count?
  
• Gone to the mall: Too many times!
  
• Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No, they're expensive.
  
• Eaten sushi: Gross gross gross no.
  
• Been on stage: Umm, no I don't think so.
  
• Been dumped: No, you have to have a relationship for that.
  
• Gone skating: Sadly, no, but there will be outdoor rinks soon!
  
• Made homemade cookies: Do Pillsbury count?
  
• Gone skinny dipping: Haven't done that since I was a tot.
  
• Dyed your hair: Nope, I stopped dying it over a year ago.
  
• Stolen Anything: Nope.

LAYER SEVEN: Ever…

• Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yes. Good old university.
  
• Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Oooh yeah... like, Friday.
  
• Been caught “doing something”: Nope.
• Been called a tease: Yeah.
• Gotten beaten up: Never.
• Shoplifted: Nope. Having parents who own a store deterred me from that.
  
• Changed who you were to fit in: Only when I didn't really know who I was.
  

LAYER EIGHT:

• Age you hope to be married: In my late 20s or in my 30s.
  
• Numbers and names of children: Maybe none, maybe a few... I think the names will have to fit the children.
  
• Describe your dream wedding: Something a little traditional, with all of my closest friends and family.
  
• How do you want to die: In my sleep, of old age, peacefully.
  
• Where you want to go to college: University of Western Ontario and Humber College!
  
• What do you want to be when you grow up: I don't want to grow up.
  
• What country would you most like to visit: So many! Maybe Peru.
  

LAYER NINE:

• Number of drugs taken illegally: None.
• Number of people I could trust with my life: My immediate family and a few of my friends.
  
• Number of CDs that I own: A lot!
  
• Number of piercings: Two holes in each ear.
  
• Number of tattoos: None currently.
  
• Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Once for sure, when I wrote a letter to the hometown news years ago pro gay marriage.
• Number of scars on my body: A BIG one across my side from the kidney surgery I had at age 3.
  
• Number of things in my past that I regret: I do my best to never have regrets. If I can't change it, then I let it go.
  

I am SO Close to Being a Crazy Cat Lady

I've seen this on a few blogs, and today on My Life In a Nutshell. As I am thoroughly committed to NaBloPoMo, but it's Friday and I feel spent (I napped today... I never nap!), so I am going to post a meme.

Go to your Pictures folder on your computer, pick the fourth folder within the main folder, and then the fourth photo. Post and explain the picture.


Luckily, this isn't as embarrassing as I expected it to be. Still, it proves that I am aboard the train right to Crazy-Cat-Lady-ville, as I am home on a Friday night blogging about my cat.
This is Thunder Kitty. He is sitting inside of my lap top bag, because he's always getting into silly situations and finding crazy places to hang out that he thinks are comfortable. He is a year and a half right now, but in the picture he's about 6 months. So little!! I thought he was a big guy then, but now, at 15lbs, he wouldn't even fit in that lap top bag. I inherited Thunder Kitty after a co-worker brought him from her neighbour's barn to live with us for the summer at camp. Unfortunately, he was a mean kitty, and I was the only one who actually liked him, thus I adopted him when camp finished and I moved to Toronto. Half of my family is highly allergic to cats, so needless to say, he was not necessarily the most popular family member. Now, though, he's grown on them (with the exception of my sister, who will not admit that she likes him... actually she will not admit that she doesn't hate him). Since his kitten days, he's calmed down a lot and become a lot friendlier. Still, he's never been a cuddley kitten, so I completely love it the rare moments when he does cuddle with me. I love this cat crazy amounts, and I don't know how I would have survived living all alone in the big city without him. He is the closest thing to a boyfriend, sadly, and I have had to restrain myself from getting another cat because I know that takes me dangerously close to being a crazy cat lady.
So there you go! That's the story of the 4th photo in the 4th album in my pictures folder!