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Pineapple Challenge 2014

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Hi friends. Happy Thursday. Boy am I glad it’s near the end of the week! 4 day work weeks fly by..and I have two more in a row! (vacation next weekend and easter the following weekend!)

*Mini rant: Why does Netflix only have seasons 1 & 2 of Downton Abbey?!! (I already know the answer, Tyler said it was something to do with Amazon Prime getting the rights to stream the rest, yadda yadda. Also, what is Amazon Prime? Also, in lieu of DA, I’ve started watching a butt-ton of WWII documentaries. Do you know what that does to your dreams when you fall asleep watching bombs drop and gas chambers? Woof.)

On a lighter note, guess what?! I finally signed up for the Pineapple Challenge!! My friend Susie works for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada and is planning the event for Calgary to be held on June 14th. “The event” being a crazy/silly obstacle course for teams to get through- while wearing silly costumes. COUNT ME IN. Also- we’re doing this for a great cause, so um…how could I say no?

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To give you a few deets on the disease and how fundraising money will be used:

DID YOU KNOW?

  • There are over 100,000 people living with, or in remission from, a blood cancer in Canada.
  • Someone will be diagnosed with a blood cancer every 29 minutes in Canada.
  • And one person every 76 minutes will die.

Funds raised through the Pineapple Challenge support research, patient services, and education in our fight to find a cure for blood cancers.

All dollars raised for this event support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada’s (LLSC) vital mission: find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Beyond the Pineapple Challenge, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada also has various other events which help support the mission.

If you check out the website, there are other events that you can choose to donate to, or even participate.

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PS: Me, Tyler, Susie, her partner in crime, and a few others have formed a team called the Prancercisers. Yup, because there will most definitely be prancing at some point during this obstacle course. Maybe it’ll only be me.

Here’s where I humbly get on my knees and ask  if you’re interested in donating towards my fundraising efforts. I’ve set a goal of raising $250, so please don’t think you have to unload your whole paycheck for me. Unless you want to. Then I’ll bake you cookies or something.

If you click on the link below, it will take you to my fundraising page for the event, where you can choose how much to give. 50 cents? A dolla? A dolla makes me holla.

Pineapple Challenge 2014. <–click here to check out the event and donate towards my fundraising goal!

*pause while I get up off my knees*

I would really really appreciate any/all donations slash good words slash encouragement for the upcoming race. (And if you have costume suggestions, we will definitely take them into consideration)

Thanks!!

Winesday Wednesday

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I can’t blog, I’m sick. Boo you whore.

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At least, that was my excuse for the past week or so, I promise. Well at least that’s my excuse for Sunday and Monday.

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That said, It’s time for Winesday Wednesday!!!

WINESDAY

Insert imaginary trumpet playing here.

I tried a couple new beers: Lost Coast Raspberry Brown Ale, Big Rock’s Monk’s Misery, and Laughing Dog Huckleberry Cream Ale. The verdict? #1 was delish (I found it on tap at a restaurant the next day and actually preferred the bottle); #2 was different (in a good way. Think rosemary meets um…other spices without being too spicy. Scratch that, don’t try to imagine that. Regardless, it was good. Per usual); and #3 was meh (I don’t think it was cold enough or I it tasted funny because of something I had just eaten. idk but I will give it a second chance).

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Oh right, and I also filled up one of our growler’s with Village Troubadour– a mild brown ale that was SUPER tasty and will definitely get again.

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Saturday, Tyler and I went out to dinner to celebrate having signed off on all our major kitchen reno purchases, and I had a Winter Julep. It was something to the extent of Jack Daniels, lime, mint….and I think that’s it?! It was delicious and looked pretty cool when an iceberg is served in the middle of it!

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Now you’re all just sitting there like:

yum

I know, right?

Oh, and Michael sent me over some more cool pics! (Fellow beer advocate, yessir!)

Her wrote: Went to Victory Brewing company in Dowingtown, Pennsylvania this past weekend for a tour with a couple buddies. This place is awesome. That beer pictured is their Hop Devil IPA on a nitro tap. Think of the consistency of a Guinness but with an IPA taste. It was quite amazing. Those other pictures are just some Citra hops and mash-tuns that I thought you might want to include. Totally up to you. Happy Winesday Wednesday!

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For your entertainment:

This pretty much sums up what most of us do when buying/ordering wine:

A parody of Blurred Lines: BLURRED VINES! Yes, love this. Ok, maybe it’s not SUPER hilarious, but I suspect you’ll give at least one chuckle

 

Winesday Wednesday

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It’s that time of the week. Winesday Wednesday. But to me, it’s like Winesday Thursday because I took Friday off this week. I can’t WAIT to have an extra day to myself- which is already pretty much packed with things I want to do.

WINESDAY

COOL THINGS UPDATE: My friend Susie and I are doing Beer Fridays! We will be meeting up each Friday after work at a different place for some chit chat and a beer or two. We both agreed it’s a great way for us to both get out and socialize, but done right after work so that we can each go home and spend time with our men. Last Friday, we met up at Bottlescrew Bill’s and enjoyed a couple brews and about 5 hours of conversation. Second best part? (with first being beer and friends) NO HANGOVER the next day! Fantastico.

So that’s cool.

NOT so cool would be that I have no new wine to share with you this week.

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wine fail.

However, I did get some stuff from YOU GUYS!!!!
Michael sent me this gem:

This is for Winesday Wednesday! Glad you brought it back. Anyway I went to Montana for work and being the craft beer seeker that I am, I decided to try this. It’s a brown ale that was actually pretty delicious. Like an American/better version of Newcastle. It’s made by Big Sky brewing company. I ran the gamut when it came to trying their beer offerings, ranging from IPA ( Big Sky IPA) to wheat ales (Trout Slayer).

I also had one called Cold Smoke by Kettle House Brewing company. I forgot to take a picture but it was my favorite while I was there. It is a Scotch ale and was highly recommended by the locals. I bet some are available near you!

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Funny thing, I have actually had this! And it was in Montana, too! For me- it paired perfectly well with a super greasy pizza 😉

Liz sent me the link to Wine Glass holders (like, the kind that suction to the wall in your bathtub!!!) But by the time I clicked on the link, the dang things were all sold out. Womp womb. That’s ok, I’ll still with my straw-in-my-wine-glass scenario for now. Thanks Liz!

Stuff to share:

I watched last night’s episode of New Girl and now I *MUST* play True American. Too bad most people here probably wouldn’t be able to recite as much American history. (or could they??? Raised eyebrow)

I need this:

sink

The end.

Your turn: Have anything to share?

You know how…

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You know how certain foods/places/songs/smells can remind you of other things?

You know how when people are about to tell you of something that reminds them of something else and they preface it with the same sentence above?

Well, I have a lot of those and I thought I’d share. Plus, I’m not-so-secretly interested to hear what some of your associations are! (Just so I know I’m not too too crazy). Here goes:

Whenever I blow my nose, I think of:

abraham-lincoln

Whenever I sneeze, I think of:

diana

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Whenever I hear I Love It When You Call Me Big Poppa I think about the skanky girls doing their skanky moves at freshman/sophomore dances in high school.

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(source) —> also, HOLY CRAP. The link where I snagged this photo is a pretty embarrassing thing. And I went to that school! The shame.

Whenever I hear I’m Too Sexy, I think of how loudly I can laugh in Athena’s class.

annex

(source)

Whenever I smell tar, I think of summers living in California.

PavingCrew

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Whenever I wash the cheese grater, I think of the mouse from Ratatouille.

rat

(source)

Whenever I think of Disneyland, I think of the Goofy hat I lost on Space Mountain

goofy

(source)

Whenever I think of Colorado, I think of the dude ranch my parents I and went to for vacation. (but BEER is slowly starting to take over that one).

hey

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Whenever I smell cinnamon buns, I think of my childhood dream of opening a cinnamon bun shop and calling it TJ’s. (hmm…weird?)

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Whenever I see those smelly markers, I think of the boy from 1st grade names Matthew who used to draw all over himself with them. Mostly just on his nose because he was smelling them.

markers

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Whenever I see a calzone on a menu, I think of the COUNTLESS Buff Nasties I consumed in college (to those of you who weren’t priviledged with attending St. Anselm College- there was a pub on campus that made the most amazing buffalo chicken calzones ON EARTH. And if you are there, you might be in the company of monks. Because they ran the school. Not kidding.)

anselm

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Whenever I see those weird licorice candy things, I think of grandparents. Not mine, just grandparents in general.

licorice

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Whenever I see Lindsay Lohan, I think of The Parent Trap and not the multiple jail stints (lucky me)

lindsay-lohan-parent-trap

(source)

Whenever I crave a grilled cheese, I think of Bob’s Big Boy.

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(source)

Whenever I hear the Beach Boys, I think of Full House.

full

(Source)

Tell me some of yours!

Jibber Jabber

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1. Friday afternoon, I took my lunch break a little late and headed over to Starbucks to enjoy a coffee, cookie and some phone time with my dad. We were about 20 minutes into our conversation, when all of a sudden the phone beeped and cut us off. I called him back and he said that my mom just pulled in the driveway (in his car) so his bluetooth kicked in and my mom didn’t know what the noise was, so she disconnected us. After he handed the phone to my mom when she came in, my dad then left (in his car) and AGAIN the blue tooth connected,  and over me/my mom’s conversation, we could hear ‘Wrap it up ladies, I’m turning the car on and I’m leaving!”

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So basically, that was the funniest thing ever and not even remotely close to chuckle-worthy when retelling the story. Oh well.

2. I am now OBSESSED with Rise Kombucha. It is infinitely better in taste than the other stuff…and it’s Canadian made! Cool beans. If you ever come across a bottle, TRY IT. Not only are the flavors yum yum x100, but the culture schtuff isn’t as disgusting to ingest like in other bottles. So far I’ve had: blueberry  maple, lemongrass, and mint chlorophyll (NOT borophyll. ahahahah I crack myself up. Adam Sandler reference used at its finest)

thCAZZSF6P

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3. I watched a marathon of Courtney Loves Dallas yesterday afternoon. What did I learn? I learned that I should have used my Sunday afternoon doing just about anything else. I also realized how unfashionable I am and that I do not buy clothes at all anymore. I also learned that I don’t ever want botox, to be single again, or to constantly reference everything in relation to ‘my blog.’ (Seriously, does anyone watch this and hear how many times she talks about her blog?! I guess I can’t hate that much..she DID get her own TV show). Also, I now read her blog.

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4. Anchorman 2: I LIVED off the first movie, DIED when I heard a sequel was going to be made, and have now made 2 attempts to watch at home and just can’t get into it. I hope I’m not losing my comedic appreciation. Must be all the Downton Abbey in my Netflix queue.

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5. I met up with a friend after work on Friday and managed to be responsible enough to leave at a reasonable hour so that I could still take the train/bus home. I unknowingly timed it PERFECTLY, because my bus had just pulled up as soon as the train pulled into the station. I was so giddy I think I skipped the whole way over…only to see the bus driver had fallen asleep in his seat. So I knocked and knocked. And knocked. And he finally woke to open the door. No sooner did I get in a find my seat, there was another passenger knocking on the door- and the driver has already fell back asleep! The good news is: he stayed alert the entire drive home. The bad news is: if I were to tweet this to Calgary Transit, I don’t think they’d give two hoots. Also, during said meet-up, I drank a Japanese beer.

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6. MAJOR DILEMMA: Calgary Beerfest of Banff Food and Wine Fest? I shall give pros and cons to each and allow you to help me decide.

BEER FEST (May 3)

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Pros:

  • It’s beer.
  • And I love beer.
  • And I think I’ve tried every thing there is to offer in Calgary.
  • So this would help me find some other stuff I might like.
  • And it’ll be an easy commute just off the train.

Cons:

  • Admission is $19 plus the cost of tickets used to sample beers.
  • If I find a beer I like, chances are it won’t be something available regularly, which is kind of what I want.

Banff Wine and Food Fest (May 31)

Pros:

  • Wine AND food.
  • In Banff. In the FAIRMONT.
  • A lot of these wines may be available for immediate purchase and may be more accessible for future purchase.
  • It’s interesting to talk with smaller vineyards/producers since we may our own wine and can learn a lot!

Cons:

  • $24/ticket Plus tasting tickets.
  • Farther from home, so $$ for gas and the overnight trip.

ORRR WAIT: there’s a third option. Since these are both in May, I can just forego the events and celebrate Cinco de Mayo with my Margaritaville machine at home. Much more cost efficient AND I don’t have to put on a bra!

Honorable Mentions (meaning: things I want to tell you, but not in paragraph form)

  1. I have been eating a crap ton of avocados lately.
  2. Reggie pulled a muscle in his leg this weekend.
  3. We picked our appliances, flooring, and backsplash this weekend.
  4. I made my phone last ALL DAY on Saturday with only 28% battery power.
  5. I have Friday off this week and plan on having an uber ‘me’ day.

Do you have any honorable mentions from the weekend? (Feel free to write a whole paragraph if you want!)